The full moon rises over the swamp...
Everybody come out to play when that full moon up.
[howls]
Driving gators into a feeding frenzy...
[gunshot]
Look at that, whole leg missing.
We must have a werewolf alligator, huh?
He's out here in the moonlight.
He's got the taste of blood now.
He's gonna come back and try to eat
more alligators off our lines.
And flooding the swamp...
Bait's almost in the water.
That is way too low.
That moon's really messing with the tides.
One mistake can cause you a whole lot of problems.
As monsters emerge from their lairs...
-See the tip of his tail? -Yeah.
Triple XL is top of the food chain.
I've been after him a long time,
and right now it's a chess match.
The pressure's on to cash in...
Damn chicken is dried up like chicken jerky, man.
I got something for that dry chicken, cuz.
Before it's too late.
Get him! Come on, cuz, shoot him!
-Aah! -Hold him, pa, you got him.
Look, he broke it off.
What?
[gunshots]
Over in Bayou Ladant,
King of the Swamp Troy Landry and his deckhand Pickle Wheat
are hoping to make a dent in their 900 tags,
and Pickle is feeling confident.
All right, Peewee, we ready?
Hey, look at that.
-What? -That full moon.
Oh, yeah.
That messes with the alligators or what?
Yeah, it makes them bite hard-hard.
Yeah?
Makes me bite hard, too.
[hisses]
You know, I think the full moon
affects the gators in a certain way
because a full moon is almost like daylight out there.
And I think on a full moon, they can see your bait easier
and the full moon might affect their appetite, I don't know.
But we always catch a little better on a full moon.
It has long been suspected
that a full moon has an effect on animal behavior,
such as making certain species more aggressive
or altering the sleep cycle of others.
Scientists think hormonal changes could be a factor,
but much of the connection remains a mystery.
[hisses]
When the moon's full, I turn into a vampire.
[hisses]
It look like we got something on the line.
Oh, yeah, we do.
-I got one. -Good one?
I'm not sure yet.
Peewee, what we got?
Huh?
Don't let him pull you in.
Come shoot this thing.
Bring him up, bring him up.
He's slipping, he's slipping.
-Shoot, shoot! -Bring him up, bring him up!
[gunshot]
-Whoo. -Got 'im.
Good alligator for the first one.
Oh, no.
Look at the teeth marks in his back.
One, two, three.
What?
He's eaten or what?
Oh-whoa. Look at that. Whole leg missing.
I'd like to catch the one that ate on this one.
Mm-hmm.
He's out here in the moonlight, getting a little bite to eat.
Capturing this mangled nine-footer
has Troy concerned
the full moon has unleashed a monster.
You know, alligators are cannibals.
A big male will eat younger ones,
so that tells me
there's a much bigger one in this area.
He's got the taste of blood now.
He's gonna come back
and try to eat more alligators off our lines.
Because once a big alligator starts eating
small ones, it's easy prey.
It's like taboo. Once they start that,
they don't wanna stop.
We must have a werewolf alligator, huh?
Not a baby that ate that one.
They got a good one swimming around in the moonlight.
As the sun overtakes the full moon
in Bayou Grossbeck,
Leron Jones and Anthony "Porkchop" Williams
are still on the hunt
for a record-breaking gator this season,
so they've set 40 lines, hoping that the open terrain
will allow the full moon to draw out a monster.
That big bright moon, I think it brought out
the beast the other night, man.
When the moon is full, them gators be on the move, man.
It make 'em more active. They more hungry.
So they just going out there searching for food,
and that's great for us.
Every line that we got set out there,
it's a 98% chance a gator's gonna go ahead and bite it.
I just got a feeling, but I'm hoping
that today's the day that we catch our biggest alligator.
Damn, cuz.
Eh, the damn chicken is dried up like chicken jerky, man.
Full moon or not,
the hunters know their dried-out bait
won't help them break any records.
Hey, you know what?
The problem is chicken been drying out,
so I figured we take these popsicles
and tie 'em right above the chicken.
So when they start to melt,
that the juice from the popsicles
can hit the chicken
and give them, like, a little flavor.
Oh man, cuz, you gotta be kidding me, man.
Man...
But you might be on to something, man.
Well, that...
The way I look at it, that chicken gonna be
juicy, flavor.
Man, no way in the world
a big alligator is gonna resist that.
And hopefully this'll work and we catch the biggest gator.
Cuz...
Hey...
