Phishy's journal

[Phishy]

Aug. 30, 2005

Thought I’d start a journal

Weather, pleasant, high around 80, light westerly wind, partly cloudy , been almost a week since we had rain, the weather is starting to turn cooler at night and pleasant during the day, man it feels good after the long stretch of heat.

I’ve been seeing a few flocks of turkeys just about every morning for the past three weeks, always in the same places, the big flock must have at least 30 poults and only about three hens, which is funny, the other flock I’ve seen on a regular basis is has only one poult but four hens, I suspect some parasitism has taken place. The last flock is along a busier road and I think the traffic has some thing to with the irregularity of the sightings.
Been seeing a lot of does with fawns as of late, only a few bucks, two of which were dandies, one was only a ¼ mile north from the land I can hunt, the other one was about the same distance but to the east

Well now that I have a general update, today I saw a huge flock on the Kemintz west field, there must have been at least 30-birds, the vegetation was so tall that I couldn’t get good look, there were three deer as well, when I stopped the truck I saw them take off while I was glassing the turkeys, something seems to have the deer all spooked, it used to be I could glass deer and they would just stand thee, as long as I didn’t get out of the truck ,I know there ahs been some poaching in the area, but not for a really long time, hmm wolves are in the area as well, but I thought they’d be pestering the calves over at the huge dairy farm, been a few taken by the wolves this year

The rest of the drive around was rather bleak today, a couple of does and fawns, that happens I guess, maybe Chris came through earlier and spooked them off, I was running a bit later than normal , saw another turkey, a hen, never seen one on the curve before, I wanted to get some glassing on the field where I saw the big boy, but wouldn’t you know it, my supervisor is on my ass, if I stop to glass the field I’ll be late and she’ll know why, I should stop and make us both late,

At lunch I took a short jaunt into the woods at Kemintz north, I need to find the property corner, I followed the trail which is in dire need of mowing, but that doesn’t seem to bother the deer, but my legs got cut up pretty bad by the ruhbus. Note to self put some pants in the truck

I decided to torture myself some more and follow the fence line back to the corner, but since it goes through a swamp the original fence dissipates rather quickly, the t-post fence, I don’t think is on the line, it seems to follow the swamp edge, kept the cattle out at one time I guess, okay shorts were a bad idea, nettles!! Well since I made it half way I might as well keep going, I ended up kicking up a doe, twice?? Might have been a different one, but neither had any fawns in the immediate area, that’s a first for this year; they probably were being young and exploring nearby. After I cut my legs up to a pulp, I took different route out, hafta do a little more searching back in this corner, I found one permanent stand, kinda old, but I know from past experience, most don’t just pop up in an area unless there’s a reason, , so what does this area have, there’s an oak ridge dissecting a swamp, open fields nearby, hmmm, need to find the honey hole, I did find some good trails, but it didn’t feel like I was in the hot spot, I bet there’s a group of old rubs somewhere, just didn’t find them today

Put the GPS in the truck and if I have time maybe tomorrow I will try and figure out the corner location, till tomorrow

[Phishy]

Aug. 31, 2005, weather, pleasant cool morning some fog, light westerly winds in the afternoon, skies mainly clear, with cumulus clouds drifting by in a lazy type of mood


Today I got out on a normal time, dew was heavy, cool night, on the drive to work saw the normal flocks and finally got a decent picture, I think they are getting used to my truck, the small flock of hens and one poult joined the larger group there were few more hens than there has been in the past.

Saw only four does, most without their fawns, the farm to the west of Smokey's has started to chop corn, seen some turkeys and deer in both fields. Doves, man there were a lot at the Binder farm this morning, hmmm, might be a good bet for opening morning, ox eye sunflowers seems to been the draw, maybe the picked winter wheat, too bad I’m such a lousy shot, told Keb about them he likes to bird hunt, hope he gets out there and gives them a try.

Kemintz west had another huge flock of hens and poults, I can’t get an accurate count of birds, they tend to hang the middle of the field in the taller grasses, I know they’re chasing grasshoppers, kinda fun to watch in the binocs

Photos of the turkeys that have been frequenting the side of the road on the way to work...










