I grew up in southern michigan hunting fields and big hard woods this year I moved up north were there is not as much farming or big hard woods the property I hunt now is mostly scrub brush small birch trees and small pine trees with a huge swamp running threw the middle I have been setting up on the edges of the swamp trying to find areas were the birch trees pines and swamp all meet or small openings I see a lot of fresh sign every time I go out but rarly see deer I have decided I need to go into the swamp to catch them during daylight hours but I am a little over welmed by the swamp not real sure how to hunt it any tips or info for swamp hunting would be greatly appreciated
Is it iced over or just flood waters? Water and blood trailing can be a unique challenge. Only advice I have is to wait longer than usual to track a deer shot near water. If you have to track through the water, if possible, wait until dark and you can usually see the blood on a shallow bottom in clear water with a good light. Of course the other option is to charge ahead before the mud settles after the deer runs through. I shot one this week that made it to a flooded bottom and I was getting a bit concerned but I found him pretty quickly. I waited 2 hours. Also don't forget your compass/GPS etc...
I have hunted big swamps all of my life. the most important thing to remember is your flash light gps/compass, you can get turned around real easy in a swamp at night. Tracking is extremely hard unless you have a real nice blood trail or alot of brush that they are going to run against. Also for me a pair of Snake boots are a must and I always carry a BIG stick to get myself out of muck holes you are bound to step into. Good Luck!
I saw this dvd suggested in another post so I decided to check it out. I have to say I thought it was one of the most well done and informative hunting dvds I have seen. Not sure if this is what your looking for but it may help. Hunting marsh bucks http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/shop/
I guess I should have been more specific the swamp is not a real watery swamp there is a small creek that runs threw the middle of it the ground is all soft with just a few sink holes (that I have found so far) it is real thick with cedar trees and a tangle of fallin trees with moss growing on almost everything and I'm lookin I guess more for tips on how deer move threw swamps like I know how they use ridges and cover in the hard woods and how they move threw the fields but I have been having trouble figureing out the movement patterns of these swamp deer
Have hunted a swamp area in Minnesota for the last 10-12 years, and a couple things. First, are there high areas out there that act as an island or is it pretty deep all the way around? Second, how deep is it? The are I hunt is not real deep (1-2 feet average), but you can see trails they run pretty easy. They also like to bed down on the islands, and that's usually where i set up. Hope it helps.
Your swamp doesn't sound like a very swampy swamp. Okay, sorry... Let's try again. Deer everywhere I have ever hunted love to skirt edges of cover. Find the food sources and the bedding areas and the connecting edges between them and you should be golden. A trick I use alot is to rake leaves away and put an attractant of some type in it so I can see the tracks. A good edge should also have plenty of antler rubs right now. You may have to to take a chance on going in to take a look and maybe spooking them though you can use binocs to look at trees from a distance. BTW, Southern deer love to rub on cedars.
