08/29/09 Cutter Bay hunt

Well, my buddy Herb showed up just after 5:00 AM at the house. I already had the dogs loaded. Herb jumped in the truck, and it was on to the hunting club. I brought Ramsey, Beulah, Zeke, and the two pups (Chrome and Melody). Herb brought his red nose Nitro. We get to the club about ten minutes before daylight. As we drove the roads, there must have been about forty sets of tracks that we could have tried. Nothing looked big. A lot of the tracks were going in the wrong direction (exiting the club).

I decided to go to a cut-through road and take a look. By then, it was daylight. I parked where I thought it would give the dogs a good chance. As I stepped out of the truck, I noticed a nice set of hog tracks. I investigated them for about two to three minutes. They looked good, but there were many other hog tracks with them. All the tracks were just rambling up and down the road. I told Herb, "Let's just dump them.". As I dumped the three grown hounds, they started to open. They began weaving in and out of the pine rows. After a minute or so, they all worked their way back to the road following a small set of tracks. I told them to stop, and come to me. All three came to me. I clicked my fingers on the big track, and down the road they went. We watched them go out of sight down the road. I think Herb had his doubts. I grabbed the Garmin Astro as I heard the dogs take a hard left turn down by the creek. Sure enough, they were leaving the block quick. We jumped in the truck, and raced around the block to see if we could beat the hog there. No luck. As the dogs came across the road, we jumped out to see how big the tracks were. Sure enough, one single track. It was the big one we had hoped to get on. They swam the deep ditch, and rolled out into the next block. I told Herb that we needed to get to the boundary road to cut the hog back in. We raced down the road, opened the gate, and drove down the road South where I thought he might try to cross. I must have turned him. The dogs were about two hundred and fifty yards out screaming through the large planted pines. I noticed they were beginning to cut behind me. I threw it into reverse, and backwards we went. The dogs got fifteen yards off the road, and they spun a loop. Watching the GPS, they went back on the exact same track they had come through the block. After about two hundred yards, they began to work North. We went back in the club, and sure enough, the dogs were just crossing the road. After inspection, same track.

We turned around, and headed for the boundary again. This time we headed North instead of South. I pulled into the next little cut-through road. It was under water. As I pulled up to the water, a solid black hog crossed about two hundred yards in front of us. I knew it was not the hog, because my blueticks were about six hundred yards down the road heading North to wards the highway. Again, reverse got us to the boundary road. I did fifty down the old brick road to keep the hog from crossing the hard road. Watching the Astro screen, I estimated the planned escape route. As we hopped out of the cab, I could hear house dogs barking on their chains. There were scattered houses that lined the highway. Sure enough, in the distance, the Cutter Bay hounds were singing their battle cries. They were still four hundred yards out. Then, they narrowed in about two hundred yards. Soon, eighty yards was all that separated us from them. Herb yelled, "I hear the dogs in the water.". I had to let him know that it was in fact the runner hog that was now just fifteen yards from us. That really got his blood pumping. The dogs were only thirty yards from us, and the bawling was intense. With the sound of us talking, the hog turned back off the highway, and back farther into the block. We had turned him again. We jumped in the truck, and flanked them down the highway, as they paralleled it for one half mile or so. I turned down the next club road. The gate was already open. I could tell by looking at the GPS that they were going to intersect this road very soon. I went down around two corners. I wanted to be able to see down both ways. As I shut the truck off, I could tell that they were going to split the difference between the highway and us. Immediately, I backed down the road. I could see the open gate off the highway. We jumped out. They began to take a Southern approach to cross the road. As Herb jogged down the road, I cranked the truck and headed for the corner again. As I placed the truck about ten yards shy of where it had been one minute earlier, I noticed the ripples on the water in the ditch. Sure enough, the hog had just crossed. All three dogs swam the ditches on each side of the road, and to the South they went. Herb and I inspected the tracks. Just as we had hoped, it was the same hog.

We went down the road for about a mile. As we were driving, we noticed a solid black coyote come out of the same block. It ran down the road for about two hundred yards, before it darted back into the same block. After looking at it's tracks, we backed down the road about one hundred yards. I cut the engine off. Sure enough, they were heading straight to us. They get about eighty yards out, and they are all splashing around in a swamp. I could not see them, but I could hear them sloshing around very easily. I told Herb to grab Nitro, and ease down the road about forty yards very quietly. I said, If he comes through the ditch, release the beast.". I stayed at the truck. After about two minutes of the dogs really struggling to move from a deep water spot, I saw something enter the side of the road past Herb. I told Herb to look down the road. About one hundred and seventy yards from me, standing in the middle of the road, was a solid black boar hog. Herb motioned as if he was going to turn loose Nitro. I yelled, "NO, DON"T LET HIM GO!". After cranking the Chevy, I had Herb throw Nitro up on the box. He jumped on the back bumper, as we hauled tail down the road. We could not find where he had crossed. After several minutes, the dogs worked it out, and moved closer to us. As they came though the ditch, I told them to load up. We inspected the road for hog tracks. Sure enough, exactly where the dogs came across, we found the evidence of our quarry.

I looked at the Astro for some stats. It was just over a two hour race. They covered just shy of seven miles. The majority of the terrain was shin deep water. It rolls up on to pine flats, but then goes back down into swamps. Some of what they were working was chest deep or better on me. After giving them a twenty minute break, I let the three hounds back out on the track. They swam the ditch, and immediately stated bawling as they entered the woods. I went down the next road. Sure enough, they were coming directly to us. I could tell that they just did not have the step they would need to end the job. As they piled out into the road, I opened the box. They filed in, as if they knew it was in their best interest. We ended up not catching the black boar hog that would go close to two hundred pounds. However, I left the woods satisfied knowing that the dogs faced a great adversary, and came up just short of the goal. This boar had thrown everything at them that he had. Do to previous experience with heat stroking dogs, I made the decision to go home empty handed. He had won for that day. However, I'm positive, I will post pictures of him in the future.