Presidents Island, December2019

[AT Hiker]

Figured I would start something to share some experiences from this years hunt.
This will be my first year hunting it, other than that I plan to be there bright and early Thursday for scout day.

Feel free to post up any info or pictures. Maybe a local roll call for TNdeer guys.

*Please pm all coordinates to keep them secret [emoji16]

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[Andy S.]

Good luck bud, I hope you have a great experience and kill a big one along the way. I was hoping this thread would pop up soon.

 

[BLOODTRAIL]

Me and my son will be there. It's our first time hunting there. Will be there Thursday morning also scouting. Good luck to you Hope we all will kill a big un.

 

[pseshooter300]

Good luck

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Good luck!!! I'm expecting a play by play report. [emoji6]

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[Bucket]

I'll be there Thursday morning as well. Hunted the island 12 years ago and Mike Belt was kind enough to share some spots with me from his hunt the year before. I understand that it's a good bit different now than 12 years ago but I'm still excited.

 

[bigtex]

If anyone can kill a big buck there it would be you. Best of luck, hope you kill a monster!!!!!

 

[CBU93]

IMO and experience (have hunted the buck hunt three times), head to the river with 90% of the other hunters and hope a legal buck walks by in range.

 

[AT Hiker]

IMO and experience (have hunted the buck hunt three times), head to the river with 90% of the other hunters and hope a legal buck walks by in range.

Interesting really. I've waited a long time to hunt this place and the last thing I want to do is hunt where 90% of others go. However, I'm the type of hunter who does the opposite of others. Mainly because my patience suck and I like to wander and second guess myself 6 million times. But, this might be the one time I need to follow the cool kids. "Go West young man" and sit the river.

Looking at aerials and various maps that area does look big and promising.


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[Bucket]

I can confirm that on the last day of the hunt (12 years ago) the deer were traveling along the river bluff. It was pretty warm but they were still moving.

 

[Don'tDrinkTinks]

I killed yesterday in Shelby and he was chasing hard. It's hot right now. Hope it's still good for you guys.

 

[megalomaniac]

IMO and experience (have hunted the buck hunt three times), head to the river with 90% of the other hunters and hope a legal buck walks by in range.

Interesting really. I've waited a long time to hunt this place and the last thing I want to do is hunt where 90% of others go. However, I'm the type of hunter who does the opposite of others. Mainly because my patience suck and I like to wander and second guess myself 6 million times. But, this might be the one time I need to follow the cool kids. "Go West young man" and sit the river.

Looking at aerials and various maps that area does look big and promising.


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These deer dont react to pressure like normal whitetails....

I hunted a timbered funnel on the north end of the island expecting the 90% of hunters on the west end to push all the deer to me. The deer did not move more than a couple hundred yards from the hunters and never made it to my funnel. Pick the most obvious spot and go there. Dont try to outthink the hunters and the deer and bother with low pressure or escape routes. Fight the crowd and hang a stand on the far west end of the island.

Another thing... if you aren't seeing deer from the stand dont be afraid to hunt spot and stalk on the ground mid day. PI is one of the few places you can walk up on a mature buck on the ground and get to within bow range and kill him.

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[AT Hiker]

Another thing... if you aren't seeing deer from the stand dont be afraid to hunt spot and stalk on the ground mid day. PI is one of the few places you can walk up on a mature buck on the ground and get to within bow range and kill him.

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[emoji2958]
For the record this is my plan and I dont intend to piss anyone off. If I "mess you up" it's not intentional, it's an aggressive tactic that has worked for me on numerous hunts on unfamiliar territory.
I cannot stand ATVs but I deal with them, let the feeling be mutual.




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[bobbuck]

Good luck to you all! Hopefully I will draw it in a few years. Gonna be a long trip for me but when I draw it I will make the trip up.

 

[fairchaser]

Me and a couple buddies got drawn for Ensley this weekend. Any tips would be appreciated as well. Good luck to all who got drawn for these special hunts. Looks like decent weather this year too.

 

[CBU93]

Another thing... if you aren't seeing deer from the stand dont be afraid to hunt spot and stalk on the ground mid day. PI is one of the few places you can walk up on a mature buck on the ground and get to within bow range and kill him.