-[laughing] -Thought I'd seen it all, boy.
Hey, cuz, watch, watch!
-Hey, watch, cuz! -I'll tell you one thing.
I might eat me one more.
[laughing]
On to the next one.
Across the bayou, lifelong swamper Daniel Edgar
finally has his grandson Dorien back,
just in time to take advantage
of the full moon's favorable hunting conditions.
And today they're heading to a legendary family honey hole
called Red Eye Swamp.
What you thought about that moon last night, pa?
That moon was pretty-- it was pretty vibrant.
I expect it should make 'em bite.
We should catch pretty good today.
I hope so.
Let's go see if we can get us some alligators.
All right.
Today we're hunting in the Red Eye Swamp.
It's a beautiful swamp.
When I got into the swamp for the first time,
I could not believe the red eyes.
Alligators, if you shine a light,
their eyes reflect red
right back at you like a stoplight.
This is why they call this place the Red Eye Swamp.
But Team Edgar isn't after just any big gator.
Yesterday, Daniel and Dorien
hung lines in a corner of Red Eye Bayou,
where a 13-foot goliath named Triple X
comes out to hunt during full moon.
This is where Triple X was, right there.
In the Red Eye Swamp,
Triple XL is top of the food chain.
He controls everything.
Nothing is gonna challenge him. He's just too big.
I've been after him a long time.
We're gonna get him this year.
Man, I hope the full moon has him out today, pa.
Line's down, pa.
Let me see how I'm gonna try to get in there for you.
What you got, pa?
Oh, he's crushed up bad.
What happened?
Look like a big alligator killed him.
He's busted up.
Big one just came to him and smashed his head.
Catching this mutilated gator proves to Daniel
that last night's full moon
has coaxed Triple X out of hiding.
Just coming up to an alligator with his eyeball popped out,
that's Triple XL's M.O.
He's just gonna come right there and kill him,
but he's not hungry, so he's gonna kill him,
come back to eat him later. That's who he is.
Smart and putting his food in the freezer
for the next two days.
Look what he did, knocked his eyeball out.
That's a big alligator.
That's Triple XL.
Across the swamp...
Ashley "Deadeye" Jones and Anna Ribbeck
are also looking to cash in
on the effects of the full moon,
so the captain has taken them to Bayou Zayon,
where she's been scouting deep water areas
and hanging lines to target large bull gators.
There's the landmark.
-See that houseboat? -Yeah.
That's how I know we're here.
So, this is where the boat is right here.
-Okay. -Where it gets
really, really deep.
Oh, man, Anna, I'm so pumped up about this spot.
During the full moon, we should be catching a lot of gators,
but not just any gators, big gators.
I looked back in my notebook,
and I went and hung lines in all of the best areas
because we're gonna take advantage of this full moon.
-Anything? -Uh...
I see the line.
There it is. It's coming right here to the right.
-Yeah. -We'll pull you right up here.
-Okay. -So you can stand right there.
He's got it pulled out tight.
That might be a big gator.
How's it feel?
He's already moving, Ash.
I got the gun.
Hold on.
Ooh! Whoa!
You got him? Hold on to him, Anna.
Hold him!
Aah!
-Can you see him? -I got him. Hold on.
Watch his head, watch his head.
Get a shot on him, Ash.
Hold him, Anna.
-You ready? -Get a shot on him.
Come on!
Pull back up, pull back up!
Don't let him go.
Hold him, Anna. Hold him.
-[gunshot] -How is he still blinking?
Fricking zombie.
Get him, Ash.
-Get a shot on him. -Ready?
[gunshot]
Whew, Anna.
This gator done wore me out.
Better be a big one after all that.
One, two.
After going out of her way
to target big bulls during the full moon,
this seven-foot gator
leaves Ashley disappointed and slightly confused.
All that work for this little thing.
I hung my bait really high
because I just wanna hunt big gators.
So I don't understand what's going on.
It's just something just doesn't feel right.
It's not a good start for the day,
and it's really got me discouraged
about the rest of the hunt.
I know you probably think I'm crazy
telling you about these big gators
and then we got these little ones on the line.
Make sure we pull up into the dock
with big old gators, you know?
That's how we earn respect.
Just trust me, Anna.
I need you to trust me.
Meanwhile, in Bayou Ladant...
See the line? Oh, it's limp.
Yeah, it's limp right here.
Troy and Pickle are noticing a troubling trend
as a result of the full moon,
and worry they may have a monster on their hands.
