Swamp Hunters...

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headgear
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby headgear » Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:57 am

Cedars don't always jump off the page where I hunt but in general they are easy to spot as a swamp. The below pic has cedars on the left and black spruce and a mix of other pines on the right with a tiny bit of high ground between then that has some young poplar coming up. They look the same to me but having walk these woods I know they are different. In general these swampy areas are pretty easy to pick out but you might have to walk the land to find the cedars, in my opinion anything wet will work for the deer so don't walk by one for the other scout them all out.

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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby headgear » Tue Feb 20, 2018 5:03 am

Singing Bridge wrote:
oldrank wrote:Pretty excited to hear this. I am wondering if this info will translate to smaller cedar swamps? Living in southern Michigan we do not have miles of swamp left. I am dealing with 200 acres or less. I am also having issues pin pointing anything on the inside. There seem to be bedding possibilities under every tree. The bucks are there but outside the rut I cant pick up a pattern. Once rut hits I start catching bucks bedding with does on the outside edges. I am going on 3 yrs with one buck. He zigs n I zag. I always seem a step behind. The good news is I have also noticed a repeatable rut pattern that may be his tell. His tracks, rubs n scrapes show him cruising at night come late October. I just can't seem to get the right set on him. Seen him 3 times last yr. Once I feel he heard me come in and circled down wind. I heard him coming n he froze up 15 yards from me motionless until he got a swirl of scent. I could never get a shot through the cedars. The 2nd time I watched him sneak out the back door. Thermals. The third I watched his tracks until I thought he was in the bed I did know about. I got in and was setting up n he was with a doe right on the transition. They both bolted out 45 yrs from me. That was the day before gun season. After the human intrusion I didnt see his tracks again.


Smaller swamps have the potential to be impacted at a much greater degree by hunting and large predator intrusion. At the same time they are easier to keep track of due to their size. It sounds like you have a good handle on that one during the rut.


Ya small swamps can be really hit or miss, mostly miss from what I have found. Not that they can't hold bucks consistently but I think the pressure around the smaller swamp will dictate your odds of running into an older buck there, that or a hot doe in the area. After years of scouting these places I really try and focus on swamps that are 400+ acres in size, the bigger the better in most cases. You just need a big area of nasty to give those bucks some space to hide out and get some years on them. Ideally I like a big swamp with a 3-5 square miles with a bunch of islands, water and other structure to help creat some nice bedding. I will be spending the next 5+ years scouting out a 12 square mile swamp, its a little drive from home but I'm very excited about the potential there. About 70% wet and the rest high ground and islands.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby oldrank » Tue Feb 20, 2018 6:01 am

headgear wrote:
Singing Bridge wrote:
oldrank wrote:Pretty excited to hear this. I am wondering if this info will translate to smaller cedar swamps? Living in southern Michigan we do not have miles of swamp left. I am dealing with 200 acres or less. I am also having issues pin pointing anything on the inside. There seem to be bedding possibilities under every tree. The bucks are there but outside the rut I cant pick up a pattern. Once rut hits I start catching bucks bedding with does on the outside edges. I am going on 3 yrs with one buck. He zigs n I zag. I always seem a step behind. The good news is I have also noticed a repeatable rut pattern that may be his tell. His tracks, rubs n scrapes show him cruising at night come late October. I just can't seem to get the right set on him. Seen him 3 times last yr. Once I feel he heard me come in and circled down wind. I heard him coming n he froze up 15 yards from me motionless until he got a swirl of scent. I could never get a shot through the cedars. The 2nd time I watched him sneak out the back door. Thermals. The third I watched his tracks until I thought he was in the bed I did know about. I got in and was setting up n he was with a doe right on the transition. They both bolted out 45 yrs from me. That was the day before gun season. After the human intrusion I didnt see his tracks again.


Smaller swamps have the potential to be impacted at a much greater degree by hunting and large predator intrusion. At the same time they are easier to keep track of due to their size. It sounds like you have a good handle on that one during the rut.


