1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals better dear hunting. Present it by First Light, 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:17,119 Speaker 1: First Light, Go farther, stay longer, and now your host 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 2: Everybody, welcome to the Warre to Hunt Foundations podcast, which 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 2: is brought to you by First Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,640 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today I'm going to talk about how 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:43,520 Speaker 2: to make your own little white tailed watering hole. It's 10 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 2: better than calling, better than decoys, better than the best 11 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 2: damn fresh out of a doze butt sent that you 12 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,320 Speaker 2: could buy water. You know I love hunting over water, 13 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 2: and you know that bucks drink pretty much every day. 14 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 2: Did you also know that you don't really need a 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 2: ton of land, or a bulldozer or a backo to 16 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: create a watering hole? And did you know that this month, 17 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 2: when turkey season is still going strong, is the perfect 18 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 2: time to get outside and accomplish this little chore. Listen up, 19 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 2: because I'm going to tell you why and of course 20 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 2: how to make this happen. But before I get into it, 21 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 2: I have to let you know about that meat eater 22 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 2: giveaway that I talked about last week still going on. 23 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 2: You have until May twenty first to get signed up, 24 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,800 Speaker 2: but only only if you want a chance to win 25 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 2: three thousand dollars worth of sweet hunting gear along with 26 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 2: a personalized outfitting session from Yanni the old Latvian Eagle himself. 27 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 2: All you gotta do is head on over to the 28 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 2: medeater dot com slash giveaway again. That's thumbmeadeater dot com 29 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 2: slash giveaway at enter takes like thirty seconds, It's free, 30 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 2: and you could end up with a ton of kickass gear, 31 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 2: at least as far as we know, because our sample 32 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 2: size so far is limited to Earth. Water is the 33 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 2: medium upon which life is built. Without it, there ain't 34 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 2: no life to positively charge hydrogen atoms that bind to 35 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 2: one negatively charged oxygen atom form water here on Carl 36 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 2: Sagan's Pale Blue dot. Water is a polar molecule, meaning 37 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 2: that opposite charges attract one another, which allows water to 38 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 2: form strong bonds and as a result, gives us the 39 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 2: oceans and rivers and lakes, and even the glass of 40 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 2: the good stuff on your nightstand after you've had I 41 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 2: don't know a few too many post Gulf beers with 42 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 2: the buddies, and your head is pounding. The cohesion of 43 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 2: the water molecule also makes it possible for plants to 44 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 2: take up water via their roots and allow animals to 45 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 2: regulate their body temperature. Most biological molecules, including those that 46 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 2: make us up as well as I don't know white tails, 47 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: have some electrical asymmetry which allows water to weasel its 48 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 2: way into every little nook and cranny, not unlike dissolving 49 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 2: a spoonful of sugar in your Starbucks in the morning. 50 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 2: This is a roundabout way of saying that water is 51 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 2: a universal solvent. Life needs it to carry around all 52 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 2: the things that make us us. This is one of 53 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 2: the reasons that scientists who are looking for possible life 54 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: on other planets and moons and asteroids often start by 55 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 2: looking for water, which they didn't think existed in great 56 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 2: abundance in space, but we now know it's insanely common 57 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 2: and comes in quantities that are going to blow your 58 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 2: freaking minds. Take a couple of recent discoveries. One is 59 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 2: that the moon seems to be chalk full of water, 60 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 2: making a long term habitat project. They're much more viable. 61 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 2: Water's pretty heavy and getting weight out of Earth's gravity. Well, 62 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 2: that's a big problem. If you don't have to shoot 63 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 2: a bunch of H two O into space because your 64 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 2: astronauts can find it right on the Moon. That's a 65 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:20,240 Speaker 2: big wind. Far crazier than that is a discovery that 66 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,800 Speaker 2: an international team of astronomers made recently, which is a 67 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 2: cloud of water vapor that is located thirty billion miles 68 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 2: from Earth. So a big deal, you think, right, after all, 69 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 2: isn't that what clouds are right here? Well, consider this. 70 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,279 Speaker 2: We don't quite know where our Earth's water came from, 71 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 2: and there are a few competing theories, ranging from asteroids 72 