EP 400 Campfire Talk with Luke Clayton

The episode kicks off with Luke sharing a story about a summer pear tree in his front yard in Northeast Texas. The tree drops a massive amount of fruit, which squirrels nibble on during the day. By nightfall—around 9:30 PM—a sounder of about ten wild hogs arrives like clockwork to eat the fallen pears. Luke reveals he has been tracking them with a thermal monocular and plans to hunt them from his front porch (about 45 yards away) using his new Ten-Point crossbow. Larry and Luke dive into the fascinating intelligence and sensory capabilities of wild hogs. Larry notes that research shows hogs have an extraordinary sense of smell (capable of detecting truffles six feet underground in Europe) and an incredible multi-generational memory that maps out seasonal feeding patterns year after year. The duo reminisces about their shared history hunting hogs and their co-authored book, Poor Man's Grizzly. They look back at the timeline of the wild hog population in Texas: The 1970s: Hogs were sparse and considered a highly prized, rare trophy in places like South Texas. The 1980s: The population boomed. Luke and Larry candidly admit that back then, it was common—and legal—for hunters to trap and relocate wild hogs all over the state to create hunting opportunities, inadvertently fueling the massive population explosion seen today. Luke’s Roots: Luke shares that his fascination with hogs started at age eight when he saved up pecan-picking money to buy his first two domestic pigs for $6 each. Luke recants his latest fishing adventures with his colleague Jeff Rice from A Sportsman's Life TV Show which can be found on Carbon TV and YouTube. They recently fished the Red River below the Eisenhower Dam at Lake Texoma with airboat guide JC McCullah. Using heavy casts into 15-foot-deep washouts, they hammered channel and blue catfish, including a massive blue catfish weighing around 40 pounds. JC McCullah also uses his airboats to transport hunters to remote, untouched wilderness areas along the Red River on the Oklahoma side. Luke and Larry discuss plans to head up there this fall for an isolated deer hunt, utilizing a remote FEMA building JC has set up as a rustic camp. Larry celebrates his long-standing friendship with Luke, noting that he has been a regular guest on Luke’s commercial radio show and podcast, Catfish Radio, for over 20 years. They close the episode by highlighting a few major upcoming events for outdoor enthusiasts: DSC Summer Show: Taking place July 23–26 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, featuring over 400 exhibitors and the DSC Foundation Gala on July 25th. An Evening at the DSC Office: Scheduled for September 17th, featuring wild game cooking and storytelling. Luke’s Annual Rendezvous: Held every spring (typically the first Saturday in March) in Greenville, Texas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices