Big Island---Going hunting tomrrow

[doccherry]

Ev and Uncle Ji and all the rest:

Took a nice little boar the last time I went to Laupahoehoe [couple weeks ago] and will try for another this Saturday morning. It's beautiful country, cedar [?]forests that look like the Olympic Peninsula, Ohia trees in rolling grassland just like the oak meadows in San Luis Obispo, and true jungle just like in a Tarzan movie. I found a honey hole lasst time that was crawling with pigs and will hike down there, about 30 minutes downhill [and 105 minutes uphill if carrying a pig].

I'd like to post some photos but I am an ignorant dude when it comes to taking photos off my digital camera and posting them on this forum. How do I do this? And, how do I reduce the amount of kilobytes per picture to what this forum will accept? My photos right off the camera have take up about 500 kb, which is too much.

You guys have got to see the country I'm hunting. If you believe in heaven, and if you believe you'll be able to hunt in heaven [assuming you get there], this is what it looks like. Uncle Ji and Ev will vouch for that, I'm sure.

I tell you, as a very recent Southern California immigrant to the Big Island, this is heaven, probably as close to the real thing as a hopeless sinner such as myself will ever get.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Happy Happy Hour to all of you. Will report in a couple days, pig nor no pig.

Doc

 

[doccherry]

Actually, before I go hunting, I'm going to get a dictionary and learn how to spell "tomorrow."

 

[doccherry]

Will also learn to spell "last." Cheap wine, in prodigious quantities, will do this to a guy. A PhD in English and I can hardlee spel. Sorry.

 

[kodiakoutdoors]

hope you did well doc. that would be great x-mas dinner. roast pig! can't wait for your report. happy, happy hour to you too!

 

[doccherry]

Just got back a few minutes ago. Got another small boar, about 85 pounds or so. Saw 10 pigs all together, one a monster but I couldn't get a shot. I saw one other pickup truck, the same one I saw the other two times I went. I ran into the hunters, 3 of them about my age, and they had taken 3 pigs. They told me that in the old days, 20 years ago, it was hard to get a reservation to hunt Luapahoehoe because only 8 hunters were allowed in. Today, they are the only guys hunting the area. They told me that the young people refuse to hike away from the roads---too lazy and they can buy pork at Costco. Add the lack of hunting pressure to the fact that the place is loaded with ripe fruit and there are no predators at all, and you end up with a Garden of Eden for hunters. This place is unreal.

I'll write up the story and attempt to attach a photo or two tomorrow or the next day. I hiked 8 hours in really tough country today and am exhausted. Merry Christmas to all.

 

[Uncle Ji]

Aloha Doc, Congrats on another successful hunt. Could those "cedar" trees possibly be Norfolk Pines? I know they didn't have cedars the last time I hunted there but that was about 15 years ago and alot of things change in 15 years especially up there from what I hear, and from what you describe. I remember when you had to start calling for reservations before they openned and letting it ring until someone arrived just to be sure to get on the list. Also back then walking on ranchland was no problem. If you get to go hunting regularly there then i'd opt for smaller size pigs, alot less work hauling out even after deboning. One thing i'll always remember while hunting were the Hawaiian Hawk ('Io) closely following us as we hunted, i'm assuming to feed on the gutpile after a successful kill. Have you noticed any Hawks shadowing you while you hunted?
I sure do miss hunting up there but I do have an invite from a buddy there after my back surgery on Jan. 5th at Queens and hopefully quick recovery, maybe we can hook up up there. I'm hoping best case senerio with alot of physical therapy early summer.

 

[doccherry]

Uncle Ji:

I don't know for sure what kind of trees they are. They look very much like the cedar trees in Washington State, the soft boughs that slope downward. They are about 100 feet tall, I would guess, at the tallest, and perhaps 2 feet in diameter. I haven't seen the hawks you speak of on any regular basis. I have seen a few hawks in the ohia trees, but only a few. Lots of turkeys and Kalij pheasants and francolin, and now that I know the area, lots of pigs. I saw two young boars cross from the farmland into the forest right when I pulled up in my truck. Then later, on a ridge about 3/4 of a mile from my truck, I ran into a herd of 7 or 8, one medium-sized sow with 40 pound piglets. I let them go. I then spooked a large hog in a passion fruit tunnel but couldn't get it to flush. The 3 hunters I bumped into had taken 3 hogs, as they do almost every time they hunt there, which is probably 3 times each month. That was a bit after noon and I asked if the pigs were common in the cedar [?] forest during the daytime. They told me no and for me to concentrate on the passion fruit tangles. I did that for the next hour but got so pooped out in those vines and hidden logs and lava boulders that I headed back to the truck. About 400 yards from the truck, in the cedars, out popped two pigs. I nailed the one, quartered it and tossed it in my backpack. It was an easy carry back to the truck.

Today, when I call in on Wednesday morning for a reservation to Luapahoehoe, I will always be the only one calling except for the other 3 guys. The lady at Wildlife told me that almost nobody calls in anymore but that 15 or 20 years ago, you had to keep trying to call over and over because so many people called in and the line was always busy. Sadly, the hunting tradition here seems to be dying off. I see very few hunters under the age of 40. The result, though, since there are no predators, is that the pig, turkey, pheasant, goat, sheep, and gamebird populations are exploding. The mammals are destroying the native vegetation and with hunting not even making a dent in the populations, it will only get worse. As a hunter, I can go in there and take two pigs a day, which from what I can see, wouldn't be too difficult.

I hope some of the forum readers will consider taking a trip to Hawaii for the hunting. The best time would probably be in November because you can hunt gamebirds, taking one turkey per day, and all the big mammals. A nonresident hunting license for everything is about $115, with no additional tag fees, but you need a hunter safety certificate.

It would be great to hook up with you and go back to Laupahoehoe. You just get yourself over here and stay at my place in Kona. You can have your own bedroom/bath suite, either upstairs or downstairs, and we can use my truck or SUV to hunt out of. If you come over in the fall, we can also bird hunt. I've got pleny of rifles and shotguns for you to choose from if you don't want to carry them on the airlines. If you like to fish, we can take my boat out for mahimahi, ono, ahi, and spearfish. You'd have a ball.

Good luck with your surgery and physical therapy. I just finished a few months of physical therapy following a car accident I had on September 1. Broken wrist, torn rotator cuff, neck injuries, crushed nerve below my knee, and a whopper concussion with cognitive problems that lasted a month. It can be frustrating because progress is so slow and some days you take a big step backwards. Just hang in there.

Doc [Bruce]

 

[Uncle Ji]

Originally posted by doccherry@Dec 28 2005, 09:48 AM
Uncle Ji:

I don't know for sure what kind of trees they are. They look very much like the cedar trees in Washington State, the soft boughs that slope downward. They are about 100 feet tall, I would guess, at the tallest, and perhaps 2 feet in diameter. I haven't seen the hawks you speak of on any regular basis. I have seen a few hawks in the ohia trees, but only a few. Lots of turkeys and Kalij pheasants and francolin, and now that I know the area, lots of pigs. I saw two young boars cross from the farmland into the forest right when I pulled up in my truck. Then later, on a ridge about 3/4 of a mile from my truck, I ran into a herd of 7 or 8, one medium-sized sow with 40 pound piglets. I let them go. I then spooked a large hog in a passion fruit tunnel but couldn't get it to flush. The 3 hunters I bumped into had taken 3 hogs, as they do almost every time they hunt there, which is probably 3 times each month. That was a bit after noon and I asked if the pigs were common in the cedar [?] forest during the daytime. They told me no and for me to concentrate on the passion fruit tangles. I did that for the next hour but got so pooped out in those vines and hidden logs and lava boulders that I headed back to the truck. About 400 yards from the truck, in the cedars, out popped two pigs. I nailed the one, quartered it and tossed it in my backpack. It was an easy carry back to the truck.

Today, when I call in on Wednesday morning for a reservation to Luapahoehoe, I will always be the only one calling except for the other 3 guys. The lady at Wildlife told me that almost nobody calls in anymore but that 15 or 20 years ago, you had to keep trying to call over and over because so many people called in and the line was always busy. Sadly, the hunting tradition here seems to be dying off. I see very few hunters under the age of 40. The result, though, since there are no predators, is that the pig, turkey, pheasant, goat, sheep, and gamebird populations are exploding. The mammals are destroying the native vegetation and with hunting not even making a dent in the populations, it will only get worse. As a hunter, I can go in there and take two pigs a day, which from what I can see, wouldn't be too difficult.

I hope some of the forum readers will consider taking a trip to Hawaii for the hunting. The best time would probably be in November because you can hunt gamebirds, taking one turkey per day, and all the big mammals. A nonresident hunting license for everything is about $115, with no additional tag fees, but you need a hunter safety certificate.

It would be great to hook up with you and go back to Laupahoehoe. You just get yourself over here and stay at my place in Kona. You can have your own bedroom/bath suite, either upstairs or downstairs, and we can use my truck or SUV to hunt out of. If you come over in the fall, we can also bird hunt. I've got pleny of rifles and shotguns for you to choose from if you don't want to carry them on the airlines. If you like to fish, we can take my boat out for mahimahi, ono, ahi, and spearfish. You'd have a ball.

Good luck with your surgery and physical therapy. I just finished a few months of physical therapy following a car accident I had on September 1. Broken wrist, torn rotator cuff, neck injuries, crushed nerve below my knee, and a whopper concussion with cognitive problems that lasted a month. It can be frustrating because progress is so slow and some days you take a big step backwards. Just hang in there.

Doc [Bruce]

Aloha Doc, Thanks for the kind offer, I just may have to take you up on it. My other love is fishing especially deep sea fishing. What kind of boat you have? Back when I hunted Laupahoehoe there were no farms that you describe, they are a relatively recent thing I beleive is part of Hawaiian Homes land. I would think the pig raid the farms at night so any hunting would be a favor to the farmers. We used to hunt mostly in the banana-polka (passion fruit) vines about a half mile below top fence line, but a few times we did hit pigs right on top as we returned to the vehicles. Back then alot more hunting pressure, surprised to hear hunting is dying out there but i'm guessing probably the same here too, young people getting lazy. If you can post pictures that would be GREAT, would love to see how it looks nowadays.
I used to live in Honalo behind Teshima's Resteraunt, the Teshima's being close friends of mine, Honalo is 10 miles south, before Kealakekua as you head south from Kailua-Kona. Try them out for good Japanese food at a decent price.
Thanks for the encouraging words, i'm actually looking forward to surgery, and getting rid of constant pain. Take care, a hui hou.

 

[doccherry]

Uncle Ji:

I misspoke when I said farms. I meant to say ranches. On the road into Laupahoehoe from the Mauna Kea access road are signs everywhere saying "No Trespassing." There are cattle everywhere and a few corrals here and there. When you get to within a few miles of Piha and Laupahoehoe, it becomes a state reserve and no more cattle. The grass in amongst the Ohia trees is anywhere from one foot to three feet high everywhere. It's really rough walking.

My boat is a luxurious yacht, all 15 1/2 feet of it. It's a Klamath offshore skiff that does well in moderate ocean conditions. Has everything for big fish but nothing over 200 pounds or we'll sink. Also have an inflatable for diving and a triple kayak for exercise and fishing and diving and a single man outrigger canoe. I can't use the kayak or canoe until my shoulder is healed which may be awhile.

I'll try to post some photos. Good luck with your surgery.

Doc

 

[Uncle Ji]

Aloha Doc, I had a 13'9" aluminum SEARS Gamefisher for about 25 years taking as far out as 15 miles offshore chasing tuna schools sometimes in pretty rough conditions, always wondered when the rivets would start popping out. Always considered moving up into a welded aluminum Klamath 16' or bigger, a better sea boat than a Gamefiser. I prefer light saltwater tackle and smaller gamesters like Mahimahi, Ono, and Ahi under 50 lbs. Some of the most fun you can have is smal 15 lb. or less Aku (Skipjack Tuna) or Shibiko (Yellowfin under 15 lbs.) on spinning tackle, great fun. Never had a desire to catch a large Marlin, too much work especially from te small boats I prefer. Sold my Gamefisher a couple years back (trailering became a pain) and bought a 11' square stern fiberglass canoe and 3hp. outboard, plenty enough for my style of fishing. It only weighs 40 pounds but I injured my back before it arrived so never got a chance to try it yet.
Can't wait to get out Laupahoehoe again in the not too distant future. Thanks again, and good luck on your next hunt.