Harassing bobcats with coon dogs
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:23 pm
The family and I decided to buck the cold weather and go cat hunting Saturday, as we always do. We have not been doing much good during our evening hunts so we were hopeful the cats might be moving in the morning. I ran a couple options we had for areas by the oldest boy and he chose the North River.
We hunted one area that had been a good producer over the years but found nothing but dog tracks. We switch to the other side of the river and had a strike before we even found snow. They trailed into an area that don’t have a lot of roads then made a loop. The cat came directly back in the same track it went in on. I could tell my Turk dog was getting needy. He sounded like a train coming through the woods. I told the boy he better find a tree soon or this was not gonna be pretty. No sooner did I say that and the fight was on. Dogs 1, Cat 0. It was really too bad, I would have never taken this cat. We started another track on our way home in a little pocket I like to check. We got it going but it went to a ranch. They trailed it behind the house but never got it jumped. The lady of the farm was very nice. She kenneled my dogs called the number and had coffee ready when we got there. She said she knew that the “dogs human” would be along soon. I thanked her for her kindness to my dogs.
On Sunday we cut a hot track. They took it about 2 miles out a ridge and made a couple loops. This cat came back and tried to make another loop but got caught. Luckily it treed. It was a hard locate because it got on the top of a 6 foot stump before it jumped into the tree. The dogs were wind treeing when I got there, I had given up on spotting it when Dink jumped on the stump and started treeing. I got back a few yards and finally spotted it. I didn’t have my camera with me on this tree so you’ll have to take my word for it on this one.
We hunted the rest of the day and finally got another track started. They got it jumped but it ran straight for the rock bluffs. It was late and I didn’t want to be messing around the bluffs in the dark so I called them out and went home to get next to the wood stove. BRRRRRRR
Caught on the ground...
Dink is getttin good at this picture thing...
We hunted one area that had been a good producer over the years but found nothing but dog tracks. We switch to the other side of the river and had a strike before we even found snow. They trailed into an area that don’t have a lot of roads then made a loop. The cat came directly back in the same track it went in on. I could tell my Turk dog was getting needy. He sounded like a train coming through the woods. I told the boy he better find a tree soon or this was not gonna be pretty. No sooner did I say that and the fight was on. Dogs 1, Cat 0. It was really too bad, I would have never taken this cat. We started another track on our way home in a little pocket I like to check. We got it going but it went to a ranch. They trailed it behind the house but never got it jumped. The lady of the farm was very nice. She kenneled my dogs called the number and had coffee ready when we got there. She said she knew that the “dogs human” would be along soon. I thanked her for her kindness to my dogs.
On Sunday we cut a hot track. They took it about 2 miles out a ridge and made a couple loops. This cat came back and tried to make another loop but got caught. Luckily it treed. It was a hard locate because it got on the top of a 6 foot stump before it jumped into the tree. The dogs were wind treeing when I got there, I had given up on spotting it when Dink jumped on the stump and started treeing. I got back a few yards and finally spotted it. I didn’t have my camera with me on this tree so you’ll have to take my word for it on this one.
We hunted the rest of the day and finally got another track started. They got it jumped but it ran straight for the rock bluffs. It was late and I didn’t want to be messing around the bluffs in the dark so I called them out and went home to get next to the wood stove. BRRRRRRR
Caught on the ground...
Dink is getttin good at this picture thing...