The SC hunters saw a 660-pound gator’s glowing eyes about 100 feet away. Here’s what happened next

Noah Wilson has been trying to get a tag to hunt alligators for four years.

He was one of the lucky 1,000 — out of about 8,000 — to receive one this year from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

He and buddies Trayton Spinner and Ryan Holcomb decided to go to Lake Moultrie on Saturday, opening day for the annual month-long alligator hunt.

They’d been on the lake in Wilson’s 20-foot aluminum fishing boat for about 10 hours shining a flashlight into the water when they saw him, eyes glimmering about 100 feet away in the pitch-black darkness.

They edged closer and as gators will do, he dropped to the bottom of the lake, about 6 feet under water. They cast their rods with a treble hook.

Snagged.

First time with an alligator hunting license, first day of the season.

They drew him close, then plunged a harpoon into the soft part of the skin under the scutes, the scales on the alligator’s back. Compliance was not in this gator’s toolbox. He took off, dragging a crab pot behind.

After a 45 minute fight, the team was able to bring him back to the boat, where in the parlance of alligator hunters, they dispatched him.

He was a big one — 12 feet, 660 pounds.

Wilson, a Greenville County firefighter, said they dressed the animal themselves and were able to get 250 pounds of meat (before the fat was trimmed). They sent the hide for tanning and he’s going to mount the head.

Wilson hunts a lot — dove, turkey, duck. What he likes about alligator hunting is it’s active and communal.

“You don’t have to be quiet,” he said.

Alligator season in South Carolina runs until Oct. 8. A typical year results in about 300 gators dispatched.

A 13-foot, 625 alligator was taken at Lake Marion on Saturday as well as a 13-foot, 825 pounder.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 1:41 PM.