After Hunting Season Rut????

During a "normal" hunting season, everything seems to revolve around "the rut".  Maryland has a pretty late deer hunting season, with late bow season closing out the season for the last few weeks of January.  Normally rut behavior begins toward the beginning of October and is in full swing, peaks in November, and winds down in the beginning of December.  Although, sometimes there is a "second" or late rut that occurs for a brief time in December.  Maryland's gun season is in full force by then, so often rutting behavior is replaced by survival behavior and, as a result, seldom observed in the field.

By late season, most hunters probably believe that the rut is over, and, up until recently, that included me.  We're used to seeing colder weather and the deer yard up in larger groups.  By the end of January, sometimes we witness deer that pass our stands that, at first glance, seem like big does until it's realized that those big red spots on their brows resulted from their antlers dropping.

Hunters know that sometimes the antlers don't drop for maybe a month past the end of bow season, so we tend to focus our shed hunting activities a few weeks later.  However, my learned notions of deer rutting behavior changed for me a week ago when I witnessed something that may change my hunting tactics and outlook forever.

My work locale is a completely fenced in facility with guarded gates, and has been that way since the years following 9/11.  The environment is much like a college campus with some limited wildlife habitat scattered about, with the entire complex embedded within a suburban setting just fifteen minutes from the Washington, D.C. line.  It's not exactly known as a haven for observing a deer population.  A few years ago, we began seeing a few does that found their way on campus.  I asked a couple campus police how the deer were able to access such a tightly guarded facility.  The response was something like, "They walked through the gates.  What should we do?  Ask for their IDs first?"

A year or two after that, the first bucks started showing up.  Since then, the population grew.  We've had the luxury of observing deer behavior in a closed setting, including rut behavior and breeding.  I pretty much see deer every day right outside my office window or near any field or wooded area on the property.  Sometimes they simply walk around or among the many office buildings.  As a hunter, I can't hunt these particular deer simply because it's not legal.  However, the deer behavior that I observe here provides me with valuable clues as to what the deer may be doing on the properties that I hunt, only an hour or so away near my home.  Deer are deer everywhere, right?  Well, this approach seems to work for me. 

But, on February 2nd in Maryland, while on my way into work, after parking my car in the parking garage, I observed something that people only see once in a while in the wild, but even more strange, something that never happens this late in winter...in February (for crying out loud)...and if it does, it has to be a pretty rare occurrance.  Or, is it?

So, what happened?  I looked out of the back of the garage that caused my jaw to drop.  I nearly scraped my chin on the floor as a result!  I witnessed three bucks and a doe.  Two of the bucks, a large racked eight point and a smaller six point, were locking antlers in a shoving match.  And it wasn't just sparring, they were going at it.  On top of that, a medium sized eight point strutted over to join the fun!  The sounds of antlers cracked, leaves were rustling, branches were thrashed as the bucks wrestled for position to gain an advantage over each other.   Did I mention that this was February?

This was the bigger of the three bucks, from a picture taken a several months ago behind the garage.

As this happened, I'm scrambed for my cell phone to catch this action on film.  By the time that I had the movie feature ready, they were done.  Or, were they?

The smaller buck held it's own but was eventually chased off by the bigger buck.  The two eight points locked up and attacked each other soon after, but I missed that action too.  The good news was that the little buck worked his way back for more.  I only had about fifteen more minutes to watch this spectacle because I was due in the office soon, so if I was going to capture some sort of proof on film, it had to happen fast.  I figured that nobody would believe me.  I needed proof.  Meanwhile, the doe was standing there observing the whole thing, almost amused that she was the center of all of this activity.

After a few minutes, while the bigger buck worked his rack over a sapling, mangling it, the smaller buck snuck back toward the bigger buck.  The bigger buck turned, and the smaller buck approached, and they locked up again.  They fought for a good ten minutes before I had to leave.  I'm sure that they went at it for a short time after I left.

The good news is that I captured some of the event on film!

Once in the office, every now and then I'll get up to stretch my legs, to get the blood flowing after a few hours of performing my sedentary duties.  Of course, I have to glance out the window to observe any other deer behavior.  Upon doing that, I observed that the bucks were all bedded down together near that one doe.  By the way, there were four other does in the field directly behind my office, but the bucks had no interest in them.

