M4LFUNCT10N
05-17-2004, 09:40 PM
Okay, so we flew down Thursday and got into San Clemente in the evening. Had a bit of time to see 2 of my cousins and got to hang out with one of my best friends. Friday morning we got up at 5:00AM and left Dana Point Harbor short after. We stopped at several kelp patties on our way to Catalina Island and fished with live bait on fly lines(6 inch mackerel hooked through the nose so they can swim, with a medium sized weight that slides on the line. This allows the bait to swim a bit as it is pulled down). First 2 fish we caught(my dad and I each caught one), were Jack Mackerels. No one on the boat had seen or caught them before. My dad, uncle, and friend of the family have caught nearly everything you can catch in Cali, and didn't know exactly what this fish was. It took them about an hour looking through fish books to classify it. Anyway, after that we caught the good stuff. My dad caught 3 Yellowtail(Hamachi for those that eat sushi). And then the rest of us caught one each for a total of 7. We caught but didn't land a few others, and my uncle caught a very large bat ray.
On the way to the island we almust stuck a swordfish. By stuck, I mean harpoon/spear. My uncle's primary use of the boat is for commercial fishing. It has a 30-something foot plank on the front of it. You stand out there with a long spear that has a little arrowhead with a rope attached. When you are able to run up over a swordfish/shark/marlin, you stab the fish leaving the arrowhead in the fish. The fish pulls the rope off the boat which is attached to a bouy with a flag. After the fish is tired out you pull it up to the boat and then winch it in. But we didn't get it... We slept on the boat that night after eating AWESOME steaks, some freshly caught yellowtail and some raw fish. MmmM! Next morning we headed back, fished several paddies but didn't get anything. It's a little early to be fishing for these types of fish anyway, and we were amazed to catch what we did!
Back on land we showered then headed up to Buelton. It's just north of Santa Barbara and a little inland. We hunted in the evening but didn't find any wild pig. We saw LOTS of deer, but they are out of season. Next morning we got up really early, but when we got out on the ranch, it was very foggy and we couldn't see a thing. And as soon as the fog cleared the temps got up in the 90's. Not good for hunting. The pigs bed down in the shade at these temps making it incredibly hard to find them. We hiked and hiked and hiked, up steep hills and through lots of brush. My uncle and I were on our way back to where my dad was when we turned around and found that we had spooked a large pig out of it's hiding spot. Only problem, it was 300yds away, and my muzzle loader is only accurate to 200yds tops. So when my dad caught up, he and I backtracked and tried to track the pig. I spotted it, but we couldn't find him. So we went back into town for lunch.
Couple hours later we went to a different spot directed by the ranch owner. We hiked in along a small creekbed in rattlesnake territory(luckily we didn't find any). No luck. We walked around a double barb wire fence that enclosed a really marshy area that was dark and hard to get into. We didn't see anything, but I heard some movement that no one else heard. Didn't see anything so we kept walking. Got to the end and turned around. As we were backtracking my dad saw a pig down inside. He took a quick shot and then 2 other pigs ran away. All of this is in deep thickets/brush in a creek that is about 10 ft below us with 2 barb wire fence between us and the ledge. Couldn't see much of anything. I walked to the right as my dad climbed both fences to get his pig. Couldn't find the pig that went to the right side so I went left while my uncle went in after my dad. I got around a corner and started looking into the dark area when I heard some movement. I grabbed my binoculars to see if I could see anything and just as soon as I grabbed them I saw a big boar turn broadside to me and start walking. I didn't have any time because I had a small window through the trees/brush I was looking through. Took a quick aim and pulled the trigger. It walked just out of my sight and then I didn't hear anything. I reloaded(which took a bit since I was using a muzzleloader, then climbed the fences to go after it. You gotta understand, you ALWAYS have a loaded gun when going after a wounded pig. The mails get very large tusks and can do serious damage if they are pissed. Got down in there and found that I had shot the pig from about 50 yards. It walked about 5 ft then collapsed dead. The .50 caliber left a hole on both sides just behind the front legs, the hole being about 1.5 inches in diameter! :eek: . HUGE hole! We estimated that it was about 200 lbs. HEAVY SUCKER! BTW... since we were shooting into a shadowy marsh, my dad couldn't tell at the time, but found out afterwards that his pig was much smaller than he thought. He thought he was getting a 30 lb pig(a nice size), but instead shot a piglet that weighed in at about 10 lbs! Oh well. We'll cook that little guy like a turkey. Both of us had one shot kills. And that was my first shot at an animal with my new gun, and only my 5th shot ever with it! Anyway, great trip. Brought back a huge cooler full of meat!
