As the competition for 350 prime gator tags heats up...
Look at that monster. Giant.
Veterans target legendary beasts...
[gunshot]
It has never let us down.
[grunting]
While others set the bar even higher...
10 alligators, 10-foot average.
-That's a big average. -That's the goal.
A new captain aims high...
We got a lot to prove.
We gotta do better than the guys
To even be respected.
-Oh! -Hold him, hold him!
Everyone's fighting to prove once and for all...
You got an assassin right here waiting.
That's what I'm talking about.
...Which team reigns supreme.
[gunshot]
Hold him, pa. Don't let him beat you up.
It's the second day of the battle for swamp gold...
We gotta check the oil on this thing, too, pa.
...And new teams are gearing up.
Got some big alligators out there.
Willie edwards and his son lead the pack
With an average of nine feet, nine inches,
While the landrys trail behind at nine feet, four inches,
And ronnie and ashley hold third
At nine feet, three inches.
But it's the team with the largest average length
At the end of the season
That'll be awarded the 350 prime gator tags.
As dawn breaks in butte la rose...
We're ready, baby. Ready for action.
King of the swamp troy landry gathers his troops.
To try to capture the lead,
They're heading to one of his most reliable honey holes:
Cow island.
Well, we coming out the gate, pee-wee and I, pretty strong.
Fishing lake verret, we caught big alligators,
So I'm gonna double down.
I'm going from lake verret straight to cow island,
Where I think we gonna do so good
That the rest of the hunters
Ain't gonna be able to catch up with us.
In the past, man,
We pulled 20 to 25 alligators out of cow island,
And they're all huge.
Cow island is right along the river.
Some years, we've had to go in with atvs
And pull small boats over the levee.
And sometimes just was able to navigate a small canal
That goes, runs up along the side of it,
And then cross one levee into it.
We got a major problem.
I don't know what to do.
Look how narrow it is.
When we got there, everything is so silted up
That there's no way we can actually get in there
By taking that canal.
See it's flat over here.
It's real flat and wide,
Which is perfect for the airboat.
When you get closer to the river,
You see right here, it's not flat like over there.
It goes from this to that.
That's a problem. That's a big problem.
The boat's gonna get sideways and then get stuck.
Then we're gonna have a boat back here
We ain't gonna be able to get out.
Come on, let's go.
Figured out that we couldn't go in
By the slough where we normally go in,
And we backtracked.
This is setting us back big time.
Right here, I think.
-Get sideways, get up, -yeah.
-And then over. -Yeah.
The bank's about 40 something, 50 feet.
Almost like a hill.
And we're gonna get over there with the airboat.
All right, y'all come over here. Let's have a little meeting.
All right, y'all, listen. Let's start out strong.
This is the best place we got to hunt.
Y'all go over there.
North. Against them-- it's full of... [indistinct]
That's where the big ones gonna be.
Let's catch some big ones while we here.
10-foot average sounds good to you, don?
10? Oh, let's go 11.
It was 9:00 by the time we got into cow island,
And we was hoping to be there at daylight.
So we was like three hours late.
Let's go.
The best place in the world right here, cow island.
35 miles south, at st. Mary seafood...
Hey, dad, zak.
Swamp patriarch daniel edgar calls together his team
To reveal his plan to win the new tags.
Well, it's a new season, fellas,
And, uh, we've got a lot of work to do.
-There's 350 tags available -okay.
For whoever's got the highest average throughout the season.
It's a great opportunity, get 350 additional tags.
The value for the edgars, it's very important.
The more tags you have,
The more land you have, the more opportunities.
So I have to get these guys on track.
10 alligators, 10-foot average, that's the goal.
A 10-foot average, you're gonna have to do some sniping
And rod-and-reeling to do that.
That's a big average.
But if we start off on top,
It's easier than going back down.
True that.
Dad sets the bar high just to push us.
Ever since we were kids, he sets the bar high
To give you something to think about, to try hard.
He's just pushing on us, that's all.
And we need it.
If we can pull it off, it'll be something great for all of us.
Line's down, pa.
I don't know how big he is.
Tie it tight, pa. Tie it to the tree.
All right, good.
-Hey, pa. -Hold on.
What's it look like?
He broke trees.
He feels big.
He's gonna help our average.
-Oh, hey. -Whoo!
Watch it.
-Oh! -Oh!
He's burning my hands.
Whoa!
Hurry, pa!
[gunshot]
-Good shot. -That takes care
Of that business.
