I lost my best and closest hunting area this weekend (my Clermont County spot).
Owner is a quirky fellow that took some time to get to know. I've put in a lot of time at his place (winterized his trailer last year) and done numerous other favors for him, which he has always acknowledged. But he feels that the other 3 guys that hunt there don't appreciate him or help out, and he's facing some financial difficulties, so he's decided that nobody is going to hunt there until everybody ponies up $1000. When he told me that, I thanked him for the privilege and opportunity I'd had to hunt there, told him I understood how he felt but that wasn't in my hunting budget, collected my cameras, did the weedeating I'd come to do that day, and told him to feel free to call me if there was anything he ever needed. So much for that. I'm hoping he has a change of heart and calls me to say "come on down", but I don't see that happening. The place is overrun with deer and turkeys. Oh well, I learned alot there, and it was a good run while it lasted.
Good news is: I've still got places to go locked up, good places. Bad news: they're all down in Adams County, about a 2 hr drive for me. Good news: I can stay at my parent's place down there anytime (they've moved up to Dayton near me but keeping the homeplace for now), so I can drive down on Fri nite and the place is like my hunting cabin...so I can get up early and be in the woods before sunrise. Bad news: every weekend I hunt down there is going to be a major time commitment. I really wish I had a place close to me that was convenient for short hunts. Good news: I live 15 mins away from Caesar's Creek and Spring Valley, and a little further from Beavercreek Wildlife area. I've done some very brief scouting at all 3 places before, but avoided hunting public to this point. But now I've decided that I'm going to do some close-to-home public hunting this fall, focusing mainly on Caesars Creek. I've heard some good things about it and will just give it a try.
I've taken a map and sectioned it off and tonite I went to the first area, took the .22 to do some squirrel hunting and scouting. Didn't see a single squirrel, and not alot of deer sign. Not as many oaks as I would have like to see, and when I followed the most promising gametrail I found only one pile of deerturd near an oak that has dropped alot of acorns. Not a single rub or scrape or any other sign. So for the next 3 weeks I'll be walkin CC with my .22, lookin for squirrels and a whitetail honeyhole.
So as of right now, I don't know what my opening day plans are. Other than I will be somewhere in Adams County, watching a sunrise.
I gotta say though, I felt oddly comfortable in our public woods...knowing the rules and having to right to be there, not having to worry about a permission slip other than an Ohio driver's license.
Keep a good thought for me as I try to find the deer there.
Owner is a quirky fellow that took some time to get to know. I've put in a lot of time at his place (winterized his trailer last year) and done numerous other favors for him, which he has always acknowledged. But he feels that the other 3 guys that hunt there don't appreciate him or help out, and he's facing some financial difficulties, so he's decided that nobody is going to hunt there until everybody ponies up $1000. When he told me that, I thanked him for the privilege and opportunity I'd had to hunt there, told him I understood how he felt but that wasn't in my hunting budget, collected my cameras, did the weedeating I'd come to do that day, and told him to feel free to call me if there was anything he ever needed. So much for that. I'm hoping he has a change of heart and calls me to say "come on down", but I don't see that happening. The place is overrun with deer and turkeys. Oh well, I learned alot there, and it was a good run while it lasted.
Good news is: I've still got places to go locked up, good places. Bad news: they're all down in Adams County, about a 2 hr drive for me. Good news: I can stay at my parent's place down there anytime (they've moved up to Dayton near me but keeping the homeplace for now), so I can drive down on Fri nite and the place is like my hunting cabin...so I can get up early and be in the woods before sunrise. Bad news: every weekend I hunt down there is going to be a major time commitment. I really wish I had a place close to me that was convenient for short hunts. Good news: I live 15 mins away from Caesar's Creek and Spring Valley, and a little further from Beavercreek Wildlife area. I've done some very brief scouting at all 3 places before, but avoided hunting public to this point. But now I've decided that I'm going to do some close-to-home public hunting this fall, focusing mainly on Caesars Creek. I've heard some good things about it and will just give it a try.
I've taken a map and sectioned it off and tonite I went to the first area, took the .22 to do some squirrel hunting and scouting. Didn't see a single squirrel, and not alot of deer sign. Not as many oaks as I would have like to see, and when I followed the most promising gametrail I found only one pile of deerturd near an oak that has dropped alot of acorns. Not a single rub or scrape or any other sign. So for the next 3 weeks I'll be walkin CC with my .22, lookin for squirrels and a whitetail honeyhole.
So as of right now, I don't know what my opening day plans are. Other than I will be somewhere in Adams County, watching a sunrise.
I gotta say though, I felt oddly comfortable in our public woods...knowing the rules and having to right to be there, not having to worry about a permission slip other than an Ohio driver's license.
Keep a good thought for me as I try to find the deer there.
