1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,280 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:23,920 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. I'm Marrist 8 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about figuring out 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 2: how to hunt specific stand sites or in some cases, 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 2: you know, acknowledging that you just can't make it work. 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,559 Speaker 2: Sometimes with this job of mine, inspiration flies in like 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 2: a kung Fu kick and knocks you upside the dome. 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 2: That happened to me twice recently on this very topic, 14 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 2: and I realized that it's something I should probably break 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:53,319 Speaker 2: down in detail, because the hunting industry generally won't. Now, 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 2: that's not a knock, but it is true. And we 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 2: usually give general advice like call at this conditions or 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,080 Speaker 2: hunt this weather situation this way, and on and on 19 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,120 Speaker 2: that kind of stuff. But this difference between the general 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,199 Speaker 2: advice and where you actually hunt is often pretty big, 21 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 2: and it matters on how you approach that so even 22 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 2: if that is not clear at all, it will be shortly. 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 2: I haven't seriously fly fished in probably twenty years now. 24 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,839 Speaker 2: I still mess with panfish and poppers, and occasionally sometimes 25 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 2: I go deep and try, you know, to catch big 26 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,040 Speaker 2: smallmouth or northerns. But mostly fly fishing for me is 27 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 2: a reason to do something different and give the fish 28 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 2: a break that wasn't always that way. Where I grew 29 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: up in southern Minnesota, there are hundreds of miles of 30 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 2: trout streams. They are some of my favorite bodies of water, 31 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,520 Speaker 2: and they weave their way through my favorite kind of land, 32 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 2: that bluffy, deciduous forest, you know that just full of 33 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 2: deer in, turkeys and squirrels in a case, viasionally a 34 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 2: cattle pond with a few wood ducks paddling around. I 35 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 2: love that area now. As a youngster, my dad got 36 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 2: me into fly fishing when I was still in grade school. 37 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 2: He made a crude but functional fly tying table thing, 38 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 2: kinda that he could set across his lap while he 39 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 2: sat in his recliner and watch TV all winter long. 40 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 2: The goal was always to fill the fly boxes with 41 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 2: as many elk hair cattis flies as we could crank out. Now, 42 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 2: as you can imagine, he kind of got sick of that, 43 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 2: so it didn't take him very long before he taught 44 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 2: me to tie those flies and irresistibles and about any 45 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: streamer that my young brain could come up with. There 46 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 2: was a sense of accomplishment after tying maybe half of 47 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: a dozen flies in an evening and then looking at 48 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 2: the rows and the tackle flat slowly filling up. It 49 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 2: reminds me of how I feel at the end of 50 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 2: the deer season, when I can look into my chest 51 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 2: freezers and see enough venison to make it through to 52 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 2: the next season. It's crazy satisfying. Now. When I first 53 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 2: started fly fishing, I was obsessed with numbers, as a 54 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 2: lot of kids are. I kept track of the trout 55 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 2: I actually caught, and I can remember being eight and 56 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 2: catching eight in one summer. Now I know that's not great, 57 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 2: but I'm a slow learner and I'm jumpy as hell, 58 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: So when a ten inch brown SIPs my fly off 59 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 2: the surface, I give them absolutely no time before I 60 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 2: set the hook, usually way too aggressively. It's a problem 61 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 2: I had then, and it's a problem I have today. 62 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 2: It might just be me. At this point, there were 63 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: a couple of years when I was in third and 64 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 2: fourth grade, when my dad went from working second shift 65 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 2: to first shift. That meant instead of only seeing him 66 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 2: on the weekends, he'd get home every day at about four. 67 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,560 Speaker 2: And when he did that, we fished so hard, and 68 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 2: the stretches of streams that we frequented became something familiar 69 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 2: in a way that's kind of hard to describe, even 70 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 2: if you know nothing about fly fishing for trout. If 71 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 2: you can imagine a small stream winding its way through 72 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 2: a cow pasture, think about the structure of moving water. 73 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 2: Typically you have some rapids, then some deeper water, some rapids, 74 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 2: and then some deeper, but you also have bends in 75 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: the river, with the inside shallow and the outside generally deeper. 