[Fish Bones]

Float Tubes in Texas

This is the reason why most of us avoid using float tubes on many Texas and Louisiana waters. This photo was said to have been taken on Cross Lake near Shreveport, LA... not very far from the East Texas border.

The American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, once on the verge of extinction, has made a tremendous come-back over the past 30 years. In 1969, Texas provided complete protection for the American alligator and classified it as endangered after passage of the Texas Endangered Species Act in 1973. Under this protection, along with Federally implemented regulations eliminating unregulated alligator hide markets in the United States, the species has made a full recovery and was delisted from the status of endangered in 1985.

American alligators normally avoid humans, but American alligators can become perceived as a nuisance when they establish territories around people. As human populations in Texas continue to expand, there have been an increased number of encounters between people and alligators.

One of the best spots in Texas to photograph the alligators is probably the 2000 hectares Brazos Bend State Park, managed by Texas Parks & Wildlife. It is the best example of prime inland habitat in Texas and one of the best examples in the entire United States as well. It is very different from other coastal and inland sites in that a large number of alligators exist in a single locality where several bodies of water are in close proximity to each other and are interspersed by trails. This is significant in terms of viewing alligators without disturbing them with a noisy airboat engine.

So give me a kayak or canoe. I really don’t want me feet to dangle around this guy. O.K. BigCliff… you still want that FatCat?

[BigCliff]

Steve, have you ever heard me talk about fishing in East Texas? I intentionally avoid that area for the most part. I MUCH prefer to be fishing fairly unstained water with a rock bottom. No offense to any of the residents of the area, in fact my family has DEEP roots there, I just prefer the Hill Country.

I'm sure I can find enough places to use the Fat Cat where there is no risk of massive carnivorous reptiles. I just wish the range of Cottonmouth Water Moccasins was as limited as the gators'.

[ffjones]

would a pontoon boat fair any better?
just wondering because in the future i may be relocating to florida and dont want to be taken as bait there.

[BigCliff]

I really don’t want me feet to dangle around this guy

Most people propel a pontoon with their feet on still waters anyway. South Florida is a different ball game though. I would likely opt for a kayak there myself.

I think the number of available fishing opportunities down there outweighs gator risk though.

[Cliff Hilbert]

Actually Steve the picture was taken on a lake in Georgia or South Carolina, I don't remember which. How it got around to supposedly being taken at Cross Lake no one knows. I knew when I first saw it that it couldn't have come from Shreveport because there is no lake in Louisiana that has clear water like that.

[BigCliff]

yeah! good point!

I can't imagine how worn out that gator was after having to push that carcass around like that.

[Fish Bones]

Oh... thanks Cliff for busting my bubble!!! I must admit that I cannot verify the athenticity of this photo... but it was emailed to me, from a reliable source, as being taken on Cross Lake. Of course, we certainly all know how stories can be changed and/or embelished along the way. The printed story however is no doubt true and my position on tubes in Texas does not change.

[royalcutt]

Having spent quite a bit of time in Louisiana, I can say that I love the people and food. I have to draw the line though with all the creepy crawly animals that inhabit the area. Redfish and Largemouths are a blast down there, I'm just to big of a wimp for the snakes and gators.

[Cliff Hilbert]

I was born and raised in New Orleans and spent thousands of hours in the swamps south and west of N.O. fishing and hunting and just playing around. I'm now 59 and still have all my fingers and toes, have never been bitten by a poisonous snake (even though I used to capture water moccasins alive), have never come close to being attacked by an alligator (even though the Florida Gators were unkind to my LSU Tigers quite a bit), and expect to live to a ripe old age. The most dangerous thing about New Orleans in Bourbon Street.

In 1978 I moved to Dallas (and wish I was still there instead of Redneck Tyler East Texas) and I've seen more danger in the outdoors in East Texas than I ever saw in Louisiana - most of it from a bunch of idiots that have no idea what outdoor safety in the woods and on the water is. Heck, the animals are tame compared to these rednecks.

[Gordon Bryson]

There he goes again.......