Whoo-hoo, baby!
As alligator season in south Louisiana
heads into full swing...
It's so freaking hot, Ashley.
Soaring temperatures continue to break records daily...
Dang, T, it's already 90 degrees here, dude. It's hot.
And water levels drop lower by the hour...
We're gonna lose the whole load if we're not careful.
Forcing hunters to try new tactics...
We'll go to the area we call the Frat House.
Spray some male pheromone on these baits,
they're gonna come to it as a challenge.
And new locations.
We're the only people that have keys to this gate.
One old timer gave me the keys
to an area that hadn't been hunted in 20 years.
-Oh, look. -That's Ronnie.
It's already hard enough
without having people trying to knock on your backdoor.
Troy Landry, look out.
[gunshots]
Dawn breaks over southern Louisiana.
After a week of relentless heat,
hunters are preparing to change up their strategies.
After suffering heat exhaustion two days ago,
veteran hunter Ronnie Adams
and his deckhand Timmy Aucoin
are moving away from the marsh and into Timmy's backyard,
the cypress swamps near his hometown of Pierre Part.
First day back in the swamp.
Back home, boy, I'm excited.
Dang, T, it's already 90 degrees here, dude.
It's hot here in the swamps, huh?
Yeah, it's hot, but at least we're gonna have
a little bit of shade with the trees.
Yeah.
I really had a scare
with this heat exhaustion the other day.
Hey, you all right, dude?
[exhales]
Oh, man.
If I stay out in that marsh, I'm not gonna make the season.
Heat exhaustion will get the best of me.
I feel like I'm about to puke. Lord have mercy.
We gotta hurry up and bust ass.
So Timmy came to me
with an opportunity to hunt in the swamp,
and right away I knew it was a no-brainer.
Cypress swamps are formed in low-lying areas
throughout the southeastern U.S.
Dominated by the formidable bald cypress tree,
these flooded forests with their dense vegetation
offer a reprieve from the blazing sun
for both gators and hunters.
Creepy little hole coming in here, bro.
It's been a long time since I been back here in the swamps,
and I'm gonna tell you what,
it's like being like a fish out of the water.
Complicating things, Ronnie and Timmy
will be operating very near Troy's usual hunting grounds.
Being in the King of the Swamp's backyard,
I feel like the choice we made of moving into the swamps
is a blessing.
But only time will tell.
Ooh, bro, they got plenty of lilies
in this bad mamajama here.
To navigate the area,
Ronnie will need to rely on Timmy,
who was raised nearby.
When we started hunting alligators, my daddy found this.
He used to crawfish back here.
-Come on. -Yeah.
I grew up out here with my dad,
and Ronnie, you know, he's from the marsh and all,
and he don't really know this swamp
and these bayous and areas.
So I'm gonna try to help him navigate around
and try to load the boat with a bunch of gators.
Let's go get some gators, T!
Nine miles northeast,
Ashley "Deadeye" Jones
and her deckhand Anna Ribbeck
are headed to a secret honey hole.
Ashley learned about it during her offseason reconnaissance.
One old timer that I've talked to
gave me the keys to an area
that hadn't been hunted in 20 years.
The problem is I haven't been able to get back here.
I don't know these gators and I don't know this land.
I gotta make it count today.
I really need this to be worth it.
I'm just really hoping that we get some big gators in the boat.
The only thing about this place
is it takes so long to get back there.
It's gonna be a longer day,
and it's already hot.
Ashley set lines here yesterday.
Even though it's a long journey to get here,
the two hunters are hopeful the trip will pay off.
That's it! Found it.
[gasps]
Golly, yes.
It's been a journey to get back here.
It better be worth it.
Wait till you see what's inside here.
This looks like it hadn't been opened in years, Ash.
Key.
This thing's rusted.
Get ourselves in there now, Anna.
Look how there's levee systems
that run along both sides right here
so you can see where people hung their lines, like, 20 years ago.
Why is there a gate back here?
Well, there used to be a well back in here,
and that's why it's really, really deep.
And that's what holds those gators in here
is that deep water.
Don't worry, Anna. I got you.
Right here, right?
Yeah.
Oh, Anna, he is all tangled up.
-Got it? -Yup.
He is under the boat.
-Whoa! -Oh!
