Swampy 21 Acres SW Michigan - Land Tour/2020 Plan

[MattDDO]

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd share this video I did the other day, its a breakdown (or land tour if you will) of my property and the habitat improvement plan I now have for it. My property in a nutshell:

21 acres in SW Michigan. You can pretty much consider my entire property a swamp, however its broken up into 3 "segments" if you will: flooded timber, "higher ground" and a creek system/caittail marsh. My higher ground, which is my main area to work/hunt within, its around 8-8.5 acres out of my 21. The driest stuff on my higher ground is a closed canopy, lots of swamp maple stacked close together. Other areas that get more sunlight are a little wetter with a lot of dead ash trees and big clumps of grass. Hopefully the photos in this video paint a good picture, otherwise I can post more images on here.

I worked with Ty Miller from Small Acre Hunting to put this plan together, we shared many of the same ideas for how to optimize this property, but he definitely put together other things or aspects of it that I wouldn't have done on my own. Let me know what you think, I always welcome constructive criticism! I'm going to try to make many more videos of everything I'm doing out there while executing this plan, I'll add those to this thread as I make 'em!

-Matt

 

[H20fwler]

Nice vid, plan sounds good. It would sure be tough dealing with that boggy stuff, I like the future stands and hinging ideas. Looks like you have a lot of deer using the place.

 

[MattDDO]

Nice vid, plan sounds good. It would sure be tough dealing with that boggy stuff, I like the future stands and hinging ideas. Looks like you have a lot of deer using the place.

Thank you! Honestly, I don't have as many deer using my property as I want or feel like I should. So hopefully this helps!

 

[Rit]

Nice explanation of your layout.

Couple things I see and forgive me if I have some directions wrong. I kinda lost track of the verbal legend so I might goof some things up. Not to mention you know the property and I am forming an opinion on a short video.

First that barrier that you want on the what I think is the East side that your house is on. You have to deal with the big trees first. They have a habit of not always falling where you think they should. Not to mention big trees destroy smaller previously hinge cut trees and if you go hinge cut smaller trees and leave the big trees the smaller trees will die without some sun. But always start with the big trees. I know you said you don’t feel comfortable taking them down so I see you have two options. Find someone that does or double girdle them. Guys looking for firewood may cut them down for free. I have girdled trees I don’t feel comfortable cutting down and they take a couple of seasons for them to die. But know this also creates some dangers in the future as the trees and limbs die. If I had kids that played in the woods that wouldn’t be an option. Also I have made two barriers on my property one to block a neighbor and 2 to block access to a stand. In both cases deer moved in an bed right next to the barrier. Completely ruined the stands and I had to reevaluate. They seem to like that low lying side cover especially when they can see thru the cover and have a view off in another direction.

Just curious you also don’t access much to the South. Is it only because of the grasses or is it the open timber? You may have mentioned it in the video but a really well built travel corridor in there could be fantastic. You could access it from the East or West.

Something I have done in my swampy area was to build up small islands. I probably don’t have as much water as you mine stays wet from thanksgiving until about June but they tend to dry out a bit over the summer. In a few spots that had great cover but not great bedding I used a shovel to create a few spots that would stay dry.

Those middle stands are probably high risk high reward. I hunt a smaller property like you and you know it won’t take much to push deer off.

 

[MattDDO]

Nice explanation of your layout.

Couple things I see and forgive me if I have some directions wrong. I kinda lost track of the verbal legend so I might goof some things up. Not to mention you know the property and I am forming an opinion on a short video.