After my tour of duty ended, I returned to the gargage to access my car and head home.  But, of course, I had to check behind the gargage and see if anything else was going on.  And, there sure was.  The bucks kept following that doe, nudging her behind with their noses and racks, and in some sort of pecking order (but not quite fighting), tried to assert each others dominance over each other.  They were actually in a late rut!  I couldn't believe my eyes!

Prior to observing this, I thought for sure the antlers would be dropping soon.   When the bucks made contact, and especially in the form of battle, I was sure an antler would drop off.  In fact, I was hoping that one would so I could run back there and nab it!!!!!!  But, they held strong.  No shed antlers for Fat Boy on that day.

So, was it the weather causing this?  In a large doe population, I can understand why the rut could extend until all does have been courted, which could take a while, but this deer population is rather small, about twenty to thirty deer at most.  Plus, five of those deer were bucks.  I thought this was such a weird event that I had to share it here and on some of the forums that I frequent.

What does this mean for my future hunting plans?  I can tell you that, during late bow season, I won't leave my rattling antlers, grunt call, or scents at home.  I'll be using them!

For your enjoyment, I've embedded the videos below.  I apologize for the lack of quality, but all I had was my cell phone.  The first video shows a few minutes of the larger and smaller buck locking antlers and fighting.  It's hard to see at first, but about half way through the video you can see them quite easily.

This last video shows the bucks following and nudging the doe.  Looks like rutting behavior to me!  There was a full moon last week.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.  Just when I think that I understand Odocoileus virginianus, they throw me for a loop with something like this.

When Good Hunts Go Bad

I think that I've said this before about a fishing trip a few months back, but ever have one of those days?  This time, it was my last bow hunt.

I awoke to Metallica blasting from my Droid clock alarm app at 4:30 AM with plenty of time to shower and get ready for my hunt.  Metallica.  Jeez, I nearly jumped three feet out of bed!  My daughter changed my ring tone...her practical joke on me no doubt.  Still, I'm glad she's home from college for the holidays.  I really look forward to seeing her.  I laughed and proceeded to get ready to go hunting.

I'm meticulous in my preparation, making sure that everything is scent free, from my under clothing to my tooth paste, and even my towel washed in scent free laundry detergent.  My gear was checked and double checked, ready to go.  Everything was placed properly in my backpack that I needed for any situation on my hunt.  I stowed my Scent-Lok gloves and head cover, and my grunt call along with some tree climbing accessories neatly in the pockets of my Scent-Lok parka.  Even my Droid was fully charged in case I needed to video or take pictures to document my glorious hunt that would soon be.

My plan was to arrive at my buddy's house, dress in my scent free outer layers, spray my backpack with scent eliminator, don my boots, and load my tree stand on my back along with my backpack.  Then, I'd quietly work my way down to my destination, a fine climbing tree...the perfect size for my stand.  It has plenty of cover, a great backdrop to hide my silhouette, and a great view in all directions in a classic hardwoods deer funnel.  A point of woods leading from an adjoining field, leading into a draw that leads to another field.  It's been a great place to ambush unsuspecting deer. 

I left home ready to go, as ready as I've ever been, with plenty of time to set up for my hunt.  This is my routine, and routines should be routine.  And, with everything in place, and a great plan, what could go wrong?

I arrived at my buddy's suburban archery hunter paradise beaming with excitement and the anticipation of having the type of hunt that I've had many times before.  I quietly exited my vehicle to be greeted by my friend's cat, a male athletic feline, Cheese. Cheese had his own plan, affectionately rubbing my legs in an effort to claim me as his own, rubbing his scent glands along the base of my calves.  What could I do?  I like cats, and I couldn't shoo him away.  I couldn't yell or make noise as my tree is only about 100 yards away.

All I could do to Cheese was oblige him.  I scratched his back and petted him to the point that even my own cat would be bored, and time was ticking now, and Cheese wanted more.  I tried pushing him away with my tree stand.  The tactic didn't work, he loved it, and rubbed all over it too.  So much for the scent free preparation.

Finally, Cheese wandered off.  All is not lost.  I could spray my equipment down again with scent eliminator, and I still had my Scent-Lok parka and bibs to put on and remain scent free.  My boots were still in my vehicle too, protected from the Cheesy aroma.  For now.

