Clipper
Senior Member
I got drawn for the week 1 Chickasawhatchee turkey hunt this year with one rejection point. Got down there Monday afternoon, set up camp, and met the neighbor campers. There were a total of 6 hunters in camp and I believe we had the WMA to ourselves the whole time we were there. There were two gobblers taken and another missed. I was the only hunter using a bow.
Monday afternoon I set up my blind in a spot I had heard turkeys at last year and then went pig hunting. Had a group smell me in the swamp and heard them run off. They were in the middle of the swamp and I walked past them without knowing they were there. Tuesday morning I hunted the blind and called but neither heard nor saw birds. I pig hunted the rest of the morning and got almost in shooting distance of 2 small black pigs but the wind was shifting and they smelled me. Those were the only pigs I saw while down there. I did have another group smell me the next afternoon due to the wind shifting on me as well. I saw two gators while there and some real pretty scenery, including the swamp flowers in the pictures below. I also had a tom answering me Wednesday morning who never came in. The weather was nice except the wind was always changing directions. As usual, I saw an abundance of pig sign most places I hunted.
I left for home Thursday afternoon just before it rained. I averaged walking about 5.5 miles each full day and loved every minute of it. Skeeters were pesky and I brought one tick home on me in spite of 40% deet. No snakes but the gators made up for that. I took the picture below from about 10 feet with him hissing at me. Good trip and I would do it again. I invited some of my gun hunting friends from up here to apply for the hunt but when I mentioned skeeters, ticks, snake chaps, and gators they weren’t interested. Guess you just have to love the swamps to enjoy this. I would do it again.
Monday afternoon I set up my blind in a spot I had heard turkeys at last year and then went pig hunting. Had a group smell me in the swamp and heard them run off. They were in the middle of the swamp and I walked past them without knowing they were there. Tuesday morning I hunted the blind and called but neither heard nor saw birds. I pig hunted the rest of the morning and got almost in shooting distance of 2 small black pigs but the wind was shifting and they smelled me. Those were the only pigs I saw while down there. I did have another group smell me the next afternoon due to the wind shifting on me as well. I saw two gators while there and some real pretty scenery, including the swamp flowers in the pictures below. I also had a tom answering me Wednesday morning who never came in. The weather was nice except the wind was always changing directions. As usual, I saw an abundance of pig sign most places I hunted.
I left for home Thursday afternoon just before it rained. I averaged walking about 5.5 miles each full day and loved every minute of it. Skeeters were pesky and I brought one tick home on me in spite of 40% deet. No snakes but the gators made up for that. I took the picture below from about 10 feet with him hissing at me. Good trip and I would do it again. I invited some of my gun hunting friends from up here to apply for the hunt but when I mentioned skeeters, ticks, snake chaps, and gators they weren’t interested. Guess you just have to love the swamps to enjoy this. I would do it again.
