The Cypress Creek Skinning Shed

After 8 months of patiently waiting, our South Carolina lowcountry deer hunting season has finally arrived. It opens this Sunday August 15th, and we here at Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge can’t wait to get our hunters in the woods to get it started. The guides have been working all summer on moving stands to the best possible locations, adding roofs to block any bad weather, cutting shooting lanes to better see the big bucks, planting food plots to bring in the big bucks, servicing the vans that take our hunters out as well as redoing the hardwood floors in both lodges and painting some of the rooms to make sure that our

guests have the hunting trip of a lifetime.

But after months of prep work, it is now time to hit the woods to see how all of our hard work pays off for our guests. And since we have been seeing lots of good bucks as we did our work out in the woods, we feel pretty confident that everyone will have a great hunt. We have even captured some of the big buck activity on our trailcams. Just check out the great buck over on Boggy Creek that has been enjoying the peas we planted as well as the corn from our feeder (note the date should be 8/2). He will look great on one of our hunter’s walls, and we would love for that hunter to be you. We still have a few openings during the first couple of weeks of the season when the bucks will be in velvet, so please give us a call to let us know when you would like to come and hunt.

Also,  since our last post about the great success we have had on our hog hunts this summer, our hunters’ good fortunes have continued. We had 13-year old Cici and her dad down for just two days, and she was able to harvest a nice meat hog over on Boggy Creek to get her first hog ever. We also had Jamie down from PA for several days over at the Bow Camp, and she was able to take a nice meat hog over there with her crossbow in addition to going down to the River for an afternoon sit where she killed a monster lowcountry boar with her rifle. So congratulations to both ladies on showing everyone how it is done. And since Jamie was nice enough to drop us a quick note about her hunt, we thought we would include it here as well - Because if anyone can tell you about the quality of the hunts we offer, it is Jamie who has been hunting at Cypress Creek for 10 years.

I really enjoyed my week long stay at the bow camp. It was like the ultimate ’summer camp’ for hunters! I absolutely loved being surrounded by the woods and the solitude it offered. I had many opportunities to observe deer, alligators, egret, owl, fish, insects, hogs, and other animals in their natural environment.  Despite the excessive heat and humidity, extensive walking, numerous snakes, spiders, and countless mosquitoes, it was an awesome experience!  All of those challenges made winning the ‘prize’ of a boar with a crossbow, MUCH more rewarding! I’m sure Justin already told you that I finished the week by harvesting a nice boar, with some exceptional cutters, at the river property. Attached are some pictures. Feel free to use the pictures or any information from this e-mail on the web site.    Regards,   Jamie

Thanks Jamie for the nice words about Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge, and we look forward to having you back again just as we look forward to

having all of our guests here again or for the first time. Good Luck to everyone on Opening Day!

Matt and Mike with their two River boars

Despite the unbelievable heat that we have had lately, our lowcountry hogs have continued to move pretty well for the couple of hunters we had at the lodge. Everyone has at least seen lots of hogs, but it was Mike and his brother Matt who took home the bacon last week. They each killed one good boar down on the Savannah River with their rifles, with Mike then harvesting a nice 80 pound meat hog over on Boggy Creek with his bow. So a huge congratulations to them! We now have 3 hunters in camp, and one of them has already shot a nice meat hog with her crossbow, so it look like good summer hog hunting will continue.

Mike with his Boggy bow kill

And while we haven’t had too many hog hunters over the last few weeks, no one here at Cypress Creek has been lounging in the AC waiting on opening day of deer season to arrive on August 15th. No, instead we have been working from daylight to dark moving stands, cutting shooting lanes and tweaking things so that our hunters have the best hunt possible while here with us. We have also just finished a week’s worth of work putting peas in all of our food plots. And man do the deer and hogs just love devouring them as they come out of the ground during the early season, so that should really help us harvest some good deer in velvet.

We also want to thank the two hard working young men, John and Seth, that joined us for a hunting guide internship over the last two weeks. They really love hunting and wanted to find out what it takes to run a great lodge, so they came down from the upstate to learn the hard way - with On the Job training! That’s right, no classes inside of an air conditioned building, just lots of hard work in the 100 degree plus heat. They not only did a great job, but they were fun to work with. We look forward to having them back soon when they can actually hunt and enjoy some of their work’s results.

Deer season is now just days away, and we are super excited to get it cranked up. Please give us a call if you would like to join us.

Andrew with his first hog

The full summer heat has arrived, and our average daily temperature is around 100 with the heat index breaking 110! However even with the oppressive weather, our hogs have continued to move pretty well for an animal with NO sweat glands and that must stay close to water to stay alive.