Dude, he almost took your hand off.
He rolled up where I didn't have any slack left.
-You see him? -Yeah.
Got it?
Yeah.
Let me get up here by this tree and help you.
Here he is. Get your gun ready.
Don't let him get in the boat, okay?
-Ready? -Yeah.
Give me a shot, Anna. Hold him.
All right, Anna.
He had himself all wrapped up.
Here, just cut him there.
We can get him in easy.
We ain't gotta fool with all that.
Okay.
Come on, buddy.
We're gonna need way bigger than that.
This barely six foot lizard
is not the capture Ashley was hoping to find.
Every minute counts back here.
We only have one day.
This little gator isn't really gonna cut it for back here.
We're just gonna keep on running them
and hope it turns around.
I'm pretty worried about this gator.
It's up to us on these tags
to get the biggest gators we possibly can,
and this is not looking good for us.
In Bayou Gree,
veteran hunter Daniel Edgar and his grandson Dorien
plan to target an area
where big bull gators converge when it's excessively hot.
Weather patterns have certainly caused the alligators
to gather for many different reasons.
The swamp's dry, a lack of food.
We're gonna take advantage of this.
Set some lines right here in this area
and get some giant bull gators.
To target the biggest bulls,
Daniel plans to try something creative.
Gonna set these lines,
spray some male pheromone on these baits.
100% real alligator.
I like how that looks.
It specifically will only attract the males.
Pheromones are chemicals produced by animals
and released through bodily fluid.
These powerful scents are used to mark territory
or signal a desire to mate.
Whew! That stuff stinks, pa.
Daniel's pheromones are sourced from dead gators.
Pretty potent stuff.
Male alligators react forcefully
on other male pheromones.
When they smell it,
they're gonna come to it as a challenge.
That's what I'm hoping anyway.
With their lines baited and sprayed,
Daniel and Dorien can only wait
to see if their gamble produces results.
We gonna clear the Frat House out.
In Bayou Grossbeck near Pierre Part,
three days of record-breaking heat
isn't deterring King of the Swamp Troy Landry
or his deckhand Pickle.
They have 600 tags still to fill
from the 900 they started with this season.
Getting hot. That sun done come up fast.
The heat is on.
Louisiana heat is unreal.
Some mornings from 7:00, 8:00 in the morning,
my shirt is drenched I'm sweating so much.
But we gotta push through it.
No time to break now.
We got more tags than ever,
and the alligator season don't last long.
We gotta fill all these tags no matter what it takes.
This is a real good place.
Really good.
Despite the pressure, Troy is riding high
after the duo found a honey hole with deep, cool water
a couple days ago.
Look-a here, he's coming from deep water.
He's clean and cool. He's not hot.
There's no slime at all on him.
We figured out where the deep water's at,
and I think they gonna have more gators there.
I think we found us a honey hole.
We're gonna overcome it.
All right, we got somethin' in here.
What we got, P?
Something, something, something.
-We'll get this. -We got one?
He's up on the bank, Mr. Troy.
-Ah, he's on the bank, Peewee? -Yeah.
Oh, Lord.
He looks pretty lively over there,
and like he's about to come this way.
You gonna get him?
Make sure it's loaded.
Go ahead.
Oh, he's way up there, Peewee.
He's way up on the bank.
Be careful. It's a pretty good one back there.
He looks mean. Be careful.
Yeah.
Looks like he's been up here a while.
Don't trip.
Watch it.
[hissing]
Oh, listen at him hissing.
Man, that's a big alligator.
All right, be careful, Mr. Troy.
Shoot him. Don't play around with him.
What are you doing? Shoot!
In a honey hole near Pierre Part,
Troy's facing off with a behemoth.
Man, that's a big alligator.
Be careful, Mr. Troy.
[growling]
Shoot him. Don't play around with him.
What are you doing?
[gunshot]
All right, good shot.
Good job, bud, good job.
He got mad, huh?
I thought he was gonna charge after me.
-Okay, P. -What you need?
A doodad to drag him with.
He stuck good back there or what?
Oh, yeah, that's a good one. Good shot. Good shot.
Go straight in the boat. What you think?
With this nine foot monster,
Troy's deep water strategy is paying off.
Right out the gate this morning we caught a big one.
