The old saw about ethics being “the things you do when no one is watching” rang true for my friend Jeff VanDoorn two years ago. Jeff, who with his brother Tom owns a beautiful little deer camp in Wisconsin’s North Woods, had arrived at their cabin the day before the state’s firearms season opener. Jeff was busy with the usual routines to open up the camp — fueling the generator, hauling groceries, restocking lime for the outhouse — when he glanced past the front lawn. Standing in a food plot not 40 yards from the cabin door was a buck that Jeff and his family had hunted for several seasons. The monster 12-point — a buck that had been as elusive as a ghost during any open season — fed contentedly on clover, unconcerned that it was early afternoon and a human watched him.
Such times can try a man’s soul. With no legal hunting method available to him (Wisconsin had a two-day moratorium on hunting prior to the firearms opener) Jeff had to content
himself with watching a trophy-class
whitetail feed like a dairy cow for
several long minutes. Naturally, the
buck never showed himself to Jeff or any
member of his hunting party, for the duration of their hunt.
BIG
WOODS BUFFET
That
story always serves as Exhibit A when I think
of the power of food plots in the big woods.
I’ve had the pleasure of deer hunting from
this camp, and the nearest agricultural holding
— a poorly-tended hay field baled twice a
year to feed horses — is nearly 20 miles away,
and serious farm country doesn’t begin until you’ve logged an hour in your truck. Many hunters from northern latitudes know entire counties that don’t contain a single working farm. In regions like this, resident
whitetails eat as deer have eaten for
centuries, consuming grasses and forbs
in spring, summer and early fall, and
browse in the fall and winter months. As
my friends have learned, planting a food plot in country like this can be akin to opening a restaurant in a town full of oil field
workers who are too busy to cook. But growing and hunting over food plots in heavily forested country is anything but a
cake walk. Here are some tips to make
big woods plots work.
SITE
SELECTION
The biggest challenge to big woods food plotters is the most obvious — all those
darned trees getting in the way. Not
only do the trees themselves present as
an obstacle, but they also block
sunlight from prospective plots. While there
are certainly shade-tolerant food plot offerings
(Secret Spot and Bow Stand are two products
I’ve used with good success), generally the
more sun a plant gets, the healthier it will
grow. This makes site selection a critical step in the big woods food plotter’s plan. The best, least-expensive, and
most-productive option is to plant in a
pre-existing opening. One example that
I’ve seen used with great success is a
log “landing” — a spot that loggers have
cleared to store hardwood or pulp trees after
they’ve been harvested, but before trucks
can haul them out. Landings are typically located on relatively level, well-drained sites that
logging trucks can reach without getting
stuck, a happy fact that can also make
them excellent spots for a food plot.
Log landings vary in size, but I’ve
rarely seen one too small to host a productive
plot. Other openings can
sometimes be found in heavily forested
areas. Old farm sites and homesteads may
still be largely devoid of trees, with grass,
weeds or brush presenting the only obstacle
to a well-lit plot. Naturally-occurring meadows
and small grassy areas can also be converted
to food plots. Don’t be tempted to plant
in a seemingly dry marsh or wetland. Not
only are these areas frequently protected by state regulations, but even if a food plot is
a legal option, lowland areas will
definitely fill with water at some
point. Leave such areas for the critical
habitat they provide for big woods birds
and other wildlife. Finally, of
course, you can carve a food plot in a
forest by simply removing trees. The easiest
method is to start your plot in the aftermath of a logging operation (more on this later); this way you don’t have to provide
(or pay for) the heavy equipment and
labor for tree removal. Some landowners
I know have worked a deal with their
logging crew to bulldoze stumps and
rocks from pre-determined areas as part
of the logging contract. It’s common for
loggers to own or lease bulldozers to create
access roads, and carving out a plot or two
is typically not a problem for them. This is
also much less expensive than simply hiring someone with heavy equipment to visit a
property miles from civilization. You
have likely read about the importance of
soil prep — applying lime to adjust pH and fertilizing to maximize plant growth — in virtually every issue of Whitetail News, but if you’re
starting food plots in timbered areas,
do all you can to achieve this step.
Soils in forested areas are typically
highly acidic, and bringing up the pH can
require a heavy dose of lime. Make sure the
pH is in the neutral range, and you’ll notice a huge difference in productivity. Deciding what to plant can also be a
challenge in heavily forested areas.
