1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: First Light Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, welcome to the wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 2: which is brought to you by First Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and today's episode is all about water access 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:37,360 Speaker 2: and why it can be a white tail hunter's best friend. 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,479 Speaker 2: One of the main themes of deer hunting content, you know, 11 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 2: at least content that is supposed to teach you something, 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 2: is you know, centered on finding the best spots out 13 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 2: there wherever you hunt. If you can't find the ridges, benches, swamps, crossings, 14 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 2: or whatever that bucks are most likely to use, you're 15 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 2: in trouble. Truth is find you good spots, Nanda. Isn't 16 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 2: that hard. Sometimes whitetails don't leave as much sign as 17 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 2: a herd at elk, but deer do leave plenty of 18 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 2: breadcrumbs out there for us to follow. Where those clues 19 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,839 Speaker 2: lead are the good spots. But a spot is really 20 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 2: only good if you can get there relatively undetected and 21 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 2: get out without making too big of an impression on 22 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 2: the local deer. That's what this episode is all about, 23 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 2: because it's something you can figure out right now. Way 24 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: way back in two thousand and four, I finished a 25 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,600 Speaker 2: shift at a restaurant I worked at and drove to 26 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 2: pick up my dad. We pointed my truck west at midnight, 27 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 2: and by mid morning we started seeing antelope out in 28 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 2: the wide expanses of South Dakota and then Wyoming, which 29 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 2: was our final destination. We'd never traveled out of state 30 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: to hunt anything other than turkey's or pheasants, but a 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 2: good buddy of mine was obsessed with rifle hunting Western 32 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: big game. He'd given us some units to look into, 33 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 2: with quite a bit to public land, and he helped 34 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 2: us figure out how to navigate the application process. So 35 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 2: we ended up drawing our tags and I went to 36 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: Cabella's to buy a rifle, since I'd only ever bow 37 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 2: hunted at that point in my life. I picked up 38 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 2: a used two forty three for like four hundred bucks, 39 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 2: which was a lot of money to me. Then it 40 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:21,359 Speaker 2: shot flat and accurate and seemed like it would be 41 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 2: good medicine for speed goats. When we arrived in the 42 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: Red Hills to pick out a campsite on public land, 43 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 2: we found a turnaround on a dirt road that had 44 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 2: an old, gnarled tree that will probably someday be a 45 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 2: piece of petrified wood that Spencer Newhart's great great great 46 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 2: great great great great grandkids will puzzle over at some point. 47 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 2: It was a good enough spot, so we shot our 48 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,280 Speaker 2: rifles to make sure all was copascetic there, and then 49 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,600 Speaker 2: we started hunting. This was back when driving all night 50 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 2: and hunting all of the next day didn't bother me 51 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 2: in the least. That has changed, and if I started 52 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:57,119 Speaker 2: a hunt with an all nighter it ruins the whole 53 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 2: experience for me, But back then I didn't care, especially 54 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 2: because we were finally hunting a western critter in a 55 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 2: setting that could have been damn near straight out of Mars. 56 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 2: So we climbed a weathered plateau for a better view 57 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 2: of that flat country around us, and glassed up a 58 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 2: whole lot of rocks and dust and weigh way off 59 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 2: in the distance a herd of elk that looked totally 60 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 2: out of place. It took about ten seconds of glassing 61 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 2: to realize why every other hunter we had seen was 62 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 2: road hunting. When we hiked back to the truck, we 63 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 2: decided we needed to go out and look at a 64 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 2: few more chunks of public to see if we could 65 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 2: even find an antelope. Well we did, and all it 66 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: took was one short stock and my dad was on 67 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 2: the board. His antelope had wide horns and by all accounts, 68 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 2: was just a pretty cool bronghorn. It was also anti 69 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 2: climatic because it was so easy. The next morning, I 70 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 2: set out to see what I could do about filling 71 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 2: my tag, and as we were hiking across the dusty 72 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 2: landscape under the early October sun, a lone antelope so 73 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 2: far away that I couldn't tell from the distance if 74 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 2: it was a legal mail or not. But it was alone, 75 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 2: and that's usually a pretty good sign, so I figured 76 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 2: I better try to get closer. The problem was that 77 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 2: there was nothing between us, you know, that would have 78 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 2: really even hidden a coyote pup let, alone a full 79 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 2: sized human. As I scanned the landscape, which always seems 80 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:25,480 Speaker 2: pool table, flat and totally featureless, I spotted a washout. 