As gator season heads into the final stretch...
You gotta get your head down in it.
Hunters hold nothing back...
What we do, we dip the bait in it,
and you smell this stuff from six miles away.
I don't know what's in this thing, but it reeks.
One team goes head to head...
No, I'm the better shot. Me.
I just want the recognition I deserve.
-I'm gonna take the shot. -I'm gonna shoot it.
Don't you shoot that alligator, boy.
-Let me shoot it. -No.
...while another fishes alone.
Damn. Lord, this stuff's so much easier
when you got two people.
And no one will go home...
Oh, gol.
I'm not gonna leave until I find him.
I'm gonna put a tag in him and call it a day.
...until the job is done.
We not giving up. We not quitters.
And we going to get that gator.
Hey, slow it down, slow it down.
Look at that tail over there.
You see it?
As dawn breaks over Bayou Sorrel,
four days remain in alligator season...
and Willie Edwards and his son Little Willie
are eager to fill as many tags as possible.
Today, they've brought the heavy artillery.
Pow, pow, pow.
Better not be shooting at me, boy.
You know how good of a shot I am.
I can outshoot you two to one.
Me and Daddy, we've been having a little debate going on,
who's the better shot.
He's getting old, his vision's messing up and everything.
I'm still young.
I ain't got no problem seeing and everything,
and he thinks he can outshoot me.
Ain't no way.
-One right there. -Let me see your gun, Daddy.
Yeah, hurry up. We got stumps out here.
Get it, get it, get it. You gotta push the safety off.
Take out the biggest one you want down.
Prop up.
Way off. You missed him.
-Your gun's off sight. -No, it ain't.
That gun ain't off sight, jack.
Showed you that yesterday when I got on the bank
and shot that.
He thinks he can outshoot me, and he can't outshoot me.
I mean, there ain't no way he can.
He got a lot more learning to do to outshoot me.
He does every now and then get a good shot off and kill one,
but, uh, I outshoot him. 100 percent.
And he gonna learn that before it's over with.
Look at that. Look, look at that.
Oh, yeah, that's a alligator.
-I'm gonna take the shot. -I'm gonna shoot this one.
Don't you shoot that alligator, boy.
-Let me shoot it. -No.
You're grounded from the gun.
Keep the treble hook in your hand.
That's all you need.
I don't get grounded.
Hold on now.
Get your hooks.
See where the most bubbles at?
Right there. Throw it straight ahead.
Hurry up. Throw it, throw it!
Back up.
-You missed him. -Unh!
-Oh, you got him? -Yeah, I got him.
Hold him tight. Hook it hard.
That's a big one.
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!
-Oh! -Don't fight him that hard.
Just let him come up by himself.
-Ooh, what a gator. -Seen the head on that thing?
Yeah, he's 12-foot, son.
Pull it out so I can shoot him.
Look at the tail on that thing. Gol!
Watch out, watch out. I'm gonna shoot him.
-Pull him up, pull him up. -Right there.
Oh!
-Get him up. -Ooh.
That baby's heavy.
Coming up. Get him!
Ready? Let's go.
Aah!
Go.
Look at the head on that thing.
This 11-foot goliath
is the best way to start the day.
-giant! -That is a tank, son!
Boom!
But while Little Willie nailed it with the treble,
he's itching to show off his skills as a marksman.
With the treble hook and everything,
I had opportunity to show him what I had and everything.
And I feel like he needs to let me get
that same opportunity with the gun,
and, uh, I could prove what I got.
I would've shot his whole back of his head off.
But I'm a better shot.
I don't know who done told you that.
35 miles south, in Flat Lake,
Leron Jones and his deckhand Anthony "Porkchop" Williams
are aiming to bag giants
in their final week of the season.
We got everything, yep.
That's what I'm talking about, Porkchop.
All right, all right, it's time to go.
Hope them gators biting good today, cuz.
You could take a 12-year-old
to set a hook and get a gator hungry,
pull it to the thing and kill him.
But it's the knowhow
of how to go find what you're looking for,
and especially to get the big ones,
to hunt the big ones down, you know.
So that would make it more of a mental thing than physical.
All right, cuz, let's see what we got.
Trying to see where that line--
Oh, look at that, boy.
Oh, yeah. Go straight, cuz. Not that way. Go this way.
He's coming in pretty good, cuz.
Hold on.
Come on. Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah, he a nice one, Porkchop. Ooh, down and under.
Don't let him pull you in there now, Porkchop.
-Let me know when you're ready. -I'm born ready, Porkchop.
Whoa. Watch out, cuz.
He got a lot of energy in him.
He could pull up right there.
He could get on land and get in this boat quick.
Give me a good, clean shot, Porkchop.
What you waiting on?
Whoo, give me some.
Oh, yeah.
Leron and Porkchop landed an eight-footer,
but they're after bigger monsters
in these hunting grounds.
Whoo!
So we always catching gators.
Not always catching the biggest ones, but...
the tags can fit any tail, so that's better for us.
