Marsh Setup Hunting

[bb5931]

Wondering what you guys think about this spot. Red markers are from some scouting I did in January. Where I show the buck symbols, there's a bunch of trees that were blown down (almost looked like they were hinge cut 10-15' off the ground) with super thick briers below. I'm certain there's some real good bedding there but then I'm also pretty sure they're bedding in the cattails. Surrounding this little "finger", it's peppered with oaks which is great because the rest of the property was logged some years ago and they only left a couple oaks here and there.

The (2) blue markers are where I've set up so far this year and I saw more activity than I've ever seen before. They started coming out of the CRP in front of me around 3:30 but then a couple doe did sneak up behind me out of the marsh later in the evening. Tomorrow I was thinking about canoeing into the location below where I show the boat launch; my biggest question is, at 2pm, it's calling for the wind to switch from westerly to easterly and I was really hoping to head in around noon. I'll obviously check again in the morning, but am I better waiting until after 2 to set up so I don't blow out the CRP?

Any other thoughts on this area? It's ~500 acres of state land and it seems the pressure most typically comes from the road to the east.

Thanks!!

 

[DaWiz9578]

Is that private land in the box? Your track showing you walking up to the edge and back? Why are you canoeing in vs walking? Just curious.

What wind did you hunt before?

 

[bb5931]

Is that private land in the box? Your track showing you walking up to the edge and back? Why are you canoeing in vs walking? Just curious.

What wind did you hunt before?

Yes, the box is private. I’d hunted southern winds before so my wind blew up my trail. Walking in would be ideal and easy enough, but figured canoeing in would mean I didn’t have to walk right through potential deer activity leaving a scent trail right up through where I’m hoping the deer come up.


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[Kurt]

If your going in by canoe to hunt that yellow stand, then I would definitely wait to get into that stand with the E wind.

 

[DaWiz9578]

Agreed wait for it to switch, but youll never know until you go out there. Do you use milkweed? May show that even during a west wind it may be blowing up and over those trees, thermals, sunny cloudy, wind swirling while its changing from W to E, you just never know.

Last weekend I tried to go out and line right up with when wind was going to die down, took my canoe to a lake full of white caps. Bailed on that idea and just went to a different spot and scouted. Wind didnt end up dying down until 4 or 5 hrs later.

 

[bb5931]

Definitely using the milkweed. Thinking maybe if I plan to paddle in I could always see what opportunity might present itself a little further up stream and maybe find something north facing that might be a little safer with the flip.

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[Patriot]

I would walk the edge and hunt the freshest most exciting heart pounding sign you see. And I wouldn’t set a stand until I found it.

Don’t go to a spot and hunt it. Go to that LAND, find the buck sign and figure out where you need to be to kill the best buck on that land.

 

[bb5931]

I would walk the edge and hunt the freshest most exciting heart pounding sign you see. And I wouldn’t set a stand until I found it.

Don’t go to a spot and hunt it. Go to that LAND, find the buck sign and figure out where you need to be to kill the best buck on that land.

I read this right before I’d left and figured if there were duck hunters in the area, I’d abandon my canoe idea and hike in like I had been. There were no other cars, so no duck hunters in the area so I went for it- my first time paddling in for a hunt and it count have ignited more of a fire in me.

As I approach where I’d planned to beach it, I jumped something. Pretty sure it was bedded on the point, facing upwind into the woods, with the water to its back. Makes sense.

I gave it some time, but as I walk up from the edge of the water, I saw (2) bucks at the field edge. Bigger bucks than the year-year and a half bucks I’d been seeing. I attempted to get closer but I’m sure they were already on alert with my direction. And they quickly disappeared.

I took this as my exciting, heart pounding sign and I picked a tree close to the thicket they disappeared into thinking that was for sure where something would later come back out to. With the marsh to my back, I discovered the 170 degree field of view I’d set up on made it difficult to keep tabs on without turning my head back and forth when I spooked something sneaking up the edge of the marsh behind me.