We caught a real nice big alligator.
And we doing good. We off to a real good start.
All right, good job, P.
It sure is paying off.
I think so.
Getting out here really did us good.
In Bayou Sorrel,
veteran hunter Willie Edwards and his son Little Willie
know the heat will push gators toward cooler water.
To get their catch to the buyer as quickly as possible,
today they're using a favored strategy:
open water sniping.
-You ready, boss? -Oh, we ready.
Today is gonna be a good day just for sniping
and try to get them quick as possible,
load them up, and get on to the next one
so we can get them back to the dock and get them on ice.
As always, Willie plans to do all the shooting,
despite his son's pleas.
Uh-uh.
A good deckhand is doing what he's supposed to do,
his job only, and not trying to take over the captain's job.
He thinking he gotta do the shooting,
he gotta do the trebling, and everything and all that.
I guess he don't think I'm ready for it and everything.
He kind of pushed it away.
So we'll keep on pushing it at him.
I'm gonna prove to him I can handle the responsibility
on my shoulders and everything.
I'm not a kid no more.
You're right, buddy.
As the gator hides, Willie decides the best strategy
is to get on to the bank and wait.
Come on, come on, come on.
It's now or never, dad.
Out there, waiting in front of tree--
Yeah, I see him.
[gunshot]
Hurry up, come on.
Go way over the top, son.
You got some.
[laughing]
He's heavy.
Oh, yeah, we got a big one.
Bigger than you think.
-You got him? -Yeah, I got him.
That's a good one.
A nine foot beast
is just the start these hunters hoped for,
but Little Willie wants to do more.
I wanna take on more responsibility.
Yeah, I feel ready,
feel like a new goal has come and everything,
and I'm willing to accomplish that goal.
I mean, I feel like I got what it takes to do so.
Back in an area known as the Frat House,
Daniel's trying to lure big bull gators
using bait bathed in pheromones.
There's a lot of movement this morning.
I'm expecting to have a lot of bulls in there.
A lot of male alligators.
Anytime you have an area with that many males,
it's a really good opportunity to get some big alligators.
Line's down.
I just hope it worked.
What's he look like, pa?
Good alligator.
See if you can get me a shot on this thing, pa.
Come on, baby, come on, baby.
Whoa!
Oh, yeah.
Come here, boy.
Frat House is beautiful.
Give me a shot.
Give me a shot on this.
Whoa!
Gonna have to get a shot on him.
Whoa, watch him.
-Whoa. -Whoa.
Oh, yeah.
[gunshot]
I'm glad we came to this Frat House, pa.
-It's paying off. -[laughs]
Let's go.
Come on.
Eight footer, eight and a half.
Male. [laughs]
Frat House male.
Just what we looking for.
This gator's a good start, but they'll need to do better.
We have a lot of bigger bulls that are in the area.
I don't want us to come back in with one or two alligators.
I'm looking for 15, 20, a boatload.
Hey, pa, look, look.
Look in the Frat House, see what I see?
-Look at that. -Yeah.
Time to capitalize.
26 miles northeast,
Ronnie and Timmy have moved from the scorching marshlands
to the cypress swamp,
but so far that's not paying off.
I don't see no action, Jackson.
You gotta trust me, man. I know what I'm doing.
Where all the big dinosaurs at?
-I think they're here. -But where are they?
I'm gonna tell you what,
it's not looking good.
It's a real frustrating situation.
We just not doing so well and I'm really kind of worried
about how the day's gonna finish out.
Where's our next line at?
That's it right there.
Come on, baby, be one of these big boys on here.
-Come on now. -Yeah.
Like he's trying to get out of there, T.
Yeah, he's trying to get out of here.
I ain't feeling nothing. Oh!
Ooh, that's a hammer, son.
That's him, that's him.
Let me grab him. Let me grab him, baby.
Yes, indeed, that's a good one, papa.
Whoo! That's a good one, papa!
That's a good eight footer.
Whoa! Look! Whoo!
Timmy, we got a good one here, baby.
It looks like he's got one leg missing in the front.
Golly, son.
-She-yee! -Don't let him go.
Boy, that son of a gun got some fight in him, Timmy.
Come on, legend.
Drop the hammer, legend. Where you at, baby?
He's gonna get off. Yeah, T.
Look at him, legend.
Hold him! Hold him!
After a slow start,
Ronnie and Timmy finally have a gator on a hook.
That's a good one, papa!
Drop the hammer on him, baby, drop the hammer.
This cane's in the way, son.
Hold him there, hold him there.
Whoo-hoo! Baby, that's what I'm talking about.
Look at him, he missing an arm.
Yup.
-You ready? -Yup.
Oh, you can't grab that leg. [laughs]
All right, I'll let you do your thing.
I'll get the tag, huh?
With this nine footer,
Ronnie's feeling more optimistic.
It's super hot, but, my gosh, compared to the marsh,
oh, my God, it's like night and day.
You always gotta remember,
we ain't got no trees in the marsh.
It's like desert, you know.
I'm feeling unbelievable great about this move
because it is amazing hunting under these trees.
Being in the shade, it's a little cooler.
Click.
Click, click.
First one in the swamp, baby.
13 miles east,
Ashley and Anna are searching for giants,
but so far they've only caught one small gator.
-Nothing? -Nothing.
That one's up.
We're not doing that great so far.
Our first gator of the day is pretty small
and it's kind of the opposite of what we expect out here.
And it's tough because, you know,
we don't have much of a strategy back here.
We didn't have time to research this area,
and we don't know what's going on.
Know why nobody freaking comes to the gates.
That and we got the only key.
All right, so where's that next line?
Starts looking the same.
It's all looking the same.
Does this even really end right there,
or is that a figment of my imagination?
You took me deep back here.
-See it? -Yeah, I see it.
Right underneath that tree that's sticking out.
Chicken's down.
All right, Anna, you ready?
-Oh, whoa, hold him. -Get ready.
Let me get a shot, Anna.
Hold on to him!
Come on, gator, give me a shot.
Come on!
Nice and easy.
There you go.
[gunshot]
-Good job! -Double A Team, let's go.
-Great shot, Deadeye. -Anna.
He's not a monster, but, I mean, that's a decent size.
-You ready? -Yup.
One...
-One... -Two...
Three.
Let's tag this bad boy up.
Encouraged by their first decent catch,
Ashley decides to reset their lines.
I figure that the further that we get into the gates,
that the bigger that the gators are gonna get
because we're getting away from all the people,
all the bass fishermen,
all the traffic that would be coming through there.
Grab one of them lines.
Just anchor it to the tree right there.
Perfect. I like that.
Okay. Right where it needs to be.
I didn't come here to catch seven foot gators.
Back near Pierre Part,
Troy and Pickle are loading the boat
in their cool water honey hole
when they spot unexpected company.
Oh, look.
That's Ronnie.
I thought so.
Ronnie's been fishing the marsh for years and years,
and he has a lot of tags for that area.
All of a sudden him and Timmy show up in my backyard.
Look right there.
Red and white, huh? That's Mr. Ronnie's flag, huh?
Yeah, that's definitely Ronnie's flag.
They got so much land in Chalmette to fish,
why they feel they gotta come over here, I have no idea.
I don't know if it's because they trying to get out the heat.
The marsh is even hotter than here.
There's no trees, no shade.
I just know they right in my backyard now,
and it's already hard enough
without having people trying to knock on your backdoor.
Sensing they've got competition in their honey hole,
Troy and Pickle move on to their next line.
You see something?
It's going over that other limb,
oh, but it's coming back this way.
Just keep going straight.
Grab the gun.
Uh!
Whoo!
It feels like it's a giant.
Ooh, that's a mean one.
Okay, P, here's your chance.
All right, then.
Oh, Peewee.
Get my doodad over there,
then we're gonna get the remote for the winch.
Okay, all right.
Think I got it. Let it go now.
Can I cut it?
Yeah, I think you can cut it.
That's good right there.
Hauling in a monster so big
it requires a winch is a win,
but Pickle can't help but wonder
if new hunters might hurt them.
Feel like we're all packed in here like sardines as it is.
How can we even have one more fisherman in this same area?
Now we have one more group
that's trying to catch our alligators,
and so it could hurt us.
Not really sure at this point.
All right, you ready to roll?
I am. I'm ready.
Man, it's hot.
Over in Bayou Sorrel,
Little Willie and his dad vie for sniping rights.
