As some of you may remember me complaining, I have been on a shoat streak for two and a half or three months now. I have not caught a pig over 100lb since it got hot, and only two that I can remember even crowded 100lb. Last weekend we caught two pigs. They were so small that we didn't even go to the dogs. We just let them kill and moved on.
This morning broke the streak!
My hunting partner opted for he and some company to stay and hunt a property in Burnet, and Julie (truebluelacys) is in CA, so I called A guy that Julie and I met at a corner cafe two weeks ago and asked if he wanted to hunt. He did and he agreed to bring his strike dogs (2) and his running catch dogs (2 Rhodesian Ridgeback and BMC) so that I could concentrate on the pups I have been neglecting, Freyja and Ares because THEY HAD NEVER SEEN A PIG IN THE WOODS other than on one staged training run about 6 months ago........ And Sadie, Julie's dog, since I am baby sitting for her.........
At 4AM, the alarm sounded and at 5AM I was pulling into the ranch. We decided to drive half way through the ranch to a concrete water tank, drop there and work the back side where I had never been. We walked our butts off for a little over 5 miles, down a "road" to the south west corner of the property, along 2.5mi of river frontage and fought our way through the cedar break and Mountain Laural at a very steep grade back to the trucks. The meager 5mi took us a solid 2 hours and 55 minutes at steady pace. It was tough going.
The dogs hunted well. Chads strike dogs were solid medium range, looping at 400 to 600 yards most of the time, with a 800 yard jaunt thrown in on occasion and a style much like our grown dogs. To my surprise, Ares stuck with them and even struck off on his own on several loops over 400 yards and one right at 800. Freyja didn't do anything and Sadie did her normal 50 to 150yards in front of us the whole time except for one glimmer of genius when she struck out 300 yards on her own (I don't know what that was about). Anyway, we made it back to the trucks with nothing to show but panting dogs and sweat drenched cloths.
While sitting on the tailgate, catching our breath and getting hydrated, I decided that we were not going to give up that easy. The wind was perfect for casting into a block of woods at the north west corner of the property. It is very open and easy walking too. So we drove around, parked at "the bat cave" and cast dogs with no intention of walking anywhere.
Chads strike dogs cast about 300 yards and just started milling around. Sadie got out and hunted a little but came back. Freyja and Ares did squat. After a minute or two, Chads strike dogs B-lined it to, up and over a 4foot rock fence and within several minutes they were a half mile out. We started that way and when we got to the fence, we could see a 60 or 70lb pig on the other side.
I tossed Sadie and my pups over but I wasn't even going to attempt picking up a 125lb catch dog. Soon enough, they found their own way over. By the time that I made it over and tracked the dogs, Sadie was at 400 yards and hoofing it towards the longer dogs. The Ridgeback was about 200 yards behind her and the pups were trying to figure out why I had thrown them over a 4foot wall.
A quick look at the Garmin showed all of the dogs to be in the same direction, up to 3/4 of a mile away at this point, so we just stuck the trackers in their holsters and started running blindly in that direction. eventually we got within earshot of the bay and just ran strait through.
When we arrived, there were only 4 dogs (out of 7). One of Chads strike dogs, Sadie, Ares and Freyja.
After consulting the Garmin, we realized that we had run within ~100 yards of the catch dogs, some 600 yards back........ Chads other strike dog was on another pig, baying alone, about 500 yards in a different direction.
So here we stand, with our proverbial wieners in our hands, watching two bay dogs and two pups bay a well equipped 180lb boar hog; no gun, no catch dogs, scratching our backsides and kicking ourselves in the head...... or maybe the other way around.
We knew that the other dogs were fine on their own so we stuck around trying to figure out what to do. Ares got popped in the head and muzzle pretty good a couple of times and started to bleed measurably. He stepped out about 10 yards for a minute, regained his composure and went right back to the boars nose but tighter, not more than 2 inches away. Now every time that he barked, he was taking a step forward, as the boar was backing up, spitting blood in the boars face and bobbing his head forward and back like he was testing it, just waiting for it to make a mistake. And a mistake it did make.
The boar made a bold charge. Ares didn't even try to get out of the way, he took it right between the front legs and he went airboarn (yes, that is mis-spelled on purpose). To my surprise and even with the veracity of the hit, Ares head didn't even move! When his feet hit the ground, that boar was caught right across the bridge of the nose!
About the same time as Ares flight was over, Sadie collapsed on him from the left side and caught an ear. CAUGHT HOG!
Chad and I both rushed in and the boar decided to try and get me. Chad seized the opportunity and got him legged. Sadie and Ares both stayed caught until his last breath.
Now it was time to find the other dogs and pigs, each between 500 and 700 yards away. We decided to go to the RCD's first and the bay dog last. To make a long story a little shorter than it could be, we didn't get either of those pigs. We got within 150 yards of the catch dogs before they came back with cuts and torn up vests....... Brand new torn up vests....... Then we only got within 300 yards of the last remaining bay dog and her pig before it broke and ran.
Now here is the best part........ Ares and Freyjas little pea brains MAY have computed what was going on. During our walk back to the truck, both of them made an 800 yard loop along with Sadie. Immediately there after they took off another 3/4 of a mile past the trucks before I lost signal. I tried to drive around and catch them but Sadie was the only one who would come to me. I got within 400 yards of Freyja before she boogied down towards the river a half mile. Then Ares burned back towards where we caught the pig. I lost signal on him at 0.9mi! I ended up having to chase each one down individually with the truck. Here's to hoping that they figured it out. The alternative is that they got a screw knocked loose
Did I mention that our photog is in CA? Too bad because this guy bayed in the open and we just watched for 10minutes or so...... And camera phone pics suck!
Sadie didn't get a scratch on her though she did apparently feel entitled to a mud bath........ Women........
Ares strutting his stuff on the way back. Before he caught his breath and made me chase him in the truck. All superficial, I promise.
The dog food had to be left in the woods but the pointy end is in my freezer.
Steve
