![]() Nitz has spent his entire 32 years in coastal southeast Florida, in and near the northern reaches of the Everglades ecosystem. “And my clients are sometimes almost in tears because they had such a memorable day in the field with a family member or friend.” “I really like showing people what I’ve learned over the last 20 years,” he says. And like being able to lend his experience to offer fishing and hunting trips that leave positive lifelong memories with those who hire him. Or like changing his career from pest control specialist to one of the more highly sought after (and youngest) snook fishing guides in South Florida. Feats like the rush of getting to guide out-of-state hunters into pristine Florida uplands to call in Osceola turkeys. Because this story is not just about his feet, but also his feats.įeats garnered due to his early sporting success – and not just personally bagging the biggest South Florida bucks. He also barefoot hunts, for deer as well as hogs and turkeys, for better maneuverability and stealth. Why does Nitz, nicknamed by peers the “Barefoot Bandit,” risk exposing his feet for hunting? Because where he lives, the best place to find 10-point whitetail bucks is in inundated cypress swamps, where wearing boots means overheating, having soggy socks inside sunken boots, and making lots of noise. I couldn’t put shoes on for like nine days.” “The only way to describe it is if you stepped on a knife. While he says those reptile encounters were scary, they don’t compare to his worst barefoot experience: stepping on a scorpion. “I’ll never forget the sound it made, like a 12-gauge shotgun going off. “When I hit the tail of him, he did a one-eighty and snapped his jaws,” he says. He ran smack into a massive gator, luckily facing away from him. He was marching toward his swamp buggy pickup spot, bow in hand, not paying attention as he tried to get a cell phone signal. He’s also stumbled into an alligator while heading out of a cypress dome in fading twilight. He trod on the squirming snake while walk-and-stalk hunting for deer, jumping away before it could strike because by sheer luck he’d stepped on the serpent’s neck. “I’ve literally stepped on a water moccasin,” Nitz says. While wading northern Everglades haunts in search of goonie bucks, his feet find a lot more. Not in the cool, open woodlands or grassy meadows of middle America, but in the snake and spider-filled swamps of the Everglades. That’s because Nitz often opts to hunt barefoot. Almost immediately his vision blurred and profuse drool dripped from his slack mouth as he stumbled back to his truck. Along with a little sacrifice, and even more suffering.Īfter bushwhacking through the subtropical forest, the Florida native once swiped a massive, fuzzy, orange-striped puss caterpillar from the back of his neck. If you’re Ryan Nitz, South Florida hunting is all about risk taking. The unique nature of the case even prompted a film deal with 20th Century Fox, something his plea prevents him from profiting from.Īnd while the Washington court did seem to throw the book at Harris-Moore, who’s claimed to be repentant since his 2010 arrest in the Bahamas, The Seattle Times reports the judge did have kind words for him.In part one of a two-part blog, the charter captain and swamp stalker talks bowhunting close calls and using his social platform to push Everglades conservation The 20-year-old plead guilty to 33 felony charges he accumulated during a two-year crime spree that saw him steal boats, planes and cars throughout Washington state - often while not wearing shoes. Colton Harris-Moore, the “Barefoot Bandit,” was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday.
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