EARLY season treestand hunting over water

[Local577bowhunter]

Hey guys, I’m heading out in about three weeks for an awesome hunting season, i Hunt Idaho every year for 2-3 weeks but have planned for five years now to make 2020 a big year, I’ll be hunting Utah August 15-28, idaho as long as it takes to kill a bull then if there’s enough season left I’ll go to Colorado. I started my pipefitter apprenticeship five years ago and planned to make my top out year a big one, I’ve put back money for this and have unemployment to cover expenses when I take a lay-off for the fall so I’m blessed with the opportunity to head west with no set schedule or return date.
I will be hunting northern Utah (north slope) and am excited about what I’m finding on google earth, looks like amazing elk country and plenty of it to keep a guy busy. My thoughts have been that August 15th in Utah will probably be 80 degrees if not better? I’m used to that in Idaho and I know the game,you see them feeding for the first and last 15 minutes oF daylight.
In Idaho I’ve been able to move quick and cut them off hunting spot and stalk but the area in Utah isn’t quite as open as I’m used to. I thought about maybe bringing my line wolf as much as I hate treestand time and sitting over water during the afternoon.
That being Said the whole north and south slope Are COVERED in water and I’m sure there’s a ton more you can’t see on google earth, i I’m afraid sitting water may be a waste of time.
Do you all suggest sitting water since I do have 2-3 weeks to hunt Utah or do you think I’d be better if still hunting timber, in Idaho I’ll walktimber painstakingly slowly and I’ve had a lot of luck finding beddedherds, however I hate to Bump elk on accident considering how much time I have.
If anyone has experience in that area or any suggestions please feel free to pm me or comment, sorry for the rambling post and thanks for reading, good luck this year and stay safe everyone! Included a picture of my 2019 bull I killed on my solo Idaho hunt, 9 yards bugling one my face!

 

[Griztrax]

Last year in Montana I set out a game camera on a watering source and had daily photos/video all through the heat of the summer including the last 2 weeks of August. When not being pushed too hard, elk seem to get into a pattern and sitting over water can be a great way to hunt them. I think learning the direction of travel and where you expect the elk to come from will be key as well as identifying your approach to the stand each day. Scent always seems to be the key even when sitting a watering hole. Good luck on all your adventures and congrats on your bull from last year.

 

[brushcreek]

taking unemployment money to go hunting???

 

[Local577bowhunter]

taking unemployment money to go hunting???

ive worked 3200-3600 hours a year the last five years saving money to move west when i topped out, now that ive topped out ive saved $120k to head west and start a life with. taking a layoff (since im moving from ohio i cant move the current project im on to idaho) and going to work out there after hunting season is over.
i work seven days a week all year to make my 4 week hunting trips feasible and considering im moving id imagine drawing unemployment (something i pay into every hour i work) and getting $500 a week while hunting would be better than taking a month with $0 a week lol
i dont know if youre familiar with the trades or not but thats one of the huge draws i had to it, the freedom to stack up hours all year so you can take extended time during hunting season. im not withdrawing unemployment to fund a hunting trip, thats what covers expenses during your time off so you dont touch savings. we pay into it every hour and what we dont use the state keeps, be a fool not to take advantage of it between jobs. friends like to scold me for taking a month off work every fall and i tell them, "while you were at cookouts and parties and kayaking every weekend through the summer i worked every weekend and while you were at the beach i was still at work, the time off evens out i just take it all at once"

 

[Local577bowhunter]

Last year in Montana I set out a game camera on a watering source and had daily photos/video all through the heat of the summer including the last 2 weeks of August. When not being pushed too hard, elk seem to get into a pattern and sitting over water can be a great way to hunt them. I think learning the direction of travel and where you expect the elk to come from will be key as well as identifying your approach to the stand each day. Scent always seems to be the key even when sitting a watering hole. Good luck on all your adventures and congrats on your bull from last year.

thanks for the response, ill bring a few cameras and set them up over wallows and see what i find out. im burned out on the treestand game from whitetail hunting in ohio but if thats what it takes to get it done ill set there as long as it takes. good luck this year!