On the way to the island we almust stuck a swordfish. By stuck, I mean harpoon/spear. My uncle's primary use of the boat is for commercial fishing. It has a 30-something foot plank on the front of it. You stand out there with a long spear that has a little arrowhead with a rope attached. When you are able to run up over a swordfish/shark/marlin, you stab the fish leaving the arrowhead in the fish. The fish pulls the rope off the boat which is attached to a bouy with a flag. After the fish is tired out you pull it up to the boat and then winch it in. But we didn't get it... We slept on the boat that night after eating AWESOME steaks, some freshly caught yellowtail and some raw fish. MmmM! Next morning we headed back, fished several paddies but didn't get anything. It's a little early to be fishing for these types of fish anyway, and we were amazed to catch what we did!
Back on land we showered then headed up to Buelton. It's just north of Santa Barbara and a little inland. We hunted in the evening but didn't find any wild pig. We saw LOTS of deer, but they are out of season. Next morning we got up really early, but when we got out on the ranch, it was very foggy and we couldn't see a thing. And as soon as the fog cleared the temps got up in the 90's. Not good for hunting. The pigs bed down in the shade at these temps making it incredibly hard to find them. We hiked and hiked and hiked, up steep hills and through lots of brush. My uncle and I were on our way back to where my dad was when we turned around and found that we had spooked a large pig out of it's hiding spot. Only problem, it was 300yds away, and my muzzle loader is only accurate to 200yds tops. So when my dad caught up, he and I backtracked and tried to track the pig. I spotted it, but we couldn't find him. So we went back into town for lunch.
Couple hours later we went to a different spot directed by the ranch owner. We hiked in along a small creekbed in rattlesnake territory(luckily we didn't find any). No luck. We walked around a double barb wire fence that enclosed a really marshy area that was dark and hard to get into. We didn't see anything, but I heard some movement that no one else heard. Didn't see anything so we kept walking. Got to the end and turned around. As we were backtracking my dad saw a pig down inside. He took a quick shot and then 2 other pigs ran away. All of this is in deep thickets/brush in a creek that is about 10 ft below us with 2 barb wire fence between us and the ledge. Couldn't see much of anything. I walked to the right as my dad climbed both fences to get his pig. Couldn't find the pig that went to the right side so I went left while my uncle went in after my dad. I got around a corner and started looking into the dark area when I heard some movement. I grabbed my binoculars to see if I could see anything and just as soon as I grabbed them I saw a big boar turn broadside to me and start walking. I didn't have any time because I had a small window through the trees/brush I was looking through. Took a quick aim and pulled the trigger. It walked just out of my sight and then I didn't hear anything. I reloaded(which took a bit since I was using a muzzleloader, then climbed the fences to go after it. You gotta understand, you ALWAYS have a loaded gun when going after a wounded pig. The mails get very large tusks and can do serious damage if they are pissed. Got down in there and found that I had shot the pig from about 50 yards. It walked about 5 ft then collapsed dead. The .50 caliber left a hole on both sides just behind the front legs, the hole being about 1.5 inches in diameter! :eek: . HUGE hole! We estimated that it was about 200 lbs. HEAVY SUCKER! BTW... since we were shooting into a shadowy marsh, my dad couldn't tell at the time, but found out afterwards that his pig was much smaller than he thought. He thought he was getting a 30 lb pig(a nice size), but instead shot a piglet that weighed in at about 10 lbs! Oh well. We'll cook that little guy like a turkey. Both of us had one shot kills. And that was my first shot at an animal with my new gun, and only my 5th shot ever with it! Anyway, great trip. Brought back a huge cooler full of meat!