81 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,600 Speaker 2: You know, some might call it a drainage, I suppose, 82 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 2: but you know, it was more of a ravine or 83 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 2: a gully in my definition, it doesn't really matter what 84 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 2: you call it, because it was about ten feet deep 85 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 2: and looked to more or less lead close to the antelope. 86 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 2: So I told my dad to sit back and observe 87 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 2: while I dropped in and started hiking along the bottom 88 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 2: of that dry gully. It took me back and forth, 89 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,160 Speaker 2: back and forth, but I always more or less in 90 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 2: the right direction, kind of like how the stock market 91 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 2: goes up and down, but in its history has always 92 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 2: eventually just gone up in a slow, steady march toward 93 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 2: higher gains. Even if you don't feel like it. It'll 94 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 2: get you where you want to go if you give 95 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 2: it enough time. That's kind of what I'm saying. Anyway, 96 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 2: I missed that goat on the first shot, hit him 97 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,799 Speaker 2: pretty good on the second one on a dead run, 98 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 2: missed him when he stopped to figure out where the 99 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 2: asshole was that was shooting at him, and then with 100 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 2: my last bullet put him down, And it was pretty exciting. 101 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 2: The entire sequence of me getting into range of that 102 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 2: antelope was made possible by lucky access that kept me hidden. 103 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 2: That's it, and it's something that is all over out 104 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 2: there in the white tail world if you know how 105 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 2: to use it. Now, of course, you might not be 106 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 2: so lucky as to find a dry run that will 107 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 2: take you right where you need to go. But then again, 108 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 2: you might. When I took Steve Rannella down to Oklahoma 109 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,159 Speaker 2: last fall to teach him how to bowhunt white tails 110 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 2: as well as you know, many other things about life 111 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 2: that he just kind of needs to learn, we discovered 112 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 2: that the rivers in the area were no longer really rivers. 113 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 2: They were mostly dry runs, pock marked with pockets of 114 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 2: water that not only held random wood ducks, which made 115 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 2: sneaking through not as quiet as it could have been, 116 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 2: but they were also full of dying carp and gar 117 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 2: that drew in all kinds of critters looking for a 118 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 2: little rough fish sushi. The access those dried up rivers 119 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,960 Speaker 2: gave us played into nearly every single setup I had, 120 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,640 Speaker 2: you know what scratch that they played into nearly every 121 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: single spot I found where we either killed bucks or 122 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 2: had close encounters. I sat other spots and put Steve 123 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 2: in other spots where we didn't have the same kind 124 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 2: of access, and none of those setups worked out very well. 125 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 2: The spots I found that had a mix of acorns 126 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 2: and per simmons, but were also featured some kind of 127 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 2: sneaky ravine type access or dry river access produced all 128 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 2: the deer for us. Every spot I found that offered everything, 129 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 2: but that access didn't work out very well. Maybe on 130 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 2: private ground with a little to no pressure, the difference 131 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 2: wouldn't be as stark. But those deer were public land dwellers, 132 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 2: and they were well acquainted with bow hunters at that point, 133 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,680 Speaker 2: especially cross bow hunters looking to shoot one while sneaking 134 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 2: around at first and last light. I know I've talked 135 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 2: about water a lot on this podcast, but this struck 136 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,200 Speaker 2: me as I was shed hunting with my daughter