Now granted much of the hog’s movement is right around the last light of the day when it finally drops under 90 degrees, but as long as you can see them, you can kill them. And fortunately several of our hunters this past weekend did get to see some hogs before complete darkness set in and harvest them. We had a group of 5 hunters down from PA, and while the hogs didn’t cooperate much Friday with only Joe missing one that morning at Boggy Creek, they did see quite a few Saturday night down at the River. That allowed Andrew to shoot a great 150 pound sow, Michael to almost get one and Richard to miss several times.

Anthony and Guy with their two crossbow kills

We also had our good friends Gene and his brother Randy down from NC for their monthly one-day hunt, and they too both saw hogs (over 20 apiece) with Gene taking a nice 150 pound sow down at the River Saturday night. Then as the PA group was leaving on Sunday, Guy and his brother Anthony showed up. And over 3 days they saw quite a few hogs and took 3 home, two shot with crossbows and one with a rifle; Guy also shot a nice coyote over on Boggy Creek on a morning hunt. In addition, the two of them spent some time over at the bow camp’s fishing pond, and they each battled several good fish while landing a couple. So a huge congratulations to everyone that showed up to battle the heat and bugs and have a great hunt! And as always, we truly look forward to having everyone back on the lowcountry as soon as they can make it.

Guy with his boggy Creek coyote

Now we have just 3 in camp for a day or two, then another week-long break before our next hunters. So we will continue to work on stands, cut shooting lanes and set up feeders in preparation for deer season that starts in just 8 weeks! We hope that you will join us.

Anthony and a bowfin aka: mudfish

Anthony and his bass

Mike and his great lowcountry boar

That’s right. It’s the summer and many people are headed to the beach to spend the hot days lying on the sand. However for those true hunters that are going crazy during the dog days and really need an outdoor fix, there is nothing like hitting the woods for a well-deserved hog hunt. And like I have said before, while it might be warm here in the lowcountry with a few bugs, there is very little pressure during the summer, so the hunting can still be very good.

And sure enough, this past weekend proved it again. We had just 4 hunters at the lodge, but managed to kill two nice pigs with everyone seeing hogs and having great hunts. Mike started us off on Friday evening when he shot a monster 225 pound boar with good 2.5 inch cutters over on Boggy Creek while his hunting partner, Adam, also had opportunities for his first hog ever that same night, but chose to watch the meat hogs to see if a bigger one showed. Andruis, down from NY, rounded out the kills when he took a nice 80 pound meat hog down at Boggy that same night while on just a one day hunt.

Andruis with his 80 pound meat hog

We also had Dan and his son down, and they saw some small hogs while here but just didn’t ever get a big one to come out. But that is real hunting, and since they are already planning to come back, we will just plan to work even harder to get them on some good hogs next time. Now we have small gap in hunters, so we all are taking a break for the next 10 days or so when a big group of 11 hunters come in for the weekend of June 12th. We should really do well then since we  just had a BIG full moon this past weekend, and that usually hurts the hog hunting, so we were pleasantly surprised that we had as much movement as we did. So if we had good hunting on a full moon, we should really do well on a dark moon for the 12th. And we look forward to sharing the details of that hunt with you!

This weekend Cypress Creek Hunting Lodge will host our first ever long-range shooting class on our 1000 yard shooting range with instruction provided by Tactical Rifles, Inc. with special guest Special Forces Sgt. Greg Stube. The class is completely free to anyone interested in learning from some of the best shooters in the business as well as getting a chance to try out Tactical Arms incredible custom rifles. The class runs from 1pm to 5pm on Friday, and 8am until 5pm on Saturday; We will also have a hog cooking Friday night. So come and join us for some great fellowship with fellow hunters/shooters and learn important shooting skills. Just give Becky a call at 1-877-520-2245 if you are interested in joining us.

And while our long-range shooting class will only be this weekend, our great hog hunts will be available all summer. So for any of you hunters out there that need to quench your thirst for hunting and can’t wait for the fall, come on down and join us for some real fun hunting hogs. Yes, it will be hot and the bugs deep in the swamp will try to carry you off. But that is why they make thermacells - the anti-bug contraptions that allow hunters to sit in shorts to keep the heat at bay without ever getting bit. So grab some cool clothing along with a fresh pad and butane cartridge (the two things that make the thermacell work) and head on down to the lowcountry for some great summer hunting action… At just $275 a day, you can’t beat it. Again, just give Becky a call to check the availability of the dates you would like to hunt. We hope to see you soon.