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 2: and commets hitting early Earth and delivering payloads of water 73 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 2: to it being present when the material of the Earth 74 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 2: is made of coalesced roughly four and a half billion 75 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 2: years ago. Where our water came from is an important 76 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,280 Speaker 2: question to answer, and the researchers who found that water 77 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 2: vapor cloud they might be getting there. The thing is 78 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:04,240 Speaker 2: this cloud, which is located in a quasar, which is 79 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 2: an insanely bright galactic nucleus. This cloud, it's no normal cloud, 80 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 2: mind you. It is estimated to contain about one hundred 81 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 2: and forty trillion times the water that's on Earth, all 82 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 2: of the water on Earth. Think about that for a second. Water. 83 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 2: It seems it's pretty damn common out there in the 84 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 2: observable universe. It's also pretty wild stuff. You've probably seen 85 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 2: people walk outside in the dead of winter in places 86 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 2: like Alaska with a pot of super hot water to 87 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 2: throw in the air to show that it turns instantly 88 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: into snow. But you can't do that with cold water. 89 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 2: Only hot water forms hanging icicles, which if you're not 90 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:48,159 Speaker 2: careful when shooting your brand new red Rider BB gun 91 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 2: outside and might accidentally catch a ricochete of the eye, 92 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 2: you can blame that icicle for falling on your face, 93 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 2: so your mom doesn't know she was right about you 94 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 2: being too young and irresponsible to own an air gun, right, Ralphie. 95 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,800 Speaker 2: But water also forms icicles that freeze up these ice spikes, 96 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 2: seemingly defy gravity. Water can also be cooled well below 97 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,400 Speaker 2: its freezing point and yet still remain liquid until you 98 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 2: move it, then it freezes instantly. Water in a glass 99 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 2: is clear, Water falling from the sky is clear. But 100 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 2: water is actually blue, which you can see in some 101 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 2: glaciers and icebergs. Unlike most substances. Water becomes less dense 102 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 2: when you freeze it. You can bend water with static electricity. 103 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 2: Water is weird in so many ways, but also one 104 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 2: hell of an important part of a deer's life. See, guys, 105 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 2: I got there. It just took me a while. I 106 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 2: have sort of a reputation for killing bucks, you know, 107 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 2: around water for good reason. I can think back to 108 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:57,239 Speaker 2: quite a few of the deer that I've arrowed, many 109 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 2: of which were public land bucks, and some type of 110 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 2: wa water source played an important role in that hunt, 111 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 2: usually the most important role. Deer need water, and if 112 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 2: you find limited water, then you're onto something. But you 113 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 2: can also create a water hole, which is what this 114 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 2: episode is all about. It's a hell of a lot 115 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:18,920 Speaker 2: easier than putting in a food plot, even a tiny 116 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 2: kill plot. And provided you do it right, you can 117 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 2: position deer for a shot in a way that is 118 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 2: almost unreal. Now that may or may not be your thing. 119 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 2: I learned this when I was a young bowhunter at 120 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: the tender innocent age of twenty four. I don't know 121 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 2: why I said that, so creepy, so anyway, forgive me. Anyways, 122 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 2: that was the year my dad and I decided to 123 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 2: get back to our roots and hunt with traditional bows. 124 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 2: It was also the year where I said, I'm going 125 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 2: to buy one of those ornamental ponds and put it 126 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 2: by our best stand. I figured we needed all the 127 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 2: help we could get, because well we did. So I 128 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 2: took a shovel in that little pond and I dug 129 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 2: a spot for it eighteen yards from a stay, and 130 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,679 Speaker 2: we hung. Every year, it's just located in a hub 131 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 2: this season long deer activity. The first morning I climbed 132 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,800 Speaker 2: in there with my re curve in hand, I watched 133 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 2: a dough in a fond brought their way through the woods. 