As I completed dressing and just tied my last boot lace, Cheese came back for more, purring ever so loud, like a fleshy furry home generator, with his goal being to mark me as his territory once and for all.

OK, I had enough of this game.  Time was flying by and I had to get into the woods, and the last thing that I needed was a Cheesy trail.  Then, an idea hit me.  What a better way to get rid of cat scent than scent eliminator spray?  As Cheese approached, a purring menace, with that amorous look in his eye, I pointed and let him have it.  A shot of scent eliminator spray would do the trick.  Cheese took off like a shot!  It worked!  I felt slightly guilty, but he'd get over it and so would I.  Time to go to work.

I affixed my backpack on my tree stand and slung it over my back, grabbed my bow, and headed into the woods toward my stand.  I quickly found my tree and set my stand up.  All is good now.  I still had plenty of time. 

I set up my tree stand, first the base, then the seat section.  Then, I attached my pull up rope to my stand, and the other end to my backpack and bow.  I'm ready to climb.

Well, almost.

I realized that I left my safety harness in my vehicle.  Dirt!  Well, I had to return to my vehicle and put it on, risking another encounter with the Cheese cat, but safety is important to me, as it should be to anyone.  I won't climb without the harness.  I'd rather hunt off the ground otherwise.

Fortunately, Cheese took the hint and stayed away.  I was able to put on my harness and return to my tree.  I took my time moving back through the woods not to crack any sticks.  I made it to my tree and after all that, I still had plenty of time to climb and get ready.

I climbed into my stand and proceeded to climb the tree, a few feet at a time in my stand up-sit down climbing Lone Wolf tree stand.  Stand up, lift the seat section, sit down, place your feet under the bar, and lift the platform section, push down, and seat the platform against the tree.  Then, stand up again and repeat the process up the tree, a few feet at a time. 

I was nearly eight feet from my goal of climbing thirty feet up when all of a sudden, I couldn't raise the stand any more.  Something was preventing me from climbing any further!  I glanced down and my pull up rope was tighter than my bow string.  Dang, it was wrapped around a log on the ground. 

I climbed down a few feet to give me some slack, and tried to snap the rope free from the log, without success.  After snapping the string back and forth several times, I realized that it wasn't going to come free, and the only option was to climb down again and free it.

I made it down relatively quietly and quickly, about six feet from the forest floor, and decided to once again shake the rope free.  After flipping the rope a few times, it finally came free.  I climbed up the tree quickly and quietly, but now I've worked up a sweat.

I'm sure that my Scent-Lok would keep my presence known from the keen nose of the whitetail deer, yet the pessimistic side of me played on my mind, making me wonder about the sweat that I've worked up giving the deer an advantage over me.

While finally up in the tree, I geared up and nocked an arrow just in the nick of time as deer moved in from my right.  It was still too dark to see them, but I could hear them moving through the woods, feeding.  I was filled with excitement and enthusiasm.  This could be a really good hunt after all that I've been through so far, like previous hunts, with deer all around me.  The sun couldn't rise fast enough.

After a little while, the woods became brighter and brighter to the point where I could see somewhat, but things became quiet.  The deer moved on.  My neighbor was probably taking Charlie for a walk, his beagle/basset hound mix.  Shortly after that, I could hear him fire up his van and head off for work.  Things were quiet in the woods now.

I still had plenty of optimism at this point.  My fears of being winded were calmed, as the deer that fed behind me earlier were down wind of me, and they didn't run, nor did they snort.  My confidence was high as I glassed the woods with my binoculars.  I couldn't see any deer.  Where did they go?  I wondered if they returned to the field from whence they came, the most likely scenario.

The sun rose, casting strong shadows across the wooded lot, creating images that kept my mind entertained.  Is that a deer?  I'd glass what I'd seen only to see a stump and shadow combination resembling a deer in shape...a deer mirage.  We always see them when nothings moving.  Is it hopeful optimism?  Sometimes, they turn out to be a bedded deer, but more often than not, just an object laying in a different direction than you'd expect. 

Basically, anything that you can visualize that places a horizontal figure through the trees could be a deer.  The woods is basically vertical in nature.  When combing the woods with your eyes, look for horizontal breaks in the vertical tree shapes, and check them, they could be deer.  Combine that strategy with looking for movement, and more times than not you'll see deer before they see you.

