I'm going to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area for a few days starting about Dec. 27.
Anyone have any advice? Should I go snorkeling/observing or should I bring some nets and try to buy a license? How much should I worry about alligators and sharks? Anyone know any good spots?

I do not know the laws in Florida but I would definatly bring a net and bucket and carring supplies to bring something home. As far as alligators I was born and raised in Lafayette Louisiana and I frequented the swamps very much. Fished in the water that had aligators. I must say that I find aligators very non aggressive. The most likely thing they will do is swim away from you very fast. Now that changes in the nesting season. The females become very protective of their nest. The everglades contain both salt water crocs and aligators. The crocs venture into the fresh water. I do not know how far up they go (if they are in Fort Lauderdale) but I would check because they are the ones that WILL chase you. But as far as aligators in the non nesting season that has been my experience that as soon as you get into the water they swim away.

Now sharks in the Atlantic if you are thinking salt water I know nothing about and maybe someone else can enlighten you on that subject. But I think the bark is much worse than the bite on how the media hypes up stuff about sharks. But then again I would ask a local ranger or someone that lives there that is experienced in that area.

Daniel

Added below.

When one writes to the guy wanting people to share their experiences with alligators and another writes "weak, dumb and careless" I take great offense no matter who it was intended for. Expecially from a person that was not born and raised in an environment filled with deadly things. I was simply expressing my experience with alligators. Genenerly I find people from the north to be scared simply because of inexperience. So maybe you want might want to sharpen you tact skills a bit. I did not encourage that person to get into the water, but I do recall simply shareing my experiences with the creatures of death since that is what he asked for. And my advice to one that is inexperienced with alligators is to ask the locals like uniseine has stated.



mekez has shared a typical experience below of what aligators do when wild and not so wild. Very well said mekex.


another said "Splashing attracts the alligators" May be true about alligators that are fed and not wild but simply not the truth about wild allligators AT ALL.

In northern Florida, alligators are still poached, so they run from humans. Not true down south. Splashing attracts the alligators. I would only snorkel with an okay from the local people. Definitely try fishing. Dip net.

Check your Peterson's Guide. Pennisular Florida and the Florida Panhandle have totally different fish.

Down where you are going, look in the ditches on the side of the road - seriously. Look where the herons are fishing.

I'm going to be in the Ft. Lauderdale area for a few days starting about Dec. 27.
Anyone have any advice? Should I go snorkeling/observing or should I bring some nets and try to buy a license? How much should I worry about alligators and sharks? Anyone know any good spots?

I think it would be reckless to advise anyone to not take extreme care collecting anywhere alligators, sharks, poisonous snakes and the like might be found. Statistics won't be much comfort if you're the one who happens upon the exception to the rule. Keep your eyes open, have some company with you and be wary of the surroundings. I was collecting in FL back in the 80's with a friend from Alabama we came to a lushly planted creek full of colorful shiners and bluefin killies but the hair on the back of my neck kept me from stepping into that water something just seemed wrong. I did finally make a few quick short stabs into some fish schools. But a couple days later back in NY I saw the same creek mentioned on the national news in a report of an angler being eaten by a very large alligator. My Alabama friend called a few minutes later to see if I saw the news, he then told me that was the next bridge down from our spot. Here's the better rule to remember..."The weak, dumb, and careless are the ones that usually become dinner". Over the years I've run into alligators and poisonous snakes alot I will always greatly respect them and hopefully never underestimate them.

I've had limited experience in Fl, but encountered both gators and sharks on a recent fishing trip to southwest Fl so take this for what it's worth.
With the gators, most I saw bolted. That in itself just about kilt me from a heart attack when I startled a large one I hadn't noticed in some tall grass.
One place in the Everglades however the gators must have been fed by humans and immediately rushed toward anybody that approached the water. I WOULD NOT have entered that water!

We saw lots [like two or three every day] of sharks while wade fishing in the Gulf. When the water was clear, you could see them coming and by stamping your feet on the sand, you could get them to veer off and avoid your legs. They were small, maybe ~ a meter or so, don't know what species. Judging by the hundreds of unharmed swimmers in the water, I concluded the sharks weren't interested in tasting human meat.
One day though, the surf was up and the water very murky. Weather was crappy and nobody was swimming. Waves were too big for wading [luckily?] so I was standing in the wash maybe up to my knees. I was reeling in a small jack with my brother and brother in law standing behind me watching. Just as I went to reach for it, a HUGE shark that none of us had seen made a lunge for the jack three feet from my hand! That caused me to back up a bit from the water. "

The lessons I came away with were; avoid places where gators are fed by humans and don't go into the surf when the water is murky.
Aside from that, there's just too damn many cool fish in Florida to keep me out of the water.

