Only One Week To Next Waterfowl Hunting Clinic

Los Banos Watefowl Seminar

DFG Lt. Shawn Olague is poised to teach a waterfowl clinic  on September 10, 2011 at Los Banos. This advanced hunting clinic promises to be a special treat because of the experience of the instructor as a lifelong grassland waterfowl hunter. The seminar covers “concepts of decoy placement, blind design, ballistics, calling, duck I.D. and safety. Other topics will cover hunting on State and Federal Waterfowl Management Areas and game care.”

There is space for only 25 hunters. Hurry up and make a last minute reservation – if space is still available.
Contact Lieutenant Dan Lehman at 916-358-4356. He may still be able to get you in.

If not and you do not mind a little travel two more waterfowl hunting clinics follow on the heels of this one. Read more about them in my next post.
Tomorrow.
Maybe.
PJJ

Urban Nuts For Wild Pigs

Fueled by my recent discovery of acorns dropping in a local park and mystified by the varied shapes of leaves, trunks and acorns there I investigated the subject of oaks and their appearance a little further. Our local park harbors at least two different varieties of oak trees and possibly a number of hybrids.


Wild pigs and California oak trees have several things in common: They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and appearances. Both are also prolific reproducers – given a chance. Both hybridize easily and have adapted to a wide variety of habitats.


Wild boar and mast producing trees entertain a quasi-symbiotic relationship. In fact, wild pigs in America would still be domestic swine were it not for acorn and other mast nuts. Early farming settlers used to let the forests and oak lands feed their pigs until it was time to drive them back home for slaughter. Pigs that objected to this treatment by running away and hiding are the ancestors of the much maligned wild pigs of the present. In a sense the ancestors of the ranchers and farmers who complain so much about damage done by wild boar actually created the problem.


Oak trees on the other hand have always been part of Californian landscapes. So much so that in some parts of the state oak trees are the dominant trees or shrubs. The most common oak tree in California is the Coast Live Oak (quercus agrifolia). It is also the tree most closely associated with wild pigs. Most hunters have seen the majestic lone oak standing in the middle of a grassy area – with heavy rooting under it during fall and winter. Their leaves are of the type shown on the right of this picture. As you can see they are curling downward a little at the edges. They also have small, sharp spines around the edge.

On the left are the leaves of an oak tree that I can not identify. It could be a Tucker's oak, a Valley or Oregon oak. Or maybe the quercus quercus of my childhood? I do not know. I am no oak tree expert.. There is also much hybridization going on among oak trees. Casual observers and experienced tree huggers find it difficult to identify correctly many of the hybrid oak tree and shrub varieties.


In the context of this article it is kind of mute anyway because owner of the leaves on the left carries only very few acorns compared to the load of acorns found on the Coastal Oak trees.


Here is the picture of the one in the park. It is chock-full of acorns. A great find for any wild pig. But there are none in the park, at least not of the four-legged kind.

The oak tree is framed by a pine tree on the right and some spindly thing without leaves on the left. Most of its branches are heavy with acorns. The ground underneath it is full of them as you can see in the following picture.

Strangely enough, many of the other Coastal Oaks in the park carry fewer acorns compared to this one. As I pointed out in one of my previous articles on oak mast, not all oak trees produce the first year after a good rainfall. Some grow a bumper load of acorn in the second year. Maybe that explains why one of the oaks has all the acorn and the others have grown only relatively few this year.

What these trees lack in quantity they make up for in the quality of their acorn. Look at these beautiful acorn nuts.
Note the brown cradles in which the acorn sit. When the acorn nut drops, most of the brown, dried footers remain on the tree to eventually drop off as well. Here is a closeup of an acorn in its shell with a number of budding acorn/shells right next to it.

And these are the empty homes of acorns that dropped a while ago.

All pictures above feature Coastal California Oaks and their seeds.


The other type of oak growing in the park has not yet set enough acorns to contribute significantly to the acorn drop for this year. Let's at least look at the tree as a reminder and for field identification. This oak tree has a dome shaped crown that you can spot from far away.


The lower tree branches are obscured in the dark background. They extend rather far down with the lowest leaves hanging barely 6 feet above the ground.
This kind of oak tree features prominently in one of my ideal wild pig hunting scenarios: A free standing majestic domed oak shade tree on an open meadow surrounded by brush inviting boar to rest and relax from the heat and to partake of the acorns that liberally cover the ground. In my dream I survey a sounder of wild pigs from a hillock carefully selecting the animal to harvest. I have found the tree, the meadow and the hillock in the past. Only the wild boar were missing every time.


