Oh, damn!
NARRATOR: 30 miles north, rain falls over Bayou Sorrel,
and Willie Edwards is on a mission to finish
the hunt he started yesterday.
Took the [BLEEP] whole thing and everything.
Gah.
I've been fishing alligators for 20 some years.
I never had one take a hook from me like this.
It takes a big one to pull the rope out of my hands.
NARRATOR: Today, Willie will use a lifetime of experience
on the swamp to track down this crafty predator.
I know just about this whole basin.
Just about anywhere around here, I know it.
And it's hard getting back in there.
You got to jump a couple of dikes
and all that and everything, but it pays
off once you get back there.
See right over there?
See right here?
NARRATOR: But to get to the pond where Willie thinks his prize
is lurking, he needs to navigate this 10 foot stretch of land.
I think I could put some sticks down on the ground
right there.
I think it should run right on over in there.
NARRATOR: This veteran swamper has got a plan.
He's going to build a ramp and jump it.
Whoa!
NARRATOR: With his path now free and clear,
Willie sets out to catch the elusive beast
that stole his hook and line.
Frog Leg didn't pay off, so I just went in this other hole
that I knew about and nobody else knows about it.
And this one little hole, it ain't very big,
but it's good enough to hold a couple of big alligators.
And hoping it pays off.
Whoa, there he is, the one I want.
Whoa, boy.
We got something big.
[GRUNTS]
Hunting by yourself is dangerous,
and once you get him hooked right and everything
and you get him up, let him tire out, you can handle him.
But if you don't know what you're doing with him
in the first couple of minutes, you've got a lot of things
can go wrong real quick.
[GUNSHOT]
Ho, ho!
[GUNSHOT]
That's what I'm talking about.
NARRATOR: It isn't the beast Willie's been looking for,
but this 8-footer will bring in over $200.
It's just been a slow day today,
but I'm pretty happy with what we got--
pretty good size.
Big one, he ain't come up yet or he's in the bushes somewhere.
He's hiding.
It ain't over yet by a long shot.
[IGNITION STARTING]
That's all we can do.
I ain't giving up on it yet.
We just have to keep riding around
and wait for him to come out, pop his head up,
like a needle in a haystack.
Boy, boy, boy.
NARRATOR: In addition to using his treble hook
to catch gators, Willie has also set some lines.
Ooh, whoo!
Oh!
That's a big one.
Whoa, boy.
NARRATOR: Willie thinks he's finally hooked the gator that
stole his treble book, but the weight of the monster
is splitting his line.
Whoa, boy.
About time.
Oh!
[GUNSHOT]
The fun part now, loading this big old thing.
NARRATOR: As he wrestles the 250-pounder into the boat,
Willie realizes it's not the behemoth he's been after.
NARRATOR: But for his last tag of the season,
Willie's glad to have caught a gator worth over $300.
I've been wanting to catch this alligator so bad.
I've had my hopes up.
I mean, I was pretty sure.
I thought I was gonna catch him.
We'll take it.
That's a good one.
I didn't think he was gonna be that big, that long.