With season just a month away I wanted to drop everyone a note. things here are going well i have been seeing allot of quail along the road sides and the food plots are coming along nicely.
PS: If you are out conditioning your dog or yourself be sure not to get over heated and keep plenty of water close for you and your dogs
Terry Abney
You still have an opportunity to archery hunt Pike Co, IL. There are left over non resident tags that will be sold first come first serve in Aug, so do not hesitate to make your plans for this fall. Here is a list of the hunts I still have availability during. Feel free to contact me at the lodge at 217-734-2526 if you have any questions or would like to reserve your spot. All hunts are fully guided whitetail hunts in Pike Co. or Calhoun Co. IL. Meals and lodging are included. Check out or website at www.Heartlandlodge.com
Archery Hunts:
**Arrive Oct 26, hunt Oct 27-31, and depart on Nov 1. Normal hunt cost is $3650, updated price $3150. The best pre rut opportunity. 5 spots remain.
Arrive Sept 30, hunt Oct 1-5, and depart on Oct 6. Hunt cost is $2550. Only 1 spot remains.
Arrive Oct 10, hunt Oct 11-13, and depart on Oct 14. Hunt cost is $1450. 6 spots remain.
Arrive Oct 26, hunt Oct 27-31, and depart on Nov 1. Hunt cost is $3650. 4 spots reman. This is the absolute best pre rut week possible.
Arrive Nov 13, hunt Nov 14-18, and depart on Nov 19. Hunt cost is $3950. This is peak rut action and the last archery week before firearm season. 6 spots remain.
Dec 3-6 Firearm Season. 2 available spots, hunt cost is $3350. This is a 5 night, 4 day firearm hunt.
I have discussed the need for food in terms of overall whitetail health in previous emails.
The other avenue in whitetail management that I would like to discuss is water. I find this topic appropriate due to the onset of summer.
Just as all other animals, deer need water to survive. Everybody knows this but tend to overlook it. The whitetail deer goes through two main stress periods in a year, late winter and late summer. Late winter poses two different stresses. Lack of food and in Northern regions lack of water (due to freezing). The stress in late summer revolves mostly around water.
During the spring and early summer deer get a lot of their daily intake of water through the food that they eat. The browse and agricultural foods that they are ingesting are carrying a lot of water in the plant matter that the deer eat. As the plants growth rate slows or stops its water content lessens. The end result is drying up plants and browning of the leaves. This process shows up in late summer and early fall. To compound the decreasing water content in the plants this also happens to be the driest time of the year in most areas. If the deer herd doesn’t have immediate access to water at all times it can cause significant stress. Traveling to and from a water source in extreme heat causes the most stress. If a whitetail buck is stressed from the lack of water his body starts making “cutbacks”. The first thing to go during this period is antler growth. So if a drought hits early in a bucks growing period it can significantly reduce antler size. Plant production also plays a big part in diminished antler size during a drought. The less rain you have the less high protein foods you will have. This is more significant in the South since here in the Midwest our spring and early summer months are fairly wet. Droughts have and will continue to happen here so we still need to pay close attention to this.
If you have your own personal farm and don’t have a water source on or nearby I strongly encourage you to invest in a pond. It doesn’t have to be a 5 acre lake or anything. Just a nice little water hole that is deep enough to hold water during the arid summer will suffice. Many states Soil Conservation Department will assist in some of the cost for ponds that help control erosion. I think you will find that this new pond will be just as effective as a good food plot for attracting wildlife.
Here at Heartland Lodge we focus on water during the hot days of the hunting season and have great success. If you have any questions or comments for me please let me know and good luck this fall.
Yours in the outdoors,
www.Heartlandlodge.com
Just to keep everyone updated, we just put out our first trail cameras of the year in hopes to catch a few good bucks we have been seeing around the lodge. One has already exceeded the 100″ mark with plenty of time to go. We ended up putting out the DCL Covert II cameras, and I am very pleased with the operational ease of the camera. I will keep you guys posted on what I end up getting on film and will post them on our website photo galleray at http://www.heartlandlodge.com/hunting/hunting-photo-gallery.html. Don’t forget about the non resident archery tag deadline, and if you are still looking to hunt Pike Co. IL feel free to contact me at the lodge. www.Heartlandlodge.com
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
Matt
Well its June and things are looking good for this upcoming season. We are seeing broods of pheasants while we are preparing the grounds for food plots. Just wanted to drop a note to say Thank You to everyone that hunted with us this past year and hope to see you this coming fall. I would enjoy hearing from you and I will be posting more updates through-out the summer.
Terry Abney
http://www.heartlandlodge.com/hunting/upland-bird-hunting.html
Matt Farnham
As summer hits here in Pike Co. IL, I am on the move. Here is a list of the upcoming shows that Heartland Lodge will be exhibiting at. Feel free to stop by the booths and see what’s happening.
