SWAMP BUCKS ARE DIFFERENT
Northern
Wetlands
Editor’s Note: Although outdoorsmen mainly think
about hunting deer in southern swamps, swamps, bogs
and flooded timber exist across most of the U.S. The
deer that live along flood plains throughout the nation
often have different movements and behavioral patterns
than deer holding away from the water. These swamp bucks
often defy reason and usually will be bagged by the
men who understand why these deer do what they do. Let's
look at the men who hunt swamp bucks across the country
and the tactics they employ to take these animals.
Dick
Kirby, the creator of Quaker Boy Calls in Orchard Park,
New York, hunts swamp bucks all over the nation. "Anywhere
you find a river system that floods, you can use swamp-hunting
tactics to bag bucks." To hunt in swamps, you have
to survive the insects living in them. Regardless of
where you hunt, most flooded- timber areas will have
more than ample amounts of mosquitoes and redbugs during
warm-weather hunting. "If you swat the mosquitoes,
you will spook the deer," Kirby explained. "If
you put on insect repellent, the smell of the repellent
also may spook the deer. To consistently hunt deer in
flooded-timber regions,
be conscious of your odor, use insect repellent sparingly
and hunt into the wind."
Kirby suggests you hunt underwater ridges in a swamp
for continued success. These high spots often cross
flooded timber and allow the whitetails to walk from
one patch of dry ground to another woodlot without having
to get as wet as they will by swimming the deep part
of the slough. "These underwater ridges are major
highways for deer to cross water," Kirby commented.
"Hunt these shallow places as intensively as you
will major trails going through a feeding area."
In most sections of the country, hunting thick cover
affords the outdoorsman some of the best opportunities
to see the biggest bucks. However, when you hunt along
a flood plain, Kirby recommends you take a stand where
you can see for 200- to 300-yards out in the water on
either side of your stand. "The more
area you can watch when you hunt flooded timber, the
better your odds for seeing not only bucks but especially
trophy bucks," Kirby reported. Kirby advises anyone
who hunts in swamps anywhere to carry flagging tape
to mark trails in and out of swamps and to use when
following wounded deer. "If you shoot a buck that
runs into the water and you go after that deer, you
won't travel far before you realize that flooded-timber
areas all look alike," Kirby said. "When I'm
hunting in a swamp, I hang a piece of flagging tape
at my stand when I start trailing a deer. I continue
to tie flagging tape at eye level on branches all along
the trail I take to recover my animal. If you don't
follow this flagging-tape strategy, the chances of your
becoming lost in an unfamiliar swamp are at least 200
percent higher."
TOMORROW: MIDWEST FLOODED AREAS
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