BROOKHAVEN — Hopefully by Wednesday afternoon you know if you were drawn for Mississippi’s 2023 Public Water Alligator Hunts or not, but what do hunters need to do next. Get your permit, take a training course, have the right equipment and plan your legal destination. 

The first step if you are drawn is to purchase your $200 permit within 48 hours of being drawn. 

If you do not complete your purchase or if you were not drawn a second drawing will be held on June 22. Winners are notified by email, and upon purchase, will receive their tags and permits in the mail in about two weeks. Temporary possession tags must be torn off of the permit, signed and placed on any harvested alligator as required. 

The next step is to get educated before hitting the water. MDWFP produced a series of 11 videos as an Alligator Hunting training course on the MDWFP Alligator Program page. Hunters in Mississippi may capture gators with snatch hooks on hand thrown or rod and reel, a harpoon with an attached line and/or buoy, a hand or pole type snare or bowfishing equipment with an attached line and/or buoy. Hunters may not use baited hooks like you might see on Swamp People in Louisiana. 

You will need a shotgun, shot size may be no larger than No.6,  or bangstick, must be chambered in .38 or larger, to dispatch any legal alligators. 

Hunters are only allowed to hunt public waterways as defined by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in the region they applied for.