Didn’t get a chance to get back to the corner , but I think I figured out the area is bigger than I thought, the first fence line doesn’t seem right, there’s a section line at the town road, so a ¼ mile further should be the fence line, hmmm.. the entire swamp is huntable, wish I would have known that last year.

[Phishy]

Sept 1, 2005

Weather, morning was foggy and still, didn’t see anything more on the drive around the farm, afternoon was windy as all get out, 20+ mph sustained winds, with gust around 30+mph.

I took the walk along the fence line to see if I could find the property corner, something just isn’t right, I don’t believe the fence is actually on the property line, it’s too far south of the section corner, regardless I walked it back , found a trail or two that was promising but nothing screamed out to me, I went further, back and the fence petered out, I did my best to find the corner and found what looked like and old fence line running north south, it was evident that this fence was a least once a property line, rocks had been placed in a row, and tress were growing through the piles that were over 50 years old,, okay so now I have the east line, but where does it connect with the north line? I searched about and found three corners that only one seemed to make sense, I grabbed waypoints with my GPS with intentions of uploading them to the computer and comparing them on the air photos, I also wanted to grab another point at the Se corner of the property, that way I could measure aback to the three points and get a better idea if any of them might be the corner,

I took a little more time walking around and found some old rubs a few more trails and such, a couple places kinda got my attention. I did learn that to the north of my hunting intentions there is a corn field, that’s promising. I saw a doe and two fawns, same doe from my last walk back here??

I walked out not really confident that the fence line was in the right place, as I approached the road, the neighbor to the north was getting her mail, then it dawned on me, if I’m not on the right fence line, then I’m trespassing, well best thing to do is go up and talk with the person, which was evident that I was going to do whether I wanted to or not. I climbed out of the ditch walked up introduced myself, told her that I was employed by the landowner to the south and the anger in her face released, “oohh, I thought ….” I apologized and after so brief conversation, I found out my instinct was right, the property line is further south. It turns out that she and her husband at one time owned the land I work on, the fence lines mean nothing, they were put in to keep the cattle out of the swamp and out of the crops, she showed me were the corner was and thanked her, again expressed my apologies. I would have asked for permission to hunt but it was very evident that she didn’t allow people hunting her land, as she told me directly.

Gonna have to walk the north south line next and see if there’s anything that sticks out and scream “right here!”

[Phishy]

Sept. 2, 2005

Weather: pleasant again, very few clouds, getting too dry again, winds subsided, no fog or dew in the morning.

The drive around wasn’t very productive, the turkeys were in their normal areas, but the deer weren’t real abundant, I did see a decent eight pointer, probably no older than 2 1/2, but more likely a yearling. Never got a chance to do anything else, on the road for the day, worked later than I wanted and tuckered out, figures a Friday and I end up working late, nice way to end the week, at least I don’t have to work this weekend.

[Phishy]

Sept 6, 2005

weather, no fog in the morning, beautiful sunrise, took some pix while driving down the road, not a recommended practice, but i don't have much traffic while going to work








The last photo is a field that has been restored to native species

i didn't see many deer, acorns are dropping more out thee than i thought and i bet the deer are keying in on the good ones right now and not showing themselves in the fields much. saw the flock of turkeys in their normal places, one of the flocks is in a field that i can hunt, there were about twelve birds, i can't really tell, but all of them seem to be hens and poults, i haven't seen mega bird for a while, i took another GPS point and think i have the corner of the property pretty much figured out, now i have ti figure out the trails, for some reason the owner cut all the old dying oaks down and never did anything with the wood, i can't figure him out sometimes, now the area is a tangle of tree tops and thorns, great if you a rabbit, but the deer aren't moving through there too much, actually it funnels them into smaller areas, good for me i guess, i did find a slough of deer track on the field edge under a couple burr oaks, acorns littered the ground and there were lots of caps torn into my deer, looking good so far

[Phishy]