First that barrier that you want on the what I think is the East side that your house is on. You have to deal with the big trees first. They have a habit of not always falling where you think they should. Not to mention big trees destroy smaller previously hinge cut trees and if you go hinge cut smaller trees and leave the big trees the smaller trees will die without some sun. But always start with the big trees. I know you said you don’t feel comfortable taking them down so I see you have two options. Find someone that does or double girdle them. Guys looking for firewood may cut them down for free. I have girdled trees I don’t feel comfortable cutting down and they take a couple of seasons for them to die. But know this also creates some dangers in the future as the trees and limbs die. If I had kids that played in the woods that wouldn’t be an option. Also I have made two barriers on my property one to block a neighbor and 2 to block access to a stand. In both cases deer moved in an bed right next to the barrier. Completely ruined the stands and I had to reevaluate. They seem to like that low lying side cover especially when they can see thru the cover and have a view off in another direction.

Just curious you also don’t access much to the South. Is it only because of the grasses or is it the open timber? You may have mentioned it in the video but a really well built travel corridor in there could be fantastic. You could access it from the East or West.

Something I have done in my swampy area was to build up small islands. I probably don’t have as much water as you mine stays wet from thanksgiving until about June but they tend to dry out a bit over the summer. In a few spots that had great cover but not great bedding I used a shovel to create a few spots that would stay dry.

Those middle stands are probably high risk high reward. I hunt a smaller property like you and you know it won’t take much to push deer off.

Rit, thank you for the reply and suggestions! Where I want to start that barrier is wet, and there are some pockets of higher ground that I suppose deer could bed on but I'm hoping if I give them better options with my bedding areas they'll use that and not this. Here's some pictures for ya, maybe this will help visualize things a little better.

Here is my plan with the legend:


Talking about that E side barrier (long blue line) and the white area (transition) with the white squares (stand locations) it looks like this. Imagine the blue barrier starting at the far left of this picture:


Where that barrier is going to go is right where the flooded timber meets the high ground, so the line where the picture above meets with this:


Its wet, and even though there are some dry pockets or mounds, I'm hoping the deer don't use it to bed. Guess we'll find out. I really want to not only shield my access through the flooded timber, but shield the easy view to both my house and my neighbors. This picture below you can see how easily you can see my house right now:



The very first picture is essentially the area I want deer to start using as transition and as you can see its pretty open with all that bigger, knarly timber I was referencing. I actually talked to a few friends the other day that are going to come out and take a look at some of the trees I'd like to remove, they are more seasoned at big tree removal than I. I have thought about girdling, but I have some of the same concerns you mentioned about big dead trees, falling branches, etc. There may be a couple I could do, and just know my access and stand locations need to be away from potential falling branches, but I don't think I would girdle too many of them.

The south access you mentioned, I can get into the two southern most stands with just knee-high rubber boots, but anything further into the "swamp" (see picture below) requires either hip boots or waders.


The small islands in the swamp you talked about, that is something I do want to do. There are a few of those islands that i've found in the southern portion of my swamp and I have found deer beds in them. The West portion of my swamp is much more of a "cattail desert" if you will. Not much other structure or trees/shrubs other than right on the transition line. If I can add some islands out there, and also maybe add some willows, tag alder etc I'd like to. That might be a little further down the road though. How do you go about making those islands? I've considered trying a pallet or a piece of plywood, dirt on top, then cover with straw. I'd be interested to hear what you've done.

Thanks again for the reply, hope these images help paint a better picture for ya.

 

[bjseiler]

Do you have a satellite zoomed out to show what is around in terms of neighboring land? It will probably make a big difference in terms of what people suggest.

 

[Telemark]

I think your plan is great, and the work you have done so far is excellent.

I agree with Rit about killing trees without dropping them. Just girdle them and they will die. That will get light into the understory. The ROD is a great idea, and there are a few other species you can add to increase the attraction there. Button bush and silky dogwood are things I've seen H2Ofowler mention recently, and various willows have worked for me and others.

If I were to make a suggestion it would be to increase your information gathering and organization. Get a system like Cuddy Link that allows you to keep watch over deer movement without going to the cameras. Keep an Excel file on the various deer and their movements(buck, doe, how many, date, time of day, etc.) which you can then use to pick which days you want to sit your various stands. This pays off big time and increases confidence by eliminating a lot of the hoping and guessing.

