Finding Bedding areas in flat flooded swampland

[Swampbuck]

Ok guys all this information on bed hunting is intriguing and i've never been able to apply it where I hunt so I’m hoping those with experience can enlighten me into how to approach a relatively featureless, flooded flat swamp, so please forgive the long post.

Here is the scenario, the below area is a large tract of flooded cypress swamp in southern Louisiana. The dark green areas are pure cypress/tupelo swamp, the brown areas are marsh which consist of knee high grass with bushes and small tress scattered, it holds 6” to a foot of water. As it transitions to the cypress it gradually gets thicker and deeper. The green area is mainly cypress and tupelo with some areas having thicker undergrowth than others. The water is knee high pretty much everywhere. It is flat. Most of the trees sit on a small mound that protrudes out the water about a foot, deer bed on these but they are everywhere. There are gradual changes in the woods as back in the day it was logged so some areas may have 30 yr old trees and others 50 yr old. The only true edges are where the swamp transitions to the marsh but even that is a very gradual change. The deer bed on the mounds, but there are millions of them. Walking is tough as the bottom is boggy, but the deer have no trouble walking.

The area gets very little pressure due to the access being awful (chest waders or hip boots). Most people hunt the marsh. The biggest deer have come from within the swamp though. Back in the day they used to run dogs in the marsh, but the dogs couldn’t go in that swamp so the deer would retreat there. My technique as well as the old timers that have consistently killed the bigger deer has been to find a rub line and camp out on it. Often when a big deer is killed in an area, eventually another will replace him as many of the big ones killed have come from the same areas.

So there are dedicated big buck crossings so I know there is something that brings them there, but I have always assumed the bedding was random and I figured it was something else that makes them take to an area but from reading on here I am now thinking that it’s the area they bed in that causes them to take to an area and is the key. Usually the rub lines are on very subtle features, like fingers of mounds that are closer together or that parallel the edge of a thicker area.

So being that the area is so tough to walk and travel what would one look for to focus on finding these areas by looking at maps? Is it possible from the aerial or must it be done from the ground? It takes so long to cover small amounts of ground in there that if there was a way to focus the search it would be huge.

I know the easy answer is to find a more manageable place to hunt but there is something about this swamp that I love, hearing that buck come sloshing through the water, since the first one I saw I have been hooked and can’t shake it but from reading the bedding behavior material on this site I know now I am missing something. Sorry about the long post just wanted to be thorough…

Here's some pics

[dan]

Although the bedding seems random, I don't believe big bucks do anything "randomly"... I have never hunted your state, closest I have hunted was Alabama. We do have some marshes ans swamps up here though that have the buck bedding on humps at the bases of the trees like you have though...
Most of the mature buck beds should relate to structure of some sort. Are there any small remote islands in the swamp? Otherwise check the transition area where the marsh meets the swamp and look for fingers or points of one of the terrains going into the other. The "edges" that have contours, points, corners and such fit the needs of mature buck bedding more than straight line transitions.

Follow some of those rub lines back and try and find the beds... You are going to see a pattern once you start finding the "big buck" beds. Also, regardless of whether you kill the buck or not, new bucks will use that same bed year after year as long as it never gets over hunted. They will even use it while others are using it, as long as there not there when they show up.

[JoeRE]

So there are dedicated big buck crossings so I know there is something that brings them there, but I have always assumed the bedding was random and I figured it was something else that makes them take to an area but from reading on here I am now thinking that it’s the area they bed in that causes them to take to an area and is the key. Usually the rub lines are on very subtle features, like fingers of mounds that are closer together or that parallel the edge of a thicker area.

I don't have a lot to add, have not really hunted terrain like you describe at all, but what you say above seems to be exactly what to focus on. There is clearly a reason for predictable behavior like that!

That picture is awesome! Any other pics of big old bucks wandering around in that stuff?

[headgear]

I hunt swamps that are very similar, they are generally tamarack, cedar or black spruce blogs the stretch for miles. Like you mentioned, hundreds to thousands of high spots and beds everywhere. It can sometimes take me years to find the core areas of a buck but they are there. Still trying to figure out many of these swamps but one day it will all click.

Like Dan said the bucks usually bed in certain areas for a reason, we just have to find all those areas and figure out a way to hunt them. I think you best bet might be to follow those rub lines in the swamp and see where they take you. Also scout all the transitions and use all your past encounters and scouting to try and put the puzzle together.

These are by far the hardest areas I have tried to hunt, lots of endless featureless terrain and literally a 1000 places to bed. Still there has to be a sweet spot in there somewhere.

[headgear]

I should add the only swamps I have figured out are 500-1000 acres, much easier to find those core bedding areas than in the big big swamps.

[Black Squirrel]

I have no experince in large swamps, but I would add that in a situation like this you might try to pinpoint the food source at the time you are hunting. The mature bucks value saftey over anything else, but may be bedding in the safest area(least pressure) and head to food in the evening.

[Singing Bridge]

It is amazing how similar your flooded cypress swamps look to flooded cedar swamps from aerial photo's. I see lots of potential buck bedding in your photo's but scouting and paying attention to those rubs is where its at. It appears that there are old logging trails through the cypress, and the bucks will definitely take advantage of these if they are not overly deep. I marked a few with orange lines. Bucks like to utilize these for travel through the nastiness as it is easier travel and bucks are basically lazy unless disturbed. I would expect you to find rubs and rub lines on more than one of these trails. Bucks like to bed near trail intersections, but they are too careful to bed right on top of it. They do like to leave their bed for a short distance and have these trails available to travel in multiple directions. Remember these bucks will travel past their bed, hook into the wind and scent check and "clear" the bedding area... before moving up and bedding down. They typically watch their trail downwind and let the wind protect their backside. They can also hear other animals that move down the trail and it provides them with an early warning system. With a wind blowing in from the left side of your aerial photo, I marked potential buck bedding in blue.

The yellow are transitions that I would expect to find some rubs and potential bedding depending on the wind direction. There are more than what I have marked.

[Swampbuck]

Thanks guys, i appreciate all the comments. Hopefully i can use some of this info in the future!!

[Singing Bridge]

Thanks guys, i appreciate all the comments. Hopefully i can use some of this info in the future!!

I have never hunted in a cypress swamp and I look forward to your reports.

[PK_]

Find the highest ground. Most good swamp beds I find are right at the high water line. Either at the transition or on a hump/island. Dominant bucks generally claim primary bedding that doesn't constantly get flooded out.

Find the areas with the highest stem count per acre. Bucks are naturally drawn to these areas.

Follow those rub lines. Mark them on a map, they connect to bedding. They may not lead you right into the bed but they will get you close.

I know there are trees with humps everywhere but look for the ones that are adjacent to thick areas and have good exit routes. Also look for the humps that have some cover, whether it is a big cypress knee, gnarly tangle of roots, a down log or a small bush. Bucks like to bed where they can see and not be seen.

I hunt similar terrain, those vast swamps are intimidating and have a big learning curve but they can be figured out(I am still working on figuring out my swamps but I'm making headway). Sounds like you already have some of it figured out, beds are just the next piece of the puzzle.

Your pic reminded me of a buck I shot a few years ago deep in a cypress swamp down here: