As the battle for the swamp's biggest monsters heats up...
I know I can catch big gators. I see them everywhere.
That's where I need to be right there.
It's gonna pull 'em out of the river. Don't worry.
Veterans deploy their best weapons...
We're doing whatever it takes to win this competition.
and a rookie captain takes big risks on land...
Stay right behind me.
Hit this and hit it hard.
...in the war to secure the highest overall average.
Whoa! Look at how fast this thing is. Holy crap!
♪♪
It's another sweltering day on the bayou.
It's time, it's time, it's time.
Hunters prepare for the work ahead
and the chance to win the 350 prized gator tags.
Hey, Anna, untie us right here.
The Landrys are pulling away from the herd in first place,
but the Edgars are coming on hot,
and Willie has clawed his way back to third.
Near Lake Fausse Pointe,
the Landrys are doing everything they can
to fill their 600 tags for the season
and stay in first place.
Today they've decided to mix things up
to keep the pressure on.
Thank you, ma'am.
I'm pumped, man.
I'm in a nice boat today.
[laughs] Happy times.
This year more than ever we fishing as a team.
We have all these tags to fill,
but at the same time we trying to get the best average ever.
So we figured Don can go put a set of lines out,
Dad's putting out lines in his boat,
and Pickle would come with me, run lines.
That way we can cover all the aspects as one,
and we wouldn't be out from daylight till dark doing it.
I wonder how much my dad's missing you
and how much Don's missing me. [laughter]
Oh, yeah.
We're splitting up like this so we don't lose a day.
We got two men out in the field,
we got boots on the ground
setting lines in two different areas,
while me and Jacob are over here running these lines.
It's really giving us a whole extra day
to cherry-pick some spots and pull some big alligators in.
You know, that's the whole goal of the season.
What we got, Pee-wee?
See something?
-Oh, whoa, whoa! -Tree shaker, tree shaker.
Action. Action!
Whoo, that's a good one.
He's a good one.
-That's what I'm talking about. -Yeah, buddy.
Whoo!
[thud]
Come on, Pee-wee!
Yeah, he's pissed.
Whoa.
-Oh, we got a good one here. -Good river gator here.
Hold on.
[gunshot]
-All right, ready? -One, two, three.
-Oof. -Good job.
Not bad, huh?
This nine-footer fills a tag
and helps keep the Landrys at the top of the rankings.
-That was a good little fight. -Oh, yeah.
You know, right off the bat we caught a good nine-footer.
You know, I expect Pickle to pick up
right where Don left off, you know.
We got lines to run, we gonna catch some good alligators.
I'm anxious to see how strong she actually is
for how small she is.
But she gets the job done with my dad,
so I feel like she's gonna be able to handle
anything we throw at her.
I feel like a savage cutting chicken on Jake's boat.
Like, your daddy's boat,
I'm, like, yeah, this is what we do.
Your boat, I'm, like, oh, keep it in the bucket.
-Don't splash anywhere. -Don't worry about that.
This is my first time
ever being on a pristine boat such as Jacob Landry's.
Jacob is very clean,
and Mr. Troy is a mess and all over the place.
But both boats pull in
a huge number of massive alligators each year,
so I'm excited to go fishing with Jacob.
It's gonna be a whole new thing,
but we'll learn how to work together, I'm sure.
Like I gotta cut chicken with my pinky out, you know what I mean?
It's, like, real fancy over here. [laughs]
In Myrtle Grove...
Uh-oh, that water just moved.
Legendary gator hunter Bruce Mitchell
is hunting in one of his most reliable honey holes.
See what we got here. Oh, that can't be good.
But the day so far has been a challenge.
Wonder if the buyer will buy that.
I don't know what's going on.
I should be catching bigger gators right here.
I see 'em everywhere.
The big ones don't wanna get on the line.
I need to catch some 10-, 11-foot gators.
I know they're here. They gotta be here.
Line's down.
See if we got anything on it.
Hmm.
Whoa!
I don't know how big he is,
but he got a lot of fight on him.
Oh, golly.
Whoa!
He's a fighter, but he ain't that big.
It ain't quite as big as I want him to be,
but once he hits the line, you gotta take him anyway, so...
He got a lot of scarring on him.
This seven-footer's scars are a sign
there must be bigger bulls nearby.
Bruce just needs to find 'em.
That's where I need to be right there.
Got to be a way to get in here somehow.
If I get in there, I know I can catch big gators.
Boy, this stuff is thick.
I don't know if I'm gonna make it.
I just got to break through all this stuff,
get on the other side, and get into that big hole.
If I can get in that big hole back there,
I'm probably gonna catch big gators.
This water's two inches deep here.
[scraping]
But this boat is specially made for this.
