# "Do It Yourself" Gator Hunt on Lake Seminole!



## Tomboy Boots

I have wanted to do a gator hunt since 2007 when I first starting applying for and saving up priority points... When I read the GON article about the new Georgia state record gator from Lake Blackshear in 2008, I knew without a doubt it was something I wanted to experience at least once in my life!

“It was probably the most adrenaline-pumped four hours of my life. The strength I felt when I grabbed a hold of that buoy the first time was like trying to hold onto a pickup truck.”

When you read that statement... how can you NOT want to experience it? It gave me chill bumps just reading the article 

This year I decided to actually apply with some of my priority points and see if I would draw a tag... and I did! 

I had originally planned to hire a guide for a hunt on Lake Seminole.... but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would not be happy with that choice. So I contacted my good friend Nicodemus, and asked him if there was any chance he could help me with my "DIY" gator hunt on Seminole... and he said, "YES"!!!  Shortly thereafter we were at the GON Blast and I met Spooner from the forum... he immediately offered to bring me his gator hunting gear and let me use it for our gator hunt. It never ceases to amaze me the generosity of the people I have met through this forum! My fiancé, Tim Sandford, talked to his friend, Bill George of B&G Gator Gear... and he hooked us up with 2 harpoons, a snatch rope and extra treble hooks. Everything was coming together and I was getting excited!

We finally started hunting on Friday, September 13th, and hunted every Friday and Saturday for three weekends in a row. The first day we hunted my son was in the boat hunting with Nick and I. We saw a huge gator but he went under never to be seen again. There were a few gators in the 6' to 8' range that I could have taken... one so close we could have reached out and touched him (with a harpoon ) but that is not what I wanted. I wanted a big gator, at least 9' to 10', hopefully even bigger.

We tried many times to get close enough to get a hook in a gator with the saltwater rod rigged with 150 lb. braided line. We even connected a couple of times but the hook would come out almost immediately. We were usually in the water well before daylight.... and would stay on the water hunting for 10 to 12 hours straight. This was no easy task, spending hours on the water, looking through binoculars until your eyes hurt, right through the heat of the day. When we would finally quit for the day we were all tired. We would get a few hours of sleep and do it all over again.

By our third weekend of hunting we felt like we had a few things figured out. One was a location where two particular gators liked to hang out. I wanted the bigger gator that I had nicknamed "bright-eyes" because of the light colored ring around it’s eyes that really stood out. This gator had a lighter colored skin too. But I would have settled for the smaller one because it was a decent gator with dark skin and a big knobby looking head. Nick looked over at me and said, "Have you ever heard the story of the mule that starved to death?" I said, "No...". Nick got a real serious look on his face, "well this mule just stood out in the pasture between two big bales of hay and starved to death because he couldn't decide which bale of hay he wanted".  I told Nick we were not going to starve to death because I was going to kill a gator!  On Friday we were waiting for the gator to show himself again... then Nick saw him, hiding back up under the bank beneath the roots of a cypress tree, nothing but his eyes above the water. We decided to go around a corner then take out on the bank, and try to sneak up on the gator with harpoons. Nick and I went after him while Tim stayed with the boat. When we got there we both knelt down and tried looking over the bank but we couldn't see up under the roots of the cypress tree. Nick got down on his belly and leaned waaay over the bank, then almost fell in on his head!  I just knew he was going to fall in and I would have to harpoon the gator as he tried to eat Nick for lunch   Then I saw him, back out in the hydrilla where we had been only a few minutes ago. We went out hunting for several hours on Friday night but we didn't have any luck.

We spent most of Saturday morning hanging out in the same area. We were waiting for the gators to come up, trying to get close enough to cast a hook, casting hooks and missing, the gators submerging, and waiting for them to come up again... after a while we decided to go up the river to look for gators, and if we didn't find anything we would come back to this area. We stopped on an island for a quick break. Nick had no sooner said, "ya'll watch out for snakes they're crawling this time of year" than I heard him yell and I swear I heard a cuss word or two... He just about stepped on a big fat water moccasin  Of course Nick immediately started playing with the snake and making him curl up for a picture  then he chased him down a gopher hole.