-He burned my hands. -[laughs]
Oh, he's a 10-footer.
That's a fine alligator there, son.
This 10-foot beast is exactly what they need.
[grunting]
That's what I'm talking about. First line, 10-footer.
What a way to start.
But you have to stay focused
Because just one alligator one day
Is not gonna win this thing.
If the size can stay like that all day long...
34 miles northeast in bayou sorrel...
Oh, we in the lead right now.
We're ahead of everything.
Veteran alligator hunter willie edwards
And his son little willie are feeling confident.
I've been filling my tags with treble hooking.
I mean, we been doing pretty good,
And it's been big average-size alligators.
And to hunt them strictly just with treble hooking
And just go out there for the whole season
And just fill 160 tags,
You don't just jump up and do that.
I mean, it takes a lot of experience to know how to do it.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right. Catch him, catch him, catch him.
-Oh! -That was an alligator, too.
Yup.
Going that way. Right here.
Yup.
-Watch it, watch it, watch it. -He's cutting circles.
Ooh, that's a big one.
-Gosh! -He what?
-Yup, he popped off. -Damn!
He come up there and slapped his head.
I had him right in the head.
I see some little bubbles right out there.
Could be him right there on the outside of the boat.
-Good gator. -Oh, yeah, he's a good gator.
Nine, 10-foot.
Pulling him up and everything, you know,
With him turning and fighting and everything,
It popped right on off his head.
Yeah, he done felt them hooks, and he knows what it is now.
And just be a miracle if we get him again
'cause they don't bubble much out there.
Damn, man.
It's gone.
Farther south in pierre part...
We came out here, we're gonna knock on troy's door.
Dip into some of them monsters he catches.
Bring some back for the team.
After getting off to a third place start in the marsh,
New captain ashley "deadeye" jones
And her deckhand anna ribbeck
Have relocated to the cypress swamp despite ronnie's doubts.
Moving to the swamp
Is gonna be a lot better atmosphere for anna and I.
Being able to take a break when you need it,
Just get into the shade for a few minutes,
That makes a big difference.
Also in the swamp,
We're able to just tie lines like I'm used to doing.
So I think that anna and I
Are gonna be able to catch bigger gators.
I told ronnie that I wanted to move to the swamp,
And he just had a major problem with it,
Which made me wanna do it even more.
I mean, look at it.
You got troy landry and all them up there.
They all competing for the same alligators.
Here, we all by ourselves.
We got the whole marsh to ourselves.
You made me a captain, right?
I did make you a captain.
Let me learn my lesson the hard way then.
We're here to do our thing.
-That's what I like to hear. -Let's go.
I love the confidence.
Nothing but big gators.
-Straight back? -Yup, straight back.
I see the line.
It's down and it's on the backside of that tree.
Oh, ash, ash, line's moving. It's going that way now.
He's moving this line, ashley.
He's straight out now.
Here, let me see it.
-Got it? -Got it.
Ooh, ash, watch out! -Oh, yeah, that's a good one.
-Ooh, look at his head. -Dang.
-Get the gun, get the gun. -I got it, I got it.
Oh, yeah, that's a good one, that's a good one.
Careful. He's gonna bite the gun.
Whoo!
I got you. Pull him up.
Ooh, ash!
-Jeez! -Good gosh!
-Whoo, he's mad! -Outside pierre part,
Ashley and anna are trying to land
Their first gator of the day.
-Come on, gator. -Whoo!
Don't let him pop that line on the boat.
I got you. Pull him up.
Good gosh!
[gunshot]
Nice shot, deadeye.
Yeah, thank you.
-Night, night! -Sleep tight!
-Ready? -Yup.
One, two, three.
This nine-foot gator won't hurt their average,
But it'll take bigger ones than this
To prove leaving the marsh was the right choice.
This is awesome.
Good way to start the day. Click, click.
I don't wanna just catch gators.
I want to catch the bigger gators to keep our average up
And to make ronnie and timmy both proud.
Good night, gator.
To the north, on cow island...
Hey, p, your little gun's loaded?
Troy and pickle are running lines they set earlier.
I decided we're not gonna depend just on sniping.
We gonna put some lines also,
You know, like for insurance, just to make sure.
Coming here, we hoping the average
About nine, nine-and-a-half foot.
And between the two boats,
If we could catch 20, 25 alligators,
That would be awesome.
Hey, p, we got one on that line.
It looks tight.
Grab the pole, p.
Oh, lord, look at that.
Ooh, watch him, pee-wee, watch him. Oh!
