Gator Hunting at Night: Are You Man Enough?

Craig Boddington and I traveled to Central Florida to tape an episode of PHTV on gator and hog hunting with Osceola Outfitters at the end of April. It was a perfect hunt with all the pieces: plenty of animals, great food, relaxed pace and funny, personable people. Bossman Hoppy Kempfer will surely make my next list of "Best TV Guides in the World".

We hunted the alligators deep in the swamp using buoys baited with hog lungs, then we switched to spot and stalk.  At the end of day two Craig took a "whopper" from a lake on skiff using a baited buoy under perfect, golden evening light.

After using a variety of strategies for the show, Hoppy wanted to demonstrate hunting them from a skiff at night. Being a team player, I grabbed the Wicked Ridge crossbow and hopped on the bow to do my part. Here's my handiwork with a string gun combined with Craig's artistry with a camera. I hope you enjoy it.