Well, its that time of year again... 112 heat index, 96 in the shade and a nice dry 90% humidity to welcom me back to the swamp. I missed the opening days and as I went through the gate this morning I was psyched to see 31 deer and 16 pigs to daye. Even more remarkable was the sizes. 159 for the deer and 200 for the pig are really way above average for this early season.
I for one can't imagine pronging a 200lb dressed boar with a bow. That would put its whole weight close to "boarzilla" class. I had a clean shot at "zilla" with a bow and chickened out years go. When I did go back and get him in gun season a twelve guage slug bounced off and a 30-06 did not pass through. When I cleaned him it had a broadhead lodged in its gristle plate. That one was 284 whole weight. I'm not sure wether to congratulate the guy who got this years big one or to just envy the set of cahones the guy must be packin.
I got to my spot "A" and instantly was disappointed to see construction equipment to erect a new set of high tension lines. Still a walk through showed a bunch of tracks including a slob. Who knows maybe they might be easier in there because they're used to people being around.
This being a holiday weekend though the traffic of cars and buggies was just way too much to effectively hunt in there so it was off to spot "B". I guess the buggy drivers over there didn't read the rules about buggies and bow season but they were all over in places they are not allowed to be until gun season. Sometimes their movement can be a help in pushing game but today they had a big head start on me and were so mixed in their movements that I couldn't really find a good ambush point.
So off to point "C" so many cars parked that I didn't even bother. I decided to go try a spot I havn't worked in years. Funny... I don't know why I stopped working it, considering that it was the first place I scored in there over twenty years ago. This place is heavy in cypress hammocks and way thick stuff, but it is designated still hunt only. Its one of the few places on the property that can take a tree stand and really needs one but since I had not planned a trip there I didn't tote a stand today. Still I had a nice stalk in there. a few tracks but nothing moving. I could hear thunder closing in so I worked out of there and back the nine miles near spot A... A quick sit produced nothing as the weather spread that way...
Oh well, it was good to get out and get back into that hunting mode where all the senses get a work out...
Again only the morn let me play before the thunder bumpers pushed me back to the beach. Much less crowded and a hearty rain late yesterday flattened rough surfaces to allow easy track reading... Not a lot of them though. Some small ones here and there. A big buck working around spot B and a slob pig near spot A are gonna be my focus.
With the construction so close to spot A its hard to get excited about sitting there but those tracks indicate to me that son of Zilla is in residence... Need to figure if he's moving early, late or in the dark?
Talked to a gal biologist at the check station that warned me that those Burmeese Pythons that have made the news this year have made their way to the property...
Tomorrow morning is boat work and maybe a PM hunt if the storms allow...
You'ld think twenty two years there I'd learn a trick or two but actually I'm as about rank ameature as you can get really understanding the property and game there. I went yesterday again. The construction at "A" spot is too intense. B spot has no tracks so I tried something new. I've had a few animals from a run to one particular thicket. Even the big red pig I missed last year went that way. And I di jump and shoot a spike in there looking for the pig. Not much to the place but I gave it a go... Two solid trails full of both deer and pig track so I sat there for a couple hours. At one point I thought I heard something but it was windy and the palmettos rattle. May have been something and maybe not.
Today I worked on my boat instead of hunting. What I should do is go back to "A" spot. Find those slob tracks I saw and figure where hes been going and comming.
Judging from the size and depth of the tracks this one would out do my slob of a few years ago... I'm almost afraid to sling an arrow its way. Some guys have been joking about a poon but.... you know... That just might be a good back up if he charges...
Watched the storms pass by and a window opend up. Went long and spot "B" had no tracks. The construction noise in "A" was just too much and the tracks weren't fresh. I went back to the place I tried the other day.
Was sitting for about a half hour when I hear noise.... Man steps. Sure enough here comes the man in gray... I was happy to see they were back on patrol but this guy wasn't looking for way ward buggies. Doing spot inspections of bith man and car sop that meant I had to take him to my car and show that it was clean.