In my opinion, the easy part is sniping them.
I done made some shots,
I done shot deer over 400 yards and everything
with the same gun.
It's dead on and everything,
so once you put the crosshairs on him
and once you get steadied off on him,
you pull the trigger and you can count him.
Boom!
Look at that one.
Big gator!
Yeah, that's big.
Willie, he's joking around.
He wants to take over shooting the gun and everything.
I mean, I come in the boat to do the shooting.
I'll do the shooting and driving the motor,
and he just wouldn't take that for an answer.
I mean, he just kept on and kept on
until I let him get the gun, let him take a shot.
-You got it? -Yeah, I got it.
As Willie and his son try open water sniping...
Little Willie has a monster in his sights.
[gunshot] Aw!
-I had him. -Where's he at?
He missed his mark.
I mean, wasn't nowhere close to the alligator when he shot.
And I went ahead and took back over the gun,
and he kept hollering my gun was off, gun was off, gun was off.
That gun ain't on sight and nothing like that.
Letting this behemoth escape
is a tough pill for Willie to swallow.
Oh, my God.
[bleep]!
Back at the Frat House,
after spraying their lines with male gator pheromones
to attract big bulls,
Daniel and Dorien
have caught only four eight foot gators.
I have no idea why we can't catch those big ones.
Tell you what, I get a little nervous.
I need that monster.
I need the fight that I'm longing for.
I need a big one.
Let's see what we got on the next line, pa.
Check it out.
Whoa.
Be careful.
Give me a shot on this thing.
Try to give me a shot.
Whoa!
[gunshot]
Nice shot.
We can get the feet in.
One, two, go.
Let's put him on the ice chest so you can just roll him.
All right.
This nine foot male
is the biggest one they've caught today,
but it's still not the monster they're after.
You know, we're doing okay,
but I hope we can catch one of the big breeding bulls.
In the Edgar family, if the lines aren't hitting,
we're not gonna just go home with our tail tucked in
and cry about it.
We're gonna fill this boat one way or another.
Further north,
Ashley and Anna reset their lines to target giants,
but they're running out of time.
Feels like you're being watched by big gators.
Like, it's just-- oh, it feels good.
We need it, man, we need it bad.
We need those big gators.
Hopefully this pays off,
'cause it's been tough back here.
It's a trial and error kind of day,
and I feel like at this point
it's a little too late to turn back,
so we're just gonna keep going with it.
With the clock ticking,
the hunters reach their furthest line.
These gators back here
aren't skeptical of people, you know.
So they'll come out.
Mm-hmm.
The deeper that we go back here,
the bigger they get.
We're down here.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, boy, this thing's wrapped up.
Yeah.
Went around and around this tree, didn't it?
Got a gator?
Seems kind of slack.
Slack?
Whoa! Hold up.
What, gator?
Good gator, good gator.
-Big gator. -Oh, God, Anna, hold him.
He's pulling us.
-You got him? -Yeah.
Where's he at?
Come on, Ash.
There he is. Get him!
-Can you get a shot? -Right now.
Hold him!
Deep behind a locked gate...
Come on, gator!
Ashley and Anna are fighting a mammoth gator.
There he is. Get him!
-Can you get a shot? -Hold him, Anna.
-All right, Anna. -Let's go.
Come on, gator.
Hold him.
Whoa!
Be careful.
Come here, you bastard.
-Got him? -Got him.
[gunshot]
Double A Team.
Double A Team, baby.
Whoo!
Filling them up, Anna.
Yes, indeed.
All right.
One, two, three.
Yes! Yes!
Whoo!
That's a pretty good gator.
It's a great gator.
It's like a nine, 10 foot gator right there.
This beast is a good sign
that moving their lines was the right call,
but they need to catch more like it
to justify the journey behind the gate.
This gator's bigger and they're starting to get bigger,
but we still have a lot of ways
to make up for what we did this morning.
Click, click.
That's a big one in the boat.
The deeper we go, the bigger the gators we get.
Over near Pierre Part,
Troy and Pickle are adding a set of lines
to show Ronnie whose turf he's on.
After marking their territory,
they dash back to their old set.
Regardless if Mr. Ronnie believes
that there's a serious competition or not,
there's a competition in Mr. Troy's head for sure.
I can see it in there.
See the line?
Yeah, it's tied to a root down there.
I see it coming out of the water a little bit.
Talk to me.
What we got?
Oh, wow, get ready.
Bring him up.
Whoa.
-You saw that? -Peewee. Whoo!
It's a big one, don't let it go!
Don't let it go, don't let it go.
-Aah! -Whoo!
Watch him, Peewee. Don't let it go.
Ooh, it's a big one, it's a big one.
Watch him, Peewee.
[gunshot]
Yes!
All right, P, put the winch on him.
Okay, I got the leg.
Even the winch is wore out.
Here, hold it, hold it.
We gotta put him way on this side.
An 11 foot dinosaur is a reason to celebrate.
It also sends a message to their new competition.
We catching good, we got a boatload of alligators.
We need to come out real strong.
Peewee, we got seven or eight more.
Yup.
Two miles away,
the swamp's providing shade for Ronnie and Timmy,
but after early luck, their lines have been empty.
Dang, Timmy, the last six hooks been empty.
What the hell's going on?
Being halfway through the lines right now,
and we got a lot of empty hooks.
Right now, Timmy's gotta step up to the plate big time,
because this is his backyard.
He's gotta show me where to set the lines.
All right, T, what way we heading, brother?
Around that curve, they got them little willows sticking out.
Timmy knows this land like the back of his hand.
He knows where the alligators are at.
He knows it all.
I'm really relying on Timmy's knowledge
to point me in the right direction.
You got big boys in this area, huh, T?
Oh, yeah, they travel back and forth
from the channel to this little lake,
and they use this bayou a lot.
We got both sides of the bayou or just this side?
-No, just this side. -Okay.
I see a flagging right there. See it?
I see another flag further down.
Just across the canal,
Ronnie spots what he can clearly tell
are the King of the Swamp's gator lines.
Troy ain't but about 50, 60 feet away from me.
I'm here in his neck of the woods catching his gators.
Gator tags are awarded by the state of Louisiana
to property owners based on the density
of the alligator population.
Owners then give the tags to gator hunters.
Because canals, bayous, sloughs, and cuts
are often used to delineate boundaries
between properties in the swamp,
two hunters can find themselves
setting lines across from each other
along the same body of water.
You heard me? Troy Landry, look out.
In Bayou Sorrel,
after Little Willie pushed hard to take a shot and missed,
his dad reassumes sniping tasks
before they lose another big gator.
He thinking he gotta do the shooting.
I mean, he just needs to learn everything about it
before he wants to jump on shooting the gun
or driving the motor or taking over my job.
I'm seeing one go down right there.
Don't know how big it was, I've seen him squat down.
Look at the head on that thing.
-He's down. -That is a big gator.
Pretty, real pretty.
There, he's way over there.
Be still.
That's a big gator.
In open water,
Willie's got a big gator in his crosshairs.
Yeah! Whoo!
Big gator.
Push that head to me.
Come with him, roll him.
Seeing his dad showcase his sniping skills
only gets Little Willie more eager for another chance.
I ain't gonna say I'm the best and everything,
but I think he'd be pretty surprised.
I'mma do what I gotta do,
and I'mma prove to him I got what it takes.
19 miles south,
Ronnie is trying to adapt to hunting in the swamp,
but it's easier said than done.
Oh, man, I hope this works out.
Timmy is kind of stepping up to the plate,
telling me where to go and taking charge.
I hope and pray
the rest of the day finishes out strong,
but only time will tell.
This line's down.
Ooh, he's wrapped way around the back.
I'll pull your front end over.
Pull it, baby.
I'm just gonna kill it because we in stumps now.
Oh, there he is, there he is.
Oh, yeah, he's heavy, he's heavy.
Oh, wait, that got something coming up.
Ooh, bro, that's a monster, T.
Whoo-hoo, it's a good one.
Dang, he's wrapped bad.
Dang, that's a hammer, bro.
We gotta shoot him, bro. We can't lose him.
Get the gun ready.
Oh, yeah, bro, that's a monster.
Hold on.
Yeah, dude. That's a 10-plus.
Come on, baby!
Yeah, I got it.
That's the way he was hooked.
Ooh, T.
Don't play with him, bro.
I ain't got much to work with this hammer.