We ended up back at the same place hunting the same two gators. There was a reason we chose to hunt these gators but that is a secret that must be kept  We saw the gators a couple of times, but never got a hook in them. I was kicked back relaxing, listening to Nick tell stories about the Indians from many years ago. All of a sudden Nick's eyes got real big and he said, "There he is, right behind us!" Of course, right behind us was still quite a way from the boat.... so Nick started easing the boat his way. We threw a hook at him a couple of times, wanting to wait until we were closer but also not wanting to make him go under again. It was at this point we all realized, this was NOT one of the gators we had been hunting. This gator had a very large and wide head... I started praying right then that the Lord would bless our hunt with THIS gator! After several times trying to get closer, trying to hook him, him going back under, then waiting 30 min. for him to re-surface, Tim finally got a hook in him!!! We were all so excited!  Nick was trying to keep the boat between the gator and the hydrilla hoping to keep him out in open water. I had the snatch rope with the big treble hook trying to drag the bottom and get another hook in him. Nick and I had two harpoons ready so that we could get a harpoon in him when he came up for air. Several times I could feel his weight against the hook and I would snatch trying to set the hook only to have it break free. That really upset the gator and he would try to take off all over again. I was afraid to keep trying and afraid to not keep trying. I knew we needed two hooks in him because if the one came loose we would lose our gator. After what seemed like forever I finally got him hooked good with the snatch rope. I felt a little more secure with two hooks in him but suddenly he seemed to make a run away from the boat and then surfaced, too far away for Nick to get a harpoon in him. We waited, trying to keep the lines tight. He did it again, took off away from the boat and surfaced. The next time he tried to do it, I pulled hard on the snatch rope and got him closer to the boat. Nick had the harpoon ready and buried it in his back! At this point the hook Tim had in the gator came loose. It wasn't long before he came up again, and I buried the second harpoon in his back!  Then I got the pistol out, and they pulled him up again... I shot him five times in the head  but his eyes were still moving and he was still breathing  so I fired two more shots just to be sure. At this point Nick and I tied a rope around his jaws, and then I held his mouth closed while Nick wrapped electrical tape around it. We could finally breathe again!!! You can't even imagine the adrenaline that is pumping through your veins while all of this is happening.... you are completely on edge, wired, constantly trying to be prepared for what might happen next... We were literally ecstatic!  We had our gator, and he wasn't just any gator, he was a great big monster gator  We couldn't put him in the boat, so Nick used the boat to drag him to shallower water (still not shallow) then Nick jumped in the water with the gator. We secured him to the back of the boat so we could tow him to the boat ramp several miles away. I thought we would never make it back. By the time we got there we were towing at least two tons of hydrilla along with our monster gator! 

When this all started, I knew I wanted a big gator, not just any gator, but a BIG gator. I was almost afraid to hope for what I really wanted. I never once dreamed I would get a gator this big   He was 11' 8" and right at 500 lbs.!! Not too bad for a “Do It Yourself” hunt by three totally inexperienced gator hunters! The Lord truly did bless our hunt that afternoon. I killed this gator with the Ruger Single Six 22 Mag that my Dad gave me before he died. I don’t know if he ever killed anything with it, but he had it for many years and he was very proud of it. I know he was smiling down on us that afternoon too.


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## tkyklr1

That's an awesome gator congrats.


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## ghost8026

Good deal congrats on a very fine gator


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## nate2800

that is awesome.. maybe in a couple more season ill get lucky and get to experience that rush... great job...


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## Nicodemus

As I read this, I relived every high and low we experienced on every hunt we went on, and all the events and the way they unfolded on Saturday. An adrenaline rush like none I`ve ever experienced, and more fun than I would have ever imagined. And almost right down to the wire too. The worry that the hooks would hold, was he EVER gonna come up for air, and could we keep him out of the pads and hydrilla, that was something you have to be there to understand. And a Lady that is very cool under pressure, and not the least bit scared of a reptile that was considerably bigger than she was. 

You done good, Debbie. Very proud of you, and honored to have been with you on this momentous hunt.  You ever want to trade that buckeye off, I want first dibs.   


You say I should write a book. I think you should too.


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## Judge

Great pictures.  Congratulations!


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## Chris 195 7/8 B&C

Congratulations!  Thanks for sharing the story, enjoyed reading it.


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## arrow2

Congrats, there were some nice gators along that bank all season.
  I had just missed you guys at the corner store, Kaye had called me about 5 minutes after I had gotten back down to the house, she showed me your pic's on Sunday.


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## BREAK'N WINGS

awesome awesome story! Felt like I was there with ya'll. congrats on a monster gator!


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## Nugefan

way to go girl , I am proud of you ...


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## Dustin Pate

Awesome job!!


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## fredw

Ms. Debbie, what a story and what a gator to go with it!

Congratulations to you on a mighty fine lizard.  I just know you, Nick, and Tim had a blast hunting.

I assume he is at the taxidermist?


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## Mechanicaldawg

Excellent Ma'am!!!

Great adventure and a fine gator!!!

How can you not love Georgia?!?!


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## superdutyturbo

Unbelievable! Really gives me and the guys in my group that are do it yourselfers hope! We are excited to go this weekend and you have really given us motivation. Congrats!


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## mrs. hornet22

Great story Debbie. So proud of you! I just knew you'd get a big un.


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## Ohoopee Tusker

That's awesome! Congrats to all involved. 

I'm saving points in hopes of a similar hunt someday.


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## JustUs4All

Congratulations on a great hunt and a really good gator.  Thanks for sharing the story with us.


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## Jim Thompson

love the story and pics!  good job people!!!


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## Nicodemus

Gator huntin` in God`s Country has its advantages. Even though serpents abound, it`s well worth it.


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## NCHillbilly

Great story, huge gator, and great pics! Congrats, good job!


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## Danny Leigh

Awesome story and pictures! Gator hunting has been some of the highest of highs and also the lowest of lows for us and several times... during the same night. Two years ago we had a beast hooked up for 5 hours before we finally had both lines break or come out. We landed a 11.25' the next night, but the beast was much bigger than the one we landed. We were very blessed to get the gator we did, but we'll just have to wonder how big the other one was.


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## pnome

That's huge!  Congrats on the gator!  Great pictures!


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## DSGB

Awesome story and gator! Sounds like a fun and exciting experience. I have enough points to get drawn for zone 1, just don't have all the gear and, like you, would rather "do-it-yourself" than hire a guide.


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## dpoole

Debbie congrat AWESOME AWESOME  :


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## one hogman

Awe sum Gator Deb,!! I know you are proud!!! That is a BIG Lizard!!!!


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## one hogman

Nicodemus said:


> Gator huntin` in God`s Country has its advantages. Even though serpents abound, it`s well worth it.



FANTASTIC Pictures!!!!


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## Keebs

WTG, Debbie!!!!!!  Great story and an awesome gator!!   when we eatin?


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## The Original Rooster

Congratulations Debbie! A great end to a great story! Thank you for looking after Nick while you hunted that gator!


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## Tomboy Boots

Nicodemus said:


> As I read this, I relived every high and low we experienced on every hunt we went on, and all the events and the way they unfolded on Saturday. An adrenaline rush like none I`ve ever experienced, and more fun than I would have ever imagined. And almost right down to the wire too. The worry that the hooks would hold, was he EVER gonna come up for air, and could we keep him out of the pads and hydrilla, that was something you have to be there to understand. And a Lady that is very cool under pressure, and not the least bit scared of a reptile that was considerably bigger than she was.
> 
> You done good, Debbie. Very proud of you, and honored to have been with you on this momentous hunt.  You ever want to trade that buckeye off, I want first dibs.
> 
> 
> You say I should write a book. I think you should too.



Nick, I am the one who is honored. I couldn't have done this without you and Tim... it was a team effort. We make a great team!  And the Redhead too, she was such a good sport to give you up for 3 weekends in a row, cheering us on all the way to the end  You're not getting that buckeye back, that is my good luck charm 



fredw said:


> Ms. Debbie, what a story and what a gator to go with it!
> 
> Congratulations to you on a mighty fine lizard.  I just know you, Nick, and Tim had a blast hunting.
> 
> I assume he is at the taxidermist?



Mr. Fred, he is at New-Born Taxidermy in Newborn, GA... they did the head mount for Marty Adams (Mr. Coyote), and it was the best Alligator head mount I've seen anywhere! It probably won't be ready before next spring but I will post pictures as soon as I get it back. I would love to have had a full body mount but that was 6000.00 as opposed to 600.00  



superdutyturbo said:


> Unbelievable! Really gives me and the guys in my group that are do it yourselfers hope! We are excited to go this weekend and you have really given us motivation. Congrats!



Determination goes a long way... don't give up and keep on trying. It sure wasn't easy, but the end result is worth all the hard work we put into it... go get you one!



mrs. hornet22 said:


> Great story Debbie. So proud of you! I just knew you'd get a big un.



Mandy, it was AWESOME! You need to get you a tag and give it a try!



dpoole said:


> Debbie congrat AWESOME AWESOME  :



That was a pretty AWESOME buck you got Saturday morning too! 



Keebs said:


> WTG, Debbie!!!!!!  Great story and an awesome gator!!   when we eatin?



That gator had a great big tail too 



RoosterTodd said:


> Congratulations Debbie! A great end to a great story! Thank you for looking after Nick while you hunted that gator!



I was sure enough worried about him right there at the end... jumping in the water with that bloody gator and all those other gators still in the water with him  Nick just growled and dared them to come over


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## Nicodemus

No way was you gonna lose that gator after all that effort and hard work.


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## NCHillbilly

Nicodemus said:


> No way was you gonna lose that gator after all that effort and hard work.



But I'm trying to figure out in that pic of the two scaly varmints in the water, which one is which?


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## Nicodemus

NCHillbilly said:


> But I'm trying to figure out in that pic of the two scaly varmints in the water, which one is which?





I`m the handsome one, with the whiskers and mustache.


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## elfiii

Nicodemus said:


> I`m the handsome one, with the whiskers and mustache.



So that's you with the electrical tape wrapped around your snout. I thought it looked like you.

