Name:	Comp Doc -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/18/2017 7:20:25 PM

We have been coming to Lake Martin for three years and have never seen an alligator. I told someone this and they laughed saying that are alligators at Lake Martin. Has anyone in this forum ever seen an alligator at Lake Martin? 

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/18/2017 8:59:45 PM

Been on the lake over 20 years and have never seen a single one.

Name:	lakngulf -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/18/2017 9:05:40 PM

Maybe a different Lake Martin....

Name:	Little Talisi -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/18/2017 9:59:56 PM

Great appetizers!! 

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/19/2017 8:18:34 AM

Been coming to the lake for almost 15 years and have never seen nor heard of an alligator at Lake Martin.  They definitely cannot get here naturally and would have to be relased by someone into the lake.  But have never heard of it happening.

Name:	Rooster -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/19/2017 9:27:52 AM

Missing a great opportunity here.  Start the rumor alligators are numerous and it might help keep the human population down.  ?? 

Name:	CAT BOAT -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/19/2017 10:15:23 AM

I saw 12 of them at Chimney Rock one day.  And 6 more in the narrows.

Name:	HARRY -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/19/2017 2:09:38 PM

Never saw or heard of one in Martin. Below the dam in Yates or “the middle pond” they are numerous.

Name:	LSUboy -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/19/2017 4:25:31 PM

Alligator etouffee',gumbo,sauce picquante',fried on po boy or platter with homemade remoulade.blackened,grilled,Gator Napoleon,Boudin,Jambalaya,Creole.   Yummy

Name:	cobra -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/20/2017 6:39:35 PM

 Good one Cat.  I have seen several Agitators on Lake Martin :)

Name:	Aardvark -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/20/2017 7:56:20 PM

They have been there almost as long as I can remember.  A local from Eclectic released them at the ski club between Kowaliga and Real Island.

Name:	Wakely -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 2:16:59 AM

There are rumors, but none of them are true. Not even the one about the gator that supposedly lived at the old ski club.

And as many people who now have a camera with them everywhere they go, you'd think someone would have managed to snap a photo if there were any in the lake. (Ever notice how the sightings of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster stopped being so common as soon as everyone started carrying a camera? Same reason.)

There was a guy in Alex City who imported a couple of them for his pond a few decades back, but he was nowhere near the lake, and they would have had no chance to make it to the lake if they had wanted to. And there are probably some far below the dam, since there are reliable reports of gators in one of the creeks that into Yates.

But in Lake Martin itself? No.

Name:	rga82 -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 8:12:53 AM

The is another Lake Martin in Louisiana, near LaFayette. Do a search for photos of lake Martin, La and you will see plenty of alligators.

Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 10:39:01 AM (updated 12/21/2017 11:53:49 AM)

I personally saw two or three live gators here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.6307118,-85.590554,16.5z

Came back later and there were 3 dead culled gators laid neatly off of the Sougahatchee shore.  All 10 foot or larger.

Yes its real, Bubba.  Gators in the Sougahatchee.  I was there.

Before the sightings,  took the girfriend and kids swimming.  Little kid was floating in the water and lit up screaming and scared.  Said something was below him.

I laughed it off.  Yup, gators nibbling at the kids.  1990's.

There are two gator sized holes close to my cabin.  I was told a gator lived there.  Any noodlers out there?

Name:	LSUboy -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 10:58:29 AM

Yes, Breaux Bridge is just outside Lafayette.Saw that on the picture.

Name:	CAT BOAT -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 3:13:01 PM

Baaaahahahaha

Name:	George -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/21/2017 6:20:09 PM

I had to stop reading and go put on my chest waders, too deep.  If there has ever been an alligator in Lake Martin, it left the same day.  No habitat, no food no place to hibernate  Same for the Tallapoosa river above LM, clear moving water.  As for Middle Pond, the water temp is pretty cold and not liked by gators.  Now any creek in Alabama could have some, that's why I don't swim in creeks.  There are a large number in Gainsville, but they are not dangerous, no teeth.

Name:	Wakely -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/22/2017 1:59:30 AM

Yeah, there are parts of the Suugahatchee that have alligators. I have seen them in Auburn, Loachapoaka, and off of Yates. But there are places in between where I have never seen them, even though the habitat is better/ So it's safe to say that the Saugahatchee has some healthy populations, but isolated.

Name:	jalcz -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/23/2017 12:59:35 AM

I have never seen a gator anywhere near the lake, but people I trust have mentioned that they have been seen in parts of the Saugahatchee, so that part of your story is OK.

But I doubt you then saw 3 10-footers, dead or alive.

And I'm laughing and pointing about your assertion that alligators were nibbling on little children. Those were maybe fish, likely small pointy rocks, and probably just over-active imaginations. Nibbling isn't what alligators do. So that part of your story is absolute bunk, and a clear sign that you can't be trusted to say anything reliable about alligators.

Name:	Comp Doc -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/23/2017 12:48:54 PM

Thank you to the serious repliers. You were very reassuring and eased our fears...mainly for our Chihuahua who would be a tasty treat for a gator. Note we can let her swim and play at the water's edge. Merry Christmas to you all. 

Name:	dockside -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/24/2017 1:24:17 AM

I don't know if there are any alligators at present in Lake Martin (Alabama) but there is no arguing that for years there was a gator that "patrolled" regularlly the shoreline of the Lake Martin Ski Club at Porter's Branch. To protect those involved in the gator's introduction to Porter's Branch as well as those responsible for his demise no names will be shared. In the early summer of 1973 at a ski tournament at Rocky Bayou State Park outside Niceville on the Florida panhandle a young local boy had caught a small approximately 2 foot long gator and had it at the event. There were several of us from LM skiing in the tournament and one of our group wondered what would happen if the gator was brought back to the lake and let go. Not exactly a wise decision looking back but certainly one you might expect 16-18 year old teenage males to make. After some negoiation with the young boy the small gator was acquired and brought to LM where he (or she) was let go at the clubhouse. For several years after that release I have no memory of anybody mentioning ever seeing the young gator.  Then things changed. There were several of us that regularly went to the club for early morning jump and slalom practice. It was at these early morning trips we started seeing our Florida transplant regularily. Best guess was he was then between 4-5 feet in length. We kept seeing the gator for several years and one local resident who was not a skier but frequented the club site told me he could just about tell you where the gator could be found at different times of the day as the gator seemed to have regular travel habits. A side note is that our remote club site historically had a good population of water snakes and other vermin (muskrats, beavers, etc.) that could be seen sunning on the ski ramp or found chewing the floatation under the jump. Gradually we noticed the sightings of these animals declining and can only attribute it to the gator's presence. The demise of the gator occured in either 1983 or 1984 as he had grown to such a size that it started to be a concern. The gator was shot by a responsible person and the body laid up on the shoreline for several weeks. The week after he was shot we measured him at just under 8 feet. Several teeth were pulled from the carcass as proof of his existence along with taking a poor photo using an old "110" camera. I don't have easy access to the photo but feel sure it still is around. Hope this helps in sharing the story (and not supposition) of the ski club transplant. 

Name:	BigFoot -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators? see link below
Date:	12/24/2017 5:08:52 PM

Alex City gator

Name:	rga82 -	Reply
Subject:	Alligators?
Date:	12/26/2017 7:39:10 PM

Great summary Dockside.

I'm 62 years old and I remember, as a teenager,  stories of the gator perusing the ski club slough.

I never saw it, but I heard several "I witness acconts" of sightings.  Considering the habitat and travel routes required, I doubt that any gators call Kale Martin home.