This year having to hunt Management for the first time have always been on a lease. So what I'm asking is does anyone have any tip on how to hunt these areas? Can I start scouting now or do I have to wait till closer to the season? Sorry for asking stuiped ?????s
The majority of the WMAs are open year round so you can scout whenever you want. Some though have gates that they close and are open a day or two before the season starts for scouting. Biggest tip you will get when hunting any WMA, is to get as far away from the other hunters as possible :toast
flhuntfish is right on the money. and in my limited exp with only 4 diff wma's, each is a world unto itself with it's own set of rules and regs and season dates etc etc. some have locked gates some don't, carefull ya don't get locked in after sunset, or at anytime for that matter .when the seasons closed I suppose they could open/close the gates whenever they want. I want to put a bike rack on my car/truck for those times when gates are locked. could cover alot more ground on a bike than on foot, but wouldn't be seeing as much/as well as if on foot. always pick up a map/regs booklet whenever going thru a wma check in area,if they have them, they are essential for regs info and trail maps. you can get them at the cty clerks office, but are usualy out of severall of them.
+1, be ready to walk long and far. Google Earth is good for determining habitat and planning scouting trips. Remember to look for natural funnels from likely bedding areas to acorn and water (depending on the area) sources.
If you do go scouting pre-season, I would recommend starting scouting deep rather than up close....as soon as those gates open it's going to be a gaggle*%* of people trying to hunt everything within 1/2 mile of the road. Scouting those areas is only good for the beginning of season because you might have a great area and buck pegged, but some moron is going to stumble through your hunt and screw it up or the pressure is going to push them deeper......there are always the exceptions and luck, but I wouldn't count on it.
Get a GPS and use it instead of any cat-eyes or flags for your stands, as other people like to piggyback off of other's work.
Watch out for other people. Those two-legged creatures are more scary than anything I've experienced in the woods.
I going to hunt the econfina creeek management area and was planning putting my gheenoe in and going up the creek so I'm thinking I'll be able to get to spots the average hunter can't get to or at least hoping any got a topo map of the area today I'll study and next week start beating the ground in the woods
