# Anyone lose an aligator?



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

Today at work a co- worker told me while canoeing he and his father both witnessed a 3 feet aligator laying on the bank and they scared it into the water and it came up with just its eyes above water. They caim to be 100% sure it is an ailgator and not another creature....I laughed histerically when i was told this but heck i never thought id see an octopus in the Ohio river either......I still dont know if i believe it. This eye witness was just south of the canoe access point in fosters.....


----------



## LMRsmallmouth (Jan 10, 2006)

Maybe it was my son's alligator Floatie! hehe... you see crazy things when you go "cabrewing"!

Did he tell you he saw the loch ness monster and big foot too? Halloween is right around the corner!


----------



## CountryKat (Apr 5, 2004)

Those things have survived for millions of years so maybe they are adapting to the colder climate. I hear of more and more sightings every year.


----------



## luv2fish (May 18, 2006)

This might not be that shocking. Last year or 2 years ago a 3-4' alligator was removed from the ponds at Cox Arboretum in Miamisburg. People have some strange pets then don't know what to do with them when they don't stop growing.


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

the fact that 2 people saw it is somewhat convincing...And he wasnt Cabrewing.... only idiots do that.. they are the reason there are so many beer cans at my fishing spots!


----------



## LMRsmallmouth (Jan 10, 2006)

That is kinda wierd, could have been a pet a few years ago. I was just making a joke. But for the record, some of us like to take canoe trips, I have been known to have beer on my canoe too. But I have a built in cooler that holds my cans....being an avid angler myself I do not litter of course. BUt all "cabrewers" arent idiots....just most!


----------



## basstracker (Jun 30, 2005)

Although these critters aren't native, you never know what you might pull out of the waters here in Ohio or any where else. Quite a few years back there was an alligator pulled out of the GMR in Trenton. An artcile in the Middletwon Journal was printed when this happened. Also, a couple-to-three years back a piranha was caught in Twin Creek (I believe this was near the Chamberlain Bridge). This too was in the Middletown Journal with pics of the fish. And I vividly remember reading the article. Just as luv2fish mentioned, people have some strange pets and don't do the responsible thing when they get too big or lose interest.

Tight Lines!


----------



## LMRsmallmouth (Jan 10, 2006)

I am heading out to LMR right now...just finished working for the day....will try and find it while landing the bigguns


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

well I figured you didnt litter since I have read your posts before....I just get angry when I see 10 beer cans when i go down to the river. I am fairly sure that it is illegal to drink beer on the river anyways.


----------



## lilredpaseo (Sep 25, 2005)

where was the alligator spotted? i want to go there and see if i can find it


----------



## bronzebackyac (Apr 19, 2005)

If its illegal to drink and float the creek, the police could have a hayday on some of the stretches of creek I float. I can see it now, canoeist gets PUI (paddling under the influence ) while floating the Darby. lol. I hope they have something better to do than that. At least they are not driving a boat with a motor. Its never a bad idea to take a trash bag with you on the creek and pick up after the few idiots that are out there.


----------



## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

Really, this is not hard to believe. Alligators are so teensy when they are born, they actually seem cute. (I know--I grew up in GA, and my dad got us a baby alligator!) They make this hysterical little grunting noise, and you can make them bite your finger and dangle them. Well, surprise--they grow up, and pretty soon that bite HURTS. And their poops (which we had to clean up) are vile. So we snuck it down to the neighborhood pond and let it loose. Gatey was perfectly happy, sometimes we saw him when we fished. Ten years later they drained that little pond for a new housing section, and a 13-foot gator almost gave a worker a heart attack when it clamped onto his leg. Made all the headlines. I still feel bad about that, but to this day no one knows. Same thing has happened here...and the poor thing will eventually die in the frozen water, but he can hang on for a year or two. Hopefully someone will capture him and give him to a preserve.


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

yea, well if someone is catfishing with a big piece of cutbait around there he might get caught......lol..yea i hope he gets caught too so he doesnt die. I doubt 3 ft gator is going to hurt anyone...at least id hope not. If that thing stays in the same area i bet hell be back sunning himself again in the same spot.....


----------



## Guest (Aug 15, 2006)

that is a very interesting story, what did they do with the gator?


----------



## Treebass227 (Jul 31, 2006)

A year or two ago, there was an alligator caught in a drainage ditch in Withamsville. I'm sure it was someone's overgrown pet. Irresponsible, I'll bet it was some cabrewers pet!!!