As far as access, you can often use logs and branches you cut as a pathway by laying them in the muck. I hunt an extremely wet and soggy region, and I find wood makes a better path than stone or concrete. Logs and branches are already there and can be stacked upon each other to make a kind of pathway. Stones and bricks sink quickly and disappear. If you keep piling things up, it will often start to collect dead leaves and such and eventually become almost permanent as plants grow on it. There are various products you can buy to help speed this along.

 

[MattDDO]

I think your plan is great, and the work you have done so far is excellent.

I agree with Rit about killing trees without dropping them. Just girdle them and they will die. That will get light into the understory. The ROD is a great idea, and there are a few other species you can add to increase the attraction there. Button bush and silky dogwood are things I've seen H2Ofowler mention recently, and various willows have worked for me and others.

If I were to make a suggestion it would be to increase your information gathering and organization. Get a system like Cuddy Link that allows you to keep watch over deer movement without going to the cameras. Keep an Excel file on the various deer and their movements(buck, doe, how many, date, time of day, etc.) which you can then use to pick which days you want to sit your various stands. This pays off big time and increases confidence by eliminating a lot of the hoping and guessing.

As far as access, you can often use logs and branches you cut as a pathway by laying them in the muck. I hunt an extremely wet and soggy region, and I find wood makes a better path than stone or concrete. Logs and branches are already there and can be stacked upon each other to make a kind of pathway. Stones and bricks sink quickly and disappear. If you keep piling things up, it will often start to collect dead leaves and such and eventually become almost permanent as plants grow on it. There are various products you can buy to help speed this along.

Thanks Telemark! I've checked out the cuddy link before, I've heard mixed reviews on them. If you use them, have they worked well? I definitely agree with you on the logs for pathways, I have a few paths like this through the flooded timber already to help with my access. I've also used pallets nailed down on top of logs through the flooded timber, both have helped for access through the wet stuff. I was thinking of using the blocks/rocks on my "dry ground" for access to those red stands (if I even set them up). I'm looking more and more into the girdling, I think I could do it on a couple trees and still have access/stand locations where I'm not worried about falling branches or big dead trees. I would be nervous girdling that whole area, but I think girdling a couple of the ones that will be hard to cut is a good idea.

 

[Telemark]

I've checked out the cuddy link before, I've heard mixed reviews on them. If you use them, have they worked well?

I don't have a system like that yet. I gather my cards/cameras physically. But the Intel is priceless. I will buy a linked daisy-chain system when I can afford it, but I'm not in a rush because I am not the only person who uses the land I hunt. It's basically public-use land. But for you I think it would help a lot to reduce pressure to have all the photos sent right to your house.

The information I have gathered from the cameras has increased my success immensely. I spend far less time hunting per deer I kill, and I kill a lot more deer. The great thing is that the information is cumulative. Each year of information builds on previous years. Even the oldest information you collected is still valuable years later.

 

[MattDDO]

Here's my top 3 priorities for 2020:
1.) Make the deer feel as though they're not being hunted (several changes there)
2.) COVER
3.) Screening on the main food plot

Pretty confident I can get these done. I think after that will be that barrier/access screening along my East side.

Anyways, here's a walk-about on my property highlighting these 3 things. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Telemark]

I would move that box blind back off the plot a little and change the colors. Use some lighter colors to break up the blocky silhouette. And go overboard with the brushing in. Plant a couple spruce or pines that can grow next to it and help hide it. Don't just hang things on it, but make a huge pile around it and on top of it if you can. The more 3D it is the less they will be bothered by it.

 

[MattDDO]

I would move that box blind back off the plot a little and change the colors. Use some lighter colors to break up the blocky silhouette. And go overboard with the brushing in. Plant a couple spruce or pines that can grow next to it and help hide it. Don't just hang things on it, but make a huge pile around it and on top of it if you can. The more 3D it is the less they will be bothered by it.

