Hunting with a canoe

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Beauford
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Hunting with a canoe

Unread postby Beauford » Sat May 08, 2010 2:00 pm

Just bought a canoe last week, maybe I can use it bow hunting. It is 17ft long and the weight is around 55 pounds? got a good deal on this alumacraft at a yard sale. How many people really use a canoe to go bow hunt. Also in the past going to a island in Horicon Marsh with a canoe how do you get through all of the cattails the last 15 yards around the islands. Any help with info or any stories send along thanks.


dan
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Re: Hunting with a canoe

Unread postby dan » Sat May 08, 2010 2:14 pm

I fooled around a little with canoes, they work pretty good but you sure don't want to tip one in November a mile back... I used a boat and motor more often...
Getting to the islands can be tricky. Cattails along the edge of water ways can be full of surprises. Find the area that looks and feels the most stable and be careful. A lot of those cattails are actually floating on liquid muck that can mire you. Once you are out of the boat and heading for the island you may feel the ground move up and down as if walking on a waterbed if you are indeed walking above liquid muck. In this case always place your steps to the base of a cattail, the roots will help keep you from punching thru. If you do punch thru diving forward or sideways and getting flat will keep you from sinking deeper. The muck can have a suctioning effect that won't let you pull yourself out, but you will keep going down as you struggle.
Not trying to scare you, its still doable... You just need to know the dangers so you can prepare yourself. You could also purchase marsh skis which are made to walk over that type of terrain without sinking.
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Dewey
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Re: Hunting with a canoe

Unread postby Dewey » Sat May 08, 2010 5:46 pm

I agree with Dan. Those floating cattail bogs are really scary but unfortunately it seems like the best spots in the marsh can only be accessed by crossing them at some point. I have heard of people breaking through to their neck in the muck and water and never touching the bottom! :shock:
The great thing about them is it will really get you away from other hunters. I rarely see other hunters anymore in the spots I hunt unless they access from the river which is very rare.

The canoe would be good for following the river through the marsh which would get you close to many great islands that have not seen any hunting pressure. You could also travel in any of the water filled ditch's that are all over in the marsh but to do that you would have to carry the canoe quite a way sometimes.

Good luck out there and hope you get a slob! ;)
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Swampthing
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Re: Hunting with a canoe

Unread postby Swampthing » Sat May 08, 2010 8:12 pm

I learned the hard way last year about the dangers in them marshes. I was real excited about this new marsh I found so i blindly ventured out one nite.It was real nasty walking out there.I was thinking hope I don,t lose my trail gettin out tonite. Well I stayed out till pitch black .I did,nt want to use my flashlight going out .I took a wrong turn ,and b4 I knew it my foot sunk about 1 foot .I quickly pulled it out turned the other way then my other dropped outa sight .Turned again got on solid ground took a few solid steps and then i dropped up to my armpits .I instinctively reached upward and luckily grabbed some branches and anchored myself.Well to put it lightly my heart was pumping pretty good .It,s tough to stay calm when your about to be swallowed up in a marsh .I did the wrong thing and thrashed around .I was,nt going anywhere.I tried to calm down a little and slowly wiggled out inch by inch.
I was prettty shook up after all that.I turned on my GPS and it said I was 300 feet from my car.But i was sure that the road was right in front of me.So I headed east to the road .Turns out I was only 30 feet from the road.And my car was another 250 feet from there .Sure was glad to walk that last 25o down the road versus in that marsh,if I had followed that GPS.
I went back to that spot this spring and nearly stumbled into it in broad daylight .It looked solid but as I stepped onto it ,like Dan said it was like a waterbed.The ground would bubble and move 10 or 15 feet away.
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Re: Hunting with a canoe

Unread postby Beauford » Sat May 08, 2010 11:41 pm

I know what you guys mean with the sinking part. This spring I was checking out a marsh in Marquette County, and part of it is a floating bog. I got stuck for a while only to my knees, all of the ground next to me was waving up and down. I always take a walking stick when scouting it can help you get out of these experiences. Also the walking stick can help when sandhill cranes are swooping at your head but that is another story. Thanks for the input with the canoe I got it to take the kids fishing, I might try it taking it down a river or ditch to get back in, but I definitely don't want to get stuck or tip it over.


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