It’s a family affair this week as Swamp People opens with the very fit R.J. Molinere talking about his close relationship and 11 year age difference with his brother Al.
Molinere explains they have sworn to be close no matter what happens to them in the bayou and that nothing will break their fraternal bond.
In this series the Louisiana swamp is shown as a magical place where nature rules throwing light on the fact that in this beautiful and dangerous that family is king.
The Edgar clan are up to bat first as former baseball star Dwaine shaves his daddy’s ears as his son and brother look on, laughing.
“I just gotta love on him as long as I can, he won’t be here forever,” says Dwaine who buzzes the hair on Daniel’s ears.
Meantime, in Bayou Pigeon about 30 miles to the Northwest the amazing Willie Edwards is at it again as a solo player in 85-degree heat. Last week he pulled in 18 gators and earned a busted motor. He really reached his limit.
As he hunts this episode, we learn the hot weather makes the gators more active and responsive to bait.
Willie says: “Yeah we got a big gator…don’t you bite me, boy, I’m gonna take you outta your hurt” as he blam-blams the reptile between the eyes and bags a first kill, a 9 1/2 footer.
Next it is off to Pierre Part with the Landrys. Troy is bitching about the all-time low prices for alligator as he visits a secret honey hole where he always pulls in big numbers.
But a disturbing discovery awaits him and his son Jacob. “Look at the hole in his head…both legs ate off…once a gator is hooked on my line it’s an easy meal for him. We got a cannibal!”
Big males will eat up other gators, especially snared ones we learn from Troy. A rogue male chomped on the Landry’s catch and Troy is both scared and enraged.
St. Bernard Parish sees Al and R.J. Molinere hunting gators like they used to as teenagers. “You can’t ask for anything more than being with family and friends,” says Al.
Now we see where Jay Paul gets his huevos. R.J. sticks his arm deep into the tangled mess where their line is, and a 9 1/2 foot gator jumps out at him. All in a day’s work for the Molinere boys.
Bruce Mitchell is with his sharpshooting partner, Ron Methvin and their dog Gunner. Bruce’s plan is to use the recent flooding to his advantage. He’s exploring runs he claims no one has been in for 30 years. Bruce says: “Basically this is gonna be like the lost swamp.”
Their boat motor is whacking through all kinds of lilies and ultra thick mangroves and swamp vegetation. The remoteness could work out with big gators, or be a complete bust.
Back to Pierre Part, and Lawd help us, Troy is sticking his arms in tangled up snares. Another dead gator as his cannibal gator has struck once again.
Troy says: “That would have been a 9-foot alligator if three feet of his tail weren’t missing…[gator] like a vampire!”
Back in Bayou Pigeon, Willie Edwards is drinking pickle juice to stay in the game and keep from getting heatstroke cramps. He swears by it.
Bubbles indicate Willie has a “big ole alligator” on the line. Except this behemoth is hooked by the tail and as we have mentioned before, Willie is not a big guy like Bruce. He’s slight. This is a HUGE 11 footer. Willie bags him. Gets him up in the boat. This guy!
R.J. and Al spy a snared gator. Al freaking uses a pistol! This is a big gator and R.J. warns him to be on alert. Al pops a cap in his scaly a** and the thing is in their boat, still alive! R.J. prefers a rifle. We learn Al literally packs a pistol everywhere he goes, even to his trashcans.
Back to Bruce, Ron, and Gunner the inquisitive dog. The lost swamp is beckoning. They have a live wire on the line and bag themselves a 10 footer as Gunner is on high alert inside the little boat.
99 miles to the southwest, near Adams Landing, Dwaine and Edgar have a father-son chat and Dwaine challenges him to learn baseball. Daniel says he’s good at everything he does.
A huge alligator is caught up in their snare. Daniel is trying to get him while Dwaine has the rifle ready. The gator is angry! It bites their boat about three times until Dwaine gets him. Dwaine reflects on his daddy’s “game” and has mad respect for the Edgar clan’s business.
Pierre Part has a problem. Namely, the “Vampire Cannibal” gator, now dubbed “Dracula” by Troy is still on the loose.
A tree shaker is spotted as a huge gator is pulled up by the Landrys and made ready to meet his maker by Troy. Jacob shoots him and they pull up a 9 footer, minus a leg and part of a tail. The dreaded Dracula gator strikes again.
The Molinere brothers are “having fun on the bayou” according to R.J. and are getting their groove on still. A big angry gator is on one of their many lines, and Al pops the 10 footer with his sidearm.
At Bayou Pigeon, our amazing Willie has bagged 9 beasts! And now he has admitted he weighs 138-pounds soaking wet and he has a 12+ footer over 500 pounds on the line. Do the math.
Willie cannot get him up in the boat. He creates a makeshift manmade wench with a tree, wraps the cord around the gator’s head and maneuvers the heavy carcass into the boat. Willie says: “I got him, by myself too!”
Dwaine and Daniel are hard at work still, and somehow they stumble into a red wasp’s nest. They call it done.
As we wind down, Pierre Part is where the Landrys have done nothing but pull up carcasses of gators attacked by their elusive Dracula cannibal gator. Bubbles alert! Troy and Jacob try to nab this menace who has bedeviled them all day. Dracula is on the line. They have him hooked by the toe. Not good. Troy urges Jacob to shoot as they wrestle him up. Troy is elated and says: “This is the cannibal baby..this is the vampire!”
The gamble pays off for Bruce and Ron who bag 12 big gators. But a tangled-up mess of a line nets a big gator and as Bruce shoots it the dog nearly falls in the drink!
Finally, back in Bayou Sorrel, we are dockside as Willie’s haul nets a $1700 payday. His work ethic is off the hook.
The sizzle reel previews for next week show Bruce’s dog Gunner nearly getting his doggy head chomped off.
Swamp People airs Thursdays at 9/8c on HISTORY.