Back with the results in Northeast Ohio

Bad Bad year for Tiny
Bad for hunting time but not bad for results within that time



Opening day and the deer were string jumping like it was the end of the season
First shot went neatly over her back and she ran 40 yards across my shooting lane, making the follow up a 45 yards shot. I put the pin 3" under her chest (so that if I missed I would miss clean) and she reacted as I suspected.... taking the Spitfire perfectly through both lungs.

This opening day hunt was at Ladue, By the boat launch. I don't think many people would expect that this little strip of woods would produce anything but on 4 outings we saw three deer or one on each of three visits and none on one visit.

A couple of tips on Ladue....
We put the camera's out all over northeast side of the lake and we had deer everywhere, so dont overlook any spot there if you want to hunt it blind. the majority of the area is open hardwoods and you can easily walk in blind and set up in a good area as long as you hit the ridges or transitions.

Ladue got burned out early because the fields adjacent to the public property (where we were) had a number of people hunting it hard on the woods line and thats where the deer were coming from. We saw the deer bedding in parts of public property toward route 422 and feeding in those fields during the evenings.

Mornings are the way to go at Ladue if you are hunting what we considered to be the good area there. Our area was maybe 300 yards from the boat launch parking lot, putting 422 to your back and heading down the road that parallels the lake. look for the first vehicle entrance that is on the woods side and is marked by a hunting permitted sign.

My suggestion is to park off the main road and walk in on this access road. from the edge of the pavement, walk about 80 yards and then turn right, where you will see a very small spring feed pond. Walking to the right of this point (staying close to it's edge) you will see where the deer have made a nice little crossing on the exit stream and this is where you should cross. The deer will be crossing to the left of the stream normally and you dont want them crossing your trail before they get to you

Once you have passed the pond, turn left and angle up the slope toward the point fo the ridge. This is where you will want to set up and keeping as far left (once reaching the ridge) is what you want to do. Turkey and deer will enter the field left of the downed field fence normally. If you look around you will see 4 trees which have perfect shooting lanes that run about 30 yards left and right if you sit your stand facing the road where you parked.
(You are welcome!. )

This area has 4 very good stand locations that I have designed and finished for anyone who uses this forum.... so if you dont want to ruin it for me or you... keep this information within the confines of this site. Thank you.

Here are the other good stand locations in that same area....

As you stand on the ridge (from previous description) look toward the field and right. There is what looks to be an old tractor access trail leading into the field. Go to this opening and while standing maybe 20 yards from the fence (inside the wood line) look to your right. You will see a shooting lane and the tree that has been trimmed out for you. This is a 25 yard maximum shot from the tree to the fence opening and maybe a 10 yards shot to deer passing to your left. Great for right handed shooter.

While standing at the opening, turn back towards the road and walk forward maybe 60 yards. keep looking left and you will see an obvious shooting lane that has been trimmed 90 yards in length. This shooting lane has two trimmed out trees to climb and will put about 55 yards between each hunter if you are looking at the right tree's.
We like to set up in this fashion so that no deer can pass without getting shot. Our total shooting range within the shooting lane is 110 yards (left to right) and in the right tree's we (together) can cover it with our first pins.... so it is a deadly gauntlet for a deer to enter.

Last stand... Walk towards the road from where you were on the last stand and angle towards the pond. when you are across from the pond (40 yards out) look to your left slightly and look for a small hump that sits very close to the road. Start walking toward that area. When you get to where you should be, you will notice an opening with three large hardwood trees (maybe 50" around bases) and to the left of those a small depression with some water in it....about as big as that spring fed pond. One of the three hardwood trees in that clearing is trimmed out and this is a good crossing for a lefty or righty to sit.

There are other stands in this area that we made but this is the best area so I will keep the others to myself at this time.... so that I have something to add to this some other day

Second deer was a lamb (which I prefer) and this was a rushed outing with a crossgun.
I had 40 minutes of light left and this was luck hands down... no skill involved

This is a pretty good area but it is slooooowwwww!. Here are the sets.... Enjoy!

Heading down Route 422 (south) from ladue reservoir you will pass a small cemetery before the hunting access pull off (which sets 3/4 of the way up a steep grade and across from a gold course club house, on the right) and this cemetery is going to be your reference point to these stands.

From the parking lot, head down the hill toward the cemetery and enter the field. note that if you look left you will see the corner of the field you will want to walk toward that corner. as you approach the edge, look for the pines that are the wood line where you will enter. stay to the right of the pine trees and stay close to them because this is the easiest way in through the brush that abuts them.

Walk in maybe 30 yards and look right. you will see apple trees (these trees hold apples late into the season) and you will now turn a hard right and walk toward the last apple tree that is closest to the field edge where you were before entering. This is a small tree for a climber but it will work if you are under 200# of weight.

The deer activity in here is nuts and trails enter this area from the west, so keep your eye's there. This is a low stand so stay still. Max shot is 30 yards.

The second stand is back at the cemetery.

Walk back to the field and walk towards the cemetery, staying to the left. Walk all the way to the left corner and here you will see a metal marker stake. Look left and you will see a access trial that I made to the tree's. Walk maybe 50 yards and into the opening that borders the water. This is going to be real evident where you need to go and set up. Turn left.

Walk 20 yards and look left. This is another low stand that should be evident as a shooter stand. A large crooked tree on the edge of the old fence border. shots are going to be 20 yards max and the deer are going to be right on you so if you cant draw slow and silent, go to the next stand.

