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Hunting Rivers

floathunter3

floathunter3

Active Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2018
Messages
152
Just wanted to get some ideas / tactics from guys who hunt rivers. I'll post a pic below of a successful hunt from last year outlining what happened. I paddled in and set up a tree which was only about 10 yards from the river. I figured the deer were bedding at the bottom of the river bend and I set up at the top of the bend. My stand location is in red. The wind was blowing from me to the river. There was a primary scrape to my left which I didn't put in the picture. I killed a buck that hit the scrape. I was down in the river bottom. Wind swirled a little bit but I was still able to get the job done. I was using milkweed to check the wind. My question to those who hunt rivers, is it best to set up where I did or would it be better to climb the hill to reduce the swirling wind and set up there? The problem with that is that I would not be able to shoot to the scrape. By the way, for my 4 hour sit, I saw 5 bucks hit that scrape. This is on highly pressure public land.

River hunting pic.png
 
Here is another example. This spot is on the high ground next to a river. In the riverbottom below, there is thick bedding cover (cattail marsh). What I found was that deer bed in the cattails, then as daylight fades, they get up and walk straight up a large hill onto the high ground filled with hardwoods (oaks). The hill is very steep and probably about 75 feet high. The deer go up and down it like its nothing. I set up about 10 yards from the edge of the hill. It hunts best with a light wind which blows direclty toward where the deer are. You would think the deer would smell me but for whatever reason, the wind goes right over top of them as they crest the hill. That was something I learned over time and guessed it might happened. Boy was I surprised when it actually worked! river hunting 2.png
 
Please feel free to post examples of tactics you use for hunting rivers. I'd like to learn as much as possible about how guys set up. A diagram helps. I posted 2 setups that worked for me but I'd like to see examples of how other guys are hunting rivers.
 
I like the concept since I hunt a lot of conservation land which is creek/river based for the most part. I find no matter how simple you think of it once I get there my mind spins and I always over think. Have yet to be successful in a river bottom.

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cb750 said:
I like the concept since I hunt a lot of conservation land which is creek/river based for the most part. I find no matter how simple you think of it once I get there my mind spins and I always over think. Have yet to be successful in a river bottom.

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Click to expand...

One hard part about hunting rivers is that a lot of the river bottoms have similar cover and much of it looks the same. I have found that finding a primary scrape area near thick cover is a good place to start. If you can find that try setting up near it. Just my 2 cents. Good luck to you!
 
Hunting rivers are tough to predict. Boots on the ground with many sits in one location may be required. Wind direction is only one part of the equation. Thermals are very important, and at different times of the year thermals change. Water height temperature, and current change the thermals, even leaves in the trees vs not on the tree change how thermals act in an area.

I hunt most of my time around water even when I do out of state hunts. I can tell you water temperature vs air temperature can do some funny things to the thermals which make each site dynamic from minute to minute. Best advice is to observe a spot for several hunts and make a journal of the conditions.
 
Good information. I noticed in one spot that in the early season when its warm, the wind swirls a lot more. As darkness approaches, the thermals pull toward the river. In the late season at that spot, the wind seems more consistent - less swirling. Also, the predominant wind can be out of the north or south but the thermals typically pull it east due to the river.
 
floathunter3 said:
Good information. I noticed in one spot that in the early season when its warm, the wind swirls a lot more. As darkness approaches, the thermals pull toward the river. In the late season at that spot, the wind seems more consistent - less swirling. Also, the predominant wind can be out of the north or south but the thermals typically pull it east due to the river.
Click to expand...
I remember reading somewhere how rivers affect thermals. Something along the line of it "pulling" as it flows. So that would make sense that it it pulls toward the river then maybe follows it. I cant find that passage anywhere to give it more credibility though.

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Using milkweed is an excellent way to learn about thermals and what the wind does.
 
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