What? The full moon got the best of him last night.
Oh, no. Big alligator to do that.
This one gator, he's eating other gators,
and it just started since the moon got full.
You know, even though we have a lot of lines to run,
a lot of tags to fill, I think it's important for us
to get him out of here
before he costs us a lot of time and money.
Every alligator in this area's been dead,
been killed, or full of teeth marks.
Full of holes.
Werewolf gator got 'em.
That's nuts, huh?
That's three or four this morning so far
that... that gator's killed.
That full moon last night got him going crazy.
Whoa.
We got... We got one of your crime scenes over here.
-Oh, yeah, come here. -Looks like we got
-a crime scene. -Come on, come on.
-Come up to the front. -I hope that's him.
Oh, I don't know.
All right, Peewee, show him who's the boss.
Show him who's the boss, Peewee.
Oh!
-Show him who's the boss. -Aah!
Don't let it go.
Oh, no, he's rollin' and rollin'!
-This is him, this is him. -Oh, my God.
Shoot him, shoot him!
[gunshot]
Whoo! Good job, Peewee.
Got him right where it counts, huh?
-Good job. -Got him, got him.
Oh, we catching good, huh? Pretty alligators.
That full moon's got 'em going crazy.
I don't think this is big enough to be the one,
but we gonna take him out of here before he gets any bigger.
Okay, I got him.
This eight-footer isn't the gator they're looking for,
and Troy knows he needs to tackle this problem
before it gets out of hand.
You know, we have over 900 tags to fill,
and the last thing I have time for
is to start chasing one specific alligator.
But if this alligator is done started turning to a cannibal,
he starts eating gators on my lines,
over the next few days he could eat four or five alligators.
It's to our advantage to try to get this alligator
and get him out of here because he's gonna cost us
time and money if we don't.
I'm getting kind of worried.
What you worried about?
That thing might come after us.
That full moon is turning 'em crazy.
-They're turning into cannibals. -Turning into cannibals.
[Pickle howls]
Back in Bayou Grossbeck,
on the search for a giant,
Porkchop is using popsicles
to keep the chicken bait hydrated,
but Leron is skeptical of his partner's idea.
Cousin, man.
Man.
-We good though, man. -All right.
Wasting all my popsicles, man.
Stuff's just sitting there, man.
Ain't got a gator nowhere around it.
Yeah, a melted popsicle and a big piece of chicken.
Ain't nothing touched it. Untouched, cousin.
You gotta show me, cousin.
Porkchop's plan was to take one of my popsicles,
tie it on top of the chicken
to keep it moist from drying up from the heat
and maybe add some flavor to it for the gators.
I brought the popsicles to keep us cool,
not to mess around with no gators,
but just gotta be real careful
how we hang our lines during the full moon.
Soon enough, the hunters arrive
at another one of Porkchop's popsicle lines.
Porkchop, I went outside last night, man,
that moon was so bright I could see everything.
Almost like I had night vision, man.
Everybody come out to play when that full moon up.
[laughs]
I told you the popsicles were gonna work, cuz.
Whoo, man!
Give me a shot, Porkchop.
Hold on, cuz, I gotta get him, cuz.
Let him wear himself out, cuz.
That's good, that's good.
I got him, cuz, I got him.
Cousin, come on, let's go. There he is.
Give me some.
Oh, yeah.
Help me out, cuz.
Get him on this side-- aah!
Whew.
This six-footer marks
the first catch for the popsicle bait,
but Leron's not satisfied.
It's just one gator, so I ain't gonna clap for it yet
to say, oh, we on to something.
I feel like I'm wasting popsicles
and not catching big gators,
so I'm still a little skeptical about it.
Back in Red Eye Swamp,
Daniel and Dorien are hot on the trail
of a 13-foot monster named Triple XL,
who's eluded them for years.
Got a slide right there.
Alligator's going in and out the swamp right there.
Today I'm in the Red Eye Swamp,
and the goal is
to outsmart Triple XL.
And right now it's a chess match.
He's gonna avoid me, and I'm after him.
Look where they're climbing up at.
Look where he pushed his foot right there.
-See the tip of his tail? -Yeah.
See the water? Still got a little water on the roots.
Mm-hmm.
I know that's his slide, pa.
Let's get our treble hook and ride around a little bit
and see if we can find him.
Finding this big slide is exciting
because he messed up.
He let me find a spot where he's been,
where he's hanging around.
