Scouting thick swamps

[kenn1320]

Hey Swampthing...........I like the shed laying in the cattails! Looks like a good one. That's a great find and really tough to find in there like that.
Makes me wonder how many of them I walk right over every year.

I didnt even see that shed, had to go back and look at the pics again. WOW very nice buck, hope you get to see him this fall!
Ken

[KLEMZ]

When you scout thick swamps with redbrush grass and cattails all mixed together where do you look for beds? I have a hard time finding exact buck beds in this stuff. also if there aren't any trees to hunt in this thick stuff it seems like you have to hunt the edge where their are trees anyways. Ground hunting would be impossible to shoot from. The best I have been able to do is follow rublines from the thick stuff to the edge and setup there. Spring scouting has everything under water and ice so rublines are the only clues I have. The best way I can describe it is the stuff Andrae found his buck in, in the marsh bucks video. What do you think?

A hidden transition line in both thick swamps and open marsh that I have noticed is the dike dredging done many years ago. I'm not talking about the water filled canals you could float a canoe in. Rather, they are more subtle and completely grown over with swamp vegetation. They are not real noticable on foot but show up as faint straight lines on many aerials. There is a subtle elevation change that often is dry ground for bedding. I have noticed enough bedding on these lines to add them to my list of transition lines to walk when looking for beds.

[DEERSLAYER]

Hey Swampthing...........I like the shed laying in the cattails! Looks like a good one...

It sure dose. You better get him this year Swampthing because I want to see him.

[Swampthing]

Hey Swampthing...........I like the shed laying in the cattails! Looks like a good one...

It sure dose. You better get him this year Swampthing because I want to see him.

I would love too see him up close too.

[dan]

When you scout thick swamps with redbrush grass and cattails all mixed together where do you look for beds? I have a hard time finding exact buck beds in this stuff. also if there aren't any trees to hunt in this thick stuff it seems like you have to hunt the edge where their are trees anyways. Ground hunting would be impossible to shoot from. The best I have been able to do is follow rublines from the thick stuff to the edge and setup there. Spring scouting has everything under water and ice so rublines are the only clues I have. The best way I can describe it is the stuff Andrae found his buck in, in the marsh bucks video. What do you think?

A hidden transition line in both thick swamps and open marsh that I have noticed is the dike dredging done many years ago. I'm not talking about the water filled canals you could float a canoe in. Rather, they are more subtle and completely grown over with swamp vegetation. They are not real noticable on foot but show up as faint straight lines on many aerials. There is a subtle elevation change that often is dry ground for bedding. I have noticed enough bedding on these lines to add them to my list of transition lines to walk when looking for beds.

I agree... But most of the ones I find are not to "hidden". The higher ground where the dredge mud was dumped generally has a different vegitation other than cattails and can be spotted by the trained eye...