Any of you guys
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I used to go trout fishing every weekend, when its not hunting season, and my brother would go everyday. Thats when the bay was about 100 yards from my house. Now we stick to bass fishing at either, choke caynon, lake falcon, and lake mathis (lake corpus christi for some people).
Lures only, no bait
Lures only, no bait
I enjoy freshwater and saltwater fly fishing. There are several local trout streams, very relaxing to go fish for an hour at sunrise or sunset in the spring, or quick trips on weekends the rest of the year. The Chesapeake and Delaware bays are both nearby to get my saltwater fix...
I fish and buy and sell old bamboo rods, mostly fly rods. Bamboo does not degrade if properly sealed, and the older rods are a hell of a lot better deal than the newer ones.
My last fishing excursion was in South Carolina. Weighted treble hook, 120 pound line, stainless leaders, harpoon, and a 44 magnum:
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14 inches between the eye and nostril and between 80 and 100 years old. Couldn't get a good weight on him. But my bass is bigger than yours!
My last fishing excursion was in South Carolina. Weighted treble hook, 120 pound line, stainless leaders, harpoon, and a 44 magnum:
14 inches between the eye and nostril and between 80 and 100 years old. Couldn't get a good weight on him. But my bass is bigger than yours!
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I think I would have cut my line or pulled out the 44
The 44 was the back up. We didn't want to mess up the hide, so we first used a .38. The bullet hit perfectly in the "triangle" soft spot, and stuck in his skull. We didn't find that out until we got him back to the skinning shed. Damn bullet sticking out of his skull. No wonder he was a tad ornery after that. A 22 magnum probably would have been better than a .38.Empty Brass said:
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Yeah I wouldnt use a 38 for that. Barely kill a deer close. I wouldnt use a 22 mag. Might ricocet.
Oh btw did I tell ya your nuts. :mrgreen:
Oh btw did I tell ya your nuts. :mrgreen:
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What do you have to do to get a gator tag? I was thinking about maybe going bow fishing for one....
Gator tags in SC are by draw. You list your preferred areas. I was lucky and got my first choice.
Nuts? Nah! I did take my bow all rigged up for a big fish, but I had to adapt. The gators hear or see you and they hed to the bottom. The closest you'll get with a bow before they sound is maybe 20 yards. Certainly a shootable distance, but factor in a pitching boat being taken by the current, the wind, the bow reel oine that acts as a sail for your arrow, and of course the gator's hide. The older ones, like the one in the picture, have armor that a SWAT team would envy. My arrow glanced off of this one like it was a mosquito. As did "Uncle Bob's Stainless Steel Harpoon". That one surprised me. They use those for sharks with no problem. This one we had him on a thinnker line when I aimed for just behind his jaw and rammed the harpoon in. The result was something along the lines of a Buggs Bunny or Wile E coyote episode - the harpoon shaft bent off his hide as a 90 degree angle.
To do it right, you need to hook them by draging the treble hook on the bottom. You'll know when you snag one. Reel them up slowly. They really don't put up a fight until they get to the surface, and even then, are pretty calm until you make a sudden move or embed a 38 in its skull. Ideally, you want to get a second line in, which is where the bow or harpoon comes in. In reality, if you have over 100 pound line with a stainless leader you can slowly move it next to the boat for the shot. Once you shoot, look out. Claws, jaws and tail rolling around. If your line breaks, you are sunk - literally. They sink and do not float.
We spent 3 nights after this one. Yes, you hunt them at night. Kind of adds to the suspense. Finally landed himn about 3 AM. After we got him next to the boat and got a second line in him with the bow (after the 44), there were a few puzzled looks as to just who was going to tape its jaws. They still have pretty good reflexes, even when dead. When we got this one back to the landing about 1.5 hours later, his tail lashed all over the place like he was still alive.
I have hunted virtually all of my life-over 40 years of hunting. This was my first gator hunt, and it was a blast. It you really hunt THE ONE, it is a lot of work, but worth it. I am having a hard time thinking of a better hunt - this was a combo hunting/fishing experience. They don't get to be 100 years old by being stupid.
Nuts? Nah! I did take my bow all rigged up for a big fish, but I had to adapt. The gators hear or see you and they hed to the bottom. The closest you'll get with a bow before they sound is maybe 20 yards. Certainly a shootable distance, but factor in a pitching boat being taken by the current, the wind, the bow reel oine that acts as a sail for your arrow, and of course the gator's hide. The older ones, like the one in the picture, have armor that a SWAT team would envy. My arrow glanced off of this one like it was a mosquito. As did "Uncle Bob's Stainless Steel Harpoon". That one surprised me. They use those for sharks with no problem. This one we had him on a thinnker line when I aimed for just behind his jaw and rammed the harpoon in. The result was something along the lines of a Buggs Bunny or Wile E coyote episode - the harpoon shaft bent off his hide as a 90 degree angle.
