Kentuck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
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Got up to the lake on Friday about 1:30 pm. Arrived at the Visitor Center just after my buddy and his wife so that was good timing. Got registered for the hunt then went to Liberty Glen to set up camp. My buddy had brought up their trailer and I my boat. Got camp setup and then my buddy and I headed out about 3 to hunt. We hit a spot I had seen pigs in last year since we didn't have much time to hunt. hunted till sunset and didn't see hardly any sign there. Looked like one spot may have had 1 or 2 pigs there but not recently. The rest of the area that was tore up last year didn't have any rooting at all this year.
Got up Sat. morning and headed out further up the lake where we had had seen pigs my second trip last year. Parked the boat, watched three gobblers trying to hook up with the rest of the flock across the cove and then we all split up and headed up the hill. Got to the ridge and ended up finding three wallows about as big as bath tubs and one mud-only wallow and they all looked recently used. Plus there was tracks and fresh rooting. This was definately looking good. Followed an old road bed around the hill and ended basically following a flock of about 16 turkeys around the hill. That was cool given that at times I was only about 25 yards from them. There was one hen that either had a broken leg or no use of one leg as she was hopping around on one leg. Too bad. she looked in good shape other than that. Anyway, I get to the ridge top where the road I was on met another and what do I find? The mother of all pig wallows. This wallow was about 8 feet wide and about 12 feet long and was nothing but mud soup. There was a mud-only wallow about five feet from this one that was about a foot and a half deep. The whole area was loaded with pig tracks and a couple of trails coming to the wallow were rutted they had been used so much. The trees around the wallow had rub marks up about waist high on them. I had found pig central! It was obvious that the pigs were coming out of one thick canyon to the wallow and then on out the ridge to root and feed. I followed another road up the hill and found lots of rooting. While walking through a brushy area I spooked a pig just in the edge of the brush. Just caught site of something black after it had grunted and then took off. Hunted there for a little while and then started back to the boat. Coming off the hill, all the while following fresh tracks, I heard a squeel over in the brush. I worked my way in to an opening and stood there listening. Finally I could here more gruning and saw the brush moving about 25 yards away. The ol' heart rate was going up now! I stayed there for about an hour during which time I realized I had a group of pigs in there beds. Sounded like at least one sow with some piglets were making most of the noise. I did catch site of a real small pig through the brush. I decided to leave and go and get my buddy and his wife (yes, she was hunting too!). On the way out of the draw I spooked a pig but never saw it. Got back to the boat and ate lunch and then we headed back up the hill. Got to the spot and heard the grunting. They were still there. My buddy and his wife stayed there and I went down to the "mother" wallow. Stayed there for a couple of hours and then headed back up the hill. Also while there I got to watch that same flock of turkeys feed around from about 40 yards. That was cool. They had one nice Tom in them. I also feel now that my calling sounds just as good as any wild turkey! I should note that before I left I took a stick and wrote the word "Pig" in the soft mud of the smaller wallow. Met my buddy and he said his wife had almost shot one. Turns out she moved up the hill a little ways and the pigs started moving around. She had a grey pig broadside at 15 yards and just as she went to draw on it, a piglet jumped up and "got hold of the milk dispensor"! Well, motherly instincts kicked in and she decided, wisely, not to shoot the pig. The pigs moved deeper into the brush and we then had to leave.
Got up Sunday and back to the hill we found Sat. afternoon. Got to the small wallows and we weren't sure if they had been used although we did find pig tracks there weren't there the evening before. Got to the mother wallow and sure enough, there had been a party there during the night. Fresh tracks everywhere, fresh mud on the trees and the wallow I had written in the evening before had been used and "Pig" was gone! There was really fresh tracks on the trail heading into the brushy canyon. My friends headed up the hill to the bed site and I decided once they were there I would walk the trail into the brush as best I could and maybe if I didn't get one I'd push one to them. The trail I walked was wore out. I side hilled into the thick area and it turned out not to be too bad. Lots of scrub oaks about 8-10 feet tall and the areas under them were wore out by the pigs. The oaks were loaded with acorns so there is no need for the pigs to leave the thick area. I hunted around in there and then started out by where the beds were on Sat. Saw my buddy sitting there and then heard grunting. The pigs were there. I moved downhill a little and then could see piglets running around in the brush. Two different sized piglets so there must have been at least two sows in there. Deciding the pigs weren't coming out I went up to my buddy. He said he had spooked one coming in and it had run uphill right to his wife. The pig saw here and went back into the brush. Later I found out she had another pig start to come out of the brush and she drew. She doesn't know if the pig heard her or saw her but she never saw or heard it after that. We went where she was at and while she was telling me about it we could here another group of pigs down and across another canyon. I'm not sure if that was park property so we decided not to check those pigs out. It was then time to head home. Went out and packed camp and headed home. It was a great weekend, saw pigs, almost got shots, and saw a bunch of turkeys. Only other thing to add was it was way too warm! Could have hunted in t-shirts and shorts during the day. Had the pigs holed up. I'll post a pic of the "mother wallow" when my friend emails me it.
