I’ve stalked wild boar from the ground in the Delta National Forest and hunted black bear from high above Rhododendron thickets in West Virginia. These adrenaline-fueled adventures fail in comparison to alligator hunting in Mississippi’s swamps at night.
I was introduced to the sport as a guest on a moonlit hunt just north of Vicksburg in 2012. When one big alligator almost flipped our undersized 14-foot jon boat, and undersized is an understatement, I became as hooked as our quarry. Since then, planning for and hunting alligators has become a summertime ritual.
As the swamps and sloughs are as much of a staple for the Delta regions as soybeans and cotton, the American alligator, or gator, commands its own rightful place. American alligators thrive only in the Southeast United States, and Mississippi represents the epicenter of the gator’s range, as is suggested by its Latin name, Alligator mississippiensis. Gators are the apex predator of murky lakes and swamp-laden forests of the Deep South and will make even the toughest man think twice before taking a plunge into their domains. The gator’s elusiveness and nocturnal nature make it even more mysterious and intimidating. As they say, it’s the quiet ones that are most deadly. And to make matters worse, these algae-covered beasts will eat almost anything, fish and small mammals to Labrador retrievers and even humans. Rest easy though, as no alligator-caused fatalities in Mississippi are on record. Yet.
Since 2005, gator hunting has been allowed on public waterways in Mississippi, but that hasn’t always been the case. These formidable creatures were hunted to near extinction from the late 1800s to early 1900s, due largely to the value of their hides to commercial hunters and fearful humans who killed them when afforded an opportunity. Thankfully, in 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed alligators as federally endangered and alligator hunting ceased. Through concerted efforts of re-introduction and active conservation by state and federal agencies, the populations today are thriving. In some areas they are seemingly overabundant, good news to gator hunters like me. A quick boat ride at night on the Big Black, Yazoo or Pearl rivers shows just how many gators really are in the area.
Hunting gators in Mississippi is much different from what is shown on the popular TV reality show “Swamp People,” filmed just across the river in Louisiana. Louisiana’s commercial hunters are typically shown in daylight shooting alligators swimming across a canal or the ones hooked on drop-lines baited with putrefied chicken. Those tactics are not legal for hunting in Mississippi. I’ve successfully hunted alligator in South Louisiana and can tell you that Mississippi’s way of hunting is far more exciting.
Although there are several ways you can legally capture alligators in Mississippi’s public waterways, baited lines are not an option. The hunting party can use snatch hooks, snare poles, harpoons and even bow fishing equipment. Snatch hooks, a large, weighted treble hook attached to a heavy-duty fishing pole or hand line with a buoy attached, have been the method of choice for all the hunting teams of which I have been a part. Although you can legally pursue gators during daylight hours, most hunters choose to chase them during the night hours as they are most active then, plus it adds to the excitement.
Unless you are a landowner with at least 100 acres of water, you probably will need a hefty dose of luck, or a lucky friend, to be able to hunt alligators around these parts. A lottery draw is performed each year to select participants who will receive tags necessary to harvest a gator during the open season, which is typically at the end of summer (Aug. 29 through Sept. 8 this year). The application period is in early June, so if you wanted to go this year, hopefully you already applied! If you didn’t apply during the draw, and if you did but weren’t selected, there is still time to suck up to a hunter who won the draw to see if you can tag along. That’s right, you can be a part of any hunting team as long as you have a $25 alligator hunting license and you are accompanied by a tag holder. Trust me, just being a part of the team is a thrill like none other, so I recommend not turning down the chance of a tagalong.
Until last year, each applicant had to pay $10 per hunting zone (region of the state) to apply, and $100 for a tag if drawn. The application cost minimized the number of participants in the draw as there was no guarantee of selection. But last year the lottery draw became a free-for-all when the state stopped charging application fees. The number of applicants skyrocketed, a nightmare to addicted gator hunters, who, like me, had eagerly awaited selection. However, I was fortunate to have friends who were drawn and invited me along.
The swamp at night is a fantastic venue for alligator hunting. It’s an assortment of excitement, stillness, wild noises and eeriness that can’t be described. It’s a unique feeling, water temperatures are high and the mugginess of late summer air blankets open areas. The heron rookeries, disturbed by a passing boat, create a perfect nighttime soundtrack that I could listen to on repeat for hours.
The views aren’t too shabby either, especially if there is a full moon. Riverbanks with a host of deer, beaver, river otter and raccoons feeding are a great backdrop for a night spent on the water. Gnats and mosquitoes can be vicious in wetland habitats. Lucky for gator hunters, these pesky insects dissipate two hours after sunset and stay away until about an hour before sunrise. That’s right, gator hunting will make you burn the midnight oil, and Duracells.
