I saw this on FaceBook for y'all fishin Saint Marks

[bbb]

We loaded up and pulled away from the ramp at 2pm that day. Had I been there, my pistol was right next to me. Pretty sure this happened in the pond between the ramp and lighthouse. There were 2-3 dozen people kids down at the lighthouse. Bullets ricochet off water. Would suck to hit a kid with a stray bullet trying to save an 11 yr old dog. Or to explain to a parent why you unloaded in their direction.

[Darrelj]

Not sure what you are talking about , is this a gang thing ?

[FUTCHCAIRO]

HEY ROCKY G , THAT WAS OLD CARL BROWN AND ME THAT RAN THAT GATOR OFF THE OLD LADY AND HER POODLE, THAT WAS ONE MADDDDDDD OLD LADY, KINDA SCARED TOO, WE SAVED THE DAY FOR THAT LADY AND HER POODLE.
PA
SEMPER FI

[MudDucker]

Over 40 years ago, I was at the Okefenokee Park getting ready to canoe out into the swamp. The park had a huge gator that like to lay on the bank next to the gift shop. There was a fence, but a yankee's little poodle slipped through the fence and got about 2 barks out before it became lunch. The big ol' yankee gal was trying to climb the fence to get at the gator to retrieve her dog screaming "FeeFee FeeFee". I told her husband that it would not be best to let her get close to that gator. About that time a ranger came out and stopped her. He pointed to a sign that said all pets must remain on leashes. Sad day for those yankees.

[reelhandy]

It seems that gators will go out of their way to get a dog snack, especially when it's a little dog. I saw a video a while back where a guy fishing from a kayak with his little dog buddy onboard had a gator try to climb aboard the kayak to eat that little dog. Luckily he wasn't successful, but he really gave it a good try. A dog on a kayak in gator country is a bad idea.

[rockyg]

HEY ROCKY G , THAT WAS OLD CARL BROWN AND ME THAT RAN THAT GATOR OFF THE OLD LADY AND HER POODLE, THAT WAS ONE MADDDDDDD OLD LADY, KINDA SCARED TOO, WE SAVED THE DAY FOR THAT LADY AND HER POODLE.
PA
SEMPER FI

I knew I had read or heard that story recently. While I couldn't remember who or where I did remember that the guy who said it was the kind of fellow that if he said it.....it was a fact. You never know when you will have to quickly go from mild mannered fisherman to someone's hero.

Way to go PA.

[GaryDroze]

I can tell you from experience on the St Marks Refuge that even the wild gators lose their fear when they see something small, lively, and accessible. On negative low tides, there is a bend on Stoney Bayou that exposes a big sandbar. In the summer, those low tides come near sunset. I hiked out to the sandbar one evening a few years back and lucked into a school of slot trout that staged in the bend for incoming tide. After I caught the first trout, a nine foot gator popped up in the bend. He/she followed my next three catches right up to the sandbar, and actually emerged from the water to try and grab them off my line as I pulled them onto the sandbar. The gator only backed off when I pulled my cast net out of my backpack and flung it at the lizard's head.

We are only visitors at the St Marks Wildlife Refuge. It belongs to the gators, wild hogs, bobcats, jaguarundi (a cousin of the jaguar), stingrays, cottonmouths, eastern diamondback rattlers...and gun-toting net poachers.

It is your responsibility to deal with all of them. I have only feared for my life regarding the last species.

[silverking]

The Democrat article on the incident was picked up by USA Today and is one of the top stories this afternoon on their web site.

Gary certainly knows what he's talking about. I accompanied him on one of his adventures and nearly stepped on a "baby" five-foot gator while wading the creek. I think I'll stick to the boat from now on, or at least the kayak.

[Pirate]

Gary,
Poachers in the Big Bend? Imagine! I mentioned this fact in a previous post and was ask to prove it. Maybe you will have better luck.

[Gulf Coast]

Gary,
Poachers in the Big Bend? Imagine! I mentioned this fact in a previous post and was ask to prove it. Maybe you will have better luck.

You still sore bout that huh ? ...now back to the thread

[Redbelly]

Gary have you seen a jagurundi?

[GaryDroze]

I don't see jagaurundi often. Was worried that they disappeared from the Refuge, but sighted two on on the Deep Creek levee last month. They are very shy. I've noticed an increase in the rabbit and field mouse population along the levee banks, which is good news for both the jagaurundi and the bobcats. By the way, the bobcats at the refuge are much bigger than the mini jags, and likely rank third on the apex mammal predator list out there (black bears = first, red wolves = second. Yes, there are wolves on the Refuge, but you gotta be WAY off the path to see them).

Pirate: the poachers are smart enough to stay out of the creeks on weekends. I've only seen them on weekday mornings really early, mostly in the winter, when super low tides thwart most everybody else. They are usually shocked to see a wading angler out there, 2-3 miles from Lighthouse Road.