I've recently started hunting public land down near where I go to school in South Eastern Wisconsin. One major difference I noticed is that a lot of the public land down here is almost all swamp or marsh. My question is how do you hunt deer in a marshy habitat? I come from an area that is predominately steep ridges and thick timber, so a lot of this is new to me. Thanks for any help you have!!
What a coincidence! I have been hunting the south east Wisconsin swamp land for several years now, (mainly the Albany area), and they can be very hard to figure out. The key is lots and lots of scouting. Your gonna get wet, so be prepared. Look for pieces of high ground, these places will be frequented by deer. By high ground, this could be anything that is just a smidge higher then the rest of the area and will not be flooded all the time. There will usually be some creeks running through these swamps, meaning there will be spots that the deer cross regularly. Find these crossings, and you've found a good spot. There is usually groves of trees periodically, these are often surrounded by brush, and are used for bedding areas. Find the downwind trails that head into these and hunt em when the wind is blowing from the woods. The bucks will skirt the down wind side of the woods and test the wind for any hot does that might be bedded. Pull out a map and look for those high spots, funnels, woods, creeks, and then get out there and start walking. If you do it right, you will be putting in many many hours of walking. It took me 3 years before i began to find the deer on the public land near me. Granted, I was only scouting during the summer. But the 4th year, i finally knew the land well, and knew where to put my trail cams, and finnally began seeing some monster bucks. Hunting swamp can be very frustrating, but the reward of a big ol swamp buck is well worth it.
Get hip waders and go scouting. Goggle maps can be your friend on a big screen to really pick apart an area that you are new to. Then get boots on the ground and piece a plan together. Good luck
