Aqua cow catching...

[Noah]

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   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

[Cristina]

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

[capt jack]

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

[Noah]

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

[capt jack]

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.

[Noah]

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!

[clint]

dont forget the camera whatever you do

[Noah]

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

[Cristina]

thats one pricey monkey your talking about.   

[Noah]

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    10 head of full grown bulls, and 15 head of fat heffers.. the rest just younglings.  Look for pic's tomorrow night

[jdt]

CAINT WAIT

  GIVE EM HELL SON !!!

[Noah]

That's a big 10-4

[So Oklahoma Cur Dogs]

good luck be safe

[jdt]

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

[Noah]

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

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 ... 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   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


The line up


Heading down the "woods road" down to the river


The river and bay head that all the work happens in...

[Noah]

The river we had to cross, which was running pretty good.


Initial attempt to drive them across the river


Roped one... now what?


The cabbage palms that held all the critters


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

[jdt]

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!

[Noah]

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   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?


The game.


The throw, catch, then haul a$$ and get a wrap before you go water skiing..


One snubbed up, one on the way.....

[matt_aggie04]

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

[Noah]

Letting my new "catch dog" (shaved head/gray shirt)work the ropes.


Liquid refreshments anyone....?


One corner taken... three more to go... doing it Florida style


Got another one hooked up... the look on my virgin catch dog's face says it all...


What you hiding behind the tree for boy?


Just like when we hog hunt... I grab a leg and look who piles on


He's got her by the flank!


Now for the "aqua cow tie"


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...