Howdy Ags. So my dad, brother-in-law, a close family friend and I were lucky enough to be drawn on the J.D. Murphree WMA gator hunt! We're very excited because we've been applying for years (Dad and our family friend were drawn wayyyy back in the day when I was a kid). Now we're looking for a jon boat w/ a motor (nothing fancy) to rent so we can attend. Anyone have any recommendations? We're headed in from the San Antonio area so we can pick up the boat anywhere along I-10 on Sept. 17 and return it late on the 19th or 20th. Any thoughts/ideas would be very much appreciated. If you're renting, please send me a direct message to my username at gmail. Thanks everyone!

Went through the same issue when we got drawn a few years ago. I think we determined the best option would be to buy a cheap jon boat and then resell it afterward because we couldn't find a rental option.

We ended up finding an acquaintance that let us borrow their jon boat.

You might find an Aggie that works there and runs some of the hunt programs and discuss with him.

No names here, but he's a super nice guy and might be able to point you in the right direction.

Yeah we've definitely thought about that...but kinda saving that option as last resort.

My B-in-L talked to the biologist there and he had no recommendations for us unfortunately

Haha man that is slick but I'd have to live on that boat because my wife would kick me out of the house.

I have a 14' Grumman jon boat sitting in my back yard that y'all can use. I've never used it in the 10 or so years I've owned it.

That being said, it doesn't have a trailer. Or motor.

Haha well if we get in a bind, we have a 14' trailer and can get some oars

Use those giant inflatable swans, like the guy catching the tarpon.

A gator surely couldn't bite through one of those.

Sorry to de-rail, how old is the motor on the 16 footer?

I live in Beaumont. Never heard of boat rental places around here or anyone that's rented a boat around here. Not to say that one doesn't exist, but it's not very common.

Good luck on your trip!

Congrats on getting picked and here are some very good local places to dine in the area:
In Beaumont:
Floyds Seafood. http://floydsseafood.com/
Rao's Bakery: https://raosbakery.com/

In Winnie:
Al-T's https://www.altsrestaurant.com/Home

And if you don't have any luck with your hunt you can stop by Gator Country right off of I-10 https://www.gatorrescue.com/

Texas Aggie Grad has jaw dropping photo shoot with alligator.

Premier Yamaha rents bay boats. I did this hunt about 15 years ago and had a blast.

Good luck

Al-Ts shut down two weeks ago.

They have a vrbo type website for boat rentals. I forgot what it is called, but that is probably your best bet.

Yeah I think you're referring to boatsetter. Unfortunately it looks like there's more sports and bigger fishing boats on there....but I'll definitely keep watching it

It may be worth going to the southeasttexas.com classifieds and finding one for sale there. Most of those are in the Beaumont area.

I'd be happy to run my boat for you, but it's illegal to guide on a WMA.

so how exactly do you hunt and harvest the animals on these alligator hunts? I applied for my son for the youth alligator hunt and I'm assuming they provide boats/guides for the TYHP gator hunt but don't know how they actually harvest the animals if he gets lucky and gets drawn. I've watched swamp people so there's that way(bait/hook/.22), then I've seen shows where they just cruise around at night and harpoon gators and then I've seen other shows where people shoot gators/crocs on the shore.

phorizt said:

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so how exactly do you hunt and harvest the animals on these alligator hunts? I applied for my son for the youth alligator hunt and I'm assuming they provide boats/guides for the TYHP gator hunt but don't know how they actually harvest the animals if he gets lucky and gets drawn. I've watched swamp people so there's that way(bait/hook/.22), then I've seen shows where they just cruise around at night and harpoon gators and then I've seen other shows where people shoot gators/crocs on the shore.

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3 means of hunting, only allowed to do one method at a time. Most common and typically highest success rate is baited line, then shotgun slug to finish. Others are weighted throw hook, then slug or archery then slug.

TPWD will only allow shotgun slugs for dispatching. Don't remember for sure, but I think they may require single shot? I know when we went I took a single shot .410 but never got the opportunity to use it.

phorizt said:

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so how exactly do you hunt and harvest the animals on these alligator hunts? I applied for my son for the youth alligator hunt and I'm assuming they provide boats/guides for the TYHP gator hunt but don't know how they actually harvest the animals if he gets lucky and gets drawn. I've watched swamp people so there's that way(bait/hook/.22), then I've seen shows where they just cruise around at night and harpoon gators and then I've seen other shows where people shoot gators/crocs on the shore.

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For the TPWD draw hunts, including youth hunts, you're responsible for your own transportation on the water.

If you don't mind signing something Incase you sink it, I have a 16 ft Lowes Flat bottom with a 25 Johnson.

I need to get the trailer lights back on since the side post got knocked off. Let me know, I am in Hoechheim off 183.

OP, I'd jump on this offer. That will be perfect for what you need out there. As long as you don't overload it, you should be able to easily portage it over the levees.

SanAntoneAg said:

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phorizt said:

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so how exactly do you hunt and harvest the animals on these alligator hunts? I applied for my son for the youth alligator hunt and I'm assuming they provide boats/guides for the TYHP gator hunt but don't know how they actually harvest the animals if he gets lucky and gets drawn. I've watched swamp people so there's that way(bait/hook/.22), then I've seen shows where they just cruise around at night and harpoon gators and then I've seen other shows where people shoot gators/crocs on the shore.

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For the TPWD draw hunts, including youth hunts, you're responsible for your own transportation on the water.

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this is not one of the standard TPWD draw hunt. But if a boat is required for the Texas Youth Hunting Program then we probably won't be doing it if we get drawn. I put a note on the application that we did not have a boat. The odds of getting drawn are slim anyway so it probably won't matter.

I thought only the premiere Yamaha in corpus rented boats. I guess it'd be worth a call at least to the beaumont location to see.

Other good local places to eat. Tia Juanitas(cajun Mexican, lots of seafood), crazy cajun, carmelas(tex mex), new york pizza and pasta, willly burger, crown pizza