Ok all, remeber I'm new to FL and to hunting in the south so no laughing. I'm looking at a WMA in south FL (Bull Creek) to do some archery hunting and maybe some rifle later. Looking at the topo maps for the area it looks as if they have some great little islands in swampy areas that may yield some game.

I know deer can swim, but can pigs?

Hogs can swim very,very good. I live in NW Fla. and we hunt the area around the Escambia River. (state management land) Virtually all our hunting is done using a boat. We launch at a public dock and usually go several miles up or down the river. We also go off on the very small streams(they're called lakes for some reason)where we use a trolling motor to quietly make our way along to access other areas further inland from the main river. Or we try to catch the hogs on the bank in the early morning sun. We are always in the close proximity to water. It's legal to have a loaded weapon in the boat or to shoot from the boat as long as your boat is not moving. I have seen hogs swimming the 15ft. wide lakes that we are going down with the trolling motor and I have seen hogs swimming the wide parts of the Escambia River which are a couple of hundred yards wide. I feel that they,like other animals, don't kike to swim unless they have to but if they want to go somewhere for the three things that all animals need(food,cover,and sex)or they are being persued by dogs they wont hesitate to swim.I can't say that i have ever known a hog to swim to elude a man though. They swim like a deer but i feel that they can move faster than a deer. Use the water to your advantage. Where the brush is thick and dense we drop a hunter off on one side of the lake and they watch the opposite side. Or where the lake takes a sharp bend we set up to watch both of the banks looking into the wind. We use the topo maps and/or our GPS to find the places that the larger lakes(30+ ft. across)takes a sharp bend(hairpin bend) and we put on a 2 or 3 man drive to try and cut off the hogs escape. The hogs will not swim to avoid this but they will come running by you very fast. You wont have to climb but sometimes a tree or a Cypress knee is used to "step behind". Up here the Fla.law does not require hog hunters to wear orange(only deer hunters) but the people that i hunt with,or even if I hunt alone we ALWAYS wear orange.At least a hat but most times a vest also. If a hog jumps its good to know exactly where your buddy is. You wont get much time to shoot anyway but you cant spend that valuable time makeing sure that your hunting buddy is not in the line of fire.---- Sorry that I rambled but i really get into hog hunting. The season starts up here Nov.13th and I can hardley wait.Any other ?'s don't hesitate to ask. -----GOOD HUNTIN'-----pruhdlr

pruhdlr - Thanks! exactly waht I was looking for. The topo I am looking at shows a creek(from some picutures I've seen about 30 - 40 feet wide, up north that's a river) that forks into another creek and then back into the original. This creates an island about 500 feet long and 60 feet wide. I'm thinking this would make a great bedding/protection area for deer and hog. I'm considering headed down next friday with my bow - if I score an animal great - if not it's good pre rifle season scouting. My plan is to move from up the creek in a boat or canoe on Friday afternoon to see if I can identify trails without stepping foot on the island. saturday I'll leave the boat at the northern most point of the island before light and set up a pop up ground blind at in a spot I picked the day before. If animals have moved out to feed I may catch one moving back to bed for the day. I really like the idea about catching them on the opposite bank by moving through the woods to the shorline around an elbow. I'll definatly be checking the maps for that scenario.

Remember that a hog can't see very good at all but they can hear good and they can smell,some say and I believe, BETTER than a whitetail. ALWAYS consider the wind direction. If you don't have one,consider getting a GPS w/ built in map. I have a Magellan,and it is great. You can download map data into it and it helps to know just how close you are to water.----- More later. Gotta go to the range to try a new load before dark.------pruhdlr

They seem to swim well...they just don't like to. Have hunted them in the swamps here, where everything is covered in water...from just damp to over a pig's head deep...they swim if pressed, seek the shallower areas and run like the devil if possible.
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Secondary questions: do armadilos swim? Know I've had them run into a narrow bayou and come out the other side, but belive they ran across the bottom to get there.

