Unfrozen water sources in late season

[The Silence]

Here in Iowa where I hunt we've had some warmer weather lately with no snow cover. Since a lot of the vegetation/browse would seem to have a lower moisture content do you guys think that unfrozen water sources could really be a magnet for the big boys?

[Jmitch]

I think that is a real possibility especially if there isn't much water around. There was a ton of action around the small waterhole on our private in Wisconsin right before and even right after it froze over from deer trying to get some water. Vast majority of the pics were in the dark tho. Lots of pictures of bucks standing on the ice the first couple days after it froze which I thought was interesting. Were they checking it to see if it's open again or just coincidence?