ANGELINA COUNTY — Here in Texas, between dove and deer season falls an exclusive hunting season for gators. We spoke with the Game Warden in Angelina County to find out who is allowed to set up their gator bait during September.

Gator hunting is growing in popularity across Southern states in the US. The end of Summer is highly anticipated by hunters in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, but for Texans, gator season comes twice a year.

Game Warden, Sean Phillips told KETK, "It's called the core counties and basically Angelina, Trinity, and those core counties South of there toward Beaumont, that was the original core area or habitat for the alligator and so that September 10th-30th season is for those core counties." These counties are the only ones permitted to gator hunt during the September season.

Phillips said, "Everything else outside of that is non-core counties, and that's a different season in the Spring time."

Landowners who are near water or have a habitat for alligators on their property must get approved before hunting. Phillips said, "They have to have a CITIES tag issued by our department and wildlife biologists and they do like a cite inspection."

If you are interested in gator hunting, the public season opens on April first and you need is a general Texas hunting license and resource documents for tagging.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's website lists the rules and regulations for Spring gator hunting for non-core counties in Texas. The rules list the allowed times for gator hunting, the proper method, the quantity, and much more.

Photos courtesy: Jonathan Harris and Jake Gates