Richard Simmons
Well Mike--you have given me cause to be more watchful as I do my kayaking on Camp Creek Lake--I am already looking around more--always a good thing, I guess.
Also, your videos have actually reduced some fears about gators while in my 12 foot kayak. Generally speaking, I am sure they are much more affraid of me, but a watchful eye is a good thing! Thanks for the vids!
I wouldn't worry about gator in Camp Creek or any of the other dune lakes I've been in. I've been in them all. There are a few gator in there, but not many at all and they tend to stay anonymous. In Alligator lake, oddly enough, I had one coming toward me and someone came running from their backyard to warn me that a gator was there. I thanked them. I wonder if that gator was fed because of how it approached me.
The ones I've seen in Deer lake have been very skidish. I saw one in Camp creek that disappeared immediately. I've seen a few smaller ones in Western lake and other lakes, but that's another thing. All the ones I've seen in the dune lakes have been relatively small, maybe the biggest being 8 feet.
But in the dune lakes, in my opinion, you have absolutely no reason to be concerned. As I've said before, in Louisiana in a spot I use to paddle, I stopped counting at 126 one day and I came across some monsters. While a few times I had a little fear becase I worried a big gator had narrow exit points, I generally felt fine. Many little gator surfaced inches from my kayak and seemed surprised that I was there, and they would flurry away.
I think a gators jaw pressure might be around 3000 pounds. I could be wrong about that. But if it is, I lift that much when working out so I should be able to withstand its bite and even seperate its jaws from my frame. I also have loose hips from my disco dance routine I do in my home workouts (Richard Simmons) so I could probably shake out from a death roll. I hope I don't have to test my theories, but it's nice to be as prepared as I am
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