Killing big whitetails year in and out is an unlikely feat, even for the best hunters on quality private lands. On heavily hunted public lands, most bowhunters would consider it impossible. But three Midwestern bowhunters -- Dan Infalt, Jarrod Erdody, and Lee Gatzke -- have proven it can be done. Over the past few years, these three men have developed strategies for hunting public marshes that annually produce bucks equal to those taken by many hunters on quality private lands. Here are the methods behind their marsh madness.

Jarrod Erdody relied on post-season scouting to pattern this Midwestern marsh buck.

THE HUB
"People don't realize that huge bucks live in public marshes because the deer are often so nocturnal you'll never see them unless you hunt in staging areas just off their bedding areas," Erdody said.

"While most people consider a staging area as a block of cover just off a food source, we consider a staging area as a spot just off where bucks sleep. That's because on public ground, you won't see bucks during legal shooting hours unless you are extremely close to where they bed."

The three hunters have another reason for hunting near known bedding sites. "Consider the bed of a buck the hub of a bicycle wheel," Gatzke said. "The buck may have three trails leading to and from his bed. Much like spokes on a wheel, the trails come closer together at the hub -- the bed. Farther out from the hub, the trails spread farther apart. The closer we are to the bed, the better our chances of seeing the buck walking one of those spokes."

Of course, hunting near bedding areas in marshes has its risks, just as it does in any whitetail hunting. But, as discussed below, the rewards often justify the risks.

AERIALS AND ACCESS
Success begins with knowledge of the land and deer. To gain that knowledge, Infalt estimates that he scouts four or five days for every day he spends hunting. The first stage of scouting a public marsh takes place on aerial photos.

"The photos allow us to see several things," Infalt said of himself and his partners. "First, we can see high ground in the marshes and how to access it. Second, we can see public parking areas and other obvious access points.

"But we don't use just public parking. We may see a key point or staging area on a photo that we would like to hunt. If a road runs close by, we can hunt spots far from public parking by simply having a buddy drop us off on the edge of the road and pick us up later. We can extend our range to hunt spots a long ways from public parking."

While most hunters wouldn't even consider walking a quarter mile through cattails as an acceptable way to get to a post, these three hunters love it.

"For one thing, you won't have pressure from other hunters," Erdody said. "Plus, the cattails offer you cover for getting to your spot. People think the noise of pushing through cattails will blow deer out, but if you do it right, that doesn't happen. You must move slowly and not make any foreign noises. Deer are used to hearing other deer and animals walking through the marshes. After an hour or so, the deer settle down and just assume it was another deer walking. Of course, you have to play the wind."