Time out for hog hunting:
I am a Florida native who has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to fish & hunt for well over 1/2 a century. I have fished out great waters, in-shore as well as way off-shore, for a life time. I have hunted all over Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, New Mexico, and even as far North as Maine. At 72, I have been forced to take it a little easier. Never-the-less, I still consider the Florida Middle Grounds, as well as the woods of our great state, my second homes away from home.
My living room looks like a zoo:
My late wife, Thelma, & I hunted Buck & Boar hunting club for twenty years:
Hogs are very smart, but hungry. Corn feeders are used to 'feed' on their hungry stomach.
B&B has over 10,000 acres. Without corn feeders hogs would be very hard to find,
more-less get a good shot:
Typical B&B hut:
Typical B&B hogs under electric corn feeder:
Typical B&B hog:
Typical Tiger Island hut:
Typical Tiger Island hogs under electric feeder:
I now hunt Tiger Island with my daughter, Dee Harbison.
Typical Dee hogs @ TI:
Dee & I like to share our adventures. August, Woods'nWater magazine:
Last Saturday, Dee took the day off. I went hog hunting with good friend Mister Tony Baker & a new friend Mister Mike Pocino. Both Tony & Mike are students at National Aviation Academy. As they prepare for a career as air craft mechanics, their time is very limited. The course is extremely demanding. They decided to take a day off, 'Time out for hog hunting!' How better to spend the day than a trip to Tiger Island Outfitters, sometimes called 'Hog Heaven!'
Tony has shot many hogs; Mike has never even seen a wild hog in the woods. This is going to be some trip. We will be hunting, same as Buck & Boar, over electric corn feeders. The acorns are thick, hope the hogs forget about the acorns long enough to visit our feeders. Will our, 'Time out for hog hunting,' be worth missing a day of studying? Will the drive to Cedar Key's Tiger Island Outfitters be worth the effort? Only one ay to find out. Let's go see together:
As we arrive at the Tiger Island gate we area greeted by Josh, our very knowledgeable guide for the day. I have hunted with Josh many times. He is a professional who really knows hog hunting. I love hunting with Josh. Crichton Allen, TIO owner, and wife, Tracy, are Florida natives who exemplify Southern hospitality. Welcome to out home, let's go hog hunting. Even the TI turkeys are all excited:
Today, our trophy hogs will be delicious 75-100 pound beauties On the grill, sausage, in the oven, or hog burgers, the flavor of young wild Florida hogs defies the imagination.
Just as the early morning sun beams through the beautiful oak, hickory, hammocks of Tiger Island Outfitters, Josh sets us up in three different huts overlooking very active corn feeders. This is going to be great. We hope! Hogs will be hogs; you never know what to expect. I have been hunting Tiger Island for about four years now. The hogs approach the feeders exactly the same as Buck & Boar, we hope!
Think I will have breakfast before the hogs decide it's time for their morning meal. Hold on! That was a shot I heard. Mike comes on the radio. I shot my first ever hog. My Savage 308 knocked him down, Oh no! He got up and took off like a jet plane. Gosh! These Florida hogs are tough. Then Tony's Winchester 30 06 sounds off. Hog down; hog down and out. The hogs refuse to give up. Acorns or no acorns, 'we want corn, and plenty of it!' The hogs keep coming; Mike & Tony keep shooting. Will Mike harvest his first hog? Will Tony fill the freezer? Hold on! Where are my hogs? All I have seen was one little hoglet, and he was on the run. Just my luck. It sounds like world war 3 and I see one little piggy. 'Time out for hog hunting!' Well, at least for some of us. My daughter, Dee, always out shoots me; and now this. Even a first-timer is taking me to school. Oh well! For me at least that's why they call it hunting; not shooting. Think I will stick with my camera and sharing our adventures with other sportsmen/women. What a hunt. Mike ended up with three beauties, and Tony two. As for me, well! I saw one. Never-the-less, we all enjoyed every minute of our great adventure. Thanks Tiger Island, thanks for the memories that will last a life time.
Mike (L), Josh, Crichton, and Tony
Think I will get close to Mike. Maybe some of that 'beginners luck' will rub off on this old timer. Man! Tony & Mike really know how to hog hunt:
While Josh & Chrichton but the finishing touches on our, or maybe I should say Tony & Mike's hogs, breakfast at a true Florida land mark sound like a wonderful way to end our most exciting adventure. Treasure Camp on the Swannee is, without doubt, one of the most magnificent 'Treasures' Florida has to offer. Stunning, in no way adequately describes this Camp. The view of the historic Swannee river is absolutely breathtaking:
'Time out for hog hunting,' in the beautiful oak-hickory groves of Tiger island Outfitters, and breakfast @ 'Treasure Camp on the Swannee' we will be back, back soon and often,
Bob Harbison Florida Outdoor Writers association
