Hog Hunting with Bigeye Dave

When I got the invitation to hunt Lake Sonoma on Saturday with Bigeye Dave, I just couldn't pass it up.  This guy has the earned reputation of being one of the best hunters on land or sea.

We started the morning with ride on his trusty boat, the "el gato".   On the way to Dave's spot we see an orange kayak on the bank and wondered if it might belong to someone on this board.  We get to his spot and it's long, slow,  and steep uphill climb up to the top where he's seen hogs recently.  To make matters worse, it was already raining and predicted to get worse.  We stop at a clearing about a 100 yards from their bedding spot.  Dave checks the wind direction and we decide to go in from down wind.  Then all of sudden, we hear a loud echoing boom and a pig squealing it's head off.  Seconds later, we hear a finishing shot.  Dave and I look at each other in disbelief.  Somebody just beat us to and shot a hog in the same exact spot we were targeting.  We went into the area to check it out and met up a guy named Ben who just killed a nice 225 to 250 lb boar.  Ben was not only hunting alone, but we found out that he was the guy that kayaked in the orange Hobie Outback we saw earlier.  While Ben was gutting his hog we also learned he was kayak fisherman too.  He's not only been on the NCKA site, but he also fished our Half Moon Bay Derby last June.   What a coincidence!!!

Ben had a big job on his hands, trying to get that big hog out.  He offered to pay Dave and I to help him drag his hog down the hill, but we gladly volunteered to drag it down, at least to main fire trail.  I took Ben's picture and told Ben I would email him a photo.  I sure would like to know how he got that hog out on his kayak.

Here's pic of Ben with his hog:


Disappointed our plan was kiboshed (but happy for Ben), Dave and I move on to hunt other spots and pick golden chantrelle mushrooms along the way.

We went all over and the rain never let up.  By mid morning, we were soaked to the bone despite our rain gear.  On our way back we decided to make one last trip up the hill to search for more chantrelles.  A little more than half way up we find some shelter from the rain and stop for a quick drink and a snack.  I was whupped, but I really wanted to make the most of the day, so we continued up.  Dave's in much better shape than me, so he's at least 20 yards ahead.  The next thing I see is Dave shouldering his gun.  I looked up and there it was -- a big boar just about 25 yards away from Dave.  Kaboom.... down goes the hog.  With it's nose in the ground it tries to get up and starts plowing the ground towards us.  We jump out of the way and behind a tree.  Dave steps out an puts another shotgun slug through the top of the head.  We thought it was done for sure, then the next thing we see is the boar getting back up on all fours and starts to walk away staggering.   Dave finally finishes it off again with a 3rd round to the head.  Unbelieveably TOUGH HOG!!!!

Here's Dave with his hog:


Dave's hog looked a lot like Ben's, just a bit smaller but still too big to drag back to the boat.  So, Dave quickly decides to gut and butcher it out on the spot which was perfect.  There was even a tree with a big limb to hang the hog.

Here I am pretending to do the skinning:


I was in awe of Dave.  He gutted, skinned, quartered out, butchered and bagged the meat in less than hour.  Dave even brought white pillow cases to hold and keep the meat clean.  After strapping the hog parts to our pack frames, we made our way back down to "el gato".

Dave's a frickin' awesome hunter!!! 

Sorry for the blurry photos.  The constant rain, mist, and condensation made it almost impossible to get a clear photo.

A little tribute to Fishunter:


Here's Dave showing all he needed to do the job:

Wow!  that's some Rambo-type action right there.  thanks for the play-by-play chuck!!

Nice "capper" to your weekend Chuck and GRATS to Dave for gettin his HailMaryHog during breaktime....you got me thinkin i was a "real" hunter while reading the post.
......thanks for the FH pose!...too funny! ......oh, and a shoutout to Ben too! he must have been up early in the A.M. to beat you to your spot.   

Nice "capper" to your weekend Chuck

No kidding!  Very productive too.  We both ended up with generous portions of sturgeon and pork.

Nice "capper" to your weekend Chuck

No kidding!  Very productive too.  We both ended up with generous portions of sturgeon and pork.

those are two class-A "other" white meat delicacies! 

Nice work Dave and Chuck... 

My understanding is that Lake Sonoma is open to Shotgun Slug hunting for the entire month of February in the specified zones.  I was wondering how much hunting pressure there is up there... obviously not too much if you found pigs relatively easily.

Would be an adventure to do it by kayak... but I think I'd rather have a boat for that.

That is quite the carnage packed weekend.

EK

Sweet! Git some!

Hey Chuck, did you hear many other shots while you guys were at the lake?  I'm curious how many folks are going to take advantage of the 1-month shotgun season at Lake Sonoma this year.  I made it up once with my bow back in Decmeber for naught, and I'm leery of gun hunting on public land so I probably won't be back up there this year.

Awsome hunt!

Backcountry

Hey Chuck, did you hear many other shots while you guys were at the lake?

Nope.  We didn't hear much at all.  The all day rain probably discouraged some hunters.  We did hear 3 shots in the distance after Ben shot his hog.  It was probably a hunter shooting at the hogs that got scared off.

I was also on Lake Sonoma Saturday.  Launched out of Yorty Creek and paddled all the way to the top of the dry creek.  I was just passing the cut-off for Skunk Camp on the way back down when I heard the shot from above where the orange kayak was.  You guys musta been way way way up on that ridge line.  That was quite a hump in the rain and cold.   

I glassed all the hills around the lake with nothing but a few deer moving around. I saw quite a few areas where it had been roto-tilled, but no hogs.

I talked to a ranger on Saturday night.  He said they had a total of six hogs taken for both Friday and Saturday.

I'm going to try to get up there a couple more times before the hunt closes on the 29th.
 

Thanks for the fish, photos and company Chuck.  It was a sweet weekend for sure.  I guess we were pretty lucky to get a pig with only 6 taken for the first 2 days of the shotgun season.  That means only 4 besides Ben's and ours.  The check in after is voluntary so there may have been other pigs taken that were not reported.  I would say there were about 20 trailers in the parking lot when we launched early Sat. but some were fishing.  Hard to believe that anyone would fish in that weather but I saw it with my own eyes.  Now we need to do it from a yak with a bow.  That will be the ultimate test.  I hope Ben made it out alright.  That was one big hog for a kayak.
Dave

Wow!!! That's crazy stuff. You got all kinds of meat for sure now. You guys got me thinking... hmmmmmmm. I may have to go out and kill something now.

Freddie

So that's what a pig looks like!!

My turn is coming up.  Till then, I'm putting in the time and paying my dues.

Bow-hunting pork from a kayak.  New AOTY requirement for '09? 
Thanks for the great report, guys.

Don't get "them" started!  or it might happen.....would be cool during BAMIV!   
wouldn't have to get it sent in the mail this time around!  

Someday I hope to gain the skills to pull that off, begining to end!

That is one of the coolest reports ever.  Do I smell bacon???