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[emoji2958]
For the record this is my plan and I dont intend to piss anyone off. If I "mess you up" it's not intentional, it's an aggressive tactic that has worked for me on numerous hunts on unfamiliar territory.
I cannot stand ATVs but I deal with them, let the feeling be mutual.

Sound plan and you should have some action. IMO you need colder weather than you are getting to really turn the Island on. Don't be afraid of what others will call unethical shot distance either. Wide open spaces will fool you on distance, but are the best scenario for those shots.

PopulTions are NOT what they once were on the Island but good deer still roam there.




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[fritoman]

I'm not going to be able to come till thursday afternoon. hopefully by 2 or 3

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[John3]

looking forward to it

 

[JeepKuntry]

Best of luck this weekend! Keep us posted.

 

[deerfever]

Good luck to all that are drawn! Keep us posted on how it goes. I am 10 points in and hope everyone of you see shooter bucks and have deer all over you!

 

[double browtine]

Good luck to everyone! If you are going to Ensley, carry tall rubber boots or hip boots, in case any of the areas are flooded. Thermacell, don't leave home without it!

 

[Bucks & Beards]

First day scouting report from Ensley.
To be honest it was kind of disappointing. Not nearly the sign one would hope for. Every hunter i talked to said the same thing. No sightings in the woods. Again, surprising in light of all the intrusion and activity. We walked pretty stadily from 8:00 am to 1:30 pm.
I saw one very good buck cross the levee heading into Ensley and another smaller buck. Saw one buck chasing a doe at the base of the levee. This one was hard to judge re size.
Trying to keep my head up. Heavy rain in the morning. But deer hunting has its surprises.

 

[AT Hiker]

I'm on the Island.

Most importantly I would like to thank a couple tndeer guys that helped me today. John3 saved me over a hour of walking and like 1000 calories. He generously hauled me and my gear to the spot I wanted to go into this morning. My borrowed quad decided to retire just before the hunt so its me and my boots this weekend.
Later on in the day I walked into a area to scout. Lo and behold I run into Bucket. He offers to haul me around and give me the grand tour of the island, of which I never would have seen while on foot.
There are a couple other guys that have offered up some advice behind the curtains, you guys have helped shorten the learning curve for this non river bottom hunting fool. Muchas gracias!

I suppose I should change my screen name to "Moocher"?

Anyways, scouting was decent. I only seen one live deer (spike) but I found some really good sign. Not over the top awesome like stories I've been told but definitely better than what I was expecting. Got one stand hung in a promising location.

This is a first for me. A tree with scrapes all the way around. At least 3 separate scrapes here. Scrapes have pretty much dried up.

A representative of the rubs.

I also scouted out a place where I thought would be good for spot and stalk. It looked awesome actually except I didn't see a single deer. I'm probably the only one on foot so surely I would have walked up on one? Anywhere else I would have.

Will rain fall on my tent tonight? Regardless, tomorrow is the day.
Good luck!


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[megalomaniac]

Good luck! Just remember, there is a 170in er somewhere on that island. Not many places in TN where you have a chance at a buck lime that

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[BULL MOOSE]

Good stuff....can't wait to follow and good luck to all the tndeer forum hunters.

 

[Stykbow]

Good luck guys. I hope all of you get the buck of your dreams.


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[Ski]

This is a first for me. A tree with scrapes all the way around. At least 3 separate scrapes here. Scrapes have pretty much dried up.

The few times I have witnessed or heard bucks fighting, that is exactly what the ground looked like. Almost like somebody had raked it clean.

 

[cbhunter]

Good luck to everyone there. We will be impatiently waiting for play by play or any updates for that matter


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[Ahuntin1]

Good luck to everyone! It's been 10 years since I got drawn and probably 5 more until I get drawn again. If one of y'all need some local hep, don't be scared to reach out.

 

[TN Larry]

Impatiently waiting on a text or update to this thread...............

We should be able to get drawn next year if we decide to. We've put in my son with less points the last few years to make sure we didn't get drawn.