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Shining a Light on Scrapes Scrapes are an integral part of the whitetail breeding season and can get you some of the best trail cam pictures of the year. However, frustration accumulates for many hunters as the bucks make their way to scrapes every night and never when you're on stand. The truth is that a majority of scrapes are made, and scent marked under the cover of darkness. I remember when first starting to hunt thinking that finding a scrape meant a sure-fire chance at a buck, only to walk out of the wood's hours later, finding out on the next card pull that they were there after the sunset.Good news is that scrapes can still provide valuable information that with the right mindset can be utilized to harvest that "nightwalker". A trail camera picture can give hints about where a buck's travel route is, where he's bedding, and what his routine is during particular conditions. After finding enough of this information a hunter can ascertain that in order to get a chance at a particular buck, a stand should be hung on way to the scrape, not on top of it. As most know not everything written in an outdoor article is gospel, and hunting can be a cruel and rewarding cat and mouse game. However, with the right mindset and plan, scrapes and mock scrapes may be the missing piece to your hunting strategy. So next time you get a picture of a buck on a scrape, rack blurred by branches and darkness, think about more than just the time stamp on the picture. For the ultimate mock scrape tools: HODAG Products For more articles: HODAG Blogs

The Season of the Mock Scrapes As the mercury begins to drop, and the hormones of bucks begins to rise, hunters can feel the approach of the greatest part of a deer hunters' year. The rut is on the horizon for many properties across the country and with that, the boosted potential to take advantage of bucks driven by the thought of breeding rather than survival. Most hunters think about the rut as arrowing a giant buck chasing a hot doe, but there are many other ways that we can leverage a buck's natural behavior. Scrapes and licking branches are a part of a buck's daily life year-round, being used as an email inbox of sorts for them send and receive messages about other deer in the area using scent. The activity on these "communication stations" intensifies as the rut approaches and bucks become territorial over their area of dominance. I won't elaborate any further as most reading this know what a scrape, and more importantly, a mock scrape are. Mock scrapes can be a deadly tool in a hunter's arsenal if used correctly and placed in the right location. In combination with a trail camera, a hunter can see a deer's patterns during the rut; what time he checks the scrape, what direction he comes from, and what direction he's going. When factoring in wind direction and barometric pressure a hunter can almost get scientific about where a buck is bedding and where he is heading during certain conditions. Like mentioned above though, the mock scrape has to be setup correctly in the right spot to truly take advantage of this natural behavior. A lighthouse built away from the sea has no benefit to the sailor, and the same ideology can be used for mock scrapes. Our HempScent Rope and Licking Branch Systems can help any hunter tailor a mock scrape to whatever property they are placed. Whether hanging a HODAG HempScent Rope over a heavily trafficked trail or placing a HODAG Licking Branch in an area scarce of low hanging opportunity, both products give customization to the hunter using them. Every property is different and every hunter knows their property better than the guy writing this article. That's why we made versatile products that hinge on a hunters woodsmanship and knowledge of the deer on their property to create a unique setup that fits their land, not ours. Start creating scent hubs: HODAG Products More articles: HODAG Blogs

Eliminating Competition for the Ultimate Mock Scrape Setup Every product in our line of deer scent communication products is designed to replicate something that is done naturally in the wild. From natural licking sticks, licking branches and overhanging vines used for scrapes, it is unfathomable the amount of "scent communication stations" deer have in the woods that go unseen by us hunters. Most deer hunters have experienced walking down the edge of field or food plot seeing scrape lines running along the entire thing. We witnessed this during our trip to the crew at Deer Society's property, seeing a food plot surrounded by low hanging branches for deer to scrape under. However, all of those branches are an opportunity for deer to take roll call of the woods and establish a territory. Unfortunately, most of these scrapes aren't in range of a stand, aren't in front of your trail camera, and are impossible to predict which one will be used that particular day. The main objective of our products is to "tee-up" a perfect spot for scent communication where we choose, but if you setup a mock scrape on a field edge covered in real scrapes, there is nothing drawing to the deer to communicate at the one you want. That is where eliminating competition comes in. If you trim any low hanging branches on that field edge the deer could use and make your setup the standalone location for scent communication. Immediately your setup becomes the only spot for them to scent mark, acting like a lighthouse to a fisherman. With just a little extra work you can make your setups more effective and truly put deer where you want. Best mock scrape tool: HODAG Licking Branch