It's a flatbottom boat.
It's real wide, so it floats high,
and this boat allows me to do stuff like this.
Now I gotta set some lines here.
We're gonna catch some big gators in here.
I know it.
Let's get to work.
In Maré Du Mort...
Today might be our best day of the season yet.
Joey Edgar and his deckhand Zak Catchem
are preparing to set 40 lines
in a promising new hunting ground.
It's time, it's time, it's time.
We need to get our average up. We got a lot to do.
Damn. That's a rock, man.
But their plan has already hit a speedbump.
I thought you had took it out.
-No. -Dude.
It's frozen solid, dude.
Damn, my bad, pop.
Let's cut it up the best we can and see what happens, man.
We gotta roll with it like that?
I just--I completely forgot about that.
That ain't good.
Joey asked me to grab the chicken
out of the freezer last night,
and honestly, we came back heavy and tired.
I just forgot.
To have that frozen chicken is a big disadvantage.
Usually when it's thawed out,
it starts dripping, that fat, that juice, that blood,
and those gators, they can smell that from a mile away.
The chicken being frozen solid as it is,
it might not stink, but I'm gonna try to make up for it
with the rod and reel.
That's all we can do at this point.
Trying to make up
for the frozen chicken tendies we got.
-Yeah. -My bad.
I'm gonna make this right, I swear.
That's a gator.
I saw him sink.
I think he's on the move, though.
I think he's turning.
Is that him going this way?
-I think so. -Oh, yeah, look.
Oh, he's still going. Dang.
Here, them bubbles, that might be my hook.
I don't know if that's a big one.
He put himself in shallow water.
I don't know.
That's not him right there?
That is, pop. Here, stop, stop, stop, stop.
Hit him live, pop.
Oh.
[Zak grunting]
Got him!
Splash, splash, splash, splash.
Our reputation's on the line, pop.
Oh, yeah.
We ain't playing.
Aah.
Oh, here we go.
Oh, yeah. Get over here.
When he comes up, hit him. He's about to come up.
Give me a shot on this thing.
Come on!
[gunshot]
I'll tell you what, that's not what we're after.
I thought he was bigger than that, but it's okay.
It is what it is.
This seven-foot gator isn't what they need
to turn their morning around,
and Zak is putting the blame squarely on his own shoulders.
Joey's trying to be encouraging,
but that's not gonna help our average.
In fact, I'm hurting us more
just by getting this gator in the boat.
I know in his heart of hearts he's disappointed, man.
I just gotta make it up to him.
It's all right, Zak.
It's a gator in the boat, bubba.
Let's do our thing.
In Bayou Benoit...
Daniel and Dorien have an idea
that just might boost their gator average.
Man, that trap's busted up.
Last year, big bull gators
tore into crab traps around St. Marys.
It's big alligator that did that.
This year, Daniel plans to turn the gators' appetite
into a strategy that'll catapult the Edgars
to the top of the rankings.
Let's see if this works.
It's gonna pull them out of the river, don't worry.
A lot of these bulls in the river,
they've already related food to those buoys.
And having these buoys
right along the bank where the chicken is,
he's gonna come to check the buoy out,
and there's the chicken right there.
Okay, we're gonna try another one.
Let's try it out, pa.
My grandpa seems to believe
that we can set crab traps around our lines
that will pull them off of the river onto our lines.
A crab trap costs a lot of money and they're hard to replace
and I don't think we should be risking our gear
to catch a big alligator.
But at this point,
we're doing whatever it takes to win this competition
and catch and focus on big alligators only,
so I understand my grandpa's point of view.
Oh, you got one on the bank here, pa.
Line's down.
Looks like we got one.
Bring him over here. Give me a shot.
Oh, yeah, give me a shot.
Whoa!
Don't let him drag you around too much.
In Bayou Benoit, Daniel and Dorien
have a fight on their hands.
Give me a shot on him, D.
Keep him close. Give me a shot.
He's like a dolphin.
I'll get him.
Pa, he's a dink.
Not very big, huh, pa?
Uh-uh.
Pa, all this extra effort we throwing out there,
he don't look too big for all the extra energy we put into it.
Got all these traps along the river.
We'll get some bulls.
This seven-footer isn't gonna help their average,
but while Dorien is skeptical,
Daniel is convinced
his crabtrap strategy will pay off.
There's a lot of deep water
and there's a lot of bulls in this river.
I know they're there.
Unfortunately, this smaller alligator
just beat one of them to the bait.
But I'm real confident in the plan
that these bulls are gonna-- are in that river,
and the plan's gonna work.
On West Fork...
I talked to some old craw fishermen.
They were just sitting around the breakfast table,
and they see where the big gators are.
