You guys asked a lot of questions. Here are some answers........
While we do have Crocodiles in Florida they are confined to the southernmost part of the state and the habitat they prefer generally does not overlap the areas the state opens for Aligator harvesting. And yes the Crocodiles are a FULLY protected species.
The public hunts, which is what we participate in, are issued on a first come first served basis. About 4000 permits issued this year for 8000 gators. More than half those permits will be filled. Most of the gators will be in the under 8 foot class. That said there will still be plenty harvested over 10 feet and more than a few over 12 feet. At least one or two will cross 13 feet.
Last year for the 12 tags we worked we had 9 gators over 10 feet and 2 over 12 and one little guy that we caught to send in for a tanned skinn for the wife. Small skins are the most attractive I think.......
We are working the St. Johns River System in north Florida. Most of the areas we hunt are 20 to 50 miles west and south of St. Augustine.
The skins are valuable but not as valuable as you may think. Depending on the size of the gator and the condition of the skin ( Condition meaning a number of things from how well it was cleaned to how many scars it has from fighting to how much parisite damage there is. ) the value will go up or down also.
On average last years skins brought more than we have ever recieved, over $35 per foot. Inital prices for this year are less than that.
The wild skins, especially the big ones, are in demand for the production of specialty items requiring big pieces of finished leather, such as luggage and bigger handbags.
It's a misconception about boots. While boots can certianly be made from the big skins the prefered size gator skin for boots is in the 5 foot range.
That's where the farmed gators come in. Normally farmed gators are raised to no more than 5 or 6 feet before they are processed. This is because the time and food necessary to grow a gator from 5 feet to 7 feet is more than what it took to raise it from infancy to 5 feet. You can see the economic consequences of that. And to raise one to 10 feet would be completely out of the question.
A 5 foot gator will weigh about 30 or 40 pounds at most. A 10 foot gator will go at least 250 pounds for a skinny one and over 400 for a prime specimen. And a 12 foot prime animal can go over 600..........
A great portion of the big wild skinns end up in Europe, France and Itally mostly, for transformation into the exspensive stuff you see out there.
Because of the type of water we hunt, generally open with limited vegetation, we are able to hunt out of the boat you see.
We catch the gators by snagging, harpooning and then bangsticking. Generally start out by snagging them with a light line, 30 pound braid on a spinning rod. We use this because we can cast it accurately a very long way and because it is VERY abrasion resistant..
Once we have him snagged with the light line we follow him with the trolling motor of the boat until he settles down enouogh to where we can snag him with the heavier rods you see in the picture. They are spooled with 80 pound mono. With them we can actually work the gator to the boat.
Once we get him close enough to the boat we stick him with a harpoon that is snubbed off to the boat with a piece of nylon. With that we can haul him up and pop him with the bang stick.
I have a block & tackle rigged so that it can be used to haul them into the boat. Took two last year that were as big as this one with just the wife as crew, and that's how we got them in the boat.
We own a seafood market which means we can get, becasue we have the proper licenses and health inspections, a processing permit from the state. We clean them, sell the meat in the market and to local restaurants, and then ship the hides off.
More questions?
