EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Got a call from a rancher today, he's got 60 head of cattle stranded on a flooded out piece of property... Shallowest spot on the property right now is 3' deep :o  A few of them have already died.  Can't get horses or vehicles in so we're gonna try airboats.. rope 'em and float 'em out, then snatch 'em out with trucks waiting on shore... should make for some good pictures ;)

Yes. Post those cause I would really like to see.

good luck to you, u will need it. it is going to be very hard and  you will lose some more cattle.

Just had a brain storm... a friend of mine has a monster truck that I could probably get a holt of for the wknd.... might be a little easier than an airboat...and more fun ;D

we used jet skis once and small boats to herd them. i dont know how the cattle will act around an air boat. how far do u need to move them. will you drive them or are u trying to load them.

Probably not be able to herd them, It's real thick, but we'll see... Good idea with the jet ski!  The plan right now  is to get em roped then drag 'em out and on a trailer.  They've got a dart gun too, but I'm not too sure about darting cattle in the water...  It's gonna be a wet one, that's for sure!

dont forget the camera whatever you do

I need to buy a trained monkey to ride around and just take pictures... it always seems that anytime somethin' good happens, I'm in the middle of it... and nobody else thinks to take pictures :P

thats one pricey monkey your talking about.   :D

We're heading out at 4 in the mornin... turns out this is an island with a 30' deep cut all the way around it, so no "Big Foot", just boats  ;D  10 head of full grown bulls, and 15 head of fat heffers.. the rest just younglings.  Look for pic's tomorrow night ;)

CAINT WAIT

  GIVE EM HELL SON !!!

That's a big 10-4 ;)

good luck be safe

its tomorrow night at my house.-- -  wonder if noah is alright?   

Well, made it through day 1.  My body feels like I've been wrestling full grown cattle in neck deep water all day ;)  Out of the 65 head, we caught and put on a trailer 30.   

Started the day off with 9 airboats, 3 deck boats, 10 stock trailers and a tractor to back the trailers down into the river so we could float the big ones on.  Turns out this is(or was) a 150 acre island out in the St. Johns river that these cattle have never left(brought out six yrs ago by barge and not since been touched).... which explains why our attempts to drive them across the river to our catch property was a bust.  We fooled around with trying to drive them for about an hour, finally realizing that they would rather ram an airboat than swim a river ;D

Time for plan B... rope 'em, snub 'em to a tree, hog tie them, dolly their head to a boat and drag their but to the trailer... which we ended up doing 32.  Basically, we had to get out on foot when the herd entered a bay head, 6-8 of us with ropes, stalk them in 3-6' of water, rope them and then rap around a tree... quick like ;)  All the while trying not to drown the flailing, airborne, bovine wrecking balls that tried to charge us at every turn.  Once snubbed, the "catch team" went into action, which consisted of myself and another large fellow who would jump on the animal and wrastle/ride it till we got it flipped.  Once flipped we turned the noose into a bridle and snubbed the nose up so they wouldn't drown.  Then, hog tie, every stinking one of them... Never have I hog tied so many full grown cattle in one day...my jaw and ribcage still hurt as I'm typing this.

Lost two bulls, one went nuts when roped and ran out to deep water and drowned, the other one died after being tranquilized by a vet :o... Oh well, they all would've died if we hadn't gone out there anyway.  One bad injury, my fellow catch dog got his knee blown out when a rank yearling sky rocketed on us, landing on his outstreched leg :(.  We had generations of old time cattlemen out there with us and they all said the same thing, "we ain't never seen nothin' like this!"  Every cabbage palm had at least one moccasin in it and usually a pigmy rattler or two.  Every nasty biting, stinging insect know to man was clung to every floating object waiting for us to pass by so they could jump ship and naw on us instead... Good fun ;D  By the end of the day, the local news helicopter, sherrif's dept. and game warden had all made appearances... some were nice, some were not so nice ;)

My camera got swamped after the first hour, so no crazy action shots.  However, we're going out tomorrow to catch the rest(including 10 full grown BAD bulls :-\) and I'm taking the wife's camera, so hell or high water , I'll have some crazy pictures.... even if I have to sit out a round and watch the fun.

The "A" team
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8681/14299229xt8.jpg) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=14299229xt8.jpg)

The line up
(http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1016/81463263rn7.jpg) (http://img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=81463263rn7.jpg)

Heading down the "woods road" down to the river
(http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8126/28194310li4.jpg) (http://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28194310li4.jpg)

The river and bay head that all the work happens in...
(http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6692/16601878nc0.jpg) (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=16601878nc0.jpg)

The river we had to cross, which was running pretty good.
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/6720/10192293js5.jpg) (http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10192293js5.jpg)

Initial attempt to drive them across the river
(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/2048/75191795vk4.jpg) (http://img213.imageshack.us/my.php?image=75191795vk4.jpg)

Roped one... now what? ;D
(http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/7097/17820390vj8.jpg) (http://img518.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17820390vj8.jpg)

The cabbage palms that held all the critters
(http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3509/97603795uc8.jpg) (http://img524.imageshack.us/my.php?image=97603795uc8.jpg)

All right, I'm crashing for the night.  Next report late tomorrow, over and out...