Whoo, it's a big one, it's a big one.
-Shoot! -Don't panic.
[gunshot]
Oh, pee-wee.
-[laughs] -good job.
What you talking about, baby girl?
Eight-foot?
That's not what we came out here to cow island to kill,
But it is what it is.
Yup.
We looking for this one's grandpa.
By the time we got into cow island, it was 9:00,
And we was hoping to be there at daylight.
All the big ones were already gone.
Not good.
So, don and jacob,
I hope they got a full boat of big ones over there.
We gotta do better than this, pee-wee.
93 miles southeast in pointe a la hache,
Joey edgar and his deckhand zak catchem
Chase an ambitious goal
In a vast area they've never hunted before.
Joey, your dad talking about a 10-foot average, bro?
Daniel wants us to catch a 10-foot average
With 10 alligators.
I mean, it's not impossible,
But we've never hunted here before
And we gotta find where they are first.
He's asking a lot of us, but we need those tags.
This area that we hunting today,
We really have high expectations.
It's a spot that has not been hunted in seven years.
It's private land that's well-managed.
Our first line was like right here.
It's right there. Oh, I think he's on, too.
Look at that white rope stretched out.
Hello. Anybody home?
Oh, yeah.
He's nice.
Get your gun.
This one's awake.
God.
Gotta get him, zak.
Come on.
Pass him one.
[gunshot]
We ain't doing nothin' right here, bubba.
Catching an eight just means we have to catch a 12, bubba.
I'm a little bit worried about this year.
10-foot average with 10, 12 alligators,
That's gonna be hard to do.
Let's look at this map.
I got 4,000 acres and a bunch of tags.
I just hope they biting.
-Yeah, man. -This spot is not real deep.
-How about right here? -Damn, that look good.
Yeah. You think we could even get back there, pop?
Yeah, we can get back there.
We gonna give it 100%. That's what daddy's expecting.
-Yeah. -He ain't expecting us to fail.
140 miles northwest in bayou sorrel...
Willie and little willie
Are trying to shake off an earlier miss
And get back on track.
A little disappointed there we missed that alligator,
But you gotta keep going.
You gotta keep your head in the game.
And if you catch big ones,
You're gonna be in the competition for sure.
Right there, right there.
He's right here. See them bubbles here popping up?
He's on this side, you gotta-- yeah, yeah. Too far.
But you should be able to get him right there.
Ain't nothin' there.
Yeah, they got an alligator there.
In bayou sorrel...
[gunshot] you hit him?
Willie edwards isn't sure his shot hit the mark.
That's what I think it did.
I got it.
Go this way, this way.
See? Over here.
-You got him? -Yeah, I got him. I got him.
-Damn! -Gotta hurry.
Yup.
Throw him in there.
I thought that gator was bigger than that.
This six-footer is not good,
And it could cost them their lead.
It's real frustrating. Me and my dad,
We're about the best crew on treble hooking out there,
And six, seven-footers,
I mean, we don't wanna fill the tags with that.
Yeah, I thought he was just a little bit bigger than that.
Get on to the next one.
Back in pierre part,
After ashley gambled on relocating from the marsh,
She's trying to build on their early success.
I think this strategy, I mean, it's gonna pay off.
Like, today is our day.
I'm telling you.
Like, we have got to prove ourselves.
I'm really hoping that anna and I
Can get some big gators in the boat.
Because we're gonna have to pull up at the buyer
And answer for everything that we did today
And each gator that we caught.
There's gotta be a big gator on this line.
You see how he tore all those limbs and stuff down?
Yeah, I see that.
Grab that line soon as you can.
Oh.
Okay, there you go.
See what's on it.
How's it feel?
I don't feel anything pulling yet.
Oh, ashley, I just saw his nose. Get the gun.
I did, too, I did, too.
All right, you ready?
-Dude, that's a big gator. -Whoa!
Here, hold this.
Take your time and get a good shot.
All right, you ready?
Good job, good job.
Good job.
-Night, night! -Sleep tight!
Okay, on the count of three.
Ready?
One, two, three.
Try to grab him right here on that back leg
Once you get it up a little bit.
There you go.
Watch yourself. We got him.
This 10-and-a-half footer
Should help them climb out of third place.
It also boosts ashley's confidence
About her decision to move to the swamp.
Whoo! That's a big gator!
-That's huge! -Yes!
What'd I tell you?
Bigger gators out here.
I know I made the right choice now.
Not only are we doing it, but we're kicking ass.