Inspired by local craw fishermen,
Ashley "Deadeye" Jones and her deckhand Anna Ribbeck
have their own strategy for locating only giant gators.
The best way to find where they are
is to find where they've been.
They can't go back and cover their tracks.
We gotta look for slides.
We gotta look for sunbathing areas.
You know, the bigger the area the better.
If you go into an old coffee shop
and there's a bunch of old-timers sitting around,
sit down and listen to 'em.
These old-timers explained to me
that, look, you need to be looking
for places that they're sliding in
or places that they're sunning,
because then I can control how big the gator is.
If I see a huge sunning spot, I know that's a bigger gator,
and we can set a line right there on him.
Yeah, I think that might be one over there.
We're gonna set a line right there
that he cannot even resist.
That's putting it right there on his pillow, you hear me?
We put it on his pillow, we're gonna put him to sleep.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, my God.
This is definitely where he's been sunning.
Wow.
And then he lives right in there.
As he comes just walking right out here,
we're gonna-- we're gonna tease him.
When he comes walking up, nice little chicken snack.
And he smells that, he's gonna come running.
Because you can smell that a long way off.
Oh, it's ripe. Whew.
Okay, we'll see how that works.
Oh, yeah.
Right there, look at that.
That is exactly what we're looking for.
Oh, I see it.
Found something good.
Gonna tie off right here.
See, right there. That's perfect.
Oh, yeah. I see the claw marks. They're big, too.
Ashley's confident this strategy
will help them land nothing but giants.
You gotta take every gator that you have on the line,
and so it's nice
that we can target the bigger gators this way.
You can see how big the slide is,
you know how big his body is,
maybe even how much he weighs
by just feeling on the mud
and how much he's able to push it down.
So Anna and I have found a couple of slides,
and we're hopefully gonna be able to, you know,
have them where they can't resist it.
That's gonna be a good line.
Can't wait to see this monster come out of there.
Back in Maré Du Mort,
after baiting their lines with frozen chicken,
Joey and Zak have to wait hours until it thaws,
and Zak is looking for opportunities
to redeem himself.
We got to put that rod and reel to some use.
Pop, the day's not over.
We got plenty of opportunity left.
Let's roll. Liven up.
I know Zak.
He'd rather hunt with the rod and reel
and the treble hook all day and not run lines.
I got a good feeling he's gonna make it up.
This some good territory right here.
Let's see what we can find. Here we go, pop.
-You ready? -Yes, sir.
-Hey, hey, hey, straight ahead. -Come on.
Oh, yeah. There he is. Come on.
If I'm on top of him,
I really don't have an angle to set the hook.
-You feel me? -I understand.
Look right there.
Yeah.
He's still going or no?
I think he's right here.
-You got it? -Yeah.
There you go, there you go.
Oh, my God, that boy's running.
-Good job. -Whoa!
I'm not sure where he's hooked. He's going back and forth.
He's going right back the other way.
Look at how fast this thing is. Holy crap!
No! He came off
-No! -Yeah, he did.
Holy hell.
You touched him, but you didn't hold him.
I bet I can catch him.
On the move, on the move, baby.
Look right here.
I think he stopped.
Bastard! You bastard, stay on!
Got him now.
He's coming under the boat, coming under the boat.
Coming under the boat!
[thud] Damn!
Oh, my God.
He's right here. Oh!
-Oh, my God. -He's smart, dude.
I got his tail. See that?
Hold on.
-You hit him? -Got him.
Get your gun.
-Whoa! -Oh, my God!
-Get your gun! -Oh, my God!
Whoa!
-Be careful. -I am.
Keep it tight, baby. Keep it tight.
Oh, my God.
Hey, pop, shoot that thing, pop!
-You got him? -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hold on. Hold on.
[laughs]
Oh!
There we go.
Wow, pop.
That's gonna help.
I'll tell you what.
That's what we need.
Reeling in this nine-footer
will help make up for the frozen bait,
but Zak has a long way to go to save the day.
That stretched out a little bit more than we thought.
That thing is athletic.
Even though Zak screwed up in the morning,
he's putting some effort in.
I know he didn't do that on purpose.
It's just long days, we working hard, it's hot.
He's turning things around already.
He's caught two alligators on rod and reel this morning,
and the day's young.
That's nice. We need to keep it moving.
Yeah.
And we got a lot more to do.
Back near Lake Fausse Pointe,
while Troy and Don set lines in two new areas,
Jacob and Pickle are on the move
trying to fill their remaining tags for this area.
-You load the gun? -[laughs]
I ain't gotta worry about that today?
That's amazing.
Wow.
Yeah, why? I'm not supposed to?
No, your daddy just drives,
and that's about all he can handle, okay?