It was about 8:15 in the morning now, still the magic hour, but as time elapses without seeing anything, confidence wanes.  Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye to my left, I catch movement about eighty yards away.  It wasn't a deer, it was blaze orange, a hunter, walking along the property line down the edge of the field.  My heart sunk.  I couldn't tell if he was carrying a blackpowder rifle or not, but he worked his way down toward a tree stand that I found a few weeks ago along the property line.  I had yet to see anyone using it.

The hunter was moving faster than I would, given the time of morning when deer are moving.  He wasn't sneaking, but seemed to be a little careful to not make noise.  When I sneak, I take a few steps slowly and quietly, the pause, wait and observe.  He wasn't doing that, almost if he was trying to jump a deer.  Or, did he see me, and resent me being near "his" hunting spot, and attempt to ruin my hunt?  I'd give him the benefit of the doubt, but what the heck was he doing?

He moved into the woods but avoided Bob's property, moving away from me straight ahead where I've seen deer bed repeatedly throughout the season.  I lost sight of the orange as the trees in the distance blocked his view.

About ten minutes later, I could see the hunter returning the way that he came, this time moving much more quickly and not so quietly.  I could hear him cracking sticks and branches as he moved briskly through the woods toward the field.  Once in the field, from the other side of the field along a point of woods emerged another hunter, carrying a bow.  I glassed both of them and they both were carrying bows.  Who bow hunts like that?  Was the first hunter trying to kick deer out to his buddy?  It was 8:15 AM for Pete's sake!

I wondered if he returned so quickly because he successfully kicked the deer out perhaps not in the direction that he intended.  He met up with his buddy and they left.  I've never seen anything like that before, at least so early in the morning.  My hunt was ruined, rare on private land.

I just shook my head and cursed under my breath in
disbelief of what happened.  Why me? 

I sat in the tree until about ten o'clock in the morning, and climbed down.  I think that just about every cursing adjective ran through my mind in disbelief of what happened this morning.  How could a carefully planned hunt turn out so friggin' bad?  I climbed down, gathered up my gear, took down my stand and left.  I was planning on leaving my stand in the woods, but not knowing those other hunters I didn't want to risk it being stolen.

After climbing up a tree, I expect solitude, the quiet of the woods.  Hunting small plots of land, multiple properties with multiple owners, in a suburban environment often doesn't provide that solitude that we're used to.  Just remember that deer are used to human activity in these areas.  Do everything correctly, and you'll still have a chance.

I went home to run some errands with the intent of hunting that afternoon, and now my confidence was way down.  But, I wasn't about to give up.

After cooking and chowing down on some venison kielbasa, I decided to return to the same tree, having had good afternoons there.  Perhaps the woods would quiet down, the other hunters would stay away, and the deer would return?

I arrived at about two in the afternoon back to my buddy's house.  Things seemed quiet, partly because it's a weekday and the many suburban noises like leaf blowers, power tools, and such weren't dominating the area.  The only real noises now were from the occasional train traveling a nearby railroad, and the many airplanes that fly over and annoy hunters everywhere.

Being a weekday, I figured that everyone was at work and the kids all at school.  I arrived this time, and without Cheese there to harass me, I was able to gear up quietly and quickly.  I made it to my tree with out cracking any sticks and snuck through the crunchy leaves deliberately and slowly.  After setting up my tree stand, I climbed, donned my gloves, release and head cover, then nocked an arrow, and waited. 

It was about 2:30 in the afternoon.  All was quiet.  I glassed the woods for deer or movement, nothing.  Still, it was early.  A pileated woodpecker moved and called from tree to tree, entertaining me for a few minutes.  A red headed woodpecker followed, landing on the same trees and vocalized his calls seemingly to mock the pileated woodpecker.  About ten minutes later, the silence would change.

You can control almost everything on your hunt, from your preparation to your actions in the woods.  You can't control other people, their actions, or their sounds.  Realize that deer are used to them in suburbia.  They react differently than big woods deer.  Stay confident, do things right, and you stand a good chance.

At 2:45, the neighbors kids and their friends, four little girls, came outside to play.  They came out to jump on their trampoline, playing some sort of game, laughing, screaming, and yelling.  How long would this last?  Kids are like energizer bunnies.  I rationalized that maybe they'd tire soon, and the woods would once again quiet down.  It was a beautiful day, and remembering when I was a lad, how I'd play tirelessly until the last possible hint of daylight.  Kids are kids, I thought, and I can't blame them.  If I was their age living in this neighborhood too, I'd do the same thing, or maybe worse.  I'd be all over those woods, turning over logs looking for salamanders, toads and snakes, climbing trees, throwing rocks, doing what boys do with any kind of space outside.

