Has anyone ever been drawn for this hunt? It looks like my FIL and I will be going in September. I have no idea what to expect.

I duck hunt there and there are lots of gators there. Good luck.

Well that is good to hear! Hopefully there are some big ones.

Where do you see them at? On the area just down the road for the check in station (Mission Lake Unit?) I sometimes wade in chest deep water. I remember a couple years ago I came across one in the Hynes Bay unit in the weeds and my dog kept wanting to go play with it. I had to put the leash on her to keep for losing a dog.

Are alligators pretty sluggish in winter?

Yes, but September isn't "winter".

- It sounds like we may be hunting with firearms during the day and then hook and line at night. Is this what we can expect on the WMA or are firearms not allowed?

Hook and line, Archery, and snare are the only ways. Firearms are only to dispatch the gator after it is caught. I am sure you will not be allowed on the area at night.

- After you hook one, how in the heck do you get it out of the water?

Y'all get out of the water. Or in position in the boat if they will let you do so on this hunt. One person pulls in the gator slowly in very close. The other person stands ready with the shotgun. Draw an imaginary triangle between the eyes with the third point behind the eyes. That point behind the eyes is the brain. Shoot there. If saving the skull, shoot just past the base of the skull, but your gator will roll and move around a lot more later. Y'all can tape it's mouth shut after you shoot it, so bring duct tape. Oh and bring hearing protection.

- Do they provide the boat or do you have to bring your own boat?

Your own boat. I have not hunted Quadalupe Delta, but it is marsh. I doubt there is any walk in. They will assign compartments to hunt in and generally place each group in the most appropriate compartment for the type of boat you have. I would call them now and ask what works best or to ask if what boat you have available to bring will be sufficient.

- Do they provide the bait or anything? Or do you have to bring all of your own gear?

They will provide the calcutta polls and a stake for your line. You will need to bring rope, 9/0 to 12/0 hook, cord for leader, and bait. Some use chicken, some use rotted chicken, we use fresh Beef Heart. Read the regulations in the links I posted and it will explain the gear better.

- I wouldn't have a clue on how to skin it so I am assuming we could take it straight to a taxidermist in the area for skinning and mounting?

Again, I am not familiar with that particular area. If your going with a taxidermist, I would find one and make arrangements ahead of time. There might be people in the area who will skin your gator for a fee. There might be people nearby who will buy them too. The federal tag to sell is so high now, small gators are not worth selling. The area also will likely have an area set up you can skin your own gator. Call them and ask these questions now. They probably have a list of contacts.
If you have never skinned butchered many animals it could take you three hours. Experienced in such things, an hour or less. Take several sharp knives and plastic bags. As well as lots of ice.

Remember it is September. Your gator must be kept cool as possible or the hide will slip. Take a bunch of old towls, blankets, whatever you got. From when you first kill your gator cover it with wet towls and keep it wet up until you skin it. This will help keep it cool.

- How high should you hang the bait if you want to get a big gator? How high if you don't really care and just want to hook a gator?

A foot off the water, you will catch the first gator that takes it no matter big or small. I have set mine as high as three feet when I was after a known 11 foot + gator and did not want to catch one of the small ones in the same area. So yes, higher = bigger gator. But if no big gator is in the area, you risk catching nothing. Hang the bait too low, off target critters can mess with it too or it can sag over night and end up too close to the water. For example we caught an alligator gar once that grabbed a bait because it was set too low. Also, if your going to set your line high, do look for a location for the set with as deep of water as possible under the bait. A very large gator can more easily jump higher if he is coming from deeper water. So, ultimately how high depends on what your after and what you see in the area you set your line.

- Any special techniques to it?

They will cover it all in your hunt orientation. I would just have all your gear and bait beforehand so you don't have to hunt it up in the area after the orientation. I saw that often with other hunters.

- I am guessing mosquitos are bad, is there any clothing or mosquito spray that you use that works better than others?

Just lots of mosquito repellent. They will be bad. Again, I would call the phone number for the area.

Pictures to give some ideas of how things go. Note the SMLE Enfield in the picture has been converted to .410 shotgun. We use buckshot in the .410 but conisidering the short range, you can use birdshot with any .ga shotgun. Beware, don't use slugs as they can go all the way through your gator and damage the hide.

You can see how we have the smaller double cord leader line. That is pretty much standard for everyone. My dad and oldest son.



This small gator I actually shot with a bow and my son is now pulling him in for me to finish with the shotgun. We had no bank to work with. Pictures are from a bridge.







And a very old picture just because.
My son on the first ever youth hunt. A TPWD film crew and a Houston News crew followed and filmed our entire hunt in air boats.

And when you check your gator in, you will notice on the forum there is a check box for method of dispatch. One of the methods is "knife". I am responsible for that. I threw them for a loop when I brought in a gator with no bullet hole and killed with a knife. There was no check box for "knife". I thought they were going to give me a ticket. The next year a check box for "knife" showed up on the form.

That last picture is one of the best I've seen on here.

Great stuff.

man I have applied for 5 or 6 years for a gator hunt and yet to be drawn oh well mabee next year

I have been putting in from the very first ever gator hunt the state ever had and have been on at least 15 of the hunts. We had one stretch were we were drawn 5 years in a row, but it has been about 5 years since the last one. We were not drawn again this year for neither the adult or youth hunt. My 13 year old has yet to get to go on one.

Thanks for the info Sniper John!

They just don't want to have to reprint the forms again John. Might have to add By Hand or Roundhouse if you get another chance.

I just recieved my "sorry it's not you" post card from TPWD for this year's gator hunt. Oh well, just more preference points for next year.

The guy who I team up with has hunted gators before (I haven't) and has these big iron spears made. I guess he's not too concerned about the hide.....

A bow gator from another year. Note this kill was on the morning of 9/11/01. I was listening to the play by play of the terrorist attacks on a walkman during the hunt.



And that one was also killed with a knife. Shot in the leg with an arrow, pulled on the bank and chased around like a dog on a leash. Held down. Then my bayonet to the base of the skull breaking the spine.



And yet another year being on the first hunt they ever had at Sea Rim State Park I took out one of the airboat ride guide's known main attractions. It was well over 11 ft long. When we pulled up in the boat this gator was completely out of the water up on the bank. A friend on this hunt who had seen me dispatch a gator with my bayonet before tried to hand me my bayonet. He was grinning ear to ear. I responded Give me the **** gun!. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid.



And a picture I rarely ever share. Never ever, ever do this! Do not try this at home. Gators are very primitive animals and can move sometimes hours after killing them. The jaws are very weak in opening, but super strong closing. This gator though had been in cold storage for over 24 hours and was about to be skinned.



So you guys that did get drawn. I hope these pictures get y'all excited about the hunt. For the most part, it really is nothing more than setting lines and coming back in the morning like running a jug line for fishing and the gators are just big curious lizards, but it can be a lot of fun.

Has anyone run the Taylor Bayou at J.D. Murphree? Just wondering if I got too much boat. I know I can't get over the levees, but I'll be just as happy in the canals outside. The wife got a tag too and i don't think she'd be happy to do it my little boat.

Has anyone run the Taylor Bayou at J.D. Murphree? Just wondering if I got too much boat. I know I can't get over the levees, but I'll be just as happy in the canals outside. The wife got a tag too and i don't think she'd be happy to do it my little boat.

Call and ask. Let them know what you got.
They generally ask everyone what boat they have at the orientation and take it into account when assigning compartments. years we had a larger boat, we usually took a canoe for places beyond where the boat could go.

Yeah, I got some of those, but not too keen on shooting one with my bow out one. I called them yesterday, he told me he'd put us in the bayou, but just wondering if we'd still be limited or not. Hate to be push poling for two days straight in Sept.

You would use the canoe for access mostly. For bowhunting work as a team. Take a fishing pole with a large topwater lure that has had the hooks removed. When you find a gator you want to try for, get on the bank or in the weeds/water where you can stand in cover near the gator. The canoe with your partner positions where you are somewhere between the gator and the canoe. You stand like a statue. Your partner casts in front of the gator, but not too close, they can be quick when they want to be. Bring the lure in and the gator will follow it a little. Your partner repeats this until he has positioned the gator in front of you. We are usually able to get a gator within three feet of the shooter. Partner then comes over with the gun and the gator is played in for a killing shot just like one caught on a hook/line. Though we have pulled them onto the levee or partially in the boat to finish with a knife. Some use a hatchet to the head too. But usually a gun. These are not like the ones that have been fighting a hook in the belly all night. They will fight the line and not want to be close to you. Larger smarter gators, it will be very difficult to get close enough for a shot by just aproaching them with the boat.

Lucky you, good luck in September.

I've walked just about every area of Guadalupe and you most definatly will have more walking opportunities than being in a boat. The Hynes Bay unit has next to no deep ponds but there is a canal that I've lost several ducks in. You definatly don't want to step into it. The walking on that unit is very tiring too. Mission Lake is where you're going to find the deeper water.

SniperJohn mentioned a taxidermist. The only towns close by are Port Lavaca and Victoria (still over an hour drive). I'd recommend Port Lavaca as it's only minutes away from the WMA. Ganado would be another option but it's still pretty distant.

Is it legal to throw some topwaters to try and get a decent sized alligator to come to the boat...then throw the chicken in front of it on the hook and line? This way you could avoid catching the smaller gators and try to target larger gators?

Top waters work good to draw them in closer, so do the green floats. For the hunt you will have to remove any hooks from the lures.

Sweet, thanks for the tips.
Another question. What knot to use for main line
to leader line (Albright or Surgeons) for a set and how do you rig a double leader to the hook? This will be our backup method.