Again, it makes complete and total sense that would be where they sneak up from- following the edge, with the wind in their face. Lesson learned. I’ll focus on this side and check the other side less frequently as it’s also much farther visibility.

Sure enough at 5:45, a really nice 8 appears by the edge of the marsh. Biggest deer I’ve ever seen in the woods. I watch him mull around at about 30 yards without a shot, just offwind of me for 15 minutes or so until he starts moving closer.

This next part happened pretty quick and I handled it extremely poorly. He was headed right into my wind at probably 20 yards and I freaked. I thought I had a small opening and rushed the shot, hit a branch and saw my arrow take a very wrong turn.

Was positive I’d missed him completely however when I recovered the arrow, it had 1 white hair and was coated in tallow. No blood whatsoever. I looked for an hour last night and couldn’t find a drop of blood. I backed out and went in this morning and still can’t find a trace of blood anywhere. From everything I read, I hit him in the brisket.

Never felt like such a complete failure. Downwind or not, I should have waited for a better shot.




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[Patriot]

That’s an awesome frickin encounter and a even better telling of it! I’m telling you man the “don’t stop till you find fresh sign” approach for me just comes from THP and Dan and Joe in the public land challenge but it is such a great way to hunt. It’s a totally different mind state too. More fun and exciting.

Did you consider bleating at him to stop him? I’ve never seen a deer hit my wind. I wonder if he would have froze or bolted or what?

 

[bb5931]

I pray I get another opportunity at him.

I’ve been listening to all those guys and Mark Kenyon too and reading a lot over the past year and my desire for owning my own land has almost disappeared with just this one plot of public, and there’s several more like it in the area. I’ll never own more than 15-20 acres and I feel like it can’t be beat.

Last Year was my first time really giving public land a shot and I did OK with my climber but it was always something I dreaded lugging around. I could walk with my saddle/sticks/platform all day.

In hind sight, if he would have reached my scent stream, it’s possible he might have stopped to look and check it out before just bolting? I don’t have a ton or experience with it either. I think it just comes down to having given him some more time. Part of my problem was that I was super conservative my first two times out I passed a couple shots up hoping for a broadside 20 yard shot and each time regretted not taking the “fair” shot I was presented with after it passed. I went out with my head too far in the other direction telling myself I was going to take the first shot I was presented with. Now I know I need a happy medium of the two.


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[bb5931]

What do y’all think-

As I mentioned above, I set up last night on the far side of some CRP that I’m certain is great bedding and saw less deer, but better deer than my prior two sits. The two times I sat previously, I saw a handful of younger deer moving through and playing around all evening.

These spots are 140 yards from each other on opposite sides of the CRP. Is it possible I could have been in a bucks “territory” and the other deer typically know to stay out? Is that a thing?

Otherwise I’m thinking I might just have been too far off the beaten path and they have other/better ways to cut through to their evening destinations.


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[Tapeworm]

What do y’all think-

As I mentioned above, I set up last night on the far side of some CRP that I’m certain is great bedding and saw less deer, but better deer than my prior two sits. The two times I sat previously, I saw a handful of younger deer moving through and playing around all evening.

These spots are 140 yards from each other on opposite sides of the CRP. Is it possible I could have been in a bucks “territory” and the other deer typically know to stay out? Is that a thing?

Otherwise I’m thinking I might just have been too far off the beaten path and they have other/better ways to cut through to their evening destinations.


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Sounds like u we’re on the right side of the CRP unless ur goal is to have a chance at smaller but more numerous deer

Big bucks get the preferred beds that are in more secure areas

They usually aren’t bedded with the more numerous smaller deer

Last year we shot 2 good bucks a week apart that used a thick brushy peninsula in a briar field

The smaller deer bed all around in the briars & small brush pockets but the mature bucks get that peninsula

One buck is shot after he left the bed and a week later the next biggest was shot by me in that bed


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[bb5931]

That makes sense, I figured the buck would be in the thick but it makes sense that they pay attention to the others and if they’re getting blown out and react accordingly from the peninsula.


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