2025 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year
Chris SantAngelo Of Seminole Prairie Safaris
OUTFITTER REVIEW SCORE: A+
During the month of August we chose to bypass a trip to Disneyland and take the HuntTheNorth next generation on a once in a lifetime Florida Gator / Hog Combo Hunt! This turned out to be the trip of a lifetime not only for the three young boys but also their Pappa as well! Not only did each of the boys harvest their first Wild Boar, but we locked into a 11 foot Gator on the last day and from there it was GAME ON! After the hunt was over, I was proud to name Chris Santangelo of Seminole Prairie Safaris as the 2025 HuntTheNorth.com Outfitter Of The Year!
Hunting Monster Gators and Wild Hogs In The Florida Everglades With Seminole Prairie Safaris
By Dan Wennerlind
When my boys asked me- can we please go to Florida for our vacation next year!!!!! I thought to myself, do I really want to spend a week of my life standing in line at Disneyland or could I offer my kids a trip they would truly remember, for the rest of their life…..
After careful consideration I made the call to my good friend and HuntTheNorth.com Endorsed Outfitter Chris SantAngelo of Seminole Prairie Safaris and told him my idea. With three boys under the age of 11 on a boat in the Florida Everglades with a 10 foot Gator, what could go wrong? Chris assured me ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! And with that the hunt was booked!
Eight months later our plane landed in Orlando, Florida about 2 hours from Chris’s hunting lodge. We V-lined it to the rental car shop as we were hoping to get to the lodge just in time that afternoon to join Chris and his fearless guide Noah on a scouting mission that evening, to scope out the monster Gators that the Lake Okeechobee area has to offer for our upcoming hunt that week.
As fast as we could go, we tried to hurry, but the area population of non-hunters continued to slow us down, until we were finally stuck in line at the rental car shop for over an hour. As I patiently watched my watch tick away, I knew it was a losing battle. I could see the August Florida heat slowly take away the excitement out of each of my boy’s faces until they literally passed out on top of their luggage, waiting for our car.
An hour and half later and we were on the road! Whoohoo! We arrived at the lodge just in time to get checked into our rooms and get settled in for the night before Chris got back from the big scouting mission. From there I was able to hear all about what Chris and his compadres had in store for us for the upcoming hunt, as my boys watched ESPN highlights of the NFL pre-season games on the big screen at the lodge.
Chris shared with us that they located a big 10 foot Gator lurking in the waters not more than 200 yards from an area boat launch on the Kissimmee River about 40 minutes north of the lodge. I could see all three boys’ eyes get really big as Chris shared his story. I knew we were in for the hunt of a lifetime!
Chris and I then game planned that night about how we would maximize the next 3 days for these young hunters. As I purchased my $50 Florida gator license online, Chris explained that the tag holder wouldn’t be able to join us until the following day so he suggested we take the boys out to harvest their first wild boar the next day and we would then chase after the monster reptiles the following day. It sounded good to me as we only had 3 days to jampack everything we wanted to do into our amazing trip.
The next morning, we were up bright and early so we could get started on our first official hog hunt with the dogs. We needed to get moving early before it got too hot to run the dogs. Noah and Wiley would be our guides for the day. It didn’t take long to get ready, all we needed was a pair of muck boots, a glass of milk and a doughnut before we were ready to hit the trail, as Dawn the camp chef, assured us there would be a home cooked southern breakfast waiting for us when we got back.
Noah loaded up 5 hounds into the back of the pick-up while Wiley loaded up the 22 long rifle, the perfect weapon for a young lad looking for his first hog kill.
It didn’t take long until the pack was hot on the trail of our first wild hog. We could hear two of them bellerin off in the distance. Unfortunately, soon after we heard a squeal from the pig, Wiley said yep that’s a small one. He will most likely give the dogs the slip in that thick cover and sure enough 20 minutes later we caught up to the pack, all hot and tuckered with their tongues hanging out. We loaded them back up to give them a breather while we headed to the other end of the ranch to an area known as “The Sanctuary”. Due to the fact that it was so thick, it was a great hiding place for a herd of wild pigs to sleep away the days’ heat. We had just enough time left for one more run before it got too hot to run the dogs any longer. It didn’t take long before Chris’s head dog Clyde was hot on the trail of another wild pig. This time the boys weren’t messin’ around. We were off like a prom dress! I grabbed the video camera, while Noah grabbed the 22 and all 6 of us went tearing through the brush chasing the sounds of the dogs. It didn’t take long before the dogs had the pig cornered up against a big old cypress tree. My son Brandt was up first and was eager for the challenge. Noah handed him the rifle as he went in for the kill. Unfortunately, it turned out to be another smaller hog, not quite a killable size. Noah showed Brandt how to safely pin the animal down for a photo shoot and with that my 11 year old son had just successfully bare handed a wild boar to the ground. Boy was he excited!!!
After a hearty and much needed southern style breakfast of biscuits and gravy, with all the bacon a guy could eat, we game planned for the rest of the day. Since it was too hot to run the dogs again till later that night and the gator hunt was set for the following morning- Noah and Wiley graciously offered to take the boys fishing out on Lake Okeechobee. They were so excited.
We spent the afternoon targeting the invasive Mayan cichlids. They averaged around two pounds each and were an easy catch and a great fight for the boys. At one point they all three tripled up, it was a great way to spend the afternoon! Our guides were doing a wonderful job of making this a trip of a lifetime for our family!
That evening an hour before sundown we were back at it again with a fresh set of dogs. This time it was Hudson’s turn. He was beyond excited. The dogs got on a nice boar right off the bat! This one had a little fire in his belly as he crossed a 100 yard swamp to try and elude the pack of tenacious hounds. Noah literally threw Hudson on his back and we all gave chase across the Florida swamp. Once we got to the other side the dogs had their prey bayed yet again. We carefully put Hudson into position as Wiley called the dogs back and with a single shot with the 22 Hudson was on the board with his first wild hog kill! I don’t remember ever seeing him that excited!
As we dragged the pig back across the marsh, the sun slowly dropped behind the horizon. Not to fear, we headed back to the lodge to drop the pig off and the dogs and get out the infrared night vision set up.
Since none of the boys had shot an AR before it was important that they get a chance to shoot a few targets before they took a crack at the real thing. Brandt was up again, and my crack shot son hit the target dead center. He was set. My younger son Luke had an unfortunate incident a couple weeks before the trip and broke his right arm, so we had to teach him how to shoot lefty on the fly. It took a little adjusting with the shooting sticks for him to get comfortable but before long he to, was hitting the aluminum foil wrapped pie plate at 50 yards in the dark as well. We were set!
It didn’t take long before we had a pig in our sights. Noah led Brandt and I quietly down the trail until we were about 75 yards away. Noah set up the shooting sticks while I got Brandt into position. With a deep breathe Brandt exhaled and squeezed the trigger. Noah yelled- Great Shot! It was a direct hit and a clean kill. We were all super excited. Noah radioed for Wiley to bring the boys up and we had a quick photo shoot to celebrate Brandt’s kill!
Now it was Luke’s turn. My little guy was sooo excited. I could almost hear his little heart beating through his chest. Wiley drove us to another end of the ranch before we started spotting again. It didn’t take long before Noah had a small herd spotted just up ahead. We had to be very quiet this time as there were many ears and eyes watching. We finally got Luke into position, and he did his best but shot just over the back of the boar. He was a little bummed but it was a clean miss so no harm no foul. Twenty minutes later we had Luke reset with a chance to redeem himself. With a little more prep work we got him into position yet again and this time he hit home- Boom!!!
My little guy was on cloud nine as we took a photo shoot, and Hudson was right there with us this time to congratulate him on his first wild boar! Truly a night to remember.
That night after another one of Dawn’s fantastic home cooked meals of Gator bites and French fries- my kids’ new favorite meal, we all slept like logs in preparation for the next morning- the pinnacle of the trip!
Again, we were up bright and early the next morning. This time we were able to eat a good breakfast before we headed out to the Kissimmee River where Chris and Noah had spotted the big gator just two days prior. Since they are very territorial Noah wasn’t too concerned that we would have trouble finding the massive reptile again.
We launched the boat around 8am and by 9:15 we had the big boy in our sights. Now for those like me, who have never hunted gators before, here’s how the Florida boys do it! First you make the “chicken” which is the bait. It is made of a set of hog lungs filled with spray foam with a long wooden dowel in it so it floats and when the Gator swallows it, they can spit it out. That is tied to a spinning rod with 250 lb line. Then once the Gator is spotted you drop the “chicken” off about 50 yards in front of the Gator and zoom past it in the boat about a quarter mile up stream. Then you wait… and let the waters calm down. Once everything is quiet again you fish it like a surface musky lure. You know when a big Gator hits the bait as his head goes down and his tail comes out of the water. It is truly a major event! And from there it’s GAME ON!!!
So, back to the hunt. We had the big boy in our sites. We set the bait and tucked into the shoreline. Could it be this easy? We had Robert our tag holder with us in the boat along with our trusty guides. We let Robert fish the bait in front of the big Gator as we all watched with anticipation. Aaaaand nothing. He simply turned and swam back across the river the other way. UGH!!!!
Now it was starting to get rather hot. Noah said let’s try one more set and if we don’t get a hit we’re out of here. And sure enough, we had the same reaction from a third Gator a little further upstream. Although it was a little frustrating, what an experience. Three big Gators in one area on our first morning. What more could a kid (or a dad) ask for.
On the way back to the lodge Noah assured us that later that afternoon with a high-pressure system moving in, we would most likely have a much different reaction from the big reptiles. Back at the lodge we met up with the other two Gator hunters in camp from Oklahoma. They had been out all night, the night before on Lake Okeechobee with another one of Chris’s guides and wouldn’t you know it they both hit home with two MONSTERS!! One was 12 ft 3 inches and the other 11 ft 9 inches. These were truly prehistoric beasts! We heard all about how the mighty 12 footer attacked the boat and actually left tooth marks in the side of the boat as teeth went flying- UNBELEIVABLE!
Well, you can imagine how excited the boys were after seeing those two creatures hanging back at the lodge. I might have been a little excited myself. I’ll admit we all couldn’t wait to get back out after it that evening.
