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Originally Posted by JackandJanet
Don't gators (and crocs) eat pretty much anything they can get in their mouth that was once alive and moving about? My understanding is they aren't too "picky" and will happily eat carrion.
Funny, isn't it how "bottom feeders" like lobster and crab taste so delicious. I guess gators might fall into that category too.
- Jack
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jwmaier1215
About like a catfish. I have never used live bait, only stink bait. I mean what on earth would find stink bait "tasty?" that stuff smells to high heavan.
From my understanding (I love the show "Swamp People" on the History channel, they bait limb lines with rotten chicken, rotten carp, rotten anything to catch gators. Gators are kind of amazing/weird. IIRC turning a gator on it's back like paralyzes it for a few minutes and like 3 wraps of electrical tape and keep it's mouth shut. I heard somewhere that a 5-year old can keep a gators mouth clamped shut, but not even the worlds strongest man can open the gators jaws. They have so much strength and power too. I don't see how they don't pull more fishermen overboard when they have ahold of the other end of the line. It's like playing tug-of-war with a 800 pound monster.
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Well the main thing when you look at animal behavior is energy conservation. Which takes more energy, catching a turtle or catching a deer? Naturally they will seek out the turtle before they wait for a deer to walk up to ambush simply because they can get food without spending much energy. The rotting bait works well because they can locate it by smell faster than they would a fresh chicken. You can catch them on fresh meat but your chances are much more slim just because they have a harder time finding it. Kinda like you know you have passed a good steak house if you can smell the food inside the cab of your truck while driving at 70 mph.
Also, when they catch something large many will drown it then stuff it under trees to let it start rotting. This makes it easier to break up into bites since they can't chew. This reinforces, in their mind, rotting smell=food. Their muscles for opening their jaws are relatively weak just because all it has to do is open. The closing power is more important because it is their primary tool for catching and holding prey and IIRC is over 2000 PSI.
Not sure about flipping them over though. I think all it would do is disrupt their equilibrium (they are used to staying right side up so being flipped will be a confusing experience). Also what I've seen with zoos is that when their eyes are covered they'll lay still for a little while just because they can't react if they can't see.
Also, your not playing tug of war with them. When you are about 50 yards from your set (term for the hook/line/etc.) you'll be able to see if something has taken the bait. If the bait has been taken you act like you have a big one one the line and take your time. You come up to a safe distance and get the line and slowly pull it in. By the time you get to the set they have already swallowed the bait and hook. You bring them in not by the strength of the hook and line but by the discomfort of the hook's pressure on their gut. They dont fight like a fish does because it doesn't feel good. This also means that you have to be careful. If you feel it tug back harder than you can hold with a few fingers then you let it go. Let it sit a bit then start bringing it in again. When you pull them up to the boat what will usually happen is they bolt when they hit the surface. You let them go off and pull them back in. Eventually they'll come up and stay long enough for you to put them down with a .410. You dont use large single bullets like rifles because they are too high powered and can ricochet. You don't use slugs either because that is only a single projectile. They recommended bird shot just because you greatly increase your chances of a bb causing instant death by entering the brain cavity. This takes a very careful shot because their skulls are denser than just about any other animal. You aim for a soft spot in the back of their skull where the only thing separating part of their brain from the world is muscle and their heavy hide. If it seems strange look up "diapsids," we are "synapsids" with a single opening on each side of our skull along with birds and turtles are a strange group called anapsids, or "no opening." The rest is just taking your time, being safe and keeping the carcass cool so the hide doesn't slip, making it useless for tanning.