Me and Porkchop, we gonna get 'em.
We gonna find 'em, you know.
Gonna go out and we gonna get 'em.
We gonna get 'em, cuz. Don't worry about nothin'.
We gonna get 'em, cuz.
16 miles north, in Pierre Part,
pressure's on Jacob Landry and his deckhand Don Brewer
to fill their tags before the season's end.
Today, Don has a secret weapon.
"Swap" juice.
-You what? -"Swap" juice.
-That ain't "swamp." -No, "swap."
-That's "swap." -Swamp juice.
You don't know how the hell to spell swamp?
No, I do. That's the way I say it. "Swap."
I can't believe you out here fishing alligators with me,
and you don't know how to spell swamp?
It's "swap."
You got drunk last night?
Well, I ain't gonna say I wasn't drinking.
No, you gotta get your head down in it.
Oh, .
Put the cover back. I'd rather smell that.
It's a...
Don't get none on you.
I'm telling you right now, it will not come off.
Don showed up this morning with a bucket
of what he's supposed to call it "swamp" juice,
but it was actually spelled "swap" juice.
I don't know what's in this thing, but it reeks.
You know, over the years,
I've smelled a lot of stinky crap.
We've done tried different baits,
we've done tried different concoctions,
and this by far is the smelliest stuff I've ever smelled.
So that's saying a lot.
Sound it out. Swam-puh.
-"Swap" juice. -Swam-puh.
How you say "coldbeer?"
-Huh? -"Coldbeer."
Cold beer?
"Coldbeer." It's one word.
-That's coldbeer. -Coldbeer. One word.
This is gonna put a smell in the air
that they cannot resist.
Man, I mean, that chicken is good today.
Blecch.
Ugh.
It's like dynamite. You have to be careful.
Put the lid back on that damn bucket.
"Swap" juice, it's some nasty stuff.
It's got rotten milk in it, eggs in it,
sardines, oyster juice, blood,
Limburger cheese, shad, river minnows.
It's got everything in it.
What we do, we dip the bait in it,
get it all over it, hang it,
and you smell this stuff from six miles away.
Let's see.
Put it low, make it irresistible.
Damn, he got this on the boat again.
Yup.
Making a mess all the time.
Oh, man.
I'm willing to smell that funky crap
if it's gonna catch alligators.
If it don't, I don't wanna smell it all day long.
But as long as it produces gators,
I'm willing to put up with the smell all day.
With all their lines baited,
Jacob and Don will soon find out
if the swamp juice is worth the stench.
-You can't even spell swamp. -"Swap."
The hell is wrong with you?
Hooked on Phonics didn't work for you?
Nope.
Got my money back, though.
96 miles east, in Violet,
Ronnie Adams is getting ready to head out on the water.
But today, the veteran swamper is without his secret weapon.
Ashley ain't comin' today.
Solo, my baby.
Ashley couldn't make it
'cause today's her kids' first day of school.
So today is solo for Big Ron.
So it's me, myself and I.
You know, I've been having Ashley hunt with me
for four years.
So it's been at least five years
since I hunted solo.
Alligator hunting's dangerous,
so it's always good to have a partner.
But I have hunted alone by myself,
and I know how much more work it takes.
We gotta do what we gotta do, baby.
Put big gators in the boat, 50 lines,
and, hey, it wouldn't hurt my feelings
if we got 49 gators, baby.
Line's down. I don't see where it's at.
Let's see what we got going on, my baby.
Come on, Ronnie, you got this, brother.
You got this, big boy.
Hunting by myself, I gotta make sure
all my i's are dotted and t's are crossed.
Come on, my boy.
Come on, big boy.
Oh, my, got a good one here, che.
Yeah, baby, gol!
Oh, yeah, baby!
This sucker's strong, boy.
All by myself, he's wearing me out.
Golly!
Come on, dude, get in the boat, baby.
Come on, big boy. Give me a shot, my baby.
Oh, yeah, baby!
Oh, this is the hard part,
loading these big boys in the boat by myself.
Good job, Ronnie. You're welcome, my baby.
I gotta run the lines, I gotta fight the alligators,
I gotta shoot the alligators.
I gotta bait the lines, I gotta reset the lines.
It's gonna be a tough one today, my baby.
Plus, it's hot.
On to the next one, good Lord.
Yes, baby, let's do this.
I think it looks like a perfect day
to get a good log up.
A few miles down the bayou,
Chase Landry is after a treasured sinker cypress log,
and for once he knows just where to look.
My neighbor, he had a big cypress log
that was underneath his wharf,
and he'd always hit it with his motor.
And he asked me one day to move it for him,
and it turned out to be a pretty decent cypress log.
Chase may have moved the log as a favor,
but he'll be doing himself a favor by pulling it up today.
We gonna revisit this old cypress log.
The sinker cypress market has exploded.
A prize log can fetch upwards of $2,000.
Ooh, look at this. A big old clam.
You know, that's probably the biggest one I've ever seen,
to be honest with you.
