re: List of fatal alligator attacks in the US (by decade). Fun for all inside.

I met my best friend at UGA in 92. He is from Valdosta and he started inviting me to go fishing on the 400 acre cypress pond that his parents have a cabin on in Hamilton Co., Fl. I got to know his HS friends well over the years and was perplexed when they always wanted to take a ride over to the Withlachoochee river to dive off limestone cliffs into that black arse water. I asked if there were gators in that river and they all said yes but they didn't bother people.

I opted to remain an observer. I only swam in the clear springs close by where I could see the bottom. I bought a place on the pond in 02 and go down to fish about 10 times a year. Gators all over that pond. Watched Fl fish and game pull a 10 ft gator out of there one evening. Shine a flashlight over the surface in the evening and see them damn gators eyes all over the place. One day, while sharing a boat with one of his HS friends, this guy dropped his rod in about 5 ft deep water. He gets down to his underwear and hops in to the pond. Proceeds to "feel" around with his feet until he finds the rod. I would have left the rod as a sacrifice to the pond God.