How to hunt a creek bottom

[leegdn1990]

So I recently got permission to hunt this 40acre piece of property. It is a slate dump the is very over grown now. There is a creek that runs along the outside of the property line. Along the creek from one end of the property to the other end is just torn up with deer sign. I found bedding areas, but I haven’t ran into a good source. Why question for you guys is where do you think the deer are coming from? I’m thinking they are coming from across the creek but not certain. They got that big clear cut field the got across the road where I have the blue access waypoint that I’ve seen deer in at night so they are feeding there at night time. I’ve never hunted a creek bottom and not sure how to go about it. If anyone can give me some advice I’d greatly appreciate it!

 

[leegdn1990]

Here is an image of the property

 

[gameflogger]

So I recently got permission to hunt this 40acre piece of property. It is a slate dump the is very over grown now. There is a creek that runs along the outside of the property line. Along the creek from one end of the property to the other end is just torn up with deer sign. I found bedding areas, but I haven’t ran into a good source. Why question for you guys is where do you think the deer are coming from? I’m thinking they are coming from across the creek but not certain. They got that big clear cut field the got across the road where I have the blue access waypoint that I’ve seen deer in at night so they are feeding there at night time. I’ve never hunted a creek bottom and not sure how to go about it. If anyone can give me some advice I’d greatly appreciate it!

Any creek bed or deep depression is difficult to hunt because your scent tends to settle in the bottom when it is still and cold, The best advice I can give you is to make sure you hunt a constant wind. I have a bottom on the property I hunt that is torn up with deer sign, I have been winded so many times there that I gave up on it and now I hunt a trail leading down to it. Good luck, I will follow this thread to see what other great tidbits of advice the other members have.

 

[SnakeEater]

You got a kayak? Either that or if the bank of the creek is wide enough/shallow enough use it to skirt the property. If you can get in on the right wind and set up right at the creeks edge the water should help pull your thermals down to the creek with the right wind

is the field by the access road an ag field where they feed? If so I would put your set on the left of the picture on the opposite side of the bedding you have marked for an evening hunt.

for rut time I would say the southern part along the creek where it isthe most narrow. It may funnel bucks as the scent check doe bedding.

What is the gray/brown area in the center of the property look like? Seems dirt or gravel from the overhead

 

[Gator]

Any creek bed or deep depression is difficult to hunt because your scent tends to settle in the bottom when it is still and cold, The best advice I can give you is to make sure you hunt a constant wind. I have a bottom on the property I hunt that is torn up with deer sign, I have been winded so many times there that I gave up on it and now I hunt a trail leading down to it. Good luck, I will follow this thread to see what other great tidbits of advice the other members have.

And the wind tends to swirl really bad in the bottoms.

 

[stevethebreeze]

That looks like it will be tough to Bowhunt with the sign mostly in the bottom. If you think it will have the potential to be a longterm agreement I would be doing more glassing than hunting this year. Finding out what the neighbors do or dont do. Try to get as much info surrounding that piece before getting in there too deep.

 

[stevethebreeze]

And also the Mature bucks are probably not going to be near the bottom anyway when season rolls around. They want to find a small saddle on the middle of the ridges to look down into the bottoms and as much of the surrounding area as possible for threats (meaning you) and if there is trouble will usually run down that hill to get out faster. And also usually with the wind at their back or, somewhere that they can get that swirling action to get as much scent in the area as possible. With all that said, Good Luck!

 

[heretic]

And the wind tends to swirl really bad in the bottoms.

This is exactly why I try to stay out of creek bottoms, which is rough because that's where I find the majority of sign. You're going to have to walk up and down the lip of that creek until you cut a trail. If they're feeding in that clear-cut at night I would park waaay off on the east side of the property and bushwhack it into a spot to hunt off the trail in the mornings on a west wind.

During the rut you might be able to catch cruising bucks in the evenings on a south wind by getting as close as you can to bedding (approaching from the blue access), the only problem is with the thermals and depression you might get some back tunneling from that south wind that will drag your scent back into the creek, I would suggest that tactic on a more aggressive wind.

Again, creek bottoms are hard.

 

[stevethebreeze]

Topo maps are your friend. place your sign markers and compare with Topo (at home).

You may be able to cut down the odds of getting busted.

 

[leegdn1990]

You got a kayak? Either that or if the bank of the creek is wide enough/shallow enough use it to skirt the property. If you can get in on the right wind and set up right at the creeks edge the water should help pull your thermals down to the creek with the right wind

is the field by the access road an ag field where they feed? If so I would put your set on the left of the picture on the opposite side of the bedding you have marked for an evening hunt.

for rut time I would say the southern part along the creek where it isthe most narrow. It may funnel bucks as the scent check doe bedding.

What is the gray/brown area in the center of the property look like? Seems dirt or gravel from the overhead

Yes it is an ag field. That is all good information @SnakeEater . Yeah it is dirt and gravel. Where I have the photo waypoint near center in the small patch of woods it’s tore up with deer sign as well.

