Joice Island Pigs

[hntndux]

I was lucky enough to get drawn for the Joice Isl pig hunt this year and was wondering if anybody has any expierence with this hunt. I've duck hunted the area several times so I have somewhat of an idea of place. Are the ponds drained? Do any areas hold more pigs than others generally? Thank You in advance for any help!

 

[Speckmisser]

hntndux,

I haven't hunted the pigs on Joice, so this info is not gonna serve all your needs, but I'll toss this out for consideration.

When I hunted Joice for ducks, I was always wondering where the pigs were going when the hunters showed up. Last time I was there, I found tracks and scat that had to be made the same morning, but no sign of pigs anywhere. I stomped all over the place, jump shooting the potholes, and couldn't believe I didn't see any pigs.

Then, as I was taking a break beside the big pond, I saw a wake where something was moving in the water. It was too big to be a duck, and I thought maybe a swan. Then I caught two more objects swimming to the island. At first I thought it was beavers or muskrats, but then I got a better look. It was two small pigs!

This just goes to say, if there's anyway to get out to those islands... I'm sure that's where the pigs are going when the pressure comes on. I was thinking about using a float tube. No boats are allowed, but I don't think float tubes are considered boats. They are permitted in other no-boating areas.

Anyway, it's just a thought.

 

[Kentuck]

hntndux,

A friend of mine was drawn the first year they hunted Joice. I got to be the non-hunting buddy. We saw about a dozen or so pigs, most of them at the very end of the day. We saw one right after driving onto the island but the other hunter and his brother were ahead of us and when their truck stopped the pig took off. Speckmisser is correct in that some of the pigs stay out in the area of the big pond on the east end of the island. The other places they stay is the tule pathces off the side of the island. You'll never see them there. We tried to walk some of those trails and of course only pigs could get into that stuff. We found two piglets in some tall grass in the afternoon but they still had spots so my buddy passed (you could get two pigs that year). The other hunters split in the afternoon and I convinced my buddy to stay since it was a one day hunt and only a half hour drive home. Glad we did. We had hiked the entire island the first half of the day so we decided to just sit in the truck and watch the western end of the island. We were at the very end of the road you drive in on. We spotted 6-8 pigs walking along a ditch about a half mile away and took off after them. There was a lot of tall pampas grass-like weeds there and the pigs had gotten it them. My buddy tried a stalk but the wind switched and they spooked. Couldn't find them again. It was getting late and we were hiking back to the truck and the "pain" hits my friend. In our hurry to get the pigs we had left our packs in the truck so we were without paper. We get about 150 yards from the truck and my buddy turns and asks me for the truck keys and as reach in my pocket for them I look over his shoulder and there are pigs under his truck. One was actually rubbing on a rear tire. We get within 20 yards of the truck and a pig walks cown the bank and my buddy misses. Couldn't believe it. He later said he was never comfortable shooting slugs. I had used them before and told him they would do the job just fine. Well pigs are running every where now and he shoots at another. We're not sure if he ever hit one. We watched the one he thought he hit run all the way across the island. We tracked as long as we could but never found any sign. I'm not sure if this helps but if I were to go again I would hunt the western side. The eastern side had pigs but as stated before they probably stay out on the tule islands.

 

[Catahoula Kid]

I also drew am going on this hunt Mar. 15 & 16. My friend and his son drew the same weekend. I am going as a nonhunting guest. I was there 2 years ago with my son (junior hunter). He missed 2 hogs. Should have shot the slugs at targets first. I was told to aim a little low at close range as the shotgun jumps up a little. I shot a 200 lb 2 weeks ago at Lake Sonoma and had no problem with slugs. I saw 4 pigs at Joice 2 years ago in 4 different locations. One was a 400 lbs. It is very hard to get to the middle areas. I tried and almost drowned. Very high water. I saw huge tracks coming from the slew also. The pigs live out in the thick stuff and we also walked probably 5 miles that day. All flat walking. I might bring a bicycle this time.