.Deer Society & HODAG Collab! Last January at the annual ATA Tradeshow, we were placed next to the Deer Society and Illusion booth. Through the weekend conversations ensued, big buck stories were exchanged, and a mutual respect two businesses in the same world was established. Fast forward to the summer of 2022 and after phone calls working through tight business schedules, a collaboration of sorts was planned between the crew at Deer Society and our crew here at HODAG. We planned on heading out to Minnesota, making some HODAG Setups on their land and joining their podcast for a more in-depth explanation of our products. After planting food plots at our farm in Buffalo County we made the drive across the Mississippi River to head to the Whitetails from Scratch Property and see how our products could be utilized there. We setup a Licking Stick, Licking Branch, and HempScent Rope explaining how they can be utilized in a variety of situations to take advantage of a deers natural behavior for scouting and hunting. Through these setups we explained the small tweaks to make each setup more effective and also the common mistakes we see our customers make. The trip ended in the Deer Society podcast studio where we took a deep dive into the scenting behavior of deer that our products take advantage of. Through this collaboration we got to step in the shoes of a new customer wondering where to put a setup on a new property, and we hope that they gained a valuable tool in their already deadly arsenal to better INVENTORY, PATTERN, HUNT their target bucks for the year.  You won't want to miss this podcast episode!

How to jump start licking sticks & mock scrapes Imagine that you come home from work, walk into your living room, and the TV remote is in a different spot than usual. Now imagine walking into your kitchen and you catch a whiff of a unique odor. Each experience would make you curious and most likely have you investigating each occurrence. Not much changed in either scenario, yet you wonder what is different. That is the power of change. The line of products at HODAG aim to get that same curiosity from a whitetail deer. At HODAG we make many analogies to help people understand a deer's perspective. Your property is a deer's house and creating a change in their "living room or kitchen" can spark the curiosity in them as well. The HODAG Licking Stick, Licking Branch, HempScent Rope, and AllSeason Scent are all designed to trigger curiosity about each unique setup. Once deer are drawn into any setup their natural instincts of scent communication take over, allowing us to leverage that natural behavior. Whether a tree grows overnight, a vine appears out of thin air, or a branch sprouts from a normally bare tree, deer will investigate the same way we would. Apart from the visual and odorous changes that our products make, a hunter can take more steps to make a new Licking Stick, Licking Branch, or HempScent Rope even more appealing. Using a trimmer, we cut down any vegetation around our setups and disturb the dirt around or beneath. The visual change of vegetation that doesn't match the surrounding area and the smell of fresh dirt can make your setup even more noticeable to an observant deer. Clearing away any obstructions around your setup, whether tree debris, saplings, or brush can also help make your setup more attractive and assessable to a buck or doe from any angle. The additional benefit to clearing vegetation and brush is that your trail cameras will not be triggered by that dreaded moving branch or leaf that leaves you with hundreds of false pictures. Through the changes made, your setup will jumpstart a deer's natural curiosity and in return trigger the natural scent communication of a whitetail creating a communal scent hub that will be used for years to come.  Shop the best mock scrape systems on the market: HODAG Products For more articles: HODAG Blogs For Setups and More Information: HODAG YouTube

