Congrats! I've been fortunate enough to have done several of these hunts on the state lands but not the one at LANWR. It's not actually very difficult but hopefully you have someone to physically help you.
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It's the perfect size hook and line that you will need. To this line, tie about 25' of rope. You will need a fairly large, stout bamboo pole. It doesn't need to be flexible. You will also need a piece of rebar about 3' to 4' long. This will be an anchor that you will drive into the mud to tie the rope onto. You can bend the top of the rebar or weld a T section on top so the rope doesn't slip off.
When you get to the area you are hunting, look for gators peeking up at you, or slides on the bank with bigger tracks. That is where you will set your bait.
Drive your anchor into the mud on the bank. Drive the butt of the bamboo pole into the mud on the bank with the pole hanging over the water as far as you can. Tie the end of the rope to the rebar anchor. Bait the hook with a large chicken quarter that has been left out of the refrigerator a day or so. You want the chicken ripe smelling, but if it's rotten, it will be too soft and won't stay on the hook well.
Using a rubber band and the clothes pin, hang the baited line about 2' off the water. You want the line to come easily off the pole.
For bigger gators, you can set the bait higher, but you will decrease your chances that you will get a gator at all. Your call.
If you set your bait early in the day, be very stealthy going to check it so you don't spook the bigger gators. If you leave it overnight, try to check your bait as soon as you can in the morning.
If you have a gator on, have someone pull him in up to the boat or on the bank. If you are by yourself, you will need to pull the gator in close and have a place to tie off the rope. I've found a single shot .410 or 20 gauge shotgun with low brass birdshot works really well to dispatch the gator. You are going to be shooting him from just a few inches so it's more than adequate. Get close and shoot him right behind the skull through the base of the spinal cord if you want to keep the skull.
Good luck, have fun, and keep us posted on how it goes!
