Just got back yesterday from a much needed and very excellent trip in Florida with Jim and Irv at True South Adventures. :cool:
It was one of the most fun trips I have had! Still a bit travel lagged and had to work today so I'm going to follow up tomorrow. :thumbsup:
:campfire:
can't wait to read the stories :campfire:
I've been waiting to hear a report on your trip.
Hope it went well.
Working on taxes all this week but I'll be checking back tomorrow for your story.
Glad you were able to make it this year!
Can't wait to hear about your adventure! I hope you bagged a couple critters as well.
Bisch
:campfire:
Looking foward...
It was a real pleasure having Arwin in camp. He had quite a bit of action from a variety of critters but I will let him fill you in on that....
Awesome! Can't wait for pics and stories.
:coffee: :coffee:
:coffee: :coffee:
anytime now Bro??
:campfire:
:coffee: :coffee:
Looking forward to this one! :thumbsup:
Here is a teaser clip from Arwin's hunt:
It was filmed by one of my Trail cams (http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/tarponnut/th_arwinshunt.jpg) (http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/tarponnut/arwinshunt.mp4)
LOL!!!!! No way, AHAHAHAHA!!!!! :knothead:
Ok in the process of uploading pics. Sorry for the delay guys, it's been non stop chaos since last week. :bigsmyl:
I had always wanted to hunt hogs in Florida and never been on a trip alone outside of Michigan.
I booked a hunt at True South Adventures with Jim and had an excellent phone conversation about the who's, whats, and where's of the trip. He was VERY helpful at pointing me in the right direction about how to get down there.
The day set to leave, I had home school for my son plus college classes at night. I left right from school and drove straight down to Florida, nearly non stop.
I was up for approximately 50 hours by the time I reached the Rodeway Hotel. In bed by 2am and back up at 5am. Whew!!!
Jim arrived at the hotel. We greeted and I followed him out to the property. Coming down from Michigan, it was very pleasant feeling the warmer air and no need for insulated clothing.
Jim took me to the area for my first sit. I nestled in for the morning getting used to new sounds and smells. The sunrise was amazing!!
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/892259_10201074268642792_1156721705_o_zps277cf566.jpg)
That morning was absolutely gorgeous!! I watched small lizards scale up and down palm trees, saw an otter play and watched birds I had never seen before.
About midway through the morning, I looked over my shoulder to double check a sound. Right as I turned my head, this bird landed ON MY FACE and it's little Muppet claws got stuck in my facemask. I SO wish it was on video!!! I received a 10 second pummeling from said bird until it was able to get free.
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/0272_zps6eee086c.jpg)
That evening was pretty quiet. No hogs were in sight but the perfect weather and time on stand was enough for me. Everything was so strange and new. All the vegetation and wildlife were different from back home.
On the way out, two 100# hogs came zipping across the road and nearly into my rental car! It was my first encounter with true wild hogs. I studied their features for the 15 seconds they were in front of me. Very cool looking. :thumbsup:
Great video and looks like it's gonna be a great story! :thumbsup:
The next morning, I sat in a stand in "the woods". On our way in, Jim and I heard an Osceola gobbler sound off. It was quite a special event because those birds are notorious for being quiet.
That morning was uneventful for hogs but I had dozens of squirrels running around under my feet. Back home, I would have been lucky to see 3 or 4.
Saturday afternoon was very busy! We decided to wait to enter the stands a little later and do some bowfishing while waiting for evening.
I stalked along a canal, not sure what inhabited the waters. Gar after gar appeared, giving me several shot opportunities. I connected on one, making it my first gar with a bow, or anything else for that matter. :cool:
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/DSCF46622_zpsc1b2b812.jpg)
I was geeked about the gar and started to look at the vegetation around me. It was still unusual to me and I took time to snap a few photos and try some wild tangerines.
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/DSCF46642_zpscbc80ba6.jpg)
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/DSCF4666_zps5ed28634.jpg)
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/DSCF46512_zpsef7c38a0.jpg)
While finishing up a very delicious tangerine, I heard a rustling in the woods. I wasn't sure what it was and hid behind a tree to wait and see what passed.
This fat armadillo came out of the palms and scurrying around. I never saw an armadillo before, they are SO strange!!!
