Elderly fisherman reveals gruesome trick he used to get rid of alligator that chomped down on his leg and tried to pull him into water for dinner

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:38, 6 July 2026 | Updated: 14:41, 6 July 2026 An elderly man in Florida survived after an alligator chomped down on his leg and pulled him into the water, as he reveals the gruesome way he narrowly avoided becoming the beast's dinner.  James Grayson McMicken, 71, survived a near-deadly attack from an alligator on June 26 while fishing behind his home in North Fort Myers.  McMicken had gone out with his bulldog and thrown his fishing line out into the canal when the beast leapt from the waters and chomped down on his leg.  'I started reeling and it jumped out of the water and grabbed me,' he told WPEC. 'He rolled me down off the bank into the water.'  But McMicken's quick-thinking ended up saving his life, as he revealed he made his escape by blinding the gator.  'I stuck my thumb in one eye, and I just took that fishing pole and jabbed him in the other eye and jabbed him and jabbed him and jabbed him,' the fisherman continued.  'It seemed like forever, but it wasn't that long. But then, he turned loose.' James Grayson McMicken, 71, survived a near-deadly attack from an alligator on June 26 while fishing behind his home in North Fort Myers McMicken had gone out with his bulldog and thrown his fishing line out into the canal when the beast leapt from the waters and chomped down on his leg The elderly fisherman said that he escaped the beast by poking both of its eyes, one with his thumb and the other with his fishing pole McMicken said his time legally hunting alligators had prepared him for the attack.  'I’ve always heard that if you’ve got no other choice, get them eyes, and that’s what got him off of me,' he explained. Once the gator loosened its grip on him, McMicken was left with the challenge of making his way back to his house.  'I’d have never made it crawling this far, so I called my dog over. She stood there and let me get up on her back to where I could get stood up,' he said. His wife rendered aid to McMicken once he finally was able to get home, and the fisherman said he 'sat down in my chair and passed out.' 'I was so exhausted,' he added.   McMicken was then rushed to the hospital by this family and was given staples and stitches for the deep wounds on his right leg.    'All the nurses on the floor had to come by and go, "Wow, you did what?" I’m going to do everything I can not to die. No gator is going to run me off,' he continued.  McMicken was rushed to the hospital by this family and was given staples and stitches for the deep wounds on his right leg The brave man is now recovering at home and began physical therapy as he holds onto hopes he will be fishing again soon 'I'm gonna do everything I can not to die.' The brave man is now recovering at home and began physical therapy as he holds onto hopes he will be fishing again soon.  Bob Schneider, McMicken's neighbor, told Gulf Coast News Now: 'It's unnerving to know that [the alligator is] there and that it could attack any time.' The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the outlet that attempts to trap the gator were still underway as of Thursday.