I have access to a just less than 100 acre patch of swamp.  From this time of the year through most of winter and then again in the spring the land is very flooded.  When we drive it out we need hip waders usually. 

Down here in SC, deer will actually bed in the shallow water, as well as on the little hummocks in the deeper water. We have a major beaver problem which has made the flooding even worse, so I try to locate the main travel corridors leading into and out of the thickest sections of the swamp, since those are the areas where the deer will go to avoid pressure. Also, we dog hunt down here, which is the best method to get the deer moving and visible. In the agricultural or wooded areas around and near the swamp lands, we plant food plots and bait with corn, otherwise we'd never get a chance to kill a deer since there really isn't much need for them to leave the swamps they live in......usually plenty of acorns, and natural browse so the plots and bait just provide extra that entices them away from the native browse that they might get tired of.

Our swamps are mostly cypress and red oak, and the land around them is mainly pine plantations with some agriculture mixed in, so what works down here as far as food plots and baiting may not work for you, and you may not be able to hunt with dogs; but man drives could work. The biggest thing is knowing the swamp, and avoiding the deep holes, and of course down here watching out for the 'gators, and moccasins!!!!!!!

I've hunted swamps for years in Florida.....what worked for us was finding the shallow areas and putting lock on stands along the edges and near any high and dry areas deeper in, just don't set up right on the high and dry areas, because that's what the deer will use to bed. But if you can find the shallower areas the deer are traveling to and from these dry islands, you'll have good chances for taking them. Also, a great part about hunting in the swamp is you can always hear them coming through the water, much easier than in the woods. Tough part about it is you really have to be able to watch where the deer goes after a shot, since the blood trail will be slim to none depending on if it's brushing up against trees as it's running. We also used chest waders and just slid our feet along without making any noise going to and from stands in the shallow areas. Like RT said, hope you know where the deep holes are....sucks to take a step and get wet. Also depending on where you live, like RT said again, watch out for the moccassins and gators.....nothing like coming out of the swamp after dark with headlamp and seeing eyes as your easing along, especially if they are wide and coming towards you. Good luck.

This land is in WI so I have a little less to worry about, and Im guessing my definition of a swamp is more like a puddle for you guys, but I will see if I can find some of the higher areas this year when it gets real wet. It is mainly a willow swamp so once the leaves change their isn't much browse left, but I think they must hit the fields surrounding the woods (unfortunatly none of them touch this land).  We do use deer drives during gun season, but not during bow. Driving is very popular around here during firearm season.  I'll see if I can locate some of the "high" ground and set up near that.

Swamps are great places to hunt. Number 1 most folks don't like putting in the work it takes to get in and out of them day after day. 2 really part of 1 if the deer are heavily pressured during the season they go find areas where there tends to be few people. 3 Is the hardest part finding the part of the swamp the deer like to hole up when pressured; look hard enough and you'll find those places then it a matter of finding how they get from point A to point B And setting up along that route or point C (or several point Cs). And having your azz at point C as much as possible. Just like fishing you ain't gonna have a chance sitting in front of the TV.

Last year I could ride my Yamaha Kodiac down into the middle of the main run of the swamp, and sit in the dry run. As a matter of fact, I killed several deer on that stand, including the nice 8 point that was in full velvet. Travis could go the opposite direction of me and sit in the middle of a fork where two main runs come together, and we'd be about 900 or 1000 yards apart when the dogs were running. This year, my stand is completely inaccessable, since the water is over my head from the landing all the way through, and I can go about 75 yards down the side where Travis went last year, before it gets about neck deep. Anyone care to guess where the deer are once again going, this year?????????

One word. Conoe

You've obviously never seen a Southern Cypress swamp, gut. Do you know what a Cypress knee is? A canoe wouldn't make it 10 feet in a swamp down here. Now the Cajuns use a pirogue which is a type of shallow draft and very narrow canoe, but it takes an expert to navigate one and prevent it from tipping over. I don't believe I could even manage to get into one without turning it over. I'd like to try an Argo with the 8 wheel drive and tracks, but if I could afford one of those, I'd be able to afford a new truck.....which I need much worse than the Argo!!!!!!!!

We have cypress here also but I haven't seen Knees sticking out of the water where it is over my head. Knee high as that is where the word comes from but six feet I haven't seen any that tall where the swamp loggers go.

Most of them average around 2-4 feet, but there are some that will go as much as 6-7 feet. Remember that the knee is supposed to let carbon dioxide out and allow the roots to breathe. If the water depth averages 5 feet all of the time, then the knees will have to exceed that height. Our normal water level in the main run of the particular swamp I hunt in is well over 6 feet deep, but due to the proliferation of beaver dams, and the monsoon rains we had in June, July, and early August, some of those pools are now 10 feet deep or more. Couple that with the felled trees from the storms and the beaver damage, in order to navigate the swamp, I'd have to attempt to paddle in the shallow edges of the overflow in what would normally be dry or muddy areas of marsh, reeds, cattails, and lily pads........where the knees are around 3 feet on average. Then of course there are the areas where any type of watercraft would have to be carried over and around obstructions, such as dams, logs, and clusters of debris and flooded timber; all the while the danger of dropping off into a really deep hole is always a possibility. We won't even get into the snake and 'gator situation!

The swamp I hunt in has never been logged. There have been a few select trees that were cut decades ago, but never any actual logging; plus, now the Corpse of Engineers won't allow logging within 25 feet of a natural waterway......one of the reasons that Tupelo Cypress lumber has become rare.

For the previous two seasons, we were in a drought, with only some occasional flooding caused by the beaver problems. Those drought conditions allowed us to get deeper into the swamp and the dogs could trail and jump deer much easier. The spot where Travis and I were taking our stands was actually in the middle of the main run, and we could kick up dust most of the season unless we'd had a heavy rain during the week. Now, like I said, I can't get within several hundred yards of those spots due to the water depth, but the deer are still traveling those same routes........they're just swimming instead of running this year and beagles have a hard time going where the deer go!!