The new gator season has entered week one. We opened with Troy Landry who said things were getting out of hand as hunters and those who live at the water’s edge are facing a crisis. Bold new strategies are required.
And new hunting partners are assembled too as the second season is all about man vs. monster.
The episode opened at midnight in southern Louisiana and we were warned that the
We also learned that the Houma traditions were strong with the Molineres and the gator males needed to be culled. In a tangled area of lilies and weeds, Jay Paul and his dad eschewed an airboat and used a traditional canoe called a pirogue to get to the prey lurking in the shallow marshes.
The Molineres made it a contest. The pirogue is only for the most experienced and trained gator hunter. RJ filled that bill and was shown getting a big gator all by himself. It took every core muscle and balance and strength that he had.
Small gators, large gators, they were all game, according to RJ.
Pierre Part is where we saw Troy Landry and Terral Evans (aka “Big Buddy”) set out to do their business as they have 1000 tags to fill. You read that right, in 30 days no less.
Juveniles were hit hard. Six foot females were especially targeted.
Ronnie Adams and Ashley Dead Eye Jones were on the recreational landmark of Lake Verret where people swim and they had a mission. “People are literally scared,” said Ronnie. He and Ashley were tipped to a 12-footer cruising the docks by Miss Tracy.
The two
They culled a prodigious amount of gators but the big guy evaded them until the “big mamou” the dinosaur as Ronnie called him popped up like a reptilian weasel. But it was not the big BIG mamou which still lurked out there in the swamp.
Returning Swamper Joey Edgar had his pal Zak Catchem (no joke), a fisherman, to help. He hails from Florida and has a reputation for being fearless.
“We want to back em off before they get to being like them in Florida” said Joey. The two snared a decent sized gator out of the gate.
Joey and Zak got a monster in the line and it put Zak to the test. They got an 11-footer and then the scariest part of the episode occurred: A freakish ghostly grey spider the size of a crab ran right up to Zak, who nearly crapped himself.
Joey, of course, took the mickey out of him for his bug phobias… but Zak is right because the swamp is no place for us big bug weenies.
In the end, Joey praised Zak’s ability to hit the ground running and said it was the mark of a survivor to adapt to the situation. They worked well together so more Zak is likely to happen this season.
Back in Houma, the Molineres were hunting in two separate vessels. Jay Paul was in a jetski and dad RJ was in a pirogue.
Jay Paul is nuts. Let’s just get that on the table.
His little jetski had no back-end protection meaning he could have slid off into the muck in a second.
Jay Paul managed to get a little gator, but the added weight swamped his engine and the vehicle petered out on him.
And in a flash, Jay Paul was the hunted prey.
This guy stripped down to his chonies and fixed his clogged engine as gators were filmed circling his jetski.
Meanwhile in the “acorn does not fall from the tree”saga, papa RJ was also tempting fate and a lot of teeth as he stuck his hand in
In a remote area west of Houma, RJ pulled in a monster and managed not to capsize in that pirogue. He has all his digits still so that Houma Indian thing he did worked.
Back to Troy and Terral, the big ol’ manly men of Swamp People whose aggregate years of killing and hunting probably count over 100.
Troy and Terral had a war with a huge gator and Terral nearly got injured, but “‘dem tree shakers and tree breakers” had to be gotten y’all. And they were.
Tonight, Ronnie’s new phrase to savor was “get choo some of dat” which is now added to his baby “oh baby oh baby” go-to lexicon of Bayou phraseology. Ronnie is hilarious but his stare scares me.
In the end, 20 gators were delivered by Troy and Terral.
Ronnie and Ashley delivered a lot of gators too and Troy proposed a switch of boat partners. Troy was outright flirting with Dead Eye. He better be careful as I am sure Mrs. Landry can field dress any mammal.
‘Dem Molineres… back from their death-defying day, fried up some catfish and it tasted amazing (allegedly), as RJ said they never went to the store and just caught their dinner fresh.
And by the way, from all of us, happy birthday RJ! Jay Paul surprised him with a cake and candles. RJ shames men half his age with his physique; the guy is a natural mesomorph and as fit as they come.
Sadness report: No Willie Edwards this week, as the teaser at the end of last week’s episode showed him, a total History channel editing fake out.
But he will be in future episodes. And seeing Joey Edgar was great, this sage voice of reason is one of our series favorites too.
See y’all next week.
Swamp People airs Thursdays at 9/8c on History.