[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Swamp People Season 17.]
It’s the dawn of another gator hunting season with the Season 17Swamp Peoplepremiere. The long-running History Channel series returned January 7. Troy Landry made no bones about the challenges him and his team will face during a crew meeting before sunrise. They were gearing up for their first day in the Southern Louisiana waters when Troy told them to be ready for “30 days of living hell.” The water levels fluctuating meant they’d have to readjust bait all year. The “King of the Swamp” set out with his trusty deckhand Cheyenne “Pickle” Wheat and already noticed a dramatic change from the night before.
The pressure was on with 900 tags with their worst fears coming true as the water dropped under two feet. Troy rehanged 90 lines, costing valuable hours on the first day. Pickle suggested the way to turn things around for them would be to use the treble hook method. Troy wasn’t a fan of the method, feeling it was a slow process. He preferred numbers over just cherry-picking. Pickle’s case wasn’t helped after one slipped away. However, she managed to redeem herself with an 11-footer. They stacked double digits. Troy went as far to say Pickle saved the day.
“Little Willie” Edwards and Jacob Landry (History Channel)
We took a trip from Pierre Part to Bayou Sorrel, where we caught up with Tory’s son Jacob and “Little” Willie Edwards. They were also off to a disastrous start out of the gate with bait hanging three feet above the water. Willie found out two weeks prior his grandfather Junior, a former staple of the show, died. Junior had Stage 4 colon cancer. Willie dedicated the season to hisPop Paw. He followed in the same treble hook approach as it was a family tradition. It looked like Junior was looking over him given the success he had. They finished with a dozen. Willie felt the treble hook master would be happy.
Bruce Mitchell went out with Anna Ribbeck during their second season together with a little more than 200-tag goal. Their strategy was to fish in remote areas less affected by the rollercoaster water levels. The two were on a roll and almost became too much of a good thing. That’s why the gators were weighing down their boat. The had the challenge of the time crunch, but they worried about being stuck and unable to make it back to the main waterway. After reaching max capacity, Bruce had the idea to use tubes leftover from the grandkids. He used an old car battery to power the motor to blow up the tubes. Anna took one for the team and rides with the gators on the tube. They traversed 50 yards across the shallow area and made it through.
Elsewhere, Bell River Captain LeRon Jones and Anthony “Porkchop” Williams had 175 tags to fill this season. The duo got off to bad kickoff, but LeRon was confident in his strategy to have lines go high and low. The high lines didn’t pay off, but their fortunes changed with catches including an 11-footer to finish the day.
At Pierre Part, second year Captain Don Brewer and Troy’s nephew Calum found their spot was too shallow and unable to move the boat. They had to take their hunt to land, which brought its own hurdles and dangerous elements. The two also had to carry their catches to the boat. They cleared their lines with Don happy to finish the day and his time on land. He thought the “Misfit Crew” made the most of the situation.
Commented