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Watering holes...

Big Timber

Big Timber

Moderator
Last year I decided to experiment by digging a small pond in my timber. I used a track skidsteer and dug a pond roughly 12'x10'x6'. I went out into the timber the other day and could not believe all of the sign around that pond! There must have been 100's of tracks leading in and out of the area.

I would definitely recommend trying this out for yourself.

BT
 
I have been wanting to build just such a spot myself for the past couple of years. I am convinced that these little out of the way watering holes are particularly attractive to traveling bucks during the rut. Even though their mind is on "other things"
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, I am sure they massage their travels to hit some secluded watering holes. Plus you can strategically place these little ponds to relate to available stand trees and likely wind directions.

That does it... I am renting a skid loader tihs summer!
 
BT,
Is there any other water source nearby that competes with your watering hole or is it the only water around?
 
Yes,
I have a 1 acre pond 30 yds away from this hole. The 1 acre pond is not secluded, my little pond is. It's amazing how much use that thing gets. I'm sure the deer use the large pond as well, but not during daylight hours.

That was the main reason why I put that pond in, I knew the deer were coming through that area for water, but they were hitting it post/pre daylight. Now with the addition of the smaller pond, I'm seeing a lot more action during daylight hours.

It works, that's all I can say.

BT
 
One of the locations I bow hunt has a little watering hole.
I have lake around 200 yrds from this location, but the deer still love it. Esp. on those hot fall days.
The only problem I have ever found is that the wood ducks like to make noise when you come in for the hunt and the deer will hang around forever when you want to go home....but that is a nice problem to have!
 
On this topic, has anyone ever tried this? I was thinking of burying one of those 100 gallon stock tanks, the heavy duty plastic kind, in the ground with about 4"-6" sticking out (to reduce small animals falling in and stinking up the water). Then using 2x4's to make a small V shaped frame on which to attach a couple 4'x8' sheets of metal siding like that used on pole buildings. This would set at a slight angle and funnel rain water into the tank. I believe they use these types of watering tanks out west, but has anyone tried it on whitetails? I would think deer would use it if it were in a remote location and it would only require a hammer and a shovel to build.

Would deer likely ignore it when creek water was available?
 
TimberPig...I don't have any experience with that type of watering system. But it sounds like it would work fine after the deer became accustom to it. I may be concerned with it quickly filling up with forest matter and rodents if placed in the timber. It also sounds like quite a bit of work and expense if there are already other water sources available.

I can see many situations were the addition of a water hole would be a great draw for deer and others that wouldn't. Water sources are also going to vary from year to year based on the years rainfall. Deer are obviously going to prefer sources which provide them with the most security.

The only times I key in on a water source are during extremely dry conditions when deer are forced to
concentrate on a specific location.

One of my favorite stands years ago was a little shallow pond that was smack in the middle of a big timber. On dry years the pond banks were hammered with tracks. It was also enjoyable to watch all the other critters hit the hole.
 
I am gonna put a link to a picture so you can see the layout of my little water hole it is marked with an X, as you can see it is close to the lake but the deer from all other "little" patches of woods & fields will come there for a drink.

Home Site

I do hunt in woods on the other side of the bay also, but that isnt by any water hole just lots of water.
 
Looks like a good set up. I have a creek on my property that always dries up about a week after a rain. I have a spot I am thinking of damming up to make a small pool. Hopefully it will store enough water to get game coming in and it will take a while longer for it to dry up than the creek. I'll let you know how it works out.
 
Ghost- My first concern, other than that deer might not use it at all, was that it would fill up with leaves, mice, etc. However I really dont see how this would be any different than a pond, other than the dead mice would be less "diluted" so to speak in that small amount of water.

I probably wont bother to build one because I have a small creek that runs water 75% of the time anyway. The tank idea might work for somebody who has no creeks and their land is too flat for a pond.

I saw the tanks in a farm store for about $60. The rest you could probably scrounge up for free.
 
Timberpig: In one of my favorite spots the GFP put several of those tanks up. The deer use them all the time even though they have natural water sources nearby. They are all located in secluded spots in thick timber. I dont think many people know about them because I have never seen another human track nearby. I used to find small rodents in the tank so I put a good sized log in each one to give them something to climb out on. The live ones that is, I had to remove the drowning victims.
 
Might be something to tinker with if I get bored and need something to do. It would be pretty easy to make a little escape ramp for unlucky critters that fall in.
Do you remember approximately how large they made the watershed and how big the tank was?
 
The tanks are roughly 75-100 gallons and the watersheds are 16x16 appx. The water tanks are set up about 15 foot or so from the shed. Its odd that you ask because Ive been by them so many times yet Ive never paid attention to their size. Ive got one of my cameras set up by one so next time I check on it Ill snap a few pictures of the tank.
 
I guess the good thing with my watering hole is that there are trees that had blown down during a storm a few years ago that allow the critters to get out.
The raccoons, squirrels and turkeys even use the downed logs.
 
Its one of the more trashy looking ones but more deer and elk use this one than any other. Leading from the collection area there is a burried pipe leading to another tank about 15 yards away.
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