Fantastic story and an outstanding gator Debbie. I can't think of a better person to have as your guide than Nick and finishing the gator off with your dad's pistol had to be the icing on the cake. That's a standout memory for the rest of your life right there.

Congratulations on a successful hunt and a monster gator. Looking forward to seeing you sporting a brand new pair of alligator skin cowboy boots.


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## hortonhunter22

Fine story here y'all....made me think of the same ups and down and struggles we have went thru on our DIY gator hunts.  that is one THICK alligator, congrats.


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## Nicodemus

Exactly a week ago at this time, we were makin` it hot for this ol` gator...


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## HOGDOG76

Congrats on a great gator and doing it DIY.  Always means more to do it yourself then just hand over cash to have it given to you.


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## Tomboy Boots

Nicodemus said:


> Exactly a week ago at this time, we were makin` it hot for this ol` gator...



Yes we were Nick! It makes this weekend seem boring in comparison... Yesterday this time I was riding my tractor and planting foodplots. I didn't have time to plant foodplots when we were chasing gators  

Here are some more pictures... of gators we didn't get and memories from the hunt. Friday morning of the last weekend, we saw a spotted fawn swimming across the water... thinking every moment a gator was going to snatch her under the water, but she made it across  Lake Seminole is a beautiful place and well worth a visit even if you aren't hunting gators


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## Nicodemus

I do love my "backyard" at the Seminole cabin.  




Miss Debbie...


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## Al33

What a great story and great photo's to accompany it!! Way to go Debbie and congrat's on the monster gator. You obviously did your homework and picked an excellent team to help you accomplish your goal. Great stuff and I sure enjoyed reading all about it!!!


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## Spooner

*I knew you guys could do it!!!*

Hey Debbie, I just read this incredible Alligator hunting story. I knew you, Tim and Nick would keep fighting until a BIG MONSTER GATOR was in the truck headed to the Taxidermist. Thank You for sharing your story and beautiful pictures of Lake Seminole. What a way to kill that Beast with your Dad's pistol!!! Now pass it on. Let the other ladies know that they can do it too!!! A successful DIY Gator Hunt is one of the most exciting hunts there is and I'm so glad you did it that way. You'll NEVER forget it. Great Job Woodyites!!! Now keep those pictures handy and keep telling the story.


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## Tomboy Boots

Al33 said:


> What a great story and great photo's to accompany it!! Way to go Debbie and congrat's on the monster gator. You obviously did your homework and picked an excellent team to help you accomplish your goal. Great stuff and I sure enjoyed reading all about it!!!



Thank you Al! We had fun and made some great memories  



Spooner said:


> Hey Debbie, I just read this incredible Alligator hunting story. I knew you, Tim and Nick would keep fighting until a BIG MONSTER GATOR was in the truck headed to the Taxidermist. Thank You for sharing your story and beautiful pictures of Lake Seminole. What a way to kill that Beast with your Dad's pistol!!! Now pass it on. Let the other ladies know that they can do it too!!! A successful DIY Gator Hunt is one of the most exciting hunts there is and I'm so glad you did it that way. You'll NEVER forget it. Great Job Woodyites!!! Now keep those pictures handy and keep telling the story.



Thank you Jay for being so generous and loaning me your gator hunting gear!!!  I was very excited to kill the gator with the pistol my Dad gave to me... he would have loved it


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## BornToHuntAndFish

Congrats on your great big gator success.  Looks like a heckuva rocking gator hunting adventure.  Thx for posting.


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## frydaddy40

Way to go boots , nice gator looks like a hunt of lifetime.


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## Dep6

Awesome Gator there ma'am and a wonderful story!!


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## mossback

That was a great story and a monster of a gator.  Congratulations, y'all did a terrific job tagging that monster.


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## Nicodemus

Tomboy Boots said:


> Yes we were Nick! It makes this weekend seem boring in comparison... Yesterday this time I was riding my tractor and planting foodplots. I didn't have time to plant foodplots when we were chasing gators
> 
> Here are some more pictures... of gators we didn't get and memories from the hunt. Friday morning of the last weekend, we saw a spotted fawn swimming across the water... thinking every moment a gator was going to snatch her under the water, but she made it across  Lake Seminole is a beautiful place and well worth a visit even if you aren't hunting gators






You ready to do it again and have some more good times?


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## Tomboy Boots

I am definitely ready to do it again Nick!  You better be careful tempting me like that... I might put in for another tag and get it


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## DSGB

Saw the picture of your gator on the georgiawildlife Instagram earlier today.


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## Tomboy Boots

I had sent them a message on Facebook, and they asked me if they could share the picture


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## Nicodemus

Three years ago today. Some good times. Here`s to you, Miss Debbie.


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## Tomboy Boots

Thank you Nick! It doesn't seem like three years ago. We have some great memories from that hunt


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## Dep6

Congratulations ma'am on a fine Gator!! Well done to all!!


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