He just made a mistake.
Daniel believes the massive gator slide
is evidence that Triple XL was just here.
That's him right there, pa.
That's the one we looking for, pa.
That's him right there. See those bubbles?
-In Red Eye Swamp... -Hold him.
Dorien may have hooked the legendary Triple XL.
Hold him, pa. You got him. Hold him, pa. Hold him.
How big is he?
You got him. Hold him.
Oh, I had him in the mouth.
You had him in the mouth?
Look, he broke it off.
What?
Broke it off.
Daniel knows there's only one alligator
capable of shaking his hook off in the heat of a battle.
Only Triple XL would have the smarts
to know that that hook's got him
and to just come up to the boat
and just bang the hook against the side of the boat.
Broke it off and he got away.
Only an alligator that smart could do something like that.
Man, I don't know if we're gonna get another chance at him, pa.
Goddog, where'd he go?
We had him, we had him.
Man.
Over in Bayou Zayon,
to take advantage of the full moon,
yesterday Ashley and Anna hung their lines high
in an area known to have giants,
but so far they've only caught small gators,
and the captain believes she's spotted the problem.
Oh, look, at that bait still hanging.
Look how much that water came up.
Bait's almost in the water.
That is way too low.
-Look, that one, too. -You're right.
I'm glad you're with me and I don't think I'm just crazy
because I know we hung that bait higher.
Yeah, but now it's touching the water.
That's not gonna get us the big ones.
This water being in too high like this is not good for us.
How high you have the bait
is gonna have a big effect on what size gator you catch.
When I saw the bait hanging that low,
I knew it's not gonna be going in our favor.
High tide caused by the full moon's
gravitational pull can raise the water levels
of the Atchafalaya Basin
by two feet or more,
a stark change from the low water
the hunters have been fighting all season.
I think that moon's really messing with the tides.
[sighs] You're right, Anna.
We're just gonna have to take account for the full moon, Anna.
- Yeah. - Because that's affecting
these water levels and the gators' bite.
Any of 'em we see that are low, we'll fix.
I picked the best spots
so that when this full moon comes,
we have our bait all in the best locations possible.
And I thought of everything except for the moon phase
and how it affects the tide coming in.
Making this mistake with the bait
has really, really cost us.
All I can do now is re-hang the bait higher
and hope for the best.
The hunters will re-hang their lines higher,
but they might have already missed their chance
to capitalize on full moon giants.
How high you want it? Like a foot or two above?
Yeah, almost two feet, because that water's gonna move back in.
-Right about there? -I know that looks high,
but this water level's gonna move.
Okay.
The tides are a big deal
when it comes to hanging the lines correctly,
and now we gotta go back and change everything.
But to turn this day around,
we gotta do what we gotta do to catch the big gators.
Ooh, see what it brings us.
-See how it does. -Yeah.
If it gets bigger gators, I'll be happy with it.
Meanwhile, back in Bayou Ladant,
Troy and Pickle are still on the hunt
for an aggressive alligator-turned-cannibal
by the full moon.
That full moon got 'em all messed up.
It lights up the bayous at night a lot.
They can see better.
It's a super moon, super-duper.
You know, alligators are cannibals,
but it seems like the full moon could make him more aggressive.
And if he got a taste for blood eating smaller gators,
he's not gonna stop now.
He's gonna continue,
and it's up to us to get him away from our lines
before he costs us too much time and too much money.
Our bait is down for sure.
What we got, Peewee?
I got something on here.
-What, you got something? -Yup.
-Show him who's the boss. -Aah!
Whoo, it's a big one, it's a big one.
Ooh, big alligator.
-Aah! -Whoo!
This is a big one. Is this him?
I don't think this is big enough,
but we gonna take him out of here
before he gets any bigger.
Whoo, show him who's the boss.
-Whoo. -Aah.
Bring him up.
[gunshot]
That's not him.
This catch isn't big enough to be the cannibal,
but they're stacking full moon gators,
and Pickle's not ready to give up the chase.
I think all animals get more aggressive under a full moon.
So we're looking for
probably a much bigger, more aggressive alligator
than the one that we had here,
and this is a pretty good alligator.
All right, P, we got it tagged up.
Let's go. Move to the next one.
Over in Bayou Grossbeck...
Leron and Porkchop are hoping the full moon
and Porkchop's popsicle bait
will allow them to catch the biggest gator of their careers.
I really believe this idea about me using these popsicles
that we would be able to set our goal
which is catching the biggest alligator.
So he's kind of skeptical about it,
but, hey, we gonna give it a chance.
Maybe it works, you know what I'm saying?
And hopefully it do
and we can set our personal best by catching a big alligator.
I'm gonna make a believer out of him.
Trust me, I will make a believer out of him.
Cousin!
Hold it right there.
Hold up now, hold on, we going in hot.
Hey, man, I got it.
Ho! Ho!
Hold up, cousin, I got it.
You wanna take it now, we'll get it now.
Come on, cuz.
-I don't know-- -Give me a shot, cousin!
I got it, cuz. All right, cuz, about to get him now.
I'm gonna get him back around for you. Here we go, cuz.
Here you go.
Come on, cousin, get it, get it!
Come on, cuz, shoot him!
Come on, cousin, get him, get him.
Come on, cuz, shoot him!
[gunshot]
-Whoo! Popsicle! -Whoo!
Whoo!
-You got it? -Oh, yeah.
Take your time, man.
This eight-foot gator still isn't
the record-breaking beast they're after,
but it may be enough
to get Leron on board with popsicle hunting.
Man.
We caught another gator on the popsicle line.
I'm starting to get convinced now.
You know, I'm gonna have to give cousin an apology.
If this idea keep working the way it is,
man, I think we might just have to
load the boat with popsicles
instead of rebaiting new chicken.
Ahh.
Back in Red Eye Swamp,
Daniel and Dorien are filling up their boat
during the full moon,
but the one beast that's not biting
is Daniel's nemesis, Triple XL.
Almost every line with an alligator.
They're on the move for sure.
But we're still looking for that big boy.
We want Triple XL so bad.
It's just because we've been so close,
but yet we feel so far.
And right now in the full moon, we know he's out there.
I just hope we get another opportunity at him.
Line's down, pa.
I can't tell what we got, but the line's down.
Maybe we got something good.
Line looks tight.
-Looks like a pretty good one. -Yeah.
Well, if he starts twisting,
I don't want him to break the rope, though.
I don't wanna get slapped by that tail.
Watch him. Don't let him try to bite you.
-Whoa. -He definitely
came after your hand.
Watch him, pa.
Oh, it's a mean sucker.
Shoot him, pa. Shoot him right there.
Shoot him!
[gunshot]
That one got him.
Good job. All right.
Ain't no way that's Triple XL.
We gotta keep looking.
Nicest one of the day.
Getting a bunch of alligators, but, uh...
-Hold on. -Hold on.
One, two, go.
This ten-footer adds to Daniel and Dorien's
already-impressive pile,
but the Edgar patriarch won't be satisfied
until he bags the legendary 13-footer they're after.
This is a really good alligator, but it's not Triple XL.
He's bigger than this. But we're not giving up.
This chess game is not stopping on our part.
We're making moves. We're gonna get to him.
Looks like all that young stuff was off on the full moon.
When I was young, I didn't wait for the full moon.
I was on the prowl every night.
All right, let's get to the next line.
In Zayon, after Ashley failed to account for rising tides
caused by the full moon,
she and Anna were forced to raise all their lines,
and now they're hoping
the higher baits will turn the day around.
Where's the damn moon at now?
It's too late in the day now.
-It was out. -Yeah.
Well, it wreaks havoc and then goes and hides, don't it?
Then all the small gators come out.
Mm-hmm.
Then we're left to deal with these babies.
It's really discouraging to have these little gators on the line,
especially when you know there's something
you could've done differently. If the bait was hanging
where it was supposed to be, we wouldn't have
small gators on the line.
I know that this is a good area.
I'm really hoping that this higher bait
really just gets 'em pulled right in.
That's exactly what we need to turn the day around.
Anything on this line over here, Anna?
Yeah, I think so.
Oh, look, something got that on the land.
He pulled it all the way into the water.
Whoo! He's straight out, Ash.
Whoo! That's a good one, isn't it?
-This is gonna be really hard. -Yeah.
Can you get the line?
Let me see if I can get him out.
All right, you ready?
I'm ready, Anna.
He's coming up hot.
-Got him, Anna? -Got him.
Hold on to him.
He's rolling, Ash, he's rolling.
Get a shot on him, Ash.
Hold him, Anna. Watch that gator.
[gunshot]
Whoa, Anna.
This is what we're looking for, Ash.
This is exactly what we're looking for.
