I personally love hunting near running water, for several reasons. I hunt up in the north woods of Wisconsin so running water usually means ravines, sometimes very deep ravines, and that tends to force the deer to use only certain spots to cross. Also, I can use the noise from the running water to my advantage when moving around. Additionally, during those hot and dry years water is a natural attractor. I have taken many nice bucks very near running water and most of my stands I use are within 100 yards of a stream.