I'm really proud of my decision.
It's a huge relief.
Do you see how big this thing is?
Like, look at my hand compared to its.
Y'all wear the same size shoe, huh?
I'm so proud of this one.
We ain't gonna have our tails tucked at the buyer today.
Heck, no. Double a strikes again.
That's right.
Yeah.
First day, new area,
Nothing but big boys in the boat.
I like this. Let's keep it up.
23 miles southwest...
These lines just continue to catch alligators.
So far, daniel and dorien have been able to meet
Their lofty goal of a 10-foot average.
Our average is holding on pretty good.
They're all over 10.
That's a basin bully.
Could be another one.
He's heavy.
Watch yourself.
Hold him, pa. Hold him, pa.
Don't let him beat you up.
He's a giant.
Whoa, whoa!
Give me a shot on him.
Give me a shot on this thing.
He's a heavy alligator.
Straight pull.
Straining you a little bit?
Oh, he's beating me up.
Take him, pa.
[gunshot]
What a giant.
Good. [laughs]
-That's a big one. -What a giant.
We killing bulls and kissing babies.
Now we're gonna have to go up with him, pa.
Tell me when you're ready. Straight up.
Three! Whew.
[grunting]
Give it everything you got.
Everything you got.
It's a good one, pa.
With another monster in the boat,
Daniel's putting his family in position
To move into first place.
They just get bigger and bigger on this river, pa.
It's gonna be really, really hard
For anyone to beat a 10-foot average.
We need five more this size.
Back on cow island,
Jacob landry and his deckhand don brewer
Are searching for big gators to snipe,
But so far, they have nothing.
You wanna cut across and get back into the big water?
Whatever you think.
You wanna get in here and look over in here some?
It's all grass now.
You know, it took us a lot longer
To get into cow island than expected.
Put us probably a good hour and half
To two hours later,
And by then the sun was up.
These big, big alligators aren't roaming around
Like we wanted to see them doing,
And it doesn't look like the same cow island
That we've been to in the years past.
We trying to get on big gators, but we just not seeing anything.
Man, it's terrible this year.
I don't know what's the deal.
Jacob, right there. See him?
See that biggest stump over there?
To the right of it about 30 yards.
Smoke his ass.
Take the shot.
[gunshot]
In the lake on cow island...
Jacob and don have a gator in their sights.
Take the shot. [gunshot]
Oh, we got something.
You see him?
Oh, look, he just swelled right here.
See them bubbles? Get the gun.
Oh, man.
I got him, I got him. Oh, yeah.
I barely got him.
Go ahead, right there.
Whoo! Man, I'm glad he stayed where he did.
Son of a gun. I don't understand that.
This beast is what the hunters expect from cow island,
But after three hours, it's their only gator.
You know, this alligator is huge.
I know for sure he's over 11 foot long,
And he's gonna help our average.
But at the same time, I'm a little worried
Because we so late we're not gonna have
So many big alligators like this to go after.
I'll take it, I'll take it.
Meanwhile, near pierre part,
Ashley and anna are riding high
After catching monster gators in their new hunting grounds.
Boat's wanting to lean that way with these big old gators there.
Yeah, it is. I might have to change sides.
We'll put the next couple ones on this side
So we can stay balanced.
Okay.
We pulled up all of our lines in the marsh.
We completely relocated to a new area.
And it was my first big decision being a captain,
And we've caught nothing but monster gators so far.
Oh, man, I put you right on top of it, didn't I?
How's it feel?
Let's see. Oh, there's a gator.
Get the gun, get the gun.
Is it good? Is it good?
It's a good gator, it's a good gator.
You got enough slack to fight him?
Hold this right here. He's stuck.
-Too bad he won't untie himself. -What's he stuck on?
Just like this is what it looks like, but underwater.
-Damn! -Grab that hook
-Mm-hmm. -And do just like I showed you
Where you get it on there and twist.
-Yes. -Did you feel him?
Yeah, I got something. I got something.
I think I'm right there at his mouth.
-Oh, god. -Yup.
-Whoa! -Oh!
Hold him, hold him.
Get ready, get ready.
Give me a shot, give me a shot.
He's trying to pop it.
There you go. There you go. Perfect.
That's a tough animal right there.
This seven-footer cools off their hot streak.
I think we jinxed ourselves.
-Yeah. -We got too excited.
Yup.
You superstitious?
A little bit.
I'm very bit.
-Are you? -Yes.
So we're not gonna talk about little gators or big gators.