Rick from WV with his massive boar

What a monster!

That is all that needs to be said for the giant boar hog that Rick L. from West Virginia killed last week right behind our Luray lodge. The 400 pounder strolled out for some corn just after daylight and into Rick’s crosshairs, which helped him accurately deliver a good shot to the massive pig. And while he did run back into the woods a ways, Justin and Quentin where able to recover Rick’s first wild hog ever so that he could not only take home tons of great tasting pork, but put his huge head on the wall to remember his hunt forever. So congratulations to Rick on his first hog and Cypress Creek’s biggest porker in some time.

As for things around the lodge, we have mainly been working on getting things ready for August 15th by moving stands, cutting shooting lanes and putting up more feeders in our best spots. We have also been doing quite a bit of work around the lodge and out back on our 1000 yard shooting range in preparation for our long-range shooting class that will be held next weekend. And while we don’t have many hunters during the summer, we will have a fairly steady stream of small groups looking to put some pork on the ground despite the heat and bugs, so make sure and keep checking back for more stories and pictures!

Kendyl and her dad Gary with their two longbeards

At sunset on Saturday, the 2010 South Carolina turkey season officially ended for us after 6 weeks of hard hunting, but not before producing two more big, mature gobblers for our last two turkey hunters Kendyl and her dad Gary.

Justin with his limbhanger

Down from NC for their second attempt in just two weeks, the father and daughter team  joined us again for the last two days of the season in hopes that they could harvest a big bird together. And after two full mornings of hunting with Justin, they had come close but still not sealed the deal. So their chances at getting a turkey were pretty much over as everyone drove out of the woods and back towards the lodge - when 7 big gobblers walked across the dirt road in front of them and towards a small watering hole full of tall grass. That small brake gave them a chance to get out of the van and circle around in front of them for a couple of calls and a shot as they came up and out of the small depression… two shots to be exact, which produced two nice longbeards! So congratulations to Kendyl and Gary on two nice birds, and to Justin for helping us and our guests to finish up the season on such a high note.

Jeff with his boys Bo and Will Hunt and his big gobbler

And since we were winding up the season this week and only had two hunters left, Justin and I also had a chance to hit the woods to see if we couldn’t get a gobbler too. And after some hard hunting and a few close calls, we each were able to harvest a nice bird a piece. So after calling and hunting without a gun in hand most of the season, it was a nice change for us to hit the woods ready to do business ourselves.

A 400 LB boar from behind the lodge

Our only other hunters this past week were two down from Greenville, SC to bow hunt some hogs. And while they didn’t take any pork home, one was able to get a good opportunity at a big hog right behind the lodge. Unfortunately he couldn’t capitalize on his chance after his arrow fell off of his rest and spooked the pig. But as we always say, that is real hunting; and if it was always easy, it really wouldn’t be as much fun

And I don’t know if it was the same hog or not that was missed, but I just got a text message from Justin that one of the hog hunters here today just shot a HUGE 400 pound boar on the power line right behind the lodge this morning! Just check that massive sucker out in the camera-phone pic! I promise to have the full story and better pictures of the monster for next week’s posting, so make sure and check back to see more.

What a MONSTER HOG!

Now after 6 weeks of almost non-stop hunting, we have a few days to do some work around the lodge to get caught up on all of the to-do list items that have been put off. Then it is time to start moving stands and trimming shooting lanes in preparation for the deer season that starts in just over 3 months. However while we will not have near as many hog hunters joining us during these hot, buggy summer months, we will also be working hard to keep the pigs fat, healthy and undisturbed so that on the days (mostly weekends) when we do have hog hunters, we can make their time in the woods as productive as possible. And when our hunters are dropping 400 pounders and the trailcams are catching big packs of meat hogs running around in the middle of the afternoon as well as other giant pigs hiding in the night, we will be eagerly awaiting  you for some great hunting!

Meat hogs at 3:30pm...

Justin's mom Jamie with her Boggy Creek hog

With all of the hot weather lately, the hogs have been keeping the majority of their movement confined to right around dark when it finally cools off. However early in the week several hogs at the River didn’t wait quite late enough and found themselves in the crosshairs of Tim who hammered two nice ones while WV’s Smiley (Nathanial) killed one. Then a nice downpour Saturday afternoon dropped the temperature considerably, and the hogs rolled out even earlier and right in front of all of our hunters. Joe and Gene, two of our NC crew that come down once a month, dropped good pigs while Jamie, our guide Justin’s mom, shot two and his dad Dave missed one.

