CATAHOULA — The Atchafalaya Basin took center stage Sept. 5-8 when people from near and far descended on Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s camp between Catahoula and Coteau Holmes near the West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee.

The nation’s last great overflow swamp gave up its alligators and a good time for the eighth straight year, pleasing the host who grew up in the area.

It has become more than an alligator hunt. The event, which coincides with the opening of the alligator season in the Sportsman’s Paradise, has become a happening.

There was live music played by well-known local artists Wayne Toups and Jamie Bergeron. There was great food, including pork and sausage jambalaya, babyback barbecued ribs and goat, both cooked to perfection, by brothers Stevie Stein and James Stein, both of New Iberia.

The Steins have been cooking for the event, pleasing palates for several years, which is why the parking area at the camp, which can be reached only by boat, has been dubbed “Stein’s Landing,” Landry said with a chuckle.

The recent event raised more than $400,000, he said. Eighty alligators were harvested. Hundreds of people visited.

“Oh my God. We probably had 600 people come in and out of the place in the four-day period,” Landry said, still somewhat incredulous, and proud.

“It’s a great event,” he said.

The alligator hunt also raises awareness for the state’s unique environment, such as the nation’s last great overflow swamp, and the coast, he said. When people in high places return to Washington, they can relate to some of the issues facing those areas, he said.

The 47-year-old Landry — who played wideout and defensive back on the powerhouse St. Martinville High School football team that lost to John Ehret’s Patriots in the 1988 state championship game in the Louisiana Superdome — bought the camp, which was built around 1968, from Charlie Latiolais. Landry was a teammate of Latiolais’ son, Clayton, on that team coached by Carroll Delahoussaye, who retired from coaching but remains athletic director at SMHS.

The AG welcomed a crowd of area residents, local supporters, and out-of-town dignitaries.

Donald Trump Jr., 40, of New York, the son of President Donald Trump, was among the honored guests. He arrived with his sweetheart, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, known best for her prime time show, “The Five.”

Another honored guest was House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, the Republican who represents Louisiana’s First Congressional District, the man who was around second base in mid-June 2017 practicing for a Congressional Baseball Game for Charity when he was shot in the left hip  by a rifle-wielding gunman who also wounded three other people at the field in the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia.

Scalise nearly died from his wound. Surgeons saved his life. He has recovered enough to make trips like the alligator hunt.

He thoroughly enjoyed his visit for the umpteenth time, he said.

“Jeff’s Alligator Hunt has become one of my favorite annual events, and a must-do event for many of my colleagues in Washington,” Scalise wrote in an email for this story. “Where else can you go hunt alligators, eat some of the best food in the world and spend time with so many friends from all around the country who come here to celebrate the unique culture of Louisiana? And on top of that, it is also a great way to help support Jeff. Just talking about it makes me even more excited for next year’s hunt!”

Trump’s thoughts on the event?

“I was thrilled to be able to join my friend Jeff Landry in Louisiana. I have a huge appreciation for the outdoors, and at least the swamp in Louisiana isn’t trying to destroy America like the swamp in D.C.,” Trump wrote in a text for this story.

Also on hand were U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas; U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Georgia; U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Attorney Generals Sean D. Reyes of Utah, Doug Peterson of Nebraska, Pam Bondi of Florida and Ken Paxton of Texas, among others.

What they saw when 

Trump’s thoughts on the event?

“I was thrilled to be able to join my friend Jeff Landry in Louisiana. I have a huge appreciation for the outdoors, and at least the swamp in Louisiana isn’t trying to destroy America like the swamp in D.C.,” Trump wrote in Trump’s thoughts on the event?

“I was thrilled to be able to join my friend Jeff Landry in Louisiana. I have a huge appreciation for the outdoors, and at least the swamp in Louisiana isn’t trying to destroy America like the swamp in D.C.,” Trump wrote in a text for this story.

Also on hand were U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas; U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Georgia; U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Attorney Generals Sean D. Reyes of Utah, Doug Peterson of Nebraska, Pam Bondi of Florida and Ken Paxton of Texas, among others.