So, why are oak trees and wild pigs in a symbiotic relationship, you ask?
I do not know for sure. To say so just sounded good and educated.
On the other hand, oak trees could profit from the dispersal of their seeds by wild pigs.
But detractors of boar claim that wild hogs not only eat the acorn but trample them into the ground, damage them and prevent them from sprouting. Some scientists say that is not necessarily so. They maintain that moderate rooting for acorns on the ground is indeed beneficial for oak nut dispersal.


Is the real answer that wild pigs fertilize the soil while feeding under magnificent California oak trees?
You tell me.
PJJ

Fish For Free On Labor Day Weekend

September 3 is the last of California’s two 2011 Free Fishing Days

The California Department of Fish and Game offers two free fishing days each year, usually around the two major holidays. This year the Saturday before Labor Day is the second and last free fishing day. Seasoned anglers and novices alike can fish in Californian waters for free, fresh and saltwater, for all species of fish that have an open season on that day. All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. In addition, some DFG regions offer Fishing in the City programs where anglers can go fishing in major metropolitan areas.

For detailed information on the free fishing day and The Fishing in the City program go to the DFG website.

PJJ

Time To Think About Boar Hunting Again

My weekly schedule called for some research on the timing of mast drop in California. It should start right around now – if I remember correctly.
Before checking on the facts, I took my Boxer to the local park to teach him the finer art of stalking squirrels. I know, Boxers are not generally known as hunting dogs though they are the descendants of pretty feisty, tenacious dogs used in the olden days to find and drive wild European bison in the forests of Germany towards hunting parties.

Mine must somehow hearken back to times long past. He locates prey, stalks it and – points. Could it be that he is a little confused about his ancestry? A pointing Boxer? Anyway, he does.

But I am digressing from the topic of hunting wild pigs.

Following my dog that was busy treeing squirrels I noticed some small green things under the trees because he hesitated whenever he stepped on one by accident. Closer examination of the green pellets revealed this:

Those things look suspiciously like some kind of acorn. They are all missing the small brown cup at the wider end of the nut, yet the lineage is quite obvious.

Except for one that still has some remnant of a cup on it. You cannot see it in the picture because a spot of sunlight overpowers the the few brown pieces that remain on it. The piece with the cap is on the extreme left side of the picture.

I tried another shot but it also did not show the cap well enough. Here it is:

Not much better. But you get the idea. Here is a stock photo of acorns and an oak leaf.

At least this picture shows the little caps quite clearly. It is green in the picture, but they turn brown at a later stage.

I found he ground literally covered with oak mast in my local park. My discovery of the day also demonstrates clearly that oak nuts are dropping in the oak lands of California. Judging by the quantity of mast on the ground under park trees we expect the overall mast drop throughout most of California to be good to excellent. For boar hunters that has one important consequence:

Look for oak groves, forests and even free standing oak in open fields. And look for your wild pigs right under the trees. As long as mast is dropping wild pigs will consume as much as possible of it. Oak mast and nuts from other trees is one of the favorite foods of boar. They use it to fatten up for the winter.

An excellent oak mast drop will result in well fed wild pigs. Well nourished sows are happy sows. Fat and contended sows excel in making more wild pigs. Many, many more wild boar.

That is good news for hunters and bad news for ranchers and farmers.

But, hey, think of it this way: As long as wild pigs can find mast on the ground they will stay out of agricultural fields and people's front yards.

Happy hunting.

PJJ

Pro Domo: Full audio versions of tutorials 'Boar Rifles' and 'Signs of the Beast' now available.

The tutorials 'Boar Rifles' and 'Signs of the Beast', part of the series On Hunting Boar, are now available as complete audio versions of the original ebooks. They come as mp3 files that can be played on any device able to handle mp3 files. Until now their audio versions consisted only of selected parts of the original pamphlets on boar hunting in California.


Free excerpts are still posted on our website, including excerpts from the ebook 'Hunting Boar and Wild Pigs in California'. However, this book is not yet ready as an audio file of the complete book. Numerous tables and lists do not render themselves well for easy comprehension when read out. They need to be modified or completely eliminated to produce an optimized audio version.


All audio versions are very slightly modified (and updated) because illustrations and pictures can not be transferred to audio. However, the pictures are posted on the Internet. Buyers will receive the URL together with the transfer of the mp3 file.


In addition, we have prepared combo versions of “Boar Rifles” and “Signs of the Beast”. These combinations consist of the original 'printed'  booklets and their corresponding audio files . We will ship the pdf and mp3 files at the same time.


The combination of a pamphlet and its audio version sells at a special, reduced price that is only moderately higher than the price for the ebooks. As a combo the audio file sells for less than the stand alone audio version. Check our website for details of the offer. Click on the menu button “Hunting Books Audio”. 
DJK

Did You Know . . .

. . . that wild pigs are able to consume around 14 gallons of water per day?

