Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
- jzeigler83
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Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
I have been planning on scouting a nearby public land swamp this winter. Unfortunately the water has been high quite a bit this winter. Will I still be able to find beds in areas that have been inundated with water multiple times? Any tips for scouting a swamp in such a situation after the water receeds?
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Re: Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
Its pretty tuff to find beds after highwater has been on them a few times. But there still a little evidence here and there. Most of the time deer will relocate for a while but will return. If its a constant flooding like everytime you get a 1” or 2” of rain, dry spells may be the only time there hanging there! If its every few years or so the main thing you may have to rely on is rubs and and possible old tracks if there still visible, it might be just enough intel to get into his core area.
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Re: Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
How high and how long makes a difference. A couple feet of water for a short period won’t change much. You get 3-4’ or more and depending on how quickly it recedes it can really change the landscape.
I wouldn’t try finding beds unless the water has been down for some time or if there is snow. I would rather look for clusters of rubs.
This is a spot I checked this year during season when there was high water. I have been suspicious for a few seasons that a good buck was holed up here but I could never get in there to check it out.
I was standing about where I thought the bed would be and you can see the generational cluster of rubs around the bed. The water is about knee high where the rubs are so those are pretty tall rubs for FL...
Sidebar: A slight flood period during season is an awesome time to get into bedding areas and check them out without doing any damage.
I wouldn’t try finding beds unless the water has been down for some time or if there is snow. I would rather look for clusters of rubs.
This is a spot I checked this year during season when there was high water. I have been suspicious for a few seasons that a good buck was holed up here but I could never get in there to check it out.
I was standing about where I thought the bed would be and you can see the generational cluster of rubs around the bed. The water is about knee high where the rubs are so those are pretty tall rubs for FL...
Sidebar: A slight flood period during season is an awesome time to get into bedding areas and check them out without doing any damage.
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Re: Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
jzeigler83 wrote:I have been planning on scouting a nearby public land swamp this winter. Unfortunately the water has been high quite a bit this winter. Will I still be able to find beds in areas that have been inundated with water multiple times? Any tips for scouting a swamp in such a situation after the water receeds?
I'm in the same boat (pun intended since we're talking about high water ). I found a potential bedding spot that currently has 4"-6" of water covering it. Found some rubs nearby but none of them were made during this past deer season. It's been wetter than normal though since the beginning of deer season, so I'm thinking there's not any fresh sign because the area has had standing water for the last few months. That's my theory anyways...
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Re: Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
Don’t worry about the stuff under water. Focus on the high spots where bedding currently is. This intel will be extremely valuable in high water years. Believe me when I say it you will be glad you did when faced with it in the future.
- jzeigler83
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Re: Scouting Swamps After Hight Water
Thanks guys! I’ll see what I can find when I get out there.
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