Drop the hammer, T!
[gunshot]
-That a baby! -Yeah!
Hell, yeah, bro. Land of the giants, baby!
I got him. See if you can put the hook in him.
And then I'll get him from you.
One, two, three.
Get him, T, get him, T.
You got him? Come on with him, T.
Come on, big boy.
Roll him.
This 12 foot behemoth
is the biggest gator
Ronnie and Timmy have caught all season.
It's a sign of the huge promise held by the cypress swamp.
That's it.
Being in the swamps on our first day,
this is a blessing.
To have trees over,
to have cover, to have shade.
This gator gave me a workout,
but I feel much better being in the swamp
because literally if we were out in the marsh,
I feel like if we would've landed this gator,
it would've put an end to my day.
It would've been lights out for me.
I can't wait to stick a tag in his ass.
T, you ready for this click?
Yes, indeed.
Click, click.
-Good job, brother. -Oh, yeah.
That's a hammer.
21 miles north,
Ashley and Anna have been loading the boat
since moving their lines,
but with only an hour left to hunt behind the gates,
Ashley wants a monster to make up for the day's slow start.
We got so many gators in the boat,
there's, like, no room to move.
That's a good thing.
We're doing good and these are some decent gators,
but every minute counts back here.
I know that this is a good area,
and I know that there's a big gator here.
We just gotta find him.
Line's down.
Is that a gator body?
Where?
Or a log? Right there.
Right at the water line.
Holy smokes, Ash. This is a beast.
That's a big old gator.
Watch him.
-Oh, my God, Anna. -Holy smokes.
-Oh, my God. -Oh, my God.
-Look. -Are you ready?
-Yeah. -You got the gun?
Yeah.
-Aah! -Aah!
Watch out!
Watch out, Anna, for that line!
Ash, jump it!
Oh, watch out!
Behind the gates,
Anna and Ashley are going toe to toe with a heavyweight.
-Aah! -Aah!
Watch out!
Watch out, Anna, for that line!
Ash, jump it!
Oh, watch out!
Get on this side of me, get on this side of me.
-You got him, Anna? -I got him.
-Whoa! -Aah!
Hold on to him.
Ooh!
Don't let him pop that line.
You got him, Anna?
There he is.
Hold him.
Get him, Ash, get him, Ash.
Oh, my God, Anna!
Yes!
-It's a monster gator! -Oh, my God!
Look at him, Anna.
Do you see his head?
Oh, my.
All right, now we gotta figure out
how we gonna get him in.
-Ready? -Ready?
One, two, three.
Holy cow.
In the boat.
Despite their early setbacks,
this 11-foot monster stamps their day behind the gates
a resounding success.
You were right, this spot is awesome.
I'm really excited that Anna and I
were able to get this gator even into the boat.
It feels really good to come out here
and do what you set out to do.
We adapted to the area, we learned,
and I'm just happy to be done with today.
Click, click.
Beautiful sound, Anna.
This gator's ours now.
That's a fat old beast.
Good job, Anna.
Troy's deep water honey hole
is producing a boatload of gators,
despite competition from Ronnie and Timmy.
We gonna lose the whole load if we're not careful.
Wet them a lot.
It can't hurt nothing.
Catching alligators out in the heat like this
invites a whole new challenge into the picture,
because I have to constantly keep these alligators cool,
which means they constantly have to be wet.
So on top of bringing this 800 pound alligator in the boat
one after the other after the other,
I have to keep them cool,
and so I am shoveling buckets of water
to keep these alligators at least cool enough
to a temperature to be able to get them to a cooler.
What we got, P?
Oh, Lord.
It's pulling out. It's tight.
It's tight, huh? Looks tight?
Oh, yeah.
Talk to me.
-It feels good? -Yeah, it feels good.
It just looks like a big shadow down there, huh?
Oh, this sucker's mean.
Bring him up, bring him up, bring him up.
Show him who's the boss.
[gunshot]
[laughs]
Whoo!
That's what we hunting for right there, Peewee.
Did you see the size of that thing?
He's a big one.
I don't know if I've got enough left in me to get him up.
Listen, hold on to what you got.
I'm gonna swing the boat around, pull him towards the bank.
Can you hold him?
Uh, kind of.
Uh!
-He's heavy? -Yeah.
At least we gonna be in the shade, right?
-Oh! -What?
I almost put my hand in his mouth.
Don't do that.
[growling]
Ooh, he needs another shot.
Just hurry up and put one.
He's coming back alive.
-I'm trying. -Hurry!
He's pulling me in. Hurry.
Hurry!
I can't hold him.
He's pulling me in. He's coming back alive.
Okay, I'm trying, I'm trying.
Hurry!
This a monster.
Wait, wait, make it count.
Ah...
[whistles]
That big sucker's so heavy, dude.
Okay, go do your winch.
A 12 and a half foot goliath from their new lines
shows how the team's deep knowledge of the area
is a real advantage.
It's gonna be a challenge,
but this is where years and years of experience come in.
Ronnie can make noise and sing his tune all he wants.
And really and truly, I could care less what Ronnie catches.
I'm just worried about what me and my group catches.
Let's go bring these in. They're getting too hot.
Several miles away,
Daniel's pheromone lines
have helped remove a dozen male gators
from the Frat House so far.
Hey, pa, the line's down.
Line looks pretty tight.
Pheromones are working, pa.
As of right now,
100% on the hooks, we've caught just males.
So far running the lines, pheromones are working
absolutely better than I thought.
But we need one more big one.
We really need one more big one to seal the deal.
Feel like a good gator.
Whoo-hoo!
That's what I'm talking about.
Better be careful with this one, pa.
It's a big dude.
Look at him.
Come here, frat bull.
Whoa!
-Back at the Frat House... -Whoo-hoo!
Daniel has his rifle trained on an 11-foot monster.
Turn him, pa. Yeah, give me a shot, pa.
Turn him, turn him so I can get a shot.
Come here, frat bull.
[gunshot]
Good shot, good shot, pa.
Pheromones, pa, pheromones.
One, two, go.
This monster caps off the end
to Mr. Daniel's successful pheromone experiment.
It's always exciting when you have a plan
and there it is and it works.
It's really exciting.
Everything came together.
We've got alligators in the boat.
Showing up to the Frat House, I broke up the party.
[laughs]
13 males.
That's a dang good average, pa.
That's a pretty good percentage.
Meanwhile in Bayou Sorrel...
Little Willie wants to prove to his dad
he has the skills to snipe gators in open water.
It's a big responsibility, but you can't let it intimidate you.
I'm willing to show everybody that I got what it takes.
A big gator just went down right there.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, he's way over there.
Get him, daddy.
Come on.
I'm ready.
About to make it happen.
I see him.
[gunshot]
There you go.
Rolled that sucker now!
Ooh!
After a perfect shot,
Little Willie is confident
he deserves more responsibility.
Yeah, I shot this alligator
and he's 10 and a half foot long and everything.
It's a good feeling.
It makes me feel good about myself.
It makes me feel like I've accomplished a lot already
with just one alligator.
That's what I'm talking about.
Willie, he's come a long ways,
and he's stepping up to the plate.
I'm proud of him.
I mean, he's showing he can survive in this world.
Yeah!
We did good today!
Back on land,
after a trying first day in the swamp,
Ronnie and Timmy unload their gators
at Pierre Part's longstanding buyer Duffy's.
During the offseason,
Jacob and his wife purchased Duffy's.
Ronnie knows it can be awkward
selling his gators to the Landrys
after catching them on their turf,
but he also knows business is business.
All right, y'all can pull them dinosaurs out now, buck.
We gonna slide this big one over.
I feel like gangbusters right now.
We doing so well in the swamp,
I feel like it's the greatest move I made yet.
Hammer time.
Who's holding things up over here?
You see it.
Meanwhile the King of the Swamp is feeling upbeat
after a great day,
but he recognizes the challenge
of having new competition in town.
Now we know who's been running our lines.
-Son of a-- -We got you--
I told you to get there before the sun comes up.
Ronnie can make noise and sing his tune all he wants.
I let it go in one ear and right out the other.
I hope he catch a 15 footer
that weighs 2,000 pounds tomorrow.
I'd be happy for him.
But I'm not gonna worry about it, not one little bit.
11-9.
Ooh!
I was one inch off. I said 11-8.
I seen that alligator on my line.
You shouldn't have passed him up.
[laughs]