Lake Sumter questions
 

A couple questions about Lake Sumter. The lake itself. How deep is it (on average and at its greatest depth), and are there gators in it. I ask the last question because I watched a bunch of loons or cormorants swimming around in it this morning, and thought, "Geez, brave bunch of little fellas."

When there is heavy heavy rain, do the anchored out little row boats fill up/sink?

Any ideas?

Take the nature pontoon boat ride, its 25 per person max 4 and it's a load of great info. It is deep in some parts. and those birds are natures cheeseburgers to a gator.

FYI- no P in SUMTER :icon_wink:

There is no pee in Lake Sumter
 

As Gracie likes to point out (she's probaby tired of doing). There is no P in Lake Sumter.

Yes, gators live in Lake Sumter. So do all sorts of things.

Let me get a tape and will let you know. Yes there are gators in it.

Gator pee.

I'm wondering if they remove the alligators in TV when they get a certain size.

My wife's niece lives in a very exclusive subdivision near Jacksonville, and they
have a small lake with alligators, but they remove them when they get 4' or less.

we're not that exclusive....if we were, the amenity fee would be much, much higher

The boats have scupers on the transom to allow the water to drain. The Captain.

They do not generally remove gators when they reach a specific size. Instead, they are removed when they become too friendly with people. Do Not Feed the Gators!

Removal means calling a hunter. The hunter's only pay comes from selling the meat and hide.

Not long ago, a popular gator that had a name (Larry?) got large and was too unafraid of people. Villagers took their grandkids to throw food to him. He was removed to a gator park to live out his life in captivity. Other gators are not so lucky.

I took the boat ride today. Yes, the gator's name was Larry. It is the ONLY gator taken alive from Sumter. The rest usually end up washed up on a bank dead and are removed. The birds are harder for the gators to catch than fish, so they usually go for the fish. Catfish, Big mouth bass, and wild tilapia. This time of year (according to the boat ride's First Mate) they are more or less dormant. Don't know if I buy that, it's not like the lake freezes. Average depth is 15 feet but there are deeper points. Anyhow, interesting stuff.

You can correct the wrong spelling in your title be going advanced when editing.

Came for the “there is no P in Sumter” posts, left satisfied.

Well, Larry the alligator was removed a couple of years ago from a pond adjacent to the rec trail leading to Brownwood. That is in Sumter co but not Lake Sumter. You can see gators in Lake Sumter during Spring break when the grandkids are here and Grandma and Grandpa take them on the boardwalk to feed them chicken fingers

In Florida, when you see a lake, expect a gator.

How do they get 'em to hold still long enough to measure?