marsh bedding and wind direction

[hunter_mike]

when approaching a typical marsh bedding area (say a small finger of brush extending out into a large cattail flat with dry land on one side and open water on the other) there is usually one 1 out of 4 wind directions that you can not hunt it on (when the wind is blowing straight from mainland to the beds)

I have been trying to hunt these areas with a good crosswind, half right for me and half right for the deer. But sometimes I just hunt it when the wind is perfect for me and not perfect for a bedded deer. Do you think that hunting with the wind ideal for me and dead wrong for the deer is greatly reducing my chances of an encounter? And do you think that I should just skip that hunt and wait for a more marginal wind?

Has anyone had any big buck encounters in a spot like this when the wind was dead wrong for him?

[hunter_mike]

I remember Dan and Singing Bridge having a discussion once on this with some differing opinions, I can't remember the thread it was in.

[Rome]

Depends on the specific bed, so can't give a clear cut answer. I can say that the bucks I setup on opening evening, the wind was right for me, but not perfect for them, but scouting/observation sits showed me that they were using it on ALL winds. Unfortunately, I misjudged their exit route from bed to mainland, and I had no shots, and then they winded me as they got behind me, tore out of there hard and fast, and I haven't seen either of them since. The buck I am setting up on tonight is using a similar bed as you described, and he is using it only when the wind is blowing from mainland to bed. He should be there tonight given the wind direction. My dad has been driving by this public parking lot everyday, and he has yet to see a vehicle in it. Overlooked spot holding a giant!!! Long walk on this one...whopping 70 yards from where I'll get dropped off!! LOL It was comical though...I do hunt near Dan, so in my dream last night (well, nightmare), I pulled up to the parking lot and Dan's truck was there!! This has happened to me a few times, and while it's rewarding to know you were doing some things right, it's also hard to accept your competition includes the master!!

[hunter_mike]

Rome, so are you accessing /wading though the marsh tonight since the wind is blowing from mainland to marsh? Or are you off to the side a bit?

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[Bow_Badger]

Rome, so are you accessing /wading though the marsh tonight since the wind is blowing from mainland to marsh? Or are you off to the side a bit?

[ Post made via Android ]

Good question I was curious about that too

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[phade]

I have much more limited experience with marsh beds than some of the WI and Midwest people who hunt it more regularly, but we do have marsh ground. Seem like the "almost right and almost wrong" situation reveals more encounters.

The thing that hangs me up with this is that this is almost always paired with a more aggressive approach/strategy. Is it the wind or the fact getting more aggressive is the cause of the added encounters?

[headgear]

I think for a point beds if you hunt on a wind that strongly favors you the buck isn't going to be there most of the time, they just dont' have a great reason to bed there if they can't smell what might be coming after them from the mainland. What you want to do is find day where the wind might switch mid-day from something that favors the buck to a crosswind. Otherwise you might just have to work those angles a little better, say the point is strait north/south and you get a southwest wind, enter on the east edge of that point and setup as close as you can with hopes of your scent drifting off the side of a buck. One swirl or even the slightest wind switch and they can bust you but sometimes you have to push those limits. You could also try a different entrance, say the buck can smell any entrance from the mainland, you might have to loop around through the cattails and see if you can't slip in and setup where I can't get his nose on you. Lots of variables here but where there is will there is a way.

[dan]

What I find is that the bucks tend to move there beds on "marsh" points based on the wind... So good bedding points tend to have bucks bedding either oN THE POINT, on the edge of the point, or into the cattails a short distance depending on wind direction. So, on some points with a perfect "for you" wind they work just fine, some don't, some have later movement, etc... Marsh is a lot more wind forgiving than hill or farm country. I have killed plenty with wind right in the face IN THE MARSH.

[hunter_mike]

Awesome info and perspectives everyone, thank you!

[johndeere506]

Mike be sure to share your results, I'll be doing the same. I had same questions you did.

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[Bow_Badger]

What I find is that the bucks tend to move there beds on "marsh" points based on the wind... So good bedding points tend to have bucks bedding either oN THE POINT, on the edge of the point, or into the cattails a short distance depending on wind direction. So, on some points with a perfect "for you" wind they work just fine, some don't, some have later movement, etc... Marsh is a lot more wind forgiving than hill or farm country. I have killed plenty with wind right in the face IN THE MARSH.