the 137 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 2: other day. Water is great for killing deer and I 138 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 2: use it a lot, but water ways are the key 139 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 2: to unlocking the best spots in the woods, like I 140 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 2: had reaffirmed to me in Oklahoma last year. I know 141 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 2: this isn't an option for everyone, depending on where you 142 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 2: live and hunt, but it's worth understanding. In any case. 143 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 2: Very few things will help you consistently get on bucks 144 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 2: more than understanding how waterways work in your favor access wise. Now, 145 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 2: this is a broad topic because we could be talking 146 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 2: about a brook, trout stream that is basically a souped 147 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 2: up trickle, one that you can hop across or walk 148 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 2: along without getting your ankles wet in most spots. Now, 149 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 2: the other end of the spectrum could be the Missouri 150 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,240 Speaker 2: or the Mighty Mississippi, or any lake or reservoir take 151 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 2: your pick. One thing about this country that's pretty sweet 152 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: is we have a hell of a lot of freshwater 153 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 2: to work with. As I've talked about before, you can 154 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 2: use water as a general barrier to keep your competition out, 155 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,080 Speaker 2: or at least a confunction that way. A lot of 156 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,440 Speaker 2: hunters don't want to crosswater to get to the deer 157 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 2: that they think they can get to by not crossing water. 158 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 2: This is always worth investigating, especially if you're on pressured ground. 159 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 2: But the truth is waterways should be viewed as two things. 160 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 2: Areas where deer will congregate and areas where you might 161 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 2: be able to get into and out of their world undetected. 162 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,559 Speaker 2: I know you're thinking something like, yeah, well, if there 163 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 2: is a stream that starts by the road and goes 164 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 2: right to the spot I want to hunt, then sure 165 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:58,839 Speaker 2: that makes sense. But I like hunting way up the 166 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 2: ridge and out of the vat where the water flows 167 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 2: great use the water to cover eighty five percent of 168 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 2: your entrance and exit. There are times where you might 169 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,760 Speaker 2: enter a property way far away from where you want 170 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 2: to hunt, so that you have to hike to the 171 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 2: water and then follow it through the property in a 172 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 2: long and winding route to get where you really want 173 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 2: to hunt. This is where so many hunters fail. It's 174 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 2: easier to just go from point A to B. That's 175 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 2: what your competition is going to do. But if that 176 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 2: means you park and walk through an area that will 177 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,640 Speaker 2: spook the deer, is it worth the shortcut. I find 178 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 2: this type of access a lot in the Midwest where 179 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 2: I know I can park on the far end of 180 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 2: a section and drop into a creek bed. Now, it 181 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 2: might take me forty five minutes to get where I 182 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 2: want to go, when I could have taken a direct 183 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 2: route and cut it down to ten. But I don't 184 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 2: care about that. I want to get to where I 185 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 2: want to go without the deer knowing, and that's always 186 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 2: worth a longer walk. You obviously might get some noise 187 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 2: from the moving water to cover your own noise, and 188 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 2: your scent is going to be low and not likely 189 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 2: to blow across the bedding areas as well. You might 190 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 2: get nice sand to walk across, or you might have 191 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 2: to slowly wade the water. The key is to understand 192 00:10:27,559 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 2: where waterway will allow you to go and what it 193 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 2: will allow you to do, and then you know you 194 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 2: need to figure out how to execute on that plan. 195 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:38,640 Speaker 2: You can figure a lot of this stuff out now 196 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,200 Speaker 2: in the late winter and early spring, and you should. 197 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 2: But what if the water isn't walkable or waitable. What 198 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 2: if it's too deep for you to safely cross or 199 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 2: to hike through in the dark on your way to 200 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,440 Speaker 2: a morning setup. There's other options. You've all seen the 201 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,360 Speaker 2: photos of someone with a big buck lane in the 202 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 2: bottom of a canoe or a caped out deer strapped 203 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 2: the front of a kayak. A portable water craft in 204 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 2: some ways is a pain in the ass, but the 205 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 2: trade off is that you can hunt where almost no 206 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 2: one will hunt. If you like shooting big bucks, that's important. 