00:00:02 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your home for deer hunting news, stories and strategies, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Kenyan. This episode number two hundred and fifty six, and today we're back with another Rut radio episode in which we're hearing from hunters all across the country to find out about the progress of the White Tail Rut, about how current conditions are impacting deer and what tactics are working right now for deer hunters across the country. All right, welcome to another episode of the Wired to Hunt podcast, brought to you by Onyx and Uh. I am sitting today in my pickup truck in the woods of northern Michigan at my family deer camp, and I gotta I gotta camp full of guys inside. They're sitting by the woodburning stove drinking cold beers, and Spencer has forced me to go sit in the truck and record a podcast with him. Um, so it's better to be a good one man, right, Yeah, it will be. You know what happened the last time you left me alone, So uh, going out of your way to to be on this episode not gonna let that happen again. So for for anyone who hasn't heard these episodes before the twenty the ten second cliff notes is that we hear from hunters all across the country about what's happening right now, what's happening in the woods, what are the deer doing, how are different current conditions impacting deer, and what can we as hunters be doing right now to have a little bit more success in the woods. So we're in December now, things are changing, aren't they. I mean, this is sweet. November came and went, and it came and went fast, and yeah, it feels like it. And you mentioned we're now in December. Some of the late season stuff is what you're gonna be hearing, uh, you know for these next few episodes, in our final episodes, um, and for the first time in probably a month, we are hearing a lot of weather talk. Um. That is something that you get in September, in October, but then the rut comes in November, and just the rut and the time of year, Trump's everything else. But now that we are in December, you hear a lot more of of what the forecast looks like. And how that's going to affect dear movement. It's very true. Um, I'm also curious about what the emotional forecast is for your right now, Spencer, how are you feeling emotionally now that you've made it through the month of November, Because it's always a little bit of a grind. It always kind of wears me down a little bit, but also at the same time, it's also it's like adrenaline rush of excitement for several weeks there. Now we're kind of coming out of that. Where are you are you? Are you a little bit? Do you have like that postpartum depression happening right now post November depression? Or you rejuvenated after nice Thanksgiving and you're excited for the late season. So most years I would be bummed that it is December and we now have snow on the ground and it's gotten cold. Um, But this year I drew a rare muzzleloader tag in South Dakota and it's good for the whole month of December, So I'm very excited. Um. You know, I'm one of the few people in the state who have this tag. There's only like a thousand of them given out, which sounds like a lot, but it's good for the entire state, so it's a tough jaw. I'm very excited for this December, more excited than I normally would be. Uh, you know, to see the calendar flip. That's good man. I feel like South Dakota. It just seems like you've got like seven buck tags every year. It just seems like every time I hear from you, I killed another South Dakota buck. Got another South Dakota buck. Teg. How do they do this? Uh? A lot of deer and few hunters. It's a good situation. And I was gonna say, you want to keep that a secret so you can you can edit this out when we're done. Um So I am. I am taking this wildly off the rails, though I know you probably had a plan as far as what you want to talk about from the theme standpoint, I will say, um, answering the question that I asked you that I am. I'm on the emotional upswing. I had, like my post November depression a little bit like the rut came and went so quick, it seemed like, and then was a little worn out. Now I'm getting a little bit of you know, re excited for that late season time period because the bright side of November being gone is that now that we are moving into December, we do get more pannable deer. These deer return to more consistent bed defeat patterns that if you're a hunter who's got deer that are that are you know, at least unpressured enough that they stick to a daylight movement pattern, you can you can get on those deer now, um, in a consistent, relatively consistent fashionately. So that is that's like my silver lining. I get excited about this time of year, and I gotta believe that's probably something our guests talk about this week. Is that? Is that true for sure? Yeah, that's something you'll hear all four of our guests talk about. And something that came up with a few colors this week, UM that I've never really considered before until I heard them talk about it was how December can look based on how November went. Specifically, here two of our people UM talk about how they felt it was more of a trickle trickle rut this fall, UM and coming into early December, that bucks are probably more war down than they typically are, and so that's gonna change some things that, Um, you know they're going to be betting right on top of food. Um, they're