Hunting Alligators

What You Need to Hunt Alligators

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bo Hamilton, the manager of the Lodge of Louisiana in Barataria, Louisiana, is a well-known Gulf Coast angler and bowhunter. Today we'll talk with Hamilton to learn more about alligator hunting at the lodge.

Question: What do you charge, and what's included in an alligator hunt at the Lodge of Louisiana?
Hamilton: We charge $1,000 for the hunt. You check in after lunch, have a five-course meal (probably featuring alligator) for dinner, spend the night in your own room at the lodge, and then after breakfast the next morning you'll start your hunt. You hunt the rest of the day for your alligator. After you bag a gator, you can leave the gator with the guide or the guide can have it tanned, the head dried and bleached, and then you pay for the price of the meat. The price of taking care of an alligator varies after the kill, depending on the size of the gator and how much of the gator the hunter wants to take with him. Obviously the bigger the gator, the more these processes will cost. We don't make anything off the tanning process; it is fair market value.

Question: What's the biggest gator taken out of the lodge so far?
Hamilton: One hunter took a 12-foot-long alligator that weighed between 600 and 700 pounds. He was shot with a McPherson 440 bow using a fiberglass arrow with a Muzzy tip.

Question: What kind of equipment do you recommend for a bow hunter to bring to hunt alligators here at the lodge?
Hamilton: I always suggest a hunt bring a compound or a recurve bow; however, if you want to use a longbow -- that's fine also. The bow we're using right now is a 65-pound 95% let-off bow. Because these bows are heavier, we prefer fiberglass fish arrows with some type of fish tips attached to 20- to 30-feet of Dacron (200- to 400-pound-test line) and a buoy on the back. As long as the hunter brings his bow with him to the lodge, we'll have the arrows and line ready to go.

Question: How do you get close to the gator? Hamilton: You stand on the front of the deck of a mud boat with your bow drawn back and try to be still. The mud boat is usually pretty quiet, and we attempt to get as close as possible without startling the gator. Alligators tend to bob their heads before they go under water. If you see the gator's head bobbing, then you need to release the arrow at where you think the kill spot is on the gator.

Question: What happens after you hit the alligator?
Hamilton: He generally goes limp if you hit the alligator in the kill spot, and you won't have to have a big fight with that gator. If you hit an alligator anywhere behind the kill spot, you may have a pretty good fight on your hands. Gators are cold-blooded animals. Unless you hit the kill spot, even after you bring a gator into the boat, that gator still may be moving.

Question: Are you guaranteed to kill an alligator when you come to the Lodge of Louisiana?
Hamilton: We can find an alligator and get you close to it. Then it's up to you to take the gator. We had a guy in three days ago who had what I call five "easy shots" (anything from 20 yards or under), but he didn't take them. He ended up getting his gator the second day. Killing the alligator depends on the shooter.

Question: So if you can shoot 20 yards accurately, then you can take a gator, right?
Hamilton: You should be able to, but remember you're carrying the weight of that heavy fiberglass fish arrow as well as the Dacron line and a 156 buoy behind it. You need to practice before you come. You can practice the shot by getting a full fiberglass arrow with tip, tying the Dacron to it and practicing on a target in your backyard until you feel you're proficient.

For more information about hunting alligators, fishing and/or duck hunting at the Lodge of Louisiana, you can visit the Web site at www.lodgeoflouisiana.com or e-mail the lodge info@lodgeoflouisiana.com.

TOMORROW: CATCHING LIVE ALLIGATORS