The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

Danny with Larry Proffitt and two big lowcountry turkeys

Like I told everyone last week, Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge was blessed with a visit from turkey hunting legend/master Larry Proffitt during the opening week of our lowcountry gobbler season. And while here, the man with 30 Grand Slams and 20 Royal Slams, was able to use his vast experience to call in and harvest three nice longbeards during his stay.

Danny and his video camera joined Larry for his last morning’s hunt down near the Savannah River, and while he didn’t get the shot on camera, he was able to get some incredible footage and audio of Larry working the bird. So join us in a 3 part series as Larry first tries to coax a big bird to him right off the branch with some incredible tree talk. Then sit close during the second video, and watch and listen as Larry works ALL of his calls until he finds just the right sound that the big gobbler likes, and brings him in close. Finally listen in as Larry puts the double-bearded bird down and then spends a few minutes sharing the techniques he used to bring the gobbler in for a shot. So whether you are a novice turkey hunter or an old master, you will truly want to watch and LISTEN to these videos to learn how to improve your calling as well as your turkey hunting success rate.

As for this past week’s hunting, all I can do is talk about the tough hunting conditions for both hogs and our turkeys. First we had a bright full moon all week that really seemed to keep the pig movement under and after dark. Then henned up gobblers that barely wanted to talk much less come in was the norm for the turkey hunts over the last few days. However that is real hunting. And fortunately, most of our guests know that real hunting is just that - Hunting and only sometimes killing - so everyone had a wonderful time. And when you are pursuing wild animals under fair chase, free range conditions - that is all you can and should guarantee!

Rosie and Foxy with her first bird

Rosie with her pig

Spring in South Carolina means one thing: Turkey Season! And it officially opened last Monday morning at sunrise here in the lowcountry at Cypress Creek, and we have been hunting hard for the giant red-headed birds ever since.

Rosie, after missing two on opening day, knocked down the first bird for us (and her first ever) when she tagged a giant gobbler that her guide Tater called in on day two. She then further redeemed herself by completing the lowcountry Spring slam by hammering a nice hog that same night. So a huge congratulations to her. Then Jim, down from NJ with his fellow NYPD buddy Rob for their 6th year of hunting with Cypress Creek, followed Rosie’s lead and leveled a great longbeard after Danny sweet talked the bird into range on Sunday morning. And even with the windy conditions, Mike, down from NY, managed to shoot a beautiful bird with one inch spurs and a 10 inch beard over on the Blount Place with me that same afternoon to round out an ugly, rainy day that just happened to produce two nice birds. We also had lots of close calls that didn’t work out for one reason or another, but that is hunting. And we still enjoyed every minute of the hunt, and we hope that our guests did too.

Mike and his Blount Place longbeard

Jim and his great gobbler swinging a 10.5 inch beard

Cypress Creek also had a very special guest to start the season with, Larry Proffitt. He is widely known as the best turkey hunter in the country and has 30 Grand Slams to his credit as well as 20 Royal Slams. He spent a couple of days working our lowcountry birds, and left our flock missing three members when the smoke cleared. Danny was fortunate enough to join him for a morning and captured some great video footage of Larry hunting along with an interview, and we look forward to sharing that with you next week. You don’t want to miss it.

Jamie with his river hog

Gary and a Boggy Creek sow

And while we have been spending a lot of time on the turkeys, we have still been after the hogs too. And George, down from NJ, was able to shoot his first hog ever during his first boar hunt ever. And George wasn’t alone in this feat, since Derick from MD also shot his first hog during his first hunt too. Unfortunately Derick’s friend Dan didn’t get one since he missed, but considering it was his first time not getting a hog in 8 years of coming down, that isn’t too bad. We also had lots of sightings of young hogs too small to shoot as well as some bigger hogs that hunters just couldn’t get a shot at. However a couple of other guests that did see good hogs and didn’t miss were Richard from PA, Gary, also visiting from PA, Jamie from Canada and Johnny from North Carolina, all of whom hunt with us annually.

So you can see, we have been busy reaping the bounty of the lowcountry with many of our great friends lately. We truly appreciate everyone that has hunted with us, and we look forward to doing it again. We would also love to have you join us and experience hunting with Cypress Creek, so give Becky a call. We still have a date or two available during late April if you want to get in on some great turkey hunting and the weather should be nice for some hog hunting too.