Get Ready For Hunting Boar In Fall and Winter 2011

Wild pig breeding season and fall mast drop just around the corner.

Vacation time is drawing to a close. Kids are soon heading back to school. Summer will inevitably end, though the heat may still be hang around for many more weeks.
Time for wild boar to start thinking of making more wild pigs. Wild pigs can breed year round. But the main boar breeding season generally begins sometimes in August and lasts till October. There is a secondary mating peak in January depending on weather and the health of the sows. Main farrowing time consequently occurs in January.

How eagerly female boar will breed depends to a great extent on the availability of food. We are talking mainly about mast nuts. A good mast drop usually results in happy, well fed sows ready and eager to make more wild pigs. The more acorn and other mast nuts available, the merrier the sows will be. This results in more litters because young gilts from spring of the same year will start breeding earlier.  Well nourished sows also produce larger litter sizes.

While hunters welcome such good news, ranchers and landowners are less enthused. They see  dollar signs vanishing in uprooted soil and damaged harvest fields.

We do not know yet how good the mast drop will be this year. Yet considering the wet past winter and the relatively moderate summer temperatures in many parts of the state, we expect oak trees and other mast producing trees to provide a good yield - and wild pigs in turn to deliver plenty of goods.

Waning days of summer are a good time for boar hunters to hone their hunting skills by refreshing essential hunting knowledge such as tracking, habitat recognition and hunting techniques. And let us not forget to make a trip to a rifle range in order to practice shooting skills that have been dormant for a while. This is also a good time to assure that the boar rifle is still sighted in correctly. If you change the brand of ammunition, sight in the rifle again using the new ammo. Copper bullets that are required in the Condor Zone of California have a slightly different trajectory than standard projectiles.

Last but not least now is a good time to do some scouting for boar- especially if you are a hunter who likes to strike out on his own or if you are a member of a hunting club. Wild pigs travel a lot and may no longer be where you used to find them. Chances for a successful boar hunt increase dramatically when you are up to date with hunting skills, well versed in habitat recognition and tracking,  and thus know how and where to locate your quarry.

Sounds like a lot of prep work for a boar hunt?
The lazy workaround:
Hunt with a guide, miss out on much of the challenges and excitement hunting wild pigs has to offer.
PJJ

New Wild Boar Website Up And Running

The venerable old website 'Hunting Wild Boar and Wild Pigs' has donned a new set of clothes. The familiar pages and contents, however, are still there. 
All of the links I checked are working. Those that do not, will eventually be tracked down and fixed.

Please let me know if you find one. The new site is still a work in progress after all. 


The URL remains unchanged: wildboarbook.com, with or without the 'www' and even 'http'.
PJJ

Did You Know . . .

that pigs have four toes on each hoof? They tiptoe on only two.Two other vestigial toes are located farther back and higher up generally touching the ground only in soft soil or mud.
 

Experimental Wild Boar Website

This site is now permanent. The URL given below is no longer operational.




A work in progress.

We are testing designs for a new look of our main website 'Hunting Wild Boar And Wild Pigs'. One of the options is ready for a quick performance test.

The new site is at 
http://wildboarbook.com/Test/index.php


Go have a look.

Did You Know . . .

that contrary to common fear mongering humans rarely catch diseases from pigs on contact with pigs. However, pigs can contract infections such as influenza through contact with humans. Bordetella and ring worm (a fungus) can spread either way with close contact. Contrary to common belief pigs can not transfer  foot and mouth disease to humans. Human foot and mouth disease (mainly in small children) is caused by a different virus.

Wild Pigs In Cleveland National Forest One Step Closer To Eradication

Teetering at the brink of extinction?

To eradicate or not to eradicate is not the question.
How to eradicate is.

Damage caused by wild pigs in the eastern parts of San Diego county prompted near hysterical complaints by landowners. Soon the general public, most of which has never seen one of the evil beasts let alone was threatened or harmed by one, chimed in and demanded elimination of the pests. Scientists and experts from the Forest Service painted an increasingly dire picture of the potential damage inflicted by the boar now and in the future on wildlife and ecosystems alike. In the end, even certain sovereign Indian tribes joined the chorus of panicked boar foes demanding that the Federal Government do something about this enduring danger to life and limb of innocent bystanders and the environment.
 
The evil boar are allegedly the  result of a failed attempt to establish wild boar hunting on sovereign reservation land. Once the wild pig were really in the wild, their 'protectors' prohibited hunters from hunting access to their lands and lastly even threatened in a comment to this publication  any hunter with great harm to property and body who dares to seek, pursue and shoot any of the evil porcine escapees on reservations.

