alligator Archives - Page 5 of 9 - Mississippi Sportsman

For Mississippi alligator hunters, the most important hour of the season happens long before it opens — 9 a.m. on July 19, when the 920 permits will go on sale through an online process. In 2015, it took 39 minutes for all permits to be claimed.

Gator drawing is July 19

July 8, 2016 Bobby Cleveland

The countdown has begun for the online drawing process for the 920 permits available for the statewide public waters alligator hunting season. […]

After a successful and record alligator season in 2015, MDWFP officials have tweaked their regulations to open more opportunities in the top zones — like Barnett Reservoir where this giant 12-footer lives.

2016 gator regulations proposed

April 6, 2016 Bobby Cleveland

Mississippians will still have 920 alligator hunting permits in 2016, but if a proposed change in regulations gets final approval in April a re-allocation will open more opportunities in the most popular areas. […]

A hunting party, led by Jonathon Kent (right) of Greenwood, caught a alligator last weekend that at 10 feet, ½-inch is a new state record for a female gator. Hunting with Kent were (from left) Nick Stuart of Fitler, Megan Annison of Brandon and Anna Kathryn Oaks-Kent of Greenwood.

Another gator record broken

September 25, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Hold up! It appears we closed the book, at least the record book, on Mississippi’s alligator hunting season all too soon. […]

When your hunting party is this large — left to right, Destin Rivers, Landri Rivers, Jacob Lee, Kennedy Rivers, Ken Rivers and Angelia Rivers all of Ellisville — it’s good to have a gator measuring 13 feet, 7 ¾ inches. Angelia Rivers now holds the record for the longest alligator caught in Mississippi.

Gator total will top 960

September 14, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

If the goal of the switch to an online first-come, first-serve public alligator permit process was to increase participation and harvest, then color the change an overwhelming success. […]

Casarah Graves Corey of Brooklyn sits on the back of the big gator her hunting party killed Friday night on the Leaf River. She shared a long history with the 10-foot, 4-inch alligator, which had become a threat to boaters and swimmers in the river near New Augusta.

Woman gets gator with shared past

September 2, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Casarah Graves Corey didn’t just kill an alligator last weekend, she ended a long-time relationship with an animal that has caused problems for a lot of people who frequent the Leaf River near New Augusta. […]

Craig Jones (bearded, second from left) and his hunting party and friends stand behind the 319-pound female alligator taken Sunday morning at Eagle Lake. It is the first female over 300 pounds taken by a hunter in Mississippi in 11 years, obviously making it the new state record for that division.

New record for heaviest female gator

August 31, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Another day of the alligator season, another record broken.

On Sunday, biologist Ricky Flynt certified a 319-pound female gator caught by Craig Jones of Mendenhall at Eagle Lake. It is by nearly 24 pounds the heaviest female gator taken in 11 years of alligator hunting in Mississippi. […]

Natchez's Clayton Gibson, Parker Gibson, Reeve Gibson and Aidan Gibson( left to right) kneel behind the 822-pound alligator they caught Friday night just off the Mississippi River on the opening evening of the Mississippi alligator season. It beat the previous record for heaviest gator by 30 pounds.

Mississippi state record for heaviest gator set this weekend, MDWFP says

August 30, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

This is how an alligator season should begin. The first night of Mississippi’s public-waters season saw two records broken — separate reptiles that produced new standards for the heaviest and longest gators ever taken in the state. […]

Morton's Kennie Crechale (right) killed the first Mississippi alligator ever certified to exceed 14 feet on Aug. 29, hunting with partner Ronnie Clifton of Petal. Hunting on a Private Lands Permit, Crechale shot the 14-foot, ¾-inch gator weighing 826 pounds on Davis Island in the Mississippi River.

Gator records shattered with Davis Island monster

August 30, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

State biologist Ricky Flynt had no way of knowing that hours before he had certified two alligators as the heaviest and longest ever killed in Mississippi’s hunting season, both had already been beaten by one Delta gator. […]

When Mississippi’s alligator season opens at noon on Friday, 929 permit holders will be chasing the state record of 792 pounds captured in 2014 by (left to right) Brian Montgomery of Starkville, Scott Berry of Raymond and Jesse Phillips of Starkville.

Bama gators stir Mississippi pot

August 24, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

For the second consecutive year, a massive alligator caught in neighboring Alabama has Mississippi’s gator hunters excited about their approaching season. […]

The 920 permits available for the 2015 Mississippi Public Lands Alligator Hunt were all sold within 39 minutes.

920 gator tags sold in 39 minutes

July 15, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, permits for the 2015 Mississippi Public Lands Alligator Hunt went on sale online, first-come and first-served.

The first completed transaction was 9:06 a.m. […]

People wanting to test their skills and luck at alligator hunting, like these hunters did successfully in 2014, must first show their talent on navigating the internet in Tuesday's online process. All 920 permits will be available beginning at 9 a.m.

Gator enthusiasts getting anxious

July 13, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

Thousands of Mississippians are anxious today, many to the point of a sleepless night ahead.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the first-come, first-served computer drawing for the 2015 public alligator hunting season will begin. Within an hour, the 920 total permits available, or least those in the most-coveted zones, are expected to be gone. […]

After getting poked a few times with a rod tip and having its back rattled by trolling motor blades, an alligator about this size took the writer and his spinnerbait for a memorable ride at Eagle Lake.

Surprise: Snag starts swimming off

May 18, 2015 Bobby Cleveland

EAGLE LAKE — When I felt something hit my lure hard, instinctively, I set the hook.

What followed was comical, a bit sobering and never forgotten. […]