Richard with a good Boggy hog

Derrick with his first hog

Anthony with a huge SC hog

Guy and his cinnamon hog

After months of nothing but cold weather and rain, Spring has finally come to the lowcountry. The temperatures are now getting up into the 70s during the day, the saturated ground is drying up and the plants are ready to bud. But most importantly, the turkeys are gobbling and the hogs are moving.

And that was welcome news to everyone down this past week to hunt our lowcountry hogs, especially our group from NJ. Rocky started things off with when he knocked a nice 100 pounder down, then Anthony got in the game when he dropped a huge sow, and Guy rounded their hunt out with his beautiful cinnamon hog. Only their buddy Razo went home empty handed out of their group, but that is fair chase hunting Two other hunters in camp during the same time was Mike and Kurt, and Mike harvested a good 100 pound eater pig.

Mike and NJ's Rocky with SC hogs

Our next group, down from Niagra Falls, NY, also saw quite a few hogs. And while darkness kept several of them from getting shots off, two of their members, both first-time hog hunters, put the smack down on hogs to ensure that everyone had some pork to take back up north. First Ken shot a 120 pound sow, then Todd hammered a good 160 pound sow.

However the first time hog hunters weren’t done. Patrice, down from Gaffney, SC with her husband Robbie also easily met the challenge and killed a beautiful 130 pound sow over on Boggy Creek. So a huge congratulations to all of our hog-hunting converts.

Patrice with her first hog!

NY's Ken with a 120lb sow

Todd with a 160lb sow

That left Ben, visiting from TN with our good friend and veteran Greg Stube, to close out the weekend by killing a big 190 pound hog over on Boggy Creek. So as you can see, a pretty good week of hog hunting in the lowcountry. Now we just have one more week until turkey season starts, and then we will be chasing those longbeards in the mornings and still hunting the big boars in the evening. Come join us if you can. We would love to show you a little slice of our lowcountry life.

Ben and his 190lb Boggy Creek hog

Gary with Aaron and his 120lb boar

Our lowcountry weather is finally starting to warm up during the day, so you know that Spring is just around the corner. However the mornings and evenings are still pretty cold, and that is keeping the hogs hungry and  hitting the corn fairly well.

And good hog movement is what any pig hunter wants. But young, new sportsmen on their first hog hunt really need lots of action to stoke the hunting fire in their belly. Fortunately, that is what Aaron, down from WV with his dad Gary, got during last week’s hunt when he shot a nice 120 pound boar. So congratulations to him on his first pig! But as real, fair chase hunting can go, fellow West Virginia huntress Jessica, who was hunting with her dad Robert, didn’t get one. However, kill or no kill, those new hunters all had a fantastic time in South Carolina, and we look forward to having them back again soon.

PA's Paul with one of his big sows

Our other weekend group, down from PA, also had a great time. And head hunter of the group, Paul, knocked 3 good sows down including two over 115 pounds. Readers may remember Paul since he has hunted with us for several years and was last on the Skinning Shed during deer season when he shot a nice buck over on our trophy land.

Pete with his 118lb boar

Pete, another PA group member, also shot a nice 118 lb boar. And he almost harvested multiple hogs too, but ended up going home with just his one after the pigs hung up under his stand at dark where he couldn’t get a shot on them. However Pete has vowed to get them when he and his dad return in April for a combo hunt. He said that since  he saw so many big gobblers and hogs during his hunt, he had to come right back for another shot at the pigs that escaped his gun as well as add some turkey breast to his freezer.

And speaking of our turkey/hog combo hunts, the spring season is now just 11 days away. And with all of the big gobblers sighted around the woods along with their booming gobbles at daybreak, we are chomping at the bit to get at them. We would love for you to join us, but we only have a few dates in April left, so if you want to add a giant lowcountry redhead to your collection, please give Becky a call ASAP.

And make sure and check back on Monday for more Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge news. Our hunters have been hard at it during the last few days and have already killed several hogs, so we are looking forward to sharing those kills and their stories with you all.