In southwest Florida, an ordinary evening of backyard fishing became a fight to survive when a 71-year-old man said an alligator burst from the water, seized him, and pulled him into the canal.
He said the move that saved him was one he had heard about for years: target the eyes.
What happened?
On a Friday night, 71-year-old North Fort Myers resident James Grayson McMicken went outside with his bulldog and made one cast into the canal behind his home, according to WPLG Local 10, before the attack started.
He told WPLG Local 10, "I started reeling, and it jumped out of the water and grabbed me." The animal clamped onto his right leg and, he said, "rolled me down off the bank into the water."
Trying to get free, McMicken said he first "stuck my thumb in one eye" and then used his fishing pole to strike at the alligator's other eye over and over.
"I just took that fishing pole and jabbed him in that other eye and jabbed him and jabbed him and jabbed him," he said. "But then he turned loose."
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The attack happened July 3, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. At the time of the report, officers, along with state-contracted trappers, still had not found the alligator involved.
After getting back into his house, McMicken said his wife cleaned him up before relatives took him to Cape Coral Hospital. He is now back home, recovering and starting physical therapy.
Why does it matter?
Living near alligators is a normal part of daily life for many Florida residents.
Residential canals, shoreline development, and backyard access to water put people in regular proximity to animals already inhabiting those spaces. Nighttime activity, disturbing the water with an object like a fishing line, and a dog nearby can increase the chance of a close encounter.
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McMicken said, "Then I sat down in my chair and passed out. I was so exhausted."
What's being done?
The alligator had not been found as of the latest update. Wildlife officials commonly use contracted trappers to remove animals believed to threaten people.
Common prevention steps include keeping a safe distance from the water's edge, especially at night; avoiding walking pets close to canals or ponds; staying alert while fishing; and not assuming a backyard shoreline is safer than a more remote one.
McMicken said his own past experience legally hunting alligators helped him react quickly enough to survive. Once the animal let go, he said, he called his bulldog over and used the dog for support to stand up and get back inside.
He said he still hopes to fish again.
"I've always heard that if you got no other choice, hit them eyes. And that's what got him off of me," McMicken said.
"No gator is going to run me off."
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