I don't know if you can even eat them.
You gotta boil the out of 'em.
There's so much history right here.
I mean, you talking over a hundred years ago,
this was all done.
So anything you find is gonna be pretty unique.
From old bottles to you name it,
stuff that--tools that they made out of cypress
for some reason or another--
you know, they served a purpose.
I find all kind of stuff.
Sticking out on the point.
Chase has yet to find the log he's after,
but he does spot something he'd rather avoid.
I'm constantly scanning and making sure I'm safe.
Because the last thing I wanna do
is wind up on the damn news
for getting eaten by an alligator.
And sure enough, here he comes.
Looks to be like a 10- or 11-footer.
After you see them that one time,
especially an alligator that size,
it doesn't leave your mind.
So I know I gotta get this alligator out of here.
I won't be able to settle down until I do.
29 miles north, in Bayou Sorrel,
Willie and Little Willie both claim to be the better shot.
But so far, there's no proof
either of them is number one with a gun.
I just want the recognition I deserve.
You can't outshoot me all the time.
You remember last year, the shot I did,
the one I got over on with that .17?
I shot him before you, Quick Draw McGraw.
Oh, Lord, here he go.
Looks like I see one.
Right there.
-I think I shot too fast. -Way over him.
A steady boat, I would've hit that gator up there.
You're so full of it.
I hate it, missing a shot
in front of my dad like that and everything,
knowing he's probably thinking in his mind
I could've hit that alligator with no problem.
He thinks he can outshoot me.
Ain't no way.
After his son's miss,
Willie's eager to prove his marksmanship,
and it doesn't take long for him to spot an opportunity.
See how bad muddy this bank is?
There's a big alligator coming out here,
back and forth in here.
Man.
I see him now. Get ready.
It's a rare miss for the veteran hunter,
and Willie couldn't have picked a worse time
to be off the mark.
My gun must be off.
Being honest and everything, I think I can outshoot my dad.
Some of them shots, I could've took 'em.
I could've put them tags on them gators.
And, uh, that's what got me all pumped up now,
seeing him miss shots that I probably could've made.
That was close, that one.
See, I have missed them,
but if I be propped up, wouldn't miss not a one.
I know I'm the better shot.
I'm the better shot?
Me.
No.
Yeah.
35 miles south, in Pierre Part,
Jacob and Don have baited all their lines
with Don's stinking swamp juice marinade,
and now they're ready to find out
if the stench was worth the effort.
Them gators gonna be following us around.
Finger-lickin' good.
This will make your mouth water, man.
I know this stuff's gonna work.
Jacob's a little skeptical on it.
But when I put this stuff on it,
you're gonna be able to smell it upriver, downriver.
You're gonna be able to smell this stuff underneath the water.
This stuff is gonna stink that bad.
It's gonna be bring every gator around right to this spot
where I got a piece of chicken with swamp juice on it.
See what we got going on.
Let's see how the swamp juice did.
Got one?
Oh-ho. Whoa, whoa.
There we go, papa.
Oh, yeah.
What you got going on over there, big boy?
Well, hell.
He's a feisty little fella, huh?
Can't get a damn shot.
Ooh!
Man, I thought we had us a good one right here.
I did, too, I thought he was bigger than that.
It's a gator. It's a tag is all I can say.
Yeah.
This isn't the beast they were hoping for,
but Don's confident his putrid marinade will succeed.
I mean, we ain't caught a big gator on it yet,
but I know we're gonna catch one on it.
It stinks too damn bad not to work that good.
Now Jacob just needs to be a little more patient.
This stuff needs to marinate.
It needs to linger through the swamp.
Because that's what it does.
It just lingers and it stays out there.
Stuck in my damn nose hairs.
Augh.
Smell that the rest of the damn day.
Across the swamp, in Flat Lake,
Leron and Porkchop are set on landing some big gators.
Oh, yeah.
We got one coming up over here, cuz.
Let's just hope they got a decent gator on there.
Slow it down, cuz, slow it down. Don't go in too hot.
Hold on, cuz. Hold on, hold on.
Aw, man. What the hell?
What the hell happened, man?
What the hell happened?
Oh, man, he took a bite out of him.
Yeah, cuz, he been chewed on, cuz.
With that hook in his mouth,
he couldn't really defend himself
and fight back, you know.
He probably could've stand a chance.
But you know what we're gonna do?
We're gonna track the one that murdered him.
That bastard.
After realizing a huge gator
has been nibbling on their catch,
Leron is now out for vengeance.
When I noticed that gator had been eaten by another gator,
they're playing with my money.
And it pissed me off to the core,
and I just kept saying to myself, you big bastard.
I'm gonna find you, I'm gonna get you,
I'm gonna put one right between your eyes
and I'm gonna tag you out.
Because he's still around in this area.
He ain't going nowhere.
Oh, man, that's him down there?
Yeah, that's him.
I gotta get it from under them trees.
Just the side of him, cuz. Hold up.
