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Swamp deer

C

casts_by_fly

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2022
Messages
239
Location
NJ
Hi all,

I’m hoping some of you swamp hunting guys can give me some insight.

I’ve got a big swamp nearby that is a mixture of low trees, briars, tall grasses, and mud/water. I’ve walked it in the winter when it’s frozen and getting around it is okay then. In the summer, the mud and water is impassable to me. One minute you’re ankle deep and the next it’s knee or thigh. The wetland is a stream valley that is a solid 400 yards across and 6 miles long. I’ve hunted the edges and shot two deer this year, and saw more. My question though is how willing are deer to walking through the belly deep water they would experience in there throughout the year? Will they cross it and live in it or will they stay to the edges and on their own side?

Thanks,
Rick
 
jphillips97 said:
Finding the islands is key... They will wade but they want to get to some dry land to bed or feed....
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unfortunately this swamp doesn’t have islands. There is a stream running down the middle and it’s soft ground/mud/grasses from the stream back to where the hill starts up. The closer you get a way from the stream the more briars and dead trees you pick up.
 
The deer are probably bedding on the islands that are super thick. Especially on the edges.
bucks like where the edges break up like a point or finger, even a bowl would be where to look.
swamps can also be tough because at times its like the marsh and is not very wind based bedding.
boots on the ground will verify where does and bucks are bedding and fresh hair in beds will tell you tgey are bedding here now.
there will most likely be a ton of rut sign where the dies like to bed or right outside of that area.
the thicker and wetter the better.
 
One of the public land parcels I hunt has a lot of swamp. My main hesitation is trying to blood trail there without snow on the ground, and then getting the deer back to the truck. I know it can be done... but how badly do I want to do that to myself?
 
I don't have much swamp hunting experience. I wish I had more around me for sure to try them out. Seems some of the biggest bucks lurk the swamps.
 
Weldabeast said:
"islands" is kinda broad term.....an "island" can be just an uprooted tree and the root ball makes a raised area.

This is an "island" surrounded by knee-thigh deep muck that I've seen deer use on multiple occasions.View attachment 80609
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In Louisiana where I lived we called them clay roots or clay balls and deer will curl up on even the smallest ones because nothing is going to sneak up on them when they are surrounded by water. When that dirt slumps down and the roots rot, it will leave a mound of dirt and that’s where they lay
.11462AFB-45A0-445C-AE0D-179A67E3475D.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Your profile says NJ; Is this where you hunt? My observation of southern New England swamps is that deer spend a lot of time living and feeding in them until the ground freezes and the temps drop. After freeze up everything about how they use the swamps changes. I'd suggest spending a lot of time scouting and monitoring swamps before, during and after the temps shift.
 
Jammintree said:
Your profile says NJ; Is this where you hunt? My observation of southern New England swamps is that deer spend a lot of time living and feeding in them until the ground freezes and the temps drop. After freeze up everything about how they use the swamps changes. I'd suggest spending a lot of time scouting and monitoring swamps before, during and after the temps shift.
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couldn’t agree with this more. April-October swamps are hot hot hot (I’m in western mass) after that first cold snap/freeze up they’re gone to high ground until the pressure of gun season hits then they use the swamps very strategically
 
Jammintree said:
Your profile says NJ; Is this where you hunt? My observation of southern New England swamps is that deer spend a lot of time living and feeding in them until the ground freezes and the temps drop. After freeze up everything about how they use the swamps changes. I'd suggest spending a lot of time scouting and monitoring swamps before, during and after the temps shift.
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I know NJ gets cold but maybe not quite as cold as MN? Some of our swamps will freeze solid. Or, at least solid enough to walk in easier than when the water is soft. Sometimes rotting vegetation makes soft spots in the ice so be careful. If hard water offers you freedom of movement maybe you can scout bedding areas, prep/bolt/preset/whatever trees, cut shooting lanes, etc. before ice-out.
 
Iron_llama said:
I know NJ gets cold but maybe not quite as cold as MN? Some of our swamps will freeze solid. Or, at least solid enough to walk in easier than when the water is soft. Sometimes rotting vegetation makes soft spots in the ice so be careful. If hard water offers you freedom of movement maybe you can scout bedding areas, prep/bolt/preset/whatever trees, cut shooting lanes, etc. before ice-out.
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I’m in western Massachusetts. Winters in southern New England are a mixed bag.
 
Iron_llama said:
I know NJ gets cold but maybe not quite as cold as MN? Some of our swamps will freeze solid. Or, at least solid enough to walk in easier than when the water is soft. Sometimes rotting vegetation makes soft spots in the ice so be careful. If hard water offers you freedom of movement maybe you can scout bedding areas, prep/bolt/preset/whatever trees, cut shooting lanes, etc. before ice-out.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys. yes, I'm hunting NJ. Last winter it was cold enough that things froze over pretty well and I did a good bit of scouting (leading to the two deer this year, plus others seen). This year it is very much not frozen so you can approach from the edges and get through some of the high ground, but ultimately there is a 200-300 yard width that is too soft to walk through (for me). The main width it largely reeds, tall grasses, and other 4' tall vegetation. In the summer when things are a little more dry it is more grassy like a pampas grass. In Fall through spring it is more aquatic and swamp grasses (plus pampas grass along the edges). This time of year the lighter grasses will die off and fall down so its a little thinner. The edges beyond that middle strip change from the grasses to vines, briars, low brush, and a mix of live and dead trees. I've stayed in this mixed edge since it is thick enough for deer to be happy (30 yard shots are rare. Both this year were at ~12 yards and had no idea i was there). I guess what I'm trying to figure out though is if its worth scouting and hunting the swampier bits to expand how much sapce I have to hunt. Seems like the answer is yes, and I just need to wait for a freeze to be able to get in and out easier.
 
I’ll also add that I’ve found if the terrain around the swamps is hilly, there will be all kinds of swirling winds from the thermals. Meaning, some days hunting in the swamp is absolutely pointless.
 
Jammintree said:
I’ll also add that I’ve found if the terrain around the swamps is hilly, there will be all kinds of swirling winds from the thermals. Meaning, some days hunting in the swamp is absolutely pointless.
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This is very true here and something I noted. The prevailing wind is from the west. This swamp valley runs from the south west to the north east. There are hills on either side for 700' elevation, though in some places those hills are a half mile apart or more. What ends up happening is a prevailing west wind will turn into a SW or NE wind depending how it comes over the hill and which way it turns and how strong it is. However, when we have 30+ mph winds for a week like we had this winter it pushes deer onto the leeward side of the hill, the bottom of which is a nice thick swamp that doesn't see nearly any of that strong wind.
 
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