GOOD DEAL NOAH.  glad its turning out alright. id DAMN SURE like to have been there, theres just something about when the owner tells ya to '' ketch em at all cost '' that makes my blood run faster. where is that ?my dad will want to know.  glad to see somebody s got plenty of waterlol.  keep us posted!

For the first time that I can remember, if my neighbor called me up tonight and told me a monster boar hog was standing in his pasture... I wouldn't do a damn thing.  I don't care to tie a hog for a long time.  After hog tying 75 head of bad to the bone woods cattle... my hands are ready for a break.  I haven't had this many "mystery bruises" since I stopped starting colts years ago.

JDT, it's somewhere around Sanford/O'Steen on the St. John's river.   

Capt'n Jack, good call on the lost cattle prediction.  We lost 3 more today.   2 fine bulls and a heffer.  There is some kind of interaction with the vet's tranquilizer and us pulling them through the water.  The bulls we roped with no juice, made it fine.  With juice, they died on the trip over, we surmise that the paralytic effect of the anesthesia prevented the diaphragm from adequately drawing in enough air to make the "sub surface" trip across the river... So, we didn't use the juice for the rest :o  And they all made it... 17 full grown Brangus bulls and the rest(15) of the heffers left over from yesterday.

My memory card got filled up by the end of the heffers so just imagine me getting thrown 20' through the air by a bull and you'll get the picture.  It's a miracle nobody got seriously hurt today.  I saw several people get cow-kicked in the face, and I about got my leg crushed by a grander.  A "tranquilized" bull came to life and damn near broke me in half...hard to bulldog a neck bigger than I can get my arms around :-\  but I guess luck was with me ;)

Anyways, here's the pictures that my man was able to take, hope you enjoy.

The quarry.  Looks easy, doesn't it?
(http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/3014/78383617zd0.jpg) (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=78383617zd0.jpg)

The game.
(http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9720/60856299af0.jpg) (http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=60856299af0.jpg)

The throw, catch, then haul a$$ and get a wrap before you go water skiing..
(http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/9129/20447795hs3.jpg) (http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20447795hs3.jpg)

One snubbed up, one on the way.....
(http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1511/44867702ec2.jpg) (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=44867702ec2.jpg)

Awesome pics Noah!!!! That looks like some sure nuff HARD work!!!!

Letting my new "catch dog" (shaved head/gray shirt)work the ropes.
(http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/4096/41258097dj4.jpg) (http://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=41258097dj4.jpg)

Liquid refreshments anyone....? ;D
(http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8361/19983443sn7.jpg) (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=19983443sn7.jpg)

One corner taken... three more to go... doing it Florida style ;)
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9360/56782293ob6.jpg) (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=56782293ob6.jpg)

Got another one hooked up... the look on my virgin catch dog's face says it all...
(http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/9725/65781702jw8.jpg) (http://img357.imageshack.us/my.php?image=65781702jw8.jpg)

What you hiding behind the tree for boy???? ;D
(http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/552/51947850aw8.jpg) (http://img357.imageshack.us/my.php?image=51947850aw8.jpg)

Just like when we hog hunt... I grab a leg and look who piles on ;)
(http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7154/41171667xe3.jpg) (http://img357.imageshack.us/my.php?image=41171667xe3.jpg)

He's got her by the flank! :P
(http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2772/62227021tq8.jpg) (http://img153.imageshack.us/my.php?image=62227021tq8.jpg)

Now for the "aqua cow tie"
(http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7199/13887469ex3.jpg) (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=13887469ex3.jpg)

There were several other photographers, both private... and public(sheriff, game wardens, and news helicopter...  :-*)  and I will soon have some action shots of the bull roping antics.... stay tuned...

noah.

boy that was an adventure. in 20 years, when you are sitting around telling stories, no one will ever believe you. they will say you are a crazy old man.

truth is stranger than fiction. good job and i am glad no one got hurt.

good pics noah, glad nobody got hurt

Thanks guys, Capt'nJack... every body already thinks I'm crazy now... who knows what they'll think of me yrs from now ;D  I wouldn't believe me either if I wasn't there :D

 :o man thats wild NOAH !!! looks like yall worked your butts off.