Looks like he just don't have any fight left.
Probably been fighting on that line overnight.
That's a big boy, boy. That's a big boy.
Gotta get him.
-Whoa! Whoa! -Hold on!
Hold up. Hold up.
Hold up, hold up. He popped the line.
Just lost him. Just lost a big gator, man.
That thing was about to flip this boat over.
I should've took that shot at him, man.
Man, that sucker took off, cuz. I ain't lying, bro.
I thought he was dead at first,
'cause when I was pulling, he wasn't even moving.
Just a little heartbroken, man, that's all.
When you got ready to put a shot on him,
bam, he took off, cuz.
Ain't too much we could've do, though.
The duo underestimated the power of this monster,
letting him slip away.
Leron knows he may not get the revenge he's after.
Massive gator that size, man.
Man, that thing must've took an energy drink, man.
I mean, he got strength out of nowhere.
He went from playing possum
to turning into Godzilla in that water.
Sucks because I was the man with the finger on the trigger
with a clean shot, and I didn't take it.
But it's a lesson we can learn.
Treat every gator like it's full of life,
even the ones that we think are dying or dead.
I'm gonna see that bastard in my sleep, Porkchop.
103 miles east, in Violet,
Ronnie's hunting solo
on one of the final days of the season,
and he has his work cut out for him.
I am a big, strapping tough guy.
I'm huge, I'm big, and I'm strong.
But if something happens out there in the swamp,
you don't have nobody to go for help.
You don't have nobody to help you.
You are literally in between a rock and a hard spot
if you get yourself caught in a crack.
Let's see what we got, boy.
Come on, it's looking good here.
We got something here, papa.
I don't know what it is,
but the line's tight, tight, tight, baby.
Yeah, I don't know what we got here,
but we got something good.
He's in this hole, my baby.
I can't see nothin'.
Can't tell if I got a gator.
I don't know. He's in a hole.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch him, baby.
Watch him, boy!
Oh, baby.
Boy, boy, boy, that's a good one there.
Let me get the gun.
Scared the hell out of me for a minute, papa,
I don't know what the hell was going on.
Come on.
Come on, give me a shot, boy.
Motherhumper, that's a big one here.
Whoo!
Yes, indeed. That's the way to do it, Big Ron.
Good job, you're welcome baby, tap, tap.
This eight-footer nearly got the best of the solo hunter.
It's a reminder he can't afford to let his guard down.
You got to dot your i's and cross your t's
when you're hunting gators by yourself
'cause you have nobody there to help you.
When I grabbed this big gator and pulled it out the weeds,
he made a lunge at me.
I'm telling you, it frightened me a little bit.
It scared me knowing I was there by myself,
and if that gator was to grab me,
I don't have no backup, you know.
So it startled me a little bit,
but we did get the kill shot on it,
and I did get the motherhumper in the boat.
Oh, yeah.
I tell you, boy, it's hard doing it by yourself,
but sometimes you got to do what you got to do.
104 miles west, in Bayou Sorrel,
the Edwards men are competing for the title of best marksman,
but so far, neither has hit their target.
He's coming, too.
-There he was. -There he is.
I see him.
Right there, see his head?
Hold y'all ears.
Yeah, you shot way under him, Daddy.
Stop playing with this little .
You got point blank shots you missed.
Point blank? No, no, no.
-I'm a better shooter. -Hush it, boy.
Yeah, we been having this little debate going
that he think he can outshoot me.
But there ain't no way he can outshoot me.
I mean, when it comes down to it,
if we shooting the rifle, my rifle,
I mean, he can go ahead and get that out of his head.
Look way up here. See them bubbles right there?
That's an alligator, no doubt.
Yeah.
You know what we're gonna do?
I'll push up right here by this, uh, tree stump.
Uh-huh.
Look. Looks like he's moving.
He's coming up, he's coming up.
Come on, Willie!
Find out where he gonna be bubbling at.
Waiting for him to come back up now.
If he ain't dead.
Look at them bubbles out there.
Throw it out there.
Pick it up.
-Look at the hole in that thing. -He ain't goin' nowhere.
-Look at that. -And that's what 7 mag do.
After landing a bull's-eye on this 10-footer,
Willie is as confident as ever about his shooting.
I'm a pretty good shot.
I figure I'm about an eight, nine.
No matter what kind of gun it is.
But really, he's about a seven and a half.
I ain't saying I'm no 10, but I outshoot him. 100%.
Split his wig, let me tell you.
I mean, you learned from the best.
I mean, what's wrong with you?
Back in Pierre Part,
Chase Landry's on the hunt
for the beast that's blocking his sinker cypress.
I got bubbles right here.
I'm not trying to end up a statistic, you know,
so, hey, we gotta get rid of this sucker.
It's only a matter of time before he comes back.
He's not gonna leave that area
because, you know, that's his domain.
He's not leaving.
So unfortunately,
I'm gonna have to put the logging on the back burner,
and go ahead and try and take this alligator problem
out of the equation.
