Beast Mode - Access to locations

[Murphdog]

I have been in full beast mode during offseason, scouting about 100 hours in the winters. I found locations in remote islands in swamps and marshes that I'm sure other members would say I found some awesome buck bedding and spots. The last 2 Septembers, I went to access a number of spots and in each location I couldn't get to the island because of muck and water up to the chest. Easier on ice for sure. I have been trying to use deer trails as Dan mentioned, but striking out getting to these locations. Most are about 2 miles deep. Fortunately, unfortunately, the swamps are completely dry in Minnesota this year, and I can walk across these same areas in tennis shoes if I wanted and not get wet. So I was excited I can access these spots now. However, I am concerned that the deer may not think the bedding off the islands is secure enough for them now? Do you think they will relocate to a harder to access spots, or will they use the same bedding knowing 9 of 10 years it is impossible to get there? Any comments would be great.

[Dewey]

Sounds like you found out what every rookie here does early on. Marshes and swamps are GREAT on ice but really suck in open water.

Honestly hunting marsh for over 35 years now I really dislike when things dry up. It opens up so much more bedding not to mention hunting pressure in areas that usually don’t see any. The driest years I found bucks were bedding at random in cattails where they never did before because they were all dry so they could be just about anywhere. When you have miles upon miles of cattails you can see how that could be a problem. Those were always my toughest years. I prefer normal water levels because it makes bedding much more predictable. High water narrows it down even more but you really need to know the land intimately to know where the highest bedding spots are. When water is extremely high most bedding is pretty much ruined and bucks bed much more by the mainland in unusual spots. Last year was one of those years. This year in my area should be a little more predictable with normal water levels. Your best bet is in-season scouting now to narrow it down. Sometimes with unpredictable water levels thats really the best thing to do until you know every square foot of the land. As time goes on you accumulate enough spots that will work in any situation.