Beds in relation to water

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greenhorndave
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby greenhorndave » Sun Aug 11, 2019 4:01 am

This is a great bump for me, so thanks. I’ve recently gotten access to two places with similar isolated swampy waterholes on them. Good food for thought.

I also watched this yesterday , which I highly recommend.

https://youtu.be/7RthupoFGnA


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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby Nimrodhunter » Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:34 am

Fresh bump after some scouting this weekend.

I am wondering your guys opinions on how the bucks would be using these bedding areas regarding the wind/water relationship. I have two areas I'm wondering about.

Area #1 (yellow) line.
This area is off the tip of the big woods, very thick where they beds are and the area leading up to the beds from the bigger timber. The timber is fairly open leading up to it with a lot of blow downs. This area has been shredded up with good sized ribs the last 2 years that I've scouted it in the spring. The area beds seemed to very consistent both times I scouted it. I'm torn between whether they would bed there with the wind blowing from the water (w/sw) and use the thick cover as a sound barrier to anything coming downwind of them from the woods or the wind blowing from the woods towards the water giving them an escape route into the cattails/swamp, which is about a 50-75 yard buffer between the bedding and water. This area is fairly flat with not much elevation change at all.

Area #2 (red/orange line...I'm colorblind!)
This area is a lot tighter to the water as you can see on the map, maybe 20 yards to the water in most areas. The bedding is pretty consistent along the edge of the woods/swamp transition. There have been a lot of rubs in a couple areas here the last 2 years as well. This area I'm more confident in them using the beds on a w/nw wind because I jumped a few deer, including a big bodied deer by itself, the day I scouted it which was a w/nw wind that day.

This water does get duck hunted pretty hard, especially opening weekend and early in the year. Also gets gun hunted pretty hard I think (early November in Mn) so I'm thinking my best bet will be to hunt it early season. What are your thoughts on the duck hunting pressure effecting the bedding? I didn't make it out there this past fall with 2 little girls at home and a busy work schedule. I hunted some other bedding areas on this property and seen some deer but nothing mature.

Let me know what you think.

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greenhorndave
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby greenhorndave » Tue Apr 21, 2020 6:25 am

Good question on the duck hunting. I'm curious myself.
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby PK_ » Tue Apr 21, 2020 2:54 pm

Nimrod

I hunt areas that lay out similar to that with the duck pressure. Deer bed by the water early(bow/Muzz) duck opens around gun season and the deer are pushed up. Basically the deer get smushed into those buffer zones where the duck hunters don’t jump them and the deer hunters don’t bump them. But sometimes they are a lot closer the the booming duck guns than you would think.

It also depends if the stuff between the water and the trees is tall cattails or low marsh grass...

My advice is walk thru it all at the end of season, where you jump deer is where they are...
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby tundra@1 » Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:15 am

I guess you could consider me a water rat, if I am hunting the north. I shot a great buck in Iowa, along the Iowa River. I found out there, that the locals have great spots to hunt, and most do not need to get their feet wet. Had that area pretty much to myself. That said, this has been my observations, from my area of the UP.....

Lakes are barriers. Deer bed high in this type of drainage, on the ridges. I like to hunt lake areas, with plenty of tamarack swamp. Lots of small points and islands, that deer bed and come and go, and no one bothers them. Tough areas to hunt, to make entry.

Case in point. Just before this last snow,, I found a small funnel of maple and popple, that was shielded by water backed up by beavers on one side, and tamarack on the other. Following it in, I found, about an acre of dry ground. I walked it all, and all corners out to again, either water or swamp. Checking my compass, and knowing wind for the area, in the fall, I picked a spot. Going back in, in 2 weeks, to build a ground blind. Need to bring a saw, to clean up some down small trees. Nice rubs in there,,,, typical transition spot.

I hunt lots of trout streams. Here again entry has to be thought out. Without pressure, I find the deer to bed, close but just off the creek, on any small dry piece they can find. If there is a any type of ridge, that is close, that is where they be. Very tough to get on them, that is why my access is usually walking in the water, quite a ways to get to my spots. I rarely will be coming thru the woods. I wear wading shoes, and cabela/herter wading hip boots. I practically live in these things. Whats nice about them, is you can take off the hip boots, they weigh ounces, and put in your pac. The wading shoes, make an adequate, hunting boot, for most of the fall.

In May and June I am a trout bum, so I find a lot of run ways. I take the time to walk them, and that is how I find the better spots. They do however, like for some reason, to be set up, on any "bend" area of the river or stream. Also if tamarack is along the creek, they are right in there, tight to the stream. almost impossible to get at some of their spots,,,,,,,
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby Full_Draw_Fanatic_ » Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:29 pm

greenhorndave wrote:Good question on the duck hunting. I'm curious myself.


As far a duck hunting goes... I bow hunt all around the swamp that I duck hunt and we have had deer walk through the hole while we were duck hunting. I think it changes their patterns slightly, but over all I haven't found it to bother them very much.
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Re: Beds in relation to water

Unread postby thwack16 » Fri Jun 18, 2021 4:29 am

Stanley wrote:I have done a lot of river hunting throughout the years. In a lot of cases I didn't have permission to hunt the the bedding areas which were on adjoining properties. I found if you get a weather pattern where the wind blew towards the river for 3+ days the buck movement increased close to the river. I used this pattern to arrow quite a few nice bucks.


Doing a little river bottom reading today.

This is a post that stood out to me several years ago when I first read it and still stands out to me today. Trail cams have confirmed this for me as well. Seems that the bucks will use the river to cruise with the wind blowing into the river as soon as that pattern begins.

But outside of the rut you will see the movement close to the river increase as the wind pattern stays consistent. Also, doe use during the rut increases as the wind pattern stays consistent.

One of the many really good, subtle posts by Stanley.


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