Continuing down the trail another 40 yards will bring you into an opening in the woods. walk another 15 yards and look right (at the water) and you will see 2 large and perfectly straight trees that are gods gift to you and I.

You will see where the deer will be entering the pines in front of you or they will be crossing your path while following the edge of the water. Max shot is 25 yards but you can get up 30' if you want. This is a killer spot

For the crazy crazy fool that will do anything to be alone and take advantage of the fact that nobody ever thinks a deer could be here..... head back to the cemetery and follow these directions

Standing at the left corner of the cemetery, walk to the road. Turn left at the road and walk the shoulder down maybe 100 yards. looking to your right you will see a pine stand that comes to a point at about 45 yards from the roadway. once you are directly across from the point, look carefully at the cattail reeds and you will see a defined deer trail. cross the road and head into this trail. There is mud here and water but I haven't had it go over my boots yet.

As soon as you enter the pines (immediately) stop and look forward and to the left. the pines were planted and are in very straight rows. walk slowly to your left and you will see a defined shooting lane 2 rows in. This pine requires a hang on and is low but the height isnt going to effect the deer. You will be like a funnel spider in this set up and the deer wont know your there until it's way to late

Mornings only and early in the season for sure. Deer are always there early and never after 9 AM. This is a crossing and there is no reason for them to be there at any other time. 2 shooting lanes 25 and 14 yards.trimmed for right hand shooters. all other sets will be good for either left or right.

This 4 year old Buck was over 220# field dressed!
Good area before the Amish Evasion comes at the opening of gun season!

Staring at the south end of the ladue reservoir, cross the bridge and take the first exit. at the road you will bear left and follow this road under the overpass and to the first right which is Taylor May road. drive (maybe 3 miles?) crossing three or four roads as you go. After road three, start looking for a field on your left with a large abandoned barn. This is the parking area and it isnt marked where you can see signs from the road. (maybe that's why it is a good area

pull in and park to the right immediately. you will have two small fields in front of you and one large field behind you. There are many stands that we did here but I will put you in the two that would have yielded this Buck at this time.

Looking at the two small fields in front of you, you will want to go to the one on your left. walk towards the barn and at it's right corner you will see a trail that leads into the field on the left. walk to the fields edge and turn left, following the field edge to the corner. Turn right and walk to the next corner.

At this last corner you will see a game trail leading into the woods. enter here.
When you are about 20 yards off the field you will come to a fallen log that crosse3s the path, look left and you will see some good size tree's. one of those trees will have a shooting lane that you are now standing in. note the possible tree's that it could be (about 20 yards back off this trail) and then follow the trail forward about 20 yards.

Stop and look left. you will see that the area slopes away and down and is pretty open. you will see some old fence posts as well. walk to the first fence post in the open area and stop, facing down the slope. Look left and you will see that you are in a shooting lane. The tree is about 20-25 yards from you. walk the line of posts back to the tree. This is a right handed stand but may be able to be used left as well. I believe so but it is gonna be a tight shot on that first lane. This is where the big guy met his end and we shot a lot of pics in two days time 3 weeks before season here. I dont think this area dries up fast as we saw many deer here 4 weeks after the opener.

Let me stop here and ask that if you are going to hunt here, dont be greedy. You can easily take 2 deer and still be leaving enough for another 4 or 5 deer to be taken by others. Share the wealth

Going back out to the field, back track to the first corner and continue forward. you will cross a utility road and if you turn left as soon as you hit that road, the road follows into the large field where you are going now.

Enter the large field and hug the right side. Walk maybe 150-200 yards until you come to the first corner that turns left to make up the back of the field. just 20 yards back from the absolute corner stop. Look to your right. You will see a very crooked cherry tree that has been trimmed. Climb this tree and face the corner.

You will see a hard used trial that enters the field from the woods right in front of you. this is where they may come from or they may come off the top of the hill that makes up the back of the field (as viewed from your vehicle parking space) since this is where they sometimes bed.

The largest community scrape I ever saw was just to the left of this stand and it smelled to high heavens this early fall as the bucks freshened this area up frequently.
Shots are going to be 10 to 60 yards depending on where they are hitting the corn. Early on they were busting the edges and as the season progressed they worked their way into the corn deeper but still stayed on the outside edge .... for whatever reason.

Two great spots and remember.... be kind and leave some behind

I also Hunt La Due And Have great luck never hunted by these spots you put on here i hunt on thee south end of the lake. I took a 20 1/2" wide 6 pt from a spot of mine in 2011.

I also hunt at Ladue. Stared deer hunting last year. Somehow was able to actually get close enough to deer to shoot and miss. I was pretty excited and lost all form when shooting. Missed five times! Couple misses at Woodbury. Three misses, or as George Carlin would say....near hits, at LaDue. Not at the spots explained by Tiny52, but Thanks so much for pointing those places out though. Kinda rare someone will share such detailed information, but I guess this is a good crowd. Don't think I will go to any of your spots, but it makes me feel more confident about where I go to hear of success right down the road. As I drive by the one place you talk about I have thought "Hey, that could be good in there" You may have been drawing on buck right then! Also, I proudly add that I got my first deer ever October 8. In LaDue Public land with my used, but new to me, compound bow and tree climber. Probably just made me a bow hunter for life.

Congrats on your success!