 

[Preston.W_HDO]

Man wish i had your year! Honestly, being that long in Utah, if you sat the same hole from sun up to sun down, eventually you'll get something to come in for sure (obviously depending on wind). But to me, I don't have that kind of patience. Good luck on this season!

 

[Local577bowhunter]

Man wish i had your year! Honestly, being that long in Utah, if you sat the same hole from sun up to sun down, eventually you'll get something to come in for sure (obviously depending on wind). But to me, I don't have that kind of patience. Good luck on this season!

Yeah I tell myself the same thing on a lot of these hunts but I’m like you, no patience I like to stay moving but I’m just afraid in the heat I won’t have much choice. Yeah I’m excited for this season it’s an awesome opportunity for sure, perks of being single with no kids

 

[Mallardsx2]

I know a guy who kills a bull every year sitting the same water hole in Utah. He sits it about 10 times from daylight to dark and kills a bow with his bow yearly.

When he went with me to Colorado he didn't even own an elk call nor did he have a clue how to use one...lol

 

[Gman12]

We hunt exclusively water during the first weeks of the season and it is very effective. But the area we hunt is very arid and there are very few water sources. In some areas there may not be water for 2-3 miles so the elk are coming to the available sources consistently. Maybe you can find an area with good habitat but very limited water in an area and focus there. If the elk have multiple choices then obviously it makes it more difficult to narrow down the hotspot. It is not unusual to see the elk come to water two hours before dark in the evenings even when it is fairly warm.

 

[Local577bowhunter]

We hunt exclusively water during the first weeks of the season and it is very effective. But the area we hunt is very arid and there are very few water sources. In some areas there may not be water for 2-3 miles so the elk are coming to the available sources consistently. Maybe you can find an area with good habitat but very limited water in an area and focus there. If the elk have multiple choices then obviously it makes it more difficult to narrow down the hotspot. It is not unusual to see the elk come to water two hours before dark in the evenings even when it is fairly warm.

your comment about limited water is my only concern, there are lakes and rivers all over the mountain, that being said, alot of those big open lakes arent going to be used by elk, im hoping to find some timbered water holes and wallows and wait them out. ive done that in idaho and youre hard pressed to sit a whole day without at least some cow and calf action

 

[Gman12]

your comment about limited water is my only concern, there are lakes and rivers all over the mountain, that being said, alot of those big open lakes arent going to be used by elk, im hoping to find some timbered water holes and wallows and wait them out. ive done that in idaho and youre hard pressed to sit a whole day without at least some cow and calf action

Looks like it is going to take some scouting to find which water source they are using most. I would think a source that is closest to their bedding area would be best. We have found that it really doesn't make much difference whether the source is in or near timber as they are just as likely to come out in the wide open as they are to use the wallows in timber. And we have had luck with nice bulls using the water in daylight too. The evenings hunts seem to produce more consistently as I think sometimes elk water just before daylight in the mornings. It has been really dry so far this summer in the area of CO where we hunt so the water sources will be even more limited if this weather pattern continues into Sept.

 

[golfer]

We hunt exclusively water during the first weeks of the season and it is very effective. But the area we hunt is very arid and there are very few water sources. In some areas there may not be water for 2-3 miles so the elk are coming to the available sources consistently. Maybe you can find an area with good habitat but very limited water in an area and focus there. If the elk have multiple choices then obviously it makes it more difficult to narrow down the hotspot. It is not unusual to see the elk come to water two hours before dark in the evenings even when it is fairly warm.

What time of day do you normally see elk using water? How pressured is the area?

 

[Scrappy]

taking unemployment money to go hunting???

I really tried to not respond to this thread due to it being a negative comment but my brain just wont drop it. I was raised that a man taking an unemployment check was something to be embarrassed about, definitely not something to be proud of.

 

[Gman12]

What time of day do you normally see elk using water? How pressured is the area?

We normally see elk the first two hours of daylight and the last few hours in the afternoons. The evenings seem more consistent. The area is unpressured private land and we hunt the opening week.