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Around the beginning of October each year, I begin to think about deer hunting and preparations for the bow and gun seasons. Unlike thoughts of fishing that seem to pervade my every waking moment, I really don’t think about hunting too much until the bow season is well underway and the leaves begin to fall from the trees.

Only after a few late-fall outings in the boat that leave my teeth chattering and hands numb and otherwise completely useless do I abandon open-water fishing for the woods.

I’ve enjoyed hunting with my father-in-law and brother-in-law for a number of years now on sixty private acres near Scandia. Consistent with much of Zone 2 hunting, where human movement and nearby shooting force deer to move, we typically experience fast action during the first few hours on opening day. It doesn’t take long after the noisy opener for the deer to entrench themselves, which can sometimes make for a less-than-eventful Saturday afternoon and Sunday hunt.

While it is tough to witness deer following anything resembling their normal routine once the shooting begins on opening weekend, I’ve had some good success using tactics such as a rattle bag or call to lure deer to my stand during the latter part of the workweek. Usually, by Wednesday or Thursday of the gun season, deer seem to relax and resume their typical routines while most other area hunters are at home, biding their time until Saturday morning of the second weekend.

I’m still only thinking about deer hunting. I haven’t been out yet.

There are some active walleyes feeding in the shallows of Green Lake and the upper St. Croix that’ll keep me fishing for a while. As long as I can still feel my hands, you’ll find me in the boat.

Dan Brown’s weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankies Bait and Marine in Chisago City and St. Croix Outdoors in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.

Dan Brown is a director at the Chisago Lakes Achievement Center in Chisago City. In addition, Brown is a fly casting instructor and trout fishing guide at Seven Pines Lodge in Lewis, WI. Recently Brown was featured on Ron Schara’s Minnesota Bound and ESPN II’s Backroads with Ron and Raven, as well as KSTP channel 5’s Eyewitness News Morning Show. He is a Taylors Falls resident and can often be found on the area lakes, trout streams and the St. Croix river.

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