Outdoor Essentials BLOG

Late Season Trail Camera Strategies

2011-12-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

With the first rut over and late season here, trail cameras mean as much to me today as they did in the entire summer while collecting data of who's who on the buck list. Now nearly 5 months later I want to know who has survived the early hunting seasons, who got pushed into my farm because of hard hunting neighbors and most importantly I want to know if I need to be fired up for Muzzleloader & late Bow season! So yes, to me this is a critical time and I need some answers!

There are a few key areas you can focus on when hanging your cameras at this late stage of the hunting season. It's no secret that trail cameras won't get you that big buck. But it's a fact that they will tell you if he's still alive or better yet if he is even there. Trail cameras will help you gather the data and make some stand adjustments and help strengthen your late season strategy. Lets take a look!

Standing corn is a MAGNET for late season whitetails!

Food Sources: Standing corn and/or Beans are a late season magnet for whitetails. Throw in a few inches of snow and the icing is on the cake. You can place cameras on field edges or on heavily used trails leading to and from the food. It's a good idea to have the cameras in easy-in / easy-out locations to minimize the risk of bumping deer while swapping out the SD media cards & batteries.

Bedding Entrances: In most cases, the thickest parts of your property are the bedding areas. However, don't rule out open areas with excellent visibility and easy escape routes. Thickets are not always the safest place for whitetails and older mature bucks know this; especially during the late season. I tend to believe that the amount of pressure applied by hunters prior to late season has a lot to do with this. Find the well worn trails leading in and out of the bedding area and place your cameras about 5 feet high, angling them down. This gets the camera of plane sight and lessens the chance of the flash detection(white flash or red flash).

Field Edge Scrapes: Even though the rut is gone, field edge scrapes will always attract every buck that comes into the field during daylight and night time hours. They simply cannot resist it and feel compelled to visit. Even if they do not work the scrape, the bucks will come smell it and smile for the camera. Place cameras high and above eye level and try not to touch anything with your bare hands.

Mock Scrapes: This is my old favorite and it can be used at any time of the season....even summer. Bucks simply love to visit these and when you doctor them up with scent, it closes the deal. I bring a small rake along with me, find an overhanging branch and scrape away. I am a big fan of Code Blue for the mock scrapes and I get countless bucks on film working the scrapes. Some simply urinate in the scrape and Wala! I have done that too and it works!

Feed Sites: If legal in your area, feeding the deer with grains is an excellent way to gather photos of the deer on the property. Contrary to popular opinion, it is extremely hard to get mature bucks to visit feed locations during daylight hours. But it can allow you to intercept him going to or from the location if you have done your homework.

Growing up here on the Eastern Shore has exposed me to 2 of my favorite fall/winter outdoor activities..... deer and waterfowl hunting. I love them both but by Christmas I make the transition from deer to birds. I sometimes reference this as "Time to stop looking down and time to start looking up!" But that does not mean I don't keep a constant eye on the deer and that is how trail cameras help me with data during the late season. My late season deer outings are as methodical as my regular season outings and I only go when the conditions warrant and I feel like I have a good chance to cross paths with a good one. I check my cameras every 4 days to keep a watchful eye on the activity. Trail cameras will help me ID the deer and give me an idea of where they have been hanging out, along with the date and time. It also shows me when bucks begin to shed out and by all means, I use the trail camera data when going after a few late season does for management and freezer purposes.

The technology we have at our fingertips today is remarkable. Trail cameras have been a part of my life for several years now and I consider them a hunting tool and a management tool. I can't honestly say that a trail camera has directly helped me kill a deer. But they have helped me know who is in the area and when the best times are to be in the stand. Collect this data and the rest is up to you. Hunt smart, use the wind and remember, it's their house!

Illinois Gun Season

2011-11-22T08:18:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love Bow Hunting whitetails and I dream up the next encounter every single day. But there is something exciting about sitting in dang good stand with an accurate gun in your hands on the Illinois gun season opener! When you get settled into your stand and daylight starts its break, there just seems to be a different feeling that warms you all over. To top it off, I was joined by my good friend Jeff Hull and, well, lets just say that doubling up on this hunt was something we texted about in the weeks leading up to the hunt!!