I knew they were fair game and didn't waste time in sending an arrow, which found it's mark perfectly.
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/DSCF46672_zps29852bc8.jpg)
Surely there is more to the story?! Great photos so far, thanks for sharing!
That night, I had 4 small hogs come in at roughly 60 yds. The wind swirled and sent them off just about as fast as they came in.
They move so quickly, it's very different from any hogs I have experienced.
No more hogs showed up that night but I did manage to arrow a fat possum. I wasn't able to recover him as he took off into the darkness and up into a tree. Last I saw him, he was slumped over, high up in a palm tree. Buzzards have to eat too, LOL!
The last morning I saw a 300# brute make his way across a meadow. He was mostly silver with a few black spots on him. I knew he was big because it looked like he didn't have a neck.
That was it for the morning, I got down and started to head for the car.
Jim called and offered to let me try stalking in the palms. I jumped at the chance it was something I had always wanted to do!!
On my way in, I found this old shed. Pretty decent for Florida!!!
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/053_zps063e16a4.jpg)
I began to find wallows and rooted up areas. I knew I was in hog territory and slowed my pace considerably.
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/044_zps2216a680.jpg)
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/054_zps7cbd5a33.jpg)
Right about the time I thought a hog should be close, I heard this deep grunt and hooves!!!
This black beast came charging at me on an angle, at one point he was about 12yds away but no shot presented itself. His tusks were long enough to plainly see. Nice cutters!!
That was about it for the hunting. I snapped some great pics of this tree with Spanish moss covering it.
(http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g128/ad2877/041_zpsd44a3ed5.jpg)
Sorry you didn't get to connect on a big one but, sounds like the trip was an overall success at any rate. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Jim and Irv worked SO hard to try and make something happen, but the odds were heavily stacked against us.
Wrong wind, full moon and very warm temps made the hogs hard to find. We tried about everything possible but just couldn't get them in range.
To be honest, it was one of the best trips I have had, hogs or not. The guys at True South Adventures are top notch!! We shared dinner, lunch, told stories and had plenty of laughs. Jim, Irv and another hunter, Rod, are a hoot to hang with!!
I am happy to say I have made new friends and will definitely return. I would go back just for the small game hunting and bowfishing!! There are plenty of hogs down there, the sign is all over the place and we seen quite a few between the two of us hunting.
I wanted a wild hog hunt and fully got one. They are much smarter than I thought, similar to a deer. It was a great experience and can't wait to do it again! :thumbsup:
Great story and Picture my friend> The best part of any hunt is the memories and you have a bunch of those now..
Tracey and I need to find a way to join you down there on your next trip!!!!
Congrats on a fine adventure! :thumbsup:
Sounds like you have fun. I'm booked with Jim 4/19 can't wait.
great story and pics!! I cant wait to go back!!!
I'm glad you had a good experience. So Arwin you said you were up for 50 hours. How long was the actual driving time? And from what part of Michigan? I'm curious about hunting Michigan.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Sounds like a great adventure, thanks for sharing!
Hey Arwin, I was down with Jim in January. Had equally as good a time! See you at the next shoot.
Matt
Cool pics Arwin. Glad you had a good time on the hunt.The moon and weather really worked against us unfortunately. After a slightly late start,I sat the North Grove stand this morning, (the scene of the bird attack)and saw a nice sow and three medium sized pigs in the ditch that goes through the hay field.
I got the idea to hit the test button on the feeder to see if they'd come back in. I hit the button, the feeder spun, and here they come!
As I was climbing up into the stand to get ready, the ladder squeaked and "big red" stopped in her tracks. Downloading the video now. I'll post it soon....
It is always cool to go to new areas and get to hunt. Just seeing the new terrain and different flora and fauna is a cool experience. Heck, I went all the way to Australia and only got a rabbit! But, I would not trade that trip for anything. People who do not hunt just don't get it.
Congrats on a fine time in the woods.
Bisch
Cool story Arwin! Hogs are about my favorite animal to hunt!
Here's a short VIDEO of an interesting encounter I had at Arwin's "bird stand" (http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/tarponnut/th_PigsatNorthGrove_0001.jpg) (http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn66/tarponnut/PigsatNorthGrove_0001.mp4)
Check out the video above. Some interesting hog action.