Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tale

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big bend gyrene
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Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tale

Post by big bend gyrene »

Only board members who follow the board closely may recognize the "Carolina Casters" name. They've only posted comments four times, but my history goes way back with them and they've had a heck of a run for only having four posts. A father & son duo, the elder Carolina Caster worked with me in upstate SC many moons ago. Since I moved here in 2002, they've been out and slayed redfish, caught a number of keeper cobe, and become decent scallopers. What they hadn't done until this year is hunt in FL. That's not to say they haven't hunted, just not here. Over the years Junior Caster has actually become an incredible shot. He's not only a crack rifle shot, but has mad archery skills that have to be witnessed to be believed.

Quick confession to make, I owed Junior caster. Fifteen years ago as a very young boy, he had a video game called "Carnivores", a dinosaur hunting game, and he had a virtual trophy room FILLED with T-Rexs. One day while visiting his dad I asked him to play... AND... somehow I accidentally WIPED OUT his ENTIRE trophy room. Senior looked sleepy the next few days at work, thanking me for having to stay up with the boy filling the trophy room back up. So when I learned recently that Junior, now taller than his dad, was on break from Citadel and turkey hunting season wasn't open in SC, I said I would do what I could to help add to Junior's REAL trophy room. Just seemed the right thing to do.
Trophy Room.jpg
As with all Carolina Caster trips, our adventures are "eventful" beyond our chase of game. Day one of their arrival we go out to scout for turkeys and I drive over a soft spot in the road, that caves revealing a crater of epic proportions. We get out to check out the hole and can't believe my 2WD truck bounced through it, thanks only to momentum and a concrete drainage pipe that stopped the tire from completely bottoming out. Junior takes a pic to commemorate the miracle crossing, and inadvertently senior photobombs the pic as only he can.
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And lest anyone ask why I say "as only he can", well turns out that with only about a dozen BBF photo shares he still has a history of such photobombs, with this pic having been shared by me years earlier. :lol:
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So back to the 2014 turkey hunt quest, the first real day of hunting only brings sighting of deer during the morning. After sitting for 6 hours, the Casters decide to live up to their original name and make a few casts into my pond. Within minutes I get the two photos below.
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No game on day 1 but they call it a day with smiles on their faces. :D

Day 2 starts out with heavy rains, but much more excitement. Gray fox and a group of six coyotes run across our back field as they head to their blind... throughout the day I get texts of deer after deer sightings, followed by four turkey hens called in, and then finally text of two large hogs running by, then two small ones walking by. The walking was a mistake. Junior puts his "one shot, one kill" accuracy to work and it's PIG DOWN! :beer:
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So night number two finds more smiles, but with only one day left to bag a tom, I reach out far and wide among friends and BBF members to see if anyone feels confident they have some tom-heavy spots. Dophinatic steps up to the plate and says for me to have the Casters ready to meet him at dark thirty the next morning, reaching out to help on his very own birthday of all days! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Dark thirty comes quickly and when Dolphinatic arrives for the pick-up it's raining heavily and lightning is popping all around. He says looks like a brief window of opportunity will open up from around 8:00am until 10ish, so off he and the Carolina Casters go to setup. Senior has already made the call that if they have no bird by noon, they must hit the road to get Junior back to the Citadel for classes, so with still no word of any bird by 9:00am I know it's down to the wire and likely just not going to happen. :(

Then... Dolphinatic texts around 9:30am to say that he's spotted birds and they're heading towards the Casters' position... then he texts to say that a single boom has been HEARD! :D

AND THEN he texts to say TWO BIRDS were taken by father & son at the EXACT SAME TIME on a combined "count-to-three" pull!!! :smt041

Turns out that Senior has only sat with Junior in the past and never taken a bird himself, so to say that they were excited to kill two birds at the same time is an understatement! They were still smiling when they made it over my way for pictures, text me thanks repeatedly on their way back to South Carolina, and even text again late this evening after making it to share how excited they still were!

So here, folks, are the final pictures from a trip that won't be forgotten for many years to come. Honestly afraid I don't know what to do their next trip down to lift the bar higher than this trip! :smt102 :-D
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Last edited by big bend gyrene on March 31st, 2014, 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

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:thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by bman »

Love the video game story :lol:
Looks like you invited them to a real life video game salute3
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by Carolina Casters »

Once again, we salute salute3 Big Bend Gyrene and now a salute to Dolphinatic :thumbup: .... what a trip. Loved the opportunity to hunt/fish north FL.
We were truly "blessed" with our harvest ! :smt059... a trip we will never forget. As for the photobombs.. watch your back BBG!! Guys, again, THANKS !
The Carolina Casters are looking forward to making our 6th post on BBF. :smt023
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by ontiltttttt »

VERY NICE! How'd you prop the hog's head up on the cooler for that picture?!
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big bend gyrene
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by big bend gyrene »

Ontiltttttt, after taking an overnight ice bath let's just say that piggie had a rather "stiff" disposition. :wink:
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank GOD for the United States Marine Corps." Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945
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big bend gyrene
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by big bend gyrene »

Typed up the report so late the night after the hunt, I forgot to share the tale of the tape... both gobblers had beards just over 10'. Bigger one killed by Junior weighed in at 22 pounds and the one killed by Senior weighed in at 18. :beer:
"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank GOD for the United States Marine Corps." Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by Danibeth »

Sounds like a great Spring Break to me.....good for you and good for them.

Those are some faaaaatttt bass they're holding up
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by Rhettley »

Great adventure! Congratulations to the guys!

Maybe next time you need to let one shot Junior loose on all those moccasins you've got in that pond. :-D
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by smoothie »

Nice! I'll be heading out taking someone in the morning. Gobble gobble!
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Re: Bass, Pig, & Turkeys - Another Epic Carolina Casters Tal

Post by big bend gyrene »

Rhettley wrote:Great adventure! Congratulations to the guys! Maybe next time you need to let one shot Junior loose on all those moccasins you've got in that pond. :-D
Rhettley, you got that right! Junior might actually put a dent in them! Just an update on Junior's adventures, he actually made time for a Carolina hunt, and I now have to revise my "One shot, one kill" analysis of his shooting skills... turns out he took one shot with TWO kills (legal in SC with 2 turkey per day limit). How cool is that?!!! :beer:
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"The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank GOD for the United States Marine Corps." Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945
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