Sept 12, 2005

weather too hot

i had the day off, after working the weekend instead of getting outside i spent too much time in front of this stupid thing, sometimes you gotta do things like that, I did check a few things out on the net

It turns out i will be laid off for the fall season, unexcpected, but a blessing with its costs, like money, now to go hunting will cost me gas money, so instead of sulking, i decide to grab the bull by the horns, although i want to hunt south where did last year, i can't be picky, i have the time off, that is the biggest influence for being successful, so hit the information center and find some places to hunt, first stopp DNR web site, looked up Ag damage recipents, there'a slough of them, about 12 twelve within 20 min or less drive, that's bearable, next site, urban deer, i read a while ago about the city having a problem near the airport, bingo... all i need to do is contact some office and tell then i'm hunting there and report any deer that I shoot, that's only five minutes from my place, this is starting to look good, now public land, walla, ton of land just about 20 min. away again, but it looks more suited for waterfowl.

I drew a fall turkey tag, but that's all the way down where i work, fortyfive minutes away, i might have to bite the bullet a few times and hope for the best,

My next step, i need to conatct the land owners and find their farms on an air photo, do some home recon and zero in, then set foot in the field, come right down to it this might be easier than i thought, last time i searched all my areas by foot, fun but alot of leg work, i'm getting smarter in my age, we'll see how this all pans out...

[Phishy]

Sept 19, 2005

weather, morning thunderstorms and heavy rain, petered out during the day gave way to clear skies and strong west winds, 20+ mph gust, temps about mid 70 for highs

Well today was the interview day, but that is a separate journal, I got home broke out the gps and down loaded some property boundaries to public land that i drew in with the aid of a gazetteer. after some gawking at air photos, i decide to put some leg work to action, i needed to find the access points to the property. I drove three quarters around the piece which has all the right ingredients, large, about 600 acres, surrounded buy farm land and very few access points to the interior. if you want to hunt this land be prepared to walk. I will say i don't know how i ever navigated without a GPS, with the property boundaries in my hand and my position always known, i don't get turned around, i waste less time trying to figure out where i am and more time concentrating on deer sign I wanted to find a funnel i found on the air photo, it took me a while to get there as i kept marking trails and other features, i followed a fallow field edge and found a likely spot, lots of bedding etc but it seemed to close to the parking are, i'll give it a try once or twice, i've been wrong before, this might be one of those so obvious places that nobody tries it, also it isn't the easiest of walks,

i trod on and found some old trails and a bridge that crosses the creek, this trail comes from private land and i bet very few people know about it.

Eventually i reached my funnel, in the process i found some scrapes, and few rubs and a dandy staging area, all in the oaks, dropping acorns, there's a creek crossing nearby that leads into some nasty looking stuff, i know this will be the best bedding area once people start to invade the woods, on my way out i followed a trail that was once a logging trail, but now is used only buy deer, no ATV tracks, very few cut branches and the deer are pounding it, there's almost as many scrapes on it as if it were OCT. I never have seen so many this early, this trail reminds me of one of my favorite spots on BBWA , definitely a rut spot, i need to find the intersection on this trail, usually there will be a place that three or more trails come together, i just need to find it

I don't particularly like scouting during season, but i thought i had a spot secured, gas prices and lay off changed that real quick, I should have been better prepared for the worst case, i've done it before and can again.. that's why i like to be portable,

one last thought, parking area #2 had one vehicle at it at 3:30, pa#3 had two and #4 had one, never got back around to #1, but i don't think i'll get over to that side much this year.

[Phishy]

uggh, I been avoiding doing this, specially since i'm failing so terribly, yet putting pen to paper often helps figure out what i'm doing wrong,

I've been able to hunt most every day for the past two weeks, been doing the morning thing mostly, tried a mid afternoon hunt when the tables said it was excellent in the middle of the day, (whatever) and sat four evenings, I'm starting to name some of the areas

The North Funnel, this area was hot looking, i sat one morning, there's acorns everywhere, its an old fence line between two overgrown fields leading to a large block of timber, theres old rubs everywhere, it had that feel, yet i haven't seen a new rub, scrape or even any tracks, i bet during the middle of the summer this area is just beat right down but during season, every body walks by, the hunter walking trail dissects the funnel, yet i thought on the back sides it would be productive, maybe later in the season, i'll just keep my eye on it.