76 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 2: There are random boulders splitting the current and providing tiny 77 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 2: pockets of slack water where trout not only have to 78 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 2: burn fuel caliaries to stay there, but also kind of 79 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 2: just delivers insects and other food right to their mouth. 80 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 2: There are undercut banks, the kind that allow for safety 81 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 2: against overhead predators and the cover of shadows in which 82 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 2: to hide. You know, there's a tree overhanging this pool, 83 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 2: and some overging grass along the other bank. When the 84 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,799 Speaker 2: insects start coming off the water, the trout start feeding, 85 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 2: and it's a wonderful thing to witness. It's also true 86 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 2: that you can wade into a pool and catch fish 87 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 2: without knowing hardly a thing. After all, you're taking a 88 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 2: dumb fish and putting something that looks like food in 89 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 2: front of it where it expects that kind of food 90 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 2: to be. But as dumb as they are, or at 91 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 2: least can be, they don't suffer a lot of mistakes either. 92 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 2: Thrash the water with your line used too heavy of 93 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 2: a touch to lay down your fly, sorry, stumble on 94 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,559 Speaker 2: a few wet mossy rocks, and make some ungraceful moves 95 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 2: to stay above water. Sorry. There starts to be an 96 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 2: understanding between you and a spot where if you approach 97 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 2: from downstreams slowly and you work the closer seams first, 98 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 2: you can get the most out of a spot. It's 99 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 2: like listening to someone who knows how to play an 100 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 2: acoustic guitar really well, but they aren't trying to be 101 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 2: the center of attention, versus a teenager who only knows 102 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 2: power chords and wants everyone to know they kind of 103 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,119 Speaker 2: can play a few Nirvana songs. The thing about learning 104 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 2: a spot like that is that it takes time on 105 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,720 Speaker 2: the water, and there's no way around that. It takes 106 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 2: time when the water is high and low and the 107 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 2: tap water clean or somewhat stained. It takes cloud cover 108 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 2: and bright sunny days and amazing hatches and sparse hatches, 109 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 2: and for whatever reason, no hatches at all. Just one 110 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,840 Speaker 2: pool in a trout stream can be a lifelong learning 111 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,800 Speaker 2: experience if you do it just right. Hunting spots are 112 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 2: the same way. Mark and I recently had a fellow 113 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 2: from Florida send us an email about how to manage 114 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 2: hunting a spot along a creek where there is a 115 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 2: dominant wind, often blowing, you know, and some thermals to 116 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 2: contend with, and moving water that might suck the air 117 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 2: a certain way. His question basically was what do I 118 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 2: do here? My answer is this, I don't know, but 119 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 2: I do know that you have a better chance of 120 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 2: learning that spot through trial and error than listening to 121 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 2: a couple of upper Midwestern dudes spitball some random suggestions. 122 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 2: I was thinking about how to respond to him when 123 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,919 Speaker 2: I went out to sit for my second time this 124 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 2: season on a little piece of private ground where I 125 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 2: got permission last year. It's just close to my house. 126 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 2: I walked in and jumped a fawn sleeping away right 127 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,480 Speaker 2: where I saw her the last time I hunted the spot, 128 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,919 Speaker 2: but this time I watched her mom sneak around me 129 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:56,839 Speaker 2: and meet up with her as well. This spot, you know, 130 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,719 Speaker 2: it's a no brainer location. Really. It's next to a 131 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 2: small pond in the middle of the woods. It was 132 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 2: eighty two degrees when I walked out, which is pretty 133 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 2: hot for Minnesota in the end of September. The landowner 134 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 2: wanted meat and I wanted to hunt, so I figured 135 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 2: it was a pretty simple thing to go in and 136 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 2: sit over some water. Now I had about forty five 137 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 2: minutes before dark, I heard what I thought was a deer, 138 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 2: and in a rookie move that I still make, and 139 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: I don't know why, I paid close attention for a 140 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:25,560 Speaker 2: couple of minutes, and then I kind of just lost focus. 141 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 2: The second time I heard it, I knew it was 142 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 2: a deer, and I peered over my left shoulder and 143 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,560 Speaker 2: realized that a good sized loaner dough had made it 144 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 2: into about fifteen yards. Now, instead of going to the pond, 145 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 2: she walked right to my tree and sniffed around underneath it. 146 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 2: I was pinned until she walked straight in front of 147 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 2: me into a tangle of cedars and grapevines and raspberry fines. 148 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 2: I realized then that I probably wouldn't get a shot 149 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 2: despite having a deer I wanted to shoot right next 150 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 2: to me, but I slowly stood up and got ready anyway. 151 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 2: And I noticed at that moment, just for a second, 152 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 2: a little buck walking across a trail in a spot 153 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 2: that didn't make much sense. How the dough below me 154 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 2: hung around for a minute or two before making the 155 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 2: mistake of walking right into the only good shooting lane 156 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 2: I had on that side of the stand. Look, I 157 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 2: can screw up shots with the best of them, but 158 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 2: a ten yard quartering away shot isn't one I mess 159 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 2: up too often these days. And as soon as I 160 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 2: heard her crash, I heard another deer behind me. It 161 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 2: was a dough in a fawn, and they were maybe 162 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 2: ten yards from the pond, but they never drank. Then 163 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,480 Speaker 2: I had another dough come trotting in from the opposite direction, 164 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:30,280 Speaker 2: and it looked like she was going to hit the 165 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 2: corner of the pond and hydrate herself nope. I saw 166 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:36,319 Speaker 2: seven deer during that sit, and every one of them 167 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 2: was within maybe thirty yards of that pond at some point, 168 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 2: but not one of them went in to drink. They 169 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 2: browsed in certain spots, walked in certain spots, and generally 170 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 2: gave me a crash course on how I didn't understand 171 00:08:48,559 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 2: how they used that location at all. I've set two 172 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 2: stands there in two seasons, both to shoot the edge 173 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 2: of the pond, and now I planned to move my 174 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 2: stand off of the pond just a hair where they 175 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 2: screwed around it. I'll probably get that wrong too, But 176 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: even when you get things like this wrong, you still 177 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 2: sometimes end up dragging out a deer. Now here's the thing, 178 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,280 Speaker 2: and I want to make this very clear. Try to 179 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 2: go into your spots with the idea that there aren't 180 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 2: very many rules you need to follow. And what I 181 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 2: mean by that is forget about the thermals for a bit. 182 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 2: Forget that you think the wind is going to swirl, 183 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 2: because all you have ever heard is that wind is 184 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 2: going to swirl in the bottom of the valley or whatever. 185 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 2: If you have a spot you want to hunt, take 186 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 2: that risk. Take seven of them. If you have to 187 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 2: figure out not only how to hunt the spot, but 188 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 2: what you have to do to keep hunting it. Don't 189 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,560 Speaker 2: worry about spooking deer. As crazy as this may sound, 190 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 2: we make this so academic, and we think our way 191 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 2: out of hunting a lot of different spots. But really 192 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:57,040 Speaker 2: we got to get in there and just try it 193 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 2: to see how it works. Now, I think we are 194 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 2: way to concerned with spooking deer, if I'm being honest, 195 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 2: I say that as a public land deer hunter mostly too, 196 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 2: we have been conditioned to play it safe so much 197 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 2: that we are playing it safe too much and not 198 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 2: going in and doing what we need to do. Now. 199 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,680 Speaker 2: I know I've talked about this a lot, but bear 200 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 2: with me here because it comes up all the time. Now. 201 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 2: I want to use the valley example here. At least 202 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 2: twenty seven times a season, someone will text me or 203 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 2: email me satellite imagery of their hunting spot and they'll 204 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 2: mention that they only hunt the ridges because the thermals 205 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,240 Speaker 2: or the swirling winds in the valley just take them 206 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 2: right out of play. Then, without question, they'll explain how 207 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 2: much sign is in the valleys. Well, yes, deer love ridges, 208 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 2: but they love valley bottoms too. They are usually cooler 209 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 2: when the weather is hot. They often have different types 210 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 2: of vegetation in trees, often thicker, honestly, and they are 211 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,959 Speaker 2: spots that just concentrate movement due to terrain without thinking 212 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,920 Speaker 2: about swirling winds. Doesn't that sound like it's worth hunting? 