Rather than go into great detail, the video should tell it all. Two guys having fun and having a good conversation. enjoy!

Best Choice for Perennial Plot

2011-08-01T12:34:00.001-04:00

As a professional Land Manager I would have to say that across the board, the most frequent question I receive from future food plotters is “What’s the best choice for a perennial food plot?” To be quite honest, no matter how many times I field that question, I never get tired of giving the answer. It’s easy to answer because there is only one answer! Whether you are in the red clay dirt of Georgia, the Black-Foot soils of the Midwest or the light loam soils of the Northeastern tier the best choice for a perennial food plot is Trifolium……….aka CLOVER! Clover is the king of perennials, hands down! Once established and cleaned out, nothing can out-perform or out-attract deer like a good quality perennial Clover….nothing!

I first became intrigued with clover many years ago here on the east coast (before trail cameras) when I watched a group of velvet bucks one summer evening walk out of a standing corn field and through a bean field 200 yards to get to a lush clover field where they stayed face-down till after dark. I witnessed this routine many times that summer and although I would see them eating the soybeans frequently, the draw to the clover was deliberate, obvious and on point. Their late afternoon agenda was to get to the clover--that was it! After seeing this first hand that summer it raised my attention level and I wanted to learn more.

I have found that the same can be said for the Midwest results as well. A couple of years ago I invited my long time Tecomate hunting partner, Blaine Burley(Inventor & owner of The Plotmaster) of south Georgia to join me for a 3 day gun hunt at my farm in west central Illinois. We were filming an episode for the Bucks of Tecomate TV and our afternoon hunts were filmed over clover fields. Each afternoon the deer would pour into my clover fields for about 30 minutes of chow-down before moving on to the cut corn field. Blaine ended up killing a Booner on that hunt and the key ingredient to our success was having clover that was healthy and attracting a LOT of does. When does hold strong on a feed pattern with clover, bucks will certainly follow, especially during the Rut. The formula is quite simple: Clover + November + Does = Bucks!

Across the board, clover has it all. It is high in protein, easy to maintain, available longer than anything else in a 12 month period and deer naturally love it! And, unlike foreign cultivars that deer have never come face to face with before, you don’t need to train deer how to eat clover. Additionally, one of the strongest attributes of clover is its consistent ability to provide highly digestible protein at the very start of spring. This is a critical time in a whitetail’s life and protein sources are few and far between. Bucks are stressed from the rut and winter. Likewise, does are pregnant and are looking to satisfy nutritional needs in preparation for giving birth to their young. As you can see, having a healthy clover plot on your property can have a significant impact on your deer at an extremely important time of the 12 month cycle.

So, hands down Clover gets my vote as being the number 1 choice for a perennial food plot. When you are spending your hard earned dollars on fertilizer, equipment, fuel and time, it’s important that you select a quality perennial clover seed. Tecomate will meet all of your seed needs, particularly in the perennial clover department. I trust them and have trusted them for nearly 8 years.

6 Great Trail Camera Tips

2011-05-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

Although it is only mid May, reports of serious beam growth are coming in from a few 'Cammers in the area. So as the trail camera season gets closer and closer, I thought I would share some important and valuable Trail Camera tips that will help you prepare for better, more prepared and safer trips in the woods.

1) Active Mineral Location: If legal in your state, active mineral locations WILL be the most productive spots on your farm for capturing deer pictures, particularly buck pictures. Mineral locations are easy to start, easy to maintain, inexpensive and keeps you from trodding all over your farm and chasing deer everywhere in hopes to get their picture. When you have an active mineral location, you will get countless pictures of every single buck using your property for the summer. Mineral locations keep human activity to a minimum all summer long. If you think mature bucks don't care about summer walking and intrusion where they enjoy being, you absolutely have another thing coming! Mineral Locations will show you all you need to see from an identification standpoint.

