First time struggles

[jspittler]

Looking for some help/tips. Our group drew our first tag this year, and we were able to go last night for the first time. We’ve been scouting and have located a few good gators over the week. Here are some things we noticed-

Pressure. We tried 3-4 locations last night that all held multiple gators, and we knew where a couple shooters were. however, even being completely quiet and even using the wind to drift to them instead of trolling motor, we struggled to get within 50 yards of the bigger ones. We tried everything from keeping the lights on them the entire time, to going dark as soon as we spotted them and lighting them up when we got close, using white or yellow lights, None of it made much difference. Definitely seemed like these were pressured gators and knew the deal. I’m sure they’ve seen dozens of ppl like us who have no clue what they are doing.

No disturbance after they submerged- even in shallow (sub 3ft) areas, once they went under we rarely saw any mud/bubbles from where they moved. Maybe we weren’t patient enough, or were smaller than we thought, we really struggled to locate them when they went under. We’d wait and they would usually pop up within 30-50 yards of us, but never let us get closer.

We’re going to try some areas further away from any boat ramps tonight to see if we can find some less pressure, but any tips/ideas would be great.

[Rubberhead*]

Go during the day. Don't be quiet, find one and scare it down under water. You'll have time to relax for a little while. When it comes back up - maybe 45+ minutes later...don't give it a chance. Push it right back down. The time it stays down will be cut in half every cycle. Within 2 hours, it'll be too exhausted to stay down. That's when you put a hook in it. And, it'll wear down quicker once you've hooked it too. That's my singular advice.

[mudflat]

What zone, lake or river? Low tide if tidal, during day, rod and reel with treble hook. Interesting tactic they use in Florida I think would work in standing water, using a wooden dowel and animal lung. Check out one of Blue Gabe videos.

[wob]

Just shoot every one that you see. Don't worry about the rest of it.

[wbrown609]

Just shoot every one that you see. Don't worry about the rest of it.

This. 30-50 yards is well within range.

[SCmudder7071]

Always had our best luck during the day. Too many damn bugs at night to contest with if you're running any kind of lights. Find the one you want, and haul ass on top of it as quick as possible. Rod and reel with weighted hook. Start casting at last known spot and then start working in a grid pattern to find it. That's about it.

[PharmHunter]

Always had our best luck during the day. Too many damn bugs at night to contest with if you're running any kind of lights. Find the one you want, and haul ass on top of it as quick as possible. Rod and reel with weighted hook. Start casting at last known spot and then start working in a grid pattern to find it. That's about it.

This 100% no reason to go at night. Early morning is best imo when hopefully the water is nice and slick. And what Rubberhead said is solid advice as well.

[hunterjw]

What zone, lake or river? Low tide if tidal, during day, rod and reel with treble hook. Interesting tactic they use in Florida I think would work in standing water, using a wooden dowel and animal lung. Check out one of Blue Gabe videos.

I hunt them in Florida and agree with the lung technique assuming it is legal up there. Find your gator and run over spot and drop lung back and wait a long ways away. Don't put pressure on the bait once he takes it, but instead use it as a locator for your treble hooks. Be careful to not snag your bait line.

Running and gunning also works great. We just find one run to it and toss trebles. You'd be surprised how many big gators just go straight down and lay on bottom. If you are getting within 50 yards of them before they go down you should be able to snag them pretty easy.

Also morning/daylight or right before dark seem to show the most movement for me. I prefer to go an hour before sunrise so I can spotlight around and find some bigger gators. Then pursue from there when it gets light.

[Tugted312]

Daylight & low tide always have worked.

[Saltydog235]

Just shoot every one that you see. Don't worry about the rest of it.

Most solid plan of all.