flordia

[birddogsunlimited]

any one from flordia i have abusiness oppertunity down there that would involve me moving down. i know theres quail, deer hog and waterfoul hunting but i was wondering if theres much for public areas to hunt and if any onw hunts waterfowl whats the risk of your retreiver geting munched on by a gator

[maker4life]

I live just across the state line in Ga about thirty miles due north of Tallahassee and WILL NOT put my dog in any of the lakes or rivers . I don't even take my GSP on the pontoon boat fishing anymore because of the gators .

[phermes1]

I don't hunt waterfowl, and I agree with maker, I'm pretty leery about putting my dog in any lake or river. Gators are pretty much everywhere.

[birddogsunlimited]

i had that feeling looks like if i end up down there there may have to be trips back to michigan in october just so he can get his hunting fix

[GSPVIZ]

Who knows where the good upland hunting is in the Orlando area (if there is any).

My parents live down there (The Villages) and I would like to go on a hunt sometime when visiting.

[birddogsunlimited]

ive been lookin at trying to find some upland places down there as well. talking with a freind of mine he says your best bet if finding public land to hunt is your best bet so ihave an atlas of michigan that shows state and fedral lands on it so im hoping they have one for flordia aswell. i have looke at some quail hunts down there and they are a bit pricey in my opinion one place wanted 320 bucks per gun for 8 quail then 10 bucks a pop for each aditinol bird. i can hunt up here for 6 bucks a bird with a 5 bird min. i also have my own bird pen witch i usually keep pretty well stocked with phesants and quail so i can use them for training any time. if i end up moving down there i may have to tear down and pack it with at least the netting any way

[phermes1]

I've never been wild quail hunting down here, but there are a few public areas with wild quail, Babcock Webb being one of them. From what I understand, though, the quail population there is pretty well shot up after the first weekend of the season. I'm not sure about the Panhandle or north Florida, but wild quail are not exactly abundant anywhere in central or south Florida, at least on public land.

[subatomicstang]

The only real hunting Ive heard of in NE Fla is on private land with private hunts where people raise the birds and release them to hunt. There are quite a few places around us (south of Jax and east of St Aug) where people raise 3000+ birds and release on their land for hunts. Luckily I am friends with someone who is invited to the hunts, so we are able to go. But it seems you have to know people around here to get into those private hunts.

As far as rivers/lakes in Florida, no way Id let my dog OR myself swim in any of them!

[birddogsunlimited]

if this happens id be in the fort lauderdale area i have quite a few freinds and some family down there prety much all over the state so its hard to say what kind of property i may have to hunt my bigest thing is duck hunt i love that more than any thing but going with out mikey makes it kinda tough but he also makes a good phesant dog backs my pointers and i had him flushing on comand last year

[birdhunter2424]

I was in Florida from '86 to '93 and our golden swam in our lake everyday almost all day long. I lived on a 10 acre lake we only had 1 small gator in there, but we wern't near any other bodies of water. The next closest was over 2 miles away. If you Know the water it is safe, but you have to frequent the water regularly so you know if you get one in there. I dont remeber if they have any sea ducks out there or not. That might be an option.

[dlfl]

I would look into if there are any hunting clubs in that area. I know that there are some down south florida way that have quail they release. The state have several quail projects in south florida also. many use their dogs down there for ducks but you have to kknow the water. Dogs are much favored by the big guys. Check out the florida duck forum, you will have to do a google to find it. I know many south florida boys are on it.

"bleep"

[co1651]

Do you need to have ur dogs snake broke to hunt upland in FL?

[dlfl]

That would be a good idea. There are many snakes around even up here in the Panhandle.

"bleep"

[phermes1]

Yes, snakeproofing is a good idea.

[subatomicstang]

Yes, snakeproofing is a good idea.

How do you go about snake proofing a dog? I was told that some snakes give off the same type of smell as game birds?

-Randy

[tenbearsviz]

There is a vet down in the Gainseville area that has a couple rattlers. He tapes thier mouths shut and sets them out in a grassy area. He engages a volunteer "wrangler" to keep them in one place. The dog is fitted with an e-collar on high. The dog is then allowed to walk on a check cord and encounter the snake. Once the dog smells and acknowledges the snake (a plus if the snake rattles) the vet hits the collar on high. After a back flip and anal gland expression, the dog is calmed and taken to snake number two. If the reaction to snake two is not apprehensive and evasive, wham! antoher collar bite.

This process has been done on a couple of my dogs. They are taken for a brush up yearly. They dont forget!

[AZ Brittany Guy]

I was in Florida from '86 to '93 and our golden swam in our lake everyday almost all day long. I lived on a 10 acre lake we only had 1 small gator in there, but we wern't near any other bodies of water. The next closest was over 2 miles away. If you Know the water it is safe, but you have to frequent the water regularly so you know if you get one in there. I dont remeber if they have any sea ducks out there or not. That might be an option.

I lived there in the mid seventys and we always looked to see if birds were in the water. If not, we would not let our dogs go in.