207 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 2: I'm currently obsessed with an old town kayak I got 208 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 2: a couple of years ago that is built for sportsmen. Look, 209 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,079 Speaker 2: that's a shameless plug, but it's a great product, so 210 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,679 Speaker 2: I don't care. It's built to help you catch fish. Obviously, 211 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 2: but also just to allow for easy access to a 212 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,360 Speaker 2: whole world of hunting ground that is not easy to 213 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 2: access for most folks. Instead of walking through the water 214 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 2: or along the bank to get somewhere, it's like hunting 215 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 2: on easy mode. It's also really quiet if you're careful. 216 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 2: I find myself looking for public land on on X 217 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,839 Speaker 2: that shows quality river access, because having that kayak means 218 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 2: it's always an option instead of parking where everyone parks 219 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 2: and walking in the same way that everyone walks in, 220 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 2: a kayak or a canoe allows you to slip in 221 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 2: from a totally unexpected route. That element of surprise will 222 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 2: work in your favor when it comes to white tails 223 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 2: and turkeys and in some situations western game or whatever else. Now, 224 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,719 Speaker 2: both types of watercraft allow you to cross bigger water too, 225 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 2: but you better pay attention to the conditions and take 226 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 2: your safety seriously. I spent way too much time in 227 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 2: my youth toying with drowning while paddling canoes around to 228 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 2: take that for granted. Now, tip a canoe in icy 229 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 2: water and you just get a good appreciation for how 230 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 2: quickly a quiet paddle can turn into something else. But 231 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 2: if the conditions are right, and you have the means. 232 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 2: Paddling your way into deer is a really, really good option, 233 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 2: so is just being able to paddle in the first place. 234 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 2: If you have a canoe or a kayak, it'll change 235 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 2: your style of scouting. It changes how you look at 236 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 2: satellite imagery because you don't need to write off bodies 237 00:12:56,320 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 2: of water. They become a part of the process. Instead 238 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,960 Speaker 2: of going around or not being able to get to 239 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 2: certain places, you can go straight to them. No, you 240 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 2: can also do this with bigger boats and a little 241 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 2: two or four stroke horsepower. Obviously, the required watercraft is 242 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 2: commensurate to the size of the water. You're not going 243 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,080 Speaker 2: to take a stand up paddle board across a three 244 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 2: mile wide stretch of the Mighty Mississippi in the dark 245 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 2: to bow hunt an island during a cold front in November, 246 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 2: or if you do, at least have your affairs in 247 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 2: order and make sure you leave your hunting gear to 248 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 2: somebody who will appreciate it. Bigger boats are nice for 249 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 2: a lot of reasons, but are also a pain in 250 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 2: the ass for a lot of reasons. The key to 251 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 2: all of this is to take a look at what 252 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 2: you have access to where you might hunt or where 253 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 2: you want to hunt and how that all comes together. 254 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 2: But then you want to tryal run the whole thing. 255 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 2: I can't stress this enough. Whether you're wet waiting a 256 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 2: small stream, or firing up the outboard to go ten 257 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:57,199 Speaker 2: miles down the Missouri to bowhunt a chunk of public land. 258 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 2: Not only do you want to know what you're going 259 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 2: to get into when you do try this, but how 260 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:06,959 Speaker 2: long it's going to take, if there are any dangerous 261 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,800 Speaker 2: parts to the journey, and basically you just want to 262 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 2: familiarize yourself with the route. Keep in mind that when 263 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,960 Speaker 2: you do walk these routes while winter scouting or paddle 264 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,360 Speaker 2: them this spring, they could probably be out there in 265 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,880 Speaker 2: the headspace where it'll seem easy because you're not going 266 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 