TX gators and kayak fishing?

[Claggart]

New to TX kayak fishing. Have fished AR, NY, NC, CA and NV and we are now moving to Eastern TX. So, tell me about alligators which are new to me. Can I fish Fork and Conroe in my 10' kayak without becoming a reptiles dinner?

[mpg2yahoo]

New to TX kayak fishing. Have fished AR, NY, NC, CA and NV and we are now moving to Eastern TX. So, tell me about alligators which are new to me. Can I fish Fork and Conroe in my 10' kayak without becoming a reptiles dinner?

You should be fine as long as you keep some distance they will not bother you. Also, don't leave a stringer with fish in the water. Use a fish bag. In mating season keep ur distance even more and if you see one coming leave ASAP. You might be too close to mom's den.

Have benn like 25ft from them at Armand bayou and they usually go the other way.

[Johnny5455]

New to TX kayak fishing. Have fished AR, NY, NC, CA and NV and we are now moving to Eastern TX. So, tell me about alligators which are new to me. Can I fish Fork and Conroe in my 10' kayak without becoming a reptiles dinner?

You should be fine as long as you keep some distance they will not bother you. Also, don't leave a stringer with fish in the water. Use a fish bag. In mating season keep ur distance even more and if you see one coming leave ASAP. You might be too close to mom's den.

Have benn like 25ft from them at Armand bayou and they usually go the other way.

When is mating season?

[mpg2yahoo]

Just started around spring I think. Just like the snakes popping out these days.

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/lizardsa ... Season.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Claggart]

Okay, that is good info. Any specific info on Conroe, Fork and Palestine Lakes? I like to go deep into Lily Pad fields where the bass boats seem to avoid and can't enter, any great danger in that? On the bright side I am 100% catch and release so no stringer or even a bag. I do stick my hand in the water to lip the bass and get her unhooked. Has anyone ever been bitten in Texas that you know of?

[mpg2yahoo]

Okay, that is good info. Any specific info on Conroe, Fork and Palestine Lakes? I like to go deep into Lily Pad fields where the bass boats seem to avoid and can't enter, any great danger in that? On the bright side I am 100% catch and release so no stringer or even a bag. I do stick my hand in the water to lip the bass and get her unhooked. Has anyone ever been bitten in Texas that you know of?

Have not fished those lakes yet. On the 8yr + I have been in TX I have not heard any tales of close encounters.

[Rig'emNGig'em]

I fished southern Louisiana for several years and had more than a fair share of reptile encounters, like what was previously said keeping your distance is probably biggest thing. Ive fished some bayous/marshes where there were multiple alligators hanging out and have only had one really close encounter. Most of the time if one is coming towards you, you can slap the blade of your paddle on the water and they usually head the other way. My only close encounter was when I handed landed a couple of fish and never saw the alligator (it was early spring so I may have unintentionaly got to close to a males territory or a females nest) until its head popped up right by my front hatch, then it was just a stare down and he did the big whoosh and turned like they do when you spook one in a big boat and he went his way and I went back to the launch and changed my pants. For the most part unless you are really pressing their boundaries they'll avoid you, so just use common sense and give them their space and if you do decide to keep a fish try and put it in something seal-able like a fish bag and dont leave it hanging off the side of your boat.

[TKFStubb]

I usually give gators a wider berth in April, May, and June. Males are Very territorial in April and May and mom is guarding nest and babies in June. Be very mindful of the babies and NEVER get between them and mom. They sound like squeaky frogs except that the don't stop squeaking...so mom always knows where they are. When it's mating season, you'll see the adults fill up with air to make themselves seem more formidable. The males will sound like REALLY big bull frogs. Just give them plenty of room and they'll leave you alone. And, don't throw a lure across their bow to scare them off...but that's a story for another day! lol

[Forever Fishing]

Conrore doesn't seem to have many if any gators. I've been fishing that lake for years and never even seen one.

[yellow]

I dont think you will have to worry about gators too much on fork. They are a rare site unless you know where to look. There are a few places like burch and little caney that you can increase your odds of seeing them but I would just stay out of there if you are worried. As far as conroe I do not know.

[texnomad]

The only trouble I have had with gators is near docks where idiots feed them. The gators think everybody has come to feed them and get pushy about you feeding them at times.

[TexasToast]

if you use a bobber they will go after it

[cudagreg]

i wouldnt worry at all on those lakes you mentioned, there are very small gator populations on very large bodies of water,

Fork is a great bass lake caught my largest there 13.5lbs

[rpecot]

Another Louisiana transplant here. I've paddle around them a lot. Just as everyone says, give them room and you'll be fine. There's been more than one occasion when I've been paddling down the bayou and look over to see one 10 - 12 feet away just watching, waiting for me to pass. That will startle you a little. But what will really startle you is if you come gliding around a bend and theres one sunning himself on the bank. That happened to me once with my daughter and niece in the boat. We never actually saw him, but he jumped in the water so fast and made such a huge commotion that we all needed to change our underwear when we got back. Never saw my daughter paddle so fast!

Other than that mad dash into the water, I never had one approach me in the wild. Docks, etc. as someone posted earlier, well, that's something else entirely.

[Phishtech]

Check it out:

http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... +the+bayou" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Yak'Razy]

I had a gator plop right into the water from the shore while I was practicing standing in Turtle Creek last summer... Scared the crap out of me!