FLORIDA HOG HUNT
- Thread starter Chancegriffis
- Start date
cspot
Member
Congratulations Joe!!!
Hope you get back to normal soon Chance and kudos for putting this together…
Hope you get back to normal soon Chance and kudos for putting this together…
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Hog hunting is good clean fun and best enjoyed with friends. Like turkey hunting. On Sunday John and I took off to burn up some boot leather scout hunting We probably did 10 miles that day. Ten miles in this country it's a hard slog. Sloughs, marshes, green seas of palmetto, pine stands with juniper underbrush. We kicked up one hog out of a wallow and a bunch of deer. Found a bunch of sign and some good trails. We usually set a meet up point out ahead and slow stalked through the woods anywhere from 100-300 yards apart. Like a pair of coyotes hunting hoping to run stuff out to the other one.
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Bob had to leave yesterday and john really had to start heading home this morning to try to beat the snow. With that in mind Jon and I decided to head out to different areas and sit until about 10. The evening before I hung a stand about 12 foot up just to get above the cover so I could shoot two trails.
As the sun came up I had a spike and a fork horn feed through in spear range. At this point I could have killed 4-5 deer in an area with more hogs than deer, so i knew it was just a numbers game.
About 8:30 I watched a nice flock of about 8 wood storks pitch out of their pine tree roost and go crashing to the slough. These. Birds have about a 5 foot wingspan so they're like a turkey in steroids crashing through the woods.
I was sitting there about 9 doing the math for my 6 hour drive and pulling the stand for the time I could be back at the house when I caught movement to the south in the brush.
A hog had slipped in and was closing pretty quick. I was shooting my 12ga with 00 buck and got a bead on him. He was going to pop out in a little clearing, but to be safe I followed him the brush with my bead in the event he got my wind. At about 15 yards he stopped in th he palmettos and still down wind. I could hear him start popping his teeth and knew that he knew something was up and he wasn't happy about it. I could just make him out in the brush and saw him turn. He didnt even get 1/4 of the way around and I let him have it, and then another one for good measure before the smoke even cleared my field of vision. I don't know what the split time was but it was under a second. As the smoke cleared he was laying there graveyard dead.
As the sun came up I had a spike and a fork horn feed through in spear range. At this point I could have killed 4-5 deer in an area with more hogs than deer, so i knew it was just a numbers game.
About 8:30 I watched a nice flock of about 8 wood storks pitch out of their pine tree roost and go crashing to the slough. These. Birds have about a 5 foot wingspan so they're like a turkey in steroids crashing through the woods.
I was sitting there about 9 doing the math for my 6 hour drive and pulling the stand for the time I could be back at the house when I caught movement to the south in the brush.
A hog had slipped in and was closing pretty quick. I was shooting my 12ga with 00 buck and got a bead on him. He was going to pop out in a little clearing, but to be safe I followed him the brush with my bead in the event he got my wind. At about 15 yards he stopped in th he palmettos and still down wind. I could hear him start popping his teeth and knew that he knew something was up and he wasn't happy about it. I could just make him out in the brush and saw him turn. He didnt even get 1/4 of the way around and I let him have it, and then another one for good measure before the smoke even cleared my field of vision. I don't know what the split time was but it was under a second. As the smoke cleared he was laying there graveyard dead.
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Huge thanks to Chance for inviting us down and I feel bad he couldn't make it. It was great hunting with Bob and John and the food and beers were well earned. We shortened the learning curve found some good spots.
Just keep an eye out for the skunk ape when you're in those sloughs. By WMA regulation you can't shoot him if you do see him. I'd take him over the Rougarou any day though.
www.fws.gov
Just keep an eye out for the skunk ape when you're in those sloughs. By WMA regulation you can't shoot him if you do see him. I'd take him over the Rougarou any day though.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
United States federal agency that manages national wildlife refuges, protects endangered species, manages migratory birds, restores nationally significant fisheries, and enforces federal wildlife laws.
We will be making another trip down this year hopefully with more guys. One hog is not good enough by my standards but I am so happy someone connected while down there! Great jobs guys. #FLORIDAMANAPPROVAL
Great write up Joe, that's a cherry on top bringing home some bacon!
What was the weather like? How were the bugs, snakes, crocs, etc. Everything in those pictures gives me the willies!