I still think your crazy. LOL!!!!!  J/K was bored and looking thru some old post, well its been a few yrs.  LOL

holy-water-cow batman!!! old post but dang i wish we were buddies at that time i would have been first in the water

Damn I did not think the river had that much water?? But with the drought the last couple years places that should of had water didnt.

Sounds like fun! Gonna be a good duck season on the river :)

Thats freaken CRAZY Noah  ;D  ;D  ;D

We can tell you aint in Texas. Lol

AHHH.... GOOD TIMES!!!   You must've been diggin' ta find this old post!  ;D

Thanks SC!  That says a lot about people that would do crap like that for the fun of it.... MY KINDA PEOPLE!!!!!  :D

Them ranchers down south still tell stories about me ropin' the first bull... I was all jacked up on adrenaline, I dove off the front of an airboat... ran the biggest bull down in the water... through a loop over his head and dallied his ass solid to a palm tree... all in about 3 seconds...  :D

(mind you, this was the very first of the bunch anyone had messed with... and no one, other than me, really had any other plan... so I took it upon myself to get the "hard one" outta the way first lol )

...WELL.... that ol' bull(that had never been restrained in his life) hit the end of that rope and I mean ta tell you he went up in the air prolly 20'... looked like a damn large mouth bass in the air tryin' ta shake a hook!!!  :o ;D  .... problem was I was under neath him!!!  :o :o

After several acrobatic moves I managed to pull the slack out with his flailing and got him snubbed tight to the palm... chokin' his ass out so "we" could hog tie him..........

.................. When I looked over my shoulder for help, the men in the boats just stared blankly at me... not ONE of them even made a move ta come help me.... bunch a lilly livered sissies!!! HAHA!!  .... They wanted to go after the easy ones first to see how it was gonna work out, so I reluctantly let the big boy loose only to catch him the same way the followin' day!!  ;D


COME ON HURRICANES!!!! I NEEDS MY ADRENALINE FIX!!!!!!!!!!  :D

Man that looks like it was a hell of time!

Man, I never seen this post before, I started reading it thinking, we have been in a drought, where did all that water come from?

Really cool pictures and story, glad someone dug it up.

That's one of those "I ain't never seen nothin like it" stories I like to hear.

noah you are a lucky man, if you ever have to do anything like that again, call me up, i love my adrenaline fixes

you ever grabbed a bull by the tail and sat down so he could drag you? best adrenaline rush ive ever had

Yes but a horse can run faster so it's more fun!   ;D

i got kicked in the lower manly parts by one once, i stick with a bull for now

Once you train 'em to trust you, they don't try and kick your head off anymore!!!   I love "barefootin' " across the arena behind a horse!  :D

ah i aint never done that but when i was 6 i used to rodeo sheep and that was a rush at that age, got into bulls when i was in highschool and thats where the tail sliding came into view

Did the gators ever cross your mind? They did mine

sure hope you fella got em all

When you grow up and live in florida your whole life, gators aren't a big deal!

Yes, gators defenitely crossed my mind but only in certain circumstances... in that situation, there was an abundance of food with the flood... so a big gator, most likely, would not have risked a big live target that might hurt him...  Full grown cattle thrashin' gonna make most gators keep their distance....

.... Predicting what a big gator is gonna do is, at best, a guess though... I get in and get out as fast as I can when in dark water now... I know what can be waiting just underneath the surface...  ;)

dude talking about my kind of FUN...i wouldve loved to be there to just watch but know i couldnt have held back i wouldve had to join in thats my stuff right there you got it going on brother

HaHA.... what's it mean when you wait every day of your life for something bad to happen just so you can jump right smack dab in the middle of it....... kinda messed up but that's what keeps me goin'....   ;)

Thats flat awesome right there!! Can't believe I've never seen this thread.. I can imagine how bad your hands felt, that's insane lol

Thats what I was thinking......

I'd have tried all day to drive them across before I caught them 1 at a time. lol.  Hopefully all that "labor" was voluntary. hehe

That was the first time I ever saw cattle drown and the last.... not a pretty sight seein' the water boil up from the death throws of a big animal under water...

It was an experience... that's a damn fact...

Just a cool story worth a ttt.

noah i notised yall had fast back ropes.. rolleyes good thing they didnt break on you :D

Looks and sounds like a hell of of a job. about twenty year ago id of like too have been there with the three packs of dogs i fad would got them bunched up and start shooting bird shot into the lead cows ass making them move. when they btrack id have old blue dalled off and have him drag to a tree or boat. that was long time ago when i was crazy had great food and several sure nuff cow ponies the big barrel stout horse came from king ranch. might be why im disabled beat up and pretty bad from cowboying and college football. hope you had a good day. god bless