My Hunting Calender

I often hear people say “What am I going to do now that hunting season is over?” or “I can’t wait for next hunting season, so I can get back out there.” I don’t understand these statements. I have found that the time in between hunting seasons is sometimes the busiest time for me all year. Once hunting season rolls around, the fun begins and the work needs to be done. If you wait until hunting season to prepare, you are in trouble. Believe me, I have done that, and it will make for miserable hunting. If you are asking yourself, “What is he is talking about?” let me explain.

The first few weeks after deer hunting is over, I sit down and make a list of all our treestand locations. I usually put them on an aerial map and go through one by one and decide if the stand stays or if it needs to be moved. I may not decide exactly where I will move it to, but I pick a general location, so I can look over that area and find a suitable tree. Sometimes I come to the conclusion that I need more stands and there is no better time to buy treestands than the end of deer season. If you buy them in February or March, you could save yourself up to 30%-40%. If you wait until September, forget about any kind of sale.

This is also a perfect opportunity to work on your hunting pack. If you are anything like me, you have a bag or backpack you keep all of your “tools” in. My pack includes everything I might need for a day in the woods. Get your pack out and go through all the items. Decide if anything needs to be replaced or if ther

e is something you didn’t have that you needed during your previous hunting season. Again, there is no better time than February or March to update your “tools”. The main reason for taking care of tree stands and hunting packs as soon as the season is over is that memories of the past season are fresh in your mind. If I waited until September, I would probably forget the ideas I had the previous year to improve my situation. I would wind up wasting valuable time I could have spent hunting on making trips to my favorite outdoor store to find items I could have had eight months earlier.

What else do experienced hunters do in the spring? Scout, scout and scout some more. It is a great time of year to get back into your hunting area and check it out. The vegetation is still non-existent, so you can see the trails that are being used and determine the heavy duty trails. The best part of scouting now is you can take your time and go slow. Check out areas that you usually avoid during hunting season. This helps determine how the deer are traveling from bedding to feeding areas and where your best chance to intercept them in the fall is going to be. Take your list or map with possible new treestand locations and check out those areas. You need to pick out a good tree because you will now be moving stands. There is nothing more frustrating than sitting in a tree stand that should have been moved 40 yards. You might even get lucky and find a few sheds.

There are two great reasons for moving stands early in the spring. First, you can put up your stand, get in it and look around. What you are seeing is the same thing you will see in the fall. The leaves are down and that keeps trimming to a minimum. Second, it’s March. That stand is going to sit there for at least seven months before you get in it again. The scent problem is eliminated and the deer have plenty of time to get used to the stand being there.

April is when I like to start putting out mineral supplement. If you can get some supplemental minerals into the deer herd in your area through the spring and summer, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. It will allow the does to raise healthier fawns and benefit the bucks during the antler development stage. April to May is also when I like to get my trail cameras back out in the woods. Usually by late April or early May, bucks are starting to sprout some antler, and it won’t be long after that and you will start getting pictures of does with their fawns. April and May are great months for getting a head start on the upcoming season, but don’t get so busy that you don’t leave time to bag a gobbler or two.

an> Summer is now here and it’s starting to get hot. Make sure you have your summer food plots planted. June and July are definitely my slowest months. I will have some food plot maintenance to take care of; mainly mowing and spraying. One thing you can do is find a good spot overlooking a food source and check it out in the evenings. It doesn’t need to be close to the food source; it is actually better if you can stay back off the food source and use binoculars or a spotting scope to see the field. This is a great time to observe your deer herd. Sometimes when it gets later in the summer, you will be able to pattern a big buck and increase your odds once hunting season opens. Don’t forget to keep checking your trail cameras.

August is here. It is time to get ready for the all important fall food plots. I like to have my fall plots in by the end of August. Depending on the weather forecast, maybe even as early as August 20^th. Planning the placement of your fall food plots is very important. You need to make sure that your plots are designed to meet your hunting needs. I always plan carefully when deciding where my plots need to be and what needs to be planted. Fall food plots can be the key to your hunting success. Again, check your trail cameras.

September could possibly be the longest month of the year. The season is getting close and every time the temperature drops and the leaves start to change colors, I get that excited feeling I used to get as a kid at Christmastime. This is the time to take care of anything you have put off. You need to get all your gear in order, so when October finally arrives, you are ready to have some fun. If you have done your work during the “off-season”, you should be ready to go.

The one thing I haven’t mentioned yet is probably the most important part of getting prepared for the hunting season. Practice with your shooting equipment. If you are a bow hunter, you should be shooting your bow throughout the year. Don’t wait until the week before the season opens to dust it off and shoot. You will not be confident in your shooting and more than likely, you will have maintenance issues to take care of. Late September is the worst time of year to try to get work done on a bow. If you have ever seen the traffic in a bow shop at this time of year, you will know exactly what I am talking about. Practice all year and you will have the confidence and skills necessary to quickly and cleanly kill the deer of your dreams.

So, you have prepared all year and now you are ready for the reward. Head out to your favorite hunting spot and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Be safe and hunt hard. You have earned it.

Dan Ketchum

In Your Backyard Iowa Hunting Pro Staff

Old River

le="font-size: 11pt;"> Outfitters Guide

I’m sure you all heard about the proposed license fee increase and now the retraction of those fees due to the economy.

“The proposal to raise fees was very difficult for us and the decision now to postpone the request is equally as hard. Because of the continued severity of the economic downturn, we felt that now was not a good time to be raising fees,” said DNR Director Richard Leopold.

On the plus side, Leopold said Gov. Chet Culver is proposing $6 million in supplemental funding in his budget for weather-related damages suffered last year by the department.

“We look forward to resuming this discussion with hunters, anglers and trappers. The Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund belongs to them and we very much value their input on the future of these programs,” said Leopold.

Last year, fees for hunting and fishing licenses generated $30 million for the state’s Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.

The trust fund pays to stock more than 100 million fish every year, including urban trout fisheries in Davenport, Sioux City, Mason City and Cedar Falls. The fund also has helped re-establish populations of deer, turkey, river otters, ospreys, peregrine falcons, trumpeter swans and other species.

The DNR’s fisheries, wildlife and law enforcement bureaus, paid for by the trust fund, already have reduced their budgets by 7 percent this year. Most of the cuts are coming from equipment purchases and delaying capital projects.

Are we mortgaging our outdoor future because we are not willing to pay two cents more per day to support our Iowa outdoors? Now admittedly, that just for the resident fishing and hunting license, but spread out that’s what we’re talking about. Most people would not take the time to pick up two cents off the ground, yet we hear a 34% increase and everyone is up in arms and complaining because we’re being taxed.

I believe the Iowa outdoors is worth investing in and I think it’s important some of us stand up and say so. I know there are many who will not agree, and because of that I will start a discussion in the reports area of this website. I’d like to hear from you, no matter which side of the fence you are on. I think it’s time we talk about what we’re putting on the line by not being willing to put up the money it takes to support the States Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund.

Rob Welch

Here’s another way I use this information. Here’s a photo of 3-Mile Lake, also in Union county taken in 2007. Here’s the zoomed in spot I love to fish in the summer time showing the creek channel swings back in the 90’s before the lake was filled. Awesome huh! This tool I have found can be used in so many ways, but what makes it special is that the data can be searched back several years, and it’s scalable data that can be transferred and used on high end GPS units to take you right to these spots.

Well, I guess I’ve kept you waiting long enough. You can find this information at http://ortho.gis.iastate.edu. I also use this to zoom in on my deer hunting areas and this allows me to see funnels and gives me ideas where to set my camera’s and deer stands thus saving me lots of time before going to the field.

Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Enjoy and if you see me on the water or in the field you can thank me with a nice cold Dr. Pepper! Or you can send me an email at rob@backyardiowa.com and let me know if it helped you!

Until next time.

The following pictures depict the roadbed area on the north side of the lake straight across from the main south boat ramp. Picture 32 was taken from north boat ramp looking southeast toward point next to boat ramp. Photo 34 was taken looking south toward south boat ramp. Road bed still have nice definition with scrub trees still intact. Jay Walton and me have caught a lot of fish off this road bed years ago! Photo 35 shows all the cedars laid between the road bed and the bank near the point. Photo 36 was taken looking southwest from road bed toward the middle of the lake. You can find this stand of small trees with your depth finder. Photo 37 was taken looking north right at the new jettie. Notice the ditch. Photo 38 is looking NW right on the other side of the jettie. lots of rocks and tubes under water here. Photo 39 shows the rock on the point. Notice the large chucks at the base

Part 4 to follow soon.

