On tonight’s Swamp People on History, the episode titled No Man’s Land is all about the surge of gators invading the bayou. It all boils down to going to places in the swamp where men normally do not in order to get the monsters.
We open with an overview of the gator population and Daniel Edgar finally making his season debut. Joey also discusses the pressing issues of the surging gator population.
For fans of Willie Edwards, your man is back and shows up in the beginning with his take on the gator invasion!
Hunters are pushing the boundaries down in Louisiana and we open the show with a quiet morning in Franklin as Joey Edgar and Zak Catchem put their heads together to strategize.
The plan for the day crystallizes. “We need to kill one or two bulls,” Joey tells Zak.
How to do it?
Joey rolls out a swamp tank, a land vehicle that Joey calls his “secret weapon” as they make their bid to hunt by foot after using this contraption to get far into the estuary.
The two head off-road to a secluded area where gators breed. “I can’t even imagine catching a gator by land,” says Zak.
Using the Floridian technique, Zak tries to lure a gator to the shore with his rod and reel. It’s a long day but Zak gets him hooked again and Joey comes in for the kill and they bag a respectable 9-footer.
In Bayou Benoit, Big T and Mr. Daniel are heading to Froggy Bayou.
Edgar has a secret gate he made and the two make their way in the clearing with an airboat. Please, someone, explain how in the heck that thing works on land? Unreal. “Uber at your service,” jokes Mr. Daniel as he rolls up on T as they embark on this magic airboat over the dry forest floor.
This spooky spot is pretty much a perfect no man’s land and is rife with creatures. The two finally get to a mucky swamp bit where frogs are literally jumping on them. “We’re after the big boys,” says Mr. Daniel.
We can hear a bull bellowing and it’s unnerving. “He’s not happy about us being here,” says Mr. Daniel. “He’s got this harem of females!”
The beast is dubbed “Salty Dog” as the two make a plan.
Mr. Daniel rigs up a snare while T drives the boat further in.
Salty is lurking, as Mr. Daniel says he is “bulldogged off,” he nearly becomes bait by sticking his leg in the water.
Big T is a crack shot like Che (Ashley) and he nails a gator — a big one…but no Salty Dog.
Later in the episode, they come across the Dog as T picks him off like the sharpshooter he is. The two reel in the carcass but he is still alive. T has to reload his rifle as Mr. Daniel is yelling for him to shoot, and he does. “My first alligator shooting and hooking,” says Big T about his Salty Dog kill.
Over in Bayou Sorrel, solo hunter Willie Edwards is on the hunt too. He is heading to The Black Lagoon, and the one that got away last year — a 13-footer he reckons.
“You gotta hunt your big ones to knock down the population,” says Willie. “That’s why I hunt big alligators.”
Methane bubbles (gator farts) are the tell-tale trail. Willie hoists a treble hook and it’s game on. Using a revolver, Willie gets a big boy. But it’s not the one that got away. That is, until he rolls up on the monster once again.
“Gonna wrassle the monster, show him who’s boss,” says Willie.
And this one is big y’all.
At least 13 feet. Willie confirms this is the monster of the Black Lagoon and has a pistol cocked and ready. And mind you, Willie weighs about 150 pounds. This gator is likely over 600 pounds.
Willie fired six times, and then ran out of bullets.
Now it’s all improvise time as Willie puts his foot on the gator’s body to pop up his head and then he get’s the rifle (finally).
Bingo- you need the big artillery sometimes. Willie cannot get this monster up and into his boat, but you know he had a plan that involved winches and chains.
Willie hoists the carcass up to retrieve it later on.
Fan favorites Frenchy and Gee are back too and they are fixing their boat to haul more gators. Boudreaux — Frenchie’s pal — is welding and “doing open heart surgery” on their boat. Gee is cautiously optimistic.
The remodeled boat looks good as Frenchy and Gee put on the final buffing and polishing so the paint sticks. They put a ton of cayenne pepper in the paint to keep the algae and barnacles off the boat.
The two took the boat for a “test drive” and it was a success, the welds held and Gee is on board and happy he has some new “elbow room.” The guys did a great job.
Willie took the win for biggest gator of the episode, and we’ll see y’all next week!
Swamp People airs Thursdays on History.