High water impact on deer hunting this fall

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Missionshooter
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High water impact on deer hunting this fall

Unread postby Missionshooter » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:30 am

Anyone have any experience hunting islands or ground that has been flooded early in the year (LIKE THIS YEAR) when the fawns drop and the cover is growing?

I would assume it would drastically reduce the browse and cover due to the flooding. I guess it depends when the water exactly does go down for good. My fear is this would then lead to a reduction in bedding cover and usage during deer season.


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hambone
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Re: High water impact on deer hunting this fall

Unread postby hambone » Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:35 am

We go through this ever so often (20 or so yrs) on this side of the levee. On the riverside of the levee, it happens ever year. Some of the first tracks I see after floods are mature buck tracks. It depends on how long the water stays up. If it goes down fast enough, the browse will come back. If it stays up for months, it will be barren of browse, bedding and possibly even mast til the following spring. In '93 the water stayed up so long around here that it killed 80% of the hardwoods in the bottoms. The woods remained barren until the following spring, when most of the trees didn't green back up. You could see all the way through the woods below the high water mark, for the remainder of the 1st year. By the following hunting season, it was so thick you couldn't walk through it. If there are dry spots the deer will be on them. Currently there are hundreds of animals..including coyotes, on the levees along the Mississippi River. A lot of fawns didn't make it. Most of my spots are 10 feet under water. It remains to be seen as to what degree it effects my hunting come Sept. 15th.
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freezeAR
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Re: High water impact on deer hunting this fall

Unread postby freezeAR » Tue Jun 11, 2019 7:15 am

A lot of the areas I hunt are very dependent on a specific water level at least in relation to bedding. Several of the wma's I hunt are seasonally flooded for duck hunters. Like hambone mentioned, if under water for long enough the under-story and trees can die. It also washes away previous sign. I think the water level when season rolls around is the most important aspect because the water level dictates if any dry ground is there.


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