2) Protect Your Camera From Insects: Yep, not only is it a good idea to spray up and protect yourself from ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes. But think about your camera too! How many times have you opened your camera only to find spiders, web nests, ants and wood crickets all inside! How did they get in there?????? Well, you can easily head this off a couple ways. First off, once you select the tree you are going to hang your camera on, you can heavily spray the bark and surrounding bark area with Permethrin or Permanone. Personally I prefer Permethrin from Sawyer Products. This alone will help deter the little critters for several weeks. You can also take a cotton ball and soak it with Permethrin and tape on the inside of your camera. This will double protect the inside of your camera. note: be careful of applying this and other insect products directly to the camera, as this may melt some plastics.

3) Secure Your Camera: Trail Cameras are being stolen at an alarming rate and the one thing you can do is protect your investment. The best way to do this is with a heavy duty security box. Make sure to use a 5/16 Python Lock and do NOT tighten the lock. Loose python lock cables are a LOT harder to cut with bolt cutters than taunt ones! Secondly, if you have a history of camera thievery in the area, you can set up dummy camera(old broken cameras) as bait and place a fully functional camera several feet up in a tree. This year Spy Point Scouting Cameras has a new theft catching camera on the market called the Tiny W. This little camera takes a picture then sends a 2nd copy of the image to the "Black Box" which is hidden or burried somewhere in the woods within 50 ft. When the thief steals the camera, there is no way he knows his image has been sent wirelessly(free) to a second location. This will prove to be a HUGE hit this year!!

4) Carry an Accessories Bag: There is nothing worse than showing up to your camera only to find that you forgot batteries, SD Cards or any necessary tools. You can keep that to a minimum by designating a small bag or backpack/fanny pack for carrying your "possibles." My pack contains clippers, small saw, Python Lock keys, SD Cards, Batteries, Q Tips for cleaning lenses, cotton balls, insect repellent and in most cases, drinking water. Having a pack with these types of supplies in a HUGE asset. Put one of these together this season and you will be thankful!!

5) Keep Notes: Keeping notes is a great idea during the trail camera season. Notes can range from where the cameras are and which bucks and how many bucks you are getting pictures of. If you have multiple cameras this is a really BIG help! There are times when I have absolutely lost trail cameras because I could not remember where I placed it. So keep notes!!

6) SAFETY: If you are running a string of cameras you know full well the best time to swap cards is the middle of the day. This falls during the summer and it can be blistering hot. Make sure you let others know where you are going. Which farm and where. Carry your cell phone with you but most importantly, let others know where you are!!

For a complete line of trail camera supplies, stop by The Land Management Store

2011-05-04T08:51:00.000-04:00

Once the ground was prepped properly, I used a 3 row Yetter(JD) 71 planter with sunflower plates. I planted a population of 15,000 seeds per acre at 30" spacing. After planting I sprayed pre emergent right on the dirt.....1 quart of Prowl H20, 24 oz of Linex 4L and 1 quart Medal II per acre. Electric fence will be installed on this sunflower patch(for dove) in the coming days to keep the deer out.

Preparing the ground for Sunflowers

2011-05-04T08:41:00.001-04:00

This ground tested 6.8 on the ph level. Fertility was good and we juiced the ground with 450 lbs of triple 19 fertilizer, disced it in, rototilled & cultipacked to prepare for planting Clearfield Sunflowers. This field will have an electric fence installed in the coming days to keep the deer out

Trip to Georgia

2011-05-01T22:31:00.001-04:00

This past week I flew to Georgia to meet up with the rest of the Tecomate hunting crew-including 2 of our newest team members, Dr. Mickey Hellickson & Duncan Dobie. We spent a few days at the cabin along with the Orion Multimedia Production team filming Management Minutes, Hunting Hotseat Segments & Fireside Forum Discussions. Great food, awesome hospitality and I even got in a little fishing!

Confused Transition

2011-03-31T17:16:00.001-04:00

This time last year I had at least half of my sunflower ground worked up and ready for late April seed. But right now it does not want to break away from winter here in the north east and parts of New York are getting hammered with snow as I write this! March may be leaving us today but its memory is going to follow us into April, I can assure you. According to the long range forecast there is no significant warming trend registering. And with rain, snow and cold filling up the next 10 days, this is absolutely unfolding as a classic CT(Confused Transition)

Hopefully we can break out of it, and soon!

Mali
Outdoor Essentials

It's really getting close boys!