It's a Stick NOT a Tree The biggest mistake hunters make with Licking Sticks The most common phrases from any unhappy customers are "The spring needs to be stronger", "Deer aren't using it", "My tree won't sit up straight", "The spring can't fit a decent sized tree", and more. The most common mistake we see people make with our HODAG Licking Stick is that they buy a Licking Stick but expect a rubbing tree. We often compare this to buying a shot glass but expecting it to hold a gallon of water. Licking sticks can be found virtually everywhere on every property. Most have never seen one because they are exceptionally unremarkable, like a stick used for roasting marshmallows. What most hunters find exciting is the rubbed bark and disturbed dirt found on and beneath trees during the rut. The only difference is that Licking Sticks are more valuable and heavily used throughout the year (not just limited to the fall). The spring on our Licking Stick System is designed to give you instant feedback about the sapling or branch you choose to use. If your spring is leaning, then more branches need to be removed. We cut off anything above chest/neck height (5 feet) since deer can't reach that high and trim off most branches from the sapling. Excess branches will act as a sail for the wind to take hold of, which can often lead to false pictures and full SD cards on your trail camera. Hinge cutting branches and letting them hang parallel to the stem of the stick is a great way to balance your Licking Stick, while leaving leaves to apply more AllSeason Scent during initial setup. When your setup is finished it should look like a stick not a tree. It won't be flashy, but we promise it will be effective. There are millions of trees in the woods, and whitetails don't care about another tree sprouting from the ground. What they will notice is a stick that looks similar to ones they have been using to communicate since they were fawns. If you buy our product expecting to make a rubbing post, then you will likely be disappointed, but if you use it like the name on the packaging describes, than you will reap the benefits of a licking stick in your control. We truly want every customer who buys are products to find success with them and we will help anyone who wants it. Check out our setup videos to see these words in action and take your hunting to the next level. Shop HODAG Licking Stick: Licking Stick System Licking Stick Setup Videos: HODAG YouTube Licking Stick Setups

Trail Cameras: Video vs. Stills How to Improve Your Scouting Strategy Trail cameras have been a revelation in the hunting world, helping us to better scout and pattern deer. Now advancements like cellular cameras, hunters can get instant alerts as to what's going on in the woods when they aren't there. However still images capture a micro-fragment of what's going on, just like a page from a book does not tell the whole story. Most cameras are customizable, allowing hunters to control intervals, recording lengths, and sensitivity settings. Though stills and videos both accomplish the same general goal of letting you know what's in front of your camera, one remains superior. Initially I used still images to improve my scouting strategy, but no matter what camera and settings I used my SD cards were filled up with blurry racks, cutoff heads, and missing pieces to the puzzle, leaving more to be desired. I was worried about low quality videos filling up my cards, capturing the infamous moving leaves and branches, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. The results were more valuable than I could've imagined and showed the true difference between stills and videos. Since I was young after every long unsuccessful sit, my Dad has told me that a season can change in a matter of seconds. If a hunting season can change in seconds than imagine what happens in front of our cameras between picture intervals. The third buck in a bachelor party, the rack behind the hot doe, and the exact direction a deer appears from are all missed pieces of information that can be vital to a hunter's success. Here at HODAG we sell products whose success on store shelves depends on our ability to capture deer using them. We utilize both cell cams and cameras set to video on every setup to get both instant feedback and valuable scouting information. Using this strategy, we have a unique opportunity to see the difference of information gathered by each one. A blurry still of a buck on the edge of a food plot vs. a closeup of a buck's antlers feeding, a picture of a deer's tail vs. a video of a deer's bedding direction, and a buck walking near a mock scrape vs. a video of a buck working it (one to show your hunting buddies). The amount of additional information that can be gained from video may be the missing piece to put our hands on the antlers of a mature buck. Think that old saying should be changed to "Pictures are worth a thousand words, but videos are worth a thousand pictures." For HODAG products to get better pics and videos: HODAG Store For setup tutorials: HODAG YouTube

