Cajun Fun in Gator Country! Avery Island, Louisiana

Hey friends, PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! I love to see what you guys think. Thanks!

What started off as a crabbing trip to Avery Island (where Tabasco sauce is made) one Friday evening turned into a "gatoring" trip instead. Really two, because we went back Saturday evening. We go there often. It's only about 15 minutes from home. We weren't catching many crabs, but the people next to us on the pier were catching them like crazy. We were even using the same kind of bait, raw chicken and raw turkey necks. Go figure. Anyway, there were lots of small to medium size alligators around, anywhere from four to about six feet long. The real BIG ones usually stay in very remote areas of the swamps and marshes, away from people and are rarely seen in broad daylight. We had a radio / CD player, and a CD with various alligator sounds, both babies squawking, and big bulls with their threatening / mating growls. Before we started playing these, we saw the usual one or two gators in the area. Sometimes there's more, but usually just a couple visible at any time. We started the CD, and within about two minutes, they were coming in from EVERYWHERE! Even way down the bayou, we'd see their heads coming our way with the s-shaped wake behind them. Apparently they have an excellent sense of hearing. So we had fun letting them pull at our bait lines. Of course we weren't really "catching" them, because there's no hooks involved. But we had a blast. Everyone, even the couple that were catching lots of crabs, joined us. The second day, pretty much the same thing. This time there were tourists there who'd never really seen alligators before in the wild. That was a treat to see them enjoy the spectacle and join in. They were big "Swamp People" fans, and I believe we all were out there. We just had to yell "CHOOT 'EM! CHOOT 'EM!"

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• South Louisiana
• Cajuns
• Acadiana
• Coastal Wetlands
• Wildlife
• Crabs
• Fishing
• Outdoors
• Southern
• Animals
• Reptiles
• Hunting
• Spice
• Spicy
• Cajun Cooking
• Tourism
• Louisiana Tourism
• ReelLouisiana
• nature food outdoors
• Swamp Tours
• Swamp Tourism
• Southern Cooking
• Southern Outdoors

[Stingray8854]

@Fishingallday31 Hey, just to be clear and not to create the wrong impression, we were NOT feeding them. They were just trying to steal the bait we were using for crabs. I'm sure some people probably do feed them there, likely tourists visiting the Tabasco factory and the Jungle Gardens on the Island, but so far I've never seen anyone feeding them. Most of us locals know not to do that. Anyhoo... just wanted to point that out. Later bud! And a big high five at you from Cajun country!

[Stingray8854]

@Fishingallday31 Thanks! It was fun. It's absolutely FULL of small alligators. There's MUCH bigger ones, they're just not as "social" as the young ones. Check out my "Later Gator" video too. Same place. Hey, if you look up Avery Island, La on Google Earth or Google maps, you can zoom in close enough on the sattelite map to see the same pier. It's on the east side of the bridge leading on to the Island, across the road from the boat launch. We were at the end. Kinda cool to see it like that.

[Stingray8854]

@Inquisitor53 Something else the anti-hunting libs wouldn't understand, I've seen those gators so often this summer that I named a few. I named one "Dental Floss" because he always had a piece of string coming from his mouth, and another one "Greenie" because he always had algae on his back. But as much as I've come to know and like watching them, I know they're NOT my friends. Grown up, they'll be hard core killers. Many will end up stacked in a boat, tag through the tail, and I'm all for it.

[Stingray8854]

@Inquisitor53 Thanks! Glad you liked it. Just to clarify, this wasn't work or a job. We were recreational crabbing. In Louisiana, you don't even need a license for that, just lines, bait (chicken, turkey necks something cheap), a net to scoop them, and a cooler. Nah, this was just for fun. However, I get what you're saying. That's why alligator hunters get fired up when they've got a "tree shaker" on the line. There's MUCH bigger ones out there, they're just out away from the pier.

[Stingray8854]

@Gibson804 I do hunt and fish, but I'm not a gator hunter. Someone does hunt gators there, on the opposite side of the bayou on the Avery Island side. It's likely the McIlhenny family (Tabasco founder's descendents), because I think they own all or most of the Island. With all those alligators, it must be an excellent place to fill some tags. Troy's area in the Atchafalaya swamp is about 30 miles or so to the east. And yes, it was fun. I go there often. It's only about 15 minutes from my house.

[Stingray8854]

@vinseeuri Thank you! Yeah, we're certainly big fans of Swamp People here. You should check out my "Later Gator" video. Same place. I found out that someone actually hunts alligators there during the season that same spot. Most of them are small in that particular area, but there's so many that it seems like an excellent place to fill some tags at the end of the hunting season. Anyway, be sure to check out my other video. Leave a comment. Thanks again. Later Gator!

[Fishingallday31]

Awesome video, great southern fun

[Inquisitor53]

Great video! I was liking it within the first minute, Zydico backgroun' go good wid' it! Now this is a vid show good down to earth people having fun with a job that needs to be done. As I always say, if your job ain't fun you're doing the worng thing in live. Like you, I don't hunt gators but gator hunters & trappers have a right as much as anybody else to enjoy their work, and when you enjoy your work it ain't working at all, just getting some exersize. Something no lib could ever understand.

[Gibson804]

Haha I love the reference to Troy from Swamp People. This looks like so much fun. Do you hunt and tag any gators during gator season yourself?

[vinseeuri]

wow! what an experience...I love watching the series and really get thrilled all the time. i even had dreams of catching alligators with the swamp people in my sleeps...hahahahha...i like to try eating the meat...i've seen how the swamp people stars eating it like fried chicken...(mouth watering now)...nice vid...