Hunting, Fishing, & Trapping

Hunting, Fishing, & Trapping

Nov 08, 2022

Warning: this blog contains information about hunting, trapping and fishing. If you plan on doing any of this, please make sure you are aware of the rules and regulations for your state.

Some people are probably cringing seeing these words above, but if we did not hunt, fish, and trap it would mess up our whole ecosystem. There is a reason why we are allowed so many per year and that is to help manage conservation. Us hunters, fishers, and trappers help restore habitat for many animals. Plus even if we didn't hunt, the wolves would destroy the animals anyway. Not to mention they are depleting our deer population... but that is a story for another time.

With this crazy inflation it is hard to be able to afford certain things, especially Meat & Fish. Your grocery store is miles upon miles away, so you have to do what is best for you, and how to make sure you have plenty of protein in the freezer to last you at least half of the year. Luckily Zach and I are decently skilled in Hunting and Fishing, and starting to learn more about Trapping (Thank you John and Christina)

Late September or Early October you can start hunting for most Animals, Deer, Waterfowl, Birds, Rabbits, etc. A very good friend of ours took me out hunting in early October. I had it in my head all day, I am going to get this deer with full confidence. Johnny took me out to his blind and we sat and waited for a few hours before we saw a buck peak out of the woods. You can see his antlers glisten from a distance. I got the crossbow ready and waited for an hour for this buck to come in my range. Once he finally did I was able to take a good clean shot. We watched him run for roughly 50 yards and luckily we did not have to go track him, because we could see him plain as day.

Most people do not understand the amount of emotions that spew out after you harvest. I couldn't stop shaking for hours, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face and of course I wanted to cry at the same time. When you harvest an animal you feel a sense of sadness but also thankfulness for what the world has to offer.

We went back to process him at the house, and thankfully we had family visiting which was a huge help. We were able to get at least 4 months of Venison Meat from this Buck. 4 months?!?! this helps save so much money and not only that can we talk about how much healthier it is for you rather then purchasing store-bought meat. If you don't believe me watch Food Inc.

Zach hasn't quite had enough time to go out deer hunting recently, but opening of Gun season is November 15 and he will have more time to get out then. But when we went to Ohio he was able to go on a Pheasant Hunting trip with my family. Bird hunting is very exhilarating. You never know when one will pop up out of a field and you have such little time to be able to shoot one.

Earlier in the year we did some fishing, not like we typically do, but we did some. There is so many different delicious species of fish in Michigan, so you are open to many options. Early May we were able to do some Brook Trout fishing in the Famous Fox River. We were not successful, but maybe next year. We were also able to go Walleye, and Perch Fishing and were pretty successful in that. Both Walleye and Perch are one of my favorite fish to catch and eat! Fish has a lot of Omega 3 Fatty acids, and Vitamins, such as D and B2. Fish is rich in calcium and a great source of minerals like: Iron, Zinc, Iodine, Magnesium, and Potassium.

We were able to freeze some of the fish, which will be good to eat in the winter, and will allow us to change up our meals a bit.

Zach and I are learning more and more about trapping. Thankfully we have some good friends from down state that were able to teach us a little bit about the benefits of trapping. The animals we will be trapping are nuisance animals. If you didn't know last year Zach and I lost 10 chickens from a weasel. The worst part about it is Weasels don't even eat the chickens they just do it for fun. This was so devastating. 10 of our egg laying chickens gone. This year we are making sure this will not be happening.

We will be setting traps out for Mink, Marten or Fisher, Muskrats, Bobcat, some beavers, etc., etc. All of these animals are predators to our chickens, except for the Beavers and Muskrats.

We will probably not do a whole lot of beaver trapping but I feel the need to explain why these are very interesting creatures. Beavers are a nuisance animal because they create massive dams that cuts off water flow and can cause flooding. The purpose of trapping beaver is very important for those reasons. Beaver have a special gland in them called a castor gland. The castor glands smells like Pine and Birch. Fun Fact: Castor Oil is what make up, perfume, soaps, lotions and creams are made of. You can send Beaver off to a fur buyer or you can keep it to yourself to create mittens or hats. You can also eat Beaver Meat. It has a very woody, kind of sweet taste to them. Perfect for stews.

Some people who are reading this may still cringe and I am sure I did not change their minds but this is very important for Zach and I. We live off of these proteins to help us survive. This is apart of living off the land. It is so rewarding to be able to do this.

Recipes will be following this blog post!

" It's about the adventure of being in the center of nature and wildlife, and being grateful to be alive and awake in God's Cathedral" - Anonymous

Enjoy this post?

Buy Northern Front Homestead a coffee

More from Northern Front Homestead