Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late season

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willsk85
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Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late season

Unread postby willsk85 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 3:32 am

Hey Guys,

I've noticed a lot of talk around hunting marshes and swamps prior to the rut. But, has anyone hunted these after the guns have taken the bucks into these marshes/swamps where very few people want to go?

Has anyone hunted when the marshes/swamps are frozen, during late season? What's your experience?

Thanks!


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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby dan » Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:15 am

It can be great, and it can be a ghost town... I find deer abandon the marsh when the ice starts and some come back after its thick enough to walk on without falling thru, and some don't come back till spring. I have had some years when the marsh is full of bucks in winter and some years you can't cut a track on a two week old snow.
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby willsk85 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:04 am

dan wrote:It can be great, and it can be a ghost town... I find deer abandon the marsh when the ice starts and some come back after its thick enough to walk on without falling thru, and some don't come back till spring. I have had some years when the marsh is full of bucks in winter and some years you can't cut a track on a two week old snow.



Thanks for the insight Dan! Any idea where you think these bucks hole up, if they aren't going into the marshes/swamps?
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:08 am

Marshes are tough in the late season but I still love hunting them then. I have seen some of my best bucks then but have also been skunked so can completely agree with what Dan said. In very large marshes with thick ice it's nothing for deer to travel 1.5-2 miles to the interior for bedding after extreme hunting pressure from the gun season. Thick ice before the gun season is always a bad situation as the hunting pressure really pushes them in deep. I have followed tracks in the snow and amazed how far they will travel every day to feed on the mainland at night with deer in some areas never leaving the safety of marsh and eating natural foods if available on islands and such. Best bet is wait for some snow and start tracking. Let the deer show you where they are hanging out. Sometimes you spook them out of their security spots but it's good intel for future years.
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby willsk85 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:37 am

Thanks Dewey. Would you guys say that its on a spot by spot basis, where one marsh/swamp might be a ghost town, but one of your next areas, may not be?
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Oct 18, 2016 5:57 am

willsk85 wrote:Thanks Dewey. Would you guys say that its on a spot by spot basis, where one marsh/swamp might be a ghost town, but one of your next areas, may not be?

I think it really depends on the size of the marsh. The large ones will always have deer living in them and the smaller ones likely only have limited security cover so the deer move elsewhere.

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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby willsk85 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:07 am

Dewey wrote:
willsk85 wrote:Thanks Dewey. Would you guys say that its on a spot by spot basis, where one marsh/swamp might be a ghost town, but one of your next areas, may not be?

I think it really depends on the size of the marsh. The large ones will always have deer living in them and the smaller ones likely only have limited security cover so the deer move elsewhere.

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We've been referencing marshes alot, but what about swamps, like Dan talks about in his swamp DVD. Cedar, brush, tag alder, etc?
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby Dewey » Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:12 am

willsk85 wrote:
Dewey wrote:
willsk85 wrote:Thanks Dewey. Would you guys say that its on a spot by spot basis, where one marsh/swamp might be a ghost town, but one of your next areas, may not be?

I think it really depends on the size of the marsh. The large ones will always have deer living in them and the smaller ones likely only have limited security cover so the deer move elsewhere.

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We've been referencing marshes alot, but what about swamps, like Dan talks about in his swamp DVD. Cedar, brush, tag alder, etc?

Difference is many swamps have much thicker cover than typical marshes so the security is there in most cases. Only way to find out is dive in and look for current sign after gun season.

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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby willsk85 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:16 am

Thanks Dewey! That is my plan. I appreciate all your help and experience with this.
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby dan » Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:40 am

willsk85 wrote:
dan wrote:It can be great, and it can be a ghost town... I find deer abandon the marsh when the ice starts and some come back after its thick enough to walk on without falling thru, and some don't come back till spring. I have had some years when the marsh is full of bucks in winter and some years you can't cut a track on a two week old snow.



Thanks for the insight Dan! Any idea where you think these bucks hole up, if they aren't going into the marshes/swamps?

If they do evacuate your marsh, they generally just move to the high ground around the marsh... There are a lot of variables. Dewey was spot on with my observations. I like late season when the deer are there.
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby ihookem » Mon Oct 31, 2016 2:17 pm

I have noticed the same thing as Dan & Dewey. A few yrs ago I scouted a smaller marsh in the Kettle Moraine north. There were deer a lll over the place. I could not believe the amount of sign. Buck beds were easy to find. The next year there was just one track heading into the marsh. That was spring 2016. I thought it was cause there was so little snow the deer just hang out in the farm fields cause digging alfalfa and grass was easy pickens. I imagine food is what plays the part . I also noticed in a marsh by my place during and after gun season 2015 there was ice everywhere and it was flooded. I could hardly find a track in the little snow that was left during gun season. Feb. 2016 there was hardly a track. Again, I figure farm fields were easy pickens and little in the marshes.
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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby RagMonster » Sat Dec 10, 2016 4:26 pm

From my observations many of the marsh/swamps/wetlands become dead seas once we get substantial snow and ice cover. I think this is mostly due to ice cover which makes the flooded areas (wet edges) easily accessible and no longer safe havens or deer to avoid disturbance. We have an over abundance of coyotes and as soon as we have the slightest bit of ice they can easily run the edges hunting for muskrats and bumping deer.

This is just my observation. Each region and swamp/marsh will be different.

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Re: Hunting marshes/swamps after gun seasons and in late sea

Unread postby bigwoodsmn » Sun Dec 11, 2016 5:33 pm

I scouted 6 miles of marsh edges and other terrain today. Easy to get around. Didn't see much for activity from this past fall in the areas I went. I'm going to check out dogwood areas tomorrow... last day of MZ tomorrow. All the accesses are locked up so it's all walking. It's fun having whole areas to yourself. I have fresh snow coming down right now so that will be fun. I only hunted on snow 2 days since I picked up my rifle on Oct 25th.

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