Greg Cahlik enjoys a day in the field with his Labrador retrievers. Like most bird hunters around Ohio, he knows the prime game birds - ring-necked pheasants, ruffed grouse and bobwhite quail - are in woefully short supply.
Although the small game hunting season opened on Friday, hunters chasing game birds are most likely to find success at public wildlife areas where pheasants are released. It will be a fleeting glimpse of the good, old days, when pheasants were plentiful and bagging a grouse or a quail was a possibility.
"I like the outdoors and bird hunting, and began training Labs about 17 years ago," said Cahlik, a sergeant with the Brooklyn Police Department. His first Lab, Max, turned into an outstanding performer in the All-Breed Hunter's Trials around the area, and Max's son, Jake, and grandson, Cooper, now handle the bird-finding and field trial chores.
Cahlik began dreaming of creating his own bird fields, and a decade ago bought a couple of hundred acres of Trumbull County farm land. This year, after adding a few hundred more acres, Cahlik has expanded his dream and opened Cahlik's Upland Bird Hunting and Dog Training Grounds at 9520 Penniman Rd. near Orwell, almost adjacent to the now-defunct Grand Valley Ranch Hunting Preserve.
"I got together with Mark Robertson, who managed Grand Valley Ranch," said Cahlik. "With his guidance, I knew I could not only develop a hunting preserve, but something even better. We also provide the bird dog people a place to train their dogs, creating good hunting habitat and providing much-needed game birds for training sessions."
John Kelley, who has also excelled in local field trials, will help dog owners solve dog-training problems.
"I wanted to make a training session or a hunt here affordable," he said. "The rates are very basic. A pheasant hunt, with four pheasants released, is $70, $60 for a chukar partridge hunt. The guide fee is $15, but waved if a hunter brings his own dog. To train a dog here is $10, plus the game birds. I wanted to make the fees reasonable, and make it a warm, inviting place for people."
Creating the Cahlik Upland Bird Hunting wasn't easy, and it certainly isn't going to make Cahlik a rich sportsman.
Cahlik had to become a farmer, installing tile to drain water from his fields. He needed a crash course in agriculture in order to plant crops that would provide prime hunting cover. The mix of sorghum, millet and grasses will stand tall, even after the winter snows blanket the area, providing realistic hunting conditions that match the best that pheasant-rich states such as Iowa or South Dakota have to offer.
Next was to build a two-story lodge for visiting bird hunters, and work with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to get the necessary permits. Financial planning was a big key, and Cahlik and his wife, Karie, teamed to make it happen. Karie is his staunchest supporter, and can often be found afield at the hunting preserve.
An important ingredient was learning to raise the livestock, which in Cahlik's case are pheasants, chukar partridge and bobwhite quail. His first crop of pheasants has been learning experience after losing about 500 birds to disease. Cahlik has worked with a Pennsylvania bird breeder and others to learn how to raise happy and healthy pheasants and other game birds.
"I know there are lots of people around northern Ohio just like me," said Cahlik, whose brother is noted Lake Erie fishing guide Mark Cahlik of Port Clinton. "They enjoy bird hunting, but have few places to train their dogs or flush a pheasant. It's been my goal to create that type of place."
For information on Cahlik's Upland Bird Hunting & Dog Training Grounds call 440-685-4868.
Ohio has had marginal wild pheasant hunting for decades, but there are lots of Buckeye hunting preserves where sportsmen can experience the Buckeye pheasant hunting of 60 or 70 years ago. A day in the field at the preserves is far less expensive than a trip to Iowa or South Dakota.