In truth, when I'm going into the swamps like this you do have to be careful. As Martin said, though, the gators are the least of my worries. While they can be aggressive, they are also pretty dumb. You can usually tell if there's any gator concerns by the obvious signs like prints in the mud, mud slides, and disturbed or discolored water. I find that my fine feathered friends are the best indicator, though. If you see an area of a pond or swamp where the birds aren't wading or feeding....There might be a good reason for that :-)

Snakes, on the other hand, are a very big concern. Water moccasins are very aggressive, and can bite under water. We now also have a healthy (and growing) population of invasive Pythons around here.

As standard equipment on my swamp ventures, I carry a large knife, a Woodsman tool (a machette like tool for clearing branches and such), and a .357 magnum revolver (yes, I have a permit). I've had a couple gator encounters already, but nothing significant. Certainly nothing that I would deem seriously "life threatening". It is, however, gator mating season....so you have to be wary.