Quick question being new to beast hunting. When you say the Bucks bed on points/edge of points based on wind, in your opinion/massive experience is the buck setting himself to smell from marsh or from high ground? I know each situation is different but was just curious. I did my first beast setup last Saturday night. I set up northwest of expected buck bed near transition line. The wind was out of n nne were I was.
My thought was that the buck would be bedding in this location(big tree forty yards into marsh from transition) to smell anything coming from high land and my wind would be just off of were he could smell. I felt confident in that setup but was thinking that maybe I was wrong after hearing some people say that bucks bed with wind coming out of marsh and that he may have chose a spot on opposite side of marsh near transition. Any input is greatly appreciated, just trying to be a sponge learning anything new.

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[Rome]

Rome, so are you accessing /wading though the marsh tonight since the wind is blowing from mainland to marsh? Or are you off to the side a bit?

[ Post made via Android ]

Good question I was curious about that too

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Tonight is a major gamble, trying for the "just off wind". So, while it's blowing from me to him, I SHOULD be just enough off to the side to get him. I also have a river bend in play here, and I find that they choose to skirt around the bend instead of going through it, and that is what I need him to do...if he doesn't, game over, he'll wind me before getting in range. The thing that concerns me the most with tonight's setup, is that when he comes into shooting range and open enough cover to shoot, it will probably be right on my line of scent, so even if he makes it there, he might be on alert when I shoot, and I really dislike that. But then again, I can't think of many mature bucks I've killed where I wasn't gambling quite a bit.

[mauser06]

Good stuff....I had a similar question last year while scouting the Marsh for the first time....

I have a spot that with a SW wind my scent will blow into the Marsh...not cattails but deep channels and water...where deer aren't bedding or traveling...


I now have pics of deer using the spot and on a SW wind..biggest thing is I have to skirt out around the bedding areas not waltz through the woods and setup...

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[dan]

Quick question being new to beast hunting. When you say the Bucks bed on points/edge of points based on wind, in your opinion/massive experience is the buck setting himself to smell from marsh or from high ground? I know each situation is different but was just curious. I did my first beast setup last Saturday night. I set up northwest of expected buck bed near transition line. The wind was out of n nne were I was.
My thought was that the buck would be bedding in this location(big tree forty yards into marsh from transition) to smell anything coming from high land and my wind would be just off of were he could smell. I felt confident in that setup but was thinking that maybe I was wrong after hearing some people say that bucks bed with wind coming out of marsh and that he may have chose a spot on opposite side of marsh near transition. Any input is greatly appreciated, just trying to be a sponge learning anything new.

Good question... They bed both ways. They bed on marsh edge a lot with thick and wind to back, looking downwind into the open, and on some points they bed higher up the point facing the marsh with wind blowing down the access of the point... I see both types of bedding on a regular basis... If you get good at looking at beds its starts to get obvious what winds they are using at each spot.

[Bow_Badger]

Quick question being new to beast hunting. When you say the Bucks bed on points/edge of points based on wind, in your opinion/massive experience is the buck setting himself to smell from marsh or from high ground? I know each situation is different but was just curious. I did my first beast setup last Saturday night. I set up northwest of expected buck bed near transition line. The wind was out of n nne were I was.
My thought was that the buck would be bedding in this location(big tree forty yards into marsh from transition) to smell anything coming from high land and my wind would be just off of were he could smell. I felt confident in that setup but was thinking that maybe I was wrong after hearing some people say that bucks bed with wind coming out of marsh and that he may have chose a spot on opposite side of marsh near transition. Any input is greatly appreciated, just trying to be a sponge learning anything new.

Good question... They bed both ways. They bed on marsh edge a lot with thick and wind to back, looking downwind into the open, and on some points they bed higher up the point facing the marsh with wind blowing down the access of the point... I see both types of bedding on a regular basis... If you get good at looking at beds its starts to get obvious what winds they are using at each spot.

Ok. Thanks Dan. Maybe someday I'll be that good at telling but until then I'll just keep learning from experiences and everyone on here

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