Sunfish Valley Whitetails

Submitted by: Mike Burnley

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Review Submitted: Feb 3, 2012

Hunt Date: Jan 7, 2012

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 4

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Muzzleloader

Price Range: 2000-2999

Late Season Muzzleloader Hunt

I decided around Thanksgiving that I wanted to do a late season muzzleloader hunt in Ohio. After doing quite a bit of research online and talking with several outfitters I settled on Sunfish Valley Whitetails. My wife came along as a nonhunter. We arrived on Jan 6, the afternoon before the hunt and got settled in. The accommodations were great. We had our own cabin with all the comforts of home. That night at dinner I met my guide, Andrew. He strongly urged that I stay in the stand all day. He said that he had trailcam photos of several good bucks in the area where I would be hunting and they were moving during the day. He told mre there was a 180 class 13 pt and a couple of other good bucks in the 150 to 160 range in the area. Later, I asked my wife if she thought he was blowing smoke. She said,"I think he's blowing a little smoke." It turns out that he wasn't blowing smoke at all. I was in my stand, a Millenium hang on, an hour before light. I had never hunted a Millenium before. It is undoubtedly the most comfortable stand I've ever sat in. No problem sitting dark to dark. I saw deer all day long. About an hour before dark, I had the 180 13 pt at 50 yards, broadside and my gun MISFIRED! I watched as the deer of a lifetime slinked into a thicket. Long story short, the next day I saw a 160 10 pt in the morning but never could get a shot. I saw the giant 180 again in the late afternoon at 150 yards. I never could get a shot. The next morning, I killed a great 150 class 12 pt (main frame 8 with 2 nice hooks off his G2's and 2 othe scorable points.) He was a 4 1/2 year old deer. I killed this deer with a muzzleloader borrowed from Andrew, my guide, because of the problems with my gun. Obviously, I had a great hunt. Sunfish Valley Whitetails was everything I had hoped for. It is a FIRST CLASS operation. They work very hard to get your deer. Matt Brewster, and his brother, Brock, the owners, are great guys. I can't say enough about my guide, Andrew. He made the difference for me. After my gun problems, he mounted a scope on his muzzleloader, late in the evening, when I'm sure he was tired, and sighted it in for me. He then brought it over to my cabin. I killed my buck with his gun. I think he was happier than I was! The accommodations are great. The food is fantastic and there is plenty of it. The staff was very nice to my wife. I was absolutely delighted with the whole experience. I definitely will go back and hunt with them again, God willing.

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Submitted by: J Anders

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Review Submitted: Nov 19, 2011

Hunt Date: Nov 14, 2011

Species Hunted:

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Semi-Guided

Primary Terrain: Mountain

Method: Bow

Price Range: 1000-1999

Sunfish Valley Whitetails

My overall experience with Sunfish Valley Whitetails would be rated VERY POOR. I arrived early on the Sunday morning before the hunt began on Monday to scout and hang a stand or two for the next weeks hunt. The owner (Matt) was notified of my groups arrival an hour ahead of time and we arrived only to sit and wait for hours before anyone met us. When a part time guide (full time college student) arrived, he led us to a 40 acre tract of property, parked on the side of the road and pointed to the woods and said "hunt here, its 40 acres, if you see posted signs dont pass them." He also told us that a group hunted that property the week before we had gotten there therefore contradicting the "low pressure property" that was advertised. We asked for topo maps and aerial photos as they were promised and the owner Matt stated that they didnt have any. We scouted the 40 acres and hunted it on Monday with no deer seen. There was no food sources and no deer sign on the property. We asked to see some more property and we were led to a mountain side and the "guide" said "hunt here just dont cross the top of the mountain because wee have fully guided hunters up there". He advised us that there was about 100 acres in there. We asked to see more property and were advised that this was the property they had for us to hunt. We were very disappointed to see that there was no work done to the property to prepare it for hunting, no food sources and no accessability. We were laughed at by the locals at the grocery store when we told them we were hunting with Sunfish Valley. They wanted to know why we pay because everybody around town hunts it for free. I dont know whether that is true or not but I couldnt imagine anyone trespassing on property that doesnt have any deer. Between 4 hunters in 5 days, less that 10 deer were seen during a week that is considered to be the peak of the rut. I would definately NOT recommend this outfitter to anyone. Once they have your money, they dont care about you anymore. At least for the Semi Guided hunters. The "guide" did check in with us each night to ask if we saw any deer. After numerous negative reports, nothing was done to help us out or get us on some property where deer were. After expressing our feelings to our "guide", he advised us that we were not the first people to be angry about the problems we had encountered but he couldnt do anything more to help. He also told us the reason we werent seeing many deer was because the area was still recovering from a die off as a result of EHD. Now it makes sense that if there was a die off, we wont see many deer and thats what happened. The owners never made any attempt to make sure his promises were fulfilled as advertised. We never asked to be fully guided but its hard to hunt property if nobody will show you where it is. We were shown approx. 150 acres of supposedly 5000 that is set aside for semi guided hunts. If you are looking for a semi guided hunt, do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. We live and learn and I hope I can save someones money and time by learning from my mistake. Good luck

