[Narrator] It's the final day of gator season...
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Ten and we will be a wrap.
[Narrator] But with water levels at a record low...
[Peewee] Let's roll!
[Troy] Whoo!
[Narrator] Nothing comes easy.
-[Peewee] Ooh... -[Troy] Whoo!
[Troy] It's one of the roughest years we ever had.
I just hope we can tag out today.
[Narrator] It's the hunters' last chance to fill tags...
Let it rip, Willie!
[Narrator] And slay swamp giants...
[Jacob] Whoa! Whoo! Dude!
We gotta catch these alligators and get the job done.
[Narrator] Mustering every ounce of grit
and determination they've got left...
-Get him up! -I'm trying!
Whatever happens, you gotta keep going.
Whoa!
[Narrator] To hit their numbers...
[Don] God dang! I don't care what it takes,
I got lines to run and I got tags to fill.
[Porkchop] Oh, lookie here, boy.
[Narrator] And cement their reputations...
[Porkchop] Come on, cousin, get in there, man.
I don't wanna lose him!
We gonna tag out, bro, I promise you that.
[Don] Dang!
[Narrator] Or risk coming up short...
[Don] Oh! Damn, that's a good'un, too!
[Narrator] In the swamp's final clash.
We got one tag left.
[Don] Oh, whoa, hey!
Oh!
Hold him, hold him, hold him, hold him, hold him!
Aah!
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ You run these back roads all of your life ♪
♪ All the pain through the struggle and the strife ♪
♪ Now there's just one thing you got left to do ♪
♪ Light a match, let it burn, and break on through ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ Like a wild horse running out of control ♪
♪ Like a loaded pistol, like a raging storm ♪
♪ You got thunder in your veins ♪
♪ You won't stop till your dying day ♪
♪ Comes your way ♪
[gunshot]
[Narrator] It's day 30 of the 30-day gator season,
and in Pierre Part,
King of the Swamp Troy Landry
and his partner Pickle Wheat
are in a no-holds-barred battle to tag out.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
All right. Ten and we will be a wrap.
[Narrator] Earlier this morning,
Troy broke the news to his teams
that with water levels plummeting to a record low,
their final hunt will be their hardest.
With the water, y'all gonna have to stay on top of y'all game.
We need to try to push ourselves.
Push, push, push.
-Knock it out. -We have to.
[Troy] It's one of the roughest years we ever had.
And fishing's rough today.
The water's real low. But I just hope
with everything that's been going on this year,
I hope we can tag out today.
[Peewee] Let's roll, let's get it done.
[Narrator] With 43 tags left for the Landrys to fill,
Troy and Pickle take ten of them
into the most difficult location they have left.
[Peewee] We are dealing with a lot of fluctuation
of the water, and we got a lot of tags to fill.
So, as soon as we can get these tags filled, the better.
Got a little pressure on our shoulders right now.
[Peewee] All right, come on, alligator.
[Peewee] We got something!
[Peewee] Whoo!
[Troy] Whoa-ho-ho!
Bring him up, Peewee, bring him up!
Whoo!
[Peewee] Ooh!
Oh, yeah, that's my size right there!
[Troy] Bring him up, Peewee!
That's the kind I like to fight.
Aah, I almost dropped it!
[Peewee] Aah!
[Troy] Whoo, it's a good one!
Aah!
-[Peewee] Aah! -[Troy] Fantastic!
Oh!
All right. Whoo!
Bring him up, bring him up easy!
Ease him. Ease him up.
[gunshot]
-Whoo! Good job, little girl. -Good job, good job.
[Narrator] This eight-footer may not break any records,
but with the location and low water levels,
every gator is a welcome sight today.
[Peewee] That was a good little fight.
This is a good way to start our tag-out day.
We want big alligators, but we gotta fill tags.
[Peewee] Feisty, huh?
[Narrator] Across the swamp, in prime hunting grounds,
Jacob Landry and his partner Little Willie
are armed with 18 tags to fill,
a tall task for their final day.
[Willie] Get pumped! Whoo!
[laughs]
Willie, hey, Willie.
[Willie] Yeah?
-Getting down to the end. -Yeah.
[Jacob] We got about 18 tags left.
I know we ain't been catching that every day,
but we need to try.
[Jacob] Well, today's the last day of the season,
and to be honest with you, I'm a little nervous.
We got a lot of work ahead of us, but I think
if we keep chipping away at it and stay persistent,
I think we'll go home with not a tag left in the box.
-You good, Willie? -Good.
We got our fingers crossed, we hoping we can tag out.
I know Jacob got a lot on his mind and all,
and he's in the back of that boat,
his head's going 90 to nothing.
He's thinking about, "I wanna run
as many lines as I can as fast as I can
to fill these tags."
And we gotta catch these alligators
and get the job done.
Something big bust water right there.
[Jacob] On the bank, on the bank.
[Jacob] Is it still alive?
[Willie] Yeah, he's alive.
[Jacob] Oh, look to the right over there.
Head just went down, in them lilies.
What it look like, Willie?
[Willie] Yeah, we got something.
What you got, Willie, what you got, Willie?
Ooh-whoo.
[Jacob] Damn good gator.
What?
Ooh!
Hold on, Willie!
