Tell me about hogs in the salt marsh

DJW

I found some hogs rooting in the salt marsh area of some land I hunt.
I had previously focused on the various low fresh water areas of the property and largely ignored the salt marsh.
I found them feeding at 730 pm.

How much time do pigs spend in the salt marsh?
What are they eating?
Do they hit the salt marsh at a particular time of year?

Thanks.

MCSHunter

DJW,
We had the same question for years hunting up at St Marks Refuge south of Tallahassee. We killed pig after pig in the salt marshes around the bay. We would see quite a bit of rooting in the sandy areas and couldn't figure out what they were going after. Finally, a local gave us the answer. He told us the were going after the fiddler crabs. Not sure if that is true, but it made sense to us.

Geetch

Fiddler crabs.

km_hunts-06

Seen a boar yesterday in the salt marsh in yankeetown

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Turner River Terror

F.Sportsman had an article about this a couple years back.
They were fishing with a Guide and took rifles and hog hunted for awhile, somewhere north of Tampa.

DJW

Does the pork start to taste fishy? Never noticed it in any of the others I've taken.

Panhandler80

Geetch wrote: »

Fiddler crabs.

That was my first thought.

Might be some tasty / tender plant roots and or bulbs to be had. Gotta be easier to dig them up than stuff in packed soil inland. Pigs will also scavenge... Dead fish? Exposed marine life at low tide? I know bears love hanging out in salt marsh... I'm sure they are after the same things the pigs are.

micci_man

They will devour fiddler crabs. Never eaten one from the marsh but ducks that feed on the coast don't taste good to me.....

woodsrunner

Feral hogs will eat fiddler crabs, blue crabs, roots, whatever, that can be grubbed out of tidal marshes or the ridges of the Appalachian Mountains! You're dealing with the most effective predator/scavenger of anything it can get in its mouth when you talk about feral hogs. Even a dead human body is fair game whether you believe it or not!

139sst

Turner River Terror wrote: »

F.Sportsman had an article about this a couple years back.
They were fishing with a Guide and took rifles and hog hunted for awhile, somewhere north of Tampa.

South of Tampa, Apollo Beach area. I used to see them all the time while i was duck hunting. Mira Bay is the area i would see them in.
The duck hunting got poor in that area so i haven't been back out there to hunt. Its been over ten years but I would imagine that there are still a few in that area.