134 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 2: You know where they ended up right at that pond. 135 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 2: And you know what, I didn't do. Shoot. It felt weird, 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 2: It felt too contrived to me. I didn't want a 137 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 2: killer at that point in my life. I wanted pretty 138 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 2: much any deer pretty badly. But I also didn't feel 139 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,200 Speaker 2: great about creating an artificial situation that would put a 140 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:34,439 Speaker 2: deer right into my lap like that. I don't really 141 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,760 Speaker 2: know how to explain it. I've obviously also changed my 142 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 2: tune on some of this stuff, because I greatly enjoy 143 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 2: putting in little water holes and making kill plots, although again, 144 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 2: if I'm being brutally honest, I rarely hunt those things 145 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,720 Speaker 2: for myself. It just doesn't do it for me for 146 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 2: some reason. But I have a hell of a lot 147 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 2: of fun watching my daughters shoot deer on them and 148 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 2: letting my buddies go in there and shoot them. You 149 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,440 Speaker 2: know what, else doesn't really matter because I'm on my 150 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 2: course and you're on your course. And if your course 151 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,439 Speaker 2: is one where you're like, hell, yes, I want an 152 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 2: edge over the deer and I have the opportunity to 153 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 2: put in some water, then I say donuts for donuts, 154 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 2: my friend. Before you buy that plastic pond or tote 155 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 2: or big tarp or however you're going to do this, though, 156 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,439 Speaker 2: stop pump those breaks, buddy. You need to figure out 157 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 2: where to put water. This is more important than how 158 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 2: you get a water source out there. Trust me, And 159 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 2: that example I just told you about, the little pond 160 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 2: I put out is located in a valley. The deer 161 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 2: stage in morning and evening, so at the beginning, right 162 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 2: off the bat, I knew I was in a good spot. 163 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 2: This isn't like putting an automatic deer feeder out in 164 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 2: the mesquite flats of Texas and just creating a deer 165 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 2: heavy spot simply because that's where the food ends up 166 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 2: on the ground every morning and evening. This is a 167 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,760 Speaker 2: strategy to play off existing deer concentrations and make one 168 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:00,559 Speaker 2: spot better. But it's not enough to think, well, deer here, 169 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 2: so that's good enough. Having hunted a ton of water 170 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 2: sources in my life, I'll say this in the cover 171 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,480 Speaker 2: is better than not in the cover. How's that for 172 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:15,200 Speaker 2: a dumb revelation. But the truth is you might think, well, shoot, 173 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:17,640 Speaker 2: the deer always come out to the field where I hunt, 174 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 2: so I'm going to put a pond in right there. 175 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 2: That's great, But do the deer always come to the field? 176 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,400 Speaker 2: Do they come out after you've hunted there seven times 177 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 2: in a row? Maybe a better bet would be to 178 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 2: tuck that pond into the cover twenty yards deep, so 179 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 2: that before they have to decide to go into the 180 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: open or not, they can slake their thirst there in 181 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 2: the cover. Maybe you can get the best of both 182 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 2: worlds with the right wind, so you can shoot them 183 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 2: on the water where you know they're drinking in the woods, 184 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 2: or shoot them when they get out to the beans 185 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 2: in front of your stand, or maybe it's better to 186 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 2: figure out one of those deer heavy spots you have 187 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 2: back in the cover where you have dynamite access, and 188 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 2: then consider where to put the water source. I think 189 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 2: that's the best strategy, especially if you're the kind of 190 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 2: hunter who likes to shoot big bucks. A mature deer 191 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 2: is so much more likely to water in the cover 192 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 2: during shooting hours than to go anywhere near the open 193 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 2: stuff to drink. It's simple, and it's true. Do you 194 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 2: have a spot like that? If that's the case, can 195 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 2: you dig in a small ornamental type pond or something 196 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 2: else like a tote? It might be that simple, Or 197 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 2: maybe you already have a seasonal ish type of water 198 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,240 Speaker 2: source that you can spruce up with a little pond 199 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 2: or tarp. I have a spot like this on a 200 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:37,240 Speaker 2: farm I hunt in southeastern Minnesota. That driftless region is 201 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,720 Speaker 2: known for a few things, one of which is the limestone, 202 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 2: which isn't the hardest rock you're likely to find. It's 203 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:47,120 Speaker 2: soft at least for rock, which means that it erodes quickly. 204 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 2: At least for rock. This leads to caves, and caves 205 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 2: lead to sinkholes. If you drive around that area, you'll 206 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 2: see plenty of ag fields with little islands of trees 207 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 2: out there which are just sinkholes, the kinds of spots 208 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 2: you don't want to go over with a tractor that 209 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 2: weighs like fifteen tons and costs as much as it 210 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 2: would to put a couple kids through an Ivy League 211 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 2: school for four years. This spot on the farm I 212 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 2: hunt it has just a mini sinkhole in the woods. 