Don't ever say you're doing a good job out here.
Okay. Keep it quiet.
I'll tell you in the afternoon if you did.
But don't do it while we're out here.
The next thing you know, you're hitting a cypress stump.
I hate to talk about how well I'm doing in anything.
Because the minute that you think you're doing good,
Things can turn so fast.
I'm superstitious and anna's superstitious,
So we're super superstitious.
All right, see what else we got.
Okay, I wanna say something, but I ain't gonna say it
Because I'm trying not to mess up my juju.
Don't say it, man, don't say it.
All right, let's shake off these little gators.
Ugh. Shake 'em off.
130 miles west in pointe a la hache,
After struggling earlier,
Joey and zak have moved into deeper water
Preferred by the big gators.
That rod and reel and that treble hook,
-That's one way of getting it. -Yeah.
Anytime we come up on a big one, we gonna make him pay, bubba.
-Yes, sir. -We need 'em.
You got an assassin right here waiting.
That's what I'm talking about.
Whatever we see, we gonna get.
So far, we have an eight-foot average,
But I'm looking for a 10-foot average.
And anytime in the past we found deep water,
It really paid off.
Alligators, big alligators live in deep water.
That's where the bulls stay.
Pop, pop, big one, right here.
Big one. Come on, come on.
-See him? Straight ahead? -Yeah, yeah.
He's big. He's not scared of us.
Look at him cruising.
I might be able to hit him from here.
Hold on, stop, stop, stop. Just kill it.
60 yards, come on, baby.
That's it. Oh, please.
He's gonna swim into it. Watch.
Watch, pop, he's gonna swim into it.
I think you got him. I think you got him.
Give him a minute, give him a minute.
Here we go, here we go.
There you go. There you go.
Get your butt back here, boy.
Go on, pa, you gotta chase him.
[laughs] how about that?
That's a good one.
I don't want him to go under those lilies.
Oh, yeah.
Let me cut him off.
No!
That's why I wanted to get him.
Yeah.
If we can just get him out in open water.
I got him.
Just get him out of there. Try to get him out of there.
Watch out, pop. Whoa.
We're good, we're good. He's out of the lilies.
Nice.
There he is. Look, by the tail, pop.
Right here.
Oh!
All right.
Got him?
Oh, god. Oh.
Hold on. Oh!
I got him.
-Come on. -Zak, shoot him.
Oh, he's hit.
Good job.
Dang, you got him good with that hook.
-You all right? -Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
He felt it. You just gotta help me.
-We gonna roll him. -All right.
This 10-footer puts joey and zak back in the game
And could move the edgars up in the competition.
Zak, you doing good with that rod.
The gators don't stand a chance, bubba.
I'll take it.
It feels great to catch a giant alligator on rod and reel.
It kinda, you know, it knocks the rust off
And now I feel like, okay, we're hunting.
We're out here and we're doing things right.
We get a couple more like this in the boat,
We're gonna push our average way up.
That deep water's paying off, huh?
-Big time, big time. -That's what I'm talking about.
That rod and reel and that treble hook, baby,
That's a deadly combination.
Yes, sir. That'll get us up
To, you know, close to a nine-foot average.
But to get that 10-foot,
We're gonna have to stack some big ones in the boat.
Yeah, we gotta catch a couple more big ones.
Yeah. All right.
25 miles southwest...
I think that's an alligator.
No, no, that's not one.
Daniel and dorien are right on the edge
Of their 10-foot average.
You know, started out the day, I was doing real good,
Catching some mega alligators, feeling real positive.
Right now, I think we're a little better than 10 feet.
Look at that monster.
Oh, my god.
Giant.
Grab your rifle, pa.
There's two of them.
Yeah, that one's the biggest.
He's a real good one, the one on the left.
He just went down.
Watch his bubbles, pa. Watch his bubbles.
Look straight in front of the boat.
-In the shade? -In the shade.
Oh, I could bust his ass.
Is that the second one or that's the big one?
I can't tell. I'm gonna shoot him.
-Outside franklin... -Is that the second one
-Or that's the big one? -I can't tell.
Ready to take a shot... [gunshot]
Dorien hits the mark.
-You think you hit him, pa? -Oh, yeah.
Hurry, get your hook.
Get your hook, pa.
That's neither one of 'em.
That's a different one, completely different.
That's not the one we want.
It's not looking good for us, papa.
Dorien's hasty shot has cost the hunters.
This seven-footer drops their average
Well below daniel's goal of 10 feet.
