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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: The Vanilla Gorilla on March 14, 2011, 09:02:00 PM
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Yesterday me and my good friend, Pat (pdk25) met up to go get after some hogs way down about as far southeast here in Oklahoma as you can get without being in Texas or Arkansaw. A lot of the area is bottom and swampland, with a lot of old abandoned rice plantations.
Not long into our hunt, while walking a dike along an overgrown rice paddy, I spotted a lone nutria sitting atop a bed of reeds, with its back to us. It didnt take Pat much persuading before he slipped off into the water after this critter. I dropped my pack and bow, pulled up a nice soft fire ant mound to sit on, and pulled out my camera to document this stalk. I apologize in advance for the quality of the pics...these Nikon Coolpix aren't good for zooming in on stuff. Hopefully Pat will be along shortly to give 1st hand report of the stalk!
Be it Dan (DHR) in Texas back in January trying to slip up on a javi, or Pat here flanking this nutria, watching a good friend partake in a stalk is just as good as doing it myself! I was on the edge of my seat, both from the fire ants and the excitement of watching Pat close in on this critter!
Here's Pat slipping off into the water...the nutria is that little ball on the right side of the frame.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/044.jpg)
Closing the distance. Pat didn't make much noise, but what noise he made in this stalk was covered up by the wind giving a bit of chop to the water, as well as the occassional gar breaking the surface nearby.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/050.jpg)
The standoff. Pat evidently made a bit of noise and the nutria turned his head to eyeball Pat. This lasted about 3 or 4 minutes before the nutria, satisfied that Pats shape was only a 6 foot tall stand of pampas grass that suddenly sprouted up in record time, turned his head.
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/055.jpg)
Cocking back and cutting one loose....
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/057.jpg)
Can't remember if there was a limit to how many photos could be on a thread, or not so I'm gonna post again with the rest of the pics...
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come on Cam we need more.
doug77
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At the shot, the nutria rolled off his bed as easily as I fall out of bed while dreaming of hot links and blackened catfish. Pat eased up to the nutria, who was just laying on the surface. After a time, Pat nudged the nutria with an arrow and the nutria sprang to life, spun around and chomped the end of his arrow so hard, I'm pretty sure I heard it. The nutria then deep sixed himself, swam a short distance and resurfaced, taking his final breaths. Pat caught up to the nutria, and dispatched it quickly with a 2nd shot.
If I had been a tad quicker on the camera trigger, I coulda had a sweet pic of Pat stumbling and falling in the water, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell that part or not...
As Pat carried the nutria back to shore, I kept thinking how funny it'd be if a gator busted the surface and decided to play Tug O' War with that nutria of Pats! Be an intresting brawl for sure! Probably not so funny for Pat at the time!
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/059.jpg)
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a243/Xtortion66/062.jpg)
Although we found good sign, we never caught up to any hogs, but this trip was a blast!
Pat, I had a great time and I'm looking foreward to our next trip down there, as well as looking foreward to some good nutria recipes from ya!
Thanks for readin!
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Thanks Cam for the pic's and story. You Okies are always a good time to be around.
doug77
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Great story!!
Thanks for sharing it and the pictures.
God bless,Mudd
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Man, I was supposed to be chasing Nutra Rats this past Sat. but, got saddled with rug rats instead!
Cool story, thanks for sharing with us. Makes me more determined to get out after 'em.
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Didn't think Nutria had such long tails. How close did he get for the first shot. I know the camera messes with depth, but looks like he put the super stalk on.
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Thanks for the story, Cam. I'll tell it from my perspective. Oh, and yeah, I did take a dip in the pool.
We were not too long into our hunt when Cam saw a mound in the water to our left. I was the only one with the binocs, and I thought it was just a mound of reeds but Cam thought it was a nutria. We kept on walking and I kept on checking. I thought it too big for a nutria since the two that we had seen earlier had been a bit smaller. When we got almost to the level of the mound I finally saw a head sticking out. I don't remember exactly what Cam said, but I remember after shrugging and heading into the water that he said that the water might be cold. I was vaguely aware of Cam shuffling through his bag for his camera and telling myself that any gators in the water would be cold and slow. At least I hoped that was the case. I wasn't sure if I could close the distance, but the nutria was facing directly away from me. Everything went really smoothly, with the nutria ignoring the occasional gar surfacing. I covered about 50 yards and got to about 6 yards away when I decided to shift to the left a bit ( I didn't want a texas heartshot). I shuffled a few steps,had a quartering away shot, and shifted my weight to get ready to draw. Unfortunately I leaned against a reed sticking out of the water, making a faint snap as the tip broke. I held my breath as the Nutria slowly turned his head toward me.
