First Hog Hunt at Indian Valley Reservoir

[shoot2006]

Well my friend and me finally got our hunting licenses this past January and we were planning a Hog Hunt at Indian Valley Reservoir,CA on Presidents day (Today). We got there around 12:00 and hiked for a while (It was hard, the brush was real thick). We just kept hunting and hunting till around 4:00 and saw no Hogs but we did see a Doe Deer and some Wild Pig scat but we just couldn't find any hogs but it was still fun. Has anyone else hunted hogs at Indian Valley Reservoir? Did you get anything? Give me some tips (I need them). I am think about planing another Hog hunt at Knoxville Wildlife area in the next 2 weeks and was wondering if someon can give me some info about Hog hunting here????? That would be great!!


Pig Huntn-

 

[Arrowslinger]

Yep, i made a trip to Indian Valley Res.......they definately have no shortage of chest high brush. Didn't see any pig sign, but found a half dozen deer sheds. Good luck at Knoxville Wildlife.

Them sucka's are hard to find on public land, but you're one step closer finding where they've been.

 

[shaginator]

The cover at I.V. is really really thick. Props to you guys for wading through all that.

Haven't seen much of anything Knoxville (WA side) lately. Parts of the BLM side can be just as dense as IV; also watch out for the no shooting zones on the BLM side. Explored both sides about a month ago and only saw deer and zero pig sign -- that was more on the western edge of the WA side. If they are in there, they'll be in really deep and highly nocturnal, I'm also guessing they're really transient, and like other public areas may be closer to private land borders. I'd also say they'll be a little more scattered since water and food are abundant right now. Also -- some of the areas burned this past fall and that has opened up a few areas. Should be interesting to see how this changes over the next few years.

A couple of years ago I ran into some pig sign at Knoxville, but it was really old. Found some fresh cougar tracks, and that was pretty cool.

Some jackrabbits on the BLM side and plenty of yotes pass through both.

 

[RIFLEMAN]

Hog hunting in Indian Valley is best done by those with dogs. As you found out, the brush makes it difficult to attempt to do any spot and stalking.

Without dogs, my advice is to either use a boat to navigate around the lake and glass the shoreline for hogs, or find some remote sources of water off the beaten path and work those areas.

 

[mudhen]

I know a guy that runs dogs at IV.

He finds hogs every trip.

He says it usually takes 6-7 hours of pretty hard running the dogs to find them.

I can't run hard for 6-7 minutes, or 6-7 seconds for that matter, so I have never joined him.

The boating think is a good idea - kinda like Lake Sonoma style.

IMHO, the place is a dusty godforsaken he ll-hole best left to doggers....

mudhen - CA

 

[ooja]

Jeremy tells me rain is a very good thing for public land hog hunting. Rain is bad for private land hog hunting (as if it is ever bad on private land). The reason: the hogs start rooting under that green grass. They are looking for all those worms! Also the public land water sources fill up and the hogs can stay in new areas for a while. Green grass is everywhere, and when pressured from hunters on private land, they sometimes move off to the public (grass is grass, as long as there is water near by). They bed down in the impossible thick stuff during the day (public land is great bedding ground for hogs, as you have found out, lots of it is thick and impossible) and leave the beds to travel up to 20 miles out from their bedding areas to forage through the night. They return to the impossible thick stuff at first light. Your best bet is to spot them moving from their feeding areas to their bedding grounds at first light. If you can't find them, find the fresh track, and follow them into the thick stuff to get em. If you bust them in the thick stuff, they often will run away and not return for a long while. Check fence lines for hair, check trees for rubs, check water holes for wallows, check all areas for tracks and rooting. Hogs wander, it is like fishing for trout in a lake. You may come across them, you may not. They move, and an area that is not holding now may hold tomorrow, or may not hold for months. One thing is for sure, a pig is a pig, and they make a mess wherever they go, it is like following the trail of a rototiller. Don't spend time looking carefully like you do with deer, a relatively quick glance should tell you all you need to know. Keep moving. Good luck.

BTW, Jeremy is a Guide.

 

[Jagermeister]

I have no specific info for Indian Valley, but have some general public land pointers that may help.

ooja already said it, but I wanted to emphasize: If you want to increase your chances, you have to be out before first light and stay all the way until it is dark. If you take a break, take a nap in the afternoon.

Don't get me wrong, it is good to scout out a place in daylight, so you know where to go when you hike in early in the morning, when it is still dark. If I scout out a new place, I go take a leisurely stroll late in the day and don't expect much. Then I return for a full day and arrive way before sunrise.

I have been on CA public land this winter and found plenty sign, but I have never seen or even heard a pig. I am convinced that the pressure is high enough that they are 100% nocturnal. I figure that the only chance to get them is if they go to bed too late or get up a bit early.

Everything you read here about public land hunting for hog in CA is true. I am slowly breaking down and will book a guided hunt. I feel that it is more likely that I get shot on public land than me ever getting a shot at a pig. I started calling my futile trips "hiking with a gun".

Keep up the good work and good luck!

George

 

[shoot2006]

Thank you everyone for the great info, and hopefully on my next trip I will get one. Thank you again!!!!

 

[Speckmisser]

Good luck, Shoot.

Lots of good info, and I won't counter a bit of it except this...

The only way you're gonna get a hog on public land is to hunt on public land. Nobody ever shot anything sitting at home and typing on the computer or complaining about how scarce the hogs are.

Keep at it, go deeper, and you'll eventually tag out... and when you do tag on on public land, you've bagged a REAL trophy (no matter how big).

 

[HOGHUNTER714]

Speck summed it up!