Sika Out

Miles on the odometer and hours in the stand but no sika deer for me. I traveled down to the Ellis Bay wildlife management area (WMA), in Nanticoke, MD. This was a dual purpose trip, scouting a new area and shooting a deer if the chance arose. It all started with traffic and pouring rain on Interstate 95. The trip definitely had some highs and lows but long story short, the area would not prove to be effective to hunt in coming months.

I arrived at the campground for my home base with pouring rain still dropping from the sky. So I decided to scout out the boat launch located deep in the marsh area of the WMA. Of course the rain tapered off as soon as I left the campground when I could set up my tent. The boat launch was only a few miles away, and I turned off onto Muddy Hole Road, which in turn had some real meaning. This was a gravel/dirt road surrounded by thick woods and marsh. I could see standing water in the woods, as I had found out from locals that they had received ~20 inches of rain in the past two weeks.

After a long windy road and what I thought was banjo music, the boat ramp appeared. It was shady to say the least, the access channel only big enough for the boat to fit with chocolate brown water. A swarm of bugs tapping on the window like a welcoming party for blood donations. This was decision time: hunting solo, driving 15 minutes away from a hard surface road, a boat ramp looking like a pirate plank and water access with little to no depth for my boat. I decided to check out the local harbour located on the west side instead.

The public ramp in the harbour proved to be the better choice. Although it will add significant boat time to access the marsh, it was the lesser of two evils. I told myself, once I put my feet back on land from a long day of hunting, I want to be somewhere safe. The long dirt road drive at 3am was creepy enough. So I dropped the boat in the water, grabbed scouting gear and took to the bay. The ride was okay, and after a 15 minute cruise I was glassing the marsh. The grass and vegetation on the outskirts was lower than Fishing Bay. By standing on my front deck, it was possible to see up to the forest line and the marsh area itself.

The marsh area seemed to be a step back in time. Bald eagles soaring above and perched up in pine tree overlooking the waterways. Black water snakes swimming across the windy creeks like synchronized swimmers as my boat glided by. With a promising area picked out, I returned to home base to cook up some chicken and rice to fuel my future hunt needs.

Morning rolled around quickly as they always do and off I was. I allowed the sun to come up a bit to light the way around the point and to the marsh. I was unfamiliar with the waterways and a little extra caution meant not running aground. The rising sun was magnificent as it came up over the bay. Within minutes I was up my tree in my new summit climber and glassing the marsh. Although the morning seemed to have the potential for greatness, I went with out seeing any sika deer. The afternoon sit brought the same luck. Although I heard another hunter trying to bugle it was definitely premature to fool a sika stag.

The trip was a good use of time in the early season to scout new areas and provide learning's for future hunts. With the data gathered from the trip though, I would plan to hunt Fishing Bay in October. The overall access to that hunting area was a lot easier and less dangerous. Although the hunting pressure is higher, we plan to be the early birds to beat out the competition. Until then, hunt hard and stay safe.