EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I saw where some guys are seeing gators in the trinity river, does any one have pics, or has alot of people seen them
?

We bowfished the trinity alot awhile back (starting bout 10 years ago) saw gators everytime we went. Most were in Harmon's creek.

i duck hunted on there close to kaufman... seen a few...land owner told us to be careful... he seen them all the time... he even made rebar trebble hooks... bait them with chickens....fishing for them... i never checked his chains to see if he caught them or not....   i know another guy that had sum in a pen close to the river...... high waters took them out of their pen.. havent seen them in awhile.... they were a good size..

we have seen alot of them around riverside north of huntsvillle .. it is a wierd feeling when you are checking the lines and you see a 10 inch wide set of eyes coming toward you that glow in the dark...then  we were fog gigging in one of the creeks and and my drunk arse son catches a baby and thows it in the boat ,them buggers are fast to get out of a boat before mama shows up ..i was ready to walk on water if  when mama got there... LOL

Are they protected in Tx like they are in Fl? If you get caught eyeballing one the wrong way here you are in trouble...

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/season/animal_listing/#alligator ALLIGATOR
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Except when engaged in hunting, it is against the law to intentionally feed a free-ranging alligator.
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Alligators may be taken under any resident or non-resident hunting license.
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In Angelina, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Galveston, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto,Trinity,Tyler, and Victoria counties (“core” counties), and on properties in other counties for which TPWD has issued CITES tags to the landowner, the open season for alligators is Sept. 10–30. In core counties and on special properties, no person may hunt an alligator without possessing a valid CITES tag on their person. CITES tags in these counties are issued to landowners following a site inspection and evaluation by TPWD. For information about tag issuance and requirements, contact the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management office at (409) 736-2551.
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In all other counties (non-core counties):
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Open season: April 1–June 30. Alligators may not be taken during this season on any property where alligators were taken during the September season.
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Bag Limit: One alligator per person per license year.
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Alligators may be taken on private property ONLY. Alligators may be taken from public waters by all lawful means EXCEPT FIREARMS; however, the person taking the alligator and the taking device MUST be on private property.
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Tagging: Upon killing an alligator, a person must:
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IMMEDIATELY complete a Wildlife Resource Document (see pg. 93), which shall accompany the alligator until it is permanently tagged with a CITES tag;
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Within 72 hours, complete an Alligator Harvest Report (see pg. 93) and mail it to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 4200 Smith School Road,Austin,TX 78744, along with a $21 hide tag fee (check or money order only); and
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Permanently tag the alligator with a CITES tag IMMEDIATELY upon receipt of the CITES tag in the mail from TPWD.
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Lawful hunting hours: From one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Between sunset and one-half hour before sunrise, no person shall set any baited line capable of taking an alligator, remove an alligator from a line set, or use any means and methods other than line sets.
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Means and Methods:
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Hook and line (line set). Line sets must be secured on private property. Hook-bearing lines may not be set prior to the open season and shall be removed no later than sunset on the last day of the season. Each baited line shall be labeled with a plainly visible, permanent, and legibly marked gear tag
HUNTING REGULA
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REGULATIONS SUMMARY TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE OUTDOOR ANNUAL 2009–2010 63
HUNTING REGULA
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that contains the full name and current address of the person who set the line and the hunting license number of the person who set the line. Line sets shall be inspected daily and alligators shall be killed, documented, and removed IMMEDIATELY upon discovery.
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Alligator gig
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Hand-held snare with integral locking mechanism
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Lawful archery equipment (with barbed arrow)
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Lawful firearms. IMPORTANT NOTICE: FIREARMS MAY BE USED TOTAKE ALLIGATORS ONLY ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. IT IS UNLAWFUL TOTAKE AN ALLIGATOR BY MEANS OF FIREARMS FROM, IN, ON,ACROSS, OR OVER PUBLIC WATER. Centerfire ONLY; rimfire UNLAWFUL, except for dispatch.
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An alligator captured on a taking device (line set, lawful archery equipment, gig, or snare) MUST be killed IMMEDIATELY. An alligator, in public water, caught on a taking device lawfully attached to private property may be dispatched with a firearm.
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No person may employ more than ONE taking device at any time.
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A line of at least 300-pound test must be securely attached to all taking devices other than firearms.
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Hook-bearing lines must be attached to a stationary object, on private property, capable of maintaining a portion of the line above water when an alligator is caught on the line.
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A line attached to an arrow, snare, or gig must have a float attached to the line. The float shall be no less than 6" X 6" X 8" or, if the float is spherical, no less than 8 inches in diameter.
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NOTE: Additional regulations apply and can be found in the department publication entitled “Alligators in Texas,” available at all TPWD Regional Law Enforcement offices, on-line at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us, or by calling (800) 792-1112 (menu 5). Alligators may be sold ONLY to a licensed wholesale dealer or alligator farmer.

you see one kill it. they are only dog killers

 as long as your are aware of the law and know enough to steerclear of getting in trouble you can look at all th gators you want. the law does state that if something is endangering you or your property ie: your dogs then you can kill the animal but killing them just for the fun of it just because you run across it is against the law. take the info for what you want but you get caught breaking the law you cant use the excuse of i didnt know. plus the i didnt know aint an excuse when it comes to the game warden, trust me i found out the hard way hunting squirrels 1 day past closing season, i paid for it too.

They are everywhere! Look up the state record on Google. 13'10". Right outside of Huntsville.

If you shoot a gator to protect your dog I do think you have to leave it lay. I would not want to have a gator in my truck and telling the game warden I was protecting my dog. ;D

there wasa bigger one shoot byr the game warden around palestine

 yes you have to leave the animal lay but you do have to report it to the parks and wildlife department so they can take a tally and keep count of where the animals are living and feeding

i grew up in iredell, south of stephenville, and i remember a farmer found a 12 and like a 15 on some land he had bought in the small stock pond,  no one had ran the land for along time then they put some cows out and cows started disapering, the gators were eating them, somebody had put them in as babbies and they grew, it allways freaked me out, but i didnt realize there were that many true wild ones thsi far west.  i allways heard a few stories about gators in the bosque here and there but never paid it much mind

We fish/hunt in the Trinity River all the time and see quit a few gators in Harmon Creek but there are a whole bunch of them in White Rock Creek.