![Brit Miller and Toby with a ten footer taken on the Ocklawaha River. [Photo courtesy of Toby Benoit]](https://www.hernandosun.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/image-23.png "image (23)")
Alligator hunting season is around the corner, and if you want to hunt gators this fall, our Florida Wildlife Commission is opening another option to help ensure success.
Our FWC is now accepting applications for the highly exclusive Alligator Super Hunt tags! This unique opportunity extends the season for tag holders for ten more weeks to get a pair of those magnificent river chickens. It’s based on a lottery system like the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program, except applicants can pay five dollars per application and apply as many times as they want to increase their chances of being randomly selected. The traditional Statewide Alligator Harvest Program only allows hunters to apply once for the drawing.
Gator season in Florida runs from August 15 through November eighth, but those selected for the Alligator Super Hunt will have until December 31 to fill their gator tags.
Applications for the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program and the new Alligator Super Hunt are open now and run through June 9.
Legal ways to get your gator include fishing rods using a weighted treble hook, rods using artificial lures, baited wooded pegs, handlined with snatch hooks, catch poles or similar devices and bangsticks.
There are estimated to be a shade over a million alligators in Florida and if you want one for your freezer, applications for the Alligator Super Hunt and the Statewide Alligator Harvest Program can be submitted online at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. If you’re lucky in your drawing and need a hand dragging a big ol’ Swamp Chicken into the boat, give me a shout.
As always, I’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