----------



## sevenx (Apr 21, 2005)

I guess wading the lmr just got a little bit more interesting. I worried about a gar bumping my leg now alligators. Would be a heck of fight though. Maybe we should call Steve Irwin and he could do a show on lmr gators..... S


----------



## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

...that gator was shot and killed. Remember this was Georgia back in the late 60's, and gators were way too plentiful and considered dangerous varmints--and if they got close to populated areas, it was perfectly legal to make a wall hanging out of them, which many ******* men did. Back then the laws made a little bit of SENSE, and anyone who said "let's call the warden and have it removed to a safe place" would have been left in the swamp with no equipment or gun. Forget gators, you would have been dead of _mosquito bites _ in 24 hours. The pond was drained but still had a foot of watery mud, and the gator had burrowed himself down in it. The construction worker who stepped on him (how's THAT for a bad day??) had on very thick thigh boots, which saved his leg. One of his coworkers hit it on the snout with a piece of pipe, and it let go. Another coworker already had his shotgun (from the rack on the window of their pickups, remember?--that's not just a ******* joke--they all had one) and sent Gatey to that big pond in the sky. I think their 13-foot estimation was exaggerated--but it probably was 10 foot or so. The guy had a fractured ankle and lots of bruises, but he was OK. My guilt is still high on that one. Gators are not friendly creatures, and certainly have no place in this environment. Hopefully no one is hurt, and it eventually lands in a preserve, but I doubt it. Be careful out there.


----------



## Guest (Aug 16, 2006)

thanks for the info itecch. I guess thats jsut one way of nature getting back at man for all of the destruction man has caused them and their habitat.


----------



## zspook (Apr 4, 2006)

Have a fishing contest, with everyone putting up 5 or 10 bucks as an entry fee. The one who bags the gator wins the pot. I hear french poodles and daschunds make great **********!
zspook


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

hahaha that would be pretty funny.... I am the one who knows exactly where the guy spotted this thing.... SO IM IN! lol .... It will probably never be seen again and die in the winter... thats my guess...


----------



## amazing189 (May 21, 2004)

My son & I were catfishing today in the Foster's area
of LMR. We didn't get any good bites, so I figured we'd
finish our bait off messing with/catching gar. I pitched 
pretty nice shiner with a treble near some brush & splash....
a little gator jumped out and grabbed my bobber!
I yanked the bobber out & the treble hooked him in the leg.
We carefully covered his head & taped his snout with 
electrical tape. I kept him in the back of my pickup for a 
couple minutes while the wife & kids took some pics. We
contacted John @ Wildlife Removal Svcs & he contacted the
game warden, who was on site in 10 minutes. He took 
possesion of the little guy (about 2 1/2 - 3 feet) & said he'd
give us a call with the details after he is assessed. All of this
happened just this morning, so I am still a bit weirded out. 
I know some people might think we're a bunch of yeahoos for messing
with him, but once I hooked him & realized what he was, I knew
he didn't belong & almost felt it incumbent upon me to turn him over
to the Game Warden....plus it was a nice little science lesson
for my kids....
Hopefully they do call back & I can update on what happens....
Now, if I can just catch some darn catfish......
Danny


----------



## tiffinsmallies (Mar 3, 2005)

I seen 2 different gators at Resthaven in Castalia. The first 1 was at pond 10 under the pine tree that is just beside the boat ramp, he was about a foot long. The second was in pond 8 about 20 yards off of the dock, that one was about 3 feet. Both sightings were within a week of each other. I heard a news report a year later about a gator that was trapped in pond 8.


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

thats where he was last seen too.... HAHAHAH thats nuts that someone caught him!!!!! well at least he will be taken care of by professionals


----------



## tobakabus (Apr 1, 2006)

Hook us up with some of the photos you took! Sounds like a trip to remember!


----------



## amazing189 (May 21, 2004)

Here's one from my cel...I've got a few more
on my wife's digital camera, but am having 
trouble uploading.....I'll see if I can get more...
Danny


----------



## cincinnati (May 24, 2004)

w/an Aussie accent? I think I see a new career for you!


----------



## All Eyes (Jul 28, 2004)

Octopusses, Alligators, and Snakeheads Oh My.


----------



## fishingredhawk (Apr 14, 2004)

That is amazing that you caught it!! Wow. How was the fight?


