Joe's Adrenaline Rush - Florida
Joe with his swamp lizard.
Hunter: Joe Rush
Camera Persons: Ralph & Vicki Cianciarulo
Gators…swamp lizards... I’ve heard Ralph and Vicki talk about these for a few years now—well, the talk was done. Ralph and Vicki offered me a GATOR TAG in Florida this year and I would have a chance at hunting one of the most exciting animals you could possibly consider hunting! I couldn’t believe it, I was REALLY going ‘gator hunting’ with Uncle Hoppy, Ralph, and Vicki.
It was night time and we were loaded into a (much smaller than it should be) jon boat with an electric trolling motor and battery operated lights. The heat and humidity was high, and the frogs and bugs were plentiful, and so noisy you could hardly think. We had our Hoyt’s rigged up with a fishing arrow and some heavy weight cord and we were in search of the ‘glowing red eyes’ of a swamp lizard in the canals.
This night was a ‘gator management hunt’ and Uncle Hop’s idea was to FILL this (much smaller than it should be) jon boat with as much swamp lizard as it could hold and still putt-putt back without sinking! I couldn’t believe how nervous I was standing in the front of that boat watching the glowing eyes from Ralph’s Cyclops head lamp. It wasn’t fear, but rather the PURE ADRENALINE RUSH... the same feeling you get when your first whitetail or your biggest) walks out in front of you and you start to get nervous. I NEVER thought I’d get THAT excited about shooting gators. Boy was I wrong!
It took a while and some searching before my first opportunity came along (notice I said OPPORTUNITY...) We were shooting our Hoyt instinctively (without sights) and Ralph showed me how to shoot, and I was shooting pretty good, BUT right before I drew, my mind went blank and I couldn’t remember if I was one finger over the arrow, or three fingers under. Well, I chose wrong and ZING...the arrow and cord flew OVER this 6 foot gator! NOW my knees were REALLY knocking. Not only did Ralph and Vicki have ammo on me for missing, but I wasn’t sure how many shots it would take for me to figure this darn thing out! (I shot over the back of two more before I stuck my first gator). After that, I was able to shoot 2 more gators (yes, without missing!) and Ralph and Vicki also shot a few each.
I was amazed at the adrenaline rush a lizard can give you... (and the rush intensified when that gator was thrashing the side of the boat and trying to chomp down on ANYTHING in it’s path!) If you have EVER had a desire to gator hunt, give Hoppy a call. It is WAY cooler than you could ever imagine…