Santee Open, alligator encounter

ButchT 5/12/2008 6:44:42 PM

My son had an encounter with an alligator first thing on the last day of the Santee Cooper Open BASS tournament. I thought it was interesting, funny, and just wanted to share it with those that might be interested.
He was fishing pretty much the same pattern as Randall Tharp and started on some cypress trees with lily pads adjacent to them. On about his fourth cast he had a hit, let the fish swim out, toward the pads of course, and set the hook. The fish fought a bit and then just stopped. J figured he was hung in the pad stems and kicked the TM on high. When he gets to the fish, it is wrapped around a couple of pad stems but with it’s tail in an ALLIGATORS MOUTH!! A darn alligator had the fish by the tail,,,he couldn’t believe it! Though it’s funny now, it certainly wasn’t to him at the time as it would be his first fish and a four pounder at that. He said there was not way the alligator was going to get that fish, so he fought back.
First of all he grabbed another rod and tried beating the alligator off with that, luckily he didn’t break the rod which speaks well for Fenwick as I doubt they designed them as “alligator beaters”. Finally he was able to get in position to hit the gator with his trolling motor and he let the fish go, taking approximately 3 ounces of tail and flesh with him. But J won and got the fish in the boat. That three ounces, J’s estimate of course, and might have cost him 1250 bucks!
Though bleeding and in a state of shock he got the fish in the livewell and with the help of Rejuvenate the bleeding was stopped and the fish survived. Not sure how well he or she will do on the bed next year but we have a three legged Sam right not that has adapted quite well so there is hope.
The only thing he could figure was the alligator might have been laying on the bottom and when the fish was fighting in the pads realized it might be an easy meal. He never saw the gator on top. I did ask him why he didn’t just reach down and grab the fish and do a tug of war? He said he wasn’t the brightest apple on the tree but not the dumbest one either….LOL