[birds chirping]
[narrator] The sun rises over the bayou,
marking the halfway point of gator season.
[boom boom boom]
In Bayou Sorrel, veteran hunter Willie Edwards
is preparing for a day without his son,
little Willie, who's still recovering
from a bout with heat stroke.
I got my daddy coming to be a deckhand with me today.
You wouldn't get far, [inaudible]
Willie's brought his dad, Junior Edwards,
to fill in as deckhand.
But Willie knows they don't always see eye to eye
when it comes to hunting.
WILLIE EDWARDS: My daddy, when he hunts alligators,
he always like to run the hooks and get
it over with, get the day done and get back to the house.
Me, I like to run the hooks, treble hooks [inaudible]
to open water, and everything I can just to catch
the alligators that we need.
[laughter] Yes.
JUNIOR EDWARDS:
--put your hook on it and go on to the next one.
I mean it works out better than just--
-- there an hour chasing him and don't get him.
WILLIE EDWARDS: I've had him my boat a couple of times, my dad,
but not like barking.
That's just like either going hunting or something like that,
just playing, or just going for a ride.
Yeah.
See what this morning look like.
WILLIE EDWARDS: But he's a deckhand and he don't like it.
I can see it already.
But it can go good or it can go bad,
and I'm curious how it's gonna go myself.
[music playing]
WILLIE EDWARDS: There you go.
[music playing with drums]
Lemme get over here behind you.
[music playing]
Oh, yeah.
Huh?
Yeah, he's a biggie. [music playing]
[splashing water]
[music playing]
[rifle shot]
[inaudible]
OK, let's go. Let's go.
I'm going up.
Let's go.
Yeah, he got messed up now.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: This nine-foot feisty gator is a good start,
and Willie is enjoying the role reversal of having
Junior as his deckhand.
It's gonna be a good day.
I mean we got a lot a hooks to run,
and we just got to keep going with it,
and he's just got to toughen it out.
I'm the captain of the ship, and you got to do what I say.
[motorboat engine]
Got to make some time.
We got probably-- most probably close to 70 hooks, 80 hooks,
and that's a lot of lines.
When you're catching a lot of alligators and stuff,
that's a lot of line to fool with.
And you got to keep going and just keep your head in the game
and just keep rolling.
Look at that big ole thing.
Where?
Right there at the line.
Where?
Right there at the line.
You've got to pull off that one.
Huh?
You've got to pull off that one.
Hook's inside the head.
--but Daddy going out there to help.
NARRATOR: The boys have stumbled upon an apparent gator
gold mine, with one on the line and two
more large gators close by.
I mean, there's half his tail gone.
That ain't the same alligator that was right here.
[rifle shot]
Baw.
Baw, baw, baw.
That's good.
That's good, man.
Lemme get that hook outta his mouth.
I mean, we have a big one right here.
We gonna eat this thing.
That's what I thought, and then I
saw that one in the river.
NARRATOR: This eight-foot gator is a good catch.
But Willie is still at odds with his father about how
they should be hunting.
WILLIE EDWARDS: You got more alligators in this area,
and I wish you had to catch them all with the treble hook,
didn't have to fool with no lines on the bank,
and you could pick your big ones and you
can take out what you want to take out and-- like manage 'em.
You're a deckhand.
[bleep]
-- long as we get it done and get on to the next one.
He can cry all he want.
Let go of my steering wheel.
WILLIE EDWARDS: Yeah, ole Dad didn't
like that one bit about that boat, being a deckhand.
Not one bit.
Get on outta the way.
Lemme get over there and drive that boat.
You can't handle that.
You deckhand, buddy.
Hey.
I got two hooks.
You didn't know?
WILLIE EDWARDS: I love having my dad on my boat and everything,
but he keeps on trying to jump up there on that steering wheel
when I'm in the back of the boat putting a tag on an alligator.
And he's biting at the bit so bad it's driving him crazy
being over there on the bucket, on the side, for a deckhand,
and not being the one driving that boat and everything.
And he's not liking it not one bit.
Right there on the bank.
Seven and a half, eight foot.
I mean that thing's getting bigger and bigger
as we get to the bank.
Be almost nine foot in a second.
Is he on the hook?
Come on over there, boy.
[splash]
[music playing]
WILLIE EDWARDS: C'mon, get your shot.
Watch it.
[rifle shot]
WILLIE EDWARDS: Lucky I didn't hold my breath on that one.
I would a died right here.
Took you 45 minutes.
I mean I was sitting there waiting for it.
Waiting for it.
Look like I been doing all the work.
I mean I'm just about hooking the hook, hanging the hook
and putting it in the back of the boat.
Getting to be a lot of work.
I'm sure missing my son right now.
Hey.
I's the captain of this ship.
I can't [inaudible] every time I fish.
WILLIE EDWARDS: Well, I do a little bit, he do a little bit
and it all works out together that a way.
Hey.
You're under my gear.
Good lord.
You moved it or something.
[inaudible] Don't talk about my motor boat.
We broke down back here.
Looks like I turned out to be the deckhand
instead of the captain.
On my own boat.
I supposed to be the captain of the boat.
[music playing]
Right here on the front of the boat.
Can we bump up a little bit?
[music playing]
You see him?
I see him.
All right, here.
Right here.
NARRATOR: Being expert treble hunters,
the Edwards boys know it takes a lot of skill and experience
to track a gator in open water.
Father and son are working together
to capture an elusive giant.
[music playing]
Go behind him, let that boat drift it into him.
[music playing]
Hey, yeah.
Got him?
Want me to help you?
[splashing water]
Here he comes.
Any time.
[rifle shot]
[music playing]
Yeah.
WILLIE EDWARDS: I love alligator hunting, the treble hooking,
and I mean, it's adrenaline rush out this world.
I mean, you don't know what you hooking down there
and you don't know what size he is, and you don't know how--
what he gonna do.
And when you hook that thing, it's
just a roller coaster ride.
I mean, you just-- it can punch you up, and I love it,
and never change nothing of it.
That ain't his first rodeo, this alligator right here.
No.
The way he was doing those slick moves and stuff?
Oh, yeah.
Come on
WILLIE EDWARDS: We had a good time today.
But that boat on every day?
Nah.
I mean, I love my dad, yeah.
But not every day.
He can't handle being a deckhand.
Not in my boat.
Well, that's it.
WILLIE EDWARDS: Decent day?
JUNIOR EDWARDS: Yep.