Anyway, this is getting longer than I expected so I will get on with my questions:
1. How deep of swamp water and black muck will deer typically walk in. I'm not talking about a pressured or bumped deer escaping a hunter, but instead a deer choosing its preferred, regular course from its bed to food? Is it likely the deer will have found a different course to the mentioned island which would allow them to walk in more shallow water or firmer areas of muck where they may only sink in a foot rather than 2 or more feet, or are they not bothered by the depth in your experience? Will the deer move through an extremely dense tag alder swamp the same way they will move through a cattail marsh, or will the travel occur more on the main land transition line because of the density of the vegetation in the swamp and the depth of the standing water?
2. In many of the marsh videos I have watched, I see hunters scouting and following a 'maze' of deer trails through the cattails in ankle or mid calf deep water. This seems to be navigable, however the particular swamp I was scouting was less marsh ground and more solid tag alders with little to no solid ground to be found, it seems. The visibility, even with no foliage, was 10-20 feet, at most, in the majority of the areas. Are these the kind of areas people are still able to scout successfully? If so, are you wearing hip waders, chest waders or getting by some different way entirely?
3. Most importantly, how do you stay safe in the swamp? I have family members who have lost boots and shoes trying to walk through alder swamps like this. They have also been walking in 'manageable' muck only to be waist deep with the next step. This seems dangerous, especially in sub freezing conditions. Is there any hints that you look for in the swamp that tell you where the firmer muck might be...even when it seems to all look the same? Has anyone been crotch or waist deep in black muck with waders on and if so, does this become a situation where you have to resort to digging yourself out by hand? Do you look at a situation like that as a danger or just an inconvenience?
Some of these questions probably seem to be elementary or stupid. I've had success in a few situations hunting a few small pieces of marsh ground and also the edges of swamps but I haven't pushed into areas of much standing water to get to islands. I feel I need to scout this particular island but I don't want to put myself in a compromised situation by charging in blindly. As a note, the island is not accessible by boat.
I know this is a lot of information and lengthy questions but I wanted to explain the scenario appropriately. So, if you are still reading this, any and all input on safety or thoughts/critiques on stand locations that can be provided is very much appreciated! Hopefully the aerial photo will post properly.
