another day another police escort and me for breakfast

stormy

I was figuring on making a quick urban trip for some big snook I know about but you can never catch and figured I'd go net up some shiners and try those since I doubt anyone has tried them in the spots yet.

I headed over to crescent lake to try for some shiners, thru some bread out and got a throw in when 2 police cars pulled up and came right up and said there are signs that say no fishing which meant you can fish but not with a net, ummmm ok and it was the same in all lakes in st pete, so i had to leave. Went to old stomping grounds and got some whitebait instead.

I went to first spot which is a canal right off the ocean in st pete and I could hear the snook under the bridge, so hooked up a whitie and tried to huck it under there. This spot is tough because of obstacles to both cast under and if you hook a big one your effed getting it but worth the shot. The whitie kept swimming out from under FAST lol and got slammed 3 times hard and all just pulled bait off so I cast upstream under a pipe to a mangrove and got hit hard a few times.

After awhile I just sat down on wall bored feet dangling towards water when finally a fish and I pull in a red, so I got up to get it in and unhooked, photo and back into water... photos not worth finding right now. So I rebait and toss out and got to sit back down again and as my feet are dropping towards water I got the weird sense so I kinda froze and hit headlight to see this about a foot below my foot





ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! Good thing I wasnt a chicken or id have been a goner! and right then I get another fish and hurry it in before gator gets it but gator doesnt move and its another redfish, so I cut hook and get it far away from gator but it didnt flinch just sat there staring at me awaiting some fresh white meat and it was big easily 7-8 foot. I'd heard rumors of a big gator in there but was told it was nonsense being so close to the ocean but lemme tell ya it's true....

[video=facebook;10151232132282018]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151232132282018[/video]



Called it a night at that point... theres always tonight

Hoosier

yikes dude

Eggsuckindog

BTW I have seen a number of your posts and I'm not sure its legal to cast net shiners being in freshwater, you might find a ball buster so check - k

Snookmeister

It's legal to net Shiners in Florida. You can throw cast nets in fresh water too as long as the mesh size is smaller 1.5" I believe. It is only illegal in certain water ways or in lakes and ponds where it is specifically posted. Lots of people think it is illegal to throw a cast net in freshwater, unless it is specifically posted, this is untrue. Just throwing that out there, no pun intended, lol.

I was speaking to an FWC biologist a couple weeks ago at an invasive species class I had to take for my commercial pesticide license. He told me you are allowed to fish with the tilapia, shiners, bluegills, hoplos, shad, etc. as long as they can end up in the water you are fishing without your direct interaction. For example under spillways, in creeks and rivers, etc.

stormy

i think that answered that

skyway ande

If that Gator was me, dustcloud!

dieselbeef

you ever sen agator come out of the water for a chicken..in real wild. i bait em in our farm ponds...if he wanted ya he'd have had ya..or at least most of your leg..id say yer lucky

Austins26

completely unnatual behavior from that H20 Lizard


In general terms if a gator swims closer than a 50-75 yards. i know somethin Ain't Rite in Denmark I pack up an leave

aquaholik

I've heard of gator in Riviera Bay and your picture pretty much proves that there is a few in those canals around the bay.

SJC

I would have left a seriuos Shizz stain where I was sitting.

ChevyCruze

Wonder if he could even see you cause, they can't see immediately in front of them or directly above them because of the location of their eyes..

Just going off what I saw/heard from Troy Laundry on Swamp People.

ericf

That'll wake you up. Holy crap man, come close to a ton of water moccasins shore fishing in south FL but never a big gator like that.

You ever hook and line fish for shiners? Tiny gold hooks and tiny breadballs work just fine. Not sure what kind of quantity you like to fish with, or what size the shiners are, but I always hook and lined for shiners. Bluegills are snook candy too (at least down south).

CodyS

That's pretty scary dude. The gator was just lonely and needed somebody to talk to lol. Sucks that you have to get bothered when all you're doing is getting bait, especially in St. Pete. One time I was netting bait in a pond near my house and a officer rolled up but he sat in his car and waited till I got some bait before he got out to tell me I had to leave:USA

stormy

maybe it just didnt want white meat... I dunno but could have definitely grabbed me.
I threw it a catfish and it didn't budge, even hit it on head and didn't go after redfish I had on.
Maybe it couldnt see me or more importantly feel me, if I recall right they go more on scent and vibration but then again i was shining light in his eyes and camera flash but it was also sitting in about 2 inches of water so maybe that had to do something with it. I was wearing my smelling fishing shoes tho, maybe that killed it's appetite lol. It must not be a nuisance gator to be in there that long.

Maybe it just need someone to talk to but didn't say anything just sat there staring

Haven't gotten shiners that way, luckily haven't had too yet. The cops were cool, I asked if I should dump what I had and they said naw... Didn't even ask for ID or fishing lic
A few years ago before I moved here but was here visiting we were fishing ponds and a cop pulled up and waited for us to start leaving then came over and said you can't fish in any pond or lake in st pete during spawning season but both times someone called them on us.

Yes, I have used 'gills, poons really seem to like the really small ones.

I was at alligator lake yesterday and I was fishing out towards the bay and it was funny and I wish I coulda gotten a pic fast enough but looking out into safety harbor right in row you could see a gators head, a shark fin and then a paddle-boarder.

stormy

[video=facebook;10151237287107018]http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151237287107018[/video]

Snookmeister

Can't fish during spawning season!?!??!?? God I hate busy body people, just mad because they can't fish. I have had all kinds of people try and pull stuff like that on me. So you are not allowed to fish Jan-April?

perlman1234

Ohh shizzzz who is saying that???

Dooze

That gator being there like that is too much. I don't know if it's disoriented or what, but that thing is terrifying. Thx for posting the vid

stormy

TB421

Wow, I have never heard that before. Where did you find that particular regulation?

stormy

dont recall but if you google it you can find it

http://www.livestrong.com/article/241402-bass-fishing-in-the-st-petersburg-florida-area/