Because I won't be able to settle down and work efficiently
the way I need to until I do.
The veteran swamper's been hunting gators his whole life,
and today he's using the sinker cypress barge
as his secret weapon.
Could be him right there.
Very well could be him right there.
Oh, that's him. That's him right there. Look at it.
See that?
I mean, look at that. That is...
If that ain't awesome.
Pretty please stay right where you're at.
Got him!
Wait, he ain't--
Oh, gol.
Oh, no.
Oh...
He broke 'em.
Dang.
Soon as I hooked into him, my treble hook broke.
Sure enough, he's every bit as big or bigger
than what I thought he was
or what he seemed to be when I first spotted him.
Somehow or another,
this sucker comes off the treble hook and I lose him.
I'm not gonna leave until I find him.
I'm gonna put a tag in him and call it a day,
take him out of there.
That's what I set out to do, and that's what I'm gonna do.
Chase is a man on a mission.
Won't be long before a boat or a fisherman passes or something,
or another boat, and they'll push him towards you.
Just hard to stay patient and keep your wit about you.
96 miles east, in Violet,
the weight's all on Ronnie's shoulders as he hunts solo.
It's gonna be a long, 'cruciating day, Ronnie.
You better be ready for the day, big boy.
I'm ready, my baby, I'm ready.
I'm ready. Give me the opportunity, baby.
The most I miss about Ashley right now
is her company and her friendship.
Don't get me wrong.
All the work is harder without Ashley,
and everything we gotta do
is much harder without Ashley being here.
But the thing I miss the most is Ashley's friendship
and her companionship and someone just to talk to.
Let's see where this line's going to.
Oh, it's going back in the weeds.
Let me see what I got here, boy.
You got this, big boy.
Never did this tingle jingle, it's got him.
Look what this dude done did.
Golly, he got a mess.
Tangle jangle, my baby.
Whoo! Come on, big boy!
Scared me, dude.
Can't be doing that poo-poo to me.
Ooh! Golly!
Oh, yeah, baby, that's a good one there.
That's a good one, baby!
Come on, big boy.
Lord, this stuff's so much easier
when you got two people.
Come on, big boy!
Yes!
Whew!
Thank you again, good Lord Jesus Christ.
We love you, my baby.
Ronnie's filled another tag, and even with Ashley gone,
he's managed to find some company.
There's at least two Ronnies on the boat,
one in physical and one in spirit.
But sometimes there's a third Ronnie.
Good job, Ronnie.
Hell of a job, boy.
Giving them high fives, baby.
Thank you, baby, thank you, thank you.
I talk to the other two Ronnies on the regular,
you know, when it's just me out on the boat.
And we have a good time. We make the best of it.
We high five and they help me load the gators in the boat.
You heard me. Click, click!
And here we are with my three partners in the boat.
Me and the two others,
we just have a blast, my baby.
It makes the day go by much faster.
Loading the boat up on a solo day.
That's all I can say. It's gotta be done.
Somebody got to do it.
Might as well be me.
Back in Flat Lake,
Leron and Porkchop are searching for a giant
that slipped away.
I set out more lines than normal.
You're not gonna just be around here eating my gators
with all this food just hanging around.
Eventually, you gonna get hungry.
Hopefully, he gonna be on there by the next time I go check.
We must have one over there, Porkchop.
Back there, cuz. Right there.
Whoa, look at that, cuz.
-Seen that, huh? -Yeah, I seen that.
Hold up. Where he at?
Branch. The branch, can you pick it up?
Whoa, whoa.
Look where he at, cuz. Hold up.
Watch out.
No, hold on, hold on. Whoa. Watch it.
Look out, cuz. All right, cuz.
We gotta get his little ass.
-Tryin' to bite your gun. -Prowlin' like a sea horse.
You might have to get on the backside there, cuz.
Come on around me.
Watch him now.
All right.
Hold on.
Comin' up, cuz. -Get a shot on him, cuz.
All right, cuz, there you go.
Hold on right there. Come on.
Let's grab it. Put that gun down.
Move out the way.
This seven-footer
isn't the big prize they were hoping for.
Whoo. A big gator like that, he's very opportunistic.
He just sets around,
waits for the other gators to get on the line
where they can't defend themselves,
go around and eat on 'em until he gets full.
And I can't allow that to keep happening,
so I'm gonna show this gator who's boss.
I'm gonna track him down, and I'm gonna get him.
'Cause, you know,
I'm not gonna let him win this battle.
We gonna go find us another good willow tree
and put another line down.
Man, I hope this swamp juice kicks ass today.
How could they resist that?
Over in Pierre Part,
so far Don's swamp juice
has only reeled in a few small gators.
You know, alligators don't see really well,
so scent is probably number one key
to catching big alligators.
It's got a smell on it, that's for sure.
I don't see how they could go by that and not eat it.
You know, we caught a couple alligators,
but we haven't even caught the first big one yet,
so I'm starting to get skeptical
of whether or not this bait is actually working.
