The Farm

One of the best ways to maximize your limited time on the water or in the field is to develop property you already own or have access to. My family farm has been in southern Ohio since the 1830s. The farm has changed a lot over the years and is no longer as large as it once was. My great grandfather (Chauncey) was the last individual to actually farm the property. My uncle and I own the remaining farm property at this time.

The property consists of hills, valleys, meadows, hardwood forests, and pinewood forests. There is also a small pond that Chauncey built in the mid 1950s to water the cattle. Chauncey passed in 1965 and little care other than some mowing has been taken of the farm since that time. The quail and pheasant have been gone sine the blizzard of 1977. The grouse have fizzled out over the past decade. The rabbit population is declining as well. The deer are abundant, but the number of trophy deer is minimal.

I began working on making the farm a family getaway about 3 years ago. My real intention is to have a nice hunting and fishing retreat. I have the pond back up to snuff and will be working on developing deer, rabbit, and bird habitat in the coming years. I will share the pond restoration process with you in the near future and will bring you along as the deer and bird habitats are being developed. Join me for the ride and hopefully you'll be able to do some of these projects on your own property to maximize some fishing and hunting time close to home.