I called the property owners wife, to make sure that the neighbors wouldn't worry about me being there.  She assured me that they know that I'm there, and all was well.  You never know how people would feel if someone was up in a tree watching the woods in the direction that your kids are playing, using binoculars.  I didn't want to creep them out, even though I was a good hundred fifty yards away.

At 3:30, all of the kids went inside the neighbor's house.  Things got quiet in a hurry.  When hunting large plots of land, I'm used to blending in, having things as quiet as possible, and let nature happen.  I'm not used to this suburban hunting environment.  It's difficult for me to reconcile hunting in such noise, and more difficult for me to believe that the deer are use to all of this human activity. Still, I've seen that before, deer not worried about kids, people woking in their yards, or walking through neighborhood streets.  Those same deer seem to know a hunter though.  How is that possible?  Smart little buggers I thought.

Things became really quiet now save for the occasional airplane noise.  Subconciously, I worried that those other hunters would return just in time to ruin the afternoon magic hour, and I kept looking over my shoulder for them.  I glassed the woods again, nothing in view.  Jeez, those hunters couldn't have messed things up that bad, could they?  Or the kids?  I was wondering if I was wasting my time sitting thirty feet up a tree, watching kids on a trampoline?

I heard my buddy Bob return home from work.  I knew that he'd soon be taking Charlie for a walk again.  We have a code of sorts, if I'm parked on one side of his house, that's the side that I'm hunting.  However, someone was parked in my space, their cleaning lady.  I had to park on the other side.  When I called his wife, I asked that she'd let him know that I'm at the same spot that I was in the morning.  I hoped that she had told him so that he and Charlie wouldn't be heading down my way into the woods.

A short time later, two does scampered into the woods near his house, heading my way.  They stopped and watched the road and the field.  I knew then that it was Charlie that had kicked them out from their bedding area, and Bob was probably following.  They moved into the woods further, about 50 yards from me.  If they'd move a bit closer, I'd have a decent shooting lane and a thirty yard shot.  I drew back.  Just after that, I saw Charlie, sure enough!  The deer saw him too, and bolted away from me and behind the house.  Then, I saw Bob appear in the field, and he called Charlie and they headed back to the house, from the front.  Maybe they'd kick them out again back to me.

Deer are notorious for doubling back when being driven or chased, so I was ready.  I watched behind me, in Bob's back yard, for any sign of those does.  About ten minutes later, I heard Charlie barking again.  Perhaps he was chasing them again?  Another ten minutes, and nothing.  I sat down.

Five minutes later, I heard something coming my way from that direction, from behind the house. It was the two does.  Sure enough, Charlie had kicked them out again, or they doubled back.  They returned almost exactly the way that they came the first time, in reverse.  They stopped in almost the exact same place, strutting and on high alert, seeking Charlie.  Maybe they'd come down a bit closer and give me a shot.  Right now, they were still 50 yards away.  That's out of my range, plus, my shooting lanes weren't clear that far out.

Then, as soon as they came, they hopped away from me out into the field leaving me without a shot.  I sat back down, turned and started glassing the woods with my binoculars again.  The woods became quiet again, and I didn't see any more deer. 

Looking back, I can remember many hunts on public land where other hunters tramped through my location in the woods, or when I made mistakes kicking deer out, moving when I shouldn't, standing up in a tree stand with deer behind me amongst other problems.

I can remember one hunt where I glassed some deer bedded down in the late afternoon.  They didn't see me climb the tree, or didn't care.  But, after being perched in the tree for over an hour, some saliva went down my wind pipe when swallowing, and I couldn't dry it and had to cough.  All it took was two coughs and those deer rose up and took off, waving their white tails at me in defiance.

I had another hunt on the ground, sitting on a stool in a makeshift blind that I threw together in a dead fall.  I sat nearly motionless for over three hours watching and waiting in ambush.  I kept thinking that I was off the trail a bit, and that spot, "over there", looked better.  Maybe if I got up and moved quietly, just twenty yards away, I'd have a better hunt.  I made the decision to move, and after two steps, I kicked out at least six deer that I didn't know where there not thirty yards away.  Lesson learned there...don't move, trust your initial instincts.

All that aside, hunting in suburbia is quite different than hunting a remote location.  In the woods where deer aren't used to human activity, you have to blend in, not sound or smell human.  In suburbia, you can get away with some noise, like metal on metal, as long as the deer don't see you or it sounds like everyday human activity that they encounter.  I experienced this on this last trip, actually.  When those two does doubled back, I accidentally banged my bow on the seat section of my tree stand, clank!  The two does didn't even flinch, didn't look back at me.  They were focused entirely on Charlie!  In a remote woods, those deer would have bolted on the sound for sure.

Looking back at this hunt, it wasn't what I'd call the classic good hunt.  In fact, a lot went wrong.  It was a stressful hunt, where I was unsure and not confident.  Still, I saw deer and nearly had a chance at a good shot.  Normally, I say that was a successful hunt, wouldn't you?  I've got to get used to this suburban hunting...it's quite different. 

My next trip will be to a more remote spot.  I'll have to be on my game as the deer there are hunted fairly heavily.  Pressure makes them wary.  Those deer seem to search the trees for hunters in treestands.  And they seem to know what tree you picked, somehow, like a sixth sense.  I'm used to that though as I prepare for that.  No mistakes next time...maybe I'll have some more venison in the freezer, with a little luck.

I'd like to say one final thing, that all hunts are good hunts.  I'm out in the woods, blending in, observing nature at it's best, with a chance to take some of the good Lord's bounty.  What more could one ask for?

To Fish or Hunt? That is the question...

It's a tough choice for me in the fall, to choose
to bass fish or bowhunt for whitetail deer.

In my home state of Maryland, today marked the opening day of whitetail deer bow season.  For years, I'd burn a couple days of leave and head to the Western part of the state for some camping and early season bowhunting along with some of my local friends, and some that came down from Pennsylvania.  I had some great times and some fun hunts for several years.  Over time, some of those friends have grown apart due to family and work demands, and the annual camping trips became less annual, and eventually stopped.  I miss those days.  But, my urge to get in the woods still lingers.  These days, I'm a bit of a loner now when I hunt, making short trips to local spots.  Every now and then I'll hunt with a buddy, but they have teenage kids that occupy their time with high school sports, much like the experiences I had the past several years.  My daughter's grown now, in college, and is playing for her college softball team, so I'll be busy watching her a few times this fall.  But the most problematic influence on me NOT getting in the woods during early bow season has nothing to do with any of that any more, it's my drive to catch fall bass.  In other words, I'm torn between two of my favorite things to do.

I used to balance my problem by taking a few days off to hunt on the camping trip, and fish the Sunday of that opening weekend.  For me now, taking a few days off this time of year is out of the question, as it's one of the most busy times of year for me at work.  Growing up and being responsible has it's drawbacks!  So, I'm limited to weekends, and with family demands, that means choosing a day to either hunt or fish.  In recent years, I'd play it by ear, see who wants to fish and where, look at the weather forecast, and make a decision on which way to go.  This year, they're calling for cool temperatures this weekend, yet, I have a buddy that would like to fish, setting the stage for a tough decision on my part, and I've still got a huge urge to catch bass.

I guess it's fall now, I'm not sure, I can't ever remember when the season officially changes.  But the days are getting shorter, and the weather is changing.  I hate hunting in hot weather, but even when it's somewhat cooler, early season, I prefer to bowhunt without using a headnet and full body armor protection from those pesky annoying mosquitos.  They have deet products now that are supposedly scent free, but I don't believe it.  And, when it's hot, I sweat like a pig, and even if I may or may not smell like one, I certainly have this feeling that no matter how much I try to stay scent free, I have this feeling that every deer in the area can smell me.

Still, some of my most successful bowhunts have been early season ones.  Typically, I'd take a doe early on to put some tasty venison in my freezer.  At some of my favorite early season spots, on public and private land, I have some favorite trees that I like to climb using my portable tree stand.  By the way, I really like my Lone Wolf climber, they are light and don't creak, and pack very flat.  The only thing you need to bring is a nice cushion to sit on, because that's one thing that they lack.  And with my tailbone becoming more exposed as a result of the atrophy of my butt muscles due to my increasing age, the importance of the cushion each year has become the utmost importance.  These favorite trees are my favorites for various reasons.  I choose trees that I can have decent shooting lanes and visibility, but still have enough cover that deer can't spot me in the tree.  Unfortunately, visibility in early season isn't like after the leaves fall, and the deer can sneak up on you quickly and quietly.  Therefore, being alert is of utmost importance, because your window of time to get that good shot is a bit shorter.  Pre-season shooting practice, even better if you've done it all year long, really can make the difference this time of year in having the confidence to get that good shot.  And there aren't many experiences than bagging a deer with a bow during early season.  My special seasoned grilled tenderloin venison is proof enough of that...ask anyone who has tried it, especially mine!

Most bowhunters exclusively bowhunt during hunting season, and fish very little, but frequent the fishing holes during spring and summer.  When they vacate, they're leaving more room for anglers like me to take advantage of the feeding binge that occurs beneath the surface.  Bass, like many other warm water fish, sense the change in the seasons and they shorter days, and begin to fatten up on their favorite prey items, often wtih gluttonous abandon.  That translates to some of the best fishing of the year in my book.  I've been part of some awesome bass fishing bites this time of year, catching both size and numbers. 

So, while the waters we fish are less populated by anglers due to the start of hunting season, anglers could be missing out on some of the best bowhunting of the season.  Deer are a bit off guard this time of year, after having most of their woodland home pretty much free from human intervention.  They aren't expecting us, unlike late season, when deer have learned to search the trees for humans.  Some people don't believe that whitetail deer are capable of that, and I was one of those people, but I've witnessed it.  Anyone that bowhunts on public land has witnessed it too, and if they haven't, they will soon.  During early season, rut hunting tricks are ineffective for the most part, so leave your hormone type scents at home, and your rattling antlers too.  The only tools that I've found to work during early season are grunts and bleats, and if overused, you'll chase the deer away.  One bleat or grunt might help bring a deer in range, maybe two at the most.  Deer routinely vocalize to each other, but not often, so if you are any different than what they normally hear this time of year, your efforts can backfire and all you'll see are white fluffy tails waving at you and snort calls in return warning all other deer in the area of your presence. How exactly has using a call worked for me in the past?  It worked twice, that's it.  Twice.  During both times, I had deer within range and couldn't get a shot.  As they moved away from me, I grunted once, and they stopped and hung out longer, and eventually I was able to shoot a doe that may have walked away otherwise.  The year before that, a bleat did the trick.  That time, I had two does around me, and they stopped and reversed direction on the bleat, and nearly came right to my tree.  I saw a buck appear a few minutes later, so I thought that I'd try a grunt to keep him from moving away, only to have all three deer run and snort away.  The message is that it may work, but it could work against you.  I've come to think that I'm better off being scent free, blend in, and be unnoticed.

My buddy Howard boated this nice largemouth last weekend
while tossing a spinnerbait across an underwater hump.

Meanwhile, while folks like me are sitting in trees, anglers are pounding the banks in search of active largemouth or smallmouth bass.  Bass probe lake shallows along ambush points like points and underwater humps, islands or bars, or hold along woody cover if you can find it.  Reaction lures, like spinnerbaits, tempt good sized bass and allow you to cover a lot of water quickly.  Crankbaits, both lipped and lipless, are extremely effective search baits.  In reservoirs with a shad population, schooling bass can hardly resist a shad imitation crankbait.  Crankbaits are very versatile, allowing you to cover multiple depths, speeds, and by varying retrieve cadences by stopping and starting the lure, you can draw some pretty violent hits and land quality sized bass.  Suspending crankbaits are also very effective, allowing you to stop your retrieve leaving the lure holding at a desired depth, and bass often strike when the lure is at rest or on the very next little bit of movement.  Rapala Flat DT crankbaits are very good for this presentation, and come in a versions that dive to three, seven and nine feet.  Lipless sinking crankbaits are also great search baits, and are very versatile as well.  You can cast them out, let them sink while counting down to a specific depth, and crank them back.  You can cast them out and work them back right away near the surface.  Or, you can allow them to sink completely to the lake bottom, then jig them back in a yo-yo fashion.  Bass often strike when the lure is on the fall, so watch your line closely while doing this.