Got one here.
Look like we got a tree shaker, baby.
-It's a good one.
Aah!
-Swamp juice, baby! -Swamp juice. Aah!
Dang!
Aaaah!
Good job, boy.
That's what I'm talking about.
That was a nice little surprise.
Not bad.
Got him? You ready?
One, two, three.
Aw, damn it.
Ooh-ooh, what?
Between the swamp juice and the throw-up...
Augh, nah, they just nasty.
Sour, sour, sour.
You know, I don't know
if Don made the perfect alligator juice or not.
I just know that it works,
and I'm one of those
that if it's not broke, don't fix it.
So I don't mind using it as long as it's working.
If it wouldn't have worked,
then don't bring nothin' else in the boat.
Might have to trademark that old "swap" juice.
Don's swamp juice finally landed a nice 10-footer,
but for Jacob, the stinky bait is a blessing and a curse.
The only bad thing about it
is that bait bucket's in the front of the boat,
and I'm in the back of the boat.
So I gotta keep smelling this crap all day long.
Good old sour smell.
Good gator, though.
96 miles east, in Violet,
hunting solo means working twice as hard,
but Ronnie's found a unique source of power to help him.
Come on, Big Ronnie, bring him home.
Bring him home, baby.
When I'm out there hunting by myself,
I talk to myself
like I'm talking to another person on the boat.
Believe it or not, that's how I keep myself sane.
Deeper you go, the bigger they get, papa.
I need one of these big humpers on this line right here.
Sometimes I feel like I got the power of two people.
But I'm making it happen with my voice
as I'm speaking to the second person,
who's not there.
Oh, yeah, boy. Line is down, down, down.
I hope it's got something good on this puppy for me.
Oh, oh, yeah, baby, yes.
Magic to my ears.
Whoo! Whoo-hoo-hoo!
That's a good one there, papa.
Come on, give it to me, baby.
Whoo-hoo-hoo! Yeah, baby.
Ooh, he's barely hooked, he's barely hooked.
Come on, big boy, give me a shot.
I can't lose this gator.
That a boy, baby.
Thank you, good Lord,
for blessing me with this eight-footer, my baby.
Yes, indeed.
I'm missing Ashley today with my workload,
but I'm really missing her company right now.
I'm out here kinda bored, talking to myself.
But I gotta do what I gotta do to make it happen.
But today is a day that I'm truly missing Ashley.
Click, click.
Thank you. Appreciate it, Ronnie.
Thank you, Ronnie. You're welcome, my boy.
On to the next one.
Over in Bayou Sorrel,
even though Willie sniped a gator earlier,
Little Willie still thinks his old man is losing his touch.
You missed yesterday a good bit.
-I missed yesterday a good bit? -Yeah.
What are you talking about, dude?
Missed one time.
-About three or four. -One time.
The second alligator we shot.
Up the levee, you shot over that one, too.
-No. -The one in the pit?
You shot right over him.
Yeah, well, two, Willie. Two.
-If I keep going, it'll add up. -That's it.
He been on me all day and everything,
letting him shoot and letting him thinking
he can outshoot me and all that when I up and missed one.
I mean, it just gets you frustrated,
it gets you pumped up.
Then he says, "Hey, Dad, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'll outshoot you" and everything.
I mean, it just gets everything all out of line.
I mean, most of the time when I miss one,
it's gonna be for a reason.
Either the boat was moving up and down
or I just didn't take my time
and didn't pull the shot off because he's a big one
and just didn't hold down on the gun,
didn't do it right.
And it happens like that.
I mean, the best alligator hunter in the world
is gonna miss a shot.
There he is right there.
It's not long before Willie gets another chance
to prove his son wrong.
I see him.
Get your hook, Willie, get your hook.
Got it.
I'm gonna hook him, I'm gonna hook him.
I got him.
Oh, I got him right here.
Man, took his head off.
I mean, you see who's the better shot?
-No, no, no. -Every time.
That's how good I am.
-I'm a better shooter. -No, you ain't.
After pulling off one of the best shots of his life,
Willie's feeling like he's proved his point.
Wasn't even going down or nothin'.
I was about 60, 70 yards from him.
I went ahead and squeezed it off.
When I squeezed it off,
you could see bones going up the bayou
for about what looked like 30 or 40 yards,
and he floated up one arm up like that.
I said, "Boy, you see that, huh?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that was just luck."
But I killed him and floated him and we was still moving.
The boat was moving. I mean, we was cruising.
And just had to go ahead and show him who's the best shot.
That old 7 mag take care of that head.
35 miles south, at Duffy's...
-Yes indeed, Porkchop! -Oh, yeah.
Leron and Porkchop run into the King of the Swamp
while unloading their catch,
and the one that got away
still weighs heavy on their minds.
Oh, man.
Man, we had a big one got away from us, bro.
A big one?
-Man, yeah. -Huh?
-He popped the line, bro. -Aw.