I don't want him to do no more.
[laughs]
Just focus on driving.
At the end of the day, we are two separate boats,
but we're all on the same team, you know.
Team Landry is Team Landry and we stick together,
and if this one needs a hand today,
we're gonna jump over there and help them out.
You see the line?
Oh, yeah, we got a tight line, Jake.
Feels good?
-Mm... -No?
I don't know yet.
-Oh, yeah. -Oh, yeah.
Oop! Ain't got too much slack.
-Goodness gracious. -There we go.
Yeah, he's pissed.
He's gonna pop it, he's gonna pop it!
Come on, Pee-wee!
Whoa!
Now we're talking. Hold on.
Shoot the damn alligator.
[gunshot]
All right, Pickle. Good job.
It may be their first day together,
but the hunters are already a well-oiled machine,
and Jacob isn't surprised at all.
Throw me a line, would you, Jake?
It's always different being in a different boat,
but at the same time, her and my dad's like family now.
She knows I learned from the same person she did,
so, you know,
she knows what I expect of her and vice versa.
How long's it been
since you worked on a boat with your daddy, hmm?
-Not long enough. -[laughs]
Why you think I built my own boat?
I love your daddy to death, man.
Don't ask me why. I can't answer that question.
Back in Myrtle Grove,
after fighting his way back into a hidden honey hole,
Bruce has set his lines
and is confident his extra effort will pay off.
Let's get to work.
I think these gators are back here
because they got plenty of food back here.
That's what the gators are traveling around for,
looking for food.
If I can give 'em a little beef melt,
they gonna smell that and they gonna want that.
I don't see no hook hanging.
Definitely got a line down.
Hmm.
Oh, golly.
This is the monster.
Whoa! Oh, golly!
Oh. Whoa, buddy.
[thud]
Whoa, whoa.
Whoa! Unh!
Oh! Aah!
I got something for ya.
Oh, get up here. Come on.
Come on, big boy.
Be still.
That was a fight there.
Yes, indeed.
Whoo!
Whew.
Whew! I'm wore out on this one already,
and I ain't even started with him.
This is the main reason I come back here in this honey hole.
I knew there was gonna be big gators like this.
[grunting]
Oh, yes, help me out.
This 11-foot beast is just what Bruce needs
to turn his day around,
and it makes all the extra work worth it.
That's a fine gator there.
I've had trouble getting in a lot of areas in my life,
but there's always a way.
If they got an area or a hole somewhere,
whatever it takes to get through it,
I will get in it some way or another.
And, hey, we in the right spot. It's gonna happen here.
The only thing I need to do is go catch some more.
On West Fork,
Ashley and Anna set lines near gator slides and sunning spots
that showed signs of giants nearby.
Now it's time to see if their strategy pays off.
I know this takes a little bit more time,
but at least we're trying to do something different.
I mean, we had to change our strategy.
Hopefully this is gonna pay off.
I got faith.
With this big competition, we're wanting only big gators
because we wanna bring our average up.
So Anna and I set lines right there
where these gators would have no choice but to take our bait.
Do you see the line yet?
Line's down.
Yeah, our bait's gone.
Please don't go on land.
I saw his nose in the water.
Is it good?
I can't tell yet.
Let me see if I can grab that line, Ashley.
I got it.
-You got the gun? -Got the gun.
Let's see what we got.
Whoo!
Hold him, hold him.
Taking me on a ride.
Yeah, he's pulling the boat all over.
Can you get a shot on him, Ash?
Trying. He's not giving me one.
Trying to break that line.
Got a lot in him.
Take a shot when you can, Ash!
-He's rolling. -I'm trying, I'm trying.
[gunshot]
-Whoo! Good shot, Deadeye. -Yes!
-Night-night! -Sleep tight!
That's a horrible surprise.
But you know what?
There's gonna be a bigger gator next time.
Look how big that spot is. You know he ain't doing that.
No. There's a big gator coming up to this sun spot.
We're gonna find him.
With evidence of big gators in plain sight...
I'll tell you what. Grab that chicken.
Ashley decides to try a more direct approach
to capture their attention.
You know what we're gonna do?
What?
We're gonna lay it on the ground.
Really?
If he walked right underneath it,
I'm gonna make his ass walk right on top of it.
Okay, new strategy.
Nice little chicken snack right on the land.
Oh, it smells ripe, too.
You wanna smell my gloves?
Uh-uh. I can smell you from here.
We don't have anything to lose.
Let's at least set the bait on the ground
where he has to walk directly by it and ultimately take it.
He thinks it's a free snack.
Okay. Just a little free snack for the gator.
Then all of a sudden here comes the A-Team.
Double As.
Back in Bayou Benoit,
Daniel and Dorien's crab traps have yet to land any giants,
but there's encouraging evidence
that the plan might work.
Hey, pa, look at those traps along the bank.
Alligators are pulling those traps along the bank.
Line's down, pa.
Might be a pretty good one. I don't know, pa.
Try to get in there and take a look at him.
Watch yourself.
That's a basin bully.
All right, son, let's take a look at him.
He's heavy.
Anything decent?
Oh, he's a giant.
Let's take a look at him, see what he is.
Whoa! That's what I'm talking about.
-He's a bull. -Hold him, pa.
Don't let him beat you up.
This will keep us above that 10-foot average.
Oh, watch it, pa. He wants to roll.
Pull hard on him. Raise his head up out the water.
It's a heavy alligator.
See if we can get a shot on this thing, pa.
Stop him. He's beating me up!
-Take him, pa. -In Bayou Benoit,
Daniel and Dorien are battling a beast.
Aah! That's a big son of a gun. Mm!
Give him some slack and then pull him back.
Give me a shot on this thing.
[gunshot]
-That's a good one, pa. -What a giant.
Let's see if we can get him in the boat, son.
Straight up.
-Three. Unh! -Whew!
This 11-foot dinosaur is proof the crab traps are working.
Man, that's a big alligator.
But with so much on the line this season,
Daniel's not satisfied with just one giant.
Every time we catch one of these really big ones,
it's gonna secure the overall average.
It's just another nail in the house.
It's getting stronger and stronger, better and better.
This plan's coming together, pa. Do you believe me now?
Back in Maré Du Mort,
Joey and Zak are stalking gators
while waiting for their frozen bait to warm up.
I don't see any bubbles or anything.
What you wanna do, pop?
Park right here in the shade and get something to eat.
Here, pop.
What the hell is that?
These are boiled peanuts. Ever had these before?
No.
Boiled peanuts?
Come on, they're Cajun.
They look soggy.
Yeah, they're boiled. They're wet.
Just because peanuts are boiled in water,
that don't mean you call it Cajun.
No, Cajun seasoning on 'em.
I eat these things until I get sick every time I eat them.
If they making you sick every time you eat them, they no good.
[laughs] No.
Delicious.
-It's like an oyster. -No.
You don't like them?
No. You gotta be hungry to eat this.
[laughs]
I'm not hungry.
I don't think I've ever seen you not like anything.
You look like you're about to throw up.
You good?
Pop, what is that, dude?
Boudin.
You about to bait the hook with that?
You eating that swamp glizzy.
Yeah, everybody that comes to Louisiana wanna eat boudin.
What? I must not be with the everybody crowd.
You must not be.
Because that smells like straight swamp booty, dude.
You must not be hungry.
[laughs] Hopefully the alligators like boiled peanuts,
because you threw half of the bag out in the trash.
That's beaver food.
Back on West Fork,
Ashley's betting that setting bait on the ground
in front of the gator slides will catch giants.
I'm excited about this, Anna.
Better be ready.
When you're out hunting, you have to be able to adapt
or you won't survive.
Like, this is the only way to do it.
You've gotta catch these big gators,
and to do that, you have to change your strategy sometimes.
You have to adapt to what the environment calls for.
That chicken's gone from the bank.
He couldn't resist.
It's straight out that way.
Don't let me run that line over, okay?
I wanna get this gator.
Hey, get the gun.
Grab that line soon as you can.
How's it feel?
Oh, yeah, this feels like a good gator, Ash.
Oh, yeah, I love hearing that.
I can feel it. He's pulling back.
-Come on. -Come on, gator.
All right, you ready?
Oh, that's a big one, that's a big one.
Oh, oh, whoa.
Oh, my God.
Come on, gator.
Let me get you a shot.
He won't stop moving.
Oh!
Go!
Whoo!
Good grief.
I mean, look at his teeth.
Dang. Good shot, Deadeye.
Let's go. Done.
-Night-night! -Sleep tight!
One, two, three.
This nine and a half footer,
caught near some of the bait they set on land,
is a good sign that Ashley's strategy might pay off
and even help them move up in the rankings.
Roll him. Roll him.
-Keep rolling him this way. -I'm rolling.
There you go, there you go.
Get him in here. Whoo!
-You got it? -Got it.
-Watch your face. -All right.
Whoo! Yeah, girl! Whoo! Yes!
That's what I'm talking about.
Right there. That's what we're after right there.
I thought that this was gonna be a complete washout,
but now it's really looking good and I'm really surprised.
Tag this gator up and get to the next.
We're gonna rebait right here.
Ready for this?
I'm ready, I'm listening.
Click-click.
Click-click! Good job.
Over in Myrtle Grove,
after discovering a hidden deepwater hole
and hanging a new set of lines,
Bruce has been loading up his boat with big gators.
Yeah, this is it.
I caught a lot of gators over here, a lot of big gators.
It's really gonna up our average.
I think Leron and Porkchop's gonna like this.
Hmm.
Oh, yeah, we got a gator on this one.
Definitely got a gator on here.
Don't know how big he is,
but he's definitely on here.
Oh, yeah.
That's a good gator here.
Whoa! That's a big one.
Come on, big boy. Whoa!
Whoo!
Ooh, that's a gator there.
Whoa. Calm down.
Whoa! Whoo!
Come on, come on, buddy!
[gunshot]
That's what I'm talking about.
Whew.
This is what I'm looking for.
Adding a 12-footer to this catch
will help his average,
but it presents a whole new set of problems.
That's a nice gator there.
You're probably looking at 3,000 pounds,
4,000 pounds of gators in here.
I might have trouble getting out
'cause I gotta go through this shallow place, you know.
But, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
It's a good problem to have.
Whew.
Near Lake Fausse Pointe,
with only 10 more lines to run,
Jacob and Pickle still have five tags to fill
in this area before they can call it a day.
What we got, Pee-wee?
But the ticking clock can't prevent them
from enjoying the one-day break in the routine.
See, I do this normally in your daddy's boat,
but it don't look like no different, you know.
It don't make a difference.
I done had six arguments with your daddy already
about trees and flowers and God knows what.
I definitely got thrown to the wolves
starting out with Mr. Troy.
I learned all the hardest ways to do everything.
The difference between a sycamore and a cottonwood,
we argue about that every day.
Everybody's different.
Mr. Troy runs a boat different than Jacob runs a boat.
And you would think it would be the same
and that the apple didn't fall far,
but it is a whole new experience.
Uh-oh, got meat on the line.
Ooh, we got a little action.
Want me to try to cut it?
-With the ??? -Uh, sure.
[thwack] There we go.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.
Got... Hold now. Get...
-...off the stick. -Come on, Pickle.
Wait. Aah-aah-aah.
Looks like a pretty decent one, huh?
Yeah.
Shoot!
Beautiful.
You like this one-shot deal?
That takes so much longer with your daddy.
Instead of Troy Landry. [three gunshots]
[imitating Troy] It's a big one, it's a big one.
[laughs]
Shoot, shoot!
Yeah, man, that's nice.
I figured I'd put you in the element.
This nine-and-a-half-foot gator
is another win for their season average,
but it's not just the way they catch gators
that's different about Don and Pickle.
Man, I can understand you
way better than I can understand Don.
Nice. You know what's nice for me, too?
I noticed I never repeated myself at all today.
I'm really enjoying Pickle being in the front of the boat.
She doesn't whine quite as much as Don.
-You miss Don? -[laughs]
'Cause I don't miss your daddy right now.
We oughta put them two in a boat together.
Bling, bling, bling. Huh?
Bling, da-bling, bling, da-bling, bling.
[both laugh]
That'd be great.
Back in Maré Du Mort,
Joey and Zak have landed several gators on Zak's rod
while waiting for their frozen bait to thaw out,
but Zak's still hoping to land a big one.
Where is that big boy?
Look right here, pop, look right here.
I see him.
I'm gonna bring you straight to him.
The Edgar sense of hard work and responsibility
is just unparalleled.
And I felt like I just let Joey down,
but I know I can come through.
See him right there on the corner?
Yes, sir, barely peeking.
Stop moving, stop moving, stop moving, stop moving.
Aw.
-Hold on. -Aah!
No, no, no, no, I haven't stuck well.
-No, you bastard. Come here. -Hold onto him.
Aah! Aah!
Come on!
-You got him, son. -Come on.
Okay, okay, that's a good throw.
I'm trying to keep the pressure on him.
Oh, yeah!
Oh, I got his head. Get the head.
Be careful.
-Get your gun. -Oh, my God, that's a monster!
That's a good one. Hold on.
This might need a bigger rifle, dude.
Damn, pop! Hold on to that bad boy!
Shoot this thing!
[gunshot]
[laughs]
That's a monster.
He's bigger than I thought he was.
Yeah, this thing is frickin' huge.
-Got his arm over... -All right.
-...and the roll. -All right.
We good? Oh, my God.
All right, pop. I can barely reach his leg.
How about that for an average-saver?
Whoa, he's crushing me.
That's what we came for, Zak. We needed him.
[laughs]
Whoo!
That is a certified stud.
I was worried this morning.
We started with some frozen chicken,
but I tell you what, you came through.
This 12-footer is just what the hunters needed,
and with all their lines still to run,
their day could turn out even better yet.