The Field Funnel, this area had tons of sign, many of the rubs in previous pix are from here. this area has a field edge on on side, and a clear cut (5-10 yrs) on the other, down the center is a swath of timber, wh. oaks, mostly, were dropping nuts, the deer where all over this area. there is a pinch point leading into a great looking spot on the east end of this funnel, problem, there's a hang on stand right smack dab in the middle of the pinch point, in my mind - a mistake, too close to the action, this area had a few scrapes, but all have turned cold. I sat an evening and two morning in the general area, nothing. talk about disappointing! I have a feeling once the white oaks stopped dropping plus the pressure right on the main sign, the deer have moved on, i never was able to connect, i bet it would be a great early season area, next year, work shouldn't be as much of a factor inhibiting my hunting time early in the season , at least i should get in a weekend before Oct.

The Giant Box Stand Funnel

this area is similar to the North funnel, accept there is a giant box stand, right on the corner, private land, i doubt the owner ever step into the woods during bow season, this stand is huge, there a bed. four sliding windows, enough room for a card table, four guys and alot of beer, i have a feeling this might be a party stand, good spot, though. Lots of sign, a few scrapes are still active, i found some flagging which leads nowhere, i figure a deer was shot last year and this flagging was put up while blood trailing. the cut that was to the north on the Field funnel makes an interesting jog here, there a potion of timber left uncut, great foresight by the property manager, i have yet to sit here, there's a bunch of good trails, but the sign isn't all that fresh, nothing new has popped up, it might me a good doe area, I wish i could be in two spots at the same time, i keep wanting to try this area, but have been drawn away.

The Stream Crossing, this area has gotten bigger, i found early scrapes in this area and they are still active, theres a few other trails, but the main funnel is the stream crossing. there's a staging area, as well,

I sat here two mornings and two evenings, today was the first time i hadn't seen any deer, i'm planning to hunt this area tomorrow evening, i haven't sat in the same area twice, but have been busted twice by a smart doe, once the wind was all squirrelly, and she got scent of me, the second time, i'm not even sure if she was blowing at me, i figure she saw me move, but she was on the down side of a ridge when i heard her blowing, I did see two bucks shortly prior to her alarm call, i keep hoping that she was snorting at them, i doubt it though. The bucks i saw, a decent eight, 710am, a smaller eight/six 730am, and a spike 9Am, the doe was at about 740AM, the weather was just before weather front probably a factor. found a ground blind in the area as well, hmm guess where I'll be Thurs. morning, I get to carry a gun This area is about 1/2 mile back , maybe more. i think its a major aspect in the deer world, acorns are disappearing and there's a lot of fresh sign nearby, and in the wood area, just a matter of time, but i don't want to burn it out either, feel the deer are already using this mainly at nigh, but since i can't be there twenty four seven i don't know for sure. evenings have been good a little early, saw the doe one evening at 530pm, a good hour before end of shooting light, keeping an eye, and will continue to play leap frog here.

The Logging Trail this is where i found ll the early scrapes, i found a good intersection, and have sat here one mid day. this spot is so inaccessible for the average person, problem a maintained trail comes from private land, i know somebody else hunt this thin someplace, maybe?? the deer are using it , but it is really back there, good cover, a clearcut about ten -15 yrs old, found the edge, there's trails everywhere, hard to hunt with the bow, lack of sizable trees and thick, I know i'll find someplace to set up decently. the day i did set up i wasn't happy with the wind

The Swamp Ridge this area i just found, oh boy, theres a stream crossing, found some high ground and the trail is really nice, again way back there, i did find a\another ground blind, built similar to the one by the stream crossing, Rifle spot, probably going to try it during tzone as well, i'll get a good taste what is going on in the area, i have found sign of other gun hunters in the area,ie garbage, some pretty recent, and in really good spots, somebody else know this area, have to get there before them, thats all. So far this is about a third of the public land, I don't have enough time to search out the rest, but i have been to the south but never really learned too much, some really good sign but it is so obvious that i fear others are aware of ti as well, the open areas were riddled with beds, there is a huge alfalfa field adjacent to the state land and i know it gets shined, so the deer probably are nocturnal here, but back some might be good, AAAGGGHH not enough time!! Next year!