Man, I'm talking about he had to be at least--
When I started pulling on it,
I thought he was dead 'cause he wasn't even moving.
Well, we went and unload at Duffy's.
Troy, he seen both of our spirits were down,
me and Porkchop.
Because who wanna go to the legendary Troy Landry
and tell him that we let a monster popped off on us?
And we don't have him in the boat
with a tag in his tail.
Well, next thing you know, when he got ready to shoot him,
he bite at the boat.
And when he bite at the boat, he spinned.
-Started rolling. -And he took off.
Man.
Man, that was a big one, bro.
Them big ones are hard to hold.
That was a big one.
We told Troy what happened,
he was like, man, real alligator hunters don't give up.
You know, y'all gonna go out there
and just go out there again and try to get him.
Man, that boost my confidence level up to here.
When a legend tells you something like that,
he's speaking from experience.
With inspiration from Troy,
Leron and Porkchop decide to get back out on the water
in search of the one that got away.
It's a long day today, boy.
We gonna get it, cuz.
Everything will be all right.
Let's go get him. Oh, yeah.
A few miles away,
Don's swamp juice is finally starting to work,
and Jacob's warming to the smelly concoction.
Get a little jingle for it.
I really think I underestimated this bait.
That juice is, uh, really paying off.
We starting to catch good alligators,
and the boat's filling up pretty quickly.
Oh, got a tree shaker, baby.
Ooh-wee.
Look at that, boy. Look at that tree shaker.
I don't know. Ah, damn, he got plenty of juice to him.
Oh, yeah, he's the biggest one yet.
-No ? -Yeah, he's 10 1/2, 11 foot.
Really?
Aah!
-Good? -Dang!
Aah!
Come on, big boy.
-Whew! -That one did it, my boy.
-Damn. -That's a good one.
Swamp juice.
With another 11-footer onboard,
Jacob is sold on Don's special juice.
You know, the swamp juice paid off.
We got an awesome average.
I bet we have close to a 10-foot average.
It definitely picked up our numbers.
We dropped down to six alligators,
and we had 13 today.
So we more than doubled just because of that juice,
and that's all that matters.
Well, they just don't have much to say
after you get 'em in the boat, do they?
Not much at all.
They kinda lock-jawed.
They get pretty quiet.
Back in Bayou Sorrel,
the Edwards have been locked in a shooting competition all day.
Boy, you wish you could shoot half as good as me.
You talking out your head now.
I can shoot a thousand times better than you.
And for Little Willie,
it's about more than bragging rights.
My daddy taught me everything I know.
He taught me how to shoot,
and now it's time for me to show him what he taught me.
There he is right there.
-I see him going up. -He's right here.
Right there, right there, right there.
Right in front of the boat here, going in the bushes.
-I'm gonna take the shot. -Let me shoot it.
You got him.
Man, with no sight!
Oh, he's talking that smack now.
My head's loaded up right now.
Right now, it's pumped up so bad.
A baby with an ice cream cone can't get that pumped up.
No, indeed. My head's so swole up right now.
That gun didn't have no sights,
don't have no iron sights, don't have a scope or nothin'.
And I feel like I just proved to my dad tremendously
I got what it takes to shoot.
After nailing this seven-footer,
Little Willie has impressed.
But that doesn't mean his father's changed his mind
about who's the better shot.
He just made a good shot and I'm proud of him
and can't be more proud of him than what I am.
But when it all boils down to it,
he knows he still can't outshoot me.
It was a dead, dead hit.
Yup, that right.
Back in Pierre Part,
Chase is still on the hunt for the menacing gator
in the sinker cypress hotspot.
These alligators, the population is exploding so fast,
and guess what?
When I jump overboard off my logging rig
and they hear all that splashing,
the first thing they do is they get curious
and they thinking I might be a dog or a deer.
'Cause if they can get a meal out the deal, they will.
Oh, yeah, there's big boy.
Smoked him.
Smoked that big bastard.
Chase has finally bagged this 11-footer.
Wow, yeah, baby, look at that sucker.
But now he has a new problem.
This alligator's way too big
for me to get on this party barge by myself.
I got some rigging and an old come-along in here.
I'm gonna pull up to those cypress trees
and find me a good branch
and I'm gonna hoist him up
and load him on to the deck.
It ain't the easy way, but it's a way.
Come to papa, baby.
Eesh.
With this leviathan out of the swamp,
Chase can return to searching for sinker cypress.
You know, this alligator ended up being 11-foot,
on the money, once it was all said and done.
I mean, I wouldn't feel safe getting in the water
to do anything with an alligator that size swimming around,
because there's no doubt in my mind
he's got the potential to be able to eat me.
Hallelujah. Lord have mercy.
Over in Violet,
hunting alone is taking its toll on Ronnie
as he pushes to finish out the day.
Today has been a good day.
It's really been a good day, you know,
but it's been a hard day.
I'm just hot, I'm disgusted.
It's a long drug-out day, you know,
and I'm ready for it to be over. We almost through it.
I'm ready to just be done.
Come on, big boy, be a Big Boy McCoy here, papa.
Whoo-hoo!
That's what I'm talking about.
Oh, my God, this is a big boy here, papa.
My goodness, baby.
Come on, big boy.
Boy, boy, boy, this is a big boy here.
Golly.
Lord have mercy.
Oh, this big son of a gun is mad, you motherhumper.
Come on, talk to me, baby.
Come on, big boy.
Yes, indeed, papa!
After a grueling solo hunt,
Ronnie's looking forward
to getting his partner back tomorrow.
What a day.
At least, look, it's over with now.
You got a boat full of gators.
The day was excruciating.
I'm missing Deadeye.
What else can I say?
Being by myself solo today,
I accomplished what I need to get done.
I didn't want to do it solo, but I did it,
and I feel very great about the amount of gators.
Even though I finished the day out strong today,
I still miss Ashley,
and I can't wait for her
to be back in the boat with me tomorrow.
Click, click!
Thank you, Deadeye! Thank you, my baby.
Yeah, thank you, good Lord, my baby,
for another blessed beautiful day on this earth.
Meanwhile, in Flat Lake,
Leron and Porkchop decided to return to the water
after some motivation from the King of the Swamp.
I remember what Troy said. "Go out there and get him."
I told Porkchop, I said, "Man, the man is right."
You know, we not giving up, we not quitters.
And they're hoping to get a second chance
at the giant that escaped them earlier.
I'm looking for that gator.
He said, like, don't give up.
Go back out there and get him.
Me and Porkchop, we gonna get him, we gonna find him.
Hey, slow it down, slow it down.
-Look at that tail over there. -That looks like a tail.
-You see it? -Yeah, come steer a minute.
Come on, come on, you get ready now.
Go slow. Steer me in slow.
I got you. I got you.
I got you. I got you, cuz.
Trim up, trim up. Get out, pull outside.
Hold on, cuz.
-Oh, yeah, cuz.
Got him, got him. Got him, Porkchop.
I got him right on the top of the head, Porkchop.
Oh, man.
Man, we got him, cuz.
Porkchop, I'm pumped, man.
-Yeah, I know. -I'm trembling.
I know you're pumped.
That's why you had to come back there and sit down.
Now the fun begins.
Thanks to Troy's encouragement,
Leron and Porkchop have bagged
their biggest gator of the entire season.
Man, that thing is massive.
Took a shot, hit him right in the top of the head.
He flinched, he didn't went nowhere,
and I'm like, I got him.
Boy, look at the size of this sucker.
-Yeah. -Uh!
Now we gotta get that big boy in this boat, cuz.
I damn near got emotional because now I kept hearing
what the legendary Troy Landry was telling me.
Real alligator hunters don't give up.
All right, we gotta keep rolling.
I really was wishing Troy would've been there
so I could show him we got him, you know.
You spot him and I shot him.
-How that sound, Porkchop? -Oh, man.
You spot him and I shot him.
Back in Bayou Sorrel,
after Little Willie's successful snipe,
his confidence is riding high.
But Willie thinks his son
could still use a little target practice.
I'm gonna get it down there.
Yeah, you go bring it down there, you young buck.
Tell me when to stop.
About 40 steps.
It's always a competition with Willie,
but that's what I love about him.
I mean, his excitement,
and it makes a little challenge during the day.
But, I mean, it's comical.
I mean, it's how we joke around and stuff
and how we make the day go by faster.
What you got here?
We gonna get a little target practice in.
Here you go.
Take your time. Shoot that red dot.
Which one you aim for?
That red dot.
I didn't even see where it hit.
May wind up losing my arrow.
Them arrows ain't cheap, either. That's some high-dollar arrow.
Ain't no way you're gonna find that arrow in this grass.
It's shooting too high.
I hit closer than you.
-No, you didn't. -Yeah, I did.
No, you didn't.
There's no telling how long this competition will go on,
but for Little Willie,
the challenge is more than just goofing around.
When I finally showed him what he taught me,
it makes me feel good,
because it makes him feel
like he wasn't doing it for nothin'.
Me, I'm still young and everything,
and I think that's Daddy's advantage.
He's old and gray and I'm still young and green.
You know what?
Think I can shoot an apple off your head.
I am not about to let you shoot no apple off my friggin' head.
What you doing, boy? What's wrong with you?
I'm a good shot.
Yeah, I just seen you just lost an arrow right there.
I seen how good a shot.
I'm not trusting you putting no apple on my friggin' head.
What's wrong with you, kid?
Imma aim a little higher. That way, it'll skim it.
No. No, if you ain't judging no--aiming on my head.
Ain't nobody shooting at my head
or shooting an apple off my head.
And the way he shoots, ain't gonna give him a try.
I mean, he ain't shooting an apple off my head,
and that was the bottom story on that.
You know what?
I hate apples, you know that?
Try to shoot an apple off my head.
I don't know what's wrong with you.