There's two big ones here.
Things happen, you know,
Because you have to work twice as hard
To make up for that three or four foot you lost.
But that's what happens in nature.
Sometimes she gives you things you don't want,
And you just have to take it and move forward
And keep working hard.
I'm going back, look for one of the big ones.
Man, I hope we get another shot.
Back at cow island,
Troy and pickle's legendary honey hole
Has been a major disappointment.
I don't wanna give up, p, but not doing nothin'.
You know, we come into cow island,
And this place has always been good for us. Always.
It's just a big letdown
If you don't come out of there with at least 20 alligators.
Pee-wee, is that an alligator head
Under that little tree over there?
Underneath that little tree right there.
Yeah.
Yeah, it is.
He's dead?
I don't know.
He'll pop the line. Shoot him.
Shoot him!
Whoo, it's a big one. It's a monster.
He's gonna pop the line.
Shoot him, pee-wee.
[gunshot]
[laughs]
That was a good shot.
What you're talking about?
Okay, p, I'm not ready.
One, two, three.
Oh, pee-wee, go. One, two, three.
Holy smokes, that's a big alligator.
This 11-foot giant is the biggest of the day,
But they've only caught four gators so far on their lines.
The problem is they're out of lines.
We put about 20 lines out on cow island.
We caught a couple of alligators, but not a whole lot.
So now we need to try to snipe a few.
It's about time your insurance came through, huh?
In bayou sorrel,
Little willie has brought a treat for his dad.
I got you something I bought you to try this morning.
What you got?
Some tornados.
Tornado? What in the world is a tornado?
I mean, only tornado I ever heard of is a bad storm.
It's kind of like a dough.
They taste like a pizza.
Like, they got 'em with sausage and egg or bacon and egg,
French toast kind, pepperoni kind.
I mean, that's hard as a rock.
They're cold with the wind, but try it.
Like a ravioli thing,
Like spaghetti sauce and stuff like that.
Tastes like pizza, huh?
Cheers.
Bread ain't too bad, huh? Even when it's cold.
96 miles west near pierre part,
Anna and ashley are looking to validate their decision
To move to the swamp by tagging one more monster.
You gotta want it deep, deep down in your soul.
Anna, we got a point to prove, you know.
There's a lot of pressure just being a new captain.
Having a deckhand that isn't as experienced as even I am,
It's definitely really, really hard.
Ultimately, we have to do whatever it takes.
Where's that line?
Maybe around the back.
It's wrapped around the tree.
Watch yourself up there, anna.
What does it feel like?
It feels like we're stuck.
God, no.
Let me come up there and help.
-I think I got it unstuck. -I think so, too.
-Anything pulling back? -It's pulling back now.
Okay, good.
Oh, yeah, get the gun.
Whoa!
Oh, my god, oh, my god!
Let it go, let it go.
You've got your hand wrapped. Don't do that.
That's a big gator.
Oh, my god, we're gonna sink the boat.
Oh, anna, this is a monster gator.
We've gotta get this gator in the boat.
Look, I have chill bumps.
That might be the biggest gator I've ever seen.
We can't let this one get off, ash.
-Oh, my god. -This is huge.
I'm gonna come around the other side and get him.
He's under the boat.
Yeah, anna, get me the gun.
I need to be on that side. You need to be on this side
Because he's swimming out
So his head's gonna be closest to us.
Just watch your face 'cause I'm gonna start slinging bullets.
All right, you ready?
Whoa!
In pierre part, ashley and anna are battling a colossus.
Oh, my god.
Whoa!
Get a shot on him, get a shot on him!
Get a shot on him.
-Whoa! -There he goes.
-Whoo! -Hell, yeah!
-Night, night. -Sleep tight.
This 12-and-a-half foot dinosaur is the ultimate proof
Ashley was right to come to the swamp.
Whoo! Look at that gator!
Rake him over. We got him.
Does he even fit in the boat?
Oh, my god.
I know that ronnie thought
That us moving to the swamp was a bad idea,
But obviously this has paid off.
We're pulling the average up,
And that's all we've been asked to do and we're doing that.
I can't wait to bring it back and measure it.
This thing's gonna be freaking sweet.
I can't wait to tell ronnie, too.
Oh, my god, he's gonna be so proud.
Super glad you suggested coming to the swamp.
This was why.
93 miles away in pointe a la hache,
Joey and zak have been on a roll
Since they moved their lines.
That deep water's finally paying off.
No more lizards.
But they still haven't quite met
Their lofty 10-foot goal.