Justin's dad Dave with his River gobbler

But hogs weren’t the only thing moving in the woods this past week; our turkeys were working pretty good as well. So Danny took the Hunting the World Southern Style TV camera crew

Hunting The World Southern Style with their big gobbler

and their shooter down to the River where they got some incredible footage while harvesting one big gobbler and missing another. Our other turkey hunters this week were Justin’s parents who were doing the hog/turkey combo, and Dave missed one before connecting on a giant bird while Jamie missed one of the three that her son called in for her right behind the lodge. She then tried to make up for it by hunting super hard in the driving rain and wind with me down on the River on Sunday, but to no avail.  But just let me say that many hunters could learn a thing or two from her about hunting hard and not letting bad conditions keep you out of the woods!

Now we have less than a week to finish off the 2010 South Carolina turkey hunting season.  So in addition to our two hunters this weekend, the guides get to hunt a few mornings too. And we can’t wait to see how the Cypress Creek crew finish the season out and then let you know how everyone did.

NC's Joe and Gene with River hogs

Also please note that if you haven’t contacted Becky about attending our long-range shooting class in May, you had better call ASAP to reserve your spot. Because once we reach a reasonable number of students, we will be cutting off registration to ensure that everyone gets lots of personal attention. Hope to see you there!

Smiley with his big hog

Tim with one of his two River hogs

Wayne Jr. with a nice Boggy boar

Like I said last week, we are entering into our slower summer hunting period now that the warm weather has arrived. However that can be great news for those that are still seeking some hog hunting fun despite the high temperatures. Because while we have a lot less hunters during the mosquito days, that also means the hogs have a lot less pressure on them. Then throw in a $50 a day discount for hog hunts from April 1st through September 31st, and you have the makings of a great summer hunting trip. Just give Becky a call so that she can help you set things up.

Mark with his meat hog

As for our last week’s hunting, we just had a few hog hunting groups including two men that were also turkey hunting in the AM. Out of those, Wayne Jr. from PA shot a nice 130 pound boar over on Boggy Creek along with Shane who harvested a nice, small meat hog. Also killing one after missing one was Mark from IN who also killed a nice meat hog. And even though they didn’t all get a pig, some of the other members of their hunting parties saw over 20+ hogs that were either too small, too fast or too late to shoot. But as we always say, that is real hunting.

Robert and his son Chris with a young gobbler

Robert, down from VA with his son Chris, also killed a young gobbler during his time with us. Now we just have a few more hunters to join us before turkey season ends, and I already have word that two of them have harvested big birds including the Hunting the World Southern Style TV crew who came back for just one day. We look forward to sharing those successful hunts with everyone next week.

Kendyl with her 160 pound Boggy Creek hog

The hot weather and the bugs have finally arrived here in the lowcountry, and as usual that has caused a slow down in the number of guests hunting here in SC. I don’t understand it, but many people seem to enjoy hunting in the cooler temperatures of late winter and early Spring then they do once it warms up and the mosquitoes come out Also, turkey hunting season is now open in most states, so not as many hunters have to travel to SC to get a hunt in.

So with this late Spring slow down, we only had a few hunters this past week after having some time off for Easter. One of those hunters was Jim from Charlotte, NC, who was down for just one day on a hog/turkey hunt combo. And while we couldn’t get a gobbler close enough for him to put down, he did harvest a good boar right out behind the lodge on the power line.

Also turkey and hog hunting with us this past weekend was Dr. Gary Jones of NC, down with his 15 year old daughter Kendyl. The two of them had some great hunts and had several opportunities to shoot a big longbeard inside of 30 yards, but just couldn’t get a clear shot any of the times due to brush in the way or having the turkey on the wrong side of them to shoot. But that is turkey hunting! However Kendell and Dr. Jones didn’t go home empty handed after she put a great 160 pound hog down over on Boggy Creek.

Jim with a boar from right behind the lodge

So congratulations to both of our successful hunters this past week! Now we have a few more quiet days off before a couple of hunters come in this weekend, so stay tuned for more hunting updates. And if you are still hoping to get in the woods for a turkey, call us ASAP. We still have two weeks left in the season, and while it will be a little warm, the late season can offer some of the best turkey hunting since those big gobblers will be out looking hard for those last few hens open to breeding. This means that our lonely hen calls sound better than ever to them.

Also, please note that if you are interested in attending our long range shooting class, you had better call and reserve your spot now. We have had so much interest that we are already almost booked up!