What was the weather like? How were the bugs, snakes, crocs, etc. Everything in those pictures gives me the willies!
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Big_Holla
Senior Member
Way to go and get it done Joe and the rest of the guys!! This was the maiden voyage and perhaps will start a TOO winter campout of sorts down in Florida.
Stressless
Active Member
Great write up(s) Joe!
Here's what I saw/learned:
The bike helped me scout about 11 miles of trails in one Fri afternoon, I had marked two locations that had the best sign. Jon and I went to the better of them Sat AM and decided to Spot and Stalk I posted that pic of hearing some but not seeing them as they crossed a "Finger" of passable/woods that juts out into the sawgrass marsh. Because the wooded finger stays 'wet/moist' the sign is pervasive but somewhat hard to read what's fresh - but you can get to areas that show excellent trails.
I'm liking Joe's Stand set-up- I saw some great places to put a stand to wait out the mid-day when some of the locals (including Chance) say they run the edges of the fingers and out in the sawgrass - the key I saw was to get up 15"-20" at a pinchpoint of finger -water slough with good fresh sign. I 'think' the bike would be a boon to drag a hog out on the 'lanes' behind the closed gates - didn't get a chance to try that out.
Unless you know the area I wouldn't advise draggin a stand with you while scouting, Sunday Joe and I were going to push around a sawgrass area towards Jon and got in the, Joe's term
, " Shitty-Shit" slough area that was way over the 18" rubber boots. you can't tell if woods is passable from the overheads. I'll double up on the "numbers game" - time in the woods hunting will get you results, I'm undecided if Standing or Still hunting both seem to be productive. A number of folks we chatted with that have hunted it for decades do both. 'If" you stand, being 15"-20" up in the right area will pay off for the effort to get that weight back into the woods.
Example of "fingers" of woods along the sawgrass saltmarsh.
Also for those that like seafood - the place is excellent with many wholesalers that'll sell directly to you, I'm sure you can buy off the oyster boat / clam diggers direct but that takes a time / knowledge - I went to Triple Threat Seafood - they are a wholesaler but sell at their site. http://www.triplethreatseafood.com/ I got a 100 Select Oysters for $45 and they thru in a 1/2 gallon of clams with it. Their place is right off of 347 - on the way to and from the LSRNWR.
Another POI is the local Ice Man "Stan's Land" spot, out in the middle of the woods across from the LSWNWR off 347 is the quaint lil' stop that works like a champ! Locked can nailed to a pole for the $ ... $2 a bucket of ice.
Bugs: Swamp gnats are the worst thing about hunting the area 60ish temps and above. Same thing we have over here in the Panhandle but much thicker in those swamps. I only got one red bug bite which is remarkable and prolly due the cold weekend. Thermacell is the only thing I now that 'kinda' keeps the swamp gnats at bay but it leaves HUGE scent bloom - with pigs noses I wouldn't recommend. Keep as much skin covered as possible and just suck it up, they don't eat much.
One thing that both Jon and I saw was a "Bunch" of otters - the place is lousey with them - very cool critter to watch doing it's thing.
Here's what I saw/learned:
The bike helped me scout about 11 miles of trails in one Fri afternoon, I had marked two locations that had the best sign. Jon and I went to the better of them Sat AM and decided to Spot and Stalk I posted that pic of hearing some but not seeing them as they crossed a "Finger" of passable/woods that juts out into the sawgrass marsh. Because the wooded finger stays 'wet/moist' the sign is pervasive but somewhat hard to read what's fresh - but you can get to areas that show excellent trails.
I'm liking Joe's Stand set-up- I saw some great places to put a stand to wait out the mid-day when some of the locals (including Chance) say they run the edges of the fingers and out in the sawgrass - the key I saw was to get up 15"-20" at a pinchpoint of finger -water slough with good fresh sign. I 'think' the bike would be a boon to drag a hog out on the 'lanes' behind the closed gates - didn't get a chance to try that out.