One, two, three.
Come on, you big bastard.
Get in here and go home with me.
Pulling in this nine-and-a-half-footer
means their re-hung lines are starting to pay off,
but Ashley knows they still need to make up for lost ground.
Hanging the bait higher has really helped out,
but I'm really scared that we missed out on the bigger gators.
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.
This is definitely our biggest one so far.
I'm glad we made that adjustment up higher.
-It made a difference. -You were right.
The higher the bait, the bigger the gator.
In Bayou Ladant,
after spending all day trying to capture a cannibal
that's devouring their gators,
Troy and Pickle decide to take a break.
Peewee, you wanna take our lunch break?
-I'm getting hungry. -It looks like it.
Let's take a little break.
About time I get a break.
Been waiting for this chicken.
You ever dip your chicken in your red beans?
-Nope. -It's good. You gotta do that.
How come you decided to give up your dentist career
and become an alligator hunter?
I had to throw away the desk job
and come out here on the water with you.
Because at the dentist's office,
you're in the air condition all day,
-in the heat in the winter. -Yeah, that's just not me.
This is just the opposite.
It's just not me.
-C'est bon, huh? -Uh-huh.
What you gonna be when you grow up?
Still ain't figured it out.
[both laugh] I gotta grow up first,
and then I'm gonna figure out what I'm gonna do.
I'm getting full. We can save that last piece
-and bait a line with it. -Okay.
Despite Troy's best effort,
finishing the fried chicken
will have to be a job done by the cannibal gator.
We'll see if we get him.
He can't resist fried chicken.
Oh, no.
[laughs] Huh?
He's gonna be sitting on the lilies
right here tomorrow morning.
In Bayou Grossbeck,
Porkchop's popsicle bait is loading the boat up,
but the record-breaking giant still eludes them
as the full moon's effect starts to wane.
That popsicle working, that popsicle working, bet.
That popsicle working.
Oh, yeah, cuz, you made me a believer.
It's working. We catching a nice mess of gators.
It don't hurt to try different crazy ideas,
but sometimes, man, in desperate need
you go to drastic measures.
So sometimes you gotta try crazy stuff
to try to make it work.
-I see that. -It down, cuz.
Straight ahead, cuz.
Hold on to that thing.
Got him, cuz, got him, cuz.
Whoa! Oh!
-Give me a shot, Porkchop. -I'm gonna get you one.
It's rough right now. He tangled up.
Whoa, watch it, cuz, watch it.
Watch it, cuz.
Whoa, whoa, I don't wanna pop the line.
Give me a shot, Porkchop. Give me a shot, cuz.
I'm trying, cuz. Aah! Come on up here.
Cuz, we can't let him get off.
We 'bout to lose him, bro, we 'bout to lose him.
-Cuz, I got him. -Be careful, cousin.
Aah!
Come on, cousin.
Oh, man.
Give me a shot, cuz, give me a shot.
I'm trying, cuz.
Come on, cuz, put something in him.
Cuz, shoot him, cuz, shoot him!
[gunshot]
-Gimme some, bro. -Good job, good job, cuz.
Ha-ha!
Popsicle!
I told ya popsicle work. All right, cousin, come on.
This ten-foot beast is their biggest of the day.
-Hold it right there. -And though they didn't get
their record-breaking gator,
Porkchop knows his popsicle plan paid off.
Whoo!
Popsicle, baby!
We might not set our personal best,
but guess what?
We got a boat full of alligators
off a $4.00 box of popsicles.
Man, I gotta be a genius.
I must admit, boy...
-Thank you, cuz. -Bro,
look at the size of that thing.
Yeah, popsicle.
[both laugh]
Popsicle, baby!
Back in the Red Eye Swamp,
Daniel and Dorien are still searching
for the notorious Triple XL.
Ooh, look, the big sucker's right there.
Gol. What a giant.
Oh!
I broke it.
Oh, Lord.
How did it break?
It must've cut on his back or something.
I had him.
I seen.
Perfect cast.
Oh, my God.
His scale on his back had to cut the string.
I wish he would've just went towards the bank.
Look, his-- right on his back, one of those horns.
Equipment failed.
That's the one.
Gol.
You know, it's real frustrating to have that happen,
but it just... makes you want him so much more.
And I'm gonna win this thing. I'm gonna get him.
Oh, yeah... pa, we got close enough to kill him.
Oh, yeah, easy.
-Easy. -Easy, easy.
After yet another missed opportunity,
Dorien thinks the window to catch Triple XL is closing.
I am concerned and worried
that we might not get another chance at Triple XL.
We had opportunities last year that are kind of similar,
and we never seen him again.
Had him.
He's so damn big, and it's so deep.
He'd have sunk straight to the bottom.
Back in Bayou Ladant,
Troy and Pickle are still chasing a cannibal gator
driven wild by the full moon.
It'd be nice to catch that werewolf gator.
You know, this big alligator's
eaten a couple of our gators on our lines,
so we have to be real careful,
especially if we catch this big alligator.
An eight- or nine-footer's dangerous enough,
much less a big alligator like this.
What we got, P?
Looks good.
-It looks tight, huh? -Yeah, it looks tight.
Show him what Peewee's all about.
-Lord have mercy. -Huh?
-He's heavy? -Yeah, he's heavy.
Look at the bubbles, look at the bubbles.
Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo. Wanna trade?
You want me to bring him up?
You got it? Bring him up.
This could be the one eating all the other ones.
Whoo! You saw that?
-Oh, yeah. -Wow.
-You got him? -No.
Ow! Look!
Whoo, it's a big one.
Whoo, Lord.
[gunshot] You missed.
Oh, my God.
Show him who's the boss! Show him who's the boss!
Aah!
-You saw that? -Yes.
Dude, that thing is like Jaws. He's coming after us.
He's mad. He knows what's about to happen, that's why.
Whoo!
Bring him up, Peewee, bring him up.
Aah!
[gunshot]
-Whoo! -[laughs]
Yes! Good job.
You saw that thing?
That's the gator right there that ate that other one.
Look at the teeth on that thing.
That's a big one, dude.
On three. Ready?
One, two, three.
Aah! He almost hit me.
I don't know why he's not moving.
-He slipped. -One, two, three.
Lord have mercy.
Finally capturing this 12-foot cannibal gator
puts an end to the full moon menace.
You know, it's very satisfying when you catch an alligator
that's giving you problems
because he was costing us time and he was costing us money.
Time is money.
So Peewee and I's very, very excited
that we think we caught him
and we can move on now and put him behind us.
And just in case there was any doubt,
Pickle finds undeniable evidence
they've caught their werewolf.
-Hey. -What's that?
That's in his mouth.
You think that's him or what?
He's still got a piece of him in there.
Wow.
That's some cannibal creatures, huh?
Look at that.
That's the leg off of another alligator.
It could be that one we caught earlier. I'm not sure.
He's throwing up that other alligator.
I'm sure they don't taste too good
when they eat them like that.
-That's crazy, huh? -Yeah.
That alligator's definitely big enough
to eat that nine-footer.
That's about an 11-footer,
but look how much bigger around he is.
No more swimming in the moonlight for you.
Back in Bayou Zayon,
Ashley and Anna had to reset their lines
after misjudging the tides.
While they prepare to run them again,
the captain wonders
if cosmic forces beyond the moon
could be affecting their hunt.
Didn't they say Pluto's not a planet anymore?
I'm having a hard time
learning which planets were in which order,
so Pluto as child to me was a big deal
because that was the farthest planet away.
Obviously it's affecting our gator hunting.
How in the world is Pluto messing with our lines?
That has no scientific backing.
It does when the scientists said, okay,
we're not gonna name Pluto a planet anymore.
Ashley, that makes no sense.
The issue is the moon.
It's affecting the tide levels.
But Pluto is affecting the moon.
Pluto and the moon are buddies.
Well, if the moon has an effect on gators,
why wouldn't Pluto? I mean, I know the moon
is closer to Earth, so it's got more of
a directed hit on there, but it could.
Why in the world is Pluto affecting the moon?
He's trying to punish us
for declassifying him as a planet,
and I would, too, actually.
I think Ashley is actually just playing around
because hanging the lines, you know,
really relies on how high and low the tides get.
So let's not blame it on the planets.
How about we agree to disagree?
Let's just go catch some gators.
We may not catch a single gator if Pluto decides no.
[both laugh]
Over in the Red Eye Swamp,
Daniel and Dorien's strategy
to use the full moon to their advantage
has resulted in a boat full of gators.
But without any lines left to run,
they're still searching for the elusive Triple XL.
Wish he'd pop up on this side.
Is that him right there?
Cannot tell.
No, that's not him, no.
-That's not him? -No.
