Brent's Bass to Bucks Part VII

This is the seventh in a series of eight articles on Bassmaster Elite Series angler Brent Chapman’s best bow hunting tips

Click here for Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI

Take a walk down the aisle of your local outdoor store and you will likely see enough gadgets and tricks to fill your pickup truck.

When it comes to fishermen and hunters, trying out new things is an age-old approach. Keeping expectations real, knowing when to use them and being ready to use them are the big keys.

“I always take rattling horns and calls with me,’’ Chapman said. “Ninety nine-percent of the time I don’t have results with them, but over the years I can think of a couple of times here or there where I was so thankful I had them.

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Click the image to see photos of Brent’s Bass to Bucks

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“It goes hand-in-hand with a Hydro-wave or UV Tightlines or Livingston Lures sound technology: All that stuff helps me get another bite or two throughout the year. It’s the same thing with rattling and calling for deer.“A lot of times deer will ignore it, but I can tell you stories of different situations; hitting the antlers and watching a deer I saw 200 yards away come running in; grunting at a deer across a draw that wasn’t going to do anything, and it hears that rut call and comes right in.

“But then 99 other deer I do that same stuff to and it doesn’t do a thing. It’s just one of those things. You’ve just got to keep trying and stuff pays off every once in a while.

“I like having a wind indicator. I’ve got a little piece of thread that I keep on my bow. It’s just unbelievable what those little wind indicators can do. You have it hanging on your bow there and you can always watch it. I’ve also got the little floater deals that you can throw out.

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“We always have that perception of ‘Alright I'm in this stand and the wind is blowing out of the northwest and my scent will be blowing behind me’ or whatever. And then when you actually get into a spot and you hunt it you find out that’s not always the case. Having those little wind indicators is always important just because if you have a deer that comes in you’re paying attention to what he’s suppose to do.

“Then he turns and he might be getting into my wind stream. You know by watching that little wind indicator of potentially when to be more prepared or when that deer might potentially smell you or not smell you. When it comes to a big buck there might be a small window of opportunity there where you can get a shot off versus not getting a shot off.”

Gadgets are fun as well. Chapman really loves hanging and working with game cameras, some of the latest, greatest advancements have come with capturing images in the field when you aren’t there.

“I'm a camera junky,’’ Chapman said. “I love to use cameras and have cameras out in the woods. But what’s really interesting about cameras is they can give you a false hope or they can give you a false loss of hope.“What’s funny is the biggest deer I've killed, several of the biggest deer I've killed, I never gotten pictures of them.

“You go out there and you don’t think these big deer are around and then they just show up. The flip side to that is some of the biggest deer we have pictures of we’ve never seen. Those cameras are fun but at the same time they can really mess with your head, too.

“Whether you have photos of a big deer or not, you still have to be prepared for anything to happen. That’s the whole key behind every little thing that some might call gadgets or hunters helpers. They aren’t the answers for everything, but they could be helpful in a variety of situations. Just be prepared for anything and eventually it will come together.”

Next: Chapman gives advice on being prepared for any weather.

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