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Submitted by: JT Kreager

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Review Submitted: Oct 5, 2011

Hunt Date: Oct 5, 2011

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 2

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain:

Method: Bow

Price Range:

Ohio bowhunt

Sunfish Valley Whitetails has over 15,000 acres of private ground in 5 counties across south central Ohio. That's a huge amount of land for Ohio and keeps pressure under control. I think that's especially important for a whitetail outfitter. Most outfitters over hunt their land due to the economics of their business. It's a family run operation, Matt and Brock Brewster are brothers and co-owners, great people. In addition to controlling pressure, they are beginning to add foodlplots and mineral licks so I think it will get better with time. I have been scouting a few properties for the past two years and have hung my own stands too, but didn't hunt until this year. They offer fully guided and a DIY hunt which worked well for me since I live in Ohio, about 2.5 hours away. One of their guides, Andrew often helped me in the off-season. These guys will work hard to get you a legitimate chance at a big buck, and they have them. The huge expanse of the woods makes it a challenge but you can kill one. They never come easy. I can't comment on accommodations but I have driven by the cabins and they look nice.

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Submitted by: John Edwards

Review Submitted: Mar 10, 2011

Hunt Date: Nov 8, 2010

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: 2000-2999

saw 5 bucks first morning 1 was a shooter, bucks chasing every day, just tuff with bow saw a shooter everyday great hunt

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Submitted by: Tim Seitzinger

Review Submitted: Dec 18, 2009

Hunt Date: Nov 6, 2008

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 5

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Any

Method: Bow

Price Range: Any

I found Sunfish to have Thousands of acres to hunt.I'm use to hunting farmland bucks and they rolling hill's always give me fits when it comes to tagging out!The cabins you stay in are the Nicest i've stayed in.Over all i give them 4 stars. Great opertion !! Bob Kramer the head Guide is a class act. Tim Seitzinger (614)570-4515

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Submitted by: Tom King

Review Submitted: Dec 17, 2009

Hunt Date: Nov 5, 2008

Species Hunted: Whitetail Deer

Days Hunted: 10

Hunt Type: Guided

Primary Terrain: Foothills

Method: Bow

Price Range: Any

Sunfish Valley bucks

I hunted Sunfish Valley a few different times. Pre rut was good with lots of deer movement. The Rut was awesome. Had several deer within gun range and a handful of 120 class within bow range. The hills and swirling wind make it tough but the big bucks on trail camera make you keep trying. I did meet a few guys that took some real nice 150 to 170 class bucks with bows. Bob Cramer the hunt manager is a class act and honest as Abe Lincoln. I will hunt with them again.

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note: The following reviews predate the numeric rating system and are not included in this outfitter's overall rating.

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outfitter review submitted by: Sam Smith on Jul 21 2009

Species Hunted: white tail

Game Quality: world class

Accommodation Quality: excellent

Camp Condition: excellent

Food Quality: excellent

Guide Experience: unmatched

Other Personal Experience: awesome

Overall Impression: A+

Recommend: absolutely

Reviewer Comments: These guys have some of the biggest whitetail deer in the world. I had a 20 yard encounter with a 12 pt 200+ inch buck and just couldn't get a clear shot. I did harvest a 154 inch 9 pt that was my biggest bow kill to date. Check out their website at sunfishvalleyoutfitters.com. They are first class people and work hard to get you a deer.

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