First daddy-daughter hunting trip nets big catch: 10-foot gator
Lane Burnett has fond memories of the first time he went hunting.
The Brevard native was 6-years-old when he went on his uncle’s airboat to hog hunt. Now 28, the Port St. John resident recently had a full-circle moment when he took his own daughter, 6, out for her first hunting trip.
Only difference, the girl’s inaugural hunting experience was a bit more epic than her dad’s.
Dad and daughter, along with Burnett’s two friends, captured a 10-foot alligator in Lake Pointsett. Photos show the massive gator’s body hung and Burnett’s daughter, Nova, standing next to it in her pink shorts and pink crocs with a huge smile on her face.
Burnett said his 6-year-old daughter asked to go alligator hunting
Burnett’s been hunting for nearly his entire life.
Nova often listens to her dad’s stories and sees photos from his excursions, including one where he captured an 11-foot six-inch gator. Burnett applied for a license to hunt alligators during this year’s hunting season, which runs Aug. 15 – Nov. 8.
When he got word that he was approved for the license, he immediately shared the news with Nova.
“Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and she said ‘we’re going to catch a big one,’” Burnett told FLORIDA TODAY.
They couldn’t go the first day of hunting season, a Thursday, because Burnett didn’t want Nova to be tired for school the next day. Alligator hunting is best done after dark.
The evening of Friday, August 16th, the group set out in a 19-foot boat from a ramp at Lone Cabbage, the same place Burnett’s first hunting trip began. Shortly after sunset, Nova fell asleep wearing a life jacket, covered in a blanket.
It wasn’t long after that when the group spotted an alligator. A half-hour battle ensued to get the animal close to the boat. In the midst of the battle, Burnett woke his daughter up to witness the event.
He instructed her to sit in the boat and not move.
“Her adrenaline was going, she was excited,” Burnett said. “The first thing she said was “Daddy, be careful.”
Nova watched as Burnett killed the animal by shooting it in the head with a .357 magnum bang stick. The entire process was captured in an 8-minute video Burnett posted on YouTube.
It took all three men to roll the alligator's body into the boat.
“She was a little freaked out with the gator in the boat, a little hesitant at first, but I kept reassuring her everything was ok, the alligator was dead,” Burnett said.
On the ride back to the dock, Nova, a first grader, sat on her dad’s lap and fell back to sleep.
Can a 6 year old legally go on an alligator hunt?
Yes, there are no age restrictions for alligator hunting in Florida.
At least one person in the boat needs to have a valid alligator trapping license. Anyone else 16 or older in the boat assisting in the hunt who does not have a trapping license, needs to have an alligator trapping agent license, which costs $52.
“You hear about alligator attacks that happen in Florida, things can go south, but I felt with my experience growing up in the outdoors and the equipment we had to safely harvest the alligator, there would be no issues bringing my daughter along for the hunt of a lifetime,” Burnett said. “My daughter has been on the boat multiple times, she was already comfortable with the boat and all the safety rules.”
Burnett, who works for a subcontractor for NASA and is the facility manager for the Vehicle Assembly Building, said he’s prepared for people to be surprised he took his 6-year-old daughter on an alligator hunting trip.
“Either I can let her get on YouTube and explore the dangers of the Internet or I can take her with me where I know she’s safe,” he said.
When is alligator hunting season in Florida?
Hunting season begins Aug. 15 and ends Nov. 8.
Those granted a hunting license are assigned one week to hunt between the middle of August and mid-September. After that timeframe, those with a license are able to hunt until Nov. 8.
More than 15,000 applications are submitted and about 7,000 permits are granted through a lottery. Each hunter is allowed to harvest two alligators per season.
Burnett has already taken the gator he caught with his daughter to a local processor. He’ll distribute the meat to family and friends and Nova already has a spot picked out in her room to display the gator’s head.
She’s also eagerly awaiting the next daddy/daughter alligator hunt.
“She asks me just about everyday when we're going again,” Burnett said. “These are experiences that we’ll never forget.”
Spitzer is a Trending Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Six-year-old girl accompanies dad to catch 10-foot gator in Brevard