# Float hunting for Whitetails



## beorning (Apr 14, 2006)

I hunt a lot of public land, with the usual issues to grumble about. Too much orange in the woods, some yokel tromping through my setup, et cetera. I just read an interesting article about using a canoe to hunt deer on public land as a method to get to places that other folks usually can't. Don't have enough time to scout it out this year, but there are small rivers running through several of the places I hunt. The method I read about consists of doing a very slow downstream float alone or with one other person (only one shooter) Seems like such a good idea I can't believe everyone isn't doing it.

Anyone ever do this? The only concern I have is the water icing up before gun deer. I'll be watching this year to see how it looks, and doing a good bit of scouting in the spring. I'd be interested to hear some stories if anyone has them.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Ive used boats to get to hunting areas, but never really did a lot of deer hunting FROM the boat. It also depends on the regulations where you are. Make sure if you use a boat that its big enough to haul you AND your deer. Canoes arent very stable and boating in cold weather can be VERY dangerous. In flowing streams its always good to hunt UPSTREAM from where you put in since it will make getting back much easier. You should be able to find aerial photos of your hunting area online and they can be VERY helpful in choosing hunting location. Boat hunting can be very productive. Good luck!


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## beorning (Apr 14, 2006)

Thanks for the advice. 

I'm looking at using a 17' old towne tripper. Floats about 1500 lbs and is pretty stable, as far as canoes go. I'm going to play around in it this coming spring and summer while I'm scouting and see if a stabilizer is neccesary. At any rate, there should be ample room for me, a buddy, and a deer.

I'm thinking I'll do this the same way that I would any other float, i.e.- we'll have two vehicles, one left where we put in and another where we plan on pulling out, so there won't be any fighting the current. If I'm alone, I'll find someone to drop me off and leave my truck at the end. I also plan on having spare clothing, et cetera in a dry bag, just in case there is a problem. The rivers I'm looking at are small and slow. No rapids at all. 

I did just pull topo maps of the areas I'm thinking of. The shortest run is two miles, so I'll have to work on timing. I might look at areas further afield to see if I can find some longer runs. The shorter ones might merit anchoring in the middle of the run for awhile.

I've found a few more articles about this. I'm getting pretty excited about it. Shame I didn't scout any huntable rivers this summer...


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## Guest (Oct 23, 2006)

This is something I have thought about before myself. There are two lakes nearby me that would be good for that. One a small lake is owned by the city of Tulsa, Okla. that people can hunt around and the other lake is even smaller and it is owned by a power company that people have access to the land surrounding it also. Often times when fishing these lakes we would see deer coming to the banks for a drink. But, that was some 10 - 15 years ago and I still haven't tried it yet!


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## Bear (Jan 25, 2005)

I used to know some guys, one a warden, in New Brunswick that floated large creeks and some rivers to hunt. The warden, also a big game guide, stated this was the best way to hunt. You can really get into some remote spots where human presence is rare, if at all. He shot many a deer and bear (something like 25 bears) right from the canoe. He also said floating along in the canoe doesn't spook the game, as they are used to seeing objects floating by in the water and don't associate danger with this ; not like a human tromping around on land. He also had a big 17 ft. canoe which he hauled in supplies and game out. To get back upstream he carried a small outboard motor that he would hang over the side on some homemade mount. Worked like a charm! I regret to this day yet that I never took him up on one of these hunts. He was a great guy, once gave me and my buddy a free week of hunting and board, in exchange for me laying some linoleum (sp.?) in the bunkhouse!


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