I am definately going to try and get back up there at least one day next week.
Got up Sat. morning and headed out further up the lake where we had had seen pigs my second trip last year. Parked the boat, watched three gobblers trying to hook up with the rest of the flock across the cove and then we all split up and headed up the hill. Got to the ridge and ended up finding three wallows about as big as bath tubs and one mud-only wallow and they all looked recently used. Plus there was tracks and fresh rooting. This was definately looking good. Followed an old road bed around the hill and ended basically following a flock of about 16 turkeys around the hill. That was cool given that at times I was only about 25 yards from them. There was one hen that either had a broken leg or no use of one leg as she was hopping around on one leg. Too bad. she looked in good shape other than that. Anyway, I get to the ridge top where the road I was on met another and what do I find? The mother of all pig wallows. This wallow was about 8 feet wide and about 12 feet long and was nothing but mud soup. There was a mud-only wallow about five feet from this one that was about a foot and a half deep. The whole area was loaded with pig tracks and a couple of trails coming to the wallow were rutted they had been used so much. The trees around the wallow had rub marks up about waist high on them. I had found pig central! It was obvious that the pigs were coming out of one thick canyon to the wallow and then on out the ridge to root and feed. I followed another road up the hill and found lots of rooting. While walking through a brushy area I spooked a pig just in the edge of the brush. Just caught site of something black after it had grunted and then took off. Hunted there for a little while and then started back to the boat. Coming off the hill, all the while following fresh tracks, I heard a squeel over in the brush. I worked my way in to an opening and stood there listening. Finally I could here more gruning and saw the brush moving about 25 yards away. The ol' heart rate was going up now! I stayed there for about an hour during which time I realized I had a group of pigs in there beds. Sounded like at least one sow with some piglets were making most of the noise. I did catch site of a real small pig through the brush. I decided to leave and go and get my buddy and his wife (yes, she was hunting too!). On the way out of the draw I spooked a pig but never saw it. Got back to the boat and ate lunch and then we headed back up the hill. Got to the spot and heard the grunting. They were still there. My buddy and his wife stayed there and I went down to the "mother" wallow. Stayed there for a couple of hours and then headed back up the hill. Also while there I got to watch that same flock of turkeys feed around from about 40 yards. That was cool. They had one nice Tom in them. I also feel now that my calling sounds just as good as any wild turkey! I should note that before I left I took a stick and wrote the word "Pig" in the soft mud of the smaller wallow. Met my buddy and he said his wife had almost shot one. Turns out she moved up the hill a little ways and the pigs started moving around. She had a grey pig broadside at 15 yards and just as she went to draw on it, a piglet jumped up and "got hold of the milk dispensor"! Well, motherly instincts kicked in and she decided, wisely, not to shoot the pig. The pigs moved deeper into the brush and we then had to leave.
Got up Sunday and back to the hill we found Sat. afternoon. Got to the small wallows and we weren't sure if they had been used although we did find pig tracks there weren't there the evening before. Got to the mother wallow and sure enough, there had been a party there during the night. Fresh tracks everywhere, fresh mud on the trees and the wallow I had written in the evening before had been used and "Pig" was gone! There was really fresh tracks on the trail heading into the brushy canyon. My friends headed up the hill to the bed site and I decided once they were there I would walk the trail into the brush as best I could and maybe if I didn't get one I'd push one to them. The trail I walked was wore out. I side hilled into the thick area and it turned out not to be too bad. Lots of scrub oaks about 8-10 feet tall and the areas under them were wore out by the pigs. The oaks were loaded with acorns so there is no need for the pigs to leave the thick area. I hunted around in there and then started out by where the beds were on Sat. Saw my buddy sitting there and then heard grunting. The pigs were there. I moved downhill a little and then could see piglets running around in the brush. Two different sized piglets so there must have been at least two sows in there. Deciding the pigs weren't coming out I went up to my buddy. He said he had spooked one coming in and it had run uphill right to his wife. The pig saw here and went back into the brush. Later I found out she had another pig start to come out of the brush and she drew. She doesn't know if the pig heard her or saw her but she never saw or heard it after that. We went where she was at and while she was telling me about it we could here another group of pigs down and across another canyon. I'm not sure if that was park property so we decided not to check those pigs out. It was then time to head home. Went out and packed camp and headed home. It was a great weekend, saw pigs, almost got shots, and saw a bunch of turkeys. Only other thing to add was it was way too warm! Could have hunted in t-shirts and shorts during the day. Had the pigs holed up. I'll post a pic of the "mother wallow" when my friend emails me it.
I am definately going to try and get back up there at least one day next week.
