The fruits of my labor...

    I was taught early, a big part of being a hunter was also learning to cook or at least be associated with someone who could cook. Wild game meals have always been an important part of my hunting experience.

    This was a great dinner for a bitter cold evening.

      This is a Pheasant vegetable soup I threw together tonight. I made some soup stock a few nights ago from a left over pheasant dinner.  Tonight I just added some vegetables, beans, tomatoes and some pre-cooked pheasant breast. Then just let it simmer for a while. I added some chili powder, garlic, and S&P. You can use just about any ingredients that sound good. I paired it with some hearty Sourdough bread from the new Breadsmith store which just opened on Michigan Avenue near the square. (Hyde Park Breadsmith Location)

       Wild game meals don't have to be complicated or appeal only to a few purists. Just have fun with it.

-Luke

Upland Hunting 1/22/14- Rye's First Hunt

   My dad and I took advantage of the "Snow day" yesterday and headed down to Shags Run to bird hunt for a bit. We left about 12:30 so the sun was starting to come out and we were both looking forward to the day.

Rye getting ready to hunt

First Hunt of 2014

     I spent the first day of 2014 doing one of the things I love most. I spent the morning bird hunting with my dad and a few relatives. In addition, I was quite excited to get my new puppy, Rye, out to expose to quail for the first time. I picked up this little English Setter from Billy Gerwin (Shags Run Farm and Hunt club) back at the beginning of December. She has been such a sweetheart and the training is going well. She has definitely become my little buddy.

"Rye"

Click "Read more" for more pictures from the day.

Lake Erie Steelhead Fishing Report 12/27/13

          First off, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to everyone. It has been a great year of fishing for everyone; and I hope more is to come! Our family went up to Buffalo, NY for a couple days after Christmas to visit family. The location of Buffalo cannot be any better for someone targeting some steelhead or brown trout. Lake Erie has many tributaries right around the Buffalo area that produce mass fish, such as the famed “Cat” or Cattaraugus. Most of the Erie tribs lay to the south of Buffalo, but fishing is just as good to the north. Here the Lake Ontario tribs can be fished. These are not only famous for their steelhead and salmon fishing, but they have an unbelievable run of browns. Browns in the 20-25” range are the norm here. Browns are caught that easily exceed 20lbs!

One of the smaller guys, but great colors.

Mad River Fishing Report 12/18/13

          Yesterday Nick and I headed north to the Mad River to do some trout fishing. The temperatures stayed very low all day. Our guides never melted all day, we were constantly picking ice out of them all day. The river was in pretty good condition. It was running a little clear but the flows were great. The USGS station at Urbana was registering flows at 123 cfs. The sun was out all day and the winds stayed down for most of the day too. All in all, we had a pretty good day.

Mad River gold

Fall Fishing 2013

Here is a little tribute to the fishing that we did this fall.

-Alex

December 15 Upland Hunt

  

       I got to spend part of the day Sunday hunting with Bob Schiff at Shags Run. We shot Chukar and Pheasant since the day was a bit wet. Quail don't fly as well under these conditions. Even though Bob was a seasoned shooter, he was new to upland bird hunting. I hope we gave him a good introduction to this pastime. Bob shot very well. Since it was just the two of us I had Billy put out some birds for me as well.
        I still have spots available January 18th, February 8th, and March 16th. I'd love the show the farm off to you. It is one of my favorite places.
-Luke