Giant Georgia Gators Trickle In From 2011 Hunts

Craig Prewett, of Powder Springs, and his father Neil Prewett, of Newborn, killed this monster gator at Eufaula on opening morning of the season Sept. 3. The beast was longer than 13 feet and pulled the scales to more than 800 pounds.

It may not be Georgia’s new state record alligator, but without a doubt it is one of the largest hunter-killed gators ever taken in the state.

With two separate measurements reported on a Eufaula gator killed opening morning, there was a little bit of confusion on what the official measurement would be. There was some talk that the monster alligator was a new state record.

Fresh off the boat, tag-holder Craig Prewett, of Powder Springs, reported a length of 13-feet, 2-inches, but he said the measurement had been a rush job. Later, WRD Technician Kevin Von Seggern came to Alcovy Taxidermy where the gator was in the process of being skinned. He took a measurement of 13-feet, 9 1/2 inches, which would break the current state record by half an inch. However, Greg Waters, WRD’s gator biologist, said he would not accept the skinned-out measurement.

Randy Hand, of Decatur, who took a 13-foot, 9-inch gator last Sept. 19 at Lake Seminole, still holds the state record.

Even without the record, Craig’s gator is still enormous. Taxidermist Ray Knight said it weighed an astounding 860 pounds.

Craig was joined in the hunt by his father Neil Prewett, of Newborn, and two gator guides they found on GON’s online forum, Chris Blackmon and Dean Chapman.

They used several heavy saltwater rods and reels, 80-lb. braided line and big treble hooks to snatch and eventually bring the gator to the side of the boat before finishing it with a bang stick several hours later. It was an amazing experience for first-time gator hunters Craig and Neil.

Neil said they saw 40 or 50 gators before selecting the one they eventually harvested. But when they saw it, there was no doubt it was the one they would go after.

Ben Baty, of Carnesville, was the tag-holder on this 11-foot, 4-inch Savannah River gator killed Sept. 11. With guide Michael Evans, Ben and tag-holder Sean Ryan, of Jefferson, also took a 9-foot, 6-incher.

Judging a gator’s size at night with lights is a matter of estimating the distance between its eyes, which glow red and are often the only visible part of the gator. The distance between an animal’s eyes gives some indication of the size of its head, which tells hunters about what they are looking at.

“When we saw it, the distance between its eyes, it was the biggest gator head anyone’s ever seen,” said Neil.

The hunt began. Craig said they searched the area from a 16-foot jonboat specially equipped with lights for gator hunting.

“He knew we were looking for him, and all of a sudden we heard this God-awful splash behind us,” said Craig. “I said this daggum alligator is messing with us. It was just like an old buck when it circles downwind to see what’s going on. That’s what he was doing.”

Craig finally cast and got a hook in the animal between 1:30 and 2 a.m. The gator went straight to the bottom.

“He didn’t know he was hooked for the first hour and a half,” said Craig.

The four hunters continued to put steady pressure on the gator and snatched it with additional lines when they could.

“He kept coming up, and the snatch hooks kept coming off,” said Craig. “We had three in there some of the time, but he got down to one several times.”

Eric Buchanan and his son, Kevin, of Blackshear, caught this 12-foot, 9-inch alligator on rod and reel Sept. 4. They were hunting the Satilla River near Woodbine. The previous night, Eric’s daughter Erica caught a 6-foot, 2-inch gator.

The gator surfaced several times through the fight and provided some serious excitement by going aerial right next to the boat.

“When he came out of the water right by the boat, he looked like a dang dinosaur,” said Neil.

Craig added, “He tail-walked just like a sailfish.”

The next few hours were a grueling exercise in persistence.

“We finally put just enough pressure on him, just constant pressure on him for five or six hours,” Craig said.

When the beast came up within range, they popped it in the head with a bang stick to finish the job. They secured the beast and headed for the boat ramp. Craig plans to have a full-body mount made of his monster gator.

At presstime, Greg said alligator harvest reports were still trickling in, but he feels the harvest is probably down this year.

“From the report forms that are coming into my office, it’s not going as well as it has in year’s past,” Greg said. “But there could still be a bunch out there.”

Greg said he has heard of a few 12-footers and that coastal Zone 7 appears to have a high harvest this year compared to the other zones.

Jay Maxwell, his wife Kyla, of Bethlehem, and hunting buddy Tyson Childers, of Jasper, teamed up to arrow these two gators in Zone 8. Jay put a Muzzy Gator Getter in the first one, a 9-foot, 2-incher, for a warm-up. Tyson stuck the second one, which measured 11-feet, 3-inches.

This big 11-foot, 5-inch, 493-lb. Lake Seminole gator was taken with archery equipment Sept. 9 by Travis Bennett, tag-holder David Standard (from left) and Leann Creamer (below). All three of the hunters are from Vidalia.