Improving Your Food Plots How a Licking Stick Can Take Your Efforts to the Next Level As the temperatures rise and bucks begin growing their newest headgear for the season, most hunters flock to the woods beginning their preparations. Cutoff t-shirts and sweat stained hats are common sights through the green leaves of summer as ground is broke in food plots all over the country. In recent years, food plots have become a necessary part of many a deer hunter's plan for the year, and nowadays a hunter must have a little farmer in them to keep up with their neighbors. Meticulous planning goes into almost every hunter's food plot, choosing where, what, and when to plant. Through a commitment of time and effort, a quality food plot can change the way one hunts. However, most hunters understand the struggle of deciding where to put up their "killer" stand, and invaluable trail camera location. There is no way of determining what part of the plot a deer will frequent each day, and sadly a trail camera that moves where it is setup on its own, has yet to be invented. So, what is a hunter's best bet at putting deer where you want for the purpose of scouting and hunting? Here at HODAG we often say that the woods are a deer's home, and if someone came into your house, added a lamp, end table, and in this case a tree to your living room we would all notice. That ideology transfers to the HODAG Licking Stick and leverages the visual change in favor of the hunter, creating a year-round communication setup. The HODAG Licking Stick allows you to deploy a communication hub where you decide and is extremely effective in food plots. When a stick "grows" overnight, it creates a visual change in a normally uniform looking food plot putting deer in front of your camera and stand. The Licking Stick acts like a lighthouse drawing deer visually at first out of simple curiosity and later, out of habit after communal scent marking at your setup begins. Although deer may appear in different areas of every food plot, they will gravitate to the Licking Stick, stopping for a shot or clear trail camera pictures and videos. Our goal is to let every hunter get the most out of the money, time, and effort invested in their food plots. The HODAG team is made up of hunters just like you, who go through the same struggles and frustrations, and we want to help every customer find success on their property. Shop the HODAG Licking Stick View setup videos and tips

Hemp Rope for deer scent communication There will alway be technology advancements in the hunting industry, and it can be challenging to keep up.  No matter how far technology comes and goes, there will still always be simple, time tested concepts in the woods. We have put a modern twist on a concept as old as the deer themselves that gets our customers results. The use of hemp rope for deer hunting has been around for decades, generally focused around mock scrapes during the whitetail rut. However, the trend has seen a resurgence in today's technological hunting world and we combined that old tactic with our proprietary AllSeason Scent.  This has created an invaluable tool in a hunter's arsenal helping them in pursuit of whitetail deer. With chemical free hemp rope blended for maximum scent absorption and durability, we give you the perfect pairing for our AllSeason Scent, which is designed for jumpstarting and invigorating a deer's curiosity. By providing enough HempScent Rope for multiple different setups, the phrase "hang and hunt" has taken on a new meaning. Deer are social animals who's communication isn't limited to the months of October and November. They communicate year-round and HODAG products leverage that natural communication to help a hunter Inventory, Pattern, and Hunt the deer on their land. We see as much activity on our HempScent Rope Systems in summer and winter, as we do during the rut. Instead of creating a mock scrape to be used for a few weeks out of the year, we are creating a communal scent hub where deer go to communicate with one another. Using the numerous glands on their head and face a deer uses the HempScent Rope the same way a dog uses a fire hydrant, leaving their own scent and investigating who's been there before them. The AllSeason Scent draws deer in and encourages them to leave their own scent.  It then becomes a self-sustaining location where deer continue to visit and scent mark without the need for you to apply unecessary pressure.  The more deer use the HempScent Rope the better it gets, week after week, month after month, and year after year. Eventually this setup will become ingrained in a deer's habits and patterns. Seeing deer check in at these communication stations is key in keeping tabs on your deer herd, and more specifically, your target bucks. The patterns that can be drawn from an effective setup could be the missing piece in your strategy to bag that elusive whitetail buck. Instead of making things more complicated, we have simply improved a tactic that has seen tried and true results for decades. With hemp rope and scent specifically designed to jumpstart and hold continued deer interaction, this old tactic has turned into a year-long scouting and hunting tool that every hunter can use to improve their experience in the woods.