It's been three or four hours
since we messed with those lines.
I think that chicken should be thawed,
and we'll go and take a look and see what's on the line.
Let's see what's out there, baby. 350 tags.
Let's go.
In Bayou Benoit,
Daniel's plan to use crab traps to lure gators to their bait
is paying dividends,
but he and Dorien are looking for one more monster.
Having a real good day.
Let's hope we got one more big one.
Towards the end of the day we've got a boatload of alligators.
We're in pretty good shape,
but that one more big one would seal the deal.
We need him real bad.
Last line.
Looks like you got one, pa,
I don't know how big he is.
See what you got, pa?
Oh, you got something nice, huh, pa?
Whoa! Don't let him break the line. Whoa!
-Oh, boy. -You got it.
All right, now let him come this way.
I'm trying.
Bulldog him when you get him close.
I'm strong, but I ain't Hulk Hogan.
[Daniel laughs]
Bring him back over here.
Give me a shot.
What a giant.
Let's go.
Catching a 12-footer
is exactly what Daniel and Dorien were hoping for,
and Daniel's crab trap strategy has helped make it
one of their best days this season.
Tell me when you're ready.
All right, hold on. Let me get high.
One, two, go!
Hold on, let me get that back leg.
Let's go now. Uh!
Aah!
It's an awesome feeling to come up with an idea,
work as a team, go through with the plan,
and succeed in the plan.
It's definitely an awesome feeling.
We didn't give up, pa.
Let's go to the house.
Back on West Fork,
Ashley's unique ground-baiting strategy
has filled the boat, and she credits her success
to the demands of being a captain.
It's been a lot different being a captain.
It changed the way I think a lot.
You have to know exactly what it is that you came out to do,
but then also there's gonna be things that happen,
and you have to be able to adapt to what those things are.
Please be in the water.
I see the line, not the gator.
Where's it going?
I can't tell yet. Did you tie it to that tree?
I did.
Okay, it's in the water, it's in the water.
I don't feel anything yet.
Nothing on this one.
Oh, yes!
Whoo! Hold on to him.
-Unh! -Hold him.
Man, he wants to put up a fight.
Oh, look how big he is, Ash.
Oh, my gosh.
Watch out, watch out!
He's gonna hit us.
Rolling that line up, he's rolling the line up.
He's gonna pop the line!
Whoa!
Damn.
Come on, give me a shot, gator.
[gunshot]
-Whoo! -Night-night!
Whoo! Sleep tight! Great shot, Deadeye.
All right, all right.
One, two, three.
This 11-foot leviathan is a testament
to how a small change can make a huge difference.
There we go.
Oh, yeah, that's a good gator.
This gator has probably walked past our bait a hundred times
and didn't take it.
All we did is change our baiting strategy,
and that was the difference.
And it is a monster gator,
one of the biggest alligators I've ever caught.
We're definitely over our goal.
We're not under it. Just going up.
That's all we can ask for.
These clues are really paying off.
Click-click.
Back in Myrtle Grove,
the decision to push through into a hidden fishing hole
has paid off big for Bruce.
Think I done messed up.
But now he needs to find a way
to get back out across the shallows
with a boat full of gators.
I don't know, it's pretty shallow here.
Got too many gators in the boat.
This just ain't working.
4,000 pounds is a lot of weight.
As long as I'm in the open water, I'm fine,
but when you get in the shallow water,
this water's only two inches deep coming in here.
You gotta have a plan.
But gotta be done, it gotta be done.
If I can throw two or three gators out right here,
it's gonna help me take enough weight out of here
where I can get through the marsh.
I would like to take that big boy out,
but that's just too much.
Too much work to get him out.
If I can get just 300 or 400 pounds of weight out of here,
it's gonna help a lot.
Ain't bad enough you gotta load a gator once,
but when you gotta load him twice, that's when it's bad.
I mean, these gators are tagged.
I gotta get 'em outta here.
So I'm gonna jump the hill with what I got,
and when I come back,
I can pull these gators across the hill with my winch.
Yup, I did it.
Try to find a way out of here.
[motor starts]
All right, that's where I need to be right here.
With his boat safely through to the other side,
Bruce can reload his gator stash.
Whoo!
All right, big boy.
Come on this way and we'll be all right.
I mean, it's a lot of work to get back here
and do all this, but, hey,
I'm catching big gators back here,
so it's really worth it.
Got one more to drag and we be good.
If this winch had broke, I don't know what I--
I just couldn't do it.
Most people got people that help 'em.
I don't have no help. It's just me.
But, hey, with this winch, I got extra help.
It's like five helpers.
A lot of work doing this, but I'll tell you what.
Caught some nice gators out of there.
I just hope I ain't gotta go back for a while.