I don't know if this alligator will get on a line.
I think he's smart,
and maybe that's why he's so big
because he's so smart.
So we're gonna just use the rod and reel
and the treble hook.
I'm gonna win this thing. I'm gonna get him.
That's him right there, pa.
That's Triple XL.
That's him right there. See those bubbles?
Look right there, pa.
Try to hurry.
We gotta get him.
That's him. Look at him. Watch him.
Look, yeah, he's right under your rope.
-See the bubbles? -Yeah.
Hold him, pa. Don't give him no slack.
This is him.
Oughta hook him with the rod and reel.
Get ready, pa.
Triple XL.
Want me to shoot him?
Oh, he's coming.
Give it to me.
Come here.
Oh!
Get ready, get ready.
Might be bigger than we think.
It's a good alligator.
[gunshot]
-Yes, sir! -Look at the size of it.
Yes, sir.
That's a giant.
Let me get rid of the rod and reel.
Where's that knife? Cut my string.
Get this out of our way. Okay.
See if you can turn him.
Okay, now...
Now we're not gonna pull until I get that front leg.
One, two, go.
Oh!
-Oh, yeah. -That's a big one.
After years of chasing Triple XL,
Daniel cannot be prouder.
Catching this big alligator, Triple XL,
after all the years and all the fights
and all the chess games, I'm pumped.
I mean, this is what I live for.
Especially when you've been chasing him for years,
that's what it's all about.
That's what makes an alligator.
We came after Triple XL, he showed himself.
We got him.
And you got him with that treble hook.
He got away from us last year, but we got him this year.
Oh, yeah.
[engine starts]
Good job, pa. You did an excellent job.
In Bayou Zayon,
Ashley and Anna have been catching bigger gators
since re-hanging their lines,
but they're still hoping to land a giant
before the day's over.
I'm glad I got that bait hung higher.
I think that made a difference.
I think so, too. That was a smart move.
It goes to show that, like, one mistake
can cause you a whole lot of problems
even if it's just one small mistake.
The lines that we re-hung,
I think we're definitely doing better,
but we're still hoping to catch some monsters.
It looks like the line's coming straight out, I think.
-That's a good sign. -Yeah.
-There's his head. -You see him, Anna?
Ooh, he just went under.
This could be the big one.
-Can you grab it there? -Give me that pole.
Hand on. I'll move you up a little bit closer.
Oh, Ash, get the gun, get the gun.
Pull him up, Anna.
Got him?
Yeah.
Here comes his head. Get ready.
There he is, there he is!
Hold on to him.
He's rolling hard. He's gonna pop that line.
-I'm trying, Anna. -Can you get a shot?
Anna, right there.
He's trying to get out.
Hold him tight, Anna. Whoo, Anna!
Ooh, hold on to him.
Look how big he is.
Ready?
[gunshot]
One, two, three.
One.
Ready, Anna? One, two, three. Aah!
This 11-foot goliath ends their day on a high note,
but the young captain is still kicking herself
for her rookie mistake.
Double A team, we did it.
Yes, Anna! We got him.
This gator's good, but the entire day
should've been a lot better, and I take fault for that,
especially when you know there's something
you could've done differently.
We really missed an opportunity to catch bigger gators,
and I'm disappointed in that.
Gator season has a way of teaching you things every year.
I was so scared
we were gonna be just catching them little gators, Anna.
Back at Duffy's,
Leron and Porkchop are ready to unload the haul
they caught with Porkchop's popsicles.
-Hey. -Yeah, my man.
'Sup, my man?
Y'all ready?
-Go for it. -I got it.
I got it, Chop, I got it.
The hunters end up with 13 gators
that average almost nine feet,
and while they didn't catch the monster they were hoping for,
they do set a record that could stand for years to come.
Porkchop, what is this?
That, I don't know.
God dang.
[all talking]
We had our minds set on our personal best record,
and, man, we broke the record,
but this was not the record we wanted to break.
Man, the record we set was the smallest alligator ever.
[laughs]
Porkchop.
I'll bet.
[laughs]
That little alligator, man,
was one of the goals that we don't want.
Man, I was embarrassed.
No way in the world we could set a record like that.
It wasn't our personal best.
It was the personal best small alligator that we caught.
[laughs]
[laughs] Look, look, look right there, look.
Look at the phone.
Got it.
[all laugh]
We gotta do what we gotta do, Jacob.
Even though the tags rolling in today.
[all laugh]