Ya small swamps can be really hit or miss, mostly miss from what I have found. Not that they can't hold bucks consistently but I think the pressure around the smaller swamp will dictate your odds of running into an older buck there, that or a hot doe in the area. After years of scouting these places I really try and focus on swamps that are 400+ acres in size, the bigger the better in most cases. You just need a big area of nasty to give those bucks some space to hide out and get some years on them. Ideally I like a big swamp with a 3-5 square miles with a bunch of islands, water and other structure to help creat some nice bedding. I will be spending the next 5+ years scouting out a 12 square mile swamp, its a little drive from home but I'm very excited about the potential there. About 70% wet and the rest high ground and islands.



Funny thing... I killed my buck this year off of the pattern I was talking about in this post. In early November with a doe. It worked !! I had the pattern correct just needed to hunt the right area at the right time. It's cool to look back and see post like this. Makes me feel good about the work and thought that went into that kill.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby NH Teufelhund » Tue Feb 20, 2018 8:20 am

I know SB couldn’t do the podcast bc of tech difficulty but what podcast are you referring to? I want to check out other episodes and I searched “The Deer Hunting Podcast” and didn’t find it.

Are you referring to the Big Buck Registry Deer Hunting Podcast?
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby WISCOANDY » Tue Feb 20, 2018 11:40 pm

NH Teufelhund wrote:I know SB couldn’t do the podcast bc of tech difficulty but what podcast are you referring to? I want to check out other episodes and I searched “The Deer Hunting Podcast” and didn’t find it.

Are you referring to the Big Buck Registry Deer Hunting Podcast?


I know the original didn't record, but I thought they might try again. I was just seeing if they were actually trying, or if they punted on it altogether.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby NH Teufelhund » Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:03 am

WISCOANDY wrote:
NH Teufelhund wrote:I know SB couldn’t do the podcast bc of tech difficulty but what podcast are you referring to? I want to check out other episodes and I searched “The Deer Hunting Podcast” and didn’t find it.

Are you referring to the Big Buck Registry Deer Hunting Podcast?


I know the original didn't record, but I thought they might try again. I was just seeing if they were actually trying, or if they punted on it altogether.


My question is, what podcast was he supposed to be on? I searched for it and couldn’t find the podcast by that name.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby Tim H » Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:01 am

NH Teufelhund wrote:
WISCOANDY wrote:
NH Teufelhund wrote:I know SB couldn’t do the podcast bc of tech difficulty but what podcast are you referring to? I want to check out other episodes and I searched “The Deer Hunting Podcast” and didn’t find it.

Are you referring to the Big Buck Registry Deer Hunting Podcast?


I know the original didn't record, but I thought they might try again. I was just seeing if they were actually trying, or if they punted on it altogether.


My question is, what podcast was he supposed to be on? I searched for it and couldn’t find the podcast by that name.


I believe it was the deer hunter podcast.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby NH Teufelhund » Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:36 am

Found it! Thanks sir.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby Chuck B » Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:42 am

How “wet” is the swamps that you guys are referring to usually when it comes to these cedar swamps? Are there usually just a few transitional lines where you can access and stay somewhat dry? Or, do you wear waders and just know that you have to get dirty a few different times?
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby Babshaft » Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:03 pm

Chuck B wrote:How “wet” is the swamps that you guys are referring to usually when it comes to these cedar swamps? Are there usually just a few transitional lines where you can access and stay somewhat dry? Or, do you wear waders and just know that you have to get dirty a few different times?


I know the cedar swamps near me have a good amount of water in them. Dry patches of cedars on a bunch of humps and dogwood and cattails where it isn't deep. Where it is "deep" is about 2-3' of water.

SingingBridge mentions in a lot of podcasts that he uses hipboots all the time. Even the old photos of his family members, they're wearing hipboots. I'm following his advice and using them anytime I plan to hunt or scout a swamp. I'm finding I need to get wet to find deer sign. Too much hunting pressure if I don't.
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Re: Swamp Hunters...

Unread postby WISCOANDY » Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:28 pm

Chuck B wrote:How “wet” is the swamps that you guys are referring to usually when it comes to these cedar swamps? Are there usually just a few transitional lines where you can access and stay somewhat dry? Or, do you wear waders and just know that you have to get dirty a few different times?


The swamps by me have marsh ponds with water 5 to 10 ft deep, then cedar swamps that you could navigate with tennis shoes. I mostly wear knee boots, but hip boots would be best.


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