Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

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TravisB
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Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby TravisB » Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:06 am

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The area where the green X is are cattails. The area between the red lines is literally saturated with rubs, on trees as big or bigger than my legs or arms. The yellow represents rubs. Up to the red line on the right, circled in blue, there is hardly any sign at all. The area in purple has a lot of sign, and fresher, such as droppings, but I couldn't find a bed anywhere. I found several beds where the orange dot is. Across the black line is a major reservoir. Anyone care to venture a guess on this? Possibly a buck bedding on the end of this small island?


dan
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:17 am

Looks like a typical buck bed to me... With the rub amount and size I would be excited about hunting it next fall as close to that point as possible on an evening hunt... I would also look closely at the similar point on the island above circled in purple and see if there is a bed there if you have not yet.
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby TravisB » Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:57 am

Yeah, I looked there, but couldn't find anything that looked like a bed. There was actually a lot more deer sign there than on the island I found the bed on. This is an East-West island. I'm thinking I would need a northeast or southeast wind to hunt this, maybe? I don't see how I could hunt on an east wind without a buck smelling me.

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headgear
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby headgear » Mon Feb 24, 2014 6:39 am

Looks like a great spot, make sure to not only watch the wind but also water thermals off the reservoir. That is probably a big reason the buck like this area as he can use wind and thermals to cover his azz. I have a couple of setups that are very similar to this.
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:29 am

TravisB wrote:Yeah, I looked there, but couldn't find anything that looked like a bed. There was actually a lot more deer sign there than on the island I found the bed on. This is an East-West island. I'm thinking I would need a northeast or southeast wind to hunt this, maybe? I don't see how I could hunt on an east wind without a buck smelling me.

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I think the buck might be bedding in this spot on any wind... Thats pretty common in swamp/marsh point bedding. Was there one single bed and did it have an obstacle behind it?
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby TravisB » Mon Feb 24, 2014 9:45 am

I only found one bed with hair in it, but it did not have an obstacle behind it, which confused me a little bit. I saw other areas that could have been where a deer bedded, but no hair, so it may have just been the way the leaves and debris fell. The other point that I could find no bed on had several trails going all the way to the end of it. Is it possible that a buck could be using that point to go out into the cat tails and circling around downwind to scent check that island before bedding? There was hardly any sign leading out onto that island. I actually started not to even wade out onto it due to lack of sign. Once I got out there, I was shocked at the size of the trees and the number of them that were torn up.

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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:00 am

Its certainly possible that they circle off the point. Could be bedded into the cattails a little way too.
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby Spysar » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:01 am

What about that little clump of trees in the middle of the cattails? Can you get to that?
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby TravisB » Mon Feb 24, 2014 12:58 pm

Spysar wrote:What about that little clump of trees in the middle of the cattails? Can you get to that?


I couldn't yesterday. I have to make another trip to look at a different access, and I may try then. I'll need hip boots, and I didn't have any yesterday. I'm really thinking about taking a canoe or kayak down the edge of the lake and pulling it up to where that island starts and going in that way, just to keep from stinking up the area going into it.

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Re: Anyone care to pick apart my findings yesterday?

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:32 pm

Yea, with boat access you could also check out the islands farther S.W. along the water edge.


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