There you go, there you go!
Ooh!
Give me a shot, Willie.
[gunshot]
[Willie] There we go!
Boy, this is a good start on our last day, Willie.
[Willie] Where do you want him, right here?
[Jacob] Yeah. One, two, three. Oh, yeah.
[Narrator] The 11-foot beast is a solid start,
but with 17 tags remaining, the hard work is just beginning.
I'm a little worried, if we don't step up our game,
the season's gonna run out
and we gonna have a lot of tags left on our hands.
Man, that sure is a good gator
to start out the morning, huh?
[Jacob] Absolutely, buddy.
We'll take that all day.
[Narrator] Over at the Six Mile Lake...
-You ready? -Yup.
-Let's get it. -[Narrator] Swamp veteran
Bruce Mitchell and his partner Anna Ribbeck
are starting the last day of the season
with 11 tags left.
[Bruce] Moon's all up.
That means the gators swam all night.
A full moon, we usually do good.
[Anna] Good.
[Bruce] Hold on.
[Narrator] Any other alligator season,
Bruce and Anna could all but guarantee
11 gators on tag-out day,
but this season has been unlike any before.
[Bruce] I mean, this was a different kind of season
with the water. One day it's up, one day it's down.
You never know what it's gonna be.
I mean, if it comes over your bait,
you don't catch gators.
If it drops out too low,
the gators can't jump up and get it.
You gotta really pay attention to your water.
[Bruce] First line.
I don't know what's gonna happen.
Yeah, I do know what's gonna happen.
Still hanging.
They're not biting.
I really thought we'd catching one there.
Boy, this is a good spot. You got the little runs
coming off the side.
Dang.
[Anna] I'm a little bit concerned because
we need to tag out. But the water's so low,
so that's not really good for gator hunting.
The tide didn't come up but it done dropped back out,
-so I don't know. -I was gonna say,
our chicken's too high.
Ahh.
That gator would jump up and get that.
[Anna] I'm so thankful I'm hunting with Mr. Bruce.
He's an experienced veteran in gator hunting,
and so I really rely on him and trust him
in these types of hard situations.
But even for him, this is proving difficult.
[Anna] It looks down.
[Bruce] What you see?
[Anna] Oh, it's straight down in the water.
Oh, oh, get the gun, get the gun!
-What you got? -Get the gun!
Get him up, get him up!
[Bruce] Oh!
[Anna] I thought we didn't have anything.
[Bruce] Oh...
[Anna] Oh, he's trying to go under the boat.
-[Anna] There he is! -[Bruce] Whoa!
[Anna] Come on, buddy!
[Bruce] Bring him up there!
[Anna] Watch him!
-Can you get a shot? -Yeah, yeah.
Get him up, get him up!
Get him, Mr. Bruce!
[gunshot]
[Anna] Whoo!
Don't gotta worry about that one no more.
He ain't big, but that's another tag filled.
-How many we got left? -Once we tag this gator,
we got ten gators left.
Then we'll be through with this year.
[Narrator] Catching a six-and-a-half-foot gator
is a decent start to the day,
but with the challenging conditions,
it does little to ease the hunters' concerns.
[Bruce] I'm hoping today.
It's just something you worry about every day
until you have no more tags.
And it's gonna be tough today
because the water is low, low, low.
But we're gonna tag out. Hopefully.
He ain't big as I wanted, but he's in the boat,
and that's the main thing.
Hold on.
We keep on going, we're gonna get through today.
[Anna] All right, let's get it done.
[Narrator] Over on Belle River...
[Don] "Optimistic" is the word of the day.
[Narrator] Hunters Don Brewer and Calum Landry
need 15 gators to tag out,
and the second-year captain is feeling extra pressure
to cap a successful season.
I want to prove who I am to Troy and Jacob,
to show them they did not mess up
by putting me in a boat.
So, last night I went out, and I put 20 new lines out
because I need to make sure I catch these gators for Troy.
Make or break today, big boy, make or break.
[Calum] There's more pressure on Don rather than me.
He feels as if he's gotta make sure
he proves himself every day,
even though he's done it already in the past.
And I understand in a way,
but I don't feel as much pressure as he does.
[Don] There's one right here in front of us.
Looks pretty good here in the shallow across.
[Calum] Well, we got 15 tags, that'll be one.
You wanna try to get on him?
[Don] Get your treble hook.
Oh, I got him, I got him!
Hold him, hold him!
-Whoa! -Damn, that's a good'un, too!
Give me a shot!
-Aah! -Give me a shot!
[Calum] Don't come undone, don't come undone!
[Don] Hold him, hold him, hold him, hold him, hold him!
Ah, hold him!
Hold it! Watch them piggies!
[gunshot]
[Calum] No way! [bleep]!
-All right! -That's what I'm talking about!
-Bam! -Yeah!
[Calum] Look at that tooth though, huh?
[Don] That's pretty badass.
One, two, three.
[Narrator] Filling their first of 15 tags with a ten-footer
helps ease the pressure on Don.
Hell, yeah!
-In the boat! -Bam!
[Calum] This is the first alligator I ever treble hooked.
I'm on cloud nine right now.
I can't-- I just can't fathom that just happened.
It all happened so quick, and it was a great feeling.