Howard found that this chunky largemouth bass fell for a
Texas rigged plastic worm fished over a reservoir hump.

Soft plastics also work well in the fall, especially on days when the search lures aren't drawing strikes.  Shaky head rigs, and Texas or Carolina rigged plastic worms will allow you to effectively work the bottom, while drop shot rigs will allow you to catch bass that are suspended just off the bottom.  Skirted jigs, jigheads teamed with twister tails, tube jigs, and jigging spoons can also help you locate fish on deep water structure.  Twister tails, or grubs, also make great search baits allowing you to cast, jig, or retrieve them and cover a lot of water.  Sometimes you can simply swim them straight back and find a few schooled bass in search of shad.  You can also attach jig spinners and turn them into a spinnerbait.  Jig spinners are spinner blades on wire arms that clip to the jighead, creating a spinnerbait.  In line spinners also work quite well as search baits for bass and other species in reservoirs.  These often overlooked lures can be worked at various depths and speeds, and readily put fish in the boat.  You can catch quite a mixed bag of fish using them, and when bass aren't biting, other species can make your day.  I've caught trout, bass, sunfish, perch, pickerel, crappie, pike, rock bass, walleye, and even catfish on in-line spinners in the fall.

What about lure colors in the fall?  Of course, chartreuse works all year round.  A guide local to our area, Glenn Peacock, used to have a saying, "If it ain't chartreuse, it ain't no use".  I always loved that saying.  I only fished with him one time, and we had a great time.  He put us on fish too, and some big ones, along the Upper Tidal Potomac.  Anyway, that saying always stuck with me, and there is some truth to it for sure.  Colors that match the natural forage of your lake will tempt bass, but one color seems to always rise to the occasion in the fall for me, especially when fishing spinnerbaits and twister tails, and that is white.  Why?  I don't know.  Perhaps the visiblity, drawing strikes when bass are the most active and can see it from a good distance away in clear water?  Perhaps it's because it's the most visible color when waters are murky? And, for bottom soft plastics, black or chartruese when the water is murky, or green pumpkin or watermelon work well during clear water.  Any natural color will work, and others include smoke, pumpkinseed, motor oil, or root beer can be effective in clear water.

During the fall, fat smallmouth bass might show up as
"doubles" as my buddy Bob and I found out on the Susquehanna
River not long ago.  These fish fell for spinnerbaits.

In addition, smallmouth bass in rivers become extremely active, and can give you some of the best fishing days all year long.  They are also fattening up for the upcoming winter, binging on minnows, crayfish, insects, and anything else that the river currents deliver to them.  Just about any lure will take smallies this time of year, but when they are super active, nothing is more fun for me than tossing the white tandem spinnerbait. They hit them so hard that the bigger ones bend them out of shape, leaving you with a twisted heap of wire, lead and metal sometimes.  Ah, I love it!

Bucks like this one that my brother shot in 2005 with his bow
might walk by your early season stand unaware of humans
invading their woods in a new hunting season.

OK, so what will keep me off the water, away from my fishing addiction?  Not much really, except perhaps a great bowhunt when the weather is right.  Cool crisp fall mornings, nice sunny post cold front days when the fishing might not be as good tend to result in great days in the woods.  Let's face it, I'm an angler and a hunter, it's friggin' hard to choose folks, and often my choice rides on just a whim of what I'm thinking about the most on any given day.  In the past, I had planned to hunt an upcoming early season day, even having all my scent free pre-hunt preparations done (see my hunting stories to read about my nearly anal anxiety about scent free preparation), only to have a friend offer me a spot on his boat to a location that I'd never pass up.  Such problems for an outdoorsman to have, eh?

New hunting story posted - "Sometimes it Pays to be Lucky!"

I posted another hunting story, titled, "Sometimes it Pays to be Lucky!" Click Here

This fine buck pictured was one of my favorite stories.  I didn't expect to bag this one, he came up on me by surprise. I also have a field shot embedded with the story about this hunt as I found him after the shot.  Enjoy!

New Hunting Story Posted

 Click Here to read my July 15th entry titled, "Missed Opportunity and Lesson Learned" for another exciting hunting story (at least it was for me).  It was an experience that I'll never forget and learn from.

My latest hunting story is about a buck much bigger than my biggest one
above.  That deer looked like a massive older brother of the one pictured here.