We live on a golf course in the Tampa Bay area.
A few years ago, after the carcass of a dog was seen floating in the water hazard (small lake) on the fairway in front of our hosue, they trapped a gator (we have lots of gators in these lakes but they only trap them if they become a nuisance, i.e. kill a dog, charge at a golfer, etc.)
Anyway, it was 10 ft, 6 in. long. The trappers didn't seem to think that was particularly big. I know we have 13 footers in the lake near us, it is adjacent to a park and they bask on the bank many times. The rangers in the park say that they encounter many 12 and 13 foot gators on a regular basis.
Perhaps the fact that this was in an urban setting, and not suburbia, made it of interest.
Speaking of Tampa, I will be down for the Super Bowl.
I was thinking about you, my father lost his dock on Christmas due to that big storm. How did you fare?