Pow! Pyoo!
And to see the excitement on Don's face
pumped me up even more.
[Don] What's the word of the day?
-[Calum] Optimistic. -[Don] Optimistic.
Op-to-mistic.
Don't ask me how to spell it.
[Narrator] Out in Amelia...
Leron Jones and Anthony "Porkchop" Williams
have eight tags left to finish their season,
but so far they've come up empty.
[Porkchop] Look at that, cousin. Another one hanging, bro.
Can't catch no alligator like that, cuz.
Pulling up to these lines, bro,
with the chicken still swinging,
got my spirit lower than a basement in hell
right now, cuz.
We just can't get it right, man.
[Porkchop] That pressure on us, bro.
We might not tag out, cuz.
[Leron] The landowner, he will not be happy
if we don't tag out on these gators.
I know it's been a long, difficult season,
down to the nitty gritty.
Everybody wanna go home to they family,
but it's extremely important
that I get these eight gators today.
Oh!
-What the hell? -What you got there, cuz?
Oh, that's a praying mantis, man.
-[Porkchop] A praying mantis? -[Leron] Yeah.
No, that's a praying mantis, look, see?
Well, we need prayer.
-We need prayer, cuz. -Well, we need prayer, cuz.
He should've been on top of one of them tags,
-praying that we tag out. -[laughs]
[Narrator] Praying mantises are native to North America,
including the Louisiana bayou.
Many traditional communities believe their presence
is a sign of good fortune to come.
So we gotta put him back at his home, you know?
[Leron] Yeah, man.
Out here in nature,
a spider could've fell out the tree.
I hate spiders.
Snake could've fell out, you know.
Look what fell out, a praying mantis.
That's a sign.
Might be saying don't give up, bro.
And just pray that everything go through
and that we tag out, cuz.
[Porkchop] It's been a rough season, man,
but we gotta suck it up.
We gotta pull a little harder, you know.
We got eight more to go, man.
We gotta buckle down, man, and do what we gotta do.
Because if we don't fill these tags, man,
the landowner have to return these tags
back to the Wildlife & Fisheries,
and he losing money, and we ain't making money.
-[Leron] Let's roll, cuz. -[Porkchop] Let's roll.
[Narrator] Over on Lake Verret,
midway through the day, the team is off to a slow start
in one of the hardest areas they've hunted all season.
With only two of their ten tags filled,
Troy needs his trusty deckhand
to get them over the finish line.
Every year, I'm getting older and older,
and you're gonna have to do more and more.
-Oh, I know. -You already bitching
that I make you do a lot.
I don't care. It's all part of it.
[Troy] I had a lot of helpers come through my boats
in the last 40 years, okay?
A lot of helpers.
I think you about the best I ever had.
P just had a baby a few months ago,
and, man, you know, I didn't--
I didn't know what to expect this year out of her.
But she's doing better than ever.
She's more determined than ever.
I love watching her, because she gives it 100%.
[Troy] Do you see the line?
[Peewee] Yes, I do see the line!
-[Troy] Talk to me. -[Peewee] Yeah.
Talk to me, little girl.
[Peewee] Yeah, we got one.
[Troy] Oh, good.
Whoa, watch him, Peewee, watch him!
-[Troy] Watch him! -[Peewee] Aah!
Whoo, bring him up, bring him up!
[Peewee] Jeez!
[Troy] Whoo!
Ease him!
[Peewee] Shoot him when you can!
-[Peewee] Shoot! -[Troy] I will, I will,
as soon as I get a shot!
[Peewee] Shoot him!
[gunshot]
-Oh, Peewee. -Yeah!
[Troy] Way to fight that thing.
[Narrator] Thanks to Pickle's iron grip
on the feisty eight-footer, the team is finding their mojo
despite the low water.
You know, there's a lot of women that go to the gym to exercise.
This is my workout right here.
You come in the boat and fight alligators
-instead of the gym. -That's it.
[Peewee] I'm this little-bitty, petite girl.
I started out as this, like, naive firecracker,
and he's taught me a lot over the years.
We clash a lot, you know, but it also--
it works at the same time.
-Lookie here, Peewee. -What we got?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, girl.
[Peewee] Whoo-hoo!
[Troy] Gettin' close.
[Peewee] Next!
[Narrator] Across the swamp,
Jacob and Little Willie
still face a hefty number of tags to fill
with time quickly ticking away.
Sixteen left, Willie.
Sixteen left.
Need a full boat, baby.
[Jacob] We got 16 tags left.
It's a little more than I wanna have here on this set.
I really don't wanna go back to the ramp or to the dock
with just one or two tags in my box.
I wanna be done with. So we gonna be on the lookout.
We gonna fill every tag we can in any means possible.
[Willie] We gotta get some more gators in the boat.
We got our fingers crossed. We hoping we can tag out.
If not, we got our secret weapon.
I made a special treble hook
in memory to pay respect to my PawPaw and all.
He's the first to ever do it.
And it's been blessing me all season,
and it's gonna continue blessing me.
Come on, Willie, keep you an eye out.
I don't know what it is.
They got a pile of bubbles coming up over there.
[Jacob] Going over towards the bank, huh?
[Willie] Yeah.
That's an alligator because it's still bubbling.
[Jacob] Need that treble hook in the water.
Let it rip, Willie!
Make your Paw proud.
Coming to the boat.
[Jacob] Hell, yeah.
They pull so hard in that shallow water.
[Jacob] Mm-hmm.
Feels good?
-Yeah. -[Jacob laughs]
[Jacob] Come on, Willie!
[Narrator] Little Willie is using his treble hook
to try and pull in a monster.
[Willie] Good gator.
Watch him, Willie!
[Willie] Aah!
[Jacob] He's gonna get away!
Come on, Willie!
[gunshot]
I'll take him, Buckwheat!
In the freaking foot. No wonder he was pissed.
One, two, three.
Hell, yeah.
Nice little addition.
[Narrator] Hauling in this 11-footer
on Willie's treble hook
gives the team some much-needed momentum
and puts them 15 gators from their goal.
Good job, Willie, good job.
[Willie] Yes, sir.
I've been doing treble hooking all my life.
And the treble hooking is the one way
that we know how to put alligators in the boat.
You give me tags and you turn me loose
and I'll treble hook every single one of them.
I just do what I was taught.
My PawPaw taught my dad and my dad taught me.
It's kinda like a tradition that keeps going,
and I'm gonna teach my kids someday.
It's one of the best.
PawPaw taught me how to make them,
curve them hooks in right,
and you got a good hook, you don't miss.
Everything you throw the hooks on, it's there.
[Jacob] Another one down, Willie.
[Willie] That's what I'm talking about.
[Narrator] Several miles southwest on Six Mile Lake,
Bruce and Anna have struggled all morning,
with only three gators in the boat.
[Anna] That chicken's hanging.
[Bruce] Dang. Let's go ahead and spray it,
get it wet, get it dripping.
All right.
Crap!
[Anna] This is frustrating.
We're not having a very good day.
The gators aren't really biting very well.
I'm getting really worried.
Nothing is on our lines, empty hooks,
hooks being knocked in the water.
We don't know what to do.
Line's down.
-Down? -Yeah.
What you got, Anna?
[Anna] Oh, it's straight down.
I ain't too impressed with that.
[Bruce] What you got?
[Anna] I don't know.
Nothing!
We still have eight tags, Mr. Bruce.
-Yeah, I know. -What are we gonna do?
It ain't over yet.
Hang that bait, we gonna go catch more.
I hope we do. We gotta finish.
[Narrator] With only three tags filled,
Bruce decides to keep their bait hanging
to maximize their chances,
but it also means
they have to run every line twice
before the season ends at sunset.
[Bruce] It's gonna be a long day today.
You just can't stop until you have no more tags.
You can't quit, you just gotta push your way through.
Whatever happens, you gotta keep going.
When the bag's empty, then you go home.
Hold on.
[Anna] I hope we get our last ones.
Why don't we go catch some alligators?
That's a good idea.
We need one, Mr. Bruce. We gotta tag out.
[Narrator] On Belle River...
[Don] Down, ain't it?
[Calum] Yeah, I see the line, but I don't know.
Oh, it's still up.
[Don] Is it?
Yeah.
[Narrator] After a hot start with their treble hook,
Don and Calum's lines are ice cold.
[Don] Aw.
Look at that chicken hanging, boy.
This might be a rough day today.
Man, we ain't doing worth a crap on fishing,
the water's so damn low.
And, I mean, line after line after line.
I mean, these lines ain't even down.
I still got chicken on the line.
So I'm sitting back there scratching my head, you know,
and all we can do is just keep running lines,
cross our fingers, and hope for the best.
[Don] That damn chicken is still hanging.
That is not a good sign.
[Calum] No, not at all.
[Don] I mean, it really dawned on me,
we're seeing the gators, they're here.
I don't understand that.
[Calum] Straight to the back.
[Don] Oh, I see it, stretched to the left, ain't it?
[Calum] Yup.
Hopefully it ain't all tangled up.
-For sure looks like it. -Wound it up.
If we don't start pulling some gators off these lines,
we might not tag out today.
I mean, we started off strong,
but, boy, I mean, we come to a halt quick.
Well, we don't know what's on this line yet.
Let's back it on out and see.
All right, you ready? Watch them eyes, okay?
I'll hammer it.
[revs engine]
[Calum] I see a bare hook and a branch.
[Don] Ain't no gator, huh?
I... I don't think Troy will be too happy
if we put a tag on this, huh?
[Don] No, no, probably not.
[Narrator] After coming up empty on this pass,
the pair will need the extra 20 lines Don set
to pay off, if they hope to tag out.
[Don] We run about a dozen lines,
and I mean, nothing. This is terrible.
Man, this thing is just blowed up with them, huh?
-Yeah. -I don't care what it takes,
that's what I'm gonna do. I got lines to run,
and I got tags to fill.
It's hard to stay optimistic like this.
It's not looking real good.
[Narrator] Over in Amelia,
Leron and Porkchop continue to struggle
without a single tag filled on the day.
That's how long that pressure been on me, cuz.
We got eight more to go, man.
We gotta buckle down, man, and do what we gotta do.
So we hunting and hunting, you know, hustling.
And... the first couple lines we ain't had nothing.
We got to fill these tags,
or we ain't gonna be able to get no more tags for next year.
[Leron] Cousin...
Yeah.
Yeah, we need this, cuz.
We need it to be a gator, man.
What we got there, cuz?
[Leron] Ah!
Give me a shot, Porkchop!
Hold on. Watch yourself, boy!
Come on, cousin, get in there, man, I don't wanna lose him!
[Porkchop] Get ready, cuz!
-Give me a shot, Porkchop! -I got you, cuz.
It's a tag, cuz.
[Porkchop] Get ready, cousin!
Give me a shot, Porkchop!
[gunshot]
Oh.
When we first started, boy,
we had a whole stack of these things, cuz.
[Narrator] With seven tags remaining,
the team still has a long way to go.
Oh, yeah.
It wasn't a spectacular gator, but guess what?
He was bigger than a lizard, and I put a tag in his tail.
Anything goes, man, you know.
We gotta make it happen.
-Bro, that praying mantis. -Yeah.
That's a good sign, cuz, you know?
[Porkchop] Oh, yeah...
[Narrator] Across the swamp,
the end of a long day and brutal season
could be within reach
as Troy and Pickle are down to their last four tags.
[Peewee] I'm ready to get back home to my babies.
I was worried having-- having a baby
when I got pregnant for my girl.
I was worried about being away from her and all of that,
but I think I kinda got my head on straight.
I want my kids to grow up and be proud of me, you know,
and I don't want them to turn back and say,
"Why'd you quit because you had me, you know?"
I want them to turn around and say...
-"I'm glad you kept going..." -Right, right.
...and you didn't let me stop you, you know.
-Of course... -I want them to be proud,
-you know? -Yeah, they got a lot
to be proud of.
[Peewee] This season is a rough one for me,
to be completely honest.
Leaving one baby at home was hard enough,
and here I am, two seasons later,
leaving two babies at home.
But I want them to grow up and say,
"She didn't let us stop her
from doing anything she wanted to do."
Like just keep being Superwoman,
at least in their eyes, you know.
[Troy] Just hope you can come back next year
and help me some more.
[Peewee] Maybe one day I'll get behind the motor, huh?
-Oh, Lord. -[laughs]
Oh, Lord, let's not go there.
Whoo!
I don't know what you did
-right there. -Right there.
Talk to me.
[Peewee] I don't see anything. I just see the flag.
[Troy] Do we have something?
[Peewee] We will see.
-Huh? -My best judgment says
there ain't nothing on here.
But... sometimes I'm wrong.
Oh, I'm wrong! Come here!
[Peewee] Oh, yeah, he's a big one!
He's a big one! Aah! Aah!
[Troy] Whoo! Bring him up, bring him up!
[Peewee] Whoo!
[Peewee] Aah!
Bring him up, Peewee, bring him up! Ooh!
Oh, that's what I'm talking about.
Show him who's the boss!
Bring him up, Peewee, bring him up!
[gunshot]
[Troy] Whoo!
Good shot.
I did it again.
-Sometimes I amaze myself. -Yeah.
Good job, little Peewee.
Right there where you're standing.
[Narrator] This nine-footer brings the team closer
to tagging out, but the King of the Swamp
never counts his chickens before they hatch.
Peewee and I's almost done, but anything can happen
when you're out there on the water.
So you just-- you never know.
This is it, Peewee. One, two, three.
Three tags left, baby girl.
[Troy] Getting close.
[Narrator] On Six Mile Lake,
Bruce and Anna's decision to run their lines twice
might save their season, but the extra workload
is taking a toll on the hunters.
-I'm exhausted, Mr. Bruce. -Yeah, me, too.
We got a lot of work to do, still.
I'm about wore out, I'm about shot,
but I don't have the option to be tired.
I just gotta tell myself keep going,
keep going because it's tough out here.
And no matter what, I gotta push through this.
I gotta get these gators today.
Not tomorrow. Today.
[Bruce] See anything?
Line's down.
[Bruce] That's a good sign.
You see it? Because I can't see nothing.
[Anna] Oh, there's a gator!
On the other side!
It's moving! He's here!
Hurry up, Mr. Bruce, he's here!
[Bruce] I'm coming!
-[Bruce] Get him up! -[Anna] He's up!
-[Bruce] Come on! -[Anna] Whoa!
[gunshot]
[Bruce] Game over.
[Anna] Well, that was nice.
I wish they was all like that.
Okay, help me get him up. Ready?
Watch him. Watch that mouth. Watch that mouth!
-I am. -Okay. Whew!
[Narrator] This seven-footer brings
Bruce and Anna's total to nine,
but the hunters aren't the first to tag this gator.
-Hey, Mr. Bruce, look. -What you got?
He's got a tag on his foot. This is a farm-raised gator.
Oh, yeah. Sure enough.
We're gonna have to take that tag
and turn that number into Wildlife & Fisheries.
[Narrator] In 1986,
the Louisiana Department of Fish & Wildlife
started an alligator ranching program.
Licensed farmers collect eggs,
hatch them, and then release the gators
into the wild with a tag,
allowing biologists to identify them later.
Stick that in the hole.
Two more gators, we out of here.
Let's go catch some more.
We're about done.
Two left, Mr. Bruce.
