Micro woods plot success pics

[pinetag]

I'm still a complete novice at food plotting so I would love to see some pics of micro plots (1/4 acre or less) that people have had success with, whether they be the plots themselves, game cam pics, or successful hunts in and around them. Also, what plants have you had the most success using in these small plots?

These are my two mirco plots down in the woods. The first is one I cleared last year and seeded some rye and clover in the fall. It got flooded out a little bit but there is still rye growing in there today.



This is the new one I just cleared and seeded and it winds back and to the left...

 

[j-bird]

I have essentially 2 plots like you describe....mostly because cover is limited here so I try to NOT loose my cover by putting plots in it.

This is between a stream and a larger plot of mine. Mostly planted in clover and meant to sort of be a staging type of plot during archery season. The nice thing is that this travel corridor between cover seems to get a fair amount of traffic and I can use the creek for access.



This plot was one where my timbering activities simply opened up the canopy to the point where I I felt I had to do something. I have a water hole near by and a thick area not to far as well. I also had my first turkey nest just off this plot last year. This plot is mostly chicory as I have found the deer really like it in early November here and I hope to use that to my advantage...again with a bow in my hand. This plot is located not 100 yards into the cover from the inside corner of a large ag field.

 

[pinetag]

I have essentially 2 plots like you describe....mostly because cover is limited here so I try to NOT loose my cover by putting plots in it.

This is between a stream and a larger plot of mine. Mostly planted in clover and meant to sort of be a staging type of plot during archery season. The nice thing is that this travel corridor between cover seems to get a fair amount of traffic and I can use the creek for access.
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This plot was one where my timbering activities simply opened up the canopy to the point where I I felt I had to do something. I have a water hole near by and a thick area not to far as well. I also had my first turkey nest just off this plot last year. This plot is mostly chicory as I have found the deer really like it in early November here and I hope to use that to my advantage...again with a bow in my hand. This plot is located not 100 yards into the cover from the inside corner of a large ag field.
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Nice j-bird! That's what I'm going for since I have nothing but big woods. Just something to get them comfortable and keep them hanging around and give the bucks places to scent check. Do you hunt near them often and if so have you seen much activity while on stand?

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[j-bird]

Ok.... the plot with the tractor in it.... to be honest could be 100% worthless. I don't know. I say that because I have never killed a deer while it was actually in the plot. I killed 2 bucks in 3 years in the general area of that plot...but neither deer actually got within 50 yards of it before I decide that was close enough. That plot is in a strip of connecting cover (as my place is 70% open ag ground). So I very likely would have encountered those deer regardless of that plot being there or not. The deer do use the plot as I have watched a doe and her twins pretty regularly use it before they would move out to the larger plot last year.

The other plot is only a year old and it's too open to hunt right on top of. I have not killed a deer there yet, but I have had opportunities. Again, I can't be certain that the deer was there because of the plot, the water hole or simply following the logging path.

The only plots I can tell you for certain helped me kill a deer are those that where standing in the plots when I killed them. And those are mostly my main plots that are far more open and I am using a gun.

With my habitat being very open I also have fairly low deer numbers. The lack of cover also keeps me from holding mature bucks. So the plots are my way of keeping the ladies happy. If Mr. Big wants to drop by for a snack that is fine, but it is the exception in my case. Normally I see no signs of the caliber of buck I am looking for until the urges of the rut puts them on their feet. I enjoy the smaller plots because I seem to get closer encounters... I'm not against killing a deer at 100 yards...but if I can get within 20 or so that is still a pretty cool feeling for me. Even if I don't shoot it.

 

[pinetag]

Ok.... the plot with the tractor in it.... to be honest could be 100% worthless. I don't know. I say that because I have never killed a deer while it was actually in the plot. I killed 2 bucks in 3 years in the general area of that plot...but neither deer actually got within 50 yards of it before I decide that was close enough. That plot is in a strip of connecting cover (as my place is 70% open ag ground). So I very likely would have encountered those deer regardless of that plot being there or not. The deer do use the plot as I have watched a doe and her twins pretty regularly use it before they would move out to the larger plot last year.

The other plot is only a year old and it's too open to hunt right on top of. I have not killed a deer there yet, but I have had opportunities. Again, I can't be certain that the deer was there because of the plot, the water hole or simply following the logging path.

The only plots I can tell you for certain helped me kill a deer are those that where standing in the plots when I killed them. And those are mostly my main plots that are far more open and I am using a gun.

With my habitat being very open I also have fairly low deer numbers. The lack of cover also keeps me from holding mature bucks. So the plots are my way of keeping the ladies happy. If Mr. Big wants to drop by for a snack that is fine, but it is the exception in my case. Normally I see no signs of the caliber of buck I am looking for until the urges of the rut puts them on their feet. I enjoy the smaller plots because I seem to get closer encounters... I'm not against killing a deer at 100 yards...but if I can get within 20 or so that is still a pretty cool feeling for me. Even if I don't shoot it.

I gotcha. I'm not actually hunting on top of mine either. I placed them where I did in hopes of catching bucks skirting around on the downwind sides of them. My closest stand is on the northeast side of the older ("creek") plot, about 50 yards away. I can just see into the edge of it when the leaves start to drop. I might could squeeze in a muzzleloader shot but I really would need to clear a shooting lane first before attempting that. There is a road behind me about 30 yards away with an old, overgrown road bed directly behind me(5 yards) and not a lot of useful habitat in between them, so very little chance of one getting downwind. The other plot has a stand about 70 yards to the north and then a different stand to the northwest about 150 yards away. I cannot really see the plot clearly from either setup.

I've gotten multiple does and fawns throughout the year using the creek plot, but only a couple small bucks have cruised in front of that camera. We'll see how it goes this year as I continue to make habitat improvements.

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[KSbowhunter]

The micro plots I've planted have been mostly white clover seeded with rye. Had a small 1/4 one that was in alfalfa for a couple years before it choked itself out from mowing and leaving the dead thatch on top. Going to seed some medium red clover in a new micro plot soon to see how it compares to the white clover. Killed my best deer ever in Sept last year as he was eating a new planting of rye with ladino clover seeded about a month earlier. Also some big white oaks dropping along the edge of the plot. Micro plots are the best place to find scrapes at my place!

 

[Drycreek]

I don't have pics, but I had two mini plots on the place I just sold. Never killed a deer in but one, they were both in the same creek bottom and the wind was always squirrely. The one buck I did kill was getting nervous when I ran a G5 Striker through his lungs. I had lots of traffic on the cams, but only when I wasn't hunting. I had WINA clover in both, and even though it was shady in them I had no trouble growing it after liming with bag lime.

 

[DIY]

Here are 2 of mine. I cleared, limed and planted them in September, so it’s a little too soon to say how well they will work. I only hunted them once this past season....saw 4 deer, which is a good day for that area.

Seed was a combination of Antler King Game Changer clover mix and BFO’s.

 

[pinetag]

The micro plots I've planted have been mostly white clover seeded with rye. Had a small 1/4 one that was in alfalfa for a couple years before it choked itself out from mowing and leaving the dead thatch on top. Going to seed some medium red clover in a new micro plot soon to see how it compares to the white clover. Killed my best deer ever in Sept last year as he was eating a new planting of rye with ladino clover seeded about a month earlier. Also some big white oaks dropping along the edge of the plot. Micro plots are the best place to find scrapes at my place!

Congrats on the success! Rye, oats, and clover seem to be the seeds of choice for these small plots.

 

[pinetag]

I don't have pics, but I had two mini plots on the place I just sold. Never killed a deer in but one, they were both in the same creek bottom and the wind was always squirrely. The one buck I did kill was getting nervous when I ran a G5 Striker through his lungs. I had lots of traffic on the cams, but only when I wasn't hunting. I had WINA clover in both, and even though it was shady in them I had no trouble growing it after liming with bag lime.