In response, the U.S. Forest Service decided to study the question and to ask experts, interested parties and the public to comment on eradication methods to be used to eliminate this ever present danger to chaparral, coastal sage scrub, oak woodland and endangered wildlife such as gnatcatcher, least Bell's vireo, Quino checkerspot butterfly and other rare target species.

Time to talk and to engage in discussion has officially ended. No more expert talk, fear mongering by well meaning but ill informed parties and emotional attempts to protect Miss Piggy. Now is the time to separate fact from fiction and to formulate a well founded plan based on facts and suggestions received during the period of public comment.

'Wild Boar Hunting in California . . .'  contacted Pete Gomben, Environmental Coordinator, Cleveland National Forest, about the status of the project. We wanted to know how far the evaluation of the public input has progressed and whether the outlines of a plan are beginning to develop.

Though the official period for comments from the public ended weeks ago, contributions and comments may still be submitted. That tells it all.
Therefore, any hunter or other party interested in the fate of wild pigs in the Cleveland National Forest in eastern San Diego county still has a last chance to send in a well founded comment. Because time is very limited I suggest to send an e-mail to Pete Gomben, Environmental Coordinator at pgomben@fs.fed.us.
Keep it factual, short and to the point considering that this is  an unofficial second chance for those who missed the official comment period.

Work on the project will progress. A plan will be formulated, circulated, commented on, debated and finally approved. My prediction: Well entrenched conventional wisdom and commercial interests will prevail. 
Hunters will lose the challenge of hunting boar in extremely difficult terrain. Wild pigs will move on to the great hunting grounds in the sky where they join the buffalo, beavers, wolves, grizzlies, coyotes and countless other critters that have been hunted to near extinction. There they will providing good and happy hunting for hunters, indigenous or not.
PJJ

First Glitch In New ALDS System - Duplicate Deer Tags

This is the first time that the new Automated License Data System (ALDS), implemented nearly one year ago, has produced an unwelcome result.  Active Network, a private company contracted to print and mail licenses, “inadvertently printed “and then sent out close to 1,000 duplicate deer tags “in separate mailings  causing hunters to receive one or more ... tags.”

The unexpected windfall is however no cause for celebration. DFG points out in a recent press release that the use of duplicate deer tags is illegal. The tags must be returned to the DFG. The Department has a list of hunters and zones for which the rogue tags were issued. Expect some extra law enforcement efforts concentrated on the zones in question during which any deer tag will be subject to intense scrutiny.

Equally intensive efforts should however be concentrated on the vendor contracted by DFG to assure that Active Network managers do not fall asleep again at the helm while dreaming of a rich harvest of deer – or is it profits?

Says Denny Bennett, General Manager of the Outdoors Unit at Active Network, State Government Licensing and Services:
“We inadvertently mailed duplicate tags to some customers, while others entitled to receive tags may not have received them. We are working with DFG staff to minimize the effects of any possible errors.”

Wooooohhooooooo! Any possible errors? Sounds like classic public relations speak designed to obfuscate a blatant mistake.
Possible errors?
Tell that to deer hunters who did not receive their tag or will receive it late, possibly well after lucky hunters have taken the best bucks.

How about asking Active Network to purchase 1,000 buck decoys for DFG. Game wardens then could deploy the new decoys in the field allowing the owners of the illegal duplicate deer tags one free shot at the buck impersonators. Active Network will pay the fine.
Satisfaction for hunters guaranteed and a painful reminder for Active Network managers to stay awake while printing and mailing.

Nevertheless, DFG proudly cites the results of a recent survey indicating “that hunters were very happy with the ease of the new system.” (ALDS)
And with the unexpected windfall of duplicate deer tags?
PJJ

Game Care, Waterfowl And Upland Game Clinics In August 2011.

Advanced One-Day Hunting Clinics.

August 2011 is a busy month for advanced hunter education. Three clinics, each focused on a different aspects of hunting, will be held in August. Seminars will cover game care and cooking (August 6, 2011), a Waterfowl Clinic on Grizzly Island and an Upland Game class on August in Rio Vista.

All clinics follow a proven structure and concept by focusing on the basics of hunting a specific game, discussion of habits and habitat, hunting techniques, firearms, ammunition and general shooting knowledge and skills.
“The goal of this series of hunting clinics is to develop ethical, conservation-minded, successful hunters through education...taking the hunter a step beyond the basic Hunter Education course.”

There are only four days left to the Game Care Clinic. If you happen to live close by, sign up for it and learn some new recipes. Problem for us poor residents of southern California is that all three clinics are held way up north.

Space for all seminars is rather limited. The price per clinics normally around $ 45.00. You can download a registration form and get detailed information on each of the classes from the DFG website  at dfg.ca.gov.
PJJ

Did You Know . . .

that  "Men should worry about fame just as pigs about being fat"
Chinese Proverb