[Narrator] Across the swamp,
Jacob and Little Willie
have been loading the boat with monsters,
but they still have half their tags left.
[Jacob] Getting closer and closer.
Think the last day's gonna be a good one.
One for the books. We got nine tags left.
-[Jacob] Let's get it done. -[Willie] There we go.
[Jacob] We got a lot of work ahead of us,
but I think if we keep chipping away at it
and stay persistent, I think we'll go home
with not a tag left in the box.
[Jacob] Oh, got a tree shaker. Oh!
Might have him on the line, Willie.
We got a crime scene, Willie.
[Willie] That's a big gator that's on the line, too.
[Jacob] Pretty gator, man.
[Jacob] That's what I like to see.
Uh-oh, uh-oh!
We got a big one!
Whoa! Whoa!
Watch him, watch him!
Oh, gol!
[Jacob] Damn, we're gonna have a good average today, my boy.
Don't let him cut that line with that tail.
Hold on, Willie!
That is a hammer. [whistles]
We gonna sink the boat today, Willie son.
-[Willie] Good gator. -[Jacob] There we go.
Now we got him right.
[gunshot]
[both] That's what I'm talking about.
[Willie] We got a monster.
[Jacob] Jeez Louise.
One, two, three.
That's a good one.
Come on, you big sucker.
Not yet, Willie...
it's fighting us.
There we go. Ready? One, two, three.
[Narrator] With this massive 12-footer,
the team is firing on all cylinders.
-Good job, Willie. -Good job, Jacob.
[Willie] It's a blessing fishing with Jacob
for the second year in a row. He treats me good.
Mr. Jacob is a hard-working guy, he's a hustler.
Man, I just can't ask for no better.
We're down to our last gator,
and I know we're gonna get it done.
About to be tagged out.
Can't get here quick enough.
[Narrator] Across the swamp,
the low water continues to give Leron and Porkchop fits
as they still only have one tag filled on the day.
Keep checking all them doggone empty lines,
we don't tag out,
somebody's pocket gonna be empty, too.
Ain't looking good, cousin.
No, it ain't.
Down to seven tags left, I'm a little worried.
We down to the nitty gritty.
So I hope we pull this through.
You know, just gotta try to figure it out.
Line down, cousin.
[Porkchop] Yeah.
Oh, yes, sir!
Whoa!
Damn, boy. All right, cousin.
We gotta get him, cousin.
Cuz, he rolling up on me, cuz.
Watch yourself. Watch yourself!
[Leron] Hey, he could climb in here easy now, cuz.
[Porkchop] Cuz, I'm gonna need you to put something
-on him, cuz. -[Leron] Whoo!
Give me a shot, Porkchop!
I'm trying, cuz. Hold on!
[gunshot]
You got him, man!
Yeah, let me put him right there.
Oh, yeah, I got him.
[Leron] Yeah!
Ooh, Lord.
[Narrator] With a nine-footer,
the team may be turning the corner,
but to tag out, they'll need a miracle comeback.
[Leron] The lady ain't sung yet.
You could feel my heart beating through my shirt.
Things are getting good,
but good got room for improvement.
I would like to be doing great.
Finish line right there.
I can see it, but I just gotta get it so I can cross it.
Another tag down, baby.
Brah.
[Narrator] Over on Lake Verret,
Troy and Pickle are down to their final tag,
looking to close out
one of their toughest seasons on record.
All right, P, we got one tag left
and we only got, I think, maybe three lines left.
Getting down to the wire.
Every year, I don't know if it's my age,
but it looks like every year
gets a little harder and a little harder.
And this year,
it's like it jumped up to another level.
You adjust all your sets
and all your lines for your water level,
and then two days later, it was total opposite.
And it made it hard.
-[Troy] Is that one over there? -[Peewee] Yeah.
[Peewee] Oh, my...
It's a good one, it's a good one!
-It's a good one? -Yeah, back up, back up.
-Can you pull it out of there? -Yeah.
What we got, Peewee?
A good one. Wait, don't make me let it go!
-[Peewee] Aah! -[Troy] Ooh, it's a big one!
Whoo!
-[Troy] You got him? -[Peewee] Ooh, yeah!
[Troy] You got him?
[Peewee] I got him!
[Troy] Whoa! Watch it!
[Peewee] Shoot the damn thing!
[Troy] Bring it up, hurry up!
[Troy] Whoo!
-[Troy] Hold on to it! -[Peewee] You ready?
Shoot him!
[gunshot]
Whoo-hoo-hoo! Yeah!
That's it, dude, we done!
What a freaking tag-out, huh?
[Narrator] This massive 12-footer
is their biggest on the day...
[Troy] Come on up.
-All right, right there. -[Narrator] And ends their year
-on a high note. -You putting him here?
Yup, right here. Okay, P.
Let me come tag it. You always get the fun part.
We had to think out of the box this year.
We struggled. It was a rough year.
But that's what makes it so enjoyable to be finished.
[Troy] Another season down.
This evening, when Imma be home, relaxing...
[Peewee] It's gonna hit you, huh?
It's gonna hit me. I'm gonna be sad.
I'm gonna go from being happy to being sad.
Not enough.
