Creating a Bowhunting Honey Hole

One of my favorite techniques for early season bow hunting is to create a honey hole.  For me, this means a small area (maybe 30’ x 30’) that I can rake, seed, fertilize, and mow relatively easily without farming equipment.  The concept is to create a spot within your food plot for the deer to key in on.  Typically I create a honey hole within 20 yards upwind of my treestand.  In middle of August I planted Imperial Clover and fertilized using this method; I mowed a few weeks later.  I then mowed again in early September, each time focusing on that exact specific spot.

Notice the "ring" of fresh growth - I created this without farm equipment.

Don't expect every food plot to be perfect - just work hard, and try to peak interest with fresh green growth.

A view from my treestand - Looks pretty good!

I like to set up my Moultrie Trail Cameras before doing a specific setup like this - mostly to test the effectiveness.

Mowing a small area can pull deer within your food plot to a specific spot.  Even creating a direct path from cover can be beneficial.

This fawn walked out a few hours after I finished mowing – directly where I wanted the deer to travel. 

Another nice deer using my honey hole - IT WORKED!

I will be hunting this weekend in northern MN over this setup (morning/evening) and hopefully will have some luck.

See you in the woods,
Neal McCullough