History Channel to Present SWAMPSGIVING, 11/17: "History Channel to Present SWAMPSGIVING, 11/17"
'via Blog this'
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Do you REALLY want to go Gator Hunting...?
If Alabama were home to a popular TV show like the History Channel’s “Swamp People,” Niki Staton of Jemison and her friends could be the stars of alligator tales from the Alabama “swamps.”
The four friends have 9 feet, 7 inches and 236 pounds of alligator flesh to prove it, too.
Staton joined friends Lucy Cingoranelli and Jim Cingoranelli of Alabaster and Jamie Smith of Homewood for Alabama’s sixth regulated alligator hunt Aug. 12-14 and Aug. 19-21 in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.
he three people I went with go every year,” Staton said. “This year, I just wanted to tag along.”
And “tag” she did. Staton entered her name into a lottery for an Alligator Possession Tag and was randomly selected by computer to receive one of only 125 tags issued for the Mobile-Tensaw Delta hunt area.
“It’s strictly by luck,” Cingoranelli said. “You can enter as many times as you want to, and it is $6 an entry. We entered 20 times each.”
Staton said her group almost caught a gator the first weekend of the hunt, but it broke free after about two hours of struggling against the pulls of the hooks in its back.
“We couldn’t get him close enough to the boat to harpoon him,” Staton said. “We lost him and never could find him again.”
Their luck changed the second weekend of the hunt, however.
At 9 p.m. on Aug. 19, the first night of the second hunt, Staton and her group knew exactly where they wanted to go.
After scoping out the waters for half an hour, the group spotted a male gator and stalked him but didn’t try to hook him immediately.
At about 1:30 a.m., they found the same gator again. This time, they were ready to secure the catch.
“We got our first hook in him right at 2:15 a.m.,” Staton said. “We got a second hook in him and felt a little bit better. We wore him down as best we could.”
The gator spent all his energy wrestling with the two hooks, two harpoons and two secure lines tethering him to his hunters.
Between 5 and 5:15 a.m., Staton said, the gator stopped struggling. The crew pulled him to the side of the boat and began lifting him up to the dock.
Normally, alligator hunters use a shotgun-like device called a “bang stick” to kill the gator by popping it on the soft spot behind its eyes, Cingoranelli said. Her husband, Jim, tried to kill their gator with a bang stick but was unsuccessful.
“When we got him to the dock, he still wasn’t dead,” Cingoranelli said. “His eyes were still open. We had to sever his spine.”
The group then took the gator to a weigh station for weighing and measuring, packed him in ice and hauled him to a taxidermist for a full body mount.
“Normally, alligator males are beat up, but he’s really pretty,” Staton said.
Staton’s daughter, Kirstin, “just thought he was the most awesome thing.”
“My family thought I was a little crazy, but thought it was great,” Staton said. “I definitely want to go back next year. It was a blast.”
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Troy & Jacob meet & greet this Saturday, Shreveport
Apparently you can never count the "Swamp People" as truly gone.
Troy and Jacob Landry, stars of the hit History Channel television show, visited the Shreveport-Bossier City area in July as the star attraction for the Shreveport Outdoor & Hunters' Expo.
Similar to the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, fans began lining up at noon for that 6 p.m. visit and thousands tried to secure a Troy autograph and a photo with the Cajun alligator hunter.
The show's promoters said more than 10,000 area folks attended, setting a record for their show, although many visitors didn't bother visiting the display booths after securing their treasured autograph.
They simply slipped out the door.
And since the building was at capacity by just after 6 p.m., many fans were unsuccessful in getting to meet the star, even though Landry stayed past the three-hour allotted time.
"We wanted a crowd for opening night. I guess be careful what you wish for," said Pam Nagle, owner of PK Exhibitions, LLC.
"We surpassed any number in previous years on the show's attendance, and we're really excited about that."
At one point Landry was chastised by his manager when he signed two autographs for one woman. Seems he was only supposed to give one per person.
If you missed out on the first visit, however, the "Swamp" boys will be at the Shreveport Convention Center on Saturday with the meet-and-greet session running from noon to 5 p.m., although the show will open at 11 a.m. and last until 7 p.m.
The event is being billed as a full-on Cajun Fest by the promoters. Among the offerings will be music, children's activities and Cajun food.
General admission is $10, but $5 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under 5. Tickets can be purchased in advance atwww.troyinshreveport.com.
When it comes to outdoor events, northwest Louisiana keeps setting attendance records about as often as we set heat records.
Written byWhile that's a good thing, it's a shame we can't do the same for other types of sporting events.
Jimmy Watson
jimwatson@shreveporttimes.com
Troy & Jacob meet and greet Oct. 2nd
Two of the personalities from the hit show Swamp People will be on hand for Mack’s Prairie Wings annual Fall Festival. Troy and Jacob Landry will be available for a meet and greet with fans from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2.
Ginger Holladay and Adam Fontenot, with Mack’s Prairie Wings, spoke to a sales representative that had been to an event that the Swamp People were at when the idea came to them.
“It sounded like a good fit for Mack's,” they explained. “We are very excited to host them and we hope that it will bring in current and new customers to see what we have to offer.”