Expect your plots to receive heavy
grazing pressure for two reasons. First,
the plot you plant will likely be the
“only show in town” when it comes to food
plot fare. Second, because big woods plots are typically smaller, it doesn’t take a lot of
deer or many visits to have a pretty
dramatic effect. Plant varieties that
can stand up to heavy grazing, as well
as those that feature a window of
attraction (such as brassicas) will be the
safest bets. Given my druthers,
I’d establish Imperial Whitetail Clover
in at least a third of my big woods food
plots. Highly attractive and nutritious,
clover will be a go-to plot for deer most of the year, and as soon as snow leaves the
landscape, it is one of the first plants
to green up. Northern deer can survive
some pretty brutal winters, but come
spring thaw they’re a hungry, scraggly-looking
bunch of critters, and clover will give
them the boost they need at a critical time. Even better, a lush Imperial
Clover plot will sustain bucks, does and
fawns most of the year and provide a
fantastic early-season hunting opportunity
when it comes time to target a big woods
buck. Naturally, clover comes with a catch
(at least in my experience). It can take a
little more time and effort to establish, and if your trips to your property are limited, that commitment might not be practical. Other great options also exist. I planted Whitetail Forage Oats Plus near my home last year, and I was convinced this would be a
perfect fit for my friends, the
VanDoorns. For starters, oats are easy
to plant. Though proper and thorough
soil prep will yield better results, I’m
convinced these large, aggressive seeds would
germinate in a rock quarry if that was their
only option. Oats can also be planted in
late summer or early fall, which means time crunched food plotters can make a weekend trip or two just prior to archery season, get
their planting done, and have a
hunt-ready plot that will provide action
for several weeks or months. Finally,
brassicas — like Tall Tine Tubers or Winter-Greens
— are another stellar choice for the big
woods. Since whitetails typically focus on
brassicas after the first hard frosts of the season, this can be an ideal strategy for keeping deer from consuming a plot before you have
the opportunity to hunt it. It is a
problem that can arise if deer numbers
are high enough, your plots are
relatively small, or other natural food sources
fail and leave whitetails with few options.
But the biggest bonus of brassicas is that
they provide big woods deer with a high energy,
highly attractive food option for the
stressful conditions of late fall and winter.
RAISING
THE BAR
While food plots are a wonderful addition to any heavily timbered property, don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re the final answer
to making the ground reach its full
potential. Proper timber management will
also attract and hold deer on a
year-round basis and result in healthier
whitetails and better hunting. Remember,
northern whitetails have to endure extended
winters, and counting on food plots to sustain
deer until snow melt may not be a realistic
goal. That’s when a sound timber management program can kick in and help whitetails last through the often-brutal conditions from late November through green-up. The Van Doorn property is a classic example of a logging plan done right. This region of northern Wisconsin is known for strong
populations of aspen, and aggressive
logging practices like clear-cutting
keep this important tree species
available for whitetails and other wildlife.
Aspen benefits from clear-cutting because
a harvested tree sends shoots out from its
root system — a process called “sucker sprouting”
— in some cases as far as 100 feet from
the original stump. Though aspen trees do
produce seeds, seedlings only flourish in full sunlight. In short, clear-cutting is the best method for maintaining vital stands of aspen. Consult with a forester, habitat specialist,
or professional logger (preferably one
with a deer hunting background) to
develop a timber harvest plan that will
maintain aspen stands of uneven ages
throughout your property. Another, and
often-neglected, aspect of habitat management
in northern regions is the creation and
management of conifer species. Research
has proven that whitetails can withstand
brutally cold temperatures and biting
winds, assuming they can access thermal cover provided by species like cedar, spruce and
pine. Indeed, northern whitetails will
often travels dozens of miles to such
winter “yarding” areas. While creating
an area may be difficult, establishing and/or
maintaining small groves of conifers can
certainly help resident whitetails ride
out a difficult winter. Again, the best method
for doing this is to consult with a forester
or habitat specialist to develop a plan.
Though forestry projects require a long-term commitment, they’re extremely beneficial to deer and highly satisfying to the folks lucky enough to participate in the process.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
I’ve found food plots to be effective and fun no matter where I’ve planted them, but for me they have a special allure in the big woods. Perhaps it’s because it takes some extra time and sweat to carve a plot out in the timber.
Or is it because whitetails oftentimes
respond to a plot of clover or brassicas
with even more enthusiasm than farm
country deer? I haven’t answered those
questions for myself yet, but I do know
this: When an old monarch whitetail, a deer
nearly impossible to see in this environment,
shows up at a food plot, it’s a pretty special moment. Even if opening day is still around the corner.