Unless you know the area I wouldn't advise draggin a stand with you while scouting, Sunday Joe and I were going to push around a sawgrass area towards Jon and got in the, Joe's term
, " Shitty-Shit" slough area that was way over the 18" rubber boots. you can't tell if woods is passable from the overheads. I'll double up on the "numbers game" - time in the woods hunting will get you results, I'm undecided if Standing or Still hunting both seem to be productive. A number of folks we chatted with that have hunted it for decades do both. 'If" you stand, being 15"-20" up in the right area will pay off for the effort to get that weight back into the woods.Example of "fingers" of woods along the sawgrass saltmarsh.
Also for those that like seafood - the place is excellent with many wholesalers that'll sell directly to you, I'm sure you can buy off the oyster boat / clam diggers direct but that takes a time / knowledge - I went to Triple Threat Seafood - they are a wholesaler but sell at their site. http://www.triplethreatseafood.com/ I got a 100 Select Oysters for $45 and they thru in a 1/2 gallon of clams with it. Their place is right off of 347 - on the way to and from the LSRNWR.
Another POI is the local Ice Man "Stan's Land" spot, out in the middle of the woods across from the LSWNWR off 347 is the quaint lil' stop that works like a champ! Locked can nailed to a pole for the $ ... $2 a bucket of ice.
Bugs: Swamp gnats are the worst thing about hunting the area 60ish temps and above. Same thing we have over here in the Panhandle but much thicker in those swamps. I only got one red bug bite which is remarkable and prolly due the cold weekend. Thermacell is the only thing I now that 'kinda' keeps the swamp gnats at bay but it leaves HUGE scent bloom - with pigs noses I wouldn't recommend. Keep as much skin covered as possible and just suck it up, they don't eat much.
One thing that both Jon and I saw was a "Bunch" of otters - the place is lousey with them - very cool critter to watch doing it's thing.
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Again, I think you hit the nail on the head. You guys did awesome for your first time down there! Can’t wait for the next trip!!Great write up(s) Joe!
Here's what I saw/learned:
The bike helped me scout about 11 miles of trails in one Fri afternoon, I had marked two locations that had the best sign. Jon and I went to the better of them Sat AM and decided to Spot and Stalk I posted that pic of hearing some but not seeing them as they crossed a "Finger" of passable/woods that juts out into the sawgrass marsh. Because the wooded finger stays 'wet/moist' the sign is pervasive but somewhat hard to read what's fresh - but you can get to areas that show excellent trails.
View attachment 145133
View attachment 145134
I'm liking Joe's Stand set-up- I saw some great places to put a stand to wait out the mid-day when some of the locals (including Chance) say they run the edges of the fingers and out in the sawgrass - the key I saw was to get up 15"-20" at a pinchpoint of finger -water slough with good fresh sign. I 'think' the bike would be a boon to drag a hog out on the 'lanes' behind the closed gates - didn't get a chance to try that out.
View attachment 145136
Unless you know the area I wouldn't advise draggin a stand with you while scouting, Sunday Joe and I were going to push around a sawgrass area towards Jon and got in the, Joe's term
Example of "fingers" of woods along the sawgrass saltmarsh.
View attachment 145137
Also for those that like seafood - the place is excellent with many wholesalers that'll sell directly to you, I'm sure you can buy off the oyster boat / clam diggers direct but that takes a time / knowledge - I went to Triple Threat Seafood - they are a wholesaler but sell at their site. http://www.triplethreatseafood.com/ I got a 100 Select Oysters for $45 and they thru in a 1/2 gallon of clams with it. Their place is right off of 347 - on the way to and from the LSRNWR.
View attachment 145141
Another POI is the local Ice Man "Stan's Land" spot, out in the middle of the woods across from the LSWNWR off 347 is the quaint lil' stop that works like a champ! Locked can nailed to a pole for the $ ... $2 a bucket of ice.
View attachment 145140
Bugs: Swamp gnats are the worst thing about hunting the area 60ish temps and above. Same thing we have over here in the Panhandle but much thicker in those swamps. I only got one red bug bite which is remarkable and prolly due the cold weekend. Thermacell is the only thing I now that 'kinda' keeps the swamp gnats at bay but it leaves HUGE scent bloom - with pigs noses I wouldn't recommend. Keep as much skin covered as possible and just suck it up, they don't eat much.
One thing that both Jon and I saw was a "Bunch" of otters - the place is lousey with them - very cool critter to watch doing it's thing.