2: to be, you know, trying to be quiet, and you'll 267 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 2: probably have good light to work with. You probably don't 268 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 2: have a bunch of extra gear. Waterway access is a 269 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 2: whole different thing in the dark when you're trying to 270 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 2: be stealthy. Understand that drop waypoints on the entrance and 271 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:46,080 Speaker 2: exit spots where dangerous stuff might be, and actually, you know, 272 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 2: just plan out the route if you can then understand 273 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 2: one thing water changes where Steve and I were hiking 274 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 2: through you know, mud and rock in October this year. 275 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 2: Five years earlier, Buddy and I couldn't even wade that 276 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 2: same river when we showed up to salvage a hunt 277 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 2: down there. Many of the places I've hunted in hike 278 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 2: this year were dry and walkable, when a few years 279 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 2: ago they would have required a boat some September or October. 280 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 2: Rain can change things in a hurry. Now. A downpour 281 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 2: isn't going to affect the level of a reservoir too much, probably, 282 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 2: but it might make a waitable stream a hell of 283 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 2: a lot less waitable. A frozen swamp that you look 284 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 2: at in March and think would be one hell of 285 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 2: a good spot to ambush a big buck in November 286 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 2: will probably be a totally different thing in November. The 287 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 2: goal is to get comfortable with whatever level of water 288 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 2: access you can muster up, and then to start to 289 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 2: understand that spots and routes where it'll really come into play. Now, 290 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 2: if I'm being honest, I'd say probably at least a 291 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 2: third of the bucks I've killed on public land have 292 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:00,400 Speaker 2: died partially because of some kind of water based access. 293 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,800 Speaker 2: Quite a few others died because of their first but 294 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,680 Speaker 2: a lot of them just happen to live in places 295 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 2: where using a waterway to get to them was the 296 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 2: best approach. This is partially because it's a good method, 297 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,720 Speaker 2: and partially because a lot of public lands tend to 298 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 2: have a lot of water, because if it was dry, 299 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 2: it would be farmed. For this reason alone, if you 300 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 2: tend to hunt public land, there should be something you 301 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 2: at least think about. It'll come into play in so 302 00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 2: many scenarios from Canada on down to the Southern States 303 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 2: where there's no shortage of H two O out there 304 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,320 Speaker 2: where the deer live. If this at all sounds like 305 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,880 Speaker 2: something that would or could affect your hunting strategy this fall, 306 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 2: get on on X now, get out there in the 307 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 2: next few weeks and start to look at the ground. 308 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 2: Figure this stuff out. The goal of winter scouting is 309 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 2: always to find the best spots to set up in, 310 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 2: but those mean nothing if you don't have a good 311 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,280 Speaker 2: way to get to them. Access is as important as 312 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 2: finding a banging staging area or a generational buck bed 313 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 2: tucked you know, into the bluff side bench or a 314 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,840 Speaker 2: high spot in the cattail slough. So go channel your Introduckling, 315 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,680 Speaker 2: my friends, and get your feet wet and come back 316 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:11,719 Speaker 2: next week because I'm going to talk about how the 317 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 2: best hunters out there often have a few traits more 318 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:21,600 Speaker 2: closely associated with goblins. That's it. I'm Tony Peterson. This 319 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 2: has been the Wire to Hunt Foundation's podcast, which is 320 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 2: brought to you by First Light. As always, I just 321 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 2: want to thank you so much for your support, you know, 322 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 2: whether that's listening to this podcast, checking out a few 323 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:36,520 Speaker 2: articles that we've written, watching series, checking out somebody else's podcast, whatever, 324 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,160 Speaker 2: your support means the world to us. We really really 325 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 2: appreciate it here at meat Eater. If you want some 326 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 2: more white tail content, you know where to find it. 327 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 2: Head on over to the meeteater dot com and you 328 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 2: will have more than enough stuff to distract you until 329 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 2: it's time to hunt some turkeys.