fgazette.com Community news site for Union Parish Louisiana
Alligator season is on in Louisiana and if you have tags, you can catch them. Such was the case this past weekend for five youngsters and a handful of adults as the gators put on a show for these kids who likely had never had the thrill of catching, dispatching, skinning and fleshing out seven alligators.
The event took place in northeast Louisiana on property owned by Wesley McConnell who was joined on the outing by adults, Mark Johnson, Milt May and George Seacrist. The gathering was arranged as a special weekend by an organization, Cross Trail Outfitters, (CTO)a national group with the stated purpose “Guiding the Next Generation to Christ through the Outdoors.”
The state’s first and only chapter of CTO is headquartered in Lincoln Parish with Mark Johnson, owner of Mark Johnson and Sons Plumbing, as the Director and Facilitator for the organization’s fledgling work in Louisiana.
“It’s really a blessing for me to be part of this,” said Johnson. “When we get boys into the outdoors, we get their attention, and having fun leads to discussions about Christianity.” Of the seven youngsters who participated in this weekend’s event, two made professions of faith in Christ while there.
Visiting with George Seacrist earlier this week, he shared details of how the weekend came together.
“There are four of us, Mark, Milt and Wesley and I who are the leaders of the group who put the event together. The Director of a CTO group in North Carolina, came and brought four youngsters with him. Mark contacted the principal at Choudrant and he suggested three boys he felt would benefit.
“Milt has a hunting lodge near Waverly which was our headquarters and Wesley owns the property where we hunted gators. He had received 20 tags for trapping alligators and we thought that the boys would really enjoy what it’s like to trap for gators since likely none of them had trapped alligators before,” Seacrist explained.
To ensnare alligators, a heavy line is attached to a stout tree branch and the line includes a big hook to which a chicken quarter is impaled. The enticing bait hangs several inches to a foot or more above the water and alligators show no hesitation at leaping from the water to snare the tasty morsel. Too late, the hook is also swallowed and next morning, the gator has no choice but to wait until hunters arrive.
“We ended up catching seven alligators with the longest being about eight feet in length. The boys got to finish the task by dispatching caught gators with a single round from a .22 rifle, the gator are then hoisted to the bank where the tag is attached and then the fun begins,” Seacrist said.
The gators are skinned and fleshed out with the boys having trophies to take home along with packages of gator meat.
Thinking back to the stated purpose of Cross Trails Outfitters, during the fun weekend, devotionals around the campfire are shared with the kids with an opportunity to accept Christ.
“We have another outing slated for January when we’ll host a duck hunt for the boys,” Johnson said. “We hope to be able to offer a number of fun events down the road for them.”
To learn more and get your son involved for future events, contact any of the four local leaders or go to www.TeamCto.org for more information.
