Help - Public Land Question

1210 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by jcd390, Dec 13, 2012

jcd390

Discussion Starter · Dec 3, 2012

Alright guys so I have a question and was curious about what the majority of you would do. Here is the situation:

I went to Indian Bayou (Louisiana) in August and Sept to scott, I had found three different locations that looked like they had some potential. So since this weekend was Gun Season and the next two would be primitive I decided to to head all the way to the end of the back ATV trail and go check out the spots today. Well, low and behold flagging was everywhere!!! Even tough the pamphlet says "no flagging allowed", it was so dense with flagging I don't know how anyone could follow it. Anyway, I still made my way back to check out the areas and yeap the one area that you know will produce had a big on flag wrapped around the tree.

So my question is would you pass up the spot and start looking somewhere else or hunt the spot anyway. I know it is public land and its first come first serve and I don't want to cause a conflict but at the same time I did my work and I would really hate to pass up on a great spot.

Have any of you ever found yourself in this situation? What did you do or would you do?

Thanks

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trip286

· #2 · Dec 3, 2012

Flagging not allowed? I would do my part to help protect my public lands (please and thank you. I enjoy this state too), by removing said illicit flagging and cleaning up that litter.

Then, be very respectful of anyone you may find out there. Enter the woods tactically, so as not to disturb the game any more than necessary, in case someone beats you to the spot.

If someone beats you there, keep in mind, they may have been hunting that spot for years, and may have flagged it to let others know it was scouted.

Be courteous with anyone you may meet.

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tri70

· #3 · Dec 3, 2012

It sounds like a bad place to be, to many hunters and not enough deer. I would get way off a trail to keep from running into others and altercations.

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jcd390

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 3, 2012

tri70 said:
It sounds like a bad place to be, to many hunters and not enough deer. I would get way off a trail to keep from running into others and altercations.

They have plenty of deer, its just that the main hunting area is in the swamp so it can push all the hunter towards one another. I don't have a problem hunting around other hunters since I typically stay on stand all day and use their movement to my benefit. The problem I have is the flagging! If it wasn't illegal to flag I would say go for it but at least leave the woods cleaner than before or get a GPS!

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orangello

· #5 · Dec 3, 2012

It's not your land; it's not your decision; make the relevant ranger-type aware of the problem and it's impact on your and others' hunts.

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jcd390

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 3, 2012

orangello said:
It's not your land; it's not your decision; make the relevant ranger-type aware of the problem and it's impact on your and others' hunts.

Acuatlly it is our land, its our tax dollars that go to keep up the roads, forest, and waterways. If the problem continues, you are right it will have an impact on us. There will become stricter laws and/or limit the hunting. It just burns me up that people have no respect for the woods. How hard is it to pick up your trash after you hunt?

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orangello

· #7 · Dec 3, 2012

jcd390 said:
Acuatlly it is our land, its our tax dollars that go to keep up the roads, forest, and waterways. If the problem continues, you are right it will have an impact on us. They will become stricter laws and/or limit the hunting. It just burns me up that people have no respect for the woods. How hard is it to pick up your trash after you hunt?

It is "our land" in name only. We have no more right to it than anyone else in the country and much LESS right to it than the federal, state, or local government overseeing it; don't believe me, go build a cabin there or try to borrow money against it or collect for the mineral rights when they are exploited.

Public property is property of the government, not "the people" and has been so for many, many years. Don't fool yourself.

I do agree that we should take better care of it when we use it, if for no other reason that to prevent the true owners of the property, the guberment, from denying us what few rights/access we peasants are still allowed with it.

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jcd390

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 3, 2012

orangello said:
It is "our land" in name only. We have no more right to it than anyone else in the country and much LESS right to it than the federal, state, or local government overseeing it; don't believe me, go build a cabin there or try to borrow money against it or collect for the mineral rights when they are exploited.

Public property is property of the government, not "the people" and has been so for many, many years. Don't fool yourself.

Gotcha! I didn't know where you were coming from on "your land". I completely agree with you about how its the governments property. However, my point is if we continue to misuse and not abide by the laws, its just going to be taken away from us that much sooner.

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John_Deer

· #9 · Dec 3, 2012 (Edited)

If you want to mark a spot use a thumbtack. You know other hunters will be in the area so make your marks as inconspicuous as possible. I do use the reflective thumbtacks sparingly, away from main paths and walking trails. If you use very many reflective thumbtacks someone will spot them.

I use a canoe or pirogue to access areas from a different direction than other hunters. Using small boats allows you to get much deeper in the swamp than hunters on a 4 wheeler or on foot.

When I hunt on public land I don't care if someone has flagged a spot or not. I am going to take down any flags I see and hunt the area as I please. Like other posters have said it's first come first serve. I do respect other hunters. That does not mean I won't use them as drivers. I know 90% of other hunters will leave the area by 10 am. Deer can't count. They see hunters leaving and feel safe.

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jcd390

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 3, 2012

John_Deer said:
I use a canoe or pirogue to access areas from a different direction than other hunters. Using small boats allows you to get much deeper in the swamp than hunters on a 4 wheeler or on foot.

That is typically how I get in, however there is no water this year so I was forced to find a new area. I think I am going to hunt the spot like I originally planned. If someone comes up during my hunt they will either respect me and more on or I will politely climb down and go somewhere else.

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lucznik

· #11 · Dec 12, 2012

I didn't read all the responses so; I may be redundant here but, this is what I would do:

1- I would pull down as much of the flagging as I could manage.
2 - I would find another place to hunt. The presence of all that flagging says that the place is too popular and you'll be tripping over people throughout the season. That's as close to a guarantee of low-to-no success possibilities as I can imagine. The place may look good now but, no animal is going to tolerate flocks of hunters in the area.

On public land you've got to find just one thing - reasonably productive area where others do not, can not, or will not go. This usually means going a lot further (or sometimes, a lot closer) than anyone else into mean, mean territory.

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jcd390

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 13, 2012

lucznik said:
This usually means going a lot further (or sometimes, a lot closer) than anyone else into mean, mean territory.

Actually this what I have decided to do. I have found that everyone is going all the way to the back and the deer have been pushed towards the front. Go figure!

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