Fishing For Hogs With Sam Klement

Editor's Note: Sam Klement of Dothan, Alabama, has hunted feral pigs for over 20 years, primarily in Alabama, Georgia and Florida where hunters will find no closed season or bag limits on wild hogs. Feral hogs bother farmers and landowners by destroying crops, roads and timberlands. A member of Hunter's Specialties' Pro Staff for the last six years, Klement has created the Turkey Topper and gun rest.

One of my favorite places to hunt for hogs is in Alapaha, Georgia. My good friend Ken Holyoak has a fish farm there at River Oaks Plantation. He raises a wide variety of fish for stocking, but his hatchery is best known for his Georgia Giant Hybrid Bream.

Many hunters know that hogs can cause great damage to row crops, but what hunters may not realize is that hogs can also damage and muddy-up ponds. Wild hogs also will eat fish. Since all the hogs at River Oak Plantation are free-roaming hogs (not behind fences), they have become quite a nuisance for Holyoak.

These wild hogs started invading Holyoak's fish hatchery as they moved up the Alapaha River system in Georgia, migrating north from the Okefenokee Swamp. Holyoak called me one day and said, "Sam, I've got too many hogs. Can you come and help me get rid of them?"

When I arrived at Holyoak's fish hatchery and started scouting, I found very few trees that hadn't been rubbed by hogs. The hogs were eating Holyoak's fish, destroying his trees and muddying up his ponds.

I took my cameraman, who films for my company, Spectrum Outdoors, and we went after the hogs. There were so many hogs at one point that we were almost surrounded by hogs. Since I wanted a meat hog, I moved in close and took about an 80-pound female with my bow. But on that hunt, there were more hogs than we could possibly take.

We bagged several hogs on that trip and didn't seem to put a dent in the population. I've never seen a place with more hogs than at River Oaks Plantation. You can call (229) 532-6135 or send an email to [email protected] to learn more.