2011-03-17T23:23:00.000-04:00

After looking at the 10 day forecast for my area, it looks like things are starting to fall into place. Yep, there is some rain on tap for Saturday and early next week. But the temperatures are climbing up and the overnight temps are rising as well. Given our current mark on the calendar and April on the horizon, I would say we can expect some great things in the coming short weeks

Its gonna be a busy one for Outdoor Essentials. We have several clover fields to install right off the bat then we attack the Sunflower fields with a vengeance. Sunflower cutoff date is May 1 and I use May 8 as our absolute fail safe. Then its on to Impoundment Ponds and warm season annuals. Ultimately mid to end of June is spray time. July is relax month!

Long track ahead but fun none the less. Please follow us and we will be updating the blog at least once per day till the chaos is over!

Outdoor Essentials

Outdoor Essentials Eagle Seed Podcast Interview

2011-03-12T11:50:00.000-05:00

Eagle Seed is becoming one of the most popular names with Land Managers when it comes to planting for wildlife and if you have ever wanted to know what Eagle Seed is, how it started, how to plant it, how to grow it and how to take care of it......we got you covered right here!!

On this weeks episode of Outdoor Essentials Land Management Podcast, I do an in depth interview with Brad Doyle, owner and operator of Eagle Seed, home of the Large Ladd & Big Fellow roundup ready Forage Soybean. We hope you enjoy it and please follow us or comment below the Podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Outdoor Essentials Season Journal & Land Management Podcasts: Lindsay Thomas Podcast Interview/Quality Whitetail...

2011-03-01T23:15:00.000-05:00

Outdoor Essentials Season Journal & Land Management Podcasts: Lindsay Thomas Podcast Interview/Quality Whitetail...: "Trail Camera Podcasts March 1, 2011 Outdoor Essentials Podcast Interview with Lindsay Thomas jr, Quality Whitetail Magazine Editor (Q..."

Lindsay Thomas Podcast Interview/Quality Whitetails Magazine

2011-03-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

Trail Camera Podcasts

March 1, 2011

Outdoor Essentials Podcast Interview with Lindsay Thomas jr, Quality Whitetail Magazine Editor (QDMA)

I had a great interview with Lindsay today and he went into detail about QDMA's new book Deer Cameras: The Science of Scouting. You can purchase this book HERE. Enjoy the Podcast!

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Outdoor Essentials Season Journal & Land Management Podcasts: Just my Blogs

2011-03-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

Outdoor Essentials Season Journal & Land Management Podcasts: Just my Blogs: "The Season Never Really Ends by Mali Vujanic Many outdoor folk in the north call this the longest-dullest two and a half months in the ..."

Clover is the King of all Food Plots

2011-02-25T22:54:00.000-05:00

There are a whole slew of things you can plant for whitetailed deer. But none can take the place of a good quality prennial legume like Clover. Check out my Podcast on Clover....why, where and how!

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My Podcast Interview with MD QDMA President EW Grimes

2011-02-25T22:44:00.000-05:00

Hailing from Maryland I am proud to have EW Grimes as our QDMA State Chapter President. He is constantly working his tail off to promote QDMA. Great having you over last week EW!!

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My Podcast Interview with Best Outdoors ( planters and food plots )

2011-02-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

What a great discussion I had with Jeff Best of Best Outdoors. We talked about the Food Plot Industry and products we used for planting plots.

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My Podcast Interview with DLC Covert Scouting Cameras

2011-02-25T22:20:00.003-05:00

Here is my Podcast Interview with DLC Covert Scouting Cameras. Dave Skinner(VP Marketing) sat down with me this week to discuss the all new line coming to the market in March.

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My new Podcast Interviews

2011-02-25T22:09:00.005-05:00

With the massive expansion of Land Management here in the northern tier of the United States, I have launched my own series of Podcast Interview. Over the years I have built some incredible friendships and alliances throughout the Land Management community and it is here that I will share these interviews with you. I intend on uploading 2 Podcast per week from now through the summer

Itchin to get in the dirt

2011-02-25T21:28:00.001-05:00

Winter is starting to come to a close and I am so, so ready to get on the tractor and work some ground! We have a LOT worked lined up for this spring and it is going to prove to be the biggest year yet for Outdoor Essentials!