Swamp People is a reality television series that debuted on the History channel on Aug. 22, 2010. The show follows the day-to-day activities for several Cajuns living in the Atchafalaya River Basin swamp in Louisiana, who hunt alligators for a living.
According to the History channel website, the show follows these swampers through a time of year that is crucial to their survival — the 30-day alligator hunting season.
At its core, this is a uniquely American story of a proud and skillful people fighting to maintain an ancient way of life in a rapidly modernizing world, despite the many perils and trials that stand in their way.
Although the show has several stars, both employees felt the father and son duo were the most popular with fans.
Although the show has several stars, both employees felt the father and son duo were the most popular with fans.
Autograph seekers are asked to bring at least one canned good item, which will be donated to Stuttgart’s ICCM Food Bank, Fontenot said.
“We are thrilled about our upcoming Fall Festival this year,” both Holladay and Fontenot said.
Along with the television personalities the fall festival will also include two four-day weekends. The first set for Thursday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 25 and again Thursday, Sept. 28 through Sunday, Oct. 2.
Also a new feature will be the Bargain Blind, which will be located on the north side of the store eliminating the need for a tent.
Also a new feature will be the Bargain Blind, which will be located on the north side of the store eliminating the need for a tent.
“The grand finale of the weekend is bringing in the celebrities, which has never been done before at Mack's Prairie Wings,” they said. “We will have specialty gear for the event.”
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Troy weighs in on Alabama Hunting
MONTGOMERY, Alabama – Jacob andTroy Landry, the Cajun' talkin', gator wrasslin' father son duo from the The History Channel's hit show Swamp People had a lot to say about this year's first alligator hunting season in central Alabama.
In fact, they say that the hunting in Alabama may be even better than what they see in Louisiana. We got the chance to pick their brains about the sport, the danger and what hunters can expect from Alabama alligatorswhile they were in town at the 2011 Buckmasters Expo in downtown Montgomery.
Their advice may be a good thing to take note of if you're out on the waters, as Alabama hunters havepulled in gators larger than 14 feet long since the inaugural south-central Alabama hunt in Dallas, Wilcox and part of Monroe counties kicked off last weekend.
Turns out, it isn't as easy as "Monkey see, monkey do" in the gator hunting world. Since the born-on-the-Bayou men's thick Cajun accents usually require subtitles in the show to understand, here's what they had to say during our weekend interview.
Christine Kneidinger: Gator hunting is just now getting established in the area, and people have pulled in some pretty massive gators. What do people need to know about hunting these animals, and how can they avoid getting hurt?
Jacob Landry: A lot of people wanna just go out there and hunt gators and they don't think that it's dangerous. Anyone can do it, but they need to be careful. Those things can take an arm off of even the pros real quick, so it's important to make sure you watch your step, not turn your back and be not be careless. When they go out, in Alabama or wherever, they need to make sure that they follow the rules with game laws.
CK: The biggest gator caught in Alabama this season was 14 feet long. You said earlier today that the biggest gator found in Louisiana was 18 feet. How do the opportunities in Alabama compare to those in Louisiana?
Troy Landry: If this is the first season they've ever had I think there are even bigger ones than that out there. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first gator season in Alabama. We've been fishing forever and it's hard for us to find a big one like that. That 18 foot gator was caught about 100 years ago, so there is no telling if there are bigger ones and where they are.
CK: On your show, you talk about the mythical "One Eye" monster gator. Tell me a little about this creature and if you think there are others of his kind lurking around Alabama waters.
TL: I've never really had an encounter with one eye, but my friends have. He's kind of like a Sasquach in the swamp. There may be some like that here, but it would be hard to live up to what ol' "One Eye" has got going for him.
CK: Many people are saying that the sport is catching on in Alabama because of your show, "Swamp People." People today stood in lines for over two hours to meet you. Did you ever expect the show to become such a phenomenon?
JL: We're excited that it's taking off in all these places. Its great that we can touch people and get people together as families to do this together. This is what we've been doing all our lives, so no, we didn't expect this to take off like it did.
CK: Bottom line, what do people need to know about hunting for gators?
JL: You gotta be careful, know where you're going and take your time. Some days you may not see anything at all, but others you may pull a few big ones in. Being patient is real important too.
There you have it. Advice from the pros. Alabama hunters in the southeast area around Lake Eufaula have until Aug. 28 to, as the Landry's say, "choot em!" an alligator this season. By
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Swamp People casting call
The History Channel is looking for the next "Swamp People" cast. The show's producers are looking for alligator hunters with at least 50 tags who are licensed to hunt in Louisiana. They're also casting true swampers, and are looking for any interesting people who live off the land or earn their living in the swamp - unique people that can only be found in the swamps of Louisiana.
LAFAYETTE, LA CASTING CALL DATE: Tuesday, August 2nd TIME: 9:00am - 5:00pm LOCATION: Prejean's Restaurant 3480 N.E. Evangeline Trwy. (I-49) Lafayette, LA 70507 www.prejeans.com HOUMA, LA CASTING CALL DATE: Friday, August 5th TIME: 9:00am - 5:00pm LOCATION: Big Al's 1377 West Tunnel Blvd Houma, LA 70360 www.bigalsseafood.net Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. Best, Scott Martin Casting Associate "Swamp People" C: 818.793.3162
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)