Are you happy with your season?

Written By Michael Tepe, Fall Obsession Pro Staff

The 2022 season has come and gone. For some of you it was a great and memorable season, while for others it was a season you might like to forget. Right after the season, I always like to reflect on the past year’s successes and failures. This is the best time in my opinion to look at what went right or what went wrong and try to make the upcoming season even better. 

So how would you rate the past hunting season? As hunters we are our own biggest critics, as we should be. Personally, I would rate my own season at a solid “B”. Some would say I had a great season, but I feel I fell short on some of my goals habitat wise and hunting wise. Although I was able to harvest two nice bucks, I wasn’t able to harvest any of the “top end” bucks in the areas where I hunt. I had also set out to kill a big buck on my own land this year, which didn’t happen. The morning of October 28th will haunt me, even though i had an awesome hunt. I saw two shooters and had them both within 100 yards. And of course I dropped my grunt call earlier in the hunt! Needless to say, I want to make sure that doesnt happen again.

The Author with one of his two whitetails from the 2022 season

From a habitat standpoint I’d also rate my season a “B”. I had some great food plots, and I had one not so great food plot. My cover screen behind the house failed with some early November heavy snow, which pushed down my sorghum and it never recovered. I was however able to harvest two bucks with my bow on one of the foodplots that I planted. In hindsight, I also realized I needed to work on thickening up some of my properties for more late season cover. 

I find the winter is the best time to get a game plan going for the upcoming season. Here in the midwest, we’re under a blanket of snow and cold temps. Most people are getting cabin fever at this point, so what better way to get out and get fresh air than to walk your hunting properties. I look for deer sign in the areas I didn’t access during the season, and observe how the deer are utilizing the grounds I hunt. Rubs and scrapes and worn out trails can all be encouraging and help to put the puzzle together when preparing for next fall. Be critical of your habitat; is there enough cover on the grounds that you hunt? Is your access ruining your hunting? Are the stands and blinds that you hunt in the right spots? Ask yourself if you’re overpressuring your hunting grounds? These are just a few questions you should be thinking, even if you had a successful year.

If you arent happy with how the past season went, I encourage you to change what you’re doing. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 

Habitat management isn’t for everyone. I realize we don’t all have the same time, finances or resources and goals as one other. We don't all own land or lease land that we’re able to manipulate the habitats on. For those of you that have land you would like to have habitat work done on, I would recommend looking up a local consulting business to come in and help with your goals. If you don't havethe money to spend on consulting and are willing to put in some work, you can greatly improve your land by yourself. Here are some of the easier things you can implement on your land.

I recomend you have one to two vine licking branch scrapes at each of your hunting setups. If you dont have trees, look up other ways to have manmade scrapes that look natural in your setups. Another great habitat improvement is a waterhole. I recommend a heavy duty plastic 150 to 300 gallon tank and that you dig it into the ground so it’s flush with the soil. This will allow it to look natural and also catch rain to help keep them full. Also if you own a nice hardwood stand, have a forester come out and see if you have timber value. If so, I’d recommend having your property logged out, especially where you want deer to bed and spend their time at. This will put side cover on the ground immediately, and will allow sunlight to hit the forest floor and new regeneration will begin to explode in those areas, creating more browse and cover for your deer.

Also, if you're not already look into getting some food plots on the grounds you hunt; even clearing some timber to allow sunlight into a quarter acre plot can be a huge addition to your property. If you already plant food plots, be critical of what you're planting. Are you seeing the results you want? Is there enough food and attraction to last all throughout the hunting season? If not, I suggest you look into different plantings to help ensure you will have food throughout the whole season.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, and to some a daunting task. I say you just do the best you can with what resources you have. Always remember to have fun and enjoy all the time you get in God`s creation. I also will encourage you to check out content on YouTube and other platforms to gain more knowledge on how to improve your land and your success for future seasons. Regardless if last year was a good or bad year for you in the whitetail woods, I hope this upcoming fall you have the best season ever!