Marsh bedding below ridgetop food source tactic?
- CHALK_1
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Marsh bedding below ridgetop food source tactic?
How are you guys hunting marsh transitions, etc. that sit down below a ridge top food source? For example, in NY it's not uncommon to have rolling ridge top orchards or Oak ridges with swamps and marsh down in the bottoms. I'd scouted a few spots like that with good bedding, trails, and sign...but I feel like my evening thermals will get pulled out to bedding. One spot had 3 trails coming out into the hardwoods within 30-40 yards of each other. Seems like bullet proof bedding to me, unless you take the opportunity of a healthy wind or something. Anybody hunt something like that with success? It's too pressured to sit the food source...
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Re: Marsh bedding below ridgetop food source tactic?
I hunt an area like that. Wind usually blows over the food and hill down into bedding. The best success I have had is to 'give away' part of the bedding and set up in it. By giving away I mean that I know I am going to have my scent blowing into part of it. But down on this flat the winds may be more consistent especially the farther away from the hill you get. If you can find an opening in the swamp and have observed a buck exiting in or near it you can tuck yourself in the vegetation and be in business. Prior Intel is really important so you know which part of the bedding to 'give away.' If the food source is heavily pressured most mature bucks will stay in the swamp browsing swamp food and you'll never see them outside of it during daylight. An exception might be the rut or a good cold front.
I wish you well.
I wish you well.
- CHALK_1
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Re: Marsh bedding below ridgetop food source tactic?
Double Draw wrote:I hunt an area like that. Wind usually blows over the food and hill down into bedding. The best success I have had is to 'give away' part of the bedding and set up in it. By giving away I mean that I know I am going to have my scent blowing into part of it. But down on this flat the winds may be more consistent especially the farther away from the hill you get. If you can find an opening in the swamp and have observed a buck exiting in or near it you can tuck yourself in the vegetation and be in business. Prior Intel is really important so you know which part of the bedding to 'give away.' If the food source is heavily pressured most mature bucks will stay in the swamp browsing swamp food and you'll never see them outside of it during daylight. An exception might be the rut or a good cold front.
I wish you well.
Thanks for the reply! This marsh is actually on the bottom of the leeward side of the hill, but the same approach could apply. My wind will be fine, but I’ll have to “give up” some thermals…ideally based on observations like you mentioned, or maybe I can get an eye on some active sign/or tracks when I get there if I can’t observe.
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