[Narrator] Over on Belle River,
Don and Calum continue to struggle,
and with gator season nearing an end,
the pair still have plenty of work to do.
[Calum] Eight more.
I don't know if we're gonna tag out.
[Don] I think I'm gonna change the word of the day to fubar.
[Calum] I think we should change it to disappointment.
Usually I'm already back in and checked in,
and I'm starting to get a little worried.
But I got to get these gators.
[Don] Well, line's down, ain't it?
[Calum] Yeah, I don't see the chicken hanging.
[Don] Well, if we ain't got a gator on this,
we ain't gonna tag out.
[Calum] Yeah, it almost look like it's going
-all the way to the right. -[Don] I see a tail
right there, right on the edge of the lilies.
[Calum] Oh, yeah.
[Don] Still alive?
-[Don] Oh, yes, he is! -[Calum] He alive, oh!
Whoo!
Dang!
[Don] Got the gator roll.
Dang!
-[Calum] Dang it. -[Don] Oh! Dang it!
I can't get no shot like that!
[Calum] Oh, watch them toes!
[Don] Oh! Give me a shot, give me a shot!
[gunshot]
That's a good job.
Che-che-pow-pow.
-[Calum] Hey, look. -[Don] Hey, 12 more tags, buddy.
-[Don] That's a good gator, too. -[Calum] Oh, yeah.
-[Don] Hey, we're getting there. -[Narrator] Catching this
nine-foot gator puts Don and Calum
past the halfway mark and brings
a little optimism back to the boat.
[Don] Them tags gotta be filled, or we got to pay for them.
I mean, it's not a good deal, so I'm gonna keep running lines,
I'm gonna keep tagging them, putting them in the boat,
and try to get this going.
[Don] It started off good, it went to crap,
now it's starting to build back up.
[Narrator] Over on Six Mile Lake...
for Bruce and Anna,
the extra effort to run their lines twice
might push them over the finish line...
but it's not over until they click their last tag.
Got one more!
[Anna] We only have one tag left,
but everything's difficult right now.
And I just kinda send up a little prayer
like, please, God, we really need one.
What you got, Anna?
I see the line, it just kinda goes straight down.
I'm hoping we can tag out right here.
Oh, I feel something, Mr. Bruce.
[Bruce] Good?
Here, I wanna come down there.
I don't wanna fall out.
-It's slippery up there. -It's heavy.
You don't need to fall out of the boat on the last gator.
[Anna] There he is, there he is!
[Bruce] Come on, get him up, get him up!
[Anna] Oh, golly!
-Get him up, get him up! -I'm trying!
[Bruce] Careful!
I got him, I'll get him!
Be careful.
Get him up!
[Anna] Watch out!
[Bruce] Whoa!
He keeps going down!
Get ready, Mr. Bruce!
[gunshot]
Nice shot!
Tag out gator! That's it, baby, we going home.
I told you we'd tag out on a big one.
-[Bruce] Yeah. -[Anna] Here we go.
[Narrator] A massive 12-footer is
a perfect end to a difficult season,
and despite all the challenges this year,
the team shows no signs of slowing down.
Final gator, Mr. Bruce. You ready?
I am very ready.
[Anna] Me and Mr. Bruce, we always have ups and downs,
but he's always got a plan, he has my back,
and he's always teaching me something.
[Bruce] You know, we work smarter, not harder.
-[Anna] Amen. Good? -[Bruce] Yeah.
[Anna] I love learning from an experienced swamper.
And I hope to be as good as him someday,
and he told me, maybe one day
you'll be running your own boat.
And I hope that,
but I also really like being his deckhand.
Oh, that felt good.
-We did it. -Whew!
[Bruce] Let's cover them up.
I was four years old
and got pictures of me and my grandpa with gators.
It's in my blood. As long as I'm alive,
I will be gator hunting.
[Anna] So what about next year?
-[Bruce] Next year? -[Anna] Yeah.
[Bruce] We gonna need a bigger boat, because I wanna
-catch more gators next year. -I'm okay with that.
[Narrator] Across the swamp...
with one hour left in the day,
Jacob and Willie are riding a hot streak,
and only need one more gator to tag out.
We ain't going back to Duffy's
with one tag in this boat, I guarantee you that.
Yeah, last couple lines has been good,
it was just down every one of them in a row.
But we got one more alligator to catch.
It could change in a blink of an eye, you never know.
Oh, we got something right here, Willie.
[Willie] A tree shaker!
[Jacob] Ooh, look at that, Willie.
[Willie] Oh, a good gator.
Good gator!
[Jacob] That's what I'm talking about, baby.
Come on, Willie, hold on to him!
Feisty sucker, huh?
[Jacob] Oh, yeah!
I'll gladly click the last tag on him.
Oh, oh, there he is.
Come on, Willie, bring him here, last one.
Right there.
-Come on, Willie! -Shoot him! Shoot him!
[Willie] Shoot!
[gunshot]
Oh, that's it, Willie!
Whoo!
[Willie] Tagged out.
[Jacob] Hallelujah.
[Narrator] With this 11-footer,
Jacob and Willie finish their 18th tag of the day,
and the team closes out
on their second successful season together.
[Jacob] All right.
All right, Willie.
You know, this year was one for the books.