All in all i feel pretty good about this area, it's just a matter of time the rut will be kind to me, i just wish i could pinpoint the bedding areas, but i don't want to go tromping through the area spooking everything, this winter, i'll do some post season scouting.

[tcoop]

Hi Phishy,

I'm impressed w/ your journal. Every year I say I'm going to keep track of my hunting, trapping and fishing in a journal. Every year it never seems to happen. Good job on the scouting details.
I wish I had that much ground to hunt, but I'm glad I get to hunt private ground. I usually don't have to worry about other hunters. However, I am losing 2 more of my private hunting grounds next year. The closest I will have now will be 2 hrs. away.

tcoop

[Phishy]

Well t-zone came and went. Talk about tough hunting, I walked a mile back as the crow flies and still saw people. That’s like crazy; the people here are really packed into a small area. My cousin came up for the weekend hunt, he didn’t see anything in the way of deer either. Tough, really tough… The river bottoms seem to be were the most of the shootings came from. As to be excepted. I spoke with a few people and they all said the same thing, people every where. So on Sunday, the last day of the doe hunt my cousin and I decide to a little drive. Instinct was telling me that a little piece of woods on the west side of the river was never touched. It was thick and I never stepped foot into it. We devised a plan to push it. He went off to the down wind side and after the allotted time I crossed at a deer crossing with the wind at my back, ideas was this stuff was thick so use my scent to drive them out, besides I’d get a little scouting as well.

I liked the area, it was bigger than I thought, the deer sign was heavy, I walked back and forth, found the property edge, didn’t realize this portion butted directly up to a corn field, the sign told me this is where I need to start concentrating in the future. I walked on and started to run into thorns of every kind,, buckthorn, prickly ash, black berries, I knew there was a deer in this somewhere, but the only way to get them to move was to bush whack it, suck it up, secured all the clothes I didn’t want ripped to shreds and dove in, yea-haaaa, stomp, stomp, stomp, next patch, I barely step into it at the fence line and a doe pops out, bolts into the picked corn field and is gone. She was sitting with the wind to her back in the thickest thorns right on the edge of the field watching for anything approaching from the down wind side. Nothing was going to sneak up on her. Finished the push, met up with my cousin, he also spooked one, it too was sitting watching the down wind side, but this time in the wetland hummocks. First thought that entered my mind was gun season, I bet if I can sneak in here way before first light the deer will be trying to sneak in here, but the problem is will I be cut off? Anyway learned some more about this chunk of land.

Today I went out to find the city bow hunting only area. I walked an eighty acre piece, deer every where, and they are use to people. I kicked up at least four; all of them stopped and looked at me like I was getting in their way. If I had a gun it would have been too easy. I did carry the bow, just in case, but that didn’t pan out. I then went to another access area for the property, a vehicle was already there, as I was contemplating what the next move was, one of the guys I met at the state land drove up, we talked and exchanged some more information , I gave him my e mail and of course a flier for this site. I figured he is hunting this area; I’m going to as well, so we might as well converse and cooperate some. I also left a flier on the other vehicle with my email address, If I can work out a net work of folks hunting this land, we can work together, much easier than fighting each other, I hope it all works.

I’m confident this year. It took me three years to learn this much territory up north, the GPS and the air photos are helping immensely. What I’ve been doing is looking at photos, drawing in routes for the property lines and making waypoints then uploading them to the GPS. I then go out into the field and walk to the waypoints. On the way, I track my movements, and make more waypoints with notes. Then go back and down load this info to the air photos. I get a bigger look at the whole picture, then repeat the process with some refinements, in a very short amount of time I am able to cover the landscape; efficient scouting. If I ever have to move again, I’ll get a bit of a jump on the out of season scouting, it’s called being disciplined.