Over by Lake Fausse Pointe...
You having fun, Jake?
Having a blast.
With one line left to run,
Jacob and Pickle are looking to wrap up
an enjoyable and successful day
by filling their last tag for the area.
Nice day, huh?
It's awesome.
Catching gators, catching good gators.
I love it. My deckhand speaks fluent English.
Not too bad.
I think Jacob's getting used to me, you know.
I'm sure him and Mr. Don have their own groove.
I'm used to running like 80 miles an hour with Mr. Troy,
but Jacob kind of is slowing me down a little bit
and I'm paying attention a little more,
so I hope I'm doing all right.
Oh, I see action up here.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, look like a tree shaker.
Good Lord.
Got a monster on there?
I think I do.
Mm! Got it. There it is.
-Could be. -Oh, yeah, Jake.
Ooh, he's staying to the bottom, huh?
-Yeah, he don't wanna come up. -That's a good one.
There's one of them river monsters we been waiting on.
No, no, no, no, no.
Ooh, yeah, that's a good one.
That's a good one.
Oh, yeah, right there.
Come on, big boy. Come on, big boy.
Oh!
Watch it. Don't fall in!
Pickle wrestles a dinosaur.
Ooh, yeah, Ooh, yeah.
Whoa!
I'm caught in a vine.
[grunting]
Shoot!
[gunshot]
-Whoo! -Shoot, yeah.
Thank God. [both laugh]
My goodness.
This 11-footer fills the last Landry tag for this area
and should help them remain in first place.
Hell, yeah. That's a good one there.
Good for the average.
Yeah, he's definitely gonna help.
She jumped in there, never asked no questions,
jumped up on the front of the boat,
did what she was supposed to have to do.
We ended up catching right at a dozen
of good, solid quality alligators,
probably had a nine- to 10-foot average.
It just went as smooth as you would hope it would.
-That's it. -What?
Ain't no way, dude.
Told you we didn't have a lot of lines,
and we caught good with 'em.
Ain't no way.
That's it. Feel like you're on vacation, huh?
Whoo!
Across the bayou,
after salvaging their morning with the rod and reel,
Joey and Zak are finally running their lines,
and now that their bait's thawed out,
the catch has heated up.
Staying out a little later helped a lot.
Probably longest we've been out in a day, huh,
aside from a couple times we stayed right up until nighttime.
But we getting 'em.
We got a full boatload right now.
Coming home strong.
These frozen lines are starting to pay off.
We let them sit long enough, and there's alligators on them.
I didn't think we'd do anything with this frozen bait.
But that's why we never give up.
Our last line right here.
Damn.
Here we go. It's right on the line.
See, it's going way back there to the left, huh?
Yeah.
Can you reach that?
There you go. How's it feel?
Oh, that's a big one.
For sure?
Here he comes.
He's a lot bigger than I thought!
Pop, come on!
Give me a shot, give me a shot.
Oh, my God!
Damn!
Give me a shot, Zak, give me a shot.
Shoot him.
Right there, right there.
[gunshot]
That did it.
Whew.
Come on up.
Pop, let's do what we do best.
With another 10-footer in the boat,
Joey and Zak complete an improbable comeback
that just might shoot the Edgar boats into first place.
-What a grind. -Whew. Yeah.
The lesson of the day is you never give up.
No matter how bad the day starts,
you persevere, you keep going,
you just go through your same routine
and try to make lemonade out of lemons.
10-plus, 10-plus, 10-plus, that's how you do it.
Back at Duffy's...
That one should go in the book, on the wall or something.
Jacob and Pickle unload their haul
after hunting together for the day.
Good, P?
Yup, good.
That ain't no baby.
Me and Jacob finally got a chance
to go out on a boat together.
Seven foot.
It was fun. We enjoyed ourselves, you know.
It's nice to switch up the monotony every now and then.
But I miss my captain.
I gotta say I missed him.
We bicker and we fight all the time,
but, oh, we have some fun on the boat.
2,476.
You know, I really think the overall strategy
for Dad and Don to separate and go put lines in new areas
and Pickle to come fish with me,
it really covered a lot, a lot of area.
And that's gonna give us a whole extra day of fishing,
and that's what we need
for these other tags that we trying to win.
Working as a team
is really gonna help us and keep us in the running.
Despite a successful day,
the Landrys fall into a three-way tie for third
with Ronnie and Ashley and Willie.
The Edgars surge into first place,
while Leron, Porkchop, and Bruce take second.
All right, Pickle, how many we have?
11.
-11? -11.
Pretty good day, Pickle. Pretty good day.
-Not bad, Jake. -Not shabby.
I'm starting to think you're more good luck than Don.
Hey, hey.