Your food plots

[StucknAz]

To piggy back on my consultant thread, knowing I live in Arizona/hunt in Ohio and am not going to sneak on your farms and hopefully there aren’t a holes with bad intentions on here, anyone have and pics or illustrations whether it be actual in the field pics, drawings, or aerials of your plots that work? With the explanation of why it works so well.

Specifically how they relate to your structure/woods or grass fields? What/if they connect to tsi, bedding grasses, or some form of created or natural transition to the food, why are they your money locations?

I’m curious on where the timber cuts or grasses are in relation to food, especially stand locations(I promise I’m too broke to ever get to Iowa….) purpose would be to get ideas on how to place my improvements based on size of food in relation to cover, topography based locations for improvements.

I’m on Higgins master academy and he does folks properties, got an idea how he likes to do things. Knowing some of the best managers and hunters are on this forum I’d love to see what works for you guys, I know it’s an intrusive question so get it if it’s a no go.

 

[Sligh1]

I’ll throw you an example…. I’m not too worried because when folks sneak on…. They never leave.
I’ll overseed brassicas or rye in grain. Usually I’ll have sections of brassicas and rye on their own and clovers. Loose examples. Red is stands or blinds. Some might not look like it but the entrance & exits are really good. The ones where walk through bit of timber - it’s the minority of cover where deer generally aren’t at. Hunt on winds that make sense.

 

[Bucksnbears]

Chiming in on these type of threads is tough for me to do. Main reason is...
95% of what I hunt is table flat topography. Much easier to hunt then hilly country and I have zero experience with that.

I will say, my little piece of 30 acres of riverbottom land used to be kinda tough to bowhunt. Before I got it, it was a cattle pasture (kind of). It was ALL HUGE Burr Oak, Ash, Boxelder,Basswood and a few Elm.
When I got it in 09, I went crazy, (not knowing)what to do. ZZERO browse or trees under 8". Park like effect.
Could see 100 yards any direction.
Had never even heard of tsi,fsi of anything to do with habitat management.
Never read or even heard about it. Bout all I knew was, those huge trees needed to go so new stuff could grow. Went to Menards, bought the best chainsaw there was, a Poulon " WildThing" lol.
Had never cut a tree in my life with a chainsaw. I spent one winter going berserk cutting. Trust me, cutting down 100s of 30" oak,ash,Basswood with a piece of junk chainsaw was daunting.
Had no plan on what to do with the trees once down.? Didn't really care.
Long story short, a guy found out what I was doing and said he'd " pay me" for it as long as they were cut up into 9' logs, brought out to a spot he could get to with a grapple logging truck. So, I rented a skidsteer, (never been in on before) and cut up 100s of trees into log lengths and one by one, hauled them out. I think by this time, my WildThing had shit the bed so I bought a Husqvarna 455. Still have it today.

Took several years for new stuff to start growing back but now, 【 not bragging】 but I'll put my little piece of Heaven into the top tier of anyone's.
And 100% all by mistake! No direction. Got lucky for sure.

I've got 6 small foodplots (1/4 ) of less I've carved out of every spot I found possible do. Took years of manual effort to do so. I don't own any heavy equipment.
Have spent many hours burning huge stumps to establish open areas.
Fast forwards 15 years, I've build a mowed trail between my plots. The periphery around them all is SO DENSE , I can Purdy much sneak into every one, quite and secure.
I don't hunt early season, but if I did, I'd concentrate on a good white clover or radishes.
My go to later season (late October through December) is turnips and pumpkins. Pumpkins are my # 1.
I'm not good at knowing how to do computer stuff like some of you do so I'd have to scribble it out on paper, take a pic and post the Pic.
I'll try?
Edited to add. 15 years ago, I could drive my truck anywhere back here.
Looked like Central Park.

 

[StucknAz]

I’ll throw you an example…. I’m not too worried because when folks sneak on…. They never leave.
I’ll overseed brassicas or rye in grain. Usually I’ll have sections of brassicas and rye on their own and clovers. Loose examples. Red is stands or blinds. Some might not look like it but the entrance & exits are really good. The ones where walk through bit of timber - it’s the minority of cover where deer generally aren’t at. Hunt on winds that make sense.

View attachment 129346View attachment 129347

View attachment 129349

Skip, do you have vacant field space, native regen, switch on the open fields areas surrounding these plots?

 

[StucknAz]

Chiming in on these type of threads is tough for me to do. Main reason is...
95% of what I hunt is table flat topography. Much easier to hunt then hilly country and I have zero experience with that.

I will say, my little piece of 30 acres of riverbottom land used to be kinda tough to bowhunt. Before I got it, it was a cattle pasture (kind of). It was ALL HUGE Burr Oak, Ash, Boxelder,Basswood and a few Elm.
When I got it in 09, I went crazy, (not knowing)what to do. ZZERO browse or trees under 8". Park like effect.
Could see 100 yards any direction.
Had never even heard of tsi,fsi of anything to do with habitat management.
Never read or even heard about it. Bout all I knew was, those huge trees needed to go so new stuff could grow. Went to Menards, bought the best chainsaw there was, a Poulon " WildThing" lol.
Had never cut a tree in my life with a chainsaw. I spent one winter going berserk cutting. Trust me, cutting down 100s of 30" oak,ash,Basswood with a piece of junk chainsaw was daunting.
Had no plan on what to do with the trees once down.? Didn't really care.
Long story short, a guy found out what I was doing and said he'd " pay me" for it as long as they were cut up into 9' logs, brought out to a spot he could get to with a grapple logging truck. So, I rented a skidsteer, (never been in on before) and cut up 100s of trees into log lengths and one by one, hauled them out. I think by this time, my WildThing had shit the bed so I bought a Husqvarna 455. Still have it today.

Took several years for new stuff to start growing back but now, 【 not bragging】 but I'll put my little piece of Heaven into the top tier of anyone's.
And 100% all by mistake! No direction. Got lucky for sure.

I've got 6 small foodplots (1/4 ) of less I've carved out of every spot I found possible do. Took years of manual effort to do so. I don't own any heavy equipment.
Have spent many hours burning huge stumps to establish open areas.
Fast forwards 15 years, I've build a mowed trail between my plots. The periphery around them all is SO DENSE , I can Purdy much sneak into every one, quite and secure.
I don't hunt early season, but if I did, I'd concentrate on a good white clover or radishes.
My go to later season (late October through December) is turnips and pumpkins. Pumpkins are my # 1.
I'm not good at knowing how to do computer stuff like some of you do so I'd have to scribble it out on paper, take a pic and post the Pic.
I'll try?
Edited to add. 15 years ago, I could drive my truck anywhere back here.
Looked like Central Park.

Def like to see the illustration

 

[Sligh1]

Skip, do you have vacant field space, native regen, switch on the open fields areas surrounding these plots?

Absolutely!!!! Most these spots are surrounded by native grasses. I love native grasses for access & all the other benefits they have.

 

[Tmayer13]

I think one thing to note with Skips aerials are that he has "all" the food in one spot. Clover, brassicas, rye mix and grains. I think this is something that is so important. Deer are natural grazers. They are going to eat on all of it at any given time. Granted there could be times where they are basically only feeding on standing beans for instance; cold and snowy weather(real cold), but even at those same times you see these knuckleheads still move along and dig in the snow for clover(bizarre). I think when structuring your plots, really think about the size of them and how you can incorporate more food into one area.