]

[Phishy]

Well where to start. This season has been a season of scouting. The state land was pounded by t zone. So I haven’t been back. The city land shows some promise but I am learning it is pounded as well. I see at least two vehicles each time I hunt here, most pressure is in the evening, college students mostly. I finally saw some deer on the property, in the morning, in a great funnel. I avoided this area at first as it is so close to the maintenance road, but on one of my walks in the area I found what I believe to be a major bedding area. It is cut over and thick. Adjacent to this and about as far back as you can go, a nice stand of oaks, open understory and lots of buck sign, This is the only real place I have seen any big buck sign. A big primary scrape, lots of rubs and the real kicker, I kicked up a couple of deer. I got a second look at the one as I just kept on going, seeming like I wasn’t interested it the deer. The one was a very nice buck, not sure if it is an eight or a ten, but it looked like it was at least 16” wide, with good height, 8-9 inches. Might have made P&Y regardless if I still had a buck tag I would concentrate on this area. while leaving the area I ran into a hunter , nice setup, close to the bedding area and the staging area, a transition area of sorts, definitely a good stand placement too bad I just messed up his setup, I apologized gathered some info and went o my merry way. There were three guys hunting this portion of the property, I bet if I got an early jump in this area I might score, but now the deer have all the hunters patterned. , evident by the hunt with my cousin. We did see some deer, but not the bruiser. A doe busted me, she came in not on the trail, but rather parallel to it, downwind by about 50 yards, umm guess what she was doing. Avoiding the trails as there have been hunters on it, so just like us she was setting up in a position to take advantage of the prevailing winds by moving downwind of the hunters by moving downwind of the trail, sort of like I know that you know, but you don’t know that I know that you know, Welcome to the “Honey Mooner's Show Syndrome” (HMSS)

I hunted by my employers land. Again the deer have patterned the hunters. My cousin saw tons of deer off Harriet’s field, but they moved through very rapidly and skirted by the staging area. Keb has been hunting in the area and I bet he educated a few deer, so they get through as quickly as possible or go around the area. The stand I was sitting in, a small buck did the HMSS. David has been hunting in this area a lot. He has been seeing a big ten pointer in the mornings, but never close enough for a shot, then again he hunts out of a permanent stand that has bee the staple of his hunting for the past there years, doing the same thing year after year. He hasn’t shot a deer with the bow three years either, then again he smokes cigars while in stand, hmmm ya might want to reconsider that David. He has been seeing a big wide eight, another with lots of points, a big wide almost pointless six (got the main beams but no points to speak of) and a few others. The fields are right in front of his house and he sees these deer in the morning standing near his driveway when going to work, so PN has some nice big deer, but I can’t afford the gas to drive down to hunt the area on a regular basis.

I plan to hunt PN during the nine day gun season, at least opening weekend. I have a stand location but since it border on public land I wonder if I’ll be alone this year?? At least folks drive the land all day which moves deer, I have heard lots of shooting in the area last year and shot a doe and buck myself the second day of season, the deer are there, I just don’t like the heavy pressure. I guess I do what I have to.

[Phishy]

two words: Friggin' COLD!, never got above 15 *F, i think it might have been closer to 10*F, my affections have turn toward ice fishing, with good reason, we have ice. the back water sloughs on the river and small lakes are froze, bigger lakes should be ready to walk on tomorrow morning, i checked Emily, this afternoon, out about 100 yards the ice thins down to 2 inches, I could fish the edges of the shore, think i might give it a try.

the sloughs are full of little gills and people. some folks are taking fish that are only six inches, all i can do is shake my head, i suppose i have done it too,when i was really hungry for a fish dinner, so i can't be judgmental.

Second doe season this weekend, going to give it a try shouldn't be too many folks brave enough to bear the conditions, been seeing deer in the middle of the day, while driving to the lake,when it the warmest, my mind keeps thinking of ice fishing though, what's next....turkeys, always another season approaching.