To do it right, you need to hook them by draging the treble hook on the bottom. You'll know when you snag one. Reel them up slowly. They really don't put up a fight until they get to the surface, and even then, are pretty calm until you make a sudden move or embed a 38 in its skull. Ideally, you want to get a second line in, which is where the bow or harpoon comes in. In reality, if you have over 100 pound line with a stainless leader you can slowly move it next to the boat for the shot. Once you shoot, look out. Claws, jaws and tail rolling around. If your line breaks, you are sunk - literally. They sink and do not float.
We spent 3 nights after this one. Yes, you hunt them at night. Kind of adds to the suspense. Finally landed himn about 3 AM. After we got him next to the boat and got a second line in him with the bow (after the 44), there were a few puzzled looks as to just who was going to tape its jaws. They still have pretty good reflexes, even when dead. When we got this one back to the landing about 1.5 hours later, his tail lashed all over the place like he was still alive.
I have hunted virtually all of my life-over 40 years of hunting. This was my first gator hunt, and it was a blast. It you really hunt THE ONE, it is a lot of work, but worth it. I am having a hard time thinking of a better hunt - this was a combo hunting/fishing experience. They don't get to be 100 years old by being stupid.
Always save that last one! Besides, I was a faster swimmer than the other guys in the boat. We started calling the smallest of our 3 man crew "**********" - don't think he appreciated it, and don't think he was convinced we were kidding.Bodaland said:
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Excllent thanks Jim, are out of staters allowed? I am guessing you need a guide and such.....
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I want to go back to the post where Tim said there was a 30 pound bass caught on his lake. I don't know about you guys but I think that we should go fish that lake, and we might be able to get an Extreme upper while we are there. That would be a fishing trip I wouldn't feel bad about not catching any bass!!
Marinesg1012
Out of staters are indeed welcome. I live in Texas, and was going to SC anyway. The draw fee was around $10. If you get drawn, you pay $100 for an alligator tag. You also need a big game license, and I don't recall how much that was. I do know that the total was less than I pay a year for a combo license here in Texas.
You do not need a guide. I used one because I did not have access to a boat and I had never hunted alligator before. And guides were in short supply - this was the first alligator hunt SC had in over 50 years. It's a good thing I did, because I never anticipated dragging the bottom with a treble hook to bring them up. Also helps to know the areas if you are out of state. The guy I used is a hell of a guy (worked a crab boat in Alaska and was on the crew filmed for "Deadliest Catch" in the first or second season) and not afraid of much (except taping the jaws of a maybe dead alligator shut). Jeremy LaMarre is his name and if you want I'll get his number for you.
Unfortunately, SC, like GA and some other states, say no rifles. Only handguns or bang sticks. Don't use a bang stick on an alligator. There are more of those at the bottom of lakes, rivers and channels than you can count.
Out of staters are indeed welcome. I live in Texas, and was going to SC anyway. The draw fee was around $10. If you get drawn, you pay $100 for an alligator tag. You also need a big game license, and I don't recall how much that was. I do know that the total was less than I pay a year for a combo license here in Texas.
You do not need a guide. I used one because I did not have access to a boat and I had never hunted alligator before. And guides were in short supply - this was the first alligator hunt SC had in over 50 years. It's a good thing I did, because I never anticipated dragging the bottom with a treble hook to bring them up. Also helps to know the areas if you are out of state. The guy I used is a hell of a guy (worked a crab boat in Alaska and was on the crew filmed for "Deadliest Catch" in the first or second season) and not afraid of much (except taping the jaws of a maybe dead alligator shut). Jeremy LaMarre is his name and if you want I'll get his number for you.
Unfortunately, SC, like GA and some other states, say no rifles. Only handguns or bang sticks. Don't use a bang stick on an alligator. There are more of those at the bottom of lakes, rivers and channels than you can count.
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:mrgreen: IM FEELIN PRETTY FISHY NOW---- ok ok stop throughin fish guts at me , but some one had to say it !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winter an Summer steelhead, nice rianbows that migrate to the ocean for a couple years then return like salmon to spawn. I fish rods up to 12 rating, favorite is a 6-10 lb 9 foot casting rod, with 10 main and 6 or 8 leader. Fish out of a driftboat mostly, will fish from the bank if the waters too high for the boat ( just head farther up-river )
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I'm down to about 20lbs of fish in the freezer, mostly flathead and gator gar...Time to go fishing again!
Almost all the meat consumed at my house is wild game or fish, and my family and friends are a carnivorous bunch to say the least. After all, ain't the food pyramid supposed to be meat on the bottom, beans in the middle and cornbread on top?
MS
Almost all the meat consumed at my house is wild game or fish, and my family and friends are a carnivorous bunch to say the least. After all, ain't the food pyramid supposed to be meat on the bottom, beans in the middle and cornbread on top?
MS
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I've never eaten Gar but I have heard that it is pretty good. I have caught quite a few years back, just never messed with them though.I'm down to about 20lbs of fish in the freezer, mostly flathead and gator gar...Time to go fishing again!
Almost all the meat consumed at my house is wild game or fish, and my family and friends are a carnivorous bunch to say the least. After all, ain't the food pyramid supposed to be meat on the bottom, beans in the middle and cornbread on top?
MS
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249 Posts
The Gator Gars are very good to eat, the others...Not so much.
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