213 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 2: That sinkhole, being a hole in all fills up with 214 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 2: water and it's unbelievable for deer activity at certain points 215 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 2: of the year. I recently looked at it after my 216 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 2: buddy and I doubled up on a couple of unlucky longbeards, 217 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 2: and not only was it pounded with tracks, it was 218 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 2: also the most obvious spot in the world due to 219 00:12:32,559 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 2: the muddy, spoked out deer trails leading to it. Back 220 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 2: when I found it, I thought my deer prayers had 221 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 2: been answered, But when I hunted it, I realized that 222 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 2: August often did a good number on the actual water 223 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 2: that was there, and instead of hunting a drinking fountain, 224 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,880 Speaker 2: I was hunting a patch of dry dirt, which, in 225 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 2: case you don't know, is a lot less appealing to 226 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 2: thirsty deer. So I put a small pond in the bottom, 227 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 2: one that would collect and hold the water a little better, 228 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 2: and it worked a little better. But it also showed 229 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 2: me that if I wanted to keep the deer coming 230 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 2: in there, I better haul some water in, which I 231 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 2: did with a backpack a few times. It was mostly 232 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 2: an exercise and futility, but it was a good workout 233 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 2: when I had an olktag in my pocket. I have 234 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 2: yet to kill a deer on that pond, but I will. 235 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 2: Maybe you have a spot like that where you could 236 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,680 Speaker 2: use a pond or a tarp and help collect and 237 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 2: keep the water in a specific spot. It's a great 238 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 2: option if you have it, But the downside is you 239 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 2: then have to hunt it the best way it allows. 240 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 2: It's not like putting in a little pond on a 241 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 2: tried and true spot that you know already produces will 242 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 2: just always provide good hunts. You instead have to adapt 243 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 2: to the location. This has been my biggest problem with 244 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 2: my sinkhole spot, because it's terrible to hunt in a 245 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 2: west or south wind, which is kind of the wind 246 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 2: you get when the weather's pretty warm. You know that 247 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,600 Speaker 2: has some quality trees right on top of the pond, 248 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,880 Speaker 2: but nothing that allows you to get like twenty yards 249 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 2: away and have some cover and still use the wind correctly. 250 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,439 Speaker 2: In fact, I'm thinking after my little scouting session back 251 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 2: in April that it might be a better ground blind spot. 252 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 2: I don't know. Ask yourself what you're working with in 253 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:16,439 Speaker 2: this capacity. Do you have a place where you could 254 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 2: bring a little sweat equity into the equation and have 255 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 2: some water it on over? Do you have a way 256 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 2: to get some water in there if it dries out. 257 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 2: That's a big problem with small water sources, but it's 258 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 2: solvable in most situations. It's also important to note that 259 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 2: you should provide a way for little critters who happen 260 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 2: to fall in to be able to climb out. A 261 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 2: dead mouse floating around in your deer's water is a 262 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 2: bad scenario, so I usually just lay a log or 263 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: something in it in such a way that it allows 264 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,000 Speaker 2: for an easy climb out. This is simple, but it's 265 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 2: pretty important. It's also worth mentioning. Like I said in 266 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 2: the beginning, this might not be for everyone, but if 267 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 2: it doesn't bother you, and it's legal as far as 268 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 2: I know, this is legal just about everywhere you can 269 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,280 Speaker 2: find deer provided you have the private ground to do 270 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,600 Speaker 2: it on, it's worth a shot. It's also something that 271 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 2: can really to liven up a small property. This is 272 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 2: one of the things that I learned when I started 273 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 2: having to find places in the suburbs to hunt. I 274 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 2: don't need to create food plots and tiny ponds on 275 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 2: properties where I have half of a section or maybe 276 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 2: more to roam. A big enough property will give you 277 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 2: pretty much everything you need, so it's kind of unnecessary. 