Totally agree. Planting spruces might be tough there, just because of how wet it is. But, I do have a bunch of willow cuttings planted right in front of it and so far they are doing well, almost all of them have leavings and little shoots growing. Moving it...that would be a challenge. I agree with you, getting it back off the plot would be better. But, that blind is built into the tree its next to. Was the easiest way to build it with how wet it is there. So, brushing it around it...definitely doing. Adding things to it like the fake christmas tree branches and garland...definitely doing. I might also sacrifice some of the food plot in front of it and plant plot screen, instead of moving the blind back, I'm going to try to move the edge of the plot forward, at least a little bit.

 

[Telemark]

Gotcha. Moving the plot is an option. Also consider extending the plot west in a narrow finger to get the deer skirting it to maybe dip a toe in.



And I agree with no more burlap. I think a big problem with it is the noise and the movement. They don't know what it is but they don't like it. Maybe build a stand higher up in the crotch of the tree and brush it in to hide your silhouette.

 

[habitataddict]

Nice channel I might add. Following. Thank you for sharing your progress on this site as well.

 

[MattDDO]

Nice channel I might add. Following. Thank you for sharing your progress on this site as well.

Thanks I appreciate that!

 

[MattDDO]

Gotcha. Moving the plot is an option. Also consider extending the plot west in a narrow finger to get the deer skirting it to maybe dip a toe in.

View attachment 29667

And I agree with no more burlap. I think a big problem with it is the noise and the movement. They don't know what it is but they don't like it. Maybe build a stand higher up in the crotch of the tree and brush it in to hide your silhouette.

View attachment 29668

That little food plot finger you drew, I've actually been thinking about that right where you drew it. I have an area right there that would be easy to make that. You're right as well with getting up high into the crotch of that tree...I could do that. I think from an in the tree standpoint, I could hide pretty well. Its still "deep access" into my property though, which is one thing I really want to try and avoid if I can. But, with that said, could be a good "hunt one time under perfect conditions setup." I have a feeling this year will be a lot of learning for me, both in how deer relate to my new improvements and with how they related to a planned reduction in perceived hunting pressure. Could be one of those years where I setup stands based on what I think (aka the map) and next year ending up moving all of them :) Thanks for the feed back, keep it coming.

 

[habitataddict]

I watched the video's and looking at your plan I have one thought: is there any way to create travel corridors in the south/southeast quadrant of your property so you do not have to move as far into your property for the southernmost stand? Can you be more "efficient" on the southern side of your property? You could also consider building up beds in the swamp and flooded timber to increase bedding options. Just throwing out some of my ideas.

 

[habitataddict]

What did you use for your plan overlay? I have been using paint but yours looks much better.

 

[MattDDO]

I watched the video's and looking at your plan I have one thought: is there any way to create travel corridors in the south/southeast quadrant of your property so you do not have to move as far into your property for the southernmost stand? Can you be more "efficient" on the southern side of your property? You could also consider building up beds in the swamp and flooded timber to increase bedding options. Just throwing out some of my ideas.

Keep the suggestions coming my friend! The south/southeast quadrant is pretty wet (need hip waders to get into that southern most stand). I don't actually have a stand there yet, but i marked an area where it gets drier and there's a nice trail moving through the swamp. I could try to make a different trail through that stuff, but I feel like they'd probably keep utilizing their current one since its a little drier area. I also thought about/want to build some beds up in the swamp. There are some already there that I've found, but you could make more. I think once my property is setup on my main dry land, I'll start doing those. I'll probably do those in the winter too when I can see/navigate the swamp easier.

 

[MattDDO]

What did you use for your plan overlay? I have been using paint but yours looks much better.

I just used Microsoft Word to create that map. Put an image into word, then select INSERT - SHAPES - SCRIBBLE. You can draw on your photo, change the outlines and fill, etc. Easier to delete/modify features too compared to paint.