You must work if you’re a guide or hunter who wants to be more successful. This means scouting all year round to learn about animals’ travel patterns, bedding areas, and food sources.
It’s also essential to find land that has less hunting pressure. You can use online mapping layers to see government lands, county boundaries, and private property information.
Table of Contents
Set Your Goals
Setting goals for yourself is the first step in balancing your hunting and fishing adventures with a busy schedule. These could be anything from shooting a big buck to filling your freezer.
Be realistic when setting your goals, and don’t expect too much. For example, you shouldn’t set your initial goals too high if you’ve never killed a deer.
Make sure your goals are attainable and will lead to your success. This year, be intentional about your fitness routine and shooting practice, scouting, drawing, filling your tags, and including your family in your hunting expeditions.
Prioritize Your Time
To enjoy hunting and fishing, you need to prioritize your time. Many things need to get done throughout the day, from work to chores to family obligations.
Try to complete high-priority tasks first thing in the morning. This will help ensure those tasks don’t get pushed to later periods of the day and allow you to focus on hunting when your energy is highest. For instance, Rock Bordelon, On the Road fits hunting into his busy schedule through effective time management.
Take that time even if you only have an hour to hunt after work. An hour can be the difference between seeing a giant buck and not seeing one.
Don’t Forget About Your Family
Having family support for your hunting and fishing lifestyle can make all the difference. Always let them know your plans and where you will be. This will help avoid any surprises and can be critical in an accident. Having two-way radios and loud whistles in an emergency can also be helpful. It can be difficult for some people to discuss hunting with their kids, as it involves the death of an animal and can be a sensitive subject.
Stay Organized
Throughout the centuries, hunting and fishing have been necessary for survival, cultural identity, and connection to the earth. They also provide a way to pass essential skills and values on to the next generation.
To make sure your hunts go off without a hitch, it’s essential to stay organized. Start by reading the appropriate hunting regulations and putting season dates on your calendar. Also, please keep track of all your gear and put it away properly when you’re done using it.
Keep A Calendar
Keeping track of everything going on in your life is essential. Keeping a calendar can help, especially when you take the time to visit it each day to assess upcoming events and ensure your priorities align with your goals.
For fishermen, a fishing calendar is a goldmine of information that predicts when the best times to fish will be based on a combination of lunar, solar, and spawning cycles.