Ever since the History Channel’s popular TV show “Swamp People” premiered in 2010, popular opinion around the country seems to be that all of us have alligators in our backyards. Ok, yes, some of us actually do! But in reality, most people have never been alligator hunting.
If you want to give it a try, but don’t have land or a lease, you should enter Louisiana’s alligator lottery.
The history
In 2008, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) created the Lottery Alligator Harvest Program. This program allows over 1,000 residents the opportunity to harvest over 3,000 alligators on 51 Wildlife Management Areas and public lakes throughout the state. Lottery applications cost $5. Applicants must be residents of Louisiana, at least 16 years of age and comply with hunter education requirements. They can make up to three choices of areas to hunt.
Each successful applicant will receive three alligator harvest tags for the WMA or public lake they selected. An alligator license is $25. The three tags issued to the winner are $40 each. Applications are available beginning in May.
The hunters
Morgan City’s Sam Allen has applied for the alligator lottery the past several years. He has always chosen local WMAs where he has at least some knowledge of the area. Last spring, he used one of his choices on Pointe-aux-Chenes WMA near Montegut. While close to home, he did not know much about it. As fate would have it, that was where he was selected to hunt.
“I was very excited to be selected for my first alligator hunt,” Allen said. “My son, Baylor, was even more excited. An alligator hunt was definitely on the top of his bucket list.”
Allen had a general idea about how to hunt alligators, but now that he was picked, he knew it was time to lean on some of his buddies who had done it before.
“I reached out to some guys that I know who gave me some great advice,” he said. “My son also supplied me with a lot of info he had obtained from watching every episode of ‘Swamp People.’
“Baylor and I made a scouting trip a few days before the opening of the season. We went in blind. I have to admit it looked pretty bleak. We drove all around the area and only saw two very small alligators. We did notice a few areas where there appeared to be alligator slides from the marsh into the bayou. But that was it.”
The prospective alligator hunters used GPS to find a few spots that looked promising and then called it a day.
Bait and equipment
Chicken quarters was what the two hunters picked for bait, but Baylor wanted to leave the chicken out for a few days before opening day.
“I was not excited about leaving that chicken out,” Allen said. “It smelled worse than you can imagine! But I did have faith in my son, and I figured that he knew better than I did.”
The hunters were allowed to set six lines for their three tags.
“We set out sturdy poles close to the alligator slides,” Allen said. “Using a 14/0 hook and 3/16-inch tarred 600-pound line, we clipped the excess line up near the top of the pole. We let the chicken hang about 24 inches above the water. We had been told that the higher you hang the bait, the better your chance to catch a larger gator.”
The hunt
With the six lines set, the hunters headed home. Early the next morning, they returned very hopeful, but also a little skeptical. Upon arrival at the first line, the pin had been pulled and the line was down.
“Seeing that first line down, we were so excited!” Allen said. “We pulled up and sure enough, there was a nice-sized alligator halfway up on the bank. I eased the boat up and Baylor delivered the kill shot with a .22 rifle. Just like that, we had our first ever alligator.”
The second and third lines were not touched. The fourth line was down.
“Approaching the fourth line, Baylor started to pull the line, but we knew immediately this was not a gator,” Allen said. “Instead, it was a nice-sized garfish. A surprise, but not what we came for.”
The hunters had two lines left to go. The fifth was next.
“When we saw line number five down, our excitement shot straight up,” Allen said. “Again, we could see this gator partially out of the water. As I eased up, the gator ducked back into the water.
“I attempted to back the boat out a bit, but accidentally hit the throttle too hard. Baylor had been standing on the deck and almost went flying into the water. He shouted, ‘dude!’ He whipped around and looked at me like I was crazy. I couldn’t help but laugh. It seems my boy did NOT want to be tossed into the water with that gator! Thank goodness for youthful balance and reflexes. Had it happened to me, I may have been wrestling with that gator up close and personal.”
After the father and son regained their composure, Baylor was able to put a shot to the gator’s head. This time, a follow-up shot was required.
“We had two gators in the boat, with one line to go,” Allen said. “We idled up to line number six. It was down. We really wanted to make sure we did this one correctly. Tagging out on the first day was our goal.
“This gator was a little smaller than the first two, but it gave us quite a fight. I wrestled with it until Baylor had a clear kill shot. We were done! The first two gators were a bit over 7 feet, the third right at 6 feet. Not monsters by any means, but definitely trophies for us.”
If you want to get in on some alligator hunting, apply at the LDWF website: www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/alligator-lottery.
