Unfortunately, the images above are all that some hunters see when they are pursuing wild game or fish. There are some tactics that will make you more successful.
My late father-in-law said that he never found a recipe for preparing a meal from tracks. He had a point. Just like the unsuccessful hunter on TV that said he would have to eat "Tag Soup".
If you're not bagging game consistently, you are using the wrong tactics or you're in the wrong place. You need to analyze what you're doing wrong and make some corrections.
Most game animals and even fish are found much of the time in "Transition Zones" or "Edges". For example, when hunting deer, look for habitat where several types of vegetation or terrain meet. This could be mature forest where it meets a cut-over or a field. Fields with weeds and shrubs around the perimeter that meet woodlands are examples.
These places provide cover. In the off-season, you may observe deer feeding in fields or food plots, but when the season opens, much of this activity is nocturnal. You will be more successful if you find "Staging" areas around the perimeter of these food plots. The deer will move into these areas before dawn prior to moving to bedding areas and also prior to dusk before moving into the open field.
Fish are also creatures of the edge. They will hold in areas where slack water and swift water meets. They expend a minimum of energy until they see food in the current, move out to snatch it and retreat to the slower currents.
These edges may also be behind rocks that break the current or dips in the bottom structure that allows the faster current to move over the pocket.
Charles Waterman, noted wildlife writer, even mentions fish being more responsive at the edge of day and night (dawn or dusk) and at the edges of weather changes.
When you are scouting, remember those key words, "Edges" or "Transition Zones".
This will be your ticket to success.
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