Question about digging a water source

Post topo’s and Aerial photos for free advice. Food plotting, land manipulation, water holes, ect.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


User avatar
Badger
500 Club
Posts: 776
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:25 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allen.krelwitz
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Badger » Wed Aug 22, 2012 3:47 pm

My friend Buxnbaas "He just registered a couple days ago" has 30 acres we bowhunt, He just got permission from the land owner to dig out a low spot that occasionally holds water but is usually a mud hole. The water table must be right there because it's always wet so we figure if we dig it out some it should provide standing water all year. The property is mostly woods thick thorny woods surrounded by 800-1000 acres of corn but there is no water source close by so we think by having the water it will really help hold deer on the property. The land owner has excavators and will likely have one of his employes dig it out for us. Our question is should we do it now or wait until spring? Would all that commotion this close to season be worth it or just wait and give the deer a chance to find and acclimate to it in spring/early summer?


User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:43 pm

Do it now.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41588
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby dan » Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:51 pm

I would wait till spring... Hunting season is only a couple weeks away, and you only have 30 acres. I would put it in and let the deer get used to it all summer.
User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Wed Aug 22, 2012 9:26 pm

dan wrote:I would wait till spring... Hunting season is only a couple weeks away, and you only have 30 acres. I would put it in and let the deer get used to it all summer.

I forgot that your season starts earlier than ours. I agree.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
dreaming bucks
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby dreaming bucks » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:03 am

I bet if you did it all in one day, & then got the heck out of there, you would be fine.... people log woods, & deer are there checking it out the same night.... I myself would do it now.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41588
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby dan » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:07 am

My point about doing it in spring is that if the deer have time without pressure to get used to it, over that time period the mature bucks will get a little more at ease about coming in during daylight.
User avatar
Badger
500 Club
Posts: 776
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:25 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allen.krelwitz
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Badger » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:23 am

We could do it in one day for sure but by the time we actually rally the equipment season could be in full swing. I'm personally all for waiting for spring, I have plenty of of things do before season as it is.
User avatar
Stanley
Honorary Moderator
Posts: 18734
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:18 am
Facebook: None
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Stanley » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:51 am

Definitely do it in the spring. It will fill with water way better then also.
You can fool some of the bucks, all of the time, and fool all of the bucks, some of the time, however you certainly can't fool all of the bucks, all of the time.
User avatar
BigHunt
Posts: 12159
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:50 am
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby BigHunt » Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:57 am

Stanley wrote:Definitely do it in the spring. It will fill with water way better then also.


i agree, i dug my water hole out in spring and by july it was full of water and there was huge tracks every were around it...
HUNT LIKE A BEAST
User avatar
Badger
500 Club
Posts: 776
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:25 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allen.krelwitz
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Badger » Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:33 am

Spring it is then. Good point about it filling faster. Thanks for you're opinions on this.
User avatar
magicman54494
500 Club
Posts: 4188
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 6:05 pm
Location: central and northern WI
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby magicman54494 » Thu Aug 23, 2012 8:35 am

Just a thought:
What about hand digging and lining with plastic just big enough to hold some water for now then doing it with the heavy equipment in the spring?
Do this on a rainy day to hold down human scent then leave it alone until you hunt it.
User avatar
Badger
500 Club
Posts: 776
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 9:25 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allen.krelwitz
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Badger » Thu Aug 23, 2012 8:44 am

It's already like a bowl so it would just be a matter of lining it. There is also a second well on the property in the woods with a working pump head, I was thinking about taking one of them big Rubbermaid stock tanks and putting it out near the well where is would be easy to fill if needed. I would add a board or something for anything that fell in to have a way out. It's seems like it would require a lot of maintenance to upkeep though.
U.P. MAN
500 Club
Posts: 1804
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 3:28 am
Location: UPPER MICHIGAN
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby U.P. MAN » Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:40 pm

Does your property hold alot of deer now? How close to bedding is the spot? What you described sounds like a waterhole would be great for cruising bucks during rut. Are you hunting it early season? If not i'd put it in soon this year.

[ Post made via Android ] Image
User avatar
Buxnbaas
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 5:36 pm
Facebook: Buxnbaas
Location: town of sullivan. pop 15 if its not a workday
Status: Offline

Re: Question about digging a water source

Unread postby Buxnbaas » Fri Aug 24, 2012 6:23 pm

U.P. MAN wrote:Does your property hold alot of deer now? How close to bedding is the spot? What you described sounds like a waterhole would be great for cruising bucks during rut. Are you hunting it early season? If not i'd put it in soon this year.

[ Post made via Android ] Image

First I'd like to say thanx to Badger for posting this for me, between work and travelling to work it eats up 14.5 hours a day so I rarely get time to go on the internet. I appreciate everyones opinions, expecially Dan's since we live in close proximity so I believe he has a pretty good handle on whats goin on in this area. Badger gave a good description of the property, A north facing 100foot high hillside, the house and yard occupy about 1.2 acres on the top. Thorns on thorns attached to other thorns. Everything here has thorns, even the daisy"s I swear, Its like nothing Ive ever seen. The majority of it is large and medium trees, oak, birch, maple cedar but no pines. The 800 acre cornfield (grain corn not sweet) is northwest and north of here. The nearest Consistant water source is a 1.5 acre pond north of me by one mile. Other water sources include the ditch along the road, and my teeny pond that we are discussing now. The majority bedding area seems to be across the road on a 8 acre piece of tall grass and 10-15 foot pines. Some bedding does happen here but not alot. The deer seem to stage here before entering the corn at night. They also come for the minerals and salt i put out. We put in a small foodplot consisting of turnips and pumpkins for feeding after the corn comes out. I did hunt early last year, tagging a 6 pointer an hour into opening day, I plan to again this year because I believe the colder weather later pushes the deer to the south side of this hill which isnt part of this property.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Land Management”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests