High Water Whitetails

As a born and bred Florida Cracker, I was raised on the gospel of deer hunting swamps. Grandpa solemnly preached the benefits of hunting the wet, nasty swamps. When the water levels are high, the smart deer take advantage of it and seek out the tiny islands for sanctuary.

There have even been studies done on the subject by whitetail biologists that prove, along with my own experience, that the old timer was spot on. One of the best studies on hunting high-water bucks was conducted by the University of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Wildlife. Yes, they have swamps up there too. Anyway, they trapped and collared adult bucks and does and tracked them over a four year period one big tip they found was that the big bucks rarely left the swamp until it was well after sundown.

I’ve found that to be true over many years of hunting the river swamps along the Withlacoochee River Corridor. Whenever I find a little island of dry ground, I find tremendous deer signs. Those older bucks feel safe in those swamps because hunters want to wade in to a tree stand through thick nasty mud or water full of lots of hidden obstacles to trip you up. And, no matter which direction a hunter approached, those deer can hear you coming, plain as day. But, the payoff can be worth all the extra pains it takes to get there.

I watch the feeding charts pretty carefully and when I find a primary feed period lining up just prior to daylight, I take advantage of it. That way I stand a chance to sneak into the swamp and reach the island while the deer aren’t bedded and can intercept them at daylight as they return to their sanctuary. Nowadays, I’m too old, too far and too crippled up to just take off wading around hoping to find the islands. Instead, I use my laptop.

The cheat code for hunting swamps is e-scouting with aerial maps. More so than with any other habitat type, online aerial maps lay out the secrets of swamps like a picture book. Look amongst the vast canopy of cypress for the tops of oaks, maples and such. If you can get a topographical overlay and know how to read it, you can save yourself a heck of a lot of scouting time. These islands can be just a few yards of dry ground to acreage, but just like Granddaddy always told me; they definitely hold deer!

Now folks, I’m headed south for the ten-day, Florida Python Challenge, a competition hosted by Governor DeSantis, intended to stimulate interest from the public in hunting the Burmese pythons. He’s once again posted a mighty fine pile of cash for the winners. I’ll be working the Western edges of the Everglades in Collier County. If any of you are heading that way hopefully of a Python payday, shoot me an e-mail. Perhaps we can meet up and hunt them together.

As always, I can be reached at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!