A lot of people make the mistake of THROWING a fish through the air when they return them to water. That bursts some of their internal organs and eventually kills them. To return them properly you have unhook them and place them gently back into the water. Personally, I think that any alligator over 3 ft should be captured and sold to restaurants.

Not one of those laws prevents self defense.

I use nightclawlers but shiners are better. I fish way up north. Glenview has been good for bass

Goldfish
 

Goldfish work really well up north. I would imagine they work well in Florida Ponds.

Fixed your post for ya'...

2nd generation / lifetime Floridian here...my Dad has second homes on several lakes in Florida over the years--Lake Placid, Lake Owens, Lake Weir--and I've lived on a private (no public access) spring fed lake for nearly a decade now.

Alligator attacks are EXTREMELY rare, and generally-speaking the only time a gator becomes a problem is because ignorant people feed them and they lose their fear of man. Every puddle of water in Florida has an alligator (or 10) in it...they are just not a problem.

Statistically speaking, dogs and cows kill/injure WAY more humans every year than alligators, but hey, keep up the fear mongering...

The answer to your question you're really asking, which is "What's the best type of bait to use?", depends entirely on what species of fish you're trying to catch.

If it's bass he's interested in, there's nothing better than a wild golden shiner--that's caviar to bass!

Worms & nightcrawler are also good, but if it's bluegill & crappie he's after, heck, bread on a small hook works just fine.

I have no idea how good the fishing is in the retention ponds in & around TV, but I'm guessing not so great. There's a park near downtown Leesburg that has a nice dock that you can fish off of...I don't know how good the fishing is there, either, (it's likely over-fished) but you're guaranteed to have lots of turtles swim up to you looking for handouts!

Anyone on this forum that's a really good at catching bass? If you have a boat & trailer & are willing to teach me how to fish better (I'm easily the world's worst fisherman and it's not even close) I live on a private 100 acre lake that's rarely fished (no public access) and might be willing to allow you to put your boat in on my property in exchange for taking me out w/ you & teaching me how to actually catch something and not just caste. Plus I'll bring the beer!

I'm surpised dogs and cows kill ANY alligators.

I'm probably on your level as a fisherman, but I'd be glad to sit in a boat and drink your beer!

ha! nice catch...