Bridge in the Cattails!!

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Singing Bridge
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Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:24 am

Never been in the cattails on purpose before... drove a couple of hours west to some public land and found a buck that will be a three year old this fall (found a shed) and another that is so big I found "buffalo beds". I'm going to do this marsh thing more often, it is ten times easier than a cedar swamp... and I found target bucks so fast it was ridiculous. Big rubs, big beds, big droppings, big tracks... good stuff. I think Dan could take a marsh buck here so fast it would make your head spin, but he sure wouldn't like the puny racks.

I definitley plan on giving cattail marshes more attention.

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby dan » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:41 am

Nice! Was talking to Uncle lou at the show over the weekend and told him to find me a cattail marsh in Michigan... :lol: You musta been thinking the same thing!
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Bigburner » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:46 am

I hope it works out for you. I plan on making some bold moves in the phragmites this year. I find myself asking people where they hunt and I follow with "does it back up to the marsh?" :lol:
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Swampthing » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:37 am

I love the cattails! Good luck

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:46 am

dan wrote:Nice! Was talking to Uncle lou at the show over the weekend and told him to find me a cattail marsh in Michigan... :lol: You musta been thinking the same thing!


I was ... and I've got a good one for you if you don't mind how small the racks are.

I've been missing the boat with the cattails, I hit the most accessible part of the marsh to get a handle on it... heaven only knows what the rest of it might hold. No agriculture near this area, however.
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:09 pm

Cool!

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby MN Legacy » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:16 pm

I found a knew piece of public and it has a woods that buts up to some cattails and I'm going to walk the transition line to see if it's worth hunting next fall. The only problem it's a long walk to get back there.

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:51 pm

The extra work makes it even more worthwhile... good luck when you check it out.

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby whitetailassasin » Thu Apr 10, 2014 3:30 pm

Cattails are coming very soon on the next trip. Congrats on the shed find.

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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Thu Apr 10, 2014 5:50 pm

Nice work Bridge!
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:31 am

Singing Bridge wrote:Never been in the cattails on purpose before... drove a couple of hours west to some public land and found a buck that will be a three year old this fall (found a shed) and another that is so big I found "buffalo beds". [glow=red]I'm going to do this marsh thing more often, it is ten times easier[/glow] than a cedar swamp... and I found target bucks so fast it was ridiculous. Big rubs, big beds, big droppings, big tracks... good stuff. I think Dan could take a marsh buck here so fast it would make your head spin, but he sure wouldn't like the puny racks.

I definitley plan on giving cattail marshes more attention.


I went to an area yesterday that I have been hunting a few years and really been having trouble nailing down the bedding where I usually hunt, I have combed through it and found good sign but couldn't really put a pattern to it. The area is over 20k acres and the south end doesn't look like much, but it kinds of 'drains' to a huge marsh. I marked a couple waypoints and walked out and found great beds exactly where they should've been. I was almost thinking to myself it's like 'precision bedding' out there. Anyways, it really hit home how Dan has said before that simply hunting the most patternable terrain will up your odds...
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Apr 11, 2014 1:56 am

PalmettoKid wrote:
Singing Bridge wrote:Never been in the cattails on purpose before... drove a couple of hours west to some public land and found a buck that will be a three year old this fall (found a shed) and another that is so big I found "buffalo beds". [glow=red]I'm going to do this marsh thing more often, it is ten times easier[/glow] than a cedar swamp... and I found target bucks so fast it was ridiculous. Big rubs, big beds, big droppings, big tracks... good stuff. I think Dan could take a marsh buck here so fast it would make your head spin, but he sure wouldn't like the puny racks.

I definitley plan on giving cattail marshes more attention.


I went to an area yesterday that I have been hunting a few years and really been having trouble nailing down the bedding where I usually hunt, I have combed through it and found good sign but couldn't really put a pattern to it. The area is over 20k acres and the south end doesn't look like much, but it kinds of 'drains' to a huge marsh. I marked a couple waypoints and walked out and found great beds exactly where they should've been. I was almost thinking to myself it's like 'precision bedding' out there. Anyways, it really hit home how Dan has said before that simply hunting the most patternable terrain will up your odds...


Exactly right- Dan has often said that marshes may be the best place to find and pattern a good buck. There are only so many places the bucks can go out there and a lot of it is visible from the edge- and if not, aerial photo's sure show it to us. Compare that to a huge conifer swamp where a buck can bed securely virtually anwhere if it has to because of pressure.
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby hunter_mike » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:04 am

Good stuff SB! A change of scenery is always nice.
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby redsquirrel » Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:33 pm

I have also explored 2 small cattail marshes this offseason and found a buck bed in each, so I will never be passing up the opportunity to scout one in the future :D
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Re: Bridge in the Cattails!!

Unread postby mibowhunter » Mon Apr 14, 2014 12:34 am

There are public cattail marshes in Michigan?! I've been looking all over for them and can't seem to find any...


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