not going to be really interested in anything rut related at this point as far as like sparring or chasing does that kind of thing, um, because you know, these hunters felt that they observed what some people would say is a trickle rud based on how the moon came through or what the weather was doing in November. Um. So that's something that I think I'm going to pay attention to going forward. You know, how those bucks uh we're acting over the last month, you know, and how that's going to affects the affects some things late season. Yeah, that is uh, that's an interesting observation observation. Who who are these people that we talked to this week? We start off in Minnesota with Mike Fitzgerald from bohunting dot Com and then from Stewart Ranch Outfitters in Oklahoma. Is Clay Force that we talked to, T J Unger from the Virtue TV in Indiana, and then we end in Georgia from Seque Productions. Is Lee Ellis Lee Ellis that guy gets after some real big city bucks. I'm interested here. I we talked to him earlier this year on the main episode. I haven't heard about how his season has gone, so I'm interested to hear what he has to say. What I like this week about talking to Lee is that you know and already we try to cover the whole country and cover different regions and stuff, um and and for this episode, it felt like we covered completely different species of deer almost because we talked to like in Minnesota, who's hunting the big woods around Duluth, and then we also talked to Lee Uh in Georgia, who is hunting bucks that are as urban as it gets. So you'll get some really unique insight. I think on this week's episode, I'm very interested to hear that insight. And I think I'm more interested in hearing that than I am in hearing myself talk any longer. So unless you have something you want us to touch on, I'd say we should just get right to it. Let's go to the first color. I'll talk to you next week because sounds a good spencer. Before we get to our first color, they'll let's pause for a word from our sponsors at white Tail Properties. This week, with white Tail Properties, we are joined by Neil Hagger, a land specialist out of Wisconsin, and Neil is going to be talking to us about what buyers should look for when they want to put food plots on a property that doesn't currently have any. Well, I always like to try to add food plots in areas that are kind of a natural line of travel. So let me speak to my own experience of my own place. Um, I'm in big woods and there are no food plots and there are are no agricultural fields for miles. So my limitations were that I only have so many places I can put them. That was the first limitation of where can I put them? Where is it flat enough? Where is it dry enough? Um? But what I tried to do on my own place is I try to design with line of travel for the animals in mind, and also approach so my own line of travel, and from my point of it, my side of it, I try to approach my foot plots in a perpendicular manner, meaning kind of have a ninety degree angle, so that I have I minimized the opportunity to cross paths with the animals as they're moving on their natural travel lines, if that makes sense. So, uh, cover bedding cover to food to maybe more bedding cover, and I put my food in the middle, and then I try to approach it at a ninety gree angle. So there's one point of content on that line, if that makes sense. If you'd like to learn more and to see the properties that Neil currently has listed for sale, visit white Tail properties dot com. Backslash Hogger. That's h A U G E R alright, And joining us on the line first is Mike Fitzgerald in Minnesota from bow hunting dot com. Now, Mike in Minnesota, what would you say the bucket activity has been lately on the scale of one to ten. On a scale to one to ten, I'd probably put it around a seven or eight. Seemingly been a little bit of increase of daytime activity now um bucks are starting to get out with these colder weather and uh, you know, they're recharging their batteries, they're hitting any food sources um that are available up here. And you know, our our winter is really kicked off already. We got quite a bit of ice on the lake and quite a bit of snow in the woods already, so of deer are starting to move in the deer that do migrate into wintering areas are starting that process. But we're seeing um certain areas deer are kind of vacating, but those areas where they like to winter, where they have those um winter food sources, they're really starting to move in. And if you have one of those spots, that's a great place to be this time of year. So what are some of those winter food sources that you look for In northern Minnesota. One of the biggest ones really for us are signs of logging activity, nuclear cuts. UM. There's kind of that sweet spot that two of probably five year old clear cut um has a lot of woody brows. Those asked and tend to be the first trees to regenerate UM up here, and so they browsed the crap out of those things. UM. So that's one of the main areas. And then any any spot where there's you know, little towns, that kind of thing they key and on people's bird feeders. There's always people that are feeding deer throughout the season. So UM are the biggest yard of the areas that we see around here tend to be on one of two of those two kinds of areas. What do you look for in bedding with these deer kind of manking that winter migration as they get into some new areas