I think we got one more line, huh, pop?
It has a double ribbon on it.
Yeah. The day's wearing on.
We still don't have a 10-foot average.
Hopefully, this next line we'll get a big one.
If we can get an 11- or 12-foot alligator,
That'll bring us over the 10-foot average.
That's us right there.
Oh, we got something on this next one.
He's on there, pop. I don't know how big he is.
He's either really big or he's attached to something big.
Oof! He feels better.
You think?
It's a solid one.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-I can drag him out. -Drag that boy out, pop.
Biggest alligator today.
Zak, get your gun, get your gun.
It's a good one.
He felt good. Safety's off.
Oh, yeah, there we go.
This is what we came for, alligators like this.
But he's hooked in the mouth.
Oh, dude, he's barely hooked.
He's barely hooked.
Watch your hands, watch your hands.
That's a monster! Whoa!
Oh, my god!
Oh, death roll. Come on.
Muscle him up. Muscle that boy up.
Get him up here.
Get ready with that gun.
[gunshot]
That's what I'm talking about. Good job.
-Come on, dude. -Good job.
That's what we came here for.
-That'll help our average. -That'll help us.
That's what we came here for.
One, two, three.
This 11-footer is what joey and zak need
To end a long day and secure a 10-foot average.
-I'm tired, dude. -I know you're tired.
Today was a really tough day.
Just to get a 10-foot average
And to have to carry that weight on your shoulder all day
Was definitely, it was a strain, but, you know, I feel good.
We came through it on top.
We caught our 10-foot average.
Dad's gonna be proud,
But it definitely took something out of me.
We needed that.
That's how you do it.
Let's go see what dad and dorien's got going on
At st. Mary's.
Meanwhile, on cow island...
You don't see nothin' big to shoot at, p?
Nothing.
Troy is relying on pickle
For one last shot to bag a giant.
If you look back in the past,
The landrys have done an amazing job
Pulling alligators out of cow island.
Jacob and don are both awesome snipers,
So it's kind of like, man,
Is pickle gonna hold up the landry weight, you know?
It's a lot of pressure on me.
See the one in front of the boat at 12 o'clock?
Yeah.
-Big one? -Yeah.
I am practicing a lot to prove myself.
Last year, I missed a lot, but I got a better rifle,
And I'm gonna get the job done.
Remember where he was?
-Looks like right here. -He went down.
Hey, I got a idea.
He's gonna drop me off on this little peninsula
That comes out right where we watched this alligator go down,
And he's gonna take off with the boat.
Usually, when you do that,
The alligators think, "okay, it's safe now.
I can come up and breathe."
Oh, I see him.
I'm not even ready.
[gunshot]
On cow island, pickle is hoping her aim is true.
[gunshot]
Oh, yeah, you got him.
Pee-wee, I'm pumped, baby.
Get your treble hook ready.
It's a big one! Shoot him!
[laughs]
Huh?
-All right, pee-wee. -What a beast.
-Hurry up, he's heavy. -Ay-yi-yi.
Okay.
Okay, you got your knee on him right there?
-I got it, yeah. -One, two, three.
With this 12-footer in the boat,
Troy and pickle's average
Shoots up to over nine-and-a-half feet.
That alligator's 70 to 80 years old.
That's gonna help our average a lot.
That was sucky.
At the end of the day, jacob and don
Only bagged one gator to add to troy and pickle's five.
I think this was the worst cow island trip we ever had
As far for killing alligators.
We was hoping to catch at least 20 alligators,
And we come out of here with six alligators. Six.
And we had a good average.
They was about a nine, nine-and-a-half foot average,
But it hurt us on our numbers big time.
We get home, we're just gonna kick double time.
Gonna have to work harder when we get home, that's right.
-Yeah. -All right, boys and girls,
Let's go put these things on ice.
[engine starts]
Back in bayou sorrel,
Willie and little willie have started catching gators,
But first place is now in question.
We got a lot of gators to catch.
We had bigger ones yesterday, but not many.
We still got a lot of tags.
Got down pretty bad right now.
My average-size alligators is not like it was.
All I see is little gators, six, seven, eight-foot.
I mean, we want something that's nine-foot and up,
10-foot and up, keeping it as the size.
And I'm hoping we can get these tags filled for the season
And everything and catch big alligators on 'em.
But right now, it ain't doing too good.
Out there, way in front of the treetop.
Yeah, I see him out there.
Throw it on him.
Good god! Whoa!