----------



## amazing189 (May 21, 2004)

There's wasn't much fight, but he did roll like crazy when I pulled him near the shore. We covered his eyes with a dip net (now trash) & rag & taped him up. 
I woke my wife up to come down & take some pics. Until now, I think she 
thought we were just out goofing off on Saturday mornings........come to think of it maybe we are??!haha
I grew up in South Florida & these types were fairly commonplace, but I never got this close in the wild....
Danny


----------



## LMRsmallmouth (Jan 10, 2006)

That will be something you as well as your kids will never forget!! How lucky you are!!


----------



## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

not quite lake placid but then again there wasnt a golden girl feeding it cows and goats 

i dont know about the summer down in that part of the state but if its been anything like the summer heatwise like its been up here in NE ohio, he probably didnt have a problem with his surrounding, but come winter he woulda been screwed
i wouldnt doubt if that little guy had something to do with the lack of catfish in the area you were fishin... when those gators are hunting, a lot of times they'll lie on the bottom and ambush passing fish.... eventhough a decent sized cat wouldve eaten him for breakfast heh

if people want big dangerous reptiles that they can raise untill they cant house them anymore and let them go.... then go find a baby snapping turtle... that way it can survive ohio weather because its native


----------



## lastv8 (Oct 11, 2004)

danny, how do top a fishing trip like this one. thanks for the picture, and for telling us about it. steve irwin couldn't of done better


----------



## crappielooker (Apr 5, 2004)

that's crazy.. and what's crazier is how it all happens.. lol.. reading about it on here 1 day, and the next a guy from here caught it..  
great stuff.. and now i know where not to wade in ohio..


----------



## TimJC (Apr 6, 2004)

Ak, wanna go catch some smallies and spots? That's my favorite spot on the LMR. There are plenty of snakes there too.


----------



## crappielooker (Apr 5, 2004)

tim.. gee.. thanks PAL.. but you can go by yourself..  i don't do too swell around reptiles.. 
amazing189.. great catch again..


----------



## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

Amazing189............ you should put that picture in yer gallery, maybe they will vote you as Angler Of The Month because the last time i checked......... angling an alligator in ohio has to be one of the most difficult thing to do..... i mean how many people have you ever heard of catching a gator on a rod and reel... let alone in ohio


----------



## Cordon (Apr 12, 2005)

This is the story of the freaking year!! Almost unbelieveable that its gets mentioned about a gator and low and behold someone from this sites gets the little dude!! Totally awesome story!!!!


----------



## iteech (Apr 4, 2005)

In a hundred years, I never imagined anyone would catch that little gator--or that anyone would even SEE it again...but someone on _this forum _ did just that!! That's EERIE, y'all. But lucky for the little reptile...hopefully he will go to a place that's better suited for him... Hey, is there some place where you can read "Best Post of the Year" for each area? This would win, hands down...


----------



## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

I agree man, you would get my vote for angler of the year!


----------



## 1badmthrfisher (Apr 4, 2005)

I bet you all though I was crazy for posting this! HAHA... I kinda thought i was anyways.... but it is really nuts that the little dude got caught!


----------



## cummins_man (May 16, 2006)

And I thought the tire my Dad caught on an Erie charter was odd.


----------



## Perch (Apr 5, 2004)

So what became of the little Laviathin?


----------



## amazing189 (May 21, 2004)

Hey Guys, 
still haven't heard back from the Fish & Game guy....
Me or the wife will try to call them this week.
Thanks for all of the kind words, guys.
My boy sure had a great show & tell the first week 
of 1st grade!
Danny


----------



## CatBassCrap (Apr 25, 2008)

BUMP 

Awesome story


----------



## BigRed (Jun 19, 2008)

Amazing189, Perfect name for you ... Amazing! I agree with you completely, nice job of safely removing him and getting the Game Warden involved. I do a lot of wading and having a 2 1/2 to 3 foot gator snack on my backside isn't a pleasant thought! Thank you for doing a wonderful job!


----------



## FSHNERIE (Mar 5, 2005)

Golf course down road from me found one walking along the greens last year.Was about 4ft.


----------



## Chillbilly (May 17, 2008)

What's the fish ohio requirement for gators?


----------



## robistro (Apr 13, 2007)

Nice work! 'crocodile hunter' 
Now someone needs to capture the idiots that turned it loose.


----------

