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 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 2: Hey, everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 2: which is brought to you but First Light. I'm your host, 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 2: Tony Peterson, and this episode is all about the realities 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 2: of planting a kill plot from clost whitetail owners. Most 10 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 2: of you listeners probably know the feeling of being young 11 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,599 Speaker 2: and driving a beat up truck or a car, and 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 2: maybe pulling into a gas station to fuel up, and 13 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 2: then having someone pull in next to you with a 14 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 2: brand new ride. You look at your rusted out, hand 15 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 2: me down truck and think, man, it'd be nice to 16 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: have that, because you're not thinking about the payments or 17 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 2: the maintenance or anything other than just owning it. That 18 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 2: feeling of jealousy. That's kind of how I felt when 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 2: I started seeing hunting shows where they were hunting over 20 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 2: food plots. The idea putting in a little field of 21 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 2: greenery just for the deer. I was crazy and It 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 2: made me super jealous, because, after all, it really looked 23 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 2: like the answer to a lot of my deer hunting problems. 24 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,680 Speaker 2: Probably does to you too, if you've never planned one. 25 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,679 Speaker 2: The truth is, food plots aren't really a magic bullet. 26 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 2: They are worth it if you have the ground and 27 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 2: the means. That's what this episode is all about, And honestly, 28 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,559 Speaker 2: it's really mostly about planning tiny kill plots, not four 29 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 2: acre beautifully groom destination plots. So even if you will 30 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 2: never have a two hundred thousand dollars John Deer should 31 00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 2: probably listen up. Anyway. Have you ever watched somebody tie 32 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 2: a fly? It looks so easy. See them pick up 33 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 2: a hook, often a ridiculously small hook, but it doesn't 34 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 2: have to be Now, place the hook in a vice 35 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: so that the hookshank is horizontal, scattered around that vice. 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 2: If they are like me or I don't know, probably 37 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 2: organized around the vice like surgeon's tools. If you're like Mark, 38 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 2: you'll see all kinds of interesting tools and bags of 39 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 2: feathers and thread and tiny scissors, all kinds of highly 40 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 2: specific things that should help you create something that looks 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 2: like a bug or a minnow or a helgramite or 42 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 2: something that would probably be found on the menu of 43 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 2: a trout's favorite restaurant. Now, the first step, it's usually 44 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 2: just to wind some thread on the hookshank. Maybe that's 45 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 2: black thread or green or brown thread. Maybe it's a 46 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 2: full rap all the way down the shank of the hook, 47 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 2: or a partil wrap just near the islet with slow 48 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 2: rotations of the tool. You know, that holds the thread 49 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 2: in place and allows the fly tire to keep things 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 2: nice and tight. You know, it looks pretty simple so far, 51 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: you know. Then they might pinch off some fuzzyal and 52 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:04,080 Speaker 2: work it onto the thread. This dubbing then gets wrapped 53 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,920 Speaker 2: around the shank to produce what would essentially be like 54 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:11,400 Speaker 2: the insect's body. After that, the fun begins. Maybe it 55 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 2: involves carefully measuring out a pinch of elk or deer hair, 56 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 2: the kind of hair that is naturally buoyant because it's 57 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 2: hollow and also happens to allow a dry fly to float. 58 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 2: This hair, it'll get held along the dubbing and wrapped 59 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 2: over and over with a thread. Once that's finished, that 60 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,360 Speaker 2: little patch of hair is secured on top of the dubbing, 61 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 2: the miniature scissors come out. You do your best great 62 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: clips impression and snip the hair off evenly. Now the 63 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 2: fly has a body, you know, a main body, and 64 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 2: what looks like some kind of wings, probably if you 65 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 2: have an iq of one and are looking up through 66 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 2: the water column of a fast moving stream at it. Anyway, 67 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 2: Then after that comes the hackle, you know, the dried skin, 68 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 2: complete with the feathers of a wildly colored chicken or 69 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 2: maybe a rooster pheasant in the hundreds and hundreds of 70 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 2: feathers on any small patch of that. You'll pluck out 71 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 2: a perfectly sized option for just this size of fly 72 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 2: and rub away some of the