Lots of traffic when you weren't hunting? Haha, I know how that feels.

 

[pinetag]

Here are 2 of mine. I cleared, limed and planted them in September, so it’s a little too soon to say how well they will work. I only hunted them once this past season....saw 4 deer, which is a good day for that area.

Seed was a combination of Antler King Game Changer clover mix and BFO’s.

Plots look good from those pics! I like your setups too! Clover and oats is what I recently frost seeded in mine so I hope they turn out to look like these.

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

My micro plot in SETx Pineywoods

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

My main plot

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

Another micro plot at my home lease.

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

My main plot, soybeans. Everyday they were eating in it.

 

[Drycreek]

Did it ever get very tall ? I had trouble getting any growth in Trinity Co. , too many mouths. I guess that's a good problem to have though !

I did get a kick-ass plot of IC peas the first year, I think because they really didn't know what they were. The second year I got good growth but the deer ate them to the tough part of the vine in 6/7 weeks. At least I got that much out of them.

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

Drycreek, if your question was directed at me, no it didn't get very tall. Deer were eating it every 1-3 days. I have never had a tall foodplot, deer are voracious. The tallest it ever gets is this time of year.

 

[pinetag]

Drycreek, if your question was directed at me, no it didn't get very tall. Deer were eating it every 1-3 days. I have never had a tall foodplot, deer are voracious. The tallest it ever gets is this time of year.

Besides soybeans what else did you put in those plots? What worked the best as far as growth and longevity?

 

[Drycreek]

Drycreek, if your question was directed at me, no it didn't get very tall. Deer were eating it every 1-3 days. I have never had a tall foodplot, deer are voracious. The tallest it ever gets is this time of year.

It looks like you had lots of weed and grass competition. I had a bad pigweed problem in a couple of my Rusk Co. plots and had to go Roundup Ready beans for two years running to knock them back to something I could manage. The grass and weeds will compete for moisture and nutrients and cause you to not get your full potential as far as crop growth.

With "ice cream" crops like beans and peas, it's important to have a plot as weed and grass free as possible IMO, so that the crop you plant gets all the advantages and can out-produce the browsing. I also usually plant about 15% to 20% more seed than what's called for because if the plot is "crowded", I want it thick with food, not weeds. A thick growth of beans or peas will shade out weeds and grasses if you can control them until your crop gets some growth.

I've read that you can't have success with small plots, (say an acre or so), of beans or peas, but that depends on your deer density, your native browse, and if you have other crops available, such as perennial clover. After all, these foods are mostly available at the same time. I have had much success with two or three 1.5 acre bean or pea plots scattered out over a 200 acre place because I had good native browse and two WINA clover plots. On the other hand, in Trinity Co., my two acre plot of IC peas lasted less than two months before it was eaten down to nothing. Last spring, I tried a Sunn Hemp and IC peas mix, but the drought got me before I really got started. Rain, or the lack of it, is something we can't control, so.......we just have to try again. Good luck with your plots this year !

 

[Sir Miss A Lot]

Yes there was some weeds. A lot of them was natural forage for the deer so I fertilized them right along with the beans, not the best thing to do, but the deer kept eating it. Along with the soybeans there was clover also in the plot. Spring time however, I concentrate on soybeans. I plant them very thick to choke out the weeds, but the deer kept them browsed down.
I disagree with the "you cant be successful with small plots" crowd. I know several people that use them and are "successful". The whole purpose behind a plot is to supplement their natural feed. The lease I'm on has several small plots that we keep planted with something all year round. Total plot acerage roughly 8 acres, maybe a little more, on 1500 acs. I believe the more we can plant, it is good for the habitat as a whole.
I will be planting a Forage bean this year, gonna order them Thurs, maybe they will keep the weeds down.