Good lord, we got a freaking crocodile.
That's a big one, willie.
Yeah, it is.
He's underneath the boat.
He's coming up.
Shoot him, willie, get him!
-That's a big one. Whew! -That's a good one there.
-You ready? -Let's go.
This 11-foot beast helps turn their day around,
But the challenge of filling all their tags treble hooking
Is starting to take its toll.
It's fun hooking with these treble hooks and everything,
But I got to fill these tags.
I mean, I'd like to have big alligators
On every one of them,
But I cannot turn no tags back in.
I got to fill all of them.
We catching a bunch, but we still got a lot of tags.
I'm hoping we can fill 'em.
Yeah, I hope so.
In the swamp outside franklin,
Daniel and dorien search for one more monster
To reach their lofty goal of a 10-foot average.
We were hitting home runs earlier,
But it's not looking too good.
We're striking out right now.
It's do or die time. We have to make it happen.
One just sunk in the middle of that slip right there.
I just saw the water move when he went down.
I didn't get a chance to see the size of him.
It was a bull?
I don't know, pa. I don't know.
I just saw him when he went down.
It could be a big one.
I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of time
Because we need that 10-foot average.
-We need that alligator. -He was right there.
Had his head high out the water, too.
I don't know where he's gonna be now.
Straight in front of you, pa.
Oh, yeah, I see him over there.
You're gonna have to use the paddle or the deck.
Don't make any sudden movements.
I can take that shot.
You think you can make that shot?
I'm not gonna move.
If you can take it,
Right behind the eye, right under the eye.
And don't shoot unless you got him, pa.
Hush, little baby.
[gunshot]
In the swamp outside franklin...
Right under the eye.
And don't shoot unless you got him.
[gunshot]
I believe you got him.
And that's how it's done.
Don't panic. Just take your time.
Take your time.
You might have to shoot him again.
Shoot him again, pa!
Oh! [laughs]
That second shot got him.
What about your average on that thing?
That's a bull right there.
Oh, my goodness.
One, two, go.
-Push down. -I'm pushing.
-Watch this. -Use your gaff.
I got that big guy.
This 13-footer will help supersize their average.
Wow!
Whew!
Hey, pa, great shot, pa.
[laughs]
Oh, my god, we got him.
10th alligator.
Guaranteed a 10-foot average.
-That's the one. -Yeah.
And we just secured it, pa.
Today is a combination of a lot of experience, skill, some luck.
The combination of all of it
Turned out to be a really good day.
That's the way to start the season, pa.
Oh, absolutely.
Over at duffy's...
What we got over here?
Man, y'all got a truckload of alligators.
Willie, what the hell?
I just stopped to see what the other hunters were catching,
And, man, everybody was coming in
With boatloads of pretty alligators,
Big, big alligators.
-Y'all catching a few? -No, not today.
It was rough today, man.
Jacob, we got competition here.
We're gonna have to tighten up.
Back at st. Mary's...
I gotta prep my crab.
Joey's preparing to celebrate
A challenging but successful start to the season.
Come on, patriarch, we got something cooking for you.
[laughs]
Damn near.
It's just gonna cook faster.
Yeah, extra crispy crabs.
What a day.
I think the difference amongst teams
At the end of the season
Is just gonna be a matter of inches.
You know, it's gonna be a close competition.
It's gonna be a really close competition.
And, hopefully, the edgars will come out on top, but who knows?
We giving it our best, I do know that.
At the close of day two,
The edgars soar to first place
With the highest season average of nine feet, five inches.
Willie drops to second with nine feet, four inches,
While the landrys slip to third.
-Thanks, dad. -You're welcome.
Oh, my god.
There's no sandwich in the world
Better than a soft-shell crab sandwich.
Ooh, yeah!
You can put a ribeye,
You can put whatever you want between two slices of bread.
There is nothing in the world better than a soft-shell crab.
Sure enjoyed you helping me this season, I'm telling you.
Lord have mercy.
Do you think we have a chance to win this thing?
I don't know. Zak and I did our best.
We caught a lot of big ones.
I know that. We killed what was there.
We'll probably have a big one tomorrow. A couple.
We had a couple of good sets.
I think we're in excellent shape right now.
It looks like that we could win this thing.
Starting to feel pretty confident, you know.
Of course, in the back of your mind,
You're always thinking about things
That could go wrong and possibilities.
But it sure does look good when your plan comes together.
You hang around me, boy,
You're gonna have to learn how to eat.
[laughs]
Not too shabby, huh?