Kooch 80

[Kooch]

Do you have a waterhole in the NE corner?


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The NE corner is a beaver complex that we trapped a dozen beaver out of last year then breached the dam. It was much larger than it is now in this photo and ready to overflow into my property. But yeah, there's a puddle down there now year round. I suspect they will be back and we'll have to do it all over again in a couple years.

No shortage of water. Just to the West of the long skinny food plot, there's a creek that hasn't been completely dry since I've been on this parcel, admittedly, only two years.

 

[sandbur]

Do you have a waterhole in the NE corner?


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The NE corner is a beaver complex that we trapped a dozen beaver out of last year then breached the dam. It was much larger than it is now in this photo and ready to overflow into my property. But yeah, there's a puddle down there now year round. I suspect they will be back and we'll have to do it all over again in a couple years.

No shortage of water. Just to the West of the long skinny food plot, there's a creek that hasn't been completely dry since I've been on this parcel, admittedly, only two years.

A beaver dam can create funnels for movement and a dam that goes out produces a feeding area for deer until it is flooded again. Have you checked it for browsing or grazing?

I see some potential funnels further west depending on how wet it is. Have you walked those edges after deer season or in early spring to look for rub lines?


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[Kooch]

Yep. Not as thoroughly as I'd like on the West side. The first Winter I spent a lot of time out there and found almost zero sign of any sort, a little hair on top of the snow out in the North 40. I didn't see a single rub, new or old, and only a few tracks in the snow. Last Winter, after putting in the skinny plot and planting with rye, opening up a couple of the old trails with a saw and mower, I saw significantly more sign. I've got a couple active rubs along the edge NW edge of the old beaver pond. And, got snorted at by a deer I never saw for about 10 minutes during gun season. I was sitting in a ground blind watching the plot. Didn't have windows open to the back, where the pond is, and where the deer was.

I can look over the pond pretty well from a high spot, and this Spring I glassed the entire open area while there was still snow. I didn't see any tracks. That doesn't mean they don't use it other times of the year. Yes. The entire pond floor that's dry now is green and lush. I haven't wandered in there because I still sink to my knees if I try.

There are a couple of nice funnels on high ground with wet around them in the NW quadrant. Starting the West access trail was a first step to getting decent access in there. I need to extend it for sure, but it's just too wet this year for the D6. Otherwise, I'd have had him go all the way to the North property line if he could. Once that trail is in, and I guess I can cut it with a saw and a mower but I'm just too damn lazy and old to do it after seeing what he can do, I'll have cleaner access to those areas. As it is, I sound like a platoon of national guardsmen on patrol when I try to get back there. So, I'd been focusing on the East access areas for hunting. That was the first trail I put in. This whole thing is a project that'll take a few years.

 

[sandbur]

The east access trail is most important as we often have NW winds during rifle season.

The rest of the land can be a sanctuary.


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[Kooch]

The east access trail is most important as we often have NW winds during rifle season.

The rest of the land can be a sanctuary.


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Yep. Precisely why I got that in first. Some of what I’ve read and been told might be sinking in.

Getting access to and hunting some of those funnels in the West portion requires the access trail, and an uncommon wind. Or, I’ll have to cut across a lot of my property.

This is the only reason why I thought maybe food would be OK on the West trail. But, I think I’ll leave it natural, mow it. Maybe plant some grass.