With a major rainstorm moving in that evening, we had to make quick work of it now as Noah said once the rain hits the reptiles shut down and go deep into the river until it’s over. We launched the boat back in the river, as a couple light droplets of rain hit our faces. We were moving quickly now.
We went right back to the same spot. Right off the bat Noah spotted a nice Gator up in the brush along the shore. We set the bait and zipped past him into the shore ahead. The countdown was on. Robert again splashed the “chicken” across the river in front of the Gator and just like that we had a Gator on the line! We couldn’t believe it the boys were smiling from ear to ear!
We patiently waited for the Gator to swallow the bait. Noah said well it’s not the big one we were looking for but with the conditions the way they were we will take it! A slight letdown I have to admit. As we pulled up to the Gator he came up quickly and easy. He was smaller than we thought. Not even big enough to swallow the bait. And just like that he spit it out and was gone in a flash!
We all breathed a sigh of relief as he was only about 7 ft in length, not the big boy we were after! Then just like that Robert spotted the big guy crossing the river a couple hundred yards in front of the boat!!! It was GAME ON again!
But wait we had another 9 footer coming across the river just upstream. So, we quickly got back into position and set the bait again. We patiently waited again and began to work the bait across the big Gator’s path…… aaaand nothing.
We waited for the big guy to get across the river and quickly got into position and set the bait once again. Now everyone was at the height of anticipation! We patiently waited, tucked into the shore and Robert again started tugging the “chicken” across the river. Here he comes I said looking through the binnos. Get ready guys and just like that the Gator swam up to the bait aaaand politely passed UGH!!!!!
This just wasn’t our day. With thunder heard off in the distance and the sun going down we had just about had it now. Noah turned the boat and headed back to pick up the “chicken” when just then, what did we see…… the BIG BOY the one we were looking for was right there!!! The last one wasn’t even the one we wanted it was the smaller 9 footer we had seen earlier in the day. Before we knew it, right before our eyes the MONSTER 10 footer grabbed the “chicken” and with a single gulp the chicken and the Gator were gone!
GATOR ON! Yelled Noah! It was surreal. Everyone was excited now. We let the mighty beast take the bait for at least 6.5 minutes before Noah pulled the boat up to the last place we saw it go down. Robert reeled in the slack and “set the hook” if you will. And guess what- not a budge! This thing was buried into the bottom and wasn’t going to come up easy.
Next Noah got out a second pole with a weighted treble hook. After two tries he had the hook buried deep into the mighty Gators tail and together Robert on the front end and Noah on the back end the slowly lifted the creature from the depths of the river.
I patiently waited with a cross bow in hand, waiting for the mighty creature to surface. Noah then said “Get ready, here he comes” And just like that the mighty 10 foot Gator emerged!
SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT! Everyone yelled! Just as I pulled the trigger the mighty Gator swung his head towards me, and I shot him right through the eye…. And back to the bottom he went. And the fight started all over again. Ten minutes later we had the big Gator surfaced again and again I was ready with the cross bow and another arrow. I took aim again right behind his head and again pulled the trigger and hit home again! And again down he went to the bottom!
Ok Noah said we got this guy now with two arrows tied to two buoys this guy wasn’t going anywhere now. It was time for the Bangstick! Noah gave me instructions on how to use it and where to hit him and again they dragged the monster up from the depths of the river. He surfaced for a third time and BOOM! I Another perfect hit…..right in the back of the head. And down he went back to the bottom!
By this point the boys were going crazy behind me! It was everything you could imagine getting this magnificent creature down! So, we started again Bangstick in hand, Noah and Robert pulled the Gator up to the surface for a fourth time and this time, a second BOOM to the back of the head was enough to end the fight! WOW!!!! UNBELIEVABLE. It took all three of us to pull the 320 lb Gator into the boat. Once in the boat Noah said this is way bigger than 10 ft! Upon further review he was just 3 inches short of 11 feet!!! OMG!
Back at the camp we dragged the monster into the freezer with the other 4 Gators harvested over the past 3 days to cool them off so we could pack up the meat to add to our hog meat from the day before, to take home.
The next morning, we were finally able to meet back up with Chris and the other two hunters in camp for a final photo shoot. With all 5 Gators hanging from Chris’s tractor, it was truly a sight to behold.
The boys and I couldn’t thank Chris enough for such an amazing experience. There is truly nothing like it I can honestly say. After a lifetime of big game and bird hunting all over the world, I can honestly say this was an adventure of a lifetime. At the end of the trip, I was truly honored to name Chris SantAngelo of Seminole Prairie Safaris the 2025 HuntTheNorth,com Outfitter Of The Year for his amazing Florida Trophy Gator and Wild Hog Hunts!
Booking Information
Contact Information For: Seminole Prairie Safaris
Outfitter: Chris SantAngelo
Phone: 1-888-785-9378
Email: seminoleprairie@gmail.com
Be sure to ask Chris about his Florida gator hunts and don’t forget to mention that you found him on HuntTheNorth.com!!!
Photos from our hunt with Seminole Prairie Safaris