It goes to show that you don’t need a large rig to enjoy some of Iowa’s finest fishing spots. Approximately 1/2 of this pond has excellent shore access for fishermen don’t have a boat and want to fish from the bank. And make no mistake about it, these small bodies of water will consistently produce the largest of many of Iowa’s most sought after species.

At the time of this article (July 27, 2008), on of Iowa’s largest bass ever was landed just last week in Davis County ( www.iowadnr.gov/news/08jul/largemouth.html ), home of the current state record of 10lbs 12oz that has stood since 1984. Measuring 24.1 inches and weighing 10lbs 9.6oz Fred Rudd, an Ottumwa fisherman caught the near record bass in guess where…a farm pond. As a side note the current state record bass was caught in Davis County at Lake Fisher which covers just 110 acres.

So if you’re looking for a great place to catch big fish, you only need to locate a nice pond or a small lake near your area. And if you happen to be rolling down Interstate 35 in Clarke County, you might just want to stop by Q Pond. You never know, it could be you holding the next Iowa record!

Lake “X” was born from the idea of having a show filmed from a location which would not be mentioned on video, but would be revealed on the website. We figured it was a fun way to introduce new viewers to our website by sending those who were curious about our location.

Episode 3 features part 1 of 2 in a series about small bodies of water in Iowa. Water’s often overlooked by anglers with big rigs who don’t want to hassle of loading and unloading their boats with their trolling motor. On advise from a trusted friend, we set out for Wayne County and My dad and I spent the day on Humeston Reservoir, located 1 mile North of Humeston, Iowa.

Humeston Reservoir is a 40 acre electric only impoundment bordered on the west by the Humeston Municipal Golf Course and on the east by Lakeside Park. The golf course is a Iowa 9 hole course with a special shot over the Lake on the NW side. The campground is an eighty six acre park featuring both electric and non electric sites with water hook up and pit toilets.

I was told stories about abundance of big fish that exist in the lake with very little pressure. When we got to the lake, we found the ramp at the southeast corner of the park with the dam on the north side of the lake. With your trolling motor down it is very east to fish this lake in half a day or less. There are several man made brush piles that give the fish plenty of ambush points to capture their prey. While we did not uncover any really big fish, we did find some biting fish and based on the sparse cover, I can see where at times I’m sure you could really sack the fish on any given day. Also on the NE side of the lake, we ran into a family who were catching some really nice gills right off the mowed bank.

Iowa is full of small reservoirs, county and city lakes and most have some really big fish in them. Stay tuned next week when we talk about a small body of water I’ve driven by many times but had overlooked for years. Next weeks show will show the largest fish caught to date on our program and it came off one of Iowa small hidden gems. Until then…

Rob Welch

All photos posted in this section represent shots taken near the south boat ramp and include pictures 3-6 and 24-25.

Picture 3 was take looking south toward the new jettie and you can see restroom in background.

Picture 4 is taken from same spot just looking more east toward boat ramp.

Picture 5 is looking even further east. You can see the culvert pipes that were covered with rock.

Picture 6 was take looking back to the southwest at the new jettie. Lots of rock, pipe and trees.

This shot (24)is take west of the jettie and depicts a circle of tree’s with a surprise in the middle. Again I am looking southeast, but positioned well west of the jettie. This shot (25) is the same trees from 24, I just walked to the south side of the trees to capture the rock pile and culvert pipes that are positioned in the center of the circle.

Stay tuned next week for Part 3.

Rob Welch

Photo 1 is standing on the road bed looking south toward the parking and restroom. It shows a rock hump and large trees placed on either side of the road bed just off the jetty by the restroom.

Photo 2 is simply a close up of the trees laid on the west side of the road bed.

Photo 12 show the trees that are just east of the ramp and can be seen when coming down the road heading toward the ramp.

Photo 19 shows a bunch of trees that were laid in the southwest corner of the dam.