I froze, and it probably was 3-4 minutes until he finally turned back around. I couldn't believe it when he did, but given this reprieve I wasn't wasting any time. I drew, released, and the arrow took him just how I wanted it to. He dropped like a sack of suet onto his side and I thought it was game over.
I waded over to him, and as I got over there he slipped off the mound into the water. I figured he would be laying right there, but all that was there was the arrow. I swirled the arrow in the water with no luck. I was getting pretty concerned when I noticed a little ripple in the water around 20 yards behind me and to my left. In my haste to get there before the nutria got away, I didn' t pay any attention to the small dirt hump in my path, so it was 'down goes frazier, down goes frazier'. I got up, poured the water out of my quiver, and made my way over to the nutria. Tough critter, but it couldn't stay under any longer. The second shot pic is me trying to put it out of it' s misery. Guess what, I suck at 1 yard and in. The arrows sliced his neck and glanced off the side of the skull. I found the arrow and tried to push the nutria toward the shore, but he thought that he needed some iron in his diet. My tusker broadhead stood up to his teeth, and the nutria was on his last legs. I grabbed him by the tail and got him to shore. I took a couple of swipes for my tusker broadhead with the RADA sharpener and we were off to look for more.
The nutria is in the crockpot as we speak. A little nutria cacciatore. (No offense, felix.)
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Seems like they would taste like muskrat or squirrel.
Cool stuff.
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They should taste like muskrat or beaver, dark red meat with nearly zero fat in it. Quite tasty from what I've heard, but I have yet to eat a beaver or a muskrat.
Nice story and good pics, I bet that was a blast to watch! That's when a video pocket cam would come in handy. I'd put him on Youtube in a heartbeat!
Be sure and save the hide. Tan it and cut it in strips for string silencers, should be about as good as beaver except the hide won't be as thick.
Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed that......wish I could've been there to see it first hand. :thumbsup:
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Too late for the hide. I really regret that I discarded it. It was incredibly slick and soft. A little bit of thanks to Cam for letting me have first crack at the nutria. I was using a bow that I just got the day before. A takedown centaur with diamondback skins that I got used for a great deal. I swear that my wife me get it because she thought it was so pretty. I got a little worried when I gave it a bath.
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I woke up to turn off the crockpot and had to sample it. Delicious. Definitely better than the javalina bbq. This is for you, Cam.
1. Slice 1-2 onions thin and layer crockpot bottom.
2. Put pieces of nutria on top.
3. Mix 3 cans tomato paste, 1 packet spaghetti sauce seasoning, 1/2 cup white wine, 3 cloves minced garlic, some basil, bay leaves, salt and pepper together and pour or spoon over nutria.
4. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.
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I didn't know they were edible!I figured they carry Leptospyrosis? I can try on the local herd!
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Hey Felix. I don' know anything about leptospirosis, but there are a lot if recipes online. I soaked the meat in saltwater overnight like I have always done with rabbits and squirrel, and then used this recipe that was for chicken cacciatore.
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Good story, never tried to eat one though. Enjoy
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Your fine Pat, there ain't no disease in your Oklahoma Nutria, no different than beaver, muskrat, ground hog, or any other big rodents.
Meat like that is what our ancestors thrived on, and the trappers that paved the way out west by charting unknow territories and leaving trails ate beaver on a continual basis. I guess they really had no choice in the matter did they?
Just don't eat any armadillos and you'll be fine.
Your crockpot Nutria sounds good and I wish I could try a bite.
I kinda do the same thing with just about anything wild that I put in the crockpot like that. I put 1 packet of onion soup mix and cover with water. Nothing else to add until after it's done.
Then I drain and remove any cartilage or bone and mix liberally and thouroughly with Sweet Baby Ray's bar b que sauce! Mmmmmmm........delicious! :thumbsup:
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Cool deal. Great photography too, its nice having a personal photographer following along behind you. :notworthy:
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Nice job Pat! Go back and get after them Gar!! :archer:
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:wavey: Too much fun Pat. Congrats!!
