Like most people wanting to hunt Zone 7 it took us 3 years to get drawn to hunt. That is 3 years plus the 45 years before which took the time to get ready to take an alligator by reading the articles and watching the videos and dreaming the dreams. Even after all the prep work I still would have to say nothing could fully prepare you for what waits in the water.
      Everything about out trip fell into place. Everything from the call to Russ to get the information to the room we stayed in. The hunt was on a cool night with just enough wind to keep most of the mosquitoes back in the woods. As we pulled away from the dock we had already spotted 4 sets of eyes. Everything we had done getting ready for this moment was about to pay off. As James pulled the boat into the shallow marsh everything Russ had gone over with me about the cross bow and what to do was about to happen. I was ready for everything except the excitement. I missed a very easy shot. No matter how good or how prepared your guide is if the man pulling the trigger chokes it's not going to happen. This same scenerio played out all night. As the sun was getting ready to come up it would have been real easy for the crew to be aggravated. But not Russ, Teresa, or James no matter what happened they just worked that much harder to make our trip a success. This is a very close group of people and it was a pleasure hunting with people who care and treat you as a friend. After a good day of sleep we headed out at dark the second night. The whole crew was cutting up with me about the night before and getting ready for a long night. At 10:00PM Russ had found a nice gator that was going to hold up in some grass. James worked the boat just right and put me right on top of him. When I shot the gator exploded faster than I ever had imagined. He took off accross the river with us right behind. After a good fight we had our gator a little under 9ft. in the boat.
Many thanks to Russ, Teresa, and James for giving my son Aaron, myself, and my hunting partner Steve a hunting trip we will always remember. I would recommend Smokehouse Outfitters to anybody. My son Aaron and Steve should get a permit next year and we will be back.
Thanks,
Boyd