Look for more photos to come in future articles next week. Until then, get out and enjoy the outdoor right here In Your Backyard Iowa.

Rob Welch

We will start with why you should implement food plots on your hunting property. A question many people ask themselves is “will food plots really help my hunting?” The answer is YES! Some people think that because we live in Iowa and there is an abundance of crops like corn, soy beans, and alfalfa, they don’t need to plant food plots. They will just let the farmers in their area do the work for them. There are several reasons this thinking is flawed.

The most important reason for implementing food plots on your property is to attract and hold deer on your property. We all know that deer need three things to survive; adequate cover, water, and food. Most hunting properties have the first two, but the food found on a property that does not have food plots will not supply the animal with all the nutrients they need to stay healthy. When this happens the deer will find the nutrients they need, but it will be on someone else’s property.

When I say “the nutrients to stay healthy”, that doesn’t mean “to grow giant racks”. A buck carrying a 180” rack should not be your main objective when implementing food plots. Maintaining a healthy deer herd should be your number one concern. If you can provide enough of the important nutrients a deer needs, but can’t get in their natural setting, everything will fall into place. First, the does will become healthier, which in turn leads to healthier fawns. You will really notice the effect of food plots when you start to see the majority of your yearling bucks sporting small six and eight point racks instead of scraggly, deformed three and four point racks. In my experience, we have also noticed a significant drop in the number of spike bucks we see. Like I said at the beginning, I don’t have an “ist” at the end of my title (actually I don’t have a title at all), but I have to believe that the added nutrition our does receive makes them healthier and in turn gives their fawn a big head start on reaching their true potential.

I can’t speak for everyone, but for me October 1^st is a date that I look forward to every year. The start of bow season here in Iowa is like Christmas for m

e. October also brings the start of the fall harvest. The farmers in Iowa are not, nor should they be, interested in helping out the deer hunters. What I mean is when the time is right they are going to get their crops out no matter if you have been patterning that big bucks’ travels to and from a corn or bean field or not. This is where food plots play another important role.

Once these crops are out, deer will be looking for that all important food source that is going to help them put on the weight they will need to make it through Iowa’s unpredictable winter months. Sure they might hang around and pick at the bean stubble or browse through picked cornfields for left behind ears of corn, but they would much rather be grazing in a lush, green field of turnips, oats, clover, or winter wheat. Through my many years of hunting around and on food plots, I can guarantee you this is true. Food plots give the does and fawns a place to gain those all important nutrients, and it gives those big, bruiser Iowa bucks a place they can continually check for receptive does once the rut kicks in. Food plots will also increase the areas on your hunting properties that you can say you really feel confident about setting up and taking a monster Iowa buck.

For the last several years we have taken numerous steps to ensure that we have a healthy deer herd on our property. One of the most important tools we have found is record keeping. We have been keeping track of every hunt anyone has had at our place in Appanoose County. I am lucky enough to have a wife who loves to be involved in my hunting. Although she doesn’t hunt, she has helped in many ways including developing a spreadsheet for us to keep track of all of our hunting statistics; the most important of which is the number of deer seen. Without this tool, we would have no idea what we need to do to keep the number of deer in check, and more importantly the buck to doe ratio in check. Food plots are a great help in gathering this data. We see a huge majority of the deer on our property while hunting around our food plots, and are able to gather the data we need very accurately. The activity on our food plots is a one of the keys to our deer management program.

I will wrap this installment up with a great reason to implement food plots on your hunting property. You have probably all heard this phrase before, but it is never more true than when talking about food plots. “Where there are does, there will be bucks”. It is inevitable that while you are hunting on or around your “well placed and well thought out” food plot (we will get into this in my next installment), you will have a doe with a buck in tow heading for your plot. He will be preoccupied with her and your arrow or slug will find its mark, fulfilling a year long journey that has made your deer herd healthier and has made a nice addition to your trophy wall.

In the next installment of “In My Experience” I will get into more of the how to implement food plots into your hunting property. Hopefully some of you who

haven’t tried food plots yet will kick this around a little bit, and to those of you who already do have some food plots, hopefully this will help you remember why we use them and why they are such an important tool in whitetail management today.

Dan Ketchum

In Your Backyard Iowa, Pro Staffer

Old River Outfitters, Guide