Nice enough fellow but that cooked a half hour and made so much noise that anything that might have been tiptoeing around the construction at "A" would have detoured. There was some daylight left so I just did some driving and scouting.
Figured I'd call it early so decided to just go visit the gang at the check out station and see if I could pry any info out of them. They told me about a bust that took place last night... Three buggies, six guys, a bunch of dogs, shotguns and three dead pigs all nabbed in the still hunting area! Its bow season, no buggies or dogs aloud, shooting guns past dark and in posession... I don't get what these guys were thinking. Each buggy in there gets $100 fine, another $100 for each dog. Out of gun season $1000 a pig, in the dark another grand each, plus criminal charges...
Then a young fellow walked up and asked if some one could help him find a downed pig. I volunteered.
As we got into the small palmetto thicket it dawned on me I was pretty well unprotected. Just shorts and water boots. Looking for a hurt boar should at least involve jeans and a machette. Still we plodded on. Suddenly I see a boar comming right for the other fellow and not fully twenty feet away. He draws and drills when the thing is less than 10 feet!
The pig stands on his hind feet and does a back flip and a blood curtling squeeeeal, snapping off the shaft flush. The hit was solid and right in the ear. Eight inches of shaft were missing and the pig just vanishes...
I thought it was the wounded pig he shot again but he said that this one was a different one. We got to looking again and suddenly the sky filled in and lightning began booming not too far away.
Walking out we came on a third pig. They need to be 20 inches at the shoulder but this one was short. Lightning crashed closer and it was time to go. The thicket has two laid down . One with a pass through shoulder hit and one with eight inches of spike between its ears. Wounded pigs can be dangerous but I feel I gotta at least try to find em tomorrow...
PICS TO FOLLOW>>>
Well two down in a small piece of brush shpould have been easy pickins at least for a meat piggie. We left off yesterday with a shoulder shot 80lb one and a head doinked 100lb class oinker drilled by a young fellow who would be all day at college...
I expected to be alone but I guess he blabbed of it to his hunting buddies because there were a bunch of guys kickin and rooting around.
Being a palmetto thicket I know that even a crawl needs to be real slow and thorough. Especially clumps of real thick often have holes underneath where a cripple could go to die.
I promise that digging around under that brush is not a comforting feeling. Reaching into those holes has you hold your breath. Nothing good is gonna live in there... You ask your self if its worth it. You could strike gold and get a big pile of pork... Or a rattler, coral snake, holed up coon, or if one of those piggies aint dead a handfull of trouble.
I consider myself kinda lucky. Though I didn't find so much as a track at least I came home with two hands and two feet. At last check nobody found either one.., Even the buzzards didn't show up...
Yet another zilch went in the books today. Again the week end traffic was thick. Oh well... It was an enjoyable birthday spent in the woods... I worked near the entranc and judging from four fresh gut piles I thought it would pay off. Had to leave early so Missus Deep can take me out for steak and sushi...
The little piggie was back near the parking lot again when I went back. A bag of potato chips later I think we're buddies for life... Funny how I can look at this one like a pet and be so bloodthisty for others... Some day before long that shoulder will be just under knee high and he will be fair game. Til then Hamilton will be my buddy though...
Started the day sad... The check out man tokd me that some ass hole was smuggling a couple pit bulls (not allowed in bow season) . seems the piled out and attacked the little pig, the check out man named him Wilbur, not hamilton.
Hot still and a zillion birds in the brush made it tough. Plane traffic was iover us and every buggy in south florida was on trailer out of the property. So damn much noise that I missed a pig that had been working a piece of ground about a hundred yards away. Tracks weren't there on my last walk about an hour before...
So thats it... Never drew the string the whole season... Time to swab the black powder gun... That season starts in a couple weeks...
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Prongathon '07
Reply With Quote
I was happy to see they were back on patrol but this guy wasn't looking for way ward buggies. Doing spot inspections of bith man and car sop that meant I had to take him to my car and show that it was clean.
Ghosts!
