It’s halfway through the season on Swamp People with the pressure to deliver becoming even more important. The heatwave lightened up a bit, but the high waters remained an environment where the gator hunters had to adapt. The March 4 episode of the History Channel series saw duos do all they could to end their days on a high note. One crew also faced outside challenges beyond just the unpredictable bayou conditions.
Find out how everyone’s day unfolded in the March 4 episode recap below:
Ronnie Adams and Timmy Aucoin saw a way to take advantage of the higher water deep into the woods. It’s an area where big gators were spotted the night before. However, to get to it and be successful required them to pull out two pirogue flat-bottom boats. Ronnie’s 6-foot-5 frame is not really fitted for this particular vessel. Therefore, paddling through the woods was kind of scary for him with the worry about flipping over at any point top of mind. An 8-footer gave them an idea of the area. The idea was one pirogue would carry the gators along with transporting. The smaller vessel made it harder to secure those larger kills. Though they did finish with a pirogue full of gators. The extra labor including all the manual paddling made it an exhausting experience for Ronnie and Timmy.
Troy Landry and Cheyenne “Pickle” Wheat got off to a strong start. They were surprised to run into a party boat full of Purple Heart veterans. Among them was a familiar ace for the “King of the Swamp” in Q-ball, who he knew as an old gator hunter and former Vietnam soldier. Troy invited the group and helped them on their hunt. From this moment on, Troy wanted to make the day about these heroes. Tory and Pickle provided the opportunity to pull the line and help wrangle a 9-footer. They also got an idea on what went into hanging bait and tagging gators. The men proved to be naturals. Before wrapping up, Troy wanted Q-ball, who had been in a wheel chair, the opportunity to nab one last gator. After missing the first two shots Q-ball got the last catch, which was a ten-footer. The veterans brought Pickle to tears, thinking of how grateful she was to have these experiences.
Cheyenne ‘Pickle’ Wheat (History Channel)
Troy’s son Chase was called in to help fill tags. With the water fluctuating, he was shooting alligators in open water. This meant gators sinking to the bottom before he could reach them for pickup. He utilized a sonar to find them if the old treble and pole method didn’t work. The tech made it possible for Chase to locate the gators and even view them below the surface. In all, he secured eight for the day.
Chas’s brother Jacob linked up with “Little Willie” Edwards were concerned about coming up to a dead gator on their line cannibalized by an even bigger one. It reminded Willie of stories his grandfather would tell about a “Bonecrusher” gator that would go down on all the lines and kill them as a way to take ownership of the territory. And so the duo were on the hunt for “Bonecrusher.” A trail of mangled carcasses led them to believe they were on the right track. At one point, the two thought they had their guy. It was a 10-footer, but not their culprit. Will took a shot in the distance and attempted to retrieve a gator with his treble hook. He fell short, but was undeterred. They eventually secured the big gator, which came in at 11-footer. Willie thought his grandfather would be proud as he tried to catch him for years.
Bruce Mitchell and Anna Ribbeck fell behind with more than 120 tags left to fill. Yesterday they found evidence of poachers in the area. In response to someone taking their gators by cutting lines, the two took their ribbons down so their lines weren’t visible. Anna is worried the two won’t find them as a result. Bruce was confident he’d remember where the lines were left. He proved to have this skill by relying on markers “I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast, but I know where my lines are.” Anna became more confident in Bruce’s abilities as time went on, but Bruce did have some trouble locating one last line. Anna planned to be out there even until the night hours to find the missing gator. She didn’t want it to suffer on the line. And so a 7-footer concluded their latest voyage.
Swamp People, Wednesdays, 8/7c, History Channel
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