COLUMBIA, S.C. — Saturday was the first day of the 2023 South Carolina alligator hunting season, which means those lucky hunters who won the permit lottery were able to get their catch.
Call it a love for the sport or just a fascination with the animal, but for Cole Poplin, gator hunting season is one of his favorite parts of the year. He's a guide at Renegade Bowfishing, LLC, and runs alligator hunting expeditions throughout the state. On Saturday, he took a group out and capitalized on the open season.
"We start out in the daylight, try to catch some big ones cruising. Get out there and try to catch one with a rod and reel; see if you can catch one out there slipping," he said. "If that doesn't work out, when it gets dark, you go around and shine them with a light. It's pretty easy to spot them. You got a lot of gators to weed through, a bunch of small ones. You're really looking for a trophy; if someone pays for a guide, you want to make it count."
He was one of the dozens of hunters who dropped their alligators off at Cordray's Farm, an animal processing business. Throughout the morning and afternoon, truck after truck brought their catch in to be weighed and measured. The sizes ranged from six to over 10 feet in length.
Owner Kenneth Cordray said this is normally one of the busiest weekends of the year, rivaled only by the start of deer season.
"Usually, the weather is still warm, and the weather is just right for alligator hunting, so everybody's out," Cordray said.
"We do all types of smoked products. We do jerky, smoked sausage, we do a fresh linked sausage out of the alligator," he said. "We do full life-sized mounts, a rug mount, trophy mount, just the heads. Then we tan the hides in black, brown peanut brittle, konjac. You can have a belt, wallet, or boots made out of them."
In accordance with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources rule, hunters must enter a lottery system to receive a permit to hunt an alligator, and even with a permit, hunters can only kill one that entire season.
One of those lucky hunters was Ed Sutton. He and his friends were first-time alligator hunters this weekend and pulled in a gator over 10 feet in size.
"The first time he came up the boat, he just came out of the water; he was pretty mad at us. Then [he] took off running, swimming pretty far. Just had to stay up with him, wear him down, and everything. He was a beast, so it took a good bit of effort to get 'em in the boat." Sutton said.
Charlie Luther said it was a great experience with the guys, and he hopes to use the animal for food and decor.
"It's definitely up there; it's a one-of-a-kind thing, and especially the way it went down, as lucky as we got and the time that we got, it was pretty perfect," he said.
South Carolina's alligator season lasts from this weekend until Oct. 14.