this time of year with it being cold. Um, you know, we have a lot of uh, rocky ridges and outcrops things finding those self facing UM bedding ridges that make good bedding area. UM. It exposes them to the sun on those sunny days. UM if it's not that sunny. UM. Anywhere where there's stick tree cover, if you've got a feed or grow or something like that, UM, that will protect them from the cold, holding the heat a little bit and keep the snow off of them. They like that kind of stuff. In your part of the country, imagine everything has ice on it at this point. Is water a factor for late season hunts. UM. If you have an area, whether it's a stream or river, where there is open water, they'll try to key towards that. But honestly, UM, for us, most most streams um even by now, have started ice over, and you know, the white tail they get all the moisture they need from the snow on the ground and and uh you know even a little bit out of the you know, woody brows that they have, and so it's hard to key in on on water here in the late season, it's more about food and cover. Once these white tails move into that late season range, Uh, do you have better success hunting them in the mornings or evenings. It's honestly mid day, especially this time of year. Uh. In the early part of December, UM seems to be one of the best spots. That's the temperatures have come up from that morning dip. Um, the sun is out. If the sun is going to be out in the day, um, And you know they're in energy conservation mode, so they want to move during the warm part of the day if they can. They want to stay better down if it's extremely cold or windy. UM. You know, eventually they have to move anyway. But if if the pattern works out well where you have one of those sunny mornings, UM, that's gonna in. The temperatures are gonna bump up a little bit. That you know, ten thirty to two clock period of time can be dynamite. How do you go about scouting for these late season deer? Are you out there in person looking for sign or are you trying to glass from a distance, or are you actually running any trail cameras in some of these spots. UM. I still try to run trail cameras, but honestly, boots on the ground this time of year is the best way. We have snow cover, UM, and we get snow frequently, so you have a good um indication of of current activity from the last you know, anywhere from twenty four hours to four days UM. Getting out in the woods and find those trails you know, just like you know any creature UM in the winter. Once those trails are established and the snow starts to get deeper, they like to stick to those trails unless they have to get off of them. So if you find an established trail, they're going to use that rather than break trails through the snow. Going forward, Then in a sex week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Minnesota, UM, I think it's going to maintain kind of that similar seven to eight. UM. Again, those midday hunts, you can get out there UM and catch them in that activity mid day, and you know there's always that last little you know, that last half hour forty five minutes of light is good. But uh, those temps drop fast here, especially on those clear nights and um, you know, they'll get to where they're going to get their food, but they're going to be quicker in the evening where they might hang around a little longer in the afternoon. Alright, Michael, good luck in the north Woods. Thanks for joining me. I appreciate it. Than to take care alright enjoining us online. Next is Clay Force from Stewart Ranch Outfitters in Oklahoma. Now, Clay in Oklahoma, What would you say the buck activity has been lately on a scale of one to ten. Um, I believe our our buck activity is still pretty high. Um, I'm gonna call it about a six to seven right now. So what we're seeing right now, at least in our part of the state, which is the southwest part of the state, UM, I believe the rut is winding down to almost finished. With the time frame we're all right now, there's a very small percentage of doves that are still still coming in the heat and still seeing a few little dear little deer chasing bucks. Excuse me, little bucks chasing does um. And so I believe right now food sources are gonna be key. We just got done with our last rifle hunt. Uh, this past Sunday and almost every buck that we shot was over some sort of food source. So I believe with this big weather we've got coming in this weekend, that food source is gonna be key. As far as uh are as far as chasing deer this week, this week and the week into the weekend. What specific food sources are you focused on in Oklahoma? Uh So for our part of the state, winter wheat um is the main food source for our part of the state. Um So, really, anybody that's got anything green right now is gonna be I think a hot ticket item, whether that's a turnip patch, winter wheat, oates, rye, you know, anything that you had planted for a fall food plot, that winter food source right now, I think it's gonna be be key. You have a pretty high to your population at your place there. Um do you always see a secondary rut and do you always see a consistent secondary rut or is that something that varies for you from year to year. It varies a little bit, but definitely see that that secondary rut for the most part, our heights as far as rut activity, is going to be about November twentie h for about a week or ten days, uh, and then things will start slowing down a little bit, and we're seeing that secondary rut right now. Like I said that those handful of dose that didn't get bred the first go around are are coming back into heat and we're starting to see see a little bit of a secondary rut. But like I said, it's gonna be probably you know, two out of ten something like that. It's pretty minimal as far as rut prime rut activity right now going on. So we really shifted gears and concentrated on foods, horses, and like so we're pretty successful. We had uh, four hunters in this past week and we killed four pretty nice books. So that's really where our focus concentrated on. You mentioned a promising forecast coming up. What are the weather patterns that you usually look for in December to get bucks on their feet? Just big cold snaps, big cold fronts. We're expected some snow and some freezing rain with this. So I believe with the rut winding down with a really big cold blast for at least for our standards in Oklahoma, bucks are gonna be on food sources. They're gonna be really looking to replenish from the from the rut and going into this winter. So with this really big cold front coming in, I would camp out on a food source, and I believe your chances should be pretty pretty high. With your recent successful rifle hunters, what time of day did those kills come? Where? Any of them mornings? That were there? Mostly evenings? Honestly a lot of them, Uh, mid morning to actually midday. We actually had some success between like twelve and two. Um. So, honestly, if you've got a good comfortable stand, I still think in all day set is worthy, especially with deer wanting to hit that food source and a little bit of that secondary road, I think you're catching a little bit all of the above right now. So Um, like I said, mid morning to mid day, we had I think one shot mid afternoon, but for the most part it was kind of a mid morning to midday situation this past week. In states like Oklahoma, we're baiting is legal? Is that something that will help you find the mature buck in December? Or? Uh? Do mature bucks not really kind of fall for that trick? No, I believe so. Um, at least in our state where feeders and and that sort of thing are are legal, they're gonna go hunt that food source. Um, either be a big patch of food plot when are we that sort of thing, or whether that's a protein feeder, gravity fed feeder, spinner feeders, that sort of thing. I really think bucks are hunting whatever that food source. Maybe. So if you've got a small track of ground or something like that with just a feeder in the middle of it, I believe they're gonna be be fined in that with with what they're looking for right now. Going forward, Then in a six week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Oklahoma? Um, Almos, I'm gonna keep it right around that six to seven mark. I don't want to go too much higher than that, um, just with the weather the weather is coming in and that sort of thing. But I think it should be a pretty good, pretty good week to ten days coming up, So about a six to seven. Great intel, Clay, Good luck to your hunters in camp, and thanks for joining me, all right, thanks Spencer, alright and joining us on the line. Next is t J Unger in Indiana from the Virtue TV. Now, t J in Indiana, what would you say the bucket activity is been lately on a scale of one to ten Spencer. It's been about one month exactly since we did the rout Fresh Route report, and things have changed pretty significantly here in Northeast Indiana. UM I would give I would give things on scale from one of the ten probably a three, a three out of ten right now. UM gun season closed last weekend, UH, and now we're entering as three weekend long muzloader season coming up here this weekend. So the woods have been really pressured. They continue to be really pressured. UM. And you know, bucks are are recovering from a really hard rut so far as I'm concerned. I mean, it was a trickle rut um, but it was long and drawn out. So UM temperatures all season long, so you know for Northeast Indiana UM have been highly variable from October first December one really UM so a couple of days of super cold and then it would warm right back up. UM. I really think that this coupled with kind of some off moon phases than what we would hope for UM have like I said, turned it into a long, really drawn out rut, a trickle rut um, which as you guys know it, it can really take a toll on on bucks. We actually we started seeing chasing activity. My number one was on his feet during gaylight hours on October eleventh, um, chasing dose. So things started early, um and just tip drug out. Not real hot all season, but just drug out. So for our farms, you know, we run a lot of traill cameras, We do a lot of scouting and um for our farms. So far as I'm concerned, bucks are shut down right now. They are in that hard recovery phase from that drawing up right. Um. You know what we're seeing right now is is those bucks are are sticking to really tight core areas. They're not traveling like they once were. Um, you know in that in that seeking phase or in the rut so um, you know, I think they're bedded down and just trying to put on some calories and gets back up here before you know, the heart of the winter, the winter hits. You mentioned that chuckle rud. Is that something that is familiar to you, Like, is that something in the years past that you've seen and has that changed how you haunt in December? Yeah? Actually