Big Game Kayakin’

You can paddle your way to bucks and hogs

At first blush, the thought of big game — at least where a kayak is concerned — conjures up thoughts of one of those guys who tries to hook up with a marlin or sailfish out in the deep blue off of someplace like Hawaii or Coast Rica where the bluewater is within paddling distance of the beach.

In South Carolina, big game means big game, namely deer and wild pigs. According to Mike Eady of Conway, there is no contradiction in terms when the subjects of paddling and big-game hunting are used in the same sentence.

Eady guides fishermen in kayaks for Black River Outdoors (843-546-4840), and when he’s not kayak-fishing around the Grand Strand, he loves to hunt big game. It didn’t take long for him to put his two passions together.

“Big-game kayak-hunting is different from paddling rivers or swamps shooting ducks,” he said. “The biggest difference is that you can’t shoot big-game animals from the boat, but hunting from the kayak is an advantage because it gives me access to areas in a river or swamp that are either too deep to wade through or too remote to get a big boat into.”

For the record, South Carolina game laws state that it is unlawful to hunt, shoot or in any way kill deer from a motorboat, raft or any other water conveyance, or to molest a deer while any part of the deer is in water. However, there are no laws against using kayaks to gain access to those less-pressured lands. Eady has the perfect venue for this type of access to public land when he hunts the 25,668 acres of the Woodbury WMA.

Located in Marion County, Woodbury contains several unique habitat types, including both black river and red river habitats such as bottomland hardwoods, Carolina bays and other isolated freshwater wetlands, longleaf pine forests and loblolly pine plantations. Woodbury is bordered to the east by the Little Pee Dee River floodplain and to the west by the Great Pee Dee River floodplain. In between are a number of many smaller watercourses that provide access to the interior of the vast acreage.

“I also do a lot of scouting from the kayak during the time before the season opens at Woodbury,” he said. “Sometimes I can pattern the movements of the deer just by observing the river bank or find locations where they’ll be feeding by watching the oak trees.”

Eady prefers to remain as quiet as possible on deer-hunting days and will often paddle into the area he intends to hunt and use a simple dove stool or pop-up blind to slip in and hunt from the ground.

“I forgo a climbing stand, one for the noise and two for the fact that the areas I hunt are so thick, I’ve walked up on deer that were bedded down,” he said. “Especially on a cold, windy day, the deer will lay in behind a blowdown tree and rely on their ears to tell them if a hunter approaches. They never expect me to come from the other direction.”

Eady has a slightly different approach for the numerous wild hogs that call Woodbury home. Many times, the first indication he has that pigs are using a swamp he’s paddling is by seeing them root along the river bank. So long as the wind is favorable, he’ll use the kayak to outflank them.

“Pigs don’t spook that bad if you paddle past them,” he said. “They also usually hug the river bank, so if I see pigs on one side of the bank, I’ll paddle past them a couple hundred yards, beach the boat and then stalk my way back to them.”

Contained within Woodbury WMA are both boat ramps and primitive camp sites adjacent to the ramps: Sampson Landing, Sanders Landing and Parker Landing on the tributaries of the Little Pee Dee River and Tanyard Landing located on the Great Pee Dee River.

Big-game kayaking doesn’t have to be reserved only for those fortunate enough to live on a coral atoll. Getting back to where the big deer and feral pigs roam adds an element of excitement and makes for a great day of Paddling Palmetto.

Manufacturers taking notice of hunters’ needs

Several years ago, the kayak angling community worked hard to gain the attention of what was once a whitewater and touring kayak industry. Not to be outdone, many of these same fishing enthusiasts and others yearned to unite their passions for hunting with paddling.

Chad Hoover, pro staff director for Wilderness Systems — one of seven paddle boat companies under the ownership of Greenville-based Confluence Watersports, is helping lead the charge.

“Kayaks offer the ultimate way to stay hidden — no scent and no noise — it’s the ultimate form of transportation for a hunter no matter what your quarry,” Hoover said.

In support, Wilderness Systems is one of only a handful of paddle-boat manufacturers offering camo patterns, including a newly-revised camo scheme for 2012, for sportsmen who want to both hunt and fish from their boats.

“Take our Commander series,” said Hoover. “it has over 200 pounds of additional weight capacity and an adjustable seat to help distribute weight across the boat. Plus, our integrated slide trax system allows you to customize the boat for adding after market blinds, gun holders and other hunting gear. It’s wider, more stable, and drier than anything on the market.”

Visit wildernesssystems.com for more details.