6 Trail Camera Strategies
By Mark Melotik
While some land managers advise keeping your trail cameras running all year, for most of us late June into early July is when the majority of trail cameras get hung. It's when most of us are starting to think about deer and fall hunting seasons, and there's also a good chance of getting a peek at local bucks sporting a good percentage of their final rack size come September. Here are a few things to remember as you hang your preseason cameras.
LIMIT CHECKS
Today's cellular cameras have virtually eliminated the need to visit camera locations after they are set, except in times of malfunction. However, many of you still have SD-based cameras in action. The key to their best use is to mostly leave them be.
Now, if you manage your own land and set cameras where they can be easily accessed by ATV or truck, your card-check schedule might be (and probably should be) much more frequent. But if you're utilizing roadless deep-woods locations, it can be critical to go unusually long between checks.
In some of my best big-woods locations, I'll set SD-card cameras in early July and won't check them again until hunting season begins in mid-September. In most cases, at that time those cameras will tell me all I need to know about the site's potential, including the appearance or absence of local doe groups (one of the most critical), and which bucks consider the area part of their summer/home range.
SECRET WATERHOLES
On public land in big woods with no obvious large food sources, it can be notoriously difficult to capture summer photos of mature bucks. However, if while scouting you stumble on a smallish, isolated waterhole or two, you might have hit the jackpot. Hang a camera on those, and you might catch photos of a reclusive monster — and a new stand site that might be hot all through the fall.
HANG 'EM HIGH
Whatever type of camera/flash/detection system you're running, some deer will not appreciate getting their photos taken. Hanging cameras higher, maybe 8-10 feet, not only guards against spooking deer, it also guards against theft, especially on public land. When setting your cameras, simply carry along a single climbing stick of some sort to get to the desired height.
NATURE'S HIDEY HOLES
Sometimes during our scouting forays some off-beat trail camera locations will jump out at you. Old hollowed-out tree shells and stumps, large fallen trees with horizontal branches stretching over head height, and things like rock formations in bluff country are great ways to monitor game trails while keeping your cameras hidden from both deer and human eyes.
GO INCOGNITO
Especially in the summer months, placing trail cameras between known bedding areas and food sources offers a smart way to access these areas to switch out SD cards without spooking deer. A critical preseason component is midday checks to avoid running into traveling deer, but during the season — if the locations remain good ones — you can check them on the way to, or back from, a current stand location — almost always your best option in hunting season.
SIZE UP THE COMPETITION
If you've taken the time to hide your cameras from mature bucks, they will also likely fool most humans passing by. And human traffic is good information, especially for public-land hunters. If I'm getting images of too many humans in what otherwise appears to be a promising location, experience has shown it's almost always best to move on to greener (more-isolated) pastures.
Sizing up the local competition is one reason I regularly take the extra step and add extra camouflage to most of my trail cameras that don't already come with a camo finish. The newest super-compact micro-camera designs certainly help, but I'll routinely epoxy extra sticks and leaves to my trail cameras for a realistic natural 3-D effect you might have trouble finding upon your next check.