Elkloco, Take a brouse at www.terraserver.microsoft.com We use this to help plan our hunts. With a little expiereance you'll be able to tell whats high ground. and whats standing water.----pruhdlr

I've seen 'em wearing snorkel gear. I swear.----pruhdlr

Not only do they swim, but I've seen them jump over a waist high fence too. Didn't think either one was hog possible until I saw them do it with my own eyes.

Elkloco, What kind of areas will you be hunting down there? Thick woods? Pine barrens? Swamps with very thick undergrowth? Along the edges of small waterways? What months of the year? When is hog season down there? How many more people will you typically be hunting with? Can you give me a TerraServer website/page that you will be hunting in. All this will alow me to give you my suggestions on how/what/where. Nothing beats putting in the time and "boot leather" to learn the areas. I am lucky in that I can go on hog recon trips everyday. I realize that most people can't. The other person that I usually hunt with has to go to work everyday. He can only hunt with me on the weekends so I do most of the recon for both of us. Ref.your 7 mag.(i have one too): you will eventually find a great place to use it. I found the perfect spot on the main river. The river makes a sharp bend to the right(into the north).I have made me a makeshift ground blind(to stay out of sight from the boats)that looks down the river, partially around the bend. I found a spot on the far bank that the hogs like to wallow in. I cut a shooting lane from the waters edge in about 30 yds. This is all I need to see the wallow that they have been useing. I will use my 7 mag. for that spot this year.(w/ hanloaded 140gr. Nosler Partition) Hope that I don't do too much meat damage.The shot should be 185-215 yds. (as per laser) Should be doable with my Harris bipod or shooting sticks.----- STAY SAFE---pruhdlr

Elkloco, What kind of areas will you be hunting down there? Thick woods? Pine barrens? Swamps with very thick undergrowth? Along the edges of small waterways? What months of the year? When is hog season down there? How many more people will you typically be hunting with? Can you give me a TerraServer website/page that you will be hunting in.

pruhdlr - I'm leaning towards teh Chassahowitzka WMA because I din't get a regular quote permit and am really limited on WMA's near me. I'll be hunting after the first 9 days but as much as possible until the season wraps - with a short trip to Ohio for a deer! http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=14&x=107&y=989&z=17&w=1&ref=P|Chassahowitzka%20National%20Wildlife%20Refug e,%20Florida,%20United%20States is the ariel shot and http://www.terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=2&s=14&x=107&y=989&z=17&w=1&ref=P|Chassahowitzka%20National%20Wildlife%20Refug e,%20Florida,%20United%20States is the topo. I've been as far as Homosassa along the coast and only have a general feel for the terrain but was thinking of a scouting mission this weekend. I'm a little worried about getting in the way of archery hunters though because this is their last weekend, so I may just wait until next. I expect this to be alot of pine where it is not swamp. Because it has so much still hunt area I'm thinking I'll be in swamp for most of it. To be honest though I'm really looking for a better WMA that would let me river hunt - I already have my eye on a jon boat.
Season starts here in the central reagion on Nov. 13 - Jan. 3, but in the south region it starts Oct. 30 so I'm going to start looking for a WMA down there to hit early and then some in the central later in the year. I really messed up with getting a regular quaota hunt permit thing - I just didn't understand the rules in time and was in Scotland for work when the application deadline passed - there still are some excess ones to be had and maybe that is the route to go...One way or another I need to get my butt deciding on it.

Elkloco, We don't do the "quota hunt" stuff up here. There is some of that in some of the areas near us but I can't see paying the extra money. We just pay the $26.50 for the management area(and i believe that you can hunt them all for that) plus the regular license fees. None of the quota areas up here are any good for hogs anyway. Mostly for dove. Our season starts Nov.13th up here also. Email me if you want to and I'll let you know my feelings on a hunting boat.(barefoot@panhandle.rr.com) The person that I hunt with has a boat also and you probably want one somewhere between his and mine.-----pruhdlr