" the weak, dumb, and careless are the ones that usually become dinner "

Uhhh ya! And the one careless with words. I was simpley shareing my experiences. It is very rare for a wild aligator to attack. But when one does it is so sensensationized it overides the fact that the attack may be a one in fifty thousand or more occurance. Just like the movie Jaws which made the poaching of sharks escalate dramaticly. Of course be cautious. The weak and dumb are the ones that are not cautious. As a young child I would check crawfish traps in aligator infested waters while I was in the water. Along with water mocasins. But ya be cautious. I came TOO close to a water mocasin when hunting ducks once and he became a heap of unrecognizible flesh when I opened up with my 12 gauge. but have never had an encounter with an alligator. Every alligator I have seen in Louisiana swam away swiftly even at the long distance sight of a human. So keep your eyes peeled but enjoy. Also depends on the season. I was recently in Lafayette Louisiana (Thanksgiving) and went to an old stomping ground ( Lake Martin ) and did not see a one aligator. Even though the weather was much warmer than usuall. And I generally find people from land that do not have alligators act as you do. Scared. That is a good thing. I have relatives and even friends from here in Chattanooga that will simply not visit southern Florida just because there are aligators there.

Daniel

Editited to say.

I must appoligize for the photo of me and the baby alligator. Taken with a phone camera and we all know what quality those things yield.

"Splashing attracts the alligators"

Simply not true !!!

Edited. If only you guys would read the whole content of what I say you would understand what I am saying. Yes alligators are fed in a lot of places. That is because of the weak, dumb and what ever else that guy said. But wild alligators will always bolt from a human. Unless like I said if it is a female in nesting season. I have been within four to six feet from a good 12 to fourteen footer and he just laid their like a woman suntaning on a beach. (he was on land) I do not recomend this to everyone but like I said I was born and raised with these creatures. Do I have fear of them, certainly. Do I know how they will react, certainly.

By the way that ranger was probably from North Dakota or something like that. Maybe I will conduct an experiment when I am down home again. I will spash when I see a 12 plus footer and see what he does. I already know but I will do it anyway just to see it again.

In northern Florida, alligators are still poached, so they run from humans. Not true down south. Splashing attracts the alligators. I would only snorkel with an okay from the local people. Definitely try fishing. Dip net.

Check your Peterson's Guide. Pennisular Florida and the Florida Panhandle have totally different fish.

Down where you are going, look in the ditches on the side of the road - seriously. Look where the herons are fishing.

"Splashing attracts the alligators"

Simply not true !!!

Well the Ranger at Myakka State Park sternly said otherwise.

"Splashing attracts the alligators"

Simply not true !!!

In places where alligators are fed by humans(which is just about everywhere alligators live), when they hear splashing of boats and propelers, they often come expecting food. I've seen this first hand.

"Splashing attracts the alligators"

Simply not true !!!

Sorry, gotta disagree strongly with that!
The gators in the little creek along Loop road in the Everglades came running [swimming] full speed like hungry dogs at feeding time to the sound of a splash. Not only that, but they'd instantly grab in their jaws anything that splashed within their reach. I'm sure if you stuck a dip net in that water, it'd get grabbed out of your hands in seconds. If you reached in too far, you'd probably lose an arm. And this in a fairly remote, wild area, not some gator park in the suburbs.

Still, having said that, I'm sure gators not habituated to humans would rather avoid them. I wouldn't [and didn't] hesitate to carefully enter the water water in places where there was good visibility and no reason to suspect the gators were being fed.
I'd avoid wading around boat docks, fish piers, bridges popular with fishermen, backyard canals and any other places where people might toss trash, fish guts, old bait etc. Stay out of murky water where you can't see the gators and they might mistake you for something more tasty too.

Gators are also cannibalistic, and splashing could indicate an injured gator that's likely smaller than them. I've seen adult male gators rush over to a small yearling on a fishing line that was "injured"(or so they thought).

I came TOO close to a water mocasin when hunting ducks once and he became a heap of unrecognizible flesh when I opened up with my 12 gauge.
Daniel

Now that just ain't right!
Not only is that a dangerous and careless way to discharge a deadly fire arm, it is totally unnecessary. If the snake was far enough away for you to dispatch without shooting your own foot off, he couldn't have tagged you anyway. If you had time to aim and shoot, you had time to back away safely.
Sorry, don't mean to come down on you too hard. I like snakes and I like guns and I hate to see either one mistreated. I know fear of snakes and the tendency to kill them outright is wide spread in some places but it just isn't necessary.

Well again to many assumptions here. I said I came much to close to that snake. I to leave snakes alone. They are very beneficial creatures. You think you are talking to a child here or something. I heard a noise when I was concentrating on ducks while I was in a ditch. I looked down and he may have been two to three feet from me. Coiled and looking straight at me. I did not take time to aim I just lowered the gun and pulled the triger. Shooting a shotgun two to three feet from one self is not going to hit him in the foot. But like I said he was so close I did not have to aim. Was pure instinct to shoot and be alive or try to move and get bit. I was a marksman in the USAF and have since became even more proficient and safety minded with firearms. So I think I know what I am doing. But thanks all the same. You know I am moderated each and every time I make a post. For the most part because of people like you that go rattling off with out the least bit of knowledge of what you are saying. But I do agree on one thing you said that way to many snakes are killed by ignorant people that do not even have a clue of what they are to the habitat and how many rats and mice those fine creatures eat. I have seen to many banded water snakes killed because they were (water mocasins LOL ) and too many beautiful corn snakes killed because they were bad ( copper heads LOL ) Enough said.

Now that just ain't right!
Not only is that a dangerous and careless way to discharge a deadly fire arm, it is totally unnecessary. If the snake was far enough away for you to dispatch without shooting your own foot off, he couldn't have tagged you anyway. If you had time to aim and shoot, you had time to back away safely.
Sorry, don't mean to come down on you too hard. I like snakes and I like guns and I hate to see either one mistreated. I know fear of snakes and the tendency to kill them outright is wide spread in some places but it just isn't necessary.

And what makes rangers perfect. I know from experience as did the other guy that posted about the bolting aligator here. Simply stated I have almost laughed as what some ranges "think they know". And by the way I love Myakka we make that our stop to the everglades every year. I have spent years in alligator habitat and not ever have I not had one bolt away when approached.

Daniel

Well the Ranger at Myakka State Park sternly said otherwise.

So far all I have seen in these posts is experiences that people have had in (tourist locations mainly). I am not talking about the Everglades where the alligators must be fed because I have seen them in such concentrations that they would not survive otherwise. ( Like the Anhinga Trail ) and Myakka where they take tourist to go out and locate gators. But I am sure they do not feed them to get the tourist to see one Nooooooo. All but one response here was given out of inexperience with a wild gator and not one in a park of some sort or second hand information or miss-information from a well meaning ranger. And we all know how accurate the info is from rangers about native fish right. Ask ten rangers and get ten different answers. Say what you want but like I have said over and over I lived with the creatures for most of my life and camped in mocasin territory. They to are very docile but will flee in an instant at the sight of a human. Unless you suprise him on land like I mentioned I did when I dispatched of him justifiably and quickly.

Sorry, gotta disagree strongly with that!
The gators in the little creek along Loop road in the Everglades came running [swimming] full speed like hungry dogs at feeding time to the sound of a splash. Not only that, but they'd instantly grab in their jaws anything that splashed within their reach. I'm sure if you stuck a dip net in that water, it'd get grabbed out of your hands in seconds. If you reached in too far, you'd probably lose an arm. And this in a fairly remote, wild area, not some gator park in the suburbs.

Still, having said that, I'm sure gators not habituated to humans would rather avoid them. I wouldn't [and didn't] hesitate to carefully enter the water water in places where there was good visibility and no reason to suspect the gators were being fed.
I'd avoid wading around boat docks, fish piers, bridges popular with fishermen, backyard canals and any other places where people might toss trash, fish guts, old bait etc. Stay out of murky water where you can't see the gators and they might mistake you for something more tasty too.

When one writes to the guy wanting people to share their experiences with alligators and another writes "weak, dumb and careless" I take great offense no matter who it was intended for. Expecially from a person that was not born and raised in an environment filled with deadly things. I was simply expressing my experience with alligators. Genenerly I find people from the north to be scared simply because of inexperience. So maybe you want might want to sharpen you tact skills a bit. I did not encourage that person to get into the water, but I do recall simply shareing my experiences with the creatures of death since that is what he asked for. And my advice to one that is inexperienced with alligators is to ask the locals like uniseine has stated.
mekez has shared a typical experience below of what aligators do when wild and not so wild. Very well said mekex.
another said "Splashing attracts the alligators" May be true about alligators that are fed and not wild but simply not the truth about wild allligators AT ALL.

