Boom Shakalaka

By Ben Smith:

You ever just wake up and know that today is going to be a good day? You hop right up without hitting the snooze button on your alarm several times. The sun is shining through the window and you’re ready to take on the day. It doesn’t happen very often for me, but when it does I know it’s going to be a good day. And that’s what happened on Monday. 

I woke up Monday morning and felt great. My back didn’t hurt as it usually does upon waking up, a normal morning custom for the last few years. The sun was shining and I was ready to roll. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and checked my phone for messages and emails. No messages, which was a good thing. Early morning messages on a Monday are rarely ever good. I only had one email, which was also abnormal and good. I clicked on the icon to open up my email, and my heart rate went through the roof with excitement. Monday morning emails usually suck, but this one was a huge exception. 

If you’ve been following along with this column for any amount of time, you’ve figured out by now that I love alligator season in Mississippi. I mentioned last week that the application process for the draw was coming to a close and I’d entered the lottery earlier in the month. It had been a couple of years since I’d been drawn, so I was hopeful, but not really expecting anything. Well, that little email that was waiting for me to wake up made my day. For the third time in the last five or so years, I was selected to be able to kill Mississippi’s top apex predator. 

I’ve been going on these alligator hunts in Mississippi for about ten years with a group of friends. Each year we all put in for tags and one of us is usually selected. I guess this year it was my turn. If you’ve never been alligator hunting and you consider yourself an outdoorsman, I suggest you give it a try. It’s unlike any other hunt that this state offers. It’s a lot of fun and a great hunt to share with friends. It’s even kid friendly as long as their mother doesn’t mind you taking them out in a boat in the middle of the night with the small possibility that they might get eaten. But hey, they make kids every day so why not take the risk so they can experience it too. 

I’ll never forget the first time I went gator hunting with a group of buddies. We were on the Big Black River and had two boats. One boat for hunting gators and one boat was reserved for relaxation and catching frogs. We’d spot a gator and do our best to ease up to get within range to cast at him. That’s the other thing that is different about hunting gators in Mississippi. You’ve got to hook them with a rod and reel (bowfishing equipment and harpoons are also legal methods to catch them). We use a deep sea fishing rig with a large weighted treble hook to catch them. The object is to cast beyond the gator, reel up to it, and snatch the hook into him. When you do it right, you’re in for quite the ride. It’s like fighting a giant tuna on the other end. And when I hooked my first ever gator, I was hooked too. 

The next step in the process is a little more business oriented. You have to secure the alligator before you dispatch him. We use a simple snare attached to a long rope. Slide that over the gators head when you get him up to the boat and then hang on as they go through their death roll. Once you’ve decided the gator meets guidelines and your expectations, you pop him just behind the head with a shotgun loaded with bird shot, then it’s lights out and the real work begins. 

Not every trip guarantees that you’re going to kill a giant, but just about every trip is an adventure. We’ve gone on trips where we killed gators over twelve feet long and we’ve gone on trips where we didn’t see one over eight or nine feet. The good news if you’re new to the game is that it’s pretty hard to go and not see an alligator. We have an abundance of them. Even on the worst nights we’ve never had a night where we didn’t hook up to a couple of gators.  

If you’re a first timer this year, I do have some safety tips you might want to be aware of. The first thing you’ll need to know is that MDWFP officers multiply like Gremlins during the ten day season. They are everywhere so you’d better know all of the rules and regulations ahead of time. Number two, if you’re planning to hunt anywhere remotely close to the Mississippi River, it might not be a bad idea to wear a football helmet. Asian carp are horrible and these kamikaze fish will try to kill you as you idle through the water. And last but not least, make dang sure you have plenty of gas in your boat. Actually, carry an extra can with you. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is run out of gas on the Mississippi River at 3:00 in the morning. Ask me how I know. 

For me, I’ll be counting down the days until August 28th. I get more enjoyment out of that ten day season than an entire summer of fishing. It even rivals deer season. Even if you didn’t get drawn, find someone that did and tag along for a night. You won’t regret it.