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we used to chase nutria every year in Maryland when I lived there in 90s....great fun and good eating if you take care of them quickly and cook right.
I had one chomp on an arrow and sliced it perfectly with his two big incisor teeth...they are sharp...so dont let one get hold of you.
Body of a beaver, tail like a muskrat....yeah they have long rodent tails...unless it was a hard winter and it freezes and breaks off. They dont make huts...they make beds on top of the grass rather than building huts...so they are exposed to frigid temps. Being a tropical rodent they had not figured out the underground or hut building thing yet....LOL
Great story....
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Great pics and story. Thanks for sharing. I've go to get back down to OK for some hog hunting.
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Great writeup and a props to you for eating what you kill.
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Thats real cool, good job.
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Great story, I'd like to chase some Nutria someday!
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Just what IS that on his punkin haid?
I know it's not hair.
Killdeer :wavey:
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Yeah, it looks a little silly Kathy. It' s some mini boonie style hat that has a built in facemask. The mask annoys me unless I'm sitting still, so I use the chin strap to hold the sides and mask out of my way until I need to sit or stalk a hog. Figured I wasn't gonna 'blend' into my surroundings in this case with the mask down, so I kept it up.
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Nice picture taking, and great story to go along with it.
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Glad the rat is tasting good, pat! Gives us a good reason to keep after em!
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Thanks Pat. I thought it was either a tricorn or a mostly-eaten salad hat.
Googling up nutria, I say eat 'em all!
Killdeer :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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My wife liked the nutria cacciatore alot. Just spooned it over noodles. Next time it will be onion smothered nutria.
Come on out, Kathy. I'm sure that there are enough for all of us.
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They have gators there? Those things are every where.
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Good story. I am a bit surprised though, I thought they would taste like chicken.
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If I ever get the spare time, yours is the first place I would beat feet to... unless it were Oregon. I gotta meet that trophy wife you keep braggin' on. She sounds like an A-number-one first class human bean, able to conquer anything that the f-up fairy throws her way!
Killdeer :thumbsup:
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Nice pics! They tried to get us Louisianians to eat them since they were busting up rice and crawfish levees and marshland. They pay $5 a tail for em (although I don't know if the program is still going), and they had a big ad campaign, with Chef Paul Prudhomme trying to promote it - but I believe it was a flop. If we don't eat em, I'm surprised anybody eats em. :p
Here's an article on the vermin:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-12-22-nutria_N.htm
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Guys at camp were talking about Nutria, so I thought I would bump this to the top.
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Pat, Darren (Hackbow) is going to be upset. That was one of his target species in Boeuf.
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This was a good time. I would like to do it again.
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Man, you Okies will eat anything!!!!! Us texans will just leave the rats for y'alls dinner pots!!!
Congrats, I guess!
Bisch
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Lol. Originally from PA, but I am pretty open to new good, as long as it is not raw.
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Kudos on getting it done Pat. I've been hoping to encounter a Nutria along the rivers where I hunt here in N. FL, I know we have them. What's this I hear about a diamondback Centaur?? Hehe..
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Todd, if I got upset every time I missed one of my target species, I'd be an angry man, lol. Pat told some of us about his nutria cacciatore at camp. I'm going to redouble my efforts on a couple I've located near home.
Thanks for bringing the story back up Pat. Nutria beware!
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I love nutria hunting! Shot hundreds of them starting in the late '90's. I wrecked so many broadheads on the rocks around the the banks of the ponds where I hunt them that I invented the Talon small game head just to have some thing to shoot them with :D
I still chase them occasionally, though most of my hunting buddies that used to hunt them with me don't go out anymore.
GREAT way to introduce kids to hunting.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/missstanna/DSCN0194.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/missstanna/media/DSCN0194.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/missstanna/ChrisandGP.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/missstanna/media/ChrisandGP.jpg.html)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/missstanna/P1010484.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/missstanna/media/P1010484.jpg.html)
And the ultra rare WHITE nutria :)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/missstanna/Stan.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/missstanna/media/Stan.jpg.html)
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An oldie but a good memory.
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Ha!!! great to see this one back up after taking a beating for eating badger!!! :biglaugh: