There’s a line in the movie “Jaws” when Roy Scheider is chumming while hunting for the killer shark. And after the shark shows itself, Scheider says, “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”
When Randy Hand bagged his state record 13-foot, 9-inch alligator off of Lake Seminole on Sunday, he was in a boat 9 inches short of the monster gator.
Earlier this alligator hunting season, Gary Braswell bagged a hefty 12-and-a-half foot alligator. Last year, there was another alligator killed that was at the 13-foot mark. Both were from Lake Seminole.
There are some who claim that the alligators on Lake Seminole are getting bigger and less afraid of humans, and that combination could end up being a sad story in the future.
During the current alligator hunting season that ends on Oct. 3, the quota set by the Department of Natural Resources was 140 in the zone that covers Baker, Decatur, Grady, Miller, Mitchell and Seminole counties, with each hunter allowed one alligator. This zone has the most than the rest of the state.
But still, are those who enjoy being on Lake Seminole safe? Are the alligators getting too use to us? And are we going to have to start looking at getting bigger boats?