The idea of the hunt is simple: you patrol the water with spotlights in search of the red glow of an alligator’s eyes. The first challenge is to determine the alligator’s size, particularly if you are looking for a trophy-sized individual (4 feet in length is the legal minimum). Here’s a trick: to determine the approximate size of an alligator while in the water, estimate the distance in inches from the base of its eyes to the snout, that’s the gator’s approximate body length in feet. If the distance between a gator’s eyes and snout is 10 inches, its body length will be about 10 feet from nose to tail, which is a trophy in anyone’s book.
The goal, once you decide you have one you want to catch, is to get a snatch hook over the gator’s back, pull the line tight and sink the hook into its tough hide. The challenge, of course, is to do this before the gator submerges or darts away. Even if the gator becomes wary of your closeness, it’s a rush to watch a big gator slowly draw under the water as you’ve crept within feet of it. It seems like they draw below the water surface to determine how to best address the situation as you slip into their territory, truly a rush of excitement.
I will never forget my first hunt in 2012 with friends Craig and Jake Fischenich. Jake cast beyond and perfectly hooked into the mid-section of a huge alligator, likely weighing more than 500 pounds. We were in a 14-foot jon boat and attached to a 12-foot alligator. We were rookie hunters with a souped-up pole ready for the challenge; our drag setting was not. The drag was set too tight to hold such a large animal without slack in the line, and to make matters worse, as soon as the gator was hooked it dove straight to the bottom of the slough and swam directly under our boat. As the high tensile-strength line began to stretch and the gator swam swiftly beneath us, the boat rocked to one side. As the gator fought the resistance with increased stamina and pull, the boat began to tip lengthwise. Unfortunately, the gator snapped the rod against the boat and we lost it; on the other hand, we were fortunate that the boat didn’t flip. Craig was filming this first-time hunting adventure from a small inflatable kick-boat alongside and captured my comment to Jake: “I like you and all, buddy, but if the boat had flipped, I would have had no problem drowning you to get to the shore.” The 12-footer lived to see another day, but a 10.5-foot male and several smaller gators we released helped us hone our strategy (and drag setting).
Last year, I was on a hunting team with friends, Ron and Jennifer Pownall and Bump Callaway. We spent many hours hunting several miles along the Yazoo River and, after a few days of catching fair-sized gators, Ron snagged into a good one, but none of us had any clue just how big it was. Ron wrangled and fought the gator for hours on end. Once he was able to pull it to the boat, we couldn’t get a snare around its head as the fishing line had gotten caught in its mouth. After a few failed attempts, the monster made one more thrash and broke the line right at the boat. It was Jennifer’s first alligator hunt and although we were all beat after hunting several nights in a row, she became a lifetime gator hunter and got a 7-foot female later in the season.
On another hunt last year, we spotted a large-sized gator, approximately 12 inches from eyes to snout, in a big bend of the main river channel. The bend was full of woody debris, with whole trees entangled in the channel. Alligators seek out this dense cover to hunt and rest within, but it’s best to avoid such areas as the gators will hang you up in the debris. Ignoring this advice, I hooked into the gator and the fight was on. The gator pulled the line and ran as hard and fast as it could, entangling the line on several large underwater logs. However, I hadn’t lost it as I could still feel a consistent, but somewhat variable, tug downwards. I kept a strong hold on the pole that was, at this point, bent all the way over and at a near shatter-state.
For two hours I held this gator as it surged up and down every couple of minutes. My biceps were burning beyond description and my back had stiffened tight. We continuously scanned the darkness with a spotlight and eventually saw eyes arise on the water surface, but a considerable distance away. We knew it to be the same gator based on its size, but after investigating the amount of line left on the fishing reel, and the distance the gator was from our boat, we decided there was no way it could still be hooked, despite the fact that the pole was still regularly surging up and down. We were all bewildered, but eventually determined that the current was rocking a large underwater log I was hooked on and had tricked me the entire time into thinking I still had the gator on the line. So there it was. I had fought an underwater log for two hours, and had nothing to show for it except the loss of a hook and hurt pride.
Anyone who enjoys the outdoors and the thrill of a hunt should consider alligator hunting in Mississippi. Though it’s not really comparable to any other type of hunting, I relate it to hooking into the biggest catfish imaginable, knowing it could also bite your arm off. This is gator hunting! Alligator hunting seems to have become the next big thing in Mississippi, and for good reason, heart-pounding action matched with serene scenic beauty. Trust me. You don’t want to miss the opportunity.
But don’t forget your flashlight.
STORY Nathan Beane
PHOTOGRAPHS Nathan Beane
