Q.Stand Placement & Tactics
How do I hunt a creek bottom for deer?
A.
Creek bottoms are natural travel corridors. Hunt them at crossings (where the only feasible passage funnels deer to a single point), at the edges where the bottom meets cover transitions, and on prevailing wind setups that carry scent up and out of the drainage. Bottoms also concentrate cold air, making them frost-prone — affects deer bedding choices.
The crossing itself is usually a kill spot — narrow, defined, with concentrated trail evidence. Set up upwind of the crossing on the side deer approach from.
During rut, creek bottoms become pre-rut and rut travel highways. State rut dates time the highest-percentage hunts.