By Joe Picotte
Fallen autumn leaves cover the ground, crunching beneath boots as you walk. The smell of pine and cedar hangs in the air, your path illuminated by a thin headlamp beam projecting off your hat. It’s Nov. 15, opening day of deer season – an Upper Peninsula holiday. You’re hiking out to a spot you carefully selected in the months prior. This could be a tree stand perched in the branches, a constructed blind complete with desk chair and heater, or a faithful timber stump you’ve used as a seat for seasons past. You could be cradling a brand-new rifle you worked and saved for now eagerly awaiting to break it in or have a faithful family heirloom slung on your shoulder that was handed down to you. After months of working, saving vacation days and prepping gear, mid-November hit and the long wait is over – it’s deer season!
Deer camp the night before opening day could have many different styles. Maybe you were in a secluded spot in Hiawatha National Forest off a two track, seated in folding chairs around a campfire with a canvas wall tent set up nearby. Or maybe you were packed into a small cabin, woodstove burning, dinner cooking on the stove, and a relentless game of five card draw poker dealt to willing players. Spirited discussions encompass deer movement, trail camera pictures and hopeful thoughts of possibilities the next morning. A traditional opening eve toast occurs and perhaps a shot of Canadian whiskey is indulged. As the night wanes and midnight approaches, hunters climb into their beds for a restless night of sleep, eagerly awaiting the morning’s first light.
As soon as you fall asleep, it seems the alarm clock starts ringing, 5:15 a.m. Lunch is packed, thermos is filled, and a hasty breakfast of Trenery toast and coffee is consumed. Rifles are pulled from gun racks, orange hats and jackets donned, and boots tied on snuggly. As you step out into the pre-dawn stillness, a cold north wind greets you as a slight smile hits your face. Pulling a traditional Stormy Kromer cap down tightly, you walk off into the darkness eager to be in your spot before first light. After sneaking as best you could through the silence of the early morning hours, you get to your spot and set aside your gear, getting comfortable for the day long sit. You glance at your watch, 6:00 a.m., perfect. As the minutes tick by, light begins to show off to the east. Slowly the forest begins to awaken, and far off a coyote howls as it ends its evening of hunting.
You check your watch, 6:20 a.m., legal shooting light. Opening day arrives once again, and you begin to watch for a deer slipping through the trees. Sunrise hits and the woods around you are illightened. Suddenly a stick cracks, and leaves are rustling. You catch a glimpse of something off to your right moving toward your bait pile. Your blood pressure rises, a slight adrenaline rush occurs, and then you realize the fat grey squirrel that’s helped himself to at least 20 pounds of shelled corn this fall is there yet again. Turning back to your shooting lane, you watch for any signs of movement through the trees. Far off, a lone shot rings out, the first shot of the season.
DIY No-Till Food Plots
Food plots often bring thoughts of TV hunting programs showing large fields, lush and green with deer scattered throughout. Often these are accomplished by tractors pulling discs and large seed spreaders. However, a successful food plot can be attained on a smaller scale using nothing more than a few hand tools, seed from your local feed service mill and an afternoon’s time. Enter the world of no-till food plots, which cost about as much as your average lunch. These can prove to be a deer magnet and I’ve been successfully using these locally for over 10 years.
Preparations for a food plot involve a weed trimmer, a good metal rake and plot seeds. A push mower, if practical to bring into the area, can be helpful with removing existing vegetation. After a trip to your local feed service mill for seed, you’re ready to get to work. When selecting a location, it’s important to pick a spot with ample sunlight and with minimal vegetation to remove. Once you have your area, take the weed trimmer and remove as much vegetation as you can. Rake this off to the side, then go back through trimming as tight to the bare dirt as possible. A heavy-duty metal rake helps remove all the cuttings and slightly mix up the top layer of soil.
Once the plot is cut, raked and cleared, it’s time to plant. I prefer to keep it simple and cost effective. A quick stop to Pickford Feed Service costs me around $24 total. My food plot is a roughly a 30 foot square area and I plant 50 pounds of oats and 5 pounds of rapeseed. I prep and plant my plot in late August, ideally the day before a good rain. This allows me to get the seed planted where it will grow into September and October, feeding deer into November. Once everything is planted, I set a trail camera and watch the progress of the plot growing and deer feeding on it.
These work sessions are an easy way to get kids involved in the outdoors as well. When preparing my plot, I enjoy the help of my wife Mary and 4-year-old daughter Clare, who have helped me for the past few years. Clare is eager to help rake and she’s a self-proclaimed professional at tossing seed. Last year my 1 ½ year old son Leland joined, helping as he could by throwing handfuls of oats at his sister, and occasionally sampling a taste. The plot was prepped and planted in less than an hour, just before heavy rain that evening.
For anyone considering trying a food plot next deer season, I highly encourage you to do so. It can contribute to your deer season success, give a sense of satisfaction of harvesting a deer over a plot you prepped and planted yourself.
Gripping the knurled wood stock of your rifle, you sit back and soak in the scenery of another U.P. morning afield. It's deer season in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, God’s Country.
Good Hunting.