278 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 2: But if you're stuck on a ten or twenty or 279 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,359 Speaker 2: even forty acre parcel, it might be a different story. 280 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 2: You might only have a handful of deer a week 281 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:28,720 Speaker 2: to pass through, and the odds of you being there 282 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 2: when they are super low. Increasing the odds of an 283 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 2: encounter going your way is not a bad idea if 284 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 2: this is the world you live in. It's also worth 285 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,000 Speaker 2: mentioning that this will be a waste of time and 286 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 2: money if you hunt in an area where water is abundant. 287 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 2: I learned this in northern Wisconsin after my little girls 288 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 2: started hunting deer. I had a kill plot in one 289 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 2: of my properties that was pretty good, but also fairly inconsistent, 290 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 2: largely due to the low deer density. I figured it's 291 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 2: not going to hurt to sink upon into that plot 292 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 2: and refill it if I need to. After all, even 293 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: if the deer weren't hungry enough to come in, maybe 294 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 2: the promise of some room temperature water there's full of 295 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 2: bugs and frog poop might convince them. But it really didn't. 296 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 2: As you can imagine, I run cameras over that plot, 297 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 2: and after I sunk that little pond in, I started 298 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 2: running my cameras so I could see how many deer 299 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,840 Speaker 2: drank out of it. The answer was almost none of them. 300 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:24,040 Speaker 2: It was truly rare to get images of deer feeding 301 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:27,000 Speaker 2: in the plot, even in July and August, and then 302 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 2: drinking in the pond. A few did, but it wasn't 303 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 2: the deer magnet I assumed it would be. Do you 304 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,120 Speaker 2: know why, because there's water everywhere up there. Even on 305 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 2: the driest years I've hunted there, it's not a problem 306 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 2: to find standing water. It's everywhere. And you have to 307 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 2: imagine that if a deer lives on I don't know, 308 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:48,480 Speaker 2: six or seven hundred acres, they might have hundreds of 309 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 2: spots to drink in, and just that amount of land 310 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 2: in that region a little pond in one spot isn't 311 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,320 Speaker 2: going to be a game changer there. It's kind of 312 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 2: like buying land in parts of egg dominated, you know, 313 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 2: Iowa or Kansas or whoever, and then thinking all I 314 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 2: need is a food plot and it'll be booner city, 315 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 2: except that the deer there have food everywhere, literally just 316 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 2: about everywhere. What they don't have is cover, So planning 317 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 2: some trees would probably be a better bet than planning 318 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 2: a food plot. Now, limited water is always good, but 319 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,680 Speaker 2: there's another benefit to water that we don't talk about much, 320 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:26,639 Speaker 2: hunting when it's hot. I've written about this, and I 321 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 2: talked about it a lot, because I like hunting when 322 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 2: other people won't. If you're the kind of hunter who 323 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,840 Speaker 2: won't hunt because it's hot, maybe putting in a little 324 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 2: pond would change your opinion. After all, if it's eighty 325 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:39,199 Speaker 2: degrees in September and you think it's not worth it 326 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 2: to go, you might change your mind knowing you have 327 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 2: a little water source by one of your best stands, 328 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 2: and if the bucks are going to go anywhere in 329 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 2: that beechy weather, it's probably going to be there. So 330 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 2: think about it and think about listening next week because 331 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,000 Speaker 2: I'm going to talk about how to figure out if 332 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 2: you're a pioneer or a settler when it comes to 333 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:02,680 Speaker 2: deer hunting. That's it. That's it for this week. I'm 334 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 2: your host, Tony Peterson, and this has been the Wired 335 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 2: to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought to you by 336 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 2: First Light. As always, thank you so much for tuning in. 337 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 2: If you want more white tail wisdom, you can head 338 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 2: on over to the mediat dot com slash wired and 339 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,679 Speaker 2: see all kinds of articles by me, Mark, Alex Gilstrombomartonic, 340 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 2: a whole bunch of killer white tail hunters. Tons of 341 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 2: good information there, and while you're there, you can register 342 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 2: for that Mediator giveaway that I told you about in 343 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 2: the beginning of this podcast, so you can have three 344 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 2: thousand dollars more worth of hunting gear to go hunting 345 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:40,640 Speaker 2: this ball with. So go do both of those things.