feathers, those fuzzy little 73 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 2: feathers at the stem of the individual feather, and then 74 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 2: hold it to the body of the fly near the head. 75 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 2: A few thread wraps later, and you can grab another 76 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 2: specialized tool that looks kind of like, I don't know, 77 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 2: like a tiny pair of tongs you'd create if you 78 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:30,679 Speaker 2: were a veterinarian and had to help like a hamster 79 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 2: sized critter give birth like a particularly difficult berth, by 80 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 2: getting a hold of the youngster during the process and 81 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 2: yanking it out. I know that's a weird visual, but 82 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 2: bear with me. Here with that baby hamster pulling tool. 83 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,480 Speaker 2: You'd spin that feather around the fly and watch as 84 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,600 Speaker 2: it separates wrap by wrap to make it look like 85 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 2: it has been hit with a heavy dose of static electricity. 86 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 2: If the deer hair kind of looks like folded wings, 87 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,720 Speaker 2: this hackle, when done right, must look like the outstretch twings, 88 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 2: maybe the legs a little bit too of a small 89 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 2: flying insect. A few more wraps with a thread, and 90 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 2: maybe a tiny doll up of glue, and then a 91 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 2: few specialized knots to keep the whole thing from unwinding, 92 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:16,720 Speaker 2: and it's done. You have a cats fly, easy peasy 93 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 2: lemon squeeze. You think, since, well, it looks so easy 94 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 2: from the casual observer's perspective, but in reality, it takes 95 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: a lot of practice and going through a lot of 96 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 2: really shitty flies to get to that point. You know 97 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 2: what else is a hell of a lot harder to 98 00:05:32,279 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 2: do than it looks. Golf, probably, but also creating a 99 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 2: decent kill plot that will actually grow and produce something 100 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 2: the deer will consistently eat. You know how I know 101 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 2: this because I was not put on earth to grow stuff. 102 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 2: I don't think anyone in my family was. To be honest, 103 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 2: we can barely keep the heartiest of plants alive and 104 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 2: have been known to kill a few cacti in my day, 105 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 2: which brings up the Dimitri Martin joke about being less 106 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 2: nurturing than a desert. Well, that's what we are. But 107 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 2: I have messed around with food plots quite a bit, 108 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 2: and I know a few things about making kill plots, 109 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 2: mostly from the things I've done wrong. It has been 110 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 2: a slow process, but I have managed to get some 111 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 2: clover to grow and some moats. My little girls have 112 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 2: managed to shoot a few deer in these plots, which 113 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 2: is pretty satisfying. The process really is pretty simple, like 114 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 2: tying flies, but there's a lot of nuance to it. 115 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 2: And the best thing you can do before clearing ground 116 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,479 Speaker 2: and starting the process, as long as you have a 117 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,400 Speaker 2: place to do it, is to ask yourself if you 118 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 2: really need a kill plot. If you hunt around tons 119 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 2: of agfields in Iowa or Illinois or somewhere, it might 120 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 2: be a hell of a lot of squeeze for very 121 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 2: little practical juice. That's not to say it isn't worth 122 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 2: it still, because there's more to planning and maintaining a 123 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 2: food plot than just killing deer in it, but it's 124 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 2: worth thinking about now. If you're in the northern Wisconsin woods, 125 00:06:57,520 --> 00:06:59,839 Speaker 2: or maybe the mountains of Pennsylvania or some other region 126 00:06:59,839 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 2: that is heavy on timber but light on destination food sources, 127 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 2: a kill plot might be one hell of a good idea. 128 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 2: Giving the deer something they don't have easy access to 129 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 2: is kind of a no brainer, like putting a pond 130 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: in where water sources are scarce, or hinge cutting the 131 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 2: crap out of some trees in an area where food 132 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 2: is plentiful but betting cover is rare. The thing is, 133 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 2: no matter where you might want to put a food 134 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 2: plot in, you'll want to get your soil tested. 135 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: First. 136 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 2: I thought this was stupid, and I told a good 137 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 2: buddy of mine just that when we bought a small 138 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 2: property together in twenty thirteen. The soil, I said, you know, 139 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 2: it looks as black as the soil in southeastern Minnesota 140 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 2: where the crop yields are real high, and so I 141 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 2: figured we didn't need to test it. My buddy, who 142 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 2: can fix anything and that makes me really jealous, said 143 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,680 Speaker 2: you can't tell anything by looking at soil. He was right, 144 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 2: of course. It's kind of like a different friend of 145 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 2: mine telling me very recently that the Golden Retriever puppy 146 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,080 Speaker 2: he ordered has a dad that looks like a dog 147 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 2: he owned twenty years ago, and since that dog was 148 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 2: a good pheasant hunter, some crazy esthetic transcendent properties will 149 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 2: come into play and the new puppies should be a 150 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 2: rooster flushing machine. That's not really how it works, unfortunately. Anyway, 151 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 2: get your soil tested. Follow the instructions so you do 152 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,559 Speaker 2: it right. You want to know the pH a your soil. 153 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 2: You know what the soil consists of for organic matter. 154 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 2: You want to know what the fertilizer recommendations are from 155 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 2: the pros. This is like the instruction booklet sort of 156 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,720 Speaker 2: for how to build a little deer buffet. Starts with 157 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,080 Speaker 2: the soil. Y'all also want to eyeball your plot just 158 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,319 Speaker 2: to see how much sunlight it'll get. Sun is real 159 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 2: important to plants since it delivers tiny little packets of 160 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,439 Speaker 2: energy called photons. Plants need these. And while you might 161 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 2: think about putting a kill plot in on a logging 162 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,040 Speaker 2: road in the timber and then just using some kind 163 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 2: of shady seed mix, that's a tough one in my experience. 164 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 2: Without a decent amount of sunlight throughout the first months 165 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,400 Speaker 2: of the growing season, just going to be in trouble 166 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 2: quite a bit. I mean, I find myself cutting down 167 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,839 Speaker 2: shrubs and trees around my kill plots every spring in 168 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 2: the interest of keeping the sunlight in and the shade out. 169 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 2: I also find myself fighting weeds a lot, and you 170 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,680 Speaker 2: will too if you march into the woods and start 171 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 2: clearing out an eighth of an acre to plant some 172 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 2: clover or something. The soil just about anywhere, but especially 173 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 2: in the woods is going to be ripe with seeds 174 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 2: of all kinds. It's just waiting for the canopy to 175 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 2: open up and so it can sprout all kinds of 176 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 2: undesirable grasses and weeds and other plants. This is a 177 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 2: lesson just about every food plot first time or learns. 178 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 2: How you deal with this is up to you. I 179 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 2: once wrote an article for Outdoor News about spraying a 180 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 2: small food plot with roundup to kill it off, and 181 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 2: you'd have sworn. I advocated drowning Labrador Retriever puppies just 182 00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 2: for fun, while simultaneously kicking toddlers in the face with 183 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 2: steel toed boots, also for fun. I guess the people 184 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 2: who got super mad at me conveniently ignored the widespread 185 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 2: use of the herbicide and many others by people working 186 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 2: thousands of acres of land and producing the food that 187 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 2: the world eats. Kind Of like how anti hunters focus 188 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 2: on us being just horrible people because of what we 189 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 2: do to animals, but not really focusing on the general 190 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 2: public and their appetite for m pigs and cows and 191 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 2: chickens and stuff. And you know the factory farming that 192 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 2: goes along with feeding a population of billions and all 193 00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 2: the bad stuff there. Any huski, maybe you have to 194 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 2: clear out and till up your spot and then spray 195 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 2: it or burn it or do something cast a curse 196 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 2: on it. I don't know, Harry Potter. That shit the weeds, 197 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 2: they're going to be an issue every year. This is 198 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 2: especially true if you're making an elbow grease food plot 199 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 2: and don't have any real equipment besides what amounts to 200 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:01,280 Speaker 2: sweat equity and manual labors. First timers opt for a 201 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,319 Speaker 2: seed blend to start with as well, figuring that if 202 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 2: I don't know, we like a variety in our diet, 203 00:11:06,679 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 2: why not the deer? Also? Why not give all kinds 204 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 2: of edible plants the chance to grow instead of one 205 00:11:12,400 --> 00:11:14,920 Speaker 2: type that might be susceptible to drought or too much 206 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 2: rain or whatever. Listen. Results vary, of course, but my 207 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 2: experience in this realm is that my seed blend plots 208 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 2: become an awful lot like weed blend plots. That's a 209 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,560 Speaker 2: dad joke for you guys. I find it's easier to 210 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:32,079 Speaker 2: pick something that should grow in my world and should 211 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,440 Speaker 2: be appealing to deer almost the entire season. That rules 212 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 2: out the blends, but also some of the stuff like 213 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 2: brassicas and other food plot plants that might be more 214 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,560 Speaker 2: beneficial as the season gets later and later and later. Personally, 215 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:49,119 Speaker 2: I want something the deer will eat in September, October, 216 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 2: and at least early November. That's just me, though you 217 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 2: do yours according to what your hunting strategies are and 218 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 2: where you live and what your soil's like. Now. I 219 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,560 Speaker 2: also like planning perennials, which means it's going to come 220 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 2: back year after a year without receding. This leads me 221 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 2: right back to clover typically because the deer love it. 222 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 2: It's pretty hardy, and a good planning will last me 223 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 2: up to about five years. Because even my clover plots 224 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 2: are so, so I will also throw in a handful 225 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 2: of oats, usually in August. Oats will damn near grow 226 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,280 Speaker 2: on pavement if they get a little rain, so this 227 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 2: is like an insurance policy in case my clover sucks. Plus, 228 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 2: where I have kill plots, good deer food is pretty 229 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 2: hard to come by, so even oats, especially fresh oats 230 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 2: that haven't headed out yet, pretty attractive. This is sort 231 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 2: of my go to from year to year. Now I 232 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 2: do spend quite a bit of time eat spring, hauling 233 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 2: in bags of lime and sometimes fertilizer. It's like my 234 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 2: soil is always in need of a pH boost that 235 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 2: line provides, and it's always in need of the extra 236 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 2: juicy juice that fertilizer provides. I've learned all of this 237 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,319 Speaker 2: through trial and error. In the places where I can 238 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,640 Speaker 2: mess with a plot, you're gonna have to find your 239 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:05,640 Speaker 2: own way. But if I could offer up general advice, 240 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 2: it would be to stick to the instructions and keep 241 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 2: things simple. The simpler you go, the easier it is 242 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 2: to figure out your problems and remedy them. I'd also 243 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 2: advise this keep your expectations in check. My absolute favorite 244 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 2: part about putting in kill plots is putting in kill plots. 245 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 2: It's fun to get your hands dirty and clear out 246 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 2: a little spot for the deer. It's fun to watch 247 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 2: the forecast and cross your fingers and realize that you 248 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 2: have a bet a deer munchi's growing out there that 249 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 2: you did yourself. What's not fun, at least for me personally, 250 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 2: is hunting over a plot. I don't know why, and 251 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,079 Speaker 2: it's not to say I don't, because sometimes I do. 252 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 2: But I get far far more enjoyment out of work 253 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 2: in the land, getting something to grow, and then going 254 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 2: to hunt somewhere else. I do, as I mentioned earlier, 255 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,719 Speaker 2: love taking my daughters out to a kill plot when 256 00:13:57,760 --> 00:13:59,719 Speaker 2: I know at least a few year have been using 257 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 2: it somewhat consistently. And I do love to see the 258 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 2: grouse and the bunnies show up too, and occasionally bears. 259 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:08,199 Speaker 2: Black bears eat a lot of different stuff, being the 260 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: not too picky omnivores they are, but I also know 261 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 2: that they love eating fresh oats and absolutely destroying the 262 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 2: raspberries that sometimes grow around my plots. I think that's 263 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 2: pretty cool, although I can't really articulate why. Another thing 264 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 2: that you'll learn to love about food plots is that 265 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 2: if you want to keep them going, you gotta do 266 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 2: the work. A lot of white tail hunting isn't really 267 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 2: that much work these days, which is one of the 268 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 2: reasons we love trail cameras. They just do so much 269 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:39,200 Speaker 2: of the heavy lifting for us now, unless you pay 270 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 2: someone else to put your plots in, which if you 271 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 2: do that, you're not really worried about a small kill 272 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 2: plot in the woods. Anyway. You're just gonna have to 273 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 2: do some work from year to year. There will be 274 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 2: brush to clear in the winter, soil to work in 275 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,480 Speaker 2: the spring, maintenance like mowing throughout the season, and probably 276 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 2: if you're like me, you'll just find yourself piss sing 277 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 2: off some yellow jacket and nests in the process. Because 278 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 2: of those feisty som bitches seem to love food plots, 279 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 2: and it gives me super great satisfaction to find a 280 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 2: nest of them that has recently been dug up by 281 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 2: a bear. Take that, you stingy pricks. So is a 282 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 2: little kill plot the answer to your deer hunting woes. 283 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 2: Probably not, but it's another part of the process to love, 284 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 2: and it just might keep a dough group or two 285 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 2: around one of your favorite stand sites, or maybe you're 286 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 2: into it just for your first buck, and that little 287 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 2: six pointer who kind of got booted out of his 288 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 2: home range and he's looking for someplace new decides to 289 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:38,320 Speaker 2: set up shop in your clover. Maybe that's good enough 290 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 2: and you're gonna be able to go in there and 291 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 2: shoot him, Or those dough groups that swing through for 292 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 2: a mouth full of clover happen to decide that your 293 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 2: kill plot is going to be a part of their 294 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 2: day to day life, and on one of those days, 295 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 2: maybe about the first week of November, one of the 296 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 2: big boys in the neighborhood will follow them into the 297 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 2: plot while you're sitting over it. Or maybe maybe you 298 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 2: know someone who's never killed a deer and they'd be 299 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 2: tickled pink to arrow dough and you could facilitate that 300 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 2: right quick with your little clover plot. Or perhaps you 301 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,120 Speaker 2: have twin girls who want to contribute to the family 302 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 2: dowry of venison, and so they hunt hungry in a 303 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 2: spot where a few doughs and a few spikes and 304 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 2: forki's are likely to show up at some point in 305 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 2: the season, and then when they do, you see one 306 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 2: hell of a benefit to work in the soil and 307 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 2: sweating your ass off and dodging some bees. Now, listen, 308 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 2: I know some people who are going to hear this, 309 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 2: and they're going to say food plots or bait plots, 310 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 2: and that's essentially cheating to them. I say, I don't 311 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 2: care you do you and you hunt natural travel roads exclusively, 312 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 2: that's what blows the wind up your skirt. A lot 313 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 2: of hunters aren't like that, And honestly, when almost any 314 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 2: hunter has the chance to put in a kill plot, 315 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,360 Speaker 2: they usually do. A lot of them fail, which is 316 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 2: not a story you hear out of the hunting industry 317 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 2: very often, but it's true. It's not as easy as 318 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 2: it looks to take a patch of woods or a 319 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 2: natural meadow and transform it into a lush, beautiful spot 320 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 2: full of the kind of calories that deer just can't ignore. 321 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 2: But it is fun. So get out there if you 322 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 2: can and start thinking about how to babysit the soil 323 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 2: a little bit to get something beneficial to grow. And 324 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,160 Speaker 2: tune in next week because it is the one hundredth 325 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 2: episode of Foundations, and just for the hell of it, 326 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 2: I'm going to tell you some deer hunting stories that 327 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 2: might make you laugh, might make you ponder your own success, 328 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,520 Speaker 2: and will probably make you question how the hell I 329 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,679 Speaker 2: ever killed a single deer with my bowe in my life. 330 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,479 Speaker 2: That's it for this week, my friends, thank you so 331 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:28,879 Speaker 2: much for tuning in. I'm Tony Peterson. This has been 332 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 2: the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, which is brought to 333 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 2: you by First Light. If you want more deer hunting advice, 334 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 2: you want to read up a little bit more on 335 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,600 Speaker 2: on how to hunt hunting strategy, styles, tactics, whatever gear, 336 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 2: go on over to the medieater dot com slash wired again, 337 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 2: that's the medieater dot com slash wired, and you'll see 338 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,400 Speaker 2: a pile of hunting articles there, written by a whole 339 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 2: bunch of different hunting experts.