| Post Season to Pre Season: | | Print | |
| Written by Tom Jackson - NJ-Hunter.com Pro Staff |
| Friday, 01 June 2007 00:00 |
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Post season - a time when we are all faced with getting used to stepping away from the hunt. There are a lot views on how to take the months after the hunting season and I am sure that what happened during the season can be a big factor. Some are excited to step back knowing that the mount is at the taxidermist and they are able to sleep in late on the weekends. Others will want to continue to experience time in the field following up on deer patterns, shed hunting, scouting some new spots or simply just removing stands before they become a permanent part of the woods. As this could be viewed as a time out, I prefer to look at this as an opportunity to reflect and do some learning. One practice I would like to share is creation of a lessons learned logbook. At the end each season, I spend about an hour by myself and sometimes with a few buddies taking stock of key things to remember for next season and longer. Things like weather movement relationships, equipment pros and cons, and subtle things such as personal movement and positioning come to mind. For the most part, I want to capture what worked and what didn?t. To make life easy, I keep a file on my computer with my year to year lessons. Another area I like to focus on is finding new hunting areas. Not so much a detailed scouting effort but more of a large sweep for new areas. Talking to others, knocking on doors and asking about township properties continues to yield up some new areas to take a closer look at. I am also beginning to realize that many future New Jersey hunting opportunities may not be on 100 acre farms but on smaller pieces sandwiched between a few housing developments. The opportunities are out there, it is just a matter of effort to get the information and access. With the variety of digital scouting cameras available at relatively low cost, scouting while you?re not in the woods is an even better way to stay connected with what?s going on in the field. Finally, as May comes to a close and the thrill of early morning gobbling slowly fades from the forefront of our minds, we can turn our full attention to the many fishing?opportunities that will?hopefully provide the necessary excitement to get us through the slow months of summer. Then before we know it, it will be time to get out the bow and?start warming up for the fall again. Happy hunting, NJ-Hunter.com Pro-Staff Tom Jackson |