it really has you know for years past, um, and I've I've been lucky enough or fortunate enough to hunt the same farm for going on thirty years, um, which has really offered me, you know, an ability to kind of trend and get an idea of what happens on the same farm. Um. But unfortunately for the last gosh, I have three or four years. UM, it's been a trickle rut for us. Whether it was you know, extreme heat in the month of November or you know, moon phases or whatever it's it's been. I don't remember the last time that we had. You know, you're you're famous rut where you know you should be in the stand every day, uh, and you're seeing chasing every day during late you know, daylight activity hours. So um, it's been a long time. So because of that, I've really changed it up on how we hunt. So you know, going into where we're at now we're in December. UM, I'm actually still focusing on dough activity. Now. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the dose, uh, at least on our farms, they're all bred, they've all been bred, but truck cameras and and you know what we're seeing from the stand. We actually we had a really high success rate or I had population of fawns this year, and a lot of those fonds came on early. UM. So we've got big yearling does um big enough. You know, they say that threshold about sixty five to seventy five pounds um could initiate a late estras cycle. So I'm hopeful that some of these yearling does are big enough that that they could hit estrius here um during this late season. So, like I said, I'm still focusing on does um or not hunting nearly as hard as what we are. But um, those those are still feeding. They're feeding pretty hard right now. On grain. We actually still have some fields that are holding standing beans um just because of that weather so um showing little decent daylight activity for those does. UM. So we're just gonna keep an eye, uh, you know, on on what you know, what bucks starts to show up during the day. UM. You know, I made a pretty pretty big change up the weekend after Thanksgiving. I moved all of my trail cameras to food and and greens and that sort of thing, and then two major travel routes, whereas before, you know, all of us had our trail cameras on scrapes and communication points and you know, where we're seeing that hot and heavy rout activity. So I've changed it to you know, really more populated locations, UM, feeding sources and routes. Um. Honestly, where we're at December, I don't even know the day to day December four. I think, um, the cameras are really going to kind of dictate when and where I'm gonna hunt, following the ruts and following those gun seasons in Indiana. Do you notice a shift in the bedding by mature bucks? Yeah? Absolutely, so. You know these deer where before I was seeing bucks, you know bed, I had it pretty pretty tacked down um on where they were bed and at least on my farm, they've really broken up a ton um. Obviously, you know, they sorted out their dominance, but they're in the thickest, gnarliest cover, but at the same time, as close as they can get to food and water. You know, I really do believe that their primary focus right now is refueling. Um. It's just like you and I. You know, we put in a ton of time during that rout all days six. We gotta get our batteries recharts. So UM, you know, I do expect to see a little bit of late season activity, um, but nothing like you know, nothing like what what November should have brought. Um. But I think because of that trick, all right, it should drag out a little bit into December going forward. Then in the six week or so, what do you think that buck activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Indiana? Yeah, So, you know, I love it when we're in October going into November because we can talk about changes on a daily or even hourly basis. You know, things can change any minute. Um. Unfortunately, where we are in the season, I probably a three or four out of ten. But as soon as we get more favorable winter conditions, that should create a little bit more urgency in their seating. I'd actually, I think I can go out on limits and say I expect to see an update uptick of maybe five to six, um, you know, out of ten. And when that happens, I'll probably focused on afternoon hunts. Um over green. So we put a lot of time into our food plots late summer for this time right now. So, um, once we get some snow on the ground, I expect you to really funnel into those greens. But um, with you know, with still a heavy drop of beans and corns still laying out there. They're gonna hit that until it gets a little more drastic, you know, a little more drastic so um, you know, heavy weather, I think we could see a pretty significant uptick. But until then, I'm probably gonna do what the bucks do and like I said, recover from those all day russis and and uh at least for now, rely pretty heavily on the cell cameras to give us the information that we need to make a new plan. Alright, t J, well, good luck during your late season hunts. Thanks for joining me. I really appreciate it, Spencer, have a good one, all right, and joining me on the line. Next is Lee Ellis from Seek One Productions in Georgia. Now, Lee in Georgia, what would you say the buck activity has been lately on a scale of one to ten? Uh, this last week has probably been an eight. Usually our prime week or you know, second third week in November, and for some reason this year, I don't know if it was weather or what, but I did not see chasing, wasn't seeing much activity from the mature box on cameras, um, and it was just it was just off and the last week, Um, I've seen more bucks chasing, more those coming in the heat, uh than I have all of November. And actually last night I had about a pointer. I got two pictures of them actually mounting and breeding a dog and turning the camera last night. That's where I'm going to sit this evening. What phase of the row would you say that we're currently in, and what phase of the row would you say you're normally in this time of year. Normally it slows down big time this time of year. But I think that um, like I said, I don't know if it was weather, but I think a lot of those just didn't really come into heat very strong or just weren't weren't didn't get bread um. And normally it's slow this time of year. It's really post rut. But I'm telling you right now, this is the time to be entry. Uh. Like I said, I'm seeing way more hard like hard chasing. I had an encounter with a year last week dog and two does and I having at forty yards, but I couldn't get a shot on them. Um. This last the last five days, I had seen all I've had encounters with all of my mature bucks. Uh, that I'm after. Is your rut in Atlanta normally difference than the rest of the state or do things typically time out the same. I think most of the state is typically the same. Uh. Second third week is kind of you know, around Thanksgivings, really kind of the heat of the rut um. But I've talked to a lot of people and that's a lot of people are saying the same thing. It's just been an off year and they're starting to see that second I think we're having a I think we had a soft first rut. I think we're having a really hard second rut with those coming back in the heat. It didn't get bread and things like that. Also, the weather is just getting trime this week. It's gonna be like in the twenties in the mornings and so it's it's gonna force the dear get up and feed. And I think you're gonna have dose coming the heat. I think that they're also going to be thinking about food again. Um. So I've been trying to stick to my thicker areas getting around, you know, private bushes and things like that. We're losing a lot of cover in our trees too, and it's just there's a more open field, and I think that those doer like to really kind of hug tighter to that thicker cover. You've got the food with the privet, and you've got a combo of kind of later season than going to food, but also the second right kicking, and I think that's that's at least where I'm focusing my efforts. You were touching on food there. What are some of those food sources that you focus on in Georgia really when it comes to late season. One of the primary obviously there's still you know, still some acorns around, but really the primary food source I see is printed. We've got a lot of printed bushes, uh kind of in low lying creek areas and things like that. And then they've pile start to pile the private bushes this time of year. With it being an unusual rut this year, have you seen some weird signmaking as well, or is that something that's still relevant for you in December? Oh? Yeah, I mean all the bucks I've seen have been chasing hard. I've had you know, younger bucks come in and our blast and scrapes and stuff, and usually that kind of cools off this time of year. But I just think this this cold snap late rut. I mean, I just think that they're you know, a couple of weeks behind this year. I was gonna say, so, I've seen I've seen a lot of activity, beer making, rubs and scrapes, a lot of you know, grunting and chasing. You've touched on weather patterns a few times. But are there any moon faces that get you excited in early December? I really like the new moon. Um, and that's kind of where you're around the new moon, but i'd really like a new moon. I just think that full moons I believe anyways that they just roam around all night and usually I'll see moment really late in the mornings and midday during full moons. But new moons, I think that it's like as soon as they like cracks, they're up a moment, they're ready to go. Um. I don't think the heat around as much, and especially when you have these brutally cold nights, which which we're about to have. Sometimes I laugh at the night and then first cracking on, they're up, moving and feed, looking to feed or yea if it doesn't heat, coming to check her. Going forward. Then in a six week or so, what do you think that bucket activity is going to be on a scale of one to ten in Georgia. I think it's gonna get better this week. Like I said, I saw that about that brock breeding a dough. It was in heat last night. It's gonna be brutally cold this week. If it was an eight last week, last week was really good, I think it's gonna be better this week. I think it's gonna at the nine. All right, Lee, Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what giant white tail you kill next. Good luck and next for joining me. Cool. Thanks, and that concludes this week's episode of Wired Hunt's Brought Radio. Good luck to all the late season hunters out there. Stay warm when you're in the field. You can tell. I obviously didn't because I've had a nasty cold for this entire episode, So my apologies for you guys having to listen to that. So thank you guys for listening. Thanks to our guests Mike, T J. Clay, and Lee, and until next week, stay weird, Haunt