Ahh Spring, Budding Trees, Fishing, Turkey Season, and the annual cleaning of the Man Cave (the Garage). Nature jumping back to life from the grip of Old Man Winter.
Spring is also a great time to get ready for next Deer Season. It won’t be long and those bucks that gave you the slip you last season will start growing their antlers back. This is my seasonal reminder to freshen up my mineral licks and search for potential locations to start another. The next 4-6 months is when your whitetail population will utilize and get the most benefit from these licks.
Every spring before “green up” I pack a lunch, take my aerial map, and pick a section of my hunting property I normally don’t spend much time on. With map in hand, I get “intimate” with it by walking every inch. While “exploring”, I mark unique features such as game trails, potential treestand locations, water crossings, and certain types of trees, such as white oak or persimmon. It is amazing how pieces of the “puzzle” come together using this method of scouting. Combine this technique with shed hunting and it makes a fun filled day in the woods. Throw in a morning turkey hunt and it’s the Super Bowl of a spring day.
Another great spring scouting tool is to fly over your property in a small plane. If you know someone with a pilots license great! If not, just visit your local airport or look in the Yellow Pages under Air Services or Aircraft Charter. Tell them you want to fly over your hunting property. A four seat Cessna will cost approximately $125 an hour to rent with pilot. Take two of your hunting buddies and divide the cost by three. If you have never done this before trust me, it will be the best “scouting” money ever spend. You will be amazed at what can be seen from low level flight. Of course best time to do this is before the trees get their leaves. Be sure to take your aerial map with you so discoveries and unique features can be marked down while airborne.
Now clean up that Man Cave and get scouting….there are only 185 days until season kicks off, time is short !!
Mark Bernegger
Comments