Calling ‘em deer “stands” is a misnomer. Most of us don’t stand; we sit. It’d make more sense to say we were going to climb a tree and hunt out of our deer “seat”, which could be a chair, or stool, or board nailed between two branches.
However, we need to accept the fact that we climb and sit down in deer stands. Even the hunting catalogs call ‘em deer “stands” so if they’re good enough for Cabela’s they ought to be good enough for us.
The first deer stand I ever used was one I built. By today’s standards, climbing and sitting in the one I made would get you seriously maimed, or worse. To reach my perch 12 feet up in the tree, I drove spikes into the trunk (that activity today would get me banned from the club by the timber company owning the land), and once I reached my desired height, I nailed a two-by-four in a fork of the tree for a place to sit. Admittedly, my hunts were of fairly short duration because the comfort level deteriorated rather quickly.
Today, while some hunters still construct their own stands, there are types of deer stands on the market that boggle the mind. There are box stands, ground blinds, climbing stands, lock-on stands, ladder stands, saddle stands and even one you pull on a trailer to your hunting site, hit a button and the stand on the trailer magically elevates for you to climb into and hunt.
Many of the stands we have used on our hunting club are stands members constructed and for sure, they’re better made and safer than the spikes-in-thetree; two by four seat from my early days of chasing deer.
Interestingly, we named most of our stands to coincide with either the location or the circumstances from which the stand originated.
One of the stands I used was a ground blind I built, and it had been dismantled, moved and reconstructed at least three times. I dismantled and moved the stand to my former hunting club in 2001, and in honor of the devastating event that took place that year on September 11, I call this stand Ground Zero.
Another of my stands, a box mounted atop a ladder, rested against a tree that was literally covered in poisonous green vines when the tree was selected. It’s only natural that this stand was called Poison Oak.
Still another was a similar stand sitting against a tree on the banks of Sugar Creek, a stream that periodically floods and brings with it debris from who-knows-where. While getting the stand ready to place on the tree, I noticed an old light bulb lying in the leaves. It had washed in from somewhere. The name of this stand? Forty Watt.
Another of my stands was a tripod and the day I put it up, a pretty orange Gulf Fritillary butterfly (I had to Google it to find out the name) came and lit on my finger. The tri-pod became the Butterfly Stand.
My good friend and hunting partner, George Seacrist, named all his stands from Running Wild to Bermuda Triangle to Indian Mound. One of his that caught my interest was a big roomy ground stand he set up down in the bottom along the creek. He called it Noah’s Ark.
A couple of years later, he set up a box stand on the ridge above Noah’s Ark and was pondering with me one day about a possible name. Hmmmm… Noah’s Ark is down in the bottom. Why not Mount Ararat on the ridge? George liked it and that’s the new name it was given.
The next stand I build I’m going to call it the Ten Point Buck stand. Maybe if I name it that, I’ll get that big one. If things turn out wrong, I guess I’ll just call it the Dang-IMissed-Him stand.
FISHING REPORT
BLACK BAYOU – No report. Water is low. Contact Honey Hole Tackle Shop 323-8707 for latest information.
BUSSEY BRAKE – The water is low and overall fishing is slow. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole at 323-8707.
OUACHITA RIVER – Crappie have been best fishing jigs or shiners around submerged tops in the river and in river lakes. Bass are best in the cuts fishing shad imitation lures. For latest information, contact the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE D’ARBONNE – With cooler weather dropping water temperatures, the crappie bite is on fishing the channels and channel edges in 14-16 foot water on shiners or jigs. Bass are moving to the secondary points and swim baits and soft plastics are picking up some nice fish. Catfish continue to be caught fishing cold worms and night crawlers off the banks. For latest information, call Anderson Sport Center at 368-9669 or Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE CLAIBORNE – The lake is down some seven feet as the result of the drawdown. Crappie are moving to deep water out from the dam with shiners taking the most fish while jigs are working fairly well. Bass fishing has fair this week as they too are starting to move deep. Billy Willis, Ruston, had one near 8 pounds. Boats can still be launched at the State Park launch.. For latest information, call Kel’s Cove at 9272264 or Terzia Tackle at 278-4498.
CANEY LAKE – Bass are moving to deeper water with best catches made on jigs, spoons and soft plastics. Crappie have been best around the deeper tops on shiners or jigs and they will also be headed for deeper water out from the dam as temperatures drop. For information contact Caney Lake Landing at 2596649, Hooks Marina at 249-2347, Terzia Tackle at 278-4498 or the Honey Hole Tackle Shop at 323-8707.
LAKE POVERTY POINT – Catfishing has been good. Crappie fishing has improved on both ends of the lake with the south end of the lake as well as around the slips starting to improve. No report on bass. For latest reports, call Poverty Point Marina at 318/878-0101.
LAKE YUCATAN – The water is low and fishing is quite slow this week. A few slab crappie have been caught on jigs and shiners. For information, call Surplus City Landing at 318/4672259.
