Filling Freezers!

Took a break from the sturgeon fishing and headed out to fill another freezer! We got to the ranch in the dark and set out in search of some pork! We looked high and low without much luck until we spotted this guy and 5 of his friends tearing up one of the flats down in the valley. They were a long ways off but in a good spot for a stalk so off we went. We covered most of the distance on the ATV and then closed in on foot. As we crested the last rise there they were, a mere 25 yards away!! The wind was perfect and they had no clue what was about happen. One shot from Scott's trusty rifle and he was standing over a perfect sized pig for eating!! It was a nice change of pace and by all the rooting on the ranch looks like we have several herds of pigs working it over.

Back on the water, looking for sturgeon!

We headed out again last night sturgeon fishing, I absolutely love it and can't get enough. The thought of never knowing how big the catch will be keeps me going back! We launched around 4:00 and were fishing by 5:00. Our friends Brian and Karlie came up with us so we anchored side by side with enough bait in the water, we were sure to catch something. Around 6:00 the inside rod went down but before I could grab it the fish was gone! We rebaited and by 6:30 it was fish on!! The fish put up a great fight and we were soon slipping a nice 48 inch keeper into the net!

     We landed that one and got back to fishing! We had a few more bites and some line rubs and we patiently waited. Around 1:00 AM the reel started screaming and Brian set the hook! At the hook set the rod stayed down and the line peeled off the reel. It was evident we had a big one and if we were going to land it we would have to float with it. I threw in the buoy and we started drifting with the fish. Every time we gained and inch the fish would take a mile. 40 minutes later the big fish came to the surface and we were able to get a measurement, 84 inches! The fish put up a hell of a fight and we took all of the time necessary to get the big hen revived and with smiles and burning arms watched her swim away to fight another day!  I just can't get enough and look forward to the next trip!

In search of pork!

We did not offer many pig hunts last season due to low animal numbers but decided to offer a few this season. Based on the sign we are seeing on the ranch there is a pretty good population of them up there. I met Mike in Arbuckle and we headed for the hills to see what we could find. We got up on a high ridge and were making our way along it glassing down into the valley. On the fourth stop I looked down and spotted a lone boar feeding on the edge of a brush patch. The boar looked to be 300+ pounds and we tried to put a stalk on him but could only get as close as 300 yards due to terrain and Mike was not comfortable with the shot. I was trying to find another way to close the distance when the boar slipped into the brush, never to be seen again. We jumped on the ranger and went in search of more. As we were driving along I looked into the bottom of the ravine and spotted a small group of pigs feeding on the brush line. We bailed out and got set up on the sticks but Mike was blinded by the sun in the scope. I quickly took off my hat and shaded the scope the best I could and it worked. Mike got the biggest pig of the group in his sights and touched one off! The shot was perfect and the pig dropped in it's tracks, a perfect head shot at 175 yards! The pig was in the bottom of the canyon so we hiked down and mike helped me get it up on my shoulders after a quick gut job and up the hill I went. The pig was a nice sized sow around 235 pounds!