Deer trails in marsh

[Cdewolfe]

How do you tell what are deer trails and what's just openings in the marsh? Or are they all trails? Tons of phragmites around me that I'm trying to break down before the season starts. Plan on doing a way more boots on the ground scouting after season but I am guessing it would be more harm than good to do it now so I'm planning on scouting with bow in hand and hunt spots as I find them. Below is an example of what I'm trying to figure out.

[tgreeno]

IMO, most of those look to be deer trails. Sometimes real wide ones are smaller waterways.

That area should have some decent bedding.

[Dewey]

Looks like typical marsh deer trails to me. Especially the one’s conecting tree lines. Deer create quite the maze of trails that are used every year. I use many in cattails that are decades old and I’m sure they were there WAY before found them. Only way to know for sure is get out there and check them. In season scouting and setting up on hot sign would be the way to go right now. Looks like plenty of potential bedding locations.

[Cdewolfe]

Awesome. I guess I never realized that deer would make that many trails in an area or even be in the marsh like that at all. I can't wait to try out some of the new tactics I've been reading about on here. Saving up to get a lone wolf assault and sticks so I can really begin my mobile hunting journey.

[Double Draw]

You will find that many aerials reveal many of the deer trails in a marsh area. Sometimes what looks like trails is water from seeps or braids of water but they are often not super wet year round and often double as deer trails. Boots on the ground will help you see what you are actually looking at. Those aerial pictures are usually taken when the leaves are off meaning late fall/winter/early spring. One of the keys for me especially in mixed marsh and other habitat is figuring out which trails are used when. My experience is that many of the trails may get used nocturnally but there are plenty used in daylight too. They may also be seasonal. Put yourself in an observation stand where you can get high up and glass a large marsh area. And, yes, I know you don't have a stand but I only got one at the end of the season last year. So I climbed into trees (maples, pines and sometimes oaks will have low enough branches to give you a place to start climbing and the branches are usually close enough to each other to climb high) and found the most comfortable spot to sit. Use safety gear, though. I bought a harness and made my own treeman's rope and other safety rope systems with Walmart braided ropes and other hardware. Doesn't cost a lot but could save your life. Once you see where the deer are moving and the trails they utilize during shooting hours and/or find hot sign, set up and get ready. Don't be afraid to stay on the ground using natural vegetation, blowdowns and ambush sites for cover and to get you the shot you need. Hope you have a great season.

[Cdewolfe]

Thanks. I do have a summit climber but have been struggling to find trees I can get up in most places. I have thought about bringing my marsh seat and setting up in the cattails off a main trail if there aren't suitable trees. My biggest goal for the year is to just learn to read sign better and figure out why deer move how they do. I hope to get a buck but if I don't I wouldn't be upset at all.

[street28ss]

How deep is the water? Are there beavers around? Sometimes beavers leave similar looking trails, but I would agree that the majority of those are likely deer trails.

[Cdewolfe]

I havn't been in there this year but duck hunting near it the last few years it was about knee deep most places. No beavers but plenty of muskrats.

[ghoasthunter]

Thanks. I do have a summit climber but have been struggling to find trees I can get up in most places. I have thought about bringing my marsh seat and setting up in the cattails off a main trail if there aren't suitable trees. My biggest goal for the year is to just learn to read sign better and figure out why deer move how they do. I hope to get a buck but if I don't I wouldn't be upset at all.

how about dans famous step ladder trick.

[Cdewolfe]

Thanks. I do have a summit climber but have been struggling to find trees I can get up in most places. I have thought about bringing my marsh seat and setting up in the cattails off a main trail if there aren't suitable trees. My biggest goal for the year is to just learn to read sign better and figure out why deer move how they do. I hope to get a buck but if I don't I wouldn't be upset at all.

how about dans famous step ladder trick.

I may have to give it a try this year. Two years ago I was sitting in a tree on the edge of a marsh and saw a guy haul a ladder stand about a half mile into the middle of the marsh and set it in the only tree out there. He used it to get to the branches then climbed even higher up the branches to sit. I thought he was nuts until I found the beast a couple weeks ago.

[Swampbuck]

Looks like a mix of deer trails and small ditches and trenasses. But plenty are trails. That area in the middle with the green trees looks to have a network of deer trails. I find those areas are often near bedding. Like one of the others said finding when they use them is helpful. I like those areas with alot of them intersecting like that for putting some cams out to see what's going on. Looks like an interesting area

[Cdewolfe]

Has anyone tried still hunting through the marshes? Go in downwind and walk the trails trying to catch a bedded buck? Would be tough but if the water level is just deep enough you should be able to move silently.

[moog5050]

Has anyone tried still hunting through the marshes? Go in downwind and walk the trails trying to catch a bedded buck? Would be tough but if the water level is just deep enough you should be able to move silently.

I find it pretty tough to walk silently in muck. Slow helps but when you sink in, there is some noise pulling boots out. Not to mention the dried out cattails brushing against you but again slow helps more in that area.

[NYBackcountry]

I would recommend looking at the same spot on Google earth, move through the timeline feature, I bet you will see a lot of the the trails disappear. It may be easier to verify using multiple aerials, also keep in mind there are other animals in the marsh that also create trails.

I know a guy who hunts marshes on foot 80% of the time, he just really slowly still hunts through the cats or marsh grass checking high spots from down wind. He's killed some very nice bucks doing this over the years. Be careful walking sown deer trails in the water, 9 times out of 10 you'll end up swimming.

[Corsair7]

Had similar question. I ended up scouting an area that looked to have trails going through marsh from aerials while cyber scouting two weekends ago. Come to find out it wasn't the typical cattail marsh I anticipated. It was super tall 6-8 ft fireweed (just a guess, not 100% sure). The ground was more solid around the transitions and when cutting across bowls, didn't venture out into main body of the area but did find that they were deer trails. Below I have put an image of the area I got boots on the ground. Top portion is of what the area looks like now, with yellow outline and image below that is area without any green up and you can see the trails. Completely different look. The stuff is thick and tall, the only way I could walk through the stuff was if they were blown over towards the direction I was headed.