Daniel I don't have any disagreement with anything you said in your original post. I think however you left some important things unsaid. That is despite statistics and general behavior alligators or any potentially deadly animals can and have become aggressive (for a variety of reasons not limited to nesting and feeding by humans). Therefore, if one desires to collect in areas with these animals do so with caution and awareness of this fact. I think you did encourage him to get in the water by telling him to bring nets, bucket and stuff to take fish home and painting a picture that unless nesting, alligators are not aggressive based on your lifetime of experience. Keep in mind there are likely many very young as well as inexperienced of any age on this forum. I'd hate to see one of them be the rare fatality because they were misled however unintentionally by our bias and experience which they might well take as advice seeing as that's what they asked for.

While I'm working on my tact skills maybe you could work on your reading comprehension and powers of assumption a bit.

I'm not "scared" of such animals but do have a healthy respect for them if I was "scared" I wouldn't have had alot of encounters with them over the years.

The "weak, dumb and careless" rule had not been directed at you but was what I felt was better then the rule of "statistics". Had I directed that to you I would have replied to your post not fuzzyletters. I generally assume you southern fish heads have made it so far because you're not weak, dumb or careless. Then again now that I've seen your post Today at 9:34 am it could also be luck.

By the way how much experience does this Northener have any way?


Finally what exactly do you disagree with in my original post?

This?
<it would be reckless to advise anyone to not take extreme care collecting anywhere alligators, sharks, poisonous snakes and the like might be found>

This?
<Statistics won't be much comfort if you're the one who happens upon the exception to the rule>

This?
<Keep your eyes open, have some company with you and be wary of the surroundings>

This?
<the better rule to remember..."The weak, dumb, and careless are the ones that usually become dinner">

This?
< always greatly respect them and hopefully never underestimate them>

By the way I can see how things can get misunderstood, so if you thought I was attacking you the PM you sent would have been sufficient and if I had attacked you I'd gladly go public with an apology and any clarification to clear your good name. But why waste a PM if you're gonna air it out here so I'll pass on the PM in this case. I don't hold ill feelings long usually and from your past postings nor do you so to another day and another post.

Y'all can fight if you want. I ain't ascared a gators. I'm aware that they can put a hurtin' on ya if so inclined. I give 'em space and they don't bother me none. Marvelous creatures.

Weren't a couple of joggers mauled by gators this year around Miami? That was a pretty big news story as I recall. You don't have to get wet to be gator bait.

I've been all over down there, and I'm afraid I have to agree with nativecajun a bit. The ones that are used to people are fearless, but the wild ones are wary. The worst ones, though, are the ones in those areas where they occasionally meet humans, but not enough to get used to them. Sounds odd, maybe, but it's true. They're not fearless at all, but instead quite nervous and prone to anything. Surprise one of those suddenly and you're likely to wish you didn't. Make lots of noise in gator zones to give them ample time to get away from you.

Some of you have been to that little wide spot on hwy 41 where you can pull over and park by a canal crossing. When gawking at the amazing number of gars & cichlids of every stripe, did you notice the gators? They were most assuredly noticing you. This spot is a gamble. The gators there tend to slink, not bolt, away from you, but only so far, and then they drift back toward you again when they see you're not interested in them. Start pulling in a few oscars and they'll start to get very keenly interested in you. The little ones never come close, but the big ones... you gotta watch those guys. They can come from any of six directions at that spot, and if you don't pay attention you're meat. The best thing to do is maybe act like are trying to catch them for a minute, and that will make them run and stay gone. Maybe.
On the plus side, I've never once seen a snake in that area. The gators must have eaten them all!

Sharks--> about a dozen people get sharkbit in FL each year, and most of the time the culprit is a Bull Shark. Bulls cruise in very shallow water very frequently where they run across humans regularly. Despite this happening hundreds of times per day statewide, only a few are bitten, so that should tell you something. The beach closest to me, Ft Walton beach, is one of the hotspots for sharkbites. The hurricanes have shifted to sandbars closer to shore lately, and this pushed the shoals of fish closer to shore, and that pulled the sharks in closer to shore. I've had sharks swim right past me numerous times without incident, but about a half dozen people aren't as lucky there each year. Dolphins also work the beaches nowadays as well, and it's a common sight to see them corralling schools of fish until they splash up on the beach. This is kinda neat to watch, and they tend to keep the sharks away, too. Every year, though, some idiots try to play with the dolphins only to find that they don't play nice. heh, heh..