 

[leegdn1990]

I got this buck on camera where my photo waypoint is by the creek. And several other smaller 8 points

 

[SnakeEater]

I got this buck on camera where my photo waypoint is by the creek. And several other smaller 8 points

Get in on them beds and kill em! Just wait for the right conditions and get in there the right way. If you don’t booger them on the way in you’ll be in it!

 

[leegdn1990]

Get in on them beds and kill em! Just wait for the right conditions and get in there the right way. If you don’t booger them on the way in you’ll be in it!

Thanks for the positive advice man! Hearing everyone say how hard it is to hunt creek bottoms (which I’m sure it isn’t going to be easy) really was making me second guess myself

 

[mike7tcu]

Here is an image of the property

Man I just pulled your map up and was like I know where that’s at lol we must live kind of close. That cut up strip and dump ground can be hard to hunt. When you loose so much of the nature contour of the land it changes how the deer will use the property. You really do kinda have to think outside of the box.

 

[leegdn1990]

Man I just pulled your map up and was like I know where that’s at lol we must live kind of close. That cut up strip and dump ground can be hard to hunt. When you loose so much of the nature contour of the land it changes how the deer will use the property. You really do kinda have to think outside of the box.

Where you from man?

 

[mike7tcu]

Where you from man?

Near Brownsville

 

[woodsdog2]

Creek bottoms can be great locations with the right set up. If you can find a "terrain corner" or inside corner or field edge or other feature near that creek bottom they are great to access for evening or even sometimes morning hunts in hill country. I walk up the creek if evening thermal flow has begun down or if I'm not sure if it has switched yet, I "side hill" it with the wind quartering from my side making sure its blowing away from the suspected deer bedding area. I don't worry about the thermals as I side hill in because the creek bottom and terrain feature I'm setting up will still be far enough to the right or left of me to not catch my scent on the still rising thermals. I make sure the creek bottom and terrain feature are to the right or left of the majority of the bedding area. They are bedded above trying to catch rising thermal scent so with this set up you're moving in just far enough where the prevailing wind will blow your "entry scent" away from the bedding area. I set up at that intersection of the creek bottom where a terrain feature "closes in" on the creek bottom. I then rely on a bit higher saddle setup to make sure if there are still rising thermals that hopefully my scent will drift above the bedded deer as the younger ones begin to move toward evening feeding. The best thing about this though is as thermal shift begins in the evening, the creek bottom acts like not only a water shoot but also a "thermal shoot" drawing thermals and your scent down and away from where you suspect most of those bedded deer going out to feed to filter through. I've sent out milk weed on a SW wind on this set up and it will start t o drift up the hill and then as it gets to the creek bottom it shoots down the creek. These are great if you can find one and can be nice quick setups close to roads or parking areas for evening hunts.

 

[leegdn1990]

Near Brownsville

Sweet just right down the road from me!

 

[leegdn1990]

Creek bottoms can be great locations with the right set up. If you can find a "terrain corner" or inside corner or field edge or other feature near that creek bottom they are great to access for evening or even sometimes morning hunts in hill country. I walk up the creek if evening thermal flow has begun down or if I'm not sure if it has switched yet, I "side hill" it with the wind quartering from my side making sure its blowing away from the suspected deer bedding area. I don't worry about the thermals as I side hill in because the creek bottom and terrain feature I'm setting up will still be far enough to the right or left of me to not catch my scent on the still rising thermals. I make sure the creek bottom and terrain feature are to the right or left of the majority of the bedding area. They are bedded above trying to catch rising thermal scent so with this set up your moving in just far enough where the prevailing wind will blow your "entry scent" away from the bedding area. I set up at that intersection of the creek bottom where a terrain feature "closes in" on the creek bottom. I then rely on a bit higher saddle setup to make sure if there are still rising thermals that hopefully my scent will drift above the bedded deer as the younger ones begin to move toward evening feeding. The best thing about this though is as thermal shift begins in the evening, the creek bottom acts like not only a water shoot but also a "thermal shoot" drawing thermals and your scent down and away from where you suspect most of those bedded deer going out to feed to filter through. I've sent out milk week on a SW wind on this set up and it will start t o drift up the hill and then as it gets to the creek bottom it shoots down the creek. These are great if you can find one and can be nice quick setups close to roads or parking areas for evening hunts.

Great information @woodsdog2 thanks for taking the time to post all that! Seems like there is no room for error when hunting a creek bottom and you must be in your A game.

 

[1978circa3]

I'm hunting a creek bottom area too, last year was my 1st year hunting and i was hunting in a ground blind (before i knew about saddle hunting) and it was hard to say the least. I got busted alot. This year I've got a better understanding of thermals and how to set up on massive fresh sign. I feel proper approaching from the down creek side is going to be super imperative on evening hunts.

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