When you get old you have to..........

bswiv · September 20, 2012, 06:55 PM

When you get old you have to come up with better ( EASIER! ) ways to do things.

This morning on the lake.......biggest one this year.....12' 10' and 700# or so.

When we finally admitted to ourselves that we could not pull him over the side we had to do some thinking. First thought was that we'd haul him up shallow and one of us would get in and lift, which changes the angle and makes things easier.

As you can see, except for some sweat everyone is dry......which means we are all smarter than Louann who would have been right in there.......so we came up with better plan.

What we did, and I think you can see it in the picture, is attach the block & tackle to a cypress tree and run the lines over the boat. This alowed us to haul him in without to much trouble.

He's short for his head size and girth but still a fine one.

2damnold4this · September 20, 2012, 08:42 PM

Wow!

Mayor Al · September 20, 2012, 10:15 PM

How would you stuff and mount that critter?

grubbylabs · September 20, 2012, 10:25 PM

Is your wife going to let you mount it on the wall or make luggage for her?

Buzzcook · September 20, 2012, 10:33 PM

I always wondered why you didn't hook up an electric winch to the boat.

Nice reptile.

warbirdlover · September 20, 2012, 11:34 PM

Wow!!!

We don't have those in Wisconsin....

**Brian Pfleuger** · September 20, 2012, 11:48 PM

You've got to learn to lie better, bswiv.

They catch 'em half that size on TV and they're "1,000 pound monsters". Yours MUST be a ton. Easy.

shortwave · September 21, 2012, 12:53 AM

Quote:

I always wondered why you didn't hook up an electric winch to the boat.

Been thinking about that every since bswiv's previous thread titled:
"What are the options.....?"

Why not tie head off to cleat so as head is out of water and drag gator home or make some kind of 'gator boogie board' with the front of board out of water anchored to rear boat cleat and maybe tow eyelet.

Anyways, keep the pics coming. Nice gator.

HiBC · September 21, 2012, 04:48 AM

Jig and minnow?

rightside · September 21, 2012, 05:04 AM

WOW!
I am now officially impressed! What a monster! I bet that would get the adrenaline pumping a bit more than your standard bass.

boomingmetropolis · September 21, 2012, 07:57 AM

Say, if it's not too late, I sure would appreciate a new pair of boots!

JerryM · September 21, 2012, 10:16 AM

What would such a beast sell for to gator buyers?

Jerry

Jack O'Conner · September 24, 2012, 05:06 AM

Looks like you have many Sunday roasts to enjoy!

I've never eaten a reptile before.

Jack

Sure Shot Mc Gee · September 24, 2012, 05:31 AM

Curious. How old do you think this critter was bswiv?

bswiv · September 24, 2012, 05:49 AM

Answers........

The hides........we don't know yet. Rumor is prices are up but over the last 2 years we've been putting some of the rougher ones straight into the dumpster. And sadly the larger males, like this one, tend to be scared up and therefore not to nice.

The meat on the other hand is worth a good bit and we sell it out of the fish market big time. We are the only place in the Jacksonville area that processes gators and sell fresh meat so it's a good market for us.

2. Will she let me put it on the wall..........NO! To small..........

3. Age.......best guess is in the 15-18 year range. Very hard to tell on gators according to the FWC. We hunted this one a number of times over the last 3 years and he was big when we first saw him. They grow very slow after they get to the 10 foot plus point.

4. As for our own TV show......we don't qualify because our family tree has branched...........

shortwave · September 24, 2012, 09:09 AM

Quote:

We are the only place in the Jacksonville area that processes gators and sell fresh meat so it's a good market for us.

May have sampled some of your gator.

Friend of mine from Ohio, a more senior fella named Don Stump, has a winter place in Jacksonville area. He used to bring me back gator every year from a fresh fish market in Jacksonville. Course that was after I quit going to Fla. in the winter.

JerryM · September 24, 2012, 10:07 AM

People have told me that gator tastes like chicken. Others have said that rattlesnake tastes like chicken. Still others that turtle tastes like chicken

Accordingly, I asked the manager of the local Chick-Fil-A since they all taste like chicken, how do I know what I am getting in a sandwich?

I'd like to try both rattlesnake and gator.
Jerry

**Art Eatman** · September 24, 2012, 08:04 PM

" When you get old you have to.........."

Pee more often.....

sc928porsche · September 24, 2012, 09:41 PM

Actually the only thing that tastes like chicken is chicken and almost frog legs.

shortwave · September 24, 2012, 10:07 PM

Quote:

" When you get old you have to.........."

Pee more often.....

Boy isn't that the truth!

Advantage of getting older is you're forced to learn that peeing around or out of your deer stand does NOT scare deer away. Wish I knew that 20yrs ago.

Daggitt · September 24, 2012, 10:09 PM

That Gator reminds me of my typing teacher in High School. As far as eating it , well someone can have mine. I don't want any. Thanks anyway. I don't even like chicken very much.

**hogdogs** · September 25, 2012, 01:40 AM

I wouldn't eat gator if it tasted like nasty ol' yardbird...

It is a very "sanitary" clean tasting meat... Better than frogs!!!

Brent

Rifleman1776 · September 25, 2012, 09:50 AM

Monster. Congrats.
A state record was caught in Arkansas recently, over 13 feet. I didn't know we had big gators in the state.
Jacksonville? What state? Every state has a Jacksonville.

JWT · September 25, 2012, 10:06 AM

Gee, he'd have made a nice house pet.

**Art Eatman** · September 25, 2012, 01:50 PM

Jacksonville, Florida.

Got gators in Texas. While most are in the southeast part of the state, some live in the Nueces River around Cotulla. Sightings there of up to ten feet or a tad more are known.

Some kind soul liberated a small one in the Rio Grande below Presidio. It was around for several years and was about a four-footer, last I heard. Not seen for some years, now, though.

September 20, 2012, 06:55 PM	#1
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Posts: 1,031	When you get old you have to.......... When you get old you have to come up with better ( EASIER! ) ways to do things. This morning on the lake.......biggest one this year.....12' 10' and 700# or so. When we finally admitted to ourselves that we could not pull him over the side we had to do some thinking. First thought was that we'd haul him up shallow and one of us would get in and lift, which changes the angle and makes things easier. As you can see, except for some sweat everyone is dry......which means we are all smarter than Louann who would have been right in there.......so we came up with better plan. What we did, and I think you can see it in the picture, is attach the block & tackle to a cypress tree and run the lines over the boat. This alowed us to haul him in without to much trouble. He's short for his head size and girth but still a fine one.

September 20, 2012, 10:25 PM	#4
grubbylabs Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 2009 Location: Hansen Idaho Posts: 1,366	Is your wife going to let you mount it on the wall or make luggage for her? __________________ * (Swinging club) Whack! whack! whack! * Nope, the old nag's still dead . (Capt Charlie)

September 20, 2012, 11:48 PM	#7
Brian Pfleuger Staff Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Central, Southern NY, USA Posts: 14,455	You've got to learn to lie better, bswiv. They catch 'em half that size on TV and they're "1,000 pound monsters". Yours MUST be a ton. Easy. __________________ Still happily answering to the call-sign Peetza. --- You do not HAVE a soul. You ARE a soul. You HAVE a body. -C.S. Lewis He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he can not lose. -Jim Eliott, paraphrasing Philip Henry.

September 21, 2012, 10:16 AM	#12
JerryM Senior Member Join Date: April 5, 1999 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,731	What would such a beast sell for to gator buyers? Jerry __________________ Ecclesiastes 12:13 ¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

September 24, 2012, 05:06 AM	#13
Jack O'Conner Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2005 Location: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Posts: 1,320	Looks like you have many Sunday roasts to enjoy! I've never eaten a reptile before. Jack __________________ Fire up the grill! Deer hunting IS NOT catch and release.

September 20, 2012, 08:42 PM	#2
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 1,031	Wow!

September 20, 2012, 10:15 PM	#3
Mayor Al Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Southern Indiana, Near Louisville. Posts: 204	How would you stuff and mount that critter?

September 20, 2012, 10:33 PM	#5
Buzzcook Senior Member Join Date: November 29, 2007 Location: Everett, WA Posts: 5,191	I always wondered why you didn't hook up an electric winch to the boat. Nice reptile.

September 20, 2012, 11:34 PM	#6
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,322	Wow!!! We don't have those in Wisconsin....

September 21, 2012, 04:48 AM	#9
HiBC Senior Member Join Date: November 13, 2006 Posts: 3,031	Jig and minnow?

September 21, 2012, 05:04 AM	#10
rightside Member Join Date: February 4, 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 66	WOW! I am now officially impressed! What a monster! I bet that would get the adrenaline pumping a bit more than your standard bass.

September 21, 2012, 07:57 AM	#11
boomingmetropolis Junior member Join Date: September 1, 2012 Posts: 9	Say, if it's not too late, I sure would appreciate a new pair of boots!

September 24, 2012, 05:31 AM	#14
Sure Shot Mc Gee Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Need to know basis only Posts: 918	Curious. How old do you think this critter was bswiv?

September 24, 2012, 05:49 AM	#15
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Posts: 1,031	Answers........ The hides........we don't know yet. Rumor is prices are up but over the last 2 years we've been putting some of the rougher ones straight into the dumpster. And sadly the larger males, like this one, tend to be scared up and therefore not to nice. The meat on the other hand is worth a good bit and we sell it out of the fish market big time. We are the only place in the Jacksonville area that processes gators and sell fresh meat so it's a good market for us. 2. Will she let me put it on the wall..........NO! To small.......... 3. Age.......best guess is in the 15-18 year range. Very hard to tell on gators according to the FWC. We hunted this one a number of times over the last 3 years and he was big when we first saw him. They grow very slow after they get to the 10 foot plus point. 4. As for our own TV show......we don't qualify because our family tree has branched...........

September 24, 2012, 10:07 AM	#17
JerryM Senior Member Join Date: April 5, 1999 Location: New Mexico Posts: 1,731	People have told me that gator tastes like chicken. Others have said that rattlesnake tastes like chicken. Still others that turtle tastes like chicken Accordingly, I asked the manager of the local Chick-Fil-A since they all taste like chicken, how do I know what I am getting in a sandwich? I'd like to try both rattlesnake and gator. Jerry __________________ Ecclesiastes 12:13 ¶Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

September 24, 2012, 08:04 PM	#18
Art Eatman Staff Lead Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX, USA Posts: 20,931	" When you get old you have to.........." Pee more often..... __________________ You're from BATFE? Come right in! I use all your fine products!

September 24, 2012, 09:41 PM	#19
sc928porsche Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2008 Location: now living in alabama Posts: 2,312	Actually the only thing that tastes like chicken is chicken and almost frog legs. __________________ No such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is not asking it.

September 24, 2012, 10:09 PM	#21
Daggitt Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2011 Posts: 265	That Gator reminds me of my typing teacher in High School. As far as eating it , well someone can have mine. I don't want any. Thanks anyway. I don't even like chicken very much.

September 25, 2012, 01:40 AM	#22
hogdogs Staff Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 10,686	I wouldn't eat gator if it tasted like nasty ol' yardbird... It is a very "sanitary" clean tasting meat... Better than frogs!!! Brent __________________ Finally have designs going up in the Hogdogs Outdoor Apparel online store. http://www.cafepress.com/hogdogsoutdoorapparel Thanks for lookin'...

September 25, 2012, 09:50 AM	#23
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,836	Monster. Congrats. A state record was caught in Arkansas recently, over 13 feet. I didn't know we had big gators in the state. Jacksonville? What state? Every state has a Jacksonville.

September 25, 2012, 10:06 AM	#24
JWT Senior Member Join Date: March 16, 2007 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 2,820	Gee, he'd have made a nice house pet.

September 25, 2012, 01:50 PM	#25
Art Eatman Staff Lead Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX, USA Posts: 20,931	Jacksonville, Florida. Got gators in Texas. While most are in the southeast part of the state, some live in the Nueces River around Cotulla. Sightings there of up to ten feet or a tad more are known. Some kind soul liberated a small one in the Rio Grande below Presidio. It was around for several years and was about a four-footer, last I heard. Not seen for some years, now, though. __________________ You're from BATFE? Come right in! I use all your fine products!