Morning hunt-----no luck

[sfboarbuster]

Well, I decided to take advantage of this cool weather we are finally getting down here and took bella and doc out. Went to a management area on the kissimmee river.
Sat and talked with the game warden for a little while when I first got there, and he gave me a little bit of info on where they have been catching some.
So I headed that way and on bella's first loop she made I heard a couple of yips from her, then she was bayed solid about 2 minutes later about 500 yards out, she was keeping him bayed while I made my way over there through a nasty marshl. About 20 minutes went by and I finally got there and let doc loose. It sounded like he was caught for a little while but then he must have got raked off and the hog broke. They finally got him caught again, heard some grunting and he broke again. About 5 minutes later after hearing nothing I just heard BOOOM BOOOOM from a shotgun and my heart dropped. But the dogs made their way back.

Anyways, I thought I'd share some pictures of the place.

[Mike]

Man, that's all part of it. Sure is some pretty country down there... real tropical looking.

[the shafer]

that 5th pic down is crazy!

[craig]

that is some good looking country.

that last pic looks like Gilligans Island

[Pecos21]

Man that is the country I grew up in........Hunted the Kissimmee on River Ranch and Avon Park Bombing Range growing up.....I live in East Texas now....sure do miss that country but I don't miss all those transplants.... 

[crackerc]

This is the part of Fla most people never see...its not all beaches and Disney World.........this is the REAL Fla!!

Are there cows in the place you were hunting? I see where it looks like the tips of the palmettos were eaten off and cattle will do that in the winter.

I had an "eye opening" hunt today myself.....went to the woods about 9 AM (it was too cold for me to think about getting on that 4 wheeler before then) and went to where I had been catching some hogs. When I got there two guys were there and said they had already been through the block with TWELVE head of dogs!! No need to hunt around there...

They told me they knew of another place that had been holding hogs, they ran one there yesterday but didn't stop it. So, against my better judgement, I followed these guys to a new spot. I know one of them fairly well and he just has no dog power. I don't know if he has ever caught a hog with just his dogs, the entire time I have known him. He is always hunting with someone else, just so he can catch some hogs.

Anyway, the other guy I don't know well, but he has a red male Fla cur that they have been catching some hogs with so I wanted to see him hunt. I am always looking for a good male to possibly breed to.

We got to the spot and they said for me to turn out what I wanted to hunt. I thought they wanted to see my dogs hunt, so I let both Monkey and Spur out, the only two dogs I had with me. I started off into the block thinking they were going to come behind me...and they did.....with EIGHT other dogs!!

Man, I almost turned around and went to the truck, I just don't hunt like that....they had curs, leopard dogs, two bulldogs and a couple cur/bulldogs...all loose.

To make a long story short we caught two 60-70 lb boar hogs. Have no idea what dogs found the hogs, all I know is the hogs were eaten up so bad by the time we got to them, they weren't good for anything............there will be no cutting these hogs and turning them loose..............one had no hide left on his head. The other had no ears, no nose and most of one front leg was gone.....

I just can't see hunting like that............I want to see a dog do a good job in the woods. This was just a wreck as far as I am concerned.......

Pecos21, I will box up a bunch of transplants and send them to you...  This time of year we are slap overrun with them!!

[sfboarbuster]

Pecos, I hate those transplants, but I just dont think that I could ever leave.


Mark, yeah there is cattle on this place.
I hear you on that hunting with all of those dogs. There is no reason why you would need that many dogs to catch a hog.
Two maybe three at the most if you have somewhat decent dogs. More than that and it just turns into a mess.

I should have a ranch to hunt after this weekend somewhere around Basinger, Im going to hunt with the ranch manager saturday hopefully and as long as my dogs dont do anything stupid then I should have a 28K ranch to hunt. If I get it you ought to come down one weekend.

[crackerc]

I know exactly where Bassinger is. The guy that owned the ranch up here, that I managed, used to own another one in Bassinger along the river. He sold it to the water management about the time I went to work for him so I never got to hunt it. Saw some pics of hogs that came off the place and some were HUGE! A lot bigger than the hogs up here get.

Let me know I always like seeing new places. I must warn you though, my dogs are sorry, they have always been sorry and always  will be sorry......that got me covered?? 

I agree about the number of dogs. I have always said, if it takes more than two dogs to find stop and bay a hog, you don't need MORE dogs, you need BETTER dogs. Unfortunately, many people just can't understand that............

[sfboarbuster]

All BS aside, I really do need better dogs, I just need to find some pups and start over.

Actually I saw an ad on baydog and their is some pups in there that have some Monkey blood in them, in Ft. Pierce.
I need to call and see if they have all been scooped up yet.

As long as your dogs dont like cows you will be fine

[crackerc]

Monkey won't mess with cows, I don't know if Spur has ever seen one, but he won't catch a 30 lb shoat so he isn't going to anchor a cow in the pasture.

I need better dogs too, thats why I am always looking at dogs to breed to. Hoping to "upgrade".....

