Big Bend Archery Season Report 2016......lessons learned....so far.

Ok, with only one doe down and one un-recovered hog so far, yes, the early part of archery season has not been very successful. In fact it's been challenging. The very hot weather, hurricanes, resulting high water, mosquitoes of biblical proportion, etc., have not helped. The good news, its the second week in October and the weather is starting to turn.

I'll get right to the lessons learned:

• We focused too much scouting on one refuge where we only had a four day quota hunt. Yes, it paid off since we did kill the first deer there on opening day but we neglected other refuges / WMA's.
• We didn't scout enough and had no cameras up in some of our favorite areas and refuges that have the most opportunity for hunts. So we are now hunting "blind".
• We did not do a good job of locating "new" hunting areas.

What we will do NOW:

• Keep hunting but also scout. After each hunt look for sign in your preferred hunt areas and/or go to some new ones. Don't bust any bedding areas but instead concentrate on travel corridors, pinch points and food sources. Fortunately, the rut hasn't started in a couple of our favorite refuges and WMA's so I think the best hunts are yet to come. 
• Keep up with the acorns, persimmons, and other food sources as they come in.
• Get cameras up ASAP.
• If you are using fixed tree stands (we primarily hunt from our climbers), relocate the ones that have not been producing or have been compromised by shifting game patterns or hunting pressure. 
• Do not expect that that last years patterns will work this year.
• Work at it.....put that bag of chips down and get off the couch! Your dining room table should be covered with maps, your computer monitor with aerial images, your hunting vehicle and a significant portion of your home should be full of your gear (and yes, you should have already checked it all over and of course purchased the new gear you "need").....this is the time for extraordinary effort! There will be time AFTER hunting season to apologize to wives, girlfriends, children, etc.!!