Anyway, as for sharks, don't wade around in hip-deep surf zones. That's where people get bit. If you go up and down a jetty or dive on a patch reef, you'll be fine.

"cichlids of every stripe"

Where is this Hwy 41 you speak of. Is that in the everglades or what. I have seen Tilipia, Oscars, and walking catfish in the everglades and some unknown that I could not ID but which looked very handsome. I have often wondered. You are not supposed to remove anyghing living I think is the saying about parks. But I wonder since these are non-endemnic if the park rangers would be amused if you removed as many as you could. Just wondering. I must ask next time I am down there splashing a paddle on the water to see if the alligators com-a-running to me (grin). I would love to start a chicllid tank and thought it would be neat to say I have caught them. But chichlids of every stripe? I thought the water would be very soft down thee. Just curious where the hwy 41 is you speak of and the water parameters there. If you can give me a landmark that is fairly close to that area I can find it on Google Earth maybe.

Thanks in Advance, and may every one have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed new year.

Daniel

Weren't a couple of joggers mauled by gators this year around Miami? That was a pretty big news story as I recall. You don't have to get wet to be gator bait.

I've been all over down there, and I'm afraid I have to agree with nativecajun a bit. The ones that are used to people are fearless, but the wild ones are wary. The worst ones, though, are the ones in those areas where they occasionally meet humans, but not enough to get used to them. Sounds odd, maybe, but it's true. They're not fearless at all, but instead quite nervous and prone to anything. Surprise one of those suddenly and you're likely to wish you didn't. Make lots of noise in gator zones to give them ample time to get away from you.

Some of you have been to that little wide spot on hwy 41 where you can pull over and park by a canal crossing. When gawking at the amazing number of gars & cichlids of every stripe, did you notice the gators? They were most assuredly noticing you. This spot is a gamble. The gators there tend to slink, not bolt, away from you, but only so far, and then they drift back toward you again when they see you're not interested in them. Start pulling in a few oscars and they'll start to get very keenly interested in you. The little ones never come close, but the big ones... you gotta watch those guys. They can come from any of six directions at that spot, and if you don't pay attention you're meat. The best thing to do is maybe act like are trying to catch them for a minute, and that will make them run and stay gone. Maybe.
On the plus side, I've never once seen a snake in that area. The gators must have eaten them all!

Sharks--> about a dozen people get sharkbit in FL each year, and most of the time the culprit is a Bull Shark. Bulls cruise in very shallow water very frequently where they run across humans regularly. Despite this happening hundreds of times per day statewide, only a few are bitten, so that should tell you something. The beach closest to me, Ft Walton beach, is one of the hotspots for sharkbites. The hurricanes have shifted to sandbars closer to shore lately, and this pushed the shoals of fish closer to shore, and that pulled the sharks in closer to shore. I've had sharks swim right past me numerous times without incident, but about a half dozen people aren't as lucky there each year. Dolphins also work the beaches nowadays as well, and it's a common sight to see them corralling schools of fish until they splash up on the beach. This is kinda neat to watch, and they tend to keep the sharks away, too. Every year, though, some idiots try to play with the dolphins only to find that they don't play nice. heh, heh..

Anyway, as for sharks, don't wade around in hip-deep surf zones. That's where people get bit. If you go up and down a jetty or dive on a patch reef, you'll be fine.

I have to disagree with the statement that alligators are fed by humans "just about everywhere". I have been in many alligator territories and I can recall only one dumb event taking place. Some boozers had turkey necks tied to strings and were harrassing the alligators to their limit in Sabine Park on the border of Texas and Louisiana (southwest corner of Louisiana) and they were doing it just to see the alligators do the death roll. Looked neat but was extreemly dumb for then to do this in a park especially where children regulary visit. I must admit it is dumb to do it anywhere but this is the one and only time I have seen alligators being "fed". The one time I mentioned about the tours in Myakka feeding the alligators was just a rehtorical remark and guess on my part. But the alligators in the everglades are in such concentration that you think they would have to be fed. But the rangers on several tours I have taken say they do not. I guess I have to believe them because these are intelligent people and feeding alligators in that place where thousands of people visit would very irresponsible on their part.

Daniel

In places where alligators are fed by humans(which is just about everywhere alligators live), when they hear splashing of boats and propelers, they often come expecting food. I've seen this first hand.