Monkey has two faults...okay three. One he is hot nosed. My Dixie female had an exceptional nose and I am used to finding hogs other dogs can't smell. That isn't going to happen with Monkey. Two he is close range. If I could add a little more nose and a little more range, I would like him a whole lot more....

# 3 is, he doesn't like people ..or other dogs.....he must get this from me as I see a lot of people (i.e. transplants), and dogs, I don't like.....

[sfboarbuster]

Dang, you need to give monkey a break, all this criticism you give him is gonna give him a complex and hes really gonna take a turn for the worse. 

[Pecos21]

I agree about the number of dogs. I have always said, if it takes more than two dogs to find stop and bay a hog, you don't need MORE dogs, you need BETTER dogs. Unfortunately, many people just can't understand that............

I agree....we usually take two good dogs and one or two young dogs.....but if we are just wanting to make it a drama free hunt we will take two good dogs and go......

Cracker....those two dogs I sent you pics of (the ones i am calling Fla. Curs) seen their first hog Friday Night.....they were cow dogs before....I must say I was impressed with them both. Our strike dogs found and caught a 175 lb sow....so we got them off and we cut the sow loose...I gave her a little head start and cut the yellow gyp loose......she found and bayed the sow....the black dog came in with us and once he heard the baying get hot he chimed in and then it got rough......they caught her in a briar thicket... 

On that same hunt my Campbell Cur gyp (my best strike dog) dropped dead on the lead on the way out....weirdest thing I have ever seen..... No signs or symptoms...just fell out......  
So I guess it was a good thing I got those dogs....

[crackerc]

Monkey is okay. He is just "high strung"...... He really doesn't like people around my house, truck or ATV though.... and I can't haul him with other male dogs...so he is a pain at times.

But, he does find hogs for me about everywhere I take him, so I can't complain too much about his faults. I have had dogs that were easy going but didn't find hogs.....so I put up with it.

About the guy in Ft. Pierce, he bought a male Monkey x JJ yellow pup from me. He has gotten him cut up several times, says he is ROUGH. He bred him to that leopard female, and all I know about her is he he says she isn't as rough as the male. The male yellow dog he has will be two years old April 1. Look at the scars on him in the pic.

My JJ female is/was rough so thats where he gets it from. She got her jaw broken, so is out of hunting. Monkey is not as rough as he was, getting him cut down and bled out by a big barr 1 1/2 years ago wised him up on the big hogs. At least he was smart enough to learn from it........

pecos, hate to hear that about you losing your dog. Did it get hot? Hope the other two work out for you. Looking at the pics, I wouldn't think the yellow dog would bay much. She looked pretty rough........

[Pecos21]

pecos, hate to hear that about you losing your dog. Did it get hot? Hope the other two work out for you. Looking at the pics, I wouldn't think the yellow dog would bay much. She looked pretty rough........

I don't think she got hot... it was 29 degrees out and has been in the 30's all week...... I was/am baffled..... never in all my years of fooling with cow dogs and hog dogs have I seen anything like it.......

I think they will be fine....she reminds me of a ring neck gyp I used to have that would catch a cow or hog...didn't matter to her.....

[sfboarbuster]

Mark, that dog sure does look like he would be a ruff one from the picture.
I'm just not sure which road I want to go down as far as rough or bay.

I had one real rough dog for about a year that I bought. He was straight catch but he would HUNT, he would be at around a half a mile most of the time.
I have still havent been able to find a good balance in the dogs I am hunting.
So I guess I will just keep hunting what ive got until something comes along.

[crackerc]

Doesn't sound like the dog got hot....odd. I guess they have heart attacks and stuff just like people do though. Was it an old dog?

I hope your two new dogs turn out for you. I would think they would be rough, and probably will be after a few more hogs.  At least from seeing how they look in the pics AND from them being Fla dogs.

I wrote you something under Noah's post, if you get a chance, read it. Might make you homesick.........

sfboarbuster, a rough long range dog is a bad combination to me. I like a dog that is a little rough, but not suicidal. If the hog is too big for him to handle, he needs to bay. At least until help gets there.

I am still trying to get two medium range dogs that will BAY together and not catch. Hopefully one day........

[Pecos21]

She was only a 4 yr old.....so I am guessing it had to have been a heart attack.... I dunno....

I think the gyp will be rough for sure, I may have to hunt them seperate for our catch dogs to get any action because Maver!ck has a rough Mountain Cur gyp too......

I have been wanting some good Florida Dogs and these were given to me....I even got them delivered to me........

I do get homesick when all y'all post pics from down there....I was going to come down for Christmas to see all my family in Davenport/Haines City but it didn't happen. I am going to try and come down in the Spring.....

[crackerc]

Let me know if you make it down. I am only about 7 miles off of I-75 and you are welcome to stop by, if I don't have to work that day. We may even try to fit in a hunt, if you have time, and its not turkey season...........they usuallly run us out of places for turkey season.......they are as bad as the deer hunters....

Good luck with the new dogs.

[lilmisshogdogger]

I LOVE THE LAST PIC IT IS BEAUTIFUL!