What they saw when they went alligator hunting, Landry has seen all of his life. The St. Martinville native hunted and fished the area from the time he was old enough to walk.

Moss hanging from the trees sways gently in the summer breeze or drips during the almost daily thunderstorm. Duckweed covers the water in many bayous and canals where alligator snouts and raised eyes on the forehead dot the scene.

Midterm elections, Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, Hurricane Florence coverage, Affordable Care Act and pre-existing conditions, all issues hogging headlines and inflaming political passions outside this scenic swamp, take a back seat on the water while hunting for alligators, fishing or any of the other popular past times in the Atchafalaya Basin. Hordes of mosquitoes don’t see red or blue and the prolific alligators, well, they’re looking for their next meal and that chunky chicken hanging tantalizing above the water’s surface fits the menu.

Landry said he starts collecting alligator tags from various landowners early in the year. The Louisiana Attorney General even got some alligator tags from New Iberia businessman Chris Jordan, he said.

“A dozen or so” of Landry’s friends over the years bring their boats and volunteer as guides or otherwise assist in the alligator hunt, he said.

The large hooks dangled from tree limbs are baited with chicken, Landry said.

Landry’s son, J.T., got the biggest-ever alligator in the eight-year history of the alligator hunt, a 12-foot, 4-inch reptilian beast. Liz Murrill, who he appointed the first Solicitor General For Louisiana in 2016, harvested a 12-footer one year.

They hunted recently in and around Catahoula Lake west of the Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee and east of the levee from Little Bayou Benoit to Butte La Rose, Landry said. 

The alligator hunt fundraiser has mushroomed since the inaugural event in 2000. Eight years later, it has reached near-festival proportions.

“It has grown over the years. It has become a huge event,” Pat Norris of New Iberia said last week, noting the first event he attended with 30-40 people, max.

During a two-day stretch this first week of September, Norris believes 300-400 people visited the camp.

Starting with the second event, he has attended five of the fundraisers, including the most recent one.

“It was a good event. There’s plenty of food and music. It’s very well organized,” Norris said.

“It just goes to show you … Jeff does an outstanding job. Jeff believes in Louisiana. He stands up for Louisiana and hasn’t forgotten where he comes from,” he said.

“It’s a good Southern event that shows off our culture and showcases southern Louisiana, St. Martin and Iberia parishes, to people outside the state.”

Norris, who’s in his early 60s and has owned Norris International, a manufacturing facility at the old airbase, said he mostly enjoys fishing for speckled trout and redfish out of Cypremort Point but has hunted deer and ducks. He added another alligator, an 8-footer, to his hunting career during the recent event.

“I made a hunt myself. I did a round with Jeff and James Stein,” he said.

Trump and Guilfoyle impressed him, he said.

“They just expressed how grateful they were to people in this area for accepting them so much. They’re very easy to speak to, down-to-earth,” Norris said.

Landry said about Scalise and Trump, “They absolutely enjoyed themselves. Both of them enjoyed the food, the company and the people.”

About Trump, he said, “He’s unbelievable and an avid outdoorsman. He really enjoyed himself.”

The president’s son jumped into the water on a bet while he was here. Photos show him doing a backstroke in a thick carpet of duckweed.

“This is what happens when someone bets me a good sum there’s no way that the guy from New York City would swim in a gator-infested swamp/bayou down in Louisiana. Easy money!!!” Trump said in an Instagram post Sept. 9.

The Steins ensured that all ate well at the camp. Their cuisine for a past event was featured with a story and photos a few years ago in The Daily Iberian.

“My brother is the real cook,” James, 56, said about Stevie, 61. “What he did this year is cook jambalaya and babyback ribs and he cooked goat. Those guys all look forward to that goat and babyback ribs.”

Landry buys the goat at a 4-H event each year, said Stein, who owns Iberia Aggregates, which does site work for major projects across Acadiana.

“He tries to get the grand champion,” he said.

“We (Landry and Stein) go back a long time ago. He has never changed his cell phone,” Stein said.