So yesterday I was paddling my canoe down the creek near the mouth of the lake and noticed wallow after wallow along the shoreline. While if the wind was right it'd be possible to sneak along in a boat and shoot a pig or two, the willows and river canes were so incredibly thick I don't think that a stalk through them would be possible.
We're talking crawling on your hands and knees thick with shots less than 10 yards. The area reminds me of a mixture of jungle and tidal flats, with some of it looking like a grizzly bear guide would be worried about sneaking into into it. It even kinda looks like what you'd see in some griz hunting videos of the thickets and swamps.
Any idea on how to tackle something like this sans firearms?
I think exactly as you described. Canoe or kayak, heck, even a stand up board ! Just go slow and listen and look. Heavy arrows with sharp points. Maybe even a string tracker !
heat of the day, sneak along in the canoe. practice shooting from the canoe before you get in that scenario.. Seems obvious, but you don't always calculate in balance, etc.
About all you can do is hang around the edge waiting for the hogs to come out. If it is as thick as you say, you will never penetrate the thicket without the hogs hearing you and if you get lucky and somehow get in there you will find it next to impossible to draw your bow and get a clean shot off. I used to hunt hogs in south Georgia and some of the cutovers were so thick with briars and new pine growth that even an idiot would not try to walk into the stuff.
Sounds like Rusty's boggy bottoms where we have hunted forever. One thing we do is find or make a clearing inside or along the thick stuff.
Put a kick feeder or a raspberry corn hole in and build a ground blind. Lots of fun and many hogs have taken the trip in the back of the truck.
Mike
Guess you need to learn to shoot sitting from a canoe.
I'd think that this would only work with a buddy where one paddles & guides the craft while the other is ready to shoot. Getting a paddle down softly then reaching for a bow, nocking an arrow, etc. is a lot to do quietly at 10 yards.
Otherwise, you can pick a wallow, anchor nearby & wait. No direct experience with this myself. I've paddled up to many deer in canoes and kayaks but not while hunting.
Sounds like canoe it is. Though I do like the idea of strategic ground blinds also.
Been there done that many times...will do it again....
Most places like that hogs don't get encroach on....so 'hearing you' don't matter...just don't let them see you....they will think you are another hog if you are smart about your movement....you migh be surprised at what you can sneak up on. Many a hunter has done the same at one local talked about over the years here.....Ray's Hog Heaven and Wild Things....just to name one....can name many others as well.
Get yourself SHORT BOW and have at it!!!
I am no ace hog hunter, but deep in the Hau plants here there is very little pressure. I have found regularly used wallows and gone in at mid day with a machete and cut a "stalking lane" up to about 15 yards. Then waited about a week and came back to hunt that wallow. It worked out pretty good.
Msturm
I have killed many pigs in places so thick you could not stand up in them but in a few places. I have killed several that heard me and came to me thinking I was a pig. Most shots under 5 yards. . Make sure you take precaution for ticks!RC
Oh Yeah....and adding to what RC said...those close shots are a rush!!!
Good advy guys!
How wide is the creek?
Those encounters are a rush even if you don't get a shot...its what bowhunting is all about!