Hardwood island in swamp

[tylorklein]

Just bought 26 acres that's up an easement road from my existing 40 acres. Goal is to add a stand or two (planning for when the kids are old enough to hunt).

The piece is long and narrow, almost 15 acres of it is cattail swamp.

However, there is a hardwood (maple, oak) island that is about 3 acres in size located around 200 yards out into the swamp.

I have access to all the pallets I could want.

Would you make a trail out to the island?

Would you build or hang a stand out there?

Or is it smarter to just hunt the swamp edge and leave the island for refuge?

Interested if anyone has a similar setup / experience.

Thanks,

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[pinetag14]

What is the swamp like? Is it shallow/firm enough for you to walk on, for the deer to walk on? What is the visibility like if you were to try to cross the swamp? If the cattails/other vegetation won't provide enough cover for you to hide as you're walking in then you probably won't make it in undetected. If those features are present, you could only go in when the wind is perfect, in your face for the entire walk as well as while on stand.

IMO...You'd probably do better just hunting around the edges of the swamp itself. If there are deer using that island they will eventually have to come out for food. 3 acres of hardwoods is not enough to sustain them. I would probably save the island as a last resort or a rut only stand and limit your sits to once or twice a year.

 

[Tree Spud]

Sounds like you have a potential sanctuary that could be well suited for a good bedding location.

I would spend the winter scouting. Look for trails & travel corridors leading into and out of the area. Where are the food sources relative to this area. What deer activity sign in there? What are surrounding properties like?

Then look at you current property and see where your connecting travel corridors run, where are your food locations, cover, etc.

I would hang game cams around to take an inventory of deer and activity. Place your hunting stands around the perimeter so you can hunt as the deer come and go. Ground blinds may provide an advantage and limit the deer seeing you. Learn where the winds are so you are minimizing scent issues.

Cattail marshes with some high ground can be great year round sanctuary/bedding areas; however, they can be very difficult to access. Noise, no visual screening. etc. allow the deer to be bumped or see you approach.

If it is a sanctuary, the less time you spend intruding & disrupting the area the better. Does & small bucks will tolerate some activity; however, a mature buck will not accept any pressure.

 

[tylorklein]

Thanks for the input. I will walk the property again this weekend and see what trails look like (it wasn't frozen last time so didn't get much into the swamp) but it seemed walkable in knee boots probably. Seemed like there might be a good place for a small foodplot in the woods so maybe a stand between the plot and the swamp will make sense. Anyone have a swamp pallet trail / will deer walk on it?

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[Barndog56]

I dont think the deer will bother with your pallet trail. This pic shows their trails through stuff I need hipboots to get through.

 

[Tree Spud]

I would use Google maps to scout first. There will be defined trails trough the marsh if they exist.

Pallets will be the worst thing you can do. They will sit high and well above the deer's normal physical travel & movement comfort. They will not step on or over and you will disrupt their travel. They also will introduce man-made scents (oils, solvents, etc.).

You seem very ready to move in and exploit, dis-rupt, etc. the potential of a very unique bedding area and sanctuary. We are here to consul you

 

[tylorklein]

Hahaha. Very true and good advice. All the aerial stuff online right now is from summer but I'll keep an eye for updated images and see what I can learn when I post the perimeter this weekend. Thanks for the input!

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[tylorklein]

On the pallets and scent issue though wouldn't you expect they adjust after a period? Even if its months I'd think that's ok given our ML season ends Sunday so no pressure for a long time to come after that.

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[John-W-WI]

We have 40 acre piece we have to cross to get to dry land. About 1/4 of it has required pallets to even walk it. We will be installing the 3rd layer of pallets this winter as the swamp keeps eating them. They are necessary unless we wear waders to cross. The deer couldn't care less about the pallets. They walk parallel to them in much deeper water.

As far as accessing the island you describe, I doubt I would do it. You will likely bump deer on or off of it everytime you visit. Make it easier for them to get there and hunt the area you made easier.

Now if we could just train deer to walk on pallets :)