Lake Sonoma Hog Hunt Alert

[Kentuck]

Hey you all, this post is getting kind of long so how about we start a new one. Would make it easier to follow.

Thanks,
Kentuck

 

[PIGIG]

Well what a hunt! We had to have put in 20 miles in 3 days but well worth the knowledge gained. We went high we went low we went every d#m elevation lake Sonoma had to offer we learned a lot about the area but just could not figure out where the pigs were holding up at. On day 2 I heard some fighting across the lake in the no hunt zone and that really got my blood boiling.

On day three we went back to a place we scouted the week before. My buddy went high and I went low thinking maybe we would push some thing each other’s way but after about an 1/2 an hour I came to what I would consider a cliff at best.

So I headed up to meet my buddy on the backside of a ridge, and I mean UP when you are trying to walk up a hill and you stick your arm out and touch the hill in front of you that is steep. After about going up hill about 40 feet fighting for some oxygen I stopped to realize there stood a pig about 300+ pounds all black with white spots 20 yards away the craziest thing I ever seen.

I froze but she started to move so I quickly nocked an arrow and looked up to see a white one with black spots and 3 legs now that got my attention just a little to long so by the time I drew back and sighted it was already out of range but here come 4 more the last one was about 6 feet behind the others all were at a slow trot so I decided to take a shot , as the arrow left the rest I noticed a little twig about he size of a Qtip just clip the vane on my arrow, as the pig trotted past the shot zone the arrow stuck in the dirt right behind his front foot about 4 inches. A perfect plcement. Had that twig not been there this story would have been a lot different.

I will be back and I will get him next time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We seen so many wallows must have together bumped 100 deer I stalked one 9 pointer to about 15 yards, had the sh$t scared out of me by a squirrel right at dark in a brush pile i was sitting in

, I only took a few pictures but will post them later right now it is kamikaze time

 

[MikenSoCo]

Glad to hear your persistence paid off. If you can reach out and touch the hill in front of you, you're in a good spot. Why is it the game always appears when our legs and lungs are burning? Your heart must have been pounding out of your chest?! I bet that rush is worth a $15 tag!

 

[sportyg]

Great story pigig, hope you get him next time now that you found a spot up there..

 

[Mel Carter]

Way to go PIGIG. I know what you mean about those hills, they are steep! Glad you got into some action. I'll be back over there in a about 3 weeks for my last trip until they re-open again later in the year. I have covered a lot of ground around this place, so I hope this will help me get into some hogs.

Let see those pics!!

 

[PIGIG]

[/QUOTE]Glad to hear your persistence paid off. If you can reach out and touch the hill in front of you, you're in a good spot. Why is it the game always appears when our legs and lungs are burning? Your heart must have been pounding out of your chest?! I bet that rush is worth a $15 tag!

ya know the funny thing is i dont remember much of anything other than the arrow hitting the branch and wacthing the pigs exit to my right. they never really ran off but just kinda slowly troted away real quietly and dissapered

 

[MikenSoCo]

OK, so how many hogs have been harvested by JHO'rs, and non-JHO'rs? Anybody know?

 

[Mel Carter]

None for me so far, but hopefully that will change come February 10th. I don't know the totals, but everytime I've been there checking in, there's always someone else there saying they have killed hogs on recent trips. You can probably call the ranger, they may have some totals to date. Anybody up for a hunt the 2nd week of February?

 

[PIGIG]

copperjohn and i are going up the 8th to monday and tuesday

 

[MikenSoCo]

We'll have a group there 8,9,10 also. Hope to bump into you guys there. Red canoe or army issue zodiac, good luck- Mike

 

[PIGIG]

we will be in a 2002 red tacoma pulling a old gray zoidac probilbly camping unless someone has a better idea i know where i need to be about 1 hour before daylight and with a 6 Hp motor that does not give me much distance

 

[MikenSoCo]

Do you guys know if there is a check-in kiosk at Yorty Creek or do you have to drive to the visitor center and back out again? Look for my red canoe this week(Tues), flag me down for a lift or a cold one

 

[Backcountry]

You must check in at the main visitor's center at the dam. You can however check out by dropping your check-out slip at any of the iron rangers (and I think there is one at Yorty Creek day use area).

Also, as of the end of January, 15 pigs had been killed... 2 female, 13 male... 2 pigs were over 200 pounds... 290 hunters have checked in/out, for a sucess rate of 5.2%.

In spite of the fact that this area is flush with hogs, the success rate is pretty dismal. I've got a couple guesses as to why... could be some of the hunters are "new", to either pig hunting, hunting in general, or maybe just archery. Could also be that some hunters aren't used to such steep country. More likely, it's that hunting pigs is just plain hard! I personally don't have much room to talk as I spent two days up there and I saw hogs both times, but I wasn't able to sneak close enough for a shot.

Good luck!
Backcountry

 

[Mel Carter]

Hey Backcountry,
A lot of the low numbers of hogs taken, could also be that you need a boat to access the more productive areas. If we weren't on a boat, we never would have seen the hogs we did see, on either of the trips. But a lot of what you mention is also a big factor. Hope you guys are able to make it up before they close the season. I'm done for now, have to save a little vacation for my other hunts later in the year, and hopefully AZ in January. Hey are you up for hunting AZ next year with the JHO crew? Javelina and Deer, it's gotta be a kick!!!!

 

[MikenSoCo]

Just got back from the Lake. I canoed into Skunk Creek Camp and met my buddies tues. morning. They saw no hogs mon. evening. We spread out tues. into the canyons and hills and also saw no hogs. I canoed up the arm near our camp and bumped into some other hunters in a boat, no hogs for them either. I paddled over and under deadfalls until the lake turned into a trickling stream, thats where the sign started. I saw no human footprints and good fresh sign on the hill above the stream, still no hogs. As I got back to camp in the afternoon, a careless mishap ended my hunt. I got dunked

I wasn't careful getting out of the canoe and landed flat on my back in the water. Thank God it was only 3 feet deep, a heavy jacket and boots are tough to swim in. I bummed some dry boots and a tee shirt from my buddies( who were rolling on the ground laughing), and hung out that evening while they hunted( zero sightings). I cooked and cleaned and drank while they were out, and paddled back to Yorty in the am. I still need to try my honey hole before the end! Good luck- Mike

 

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by MikenSoCo@Feb 11 2004, 04:01 PM
I cooked and cleaned and drank while they were out, and paddled back to Yorty in the am.

At least it wasn't a total bust!

Good luck at the honey hole...

Backcountry

 

[Kentuck]

Mike,

Last time I was there we saw pigs on the hill right behind Skunk Creek campground. Thick stuff up there though.

Kentuck

 

[MikenSoCo]

Thanks for the tip Kentuck. A couple of the guys are VERY LOUD by nature, I'm sure we scared off anything around. Didn't see any JHP guys up there, or were you spying from the hills? Next purchase.... life vest!

 

[Kentuck]

Mike,

Haven't been up in almost a month. Family situation keeping me from hunting right now. I hear ya about the noise. There was some good sign up on that hill though, rubs and wallow type.

Kentuck

 

[BDB]

Mike: Sounds like you guys are having fun anyway even without the sightings. From what I recall of your cooking, I'm sure the boys were well fed and happy. I would love to get out there (Lake Sonoma) and check this place out myself but I am out of commission for another couple of weeks and won't have any weekdays off for a while. Good luck at the honey hole, I look forward to seeing the pics.