Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Record Gator Taken in Florida!

© 2010 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Well SBW, we have quite a mission ahead of us. As you all know, SBW and I are going to hunt gators the old school way: harpoons and 'hawks. It's just a matter of us getting together and making it happen!

Photo credit: FWC
gator hunting
Be that as it may, it seems that one of Suburban Bushwackers's expat compatriots has managed to harpoon a record alligator here in Florida!

Yorkshire born Robert Tres Ammerman who trapped and killed the alligator, was towed around Lake Washington, near Melbourne, for two hours before he was able to beach it and tow the leviathan on land.

Arnold Brunell, a Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist who inspected the alligator, measured and weighed the gator and said it weighed 654 pounds and was 14 feet, 3 1/2 inches long from tip of snout to end of tail, confirming the record breaking length. It was caught Nov. 1, the last day of Florida's official alligator harvesting season.


The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission states that the previous record was a 14-foot, 5/8-inch alligator trapped in 1997, and that the state's heaviest gator on record was taken in 1989, weighing an astounding 1,043 pounds. That's a lot of fish, hogs, deer, and occasional little kid.

Amazingly, the giant gator was taken on the last day of the season. Usually by that time, alligators have become wary of any human on the lake, much less a boat. But according to Ammerman, he and his nephew were able to creep in close, and place two harpoons into the animal.

I remember reading about alligator hunting back in the sixties, and I recall that American Alligators of up to 20 feet in length had been taken. I have been researching this (Albeit for a few minutes...) and I have yet to find any information on it. Anyone recall anything on the subject?

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
Member: Kandahar Tent Club
Member: Hunting Sportsmen of the United States HSUS (Let 'em sue me.)
The Hunt Continues...


The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles




Though he spends most of his time writing and keeping the world safe for democracy, Albert was actually a student of biology. Really. But after a stint as a lab tech performing repetitious and mind-numbing processes that a trained capuchin monkey could do better, he never returned to the field. Rather he became a bartender. As he once said, "Hell, I was feeding mice all sorts of concoctions. At the club I did the same thing; except I got paid a lot better, and the rats where bigger." He has followed the science of QDM for many years, and fancies himself an aficionado. If you have any questions, or just want to get more information, reach him via TheRaschOutdoorChronicles(at)MSN(dot)com.





8 comments:

Ian Nance said...

9-10 footers are enough to deal with at times. Another 4-5 feet is quite an upgrade. Congrats to that crew!!

Unknown said...

That was one bad dude!

Anonymous said...

That is one reason why I don't like the water. Hard to be though that I like hunting swamps.

Whitetail Woods Blog / Deer Hunting and Blackpowder Shooting at it’s best.

Albert A Rasch said...

Fellows,

I really have to get in touch with my buddy Todd over atPrimitive Point and have him design an appropriate harpoon and spear for the Anglo-American Adventure Company's Gator Hunting Extravaganza.

I've read that anything over ten is a good trophy, and 12 plus is magnificent. 14 though, that's a monster!

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
A Chronicles' project: Building a Pirogue

The Writing Huntress said...

And just after I wrote about gator huntin? Coincidence? Awesome lookin gator. I'm still awaiting an invite to hunt these things!

Albert A Rasch said...

HLYH,

As soon as I get back, hopefully in one piece, and get to start a new life with my latest and greatest idea, "The Anglo American Adventure Company LTD," you'll be the first to review our new adventure outfitter/guide service!

I suppose fatback sandwiches will be out of the question...

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
A Chronicles' project: Building a Pirogue

The Writing Huntress said...

Albert,
Yay! That would be a total honor. As long as fatback is no where near me, consider it a done deal!

Josh said...

What an animal! Hopefully there are a lot of other big 'uns out there eating pythons.