Jacksonville Big Buck Expo, Jacksonville FL. June 19-21
Lakeland Big Buck Expo, Lakeland FL. July 10-12
World Deer and Turkey Expo, Birmingham AL. July 17-19
QDMA National Convention, Louisville KY. July 25-26
Here is a list of the hunts I still have availability during. Feel free to contact me at the lodge at 217-734-2526 if you have any questions or would like to reserve your spot. All hunts are fully guided whitetail hunts in Pike Co. or Calhoun Co. IL. Meals and lodging are included. Check out or website at www.Heartlandlodge.com
Archery Hunts:
**Arrive Oct 26, hunt Oct 27-31, and depart on Nov 1. Normal hunt cost is $3650, updated price $3150. The best pre rut opportunity. 5 spots remain.
Arrive Sept 30, hunt Oct 1-5, and depart on Oct 6. Hunt cost is $2550. Only 3 spots remain.
Arrive Oct 10, hunt Oct 11-13, and depart on Oct 14. Hunt cost is $1450. 6 spots remain.
Arrive Nov 13, hunt Nov 14-18, and depart on Nov 19. Hunt cost is $3950. This is peak rut action and the last archery week before firearm season. 6 spots remain.
Dec 3-6 Firearm Season. 2 available spots, hunt cost is $3350. This is a 5 night, 4 day firearm hunt.
Dec 12-14 Muzzleloader Only Season. 4 available spots on our “140 inch Trophy Farms”. These farms are strickly managed and are set up for you to harvest a true Illinois giant. Hunt cost is $3350 per hunter. This is a 4 night, 3 day hunt.
With the heat of summer upon us many people forget about the importance of scouting for the upcoming fall. This is the time of year when the bucks in your area are the most relaxed and the most visible. Often time’s hunters will wait until September to glass fields looking for bucks. By the time Sept. rolls around most of the bucks have shed their velvet and have begun to regress back to their hermit type lifestyle. Now is the time to take inventory on your buck herd for this fall.
For most of the summer bucks will stay in bachelor groups. The size of these groups will vary I have seen groups of up to 10 bucks together during the summer. These bucks will have a very small range during this time of year. They will stay in their “bachelor pad” grow antlers and get fat for the fall.
My favorite areas to look for bachelor groups are soybean, clover, alfalfa, and hay fields. These high protein food sources are on the whitetails dinner plate this time of year. The best advice that I can give is to glass these fields from the road if possible. If you don’t have road access to some fields make sure that you stay a good distance away from the deer. The main thing is to keep your summer recon missions as low impact as possible.
If the farm that you hunt does not have any of these food sources on it keep your eyes on the surrounding farms (from the road). A buck’s summer range will often differ from his winter range. You may see your favorite adversary a mile down the road from your farm.
Although these bucks will live together all summer they cannot tolerate each other during the fall. Once they shed their velvet they will disperse to their respective fall range and establish their dominance. Another thing to remember is that the bucks you see a mile down the road will likely make an appearance on your farm during the rut.
So dust off your binoculars, and go pick out the buck that will drive you crazy this fall. As always drop me a line with any questions or comments. Good Luck!!
Matt Farnham
Whitetail Manager
Phone: (217) 734-2526
E-mail: mattf@heartlandlodge.com
We have had a few cancellations here at Heartland Lodge during some of our prime hunting weeks. These spots will not last long, so if you have any questions or wanting a spot do not hesitate to call me at 217-734-2526.
Archery Hunts:
Arrive Sept 30, hunt Oct 1-5, and depart on Oct 6. Hunt cost is $2550. Only 3 spots remain.
Arrive Oct 10, hunt Oct 11-13, and depart on Oct 14. Hunt cost is $1450. 6 spots remain.
Arrive Oct 26, hunt Oct 27-31, and depart on Nov 1. Hunt cost is $3650. The best pre rut opportunity. 5 spots remain.
Arrive Nov 13, hunt Nov 14-18, and depart on Nov 19. Hunt cost is $3950. This is peak rut action and the last archery week before firearm season. 6 spots remain.
Dec 3-6 Firearm Season. 2 available spots, hunt cost is $3350. This is a 5 night, 4 day firearm hunt.
Dec 12-14 Muzzleloader Only Season. 4 available spots on our “140 inch Trophy Farms”. These farms are strickly managed and are set up for you to harvest a true Illinois giant. Hunt cost is $3350 per hunter. This is a 4 night, 3 day hunt.
It’s getting ever so close to the 2009 Spring Turkey Season here at Harpole’s Heartland Lodge. As each day passes by, time seems to slow down and our anticipation of the up coming hunts can not be held back. By now most of the sheds have been scooped up and all of the food plots have been frost seeded, it’s time for me to dust off the old turkey gear and get busy. I look forward to all who are going ot be able to hunt with us and for those of you that can’t make, I will look forward to seeing you in the future.
For those of you who prefer to chase the elusive whitetail, we still have a select few “Rut Bow Hunts” available along with our 3 Day, 4 Night Archery Hunts in October. I don’t know what you would do, but with today’s stock market value, I would rather put my money into a hunt instead, so don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions or want to secure a spot. I hope to see you in camp and good luck in the outdoors.
Matt
mattf@heartlandlodge.com
http://www.heartlandlodge.com/hunting/
