I'm not a hunter, but as you know, there is a visible browse line on the trees as you drive to the shore fishing parking lot for Heidecke. I've seen plenty of deer on my fishing trips, even during the heat of the day.
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Lo the angler. He riseth in the morning and upsetteth the whole household. Mighty are his preparations. He goeth forth with great hope in his heart and when the day is far spent, he returneth, smelling of strong drink, and the truth is not in him.
If your seeing a visible browse line on the trees near the shorefishing then its not Heidecke property or goose lake prarie, Their is private ground that surrounds the parking lot for bank fishing and any property with trees on it in that area is private. The hunting area would be the prarie restoration area. If you want trees then you would hunt the property on road leading down to the boat ramps. (Known as the Heidecke area) Their is a bunch of federally protected ground due to 9-11 (Nuclear dispense rod facility and nuclear plant). The amount of people hunting that might be down to 51 thousand now. Their is a ton of guys at the morris wetlands. If I was a deer I would keep my rear on that protected ground to. Good Luck.
Well I used to go there a few 7 years ago and if you were there b4 the draw you would almost always get a chip to go and hunt at any area you wanted and if you go later in day they move at 4pm it is always clear. Just be in by 2:30pm and find the trails they will cross daily. Since I am such a novice hunter I never did actually get one but I did learn their habits at least in the wooded area. The one guy who had one every day you could smell from about 20' away while he was smokin up a storm? I guess the scent blocker didn't matter much out there.
Your best bet is to go to the IDNR website and look up the sites information. I occassionally hunt out their and have for years. It is really close to my house and it gives my private farms a rest. You are already getting old information as things have changed in 7 years. My biggest piece of advice is if you choose to hunt this place is to NOT walk around trying to figure it out while other guys are hunting. That is one of my biggest complaints about public ground. Guys trying to figure it out during the season when they had 9 months of pre-scouting they could do. Good Luck.