We were dealt with some tough conditions
with the high waters and low waters.
But at the same time, it's all about the traditions,
carrying out what we were taught
throughout the years and doing things
that we feel will live on forever in our families.
You know, like Little Willie with his grandpa Junior,
you know, he's carried on a lot of traditions
that he's taught him,
and he really shined this year with that.
We just hope that we continue to do this
for a long time to come.
[Willie] Click!
Let me see your last tag shuffle.
Let me see how you do it.
[Willie laughs]
That's all you get
unless you start throwing dollar bills at me.
So this year, I mean, with losing my PawPaw
and me dedicating this season to my grandpa and all,
this season's special to me.
We didn't give up.
Clicking that last tag
was a big weight lifted off our shoulders.
And I looked up
and I knew PawPaw was looking down on us.
[Willie] Yeah, take this good old load
-back on to Duffy's, huh? -Let's do it, baby!
[Willie] Long season has finally come to an end.
[Narrator] In Amelia...
Leron and Porkchop have made steady progress
late in the day
and are down to their last tag,
but they only have two lines left to check.
Don't worry about nothing.
[Porkchop] It's been a long season, man.
[Porkchop] I know we getting down to the end.
We don't have that many lines left, but, cuz,
we gonna tag out, bro, I promise you that.
-Oh, man. -Cuz, one tag left, line down.
[Leron] Damn, cousin, don't let him pull you in there.
[Porkchop] We gotta make quick work of this boy!
Give me a shot, Porkchop!
[Porkchop] We can't lose this one!
-[Leron] Oh! -[Porkchop] Whoo!
Good God almighty!
-Give me a shot, Porkchop! -There you go cousin!
[gunshot]
[Narrator] With the capture of this hardy ten-footer,
Leron and Porkchop fill their eighth tag,
and the team's hard-fought season
comes to an end.
We ain't tag-- We ain't tag out yet, cuz.
I gotta put him in there.
[Porkchop] Me and Leron, we family.
And when you can do something that you love
with a family member, that's a blessing.
Man, love your family, because at the end of the day,
that's all you have.
Know what I call this, cousin?
The kiss of death, baby.
We done tagged out, baby.
Oh, man.
[Leron] It's bittersweet for me, gator season.
The bitter part, I'm away from my five kids.
The sweet part, I'm out here doing what I love.
And not only that, we catching gators
to help lower the population.
This stuff is bigger than, you know,
we just come together one month
for a paycheck.
[Narrator] On Belle River,
Don and Calum's extra lines
started producing at the last possible minute,
and tag out is finally within reach.
But Mother Nature is not making it easy.
[Calum] Man, that water fell,
all the lilies come from out the swamp.
Everything's just pulled right back
out in the middle here, ain't it?
[Don] It has been a rough season.
The water's up, down, up, down,
it is so hard to fish this.
But we got one tag left.
I cannot wait to fill it.
[Don] Big old stumps. Look at all the stumps.
[Don] Hey, I'll tell you what.
-[Don] I got an idea. -[Calum] What?
Let's tie the whole thing to the bow of the boat,
we'll tie it right here, I'll back it out of here,
and we'll pull him out of there, huh?
Going good.
Now we got a place to work in, don't we?
[Calum] Yup.
-[Don] What you got? -[Calum] I don't know.
[Don] Well, he got the bubbles, don't he?
Oh, yeah! Dang!
Don't lose him!
Come on, come on, give me a shot!
-We're good. -Give me a shot!
Oh, big boy, oh!
Look at him go, look at him go!
Don't lose him, don't lose him, don't lose him, don't lose him!
[Calum] He don't wanna come up, huh?
[Don] Come on, big boy!
[gunshot]
That's what I'm talking about, baby!
Tag out!
Done!
-That's the last tag. -There we go.
-Good job. -Number 15.
Good job.
One, two, three!
[Narrator] It came down to the wire,
but catching this massive 11-footer
marks the end of a challenging season
for the hunters.
[Calum] It's me and Don's second year together hunting,
and it was just rough
with the high and the low water.
But we got to know each other better.
We know how to work with each other now.
[Don] Now it's over.
And I'm looking forward to next year.
That's a damn good gator.
-Hey, he's been working out. -Hey...
-gator season is done. -Done.
I might sleep in in the morning.
[Calum] I damn sure will.
[Narrator] Over in Pierre Part...
[Bruce] Y'all ready?
[Narrator] The Landrys invite all the swampers
to celebrate the end of gator season
with a Cajun-style feast.
-[Bruce] This is ours. -[Peewee, laughing] Yeah.
Listen, we wanna take a minute here
to thank everybody
for putting out as hard as y'all did this year.
Everybody worked hard.
And look, we lost two old pros this year.
We lost Mr. Junior Edwards
and Mr. Sterling Fryou.
So let's just think of them and move forward
and thank you all for everything y'all done.
[Ronnie] Thank you for having us, Mr. Troy.
-Yup. -Thank you, Mr. Troy.
There's nothing better than a big cookout,
especially at the end of alligator season.
You working seven days a week,
you burnt out, and then you just sit down
and relax with your family and friends.
It's what life is all about, really.
I love that sausage. I could eat just that.
[Troy] Good job, Jacob Landry, good job.