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I'll add on to what Bob said. The first few days where temps were in the 50s during the day and around freezing at night you couldn't buy a bug. The biggest two things here are mosquitos and salt gnats. The latter being the worst. Sunday even and Monday the temps got up in the 60s and they came out with a vengeance. If you keep moving they aren't bad as they can't fly very fast. If you stop you're going to get swarmed. Bug spray, forget it, deepwoods off only works while its wet. Skin so soft and a spray that Victoria's secret makes called Amber Romance works very well against them. However you will smell like a French whore house of vanilla which isn't the best for pigs as their noses are better than a deers. Just wear long sleeves, gloves that cover your wrist, and a thin neck gator.
I didn't see a single snake, but it was cold. After not seeing any snakes or lizards I was more apt to break the golden rule of never walk anywhere that you can't see your feet. In warmer months I am sure the place is loaded with moccasins and rattlers. For proof of that you need not look no further than the local gas station. It's not that he's buying them, but how cheap per foot it is to know they must be super common.
As the temps warmed up and the bugs came out I saw a couple lizards sunning themselves on the top of the palmetto fronds. Time to stay out of those.
Gators aren't much of a concern this time of year. They don't eat unless they can have consistent temps above 70 to digest their food, and they become dormant below 55. They actually go into a catatonic state and unless you jump right on one they're not going to be active. Just stay away from deeper black water and the tall marsh grass.
All in all just cover up and wear snake boots or thick rubber boots and watch where you walk. There were only about 6 people that we saw out there hunting. The biggest reason is you're gonna earn it. As bob mentioned, I joked that there are three kinds of habitat. "Easy shit" "shitty shit" and "fucking shitty shit".. Guess where the pigs are.
So were there alot of out of state folks, or mostly locals out hunting the area? Were they all friendly? I know sometimes locals get pissy towards out of state's if you hone in on their areasGreat write up(s) Joe!
Here's what I saw/learned:
The bike helped me scout about 11 miles of trails in one Fri afternoon, I had marked two locations that had the best sign. Jon and I went to the better of them Sat AM and decided to Spot and Stalk I posted that pic of hearing some but not seeing them as they crossed a "Finger" of passable/woods that juts out into the sawgrass marsh. Because the wooded finger stays 'wet/moist' the sign is pervasive but somewhat hard to read what's fresh - but you can get to areas that show excellent trails.
View attachment 145133
View attachment 145134
I'm liking Joe's Stand set-up- I saw some great places to put a stand to wait out the mid-day when some of the locals (including Chance) say they run the edges of the fingers and out in the sawgrass - the key I saw was to get up 15"-20" at a pinchpoint of finger -water slough with good fresh sign. I 'think' the bike would be a boon to drag a hog out on the 'lanes' behind the closed gates - didn't get a chance to try that out.
View attachment 145136
Unless you know the area I wouldn't advise draggin a stand with you while scouting, Sunday Joe and I were going to push around a sawgrass area towards Jon and got in the, Joe's term
Example of "fingers" of woods along the sawgrass saltmarsh.
View attachment 145137
Also for those that like seafood - the place is excellent with many wholesalers that'll sell directly to you, I'm sure you can buy off the oyster boat / clam diggers direct but that takes a time / knowledge - I went to Triple Threat Seafood - they are a wholesaler but sell at their site. http://www.triplethreatseafood.com/ I got a 100 Select Oysters for $45 and they thru in a 1/2 gallon of clams with it. Their place is right off of 347 - on the way to and from the LSRNWR.
View attachment 145141
Another POI is the local Ice Man "Stan's Land" spot, out in the middle of the woods across from the LSWNWR off 347 is the quaint lil' stop that works like a champ! Locked can nailed to a pole for the $ ... $2 a bucket of ice.
View attachment 145140
Bugs: Swamp gnats are the worst thing about hunting the area 60ish temps and above. Same thing we have over here in the Panhandle but much thicker in those swamps. I only got one red bug bite which is remarkable and prolly due the cold weekend. Thermacell is the only thing I now that 'kinda' keeps the swamp gnats at bay but it leaves HUGE scent bloom - with pigs noses I wouldn't recommend. Keep as much skin covered as possible and just suck it up, they don't eat much.
One thing that both Jon and I saw was a "Bunch" of otters - the place is lousey with them - very cool critter to watch doing it's thing.