Wright Patterson Air Force base

J

Joey

New member
Just moved to Wright Patterson Air Force base. Just wondering if anyone on here is near the area and has any information on hunting the Sandusky Bay or nearby places. Not looking for any specific spots but just general information. When it warms up in the spring planning to tow the boat everywhere, do some fishing and find places to hunt. Been reading the Ohio fish and game laws but it can be confusing to someone that doesn?t know the area. Thanks.
 
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I grew up about 1/2hour north of the base. There is some opportunities closer to home for you. Find the mad river on a map and follow it north to Urbana. There is a lot of field hunting that could be had around there in the valley. Also, dont look past the farm ponds and cattle yards.

Sandusky bay was always a bit of a mystery to me.

cw
 
Joseph - I was stationed there twice during my 25 years. If you look south of Xenia, you'll see Spring Valley WMA and Caesar Creek State park. Spring Valley is really small but it used to hold a good number of birds. It can get crowded on the weekends. Caesar Creek is a BIG reservoir and you'll definitely need a boat - had some good shoots there but the birds have lots of options so you have to be mobile.

My favorite was Buck Creek State Park near Springfield. They used to have a drawing for blinds but I always used my boat to get me to the small islands in the northern end. The mud around those islands is epic when they draw the water down in the fall, so be wary. I killed a lot of mallards and gadwalls around those islands.

Good luck!
 
Joe,

Caesars & Spring Valley both hold annual blind draws. If you draw one, it gives you permission to erect a blind for the season at a specified location. Spring Valley marsh isn't much (never has been),and is an extremely shallow & small man-made impoundment that is electric motor only. Small gravel ramp at the south end and the heavily used Miami River public bicycle trail runs up the length of it's West side not a stones throw from the marsh. Most days, you'd be likely to have a recreational kayaker paddling through your set [;)] . Nice place for a walk as well. Caesar's or East Fork Reservoirs. are big but tend to be over-hunted and will be tough to hunt once they draw water levels down each fall if you don't draw a blind location permit.

Indian Lake and Grand Lake, St, Mary ( + Mercer Wildlife Refuge on Grand lake offers goose blind drawings all season) might be more in your driving range, and you might consider the Ohio River; but going North to the Sandusky Bay area, you'd be travelling a long way from the Dayton area just to get there (...think 31/2 - 4 hours). I'm about 30+ miles south of Dayton or Wright Pat., and it's over an hour's drive for me to get to decent areas to put in at & hunt along the Ohio River where it's bordered by either Ohio & Ky / or Ky & Indiana. The bulk of my hunting is done on the Ohio on an Indiana or KY non- resident license. Being sure to have the right license is a major consideration on the Ohio + any embayments or tributaries. Regardless, of what will work for you travel-wise, getting out to scout in the summer is going to be a must so you can familiarize yourself with areas, ramps, etc.

Field hunting or lakes on private land may be your best option - that or getting access to the Great or Little Miami, Mad, or Stillwater Rivers through private land ( it's going to require landowners permission to access smaller Rivers, as Ohio's regs on water rights are really prohibitive (...you can't just float down from an access point and set decoys as landowner owns the river bottom too). Good Luck.
 
Thanks for the information, I never post on any internet sites, usually just lurk and read what others have to say but figured I?d throw it out there last night. I appreciate everyone?s input because I realize asking for waterfowl advice on the internet is not the best idea but I?ve lived in several states and was just too intimidated by gun/hunting regulations so it wasn?t worth it. New Jersey being the #1 thorn in my side despite my wife?s dad owning a farm. MLbob Furia I looked at your Facebook page and you have awesome carvings. I just started myself and would like to check your shop out sometime if that?s possible.
 
My first day in NewJersey, my buddy picked me up at the airport we were planning on going hunting. We got pulled over for speeding, he had a browning B2000 in his tahoe. We were both taken to jail for felony possession of a firearm because we didn?t have a purchasers id card. Although we both had a hunting license. Cost us around $6,000 a piece to get the charges dropped which were asinine to begin with. Gun was in a case. Now I?m just leary of any new state.
 
$6000 - Ouch! East Coast craziness.
With apologies to Sinatra:

"Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
Who'd want to be a part of it ?
New York, New York"


Vince P has told me some interesting things about how frustrating it can be dealing dealing with the crazy gun bureaucracy in NY, but that's amazing. What exactly did they say were the grounds for not being permitted to have a cased shotgun already owned being transported in a vehicle for the purpose of going hunting? I looked at Jersey laws and found this:


In New Jersey, anyone seeking to purchase firearms (one does not need to obtain a Firearm Purchaser Identification card to own, possess in the home, transport firearms to and from authorized target range, to a gunsmith for purposes of repair, or to the woods or fields of the state for purposes of hunting) is required to obtain a lifetime Firearm Purchaser Identification card, commonly referred to as FID, for the purchase of rifles and shotguns.


 
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As Tony said, Buck Creek State Park (CJ Brown Reservoir) can be pretty decent at times. I have hunted mid lake out of a boat (or towards the north end) most of the time and have had a blind there off and on over the years. We always shot something almost every hunt. A good boat of some size (16+) is a must to be safe, in my opinion, when the wind gets howling out there.[;)] Best of luck!
 
MLBob Furia said:
$6000 - Ouch! East Coast craziness.
With apologies to Sinatra:

"Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
Who'd want to be a part of it ?
New York, New York"


Vince P has told me some interesting things about how frustrating it can be dealing dealing with the crazy gun bureaucracy in NY, but that's amazing. What exactly did they say were the grounds for not being permitted to have a cased shotgun already owned being transported in a vehicle for the purpose of going hunting? I looked at Jersey laws and found this:


In New Jersey, anyone seeking to purchase firearms (one does not need to obtain a Firearm Purchaser Identification card to own, possess in the home, transport firearms to and from authorized target range, to a gunsmith for purposes of repair, or to the woods or fields of the state for purposes of hunting) is required to obtain a lifetime Firearm Purchaser Identification card, commonly referred to as FID, for the purchase of rifles and shotguns.


Click to expand...

We were not directly going to or from hunting when pulled over. My buddy picked me up at the airport and still had his hunting equipment in the truck. You cannot deviate from your path with a firearm in New Jersey. We told the state trooper we had a hunting license but not a purchasers ID card. He said he didn?t care about a hunting license he wanted an ID card, only a game warden would care about a hunting license. Remind you only 1 gun in the truck, I was going to borrow one when got to the farm. My buddy plainly told the state it was his gun from the get go both of us still went to jail. If going to New Jersey to hunt be cautious that?s all I?m saying. If goes south call Edward Nappin I believe that was my lawyers name. There?s tons of horror stories of New Jersey gun laws.
 
For a good read, look into some people he has represented. The best are the group of gentlemen that stopped at Burger King for breakfast. They were on their way to their trap club and conversing about the day. People in the Burger King hear them talking about guns and called the police. They were all charged with illegal possession of a firearm. That was right around Belmar NJ if I?m not mistaken.I used to go fishing out of shark river all the time. Evan got those guys cleared but it can get stupid very fast in New Jersey. It?s all about the money.
 
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