213 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 2: But if you say that the wind is going to 214 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,840 Speaker 2: swirl and that it's unhuntable, that's the end of that. 215 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:11,839 Speaker 2: But you don't know that, and neither do I. There 216 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,679 Speaker 2: are times when the wind is barely blowing and times 217 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 2: where it never stops. There are days when it blows 218 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,679 Speaker 2: until five point thirty and then settles down until dark. 219 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 2: There are times when the temperature rises quickly or cools 220 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 2: down fast where the thermals are noticeable, and there are 221 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 2: times when the air temperature doesn't change three degrees during 222 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 2: the entire sit and the thermals are a total non factor. 223 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 2: There's also the undeniable reality that if bucks feel they 224 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 2: have the wind advantage, they move more freely in daylight. 225 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:43,960 Speaker 2: This is something that can't be taught, but if you 226 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,440 Speaker 2: haunt long enough, you'll start to figure this out. And 227 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,439 Speaker 2: it's important in fact. Learning how to use that confidence 228 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 2: against them is probably one of the biggest reasons I 229 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 2: ever kill them. When they feel safe, they act like it, 230 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 2: and if you're in their neighborhood, the unkillable becomes suddenly 231 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 2: vult vulnerable. So let's look at that valley example again. 232 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,400 Speaker 2: Oftentimes we blame swirling winds for keeping the deer away, 233 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 2: when it could be that we just got busted going in. 234 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,760 Speaker 2: Getting into a valley can be easy, or it can 235 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 2: be really tough and require you a route that just 236 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 2: isn't all that easy to sneak along. In this case, 237 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 2: you might want to wait till you have a little 238 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 2: rain or some really windy conditions. You might need to 239 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 2: use the weather to cover your track, so to speak, 240 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 2: and let you get in there and just forget about 241 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,959 Speaker 2: hunting it on calm days. But then what though, Now 242 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:34,760 Speaker 2: you're in a swirling mess, and as soon as you 243 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:36,800 Speaker 2: get into your chosen tree you realize that you're probably 244 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,679 Speaker 2: going to get winded. Maybe you didn't need to get 245 00:12:39,679 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 2: into a tree. Natural ground blinds are the answer to 246 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 2: some of these problems, simply because you can reduce your 247 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 2: scent impact by getting on the ground. Now, let's drill 248 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 2: this down further. Let's say you do get on the ground, 249 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:53,920 Speaker 2: or you have to be in a tree, doesn't matter. 250 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,679 Speaker 2: Instead of thinking of the valley as a whole, spot 251 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:01,120 Speaker 2: break it down. Where's the most signed, the biggest concentration, 252 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 2: Where are the most prominent trails. Is there a community 253 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 2: scrape in there somewhere? Maybe you just need to write 254 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,080 Speaker 2: off certain parts of the valley because the wind is 255 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 2: going to bust deer in half of it. But what 256 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,199 Speaker 2: about the other half? Can you set up to kill 257 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 2: on a very specific spot on spot type of thing? 258 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:19,920 Speaker 2: Maybe you should, or maybe you should just try to 259 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 2: hunt that spot in a few different conditions and figure 260 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 2: out ways to tweak your approach and set up take 261 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:28,600 Speaker 2: some risks, just try to be calculated about it. But 262 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 2: now let's step back to that Florida fellow who emailed us. 263 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,559 Speaker 2: He has a creek near his body is confused about 264 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 2: and the flow is the opposite of the prevailing winds. 265 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 2: He wondered if that moving water would pull air against 266 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 2: the general wind direction. My thought is probably not. But 267 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 2: also there's a really good way to find out. Plus, 268 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 2: when you have anybody of water, you almost always have 269 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 2: a wind advantage if you know how to play it. 270 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 2: If you can set up right over a stream or river, 271 00:13:56,760 --> 00:13:58,440 Speaker 2: or you can plan for your wind to blow up 272 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: or down it or across it to not mess up 273 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:04,160 Speaker 2: with a small area or hunting. You're onto something again, 274 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 2: though there's no way to know until you try. I 275 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,199 Speaker 2: think a lot of hunters don't want to try new 276 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 2: things because they fear they won't work, and of course 277 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 2: a lot of them won't. But that's not a good excuse, 278 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:17,839 Speaker 2: because a lot of what we do doesn't work. In fact, 279 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 2: most of the decisions we make, even the ones we 280 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 2: think are really smart and you know, kind of aligned 281 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 2: with the best advice out there, they just won't work 282 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 2: on any given time. Bow hunting white tails is a 283 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 2: game of almost NonStop failures punctuated by a few wins. 284 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 2: That's it. If you learn to accept that and to 285 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 2: use the possibility of failure to figure out a spot, 286 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 2: then you're doing better than most of your competition. Take 287 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 2: this another way, what if the spot you hunt requires 288 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,480 Speaker 2: you to walk through an area you almost always bust 289 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 2: deer in, So you go, well, I can't you know, 290 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 2: I can't hunt there in the morning because the deer 291 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 2: will spook. And that's that. But is it? I'm getting 292 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:55,840 Speaker 2: to the point where I don't care that much if 293 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 2: I spook some deer, it's part of the deal, and 294 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 2: they are generally more tolerant it then we think, provided 295 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,760 Speaker 2: we are walking. The bigger point here is that if 296 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 2: you walk in and bust some deer or think you will, 297 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: and you stop trying to figure it out, you definitely 298 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 2: won't kill more deer there. You just won't. Maybe you 299 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 2: can't hunt call mornings in that spot, But what about 300 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 2: windy mornings where you have some noise cover. Is you're 301 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 2: ruling as true in September as it is in November? 302 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 2: Does it matter for evenings or mornings? What about if 303 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 2: you walk in an hour early instead of fifteen minutes early. 304 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,280 Speaker 2: The thing about spooking deer, and generally just our presence 305 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 2: in the woods is that it eventually kind of resets. 306 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 2: If you are settled in an hour before first light, 307 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 2: but you bump some does on the way in. How 308 00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 2: much does that matter by the time shooting light hits. 309 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 2: Maybe a lot, but probably not as much as we think. 310 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 2: I think. Maybe the best way to wrap this up 311 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 2: is I'll explain why I feel so strongly about this topic. 312 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 2: I approach this stuff as a maybe but I always 313 00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 2: have a plan, and I try to follow through with 314 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 2: that plan. So I kind of know what tree I'm 315 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: going to, and I kind of know what route I'm 316 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 2: going to take, and I kind of know what conditions 317 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 2: I feel will give me the best chance. Then I 318 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 2: just try it. If it works out great. If it doesn't, 319 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 2: I usually tweak the plan to try getting in there 320 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 2: under different conditions, just mix it up a little bit. 321 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 2: Eventually I either go, well, this spot is just beyond me, 322 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 2: or now I have something to work with. I know 323 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 2: that sounds simple when I say it, but it's different 324 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 2: putting it into practice when you have limited time to 325 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 2: hunt and maybe limited confidence in your plan. But believe 326 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 2: me on this though, the more you try stuff like this, 327 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 2: the better at hunting you'll get because you'll realize that 328 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 2: a lot of the rules are total bs and don't 329 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 2: apply to your specific stand locations. Think about that. If 330 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 2: you're struggling right now and feeling like you need to 331 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:50,640 Speaker 2: sit out the lull to wait on a good time 332 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 2: to hunt, you don't. Instead keep trying and keep listening, 333 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 2: because next week I'm going to talk about the sounds 334 00:16:57,160 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 2: in the woods. That's it. I'm Tony Peterson. This has 335 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,720 Speaker 2: been the Wired to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is brought 336 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 2: to you by First Light. As I always thank you 337 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 2: so much for listening. Honestly, we appreciate your support so much. 338 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 2: I know you get sick of hearing about the sales 339 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 2: and some of that stuff, but the way you guys 340 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 2: showed up for our white Tail Weeks sale is amazing 341 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 2: and we do really truly appreciate it. If you want 342 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 2: some more white Tail content, or if you want any content, 343 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 2: maybe to kill some time while you're driving out to 344 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: hunt somewhere and you want to listen to Clay's Bargeres podcast, 345 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 2: or maybe you're at your office and you want to 346 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 2: watch some hunting films that are getting dropped the meat 347 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 2: Eater dot com. As you covered so much content, go 348 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:37,479 Speaker 2: check it out.