While many outdoorsmen have fishing on their minds in August, bowhunters should be thinking ahead. This method is used to limit pressure on the deer herd as to not cause negative effects on your future hunts.
When it comes to food plot preparation, stand and blind sets. The earlier you get them done the better. Deer use their incredible sense of smell to detect your presence days or even weeks after you have left the area. The scent left behind can cause deer to avoid or even abandon the area for weeks. Combined with the fear created by jumping them out of their beds, I recommend giving at least a month for the woods to cool down before attempting to hunt them.
Over the years, I have learned a lot about the habits of deer by simple observation. I have found that even the heaviest used deer trail, will either show less sign, or dry up completely after only a few days of pressure. Furthermore, I have noticed that the tracks you will see are left behind by smaller deer. This has allowed me to understand that the larger deer you wish to hunt are more affected by your presence.
The more property I acquire, the earlier I have to start my work routine. I began hacking new trail systems and cutting shooting lanes just after May this year. The work has kept me busy the whole summer, and it seemed I would never be able to finish it all. I had to sit down and organize what needed to be done to finish up by the first of September. I broke down the areas needing work into categories based on the length of time it takes for the land to reclaim the work sites.
My first task was to clear shooting lanes and low branches in hemlock-forested areas. Because pine-typed forests tend to have little undergrowth, they typically only need to be trimmed up every few years. I have found that fallen trees and hanging fallen branches tend to be the only future cleaning needed. These areas tend to offer the greatest payoff for the amount of work put in. This is mostly due to your ability to trim them up and not have to reenter the area until you hunt them.
The other end of the spectrum is grown-up fields. After a field lays fallow for several years, they become nearly impassable. They get so overgrown with honeysuckle, multi-flora cat claw rose, and choke cherry, that it can take hours to clear only a few yards of trail. You will also have to clear the same trail several times a summer to keep up with new growth. Many hunters tend to abandon these areas because of the constant maintenance required to keep them cleared. I have found that deer tend to favor these areas of transition due to the close proximity to escape cover. In most of these areas, deer need only jump a few feet off the trail to be completely hidden by the thick brush. Swamps also fall into this category as they are typically thick overgrown areas requiring regular maintenance. Either way, deer tend to move earlier in the evening, later in the morning, and throughout the day in these places. This additional movement offers the hunter a higher percentage harvest ratio than pine or hardwood forest.
Somewhere in the middle falls the hardwood forest. Consisting of mostly ash, maple, and oak, they offer dappled light to the forest floor. The light tends to allow sparse undergrowth - mostly ferns and small saplings. I save these spots for the last cut. They only need be trimmed once a season, and are ready to hunt until after spring turkey. Most bowhunters favor these locations over the others due to added visibility. While the seasoned hunter knows you typically need to hunt the thick stuff for the big boys. I favor hardwoods for hunting does.
Either way, it's best to get in and out quickly and cause as little disturbance as possible. The rule of thumb is cut as early as possible, and the least amount of times you can get away with. If you give at least a month for the area to cool down, you are almost guaranteed to see more game.
Good wishes and get out by September for bowhunters.