Dolland Pond Camp - Newfoundland
West of Conne River, just off the southern coast of Newfoundland, Dolland Pond is approximately seven miles long, fed by a number of streams and with a significant outflow stream heading to the south coast of the island. The pond is surrounded by an ideal mixture of barren grounds, spruce forest and bog which provides good feed/cover for resident moose, caribou, and black bear, and perfect terrain for spot and stalk bowhunting.
The hunting camp was built here over twenty years ago due to the good float plane access, remote location, and availability of game. For years it ran primarily as a rifle camp until loss of the float plane base made it impractical to transport clients and supplies into the area. The camp was closed for nine years, and no hunting was done in the area.
In 1999 a new float plane operation was established outside of Conne River which provided the possibility of reopening the camp. The owners leased the camp, and related tag allotment, to Sipujij Lodge Outfitters, who decided to open the camp as a "bowhunting only" operation. For six seasons the camp has been nearly 95% successful on trophy class caribou, and "every" client has had more than a fair share of close shots! A number of outstanding trophies have been taken, including a stag in '05 that came very close to breaking the existing Pope & Young World record (which has stood unchallenged since the mid sixties!).
During the past six seasons I have personally hunted the camp five times and sent over four dozen clients to the camp. While there have been some "challenges" dealing with management from time to time, the hunting has always been "outstanding"! In addition to Woodland Caribou (the main attraction!) a few good moose and black bears have been taken. Every year the trophy quality seems to improve due to the limited hunting pressure, and the experienced bowhunting guides have found more and better places to find the highest quality animals. Things will only improve going forward.
During the winter of '06 the past management team elected to give up their lease, and it appeared that the new team was not going to maintain the "bowhunting only" theme...this was bad news indeed for North American bowhunters as we looked to loose a valuable resource. Fortunately, things turned around and I was given the opportunity to take over the lease through Tag-A-Long Consultants so I could keep sending our clients, and maintain the bowhunting spirit the camp has become famous for. I'm excited about the opportunity to both keep the outstanding hunting in tact for the future, and to have the control to resolve past management issues to make this a finely oiled machine going forward. With intimate knowledge of the area, and having worked with the staff for years, I can assure all perspective clients an enjoyable and productive bowhunting experience.
The Main camp consists of a group of buildings high on a hillside at the south shore of the pond. The clients are housed in a fairly new log structure with three guest rooms, a full bath, lounging area, and living room. There are two comfortable beds in each of the bedrooms so the camp will sleep six; however we try to limit the camp to four clients at a time. The woodstove in the living room keeps everyone "toasty" and allows all gear to dry out overnight no matter what the weather. The front deck provides an outstanding view of the pond and great place to relax at the end of the day. The practice butt is forty yards from the corner of the deck!
Next to the client quarters is the dinning hall and cook's quarters. Hearty breakfasts are the rule before dawn each day, and full course meals are served each evening. Even those that get out and do a fair amount of walking looking for that "once-in-a-life-time trophy" will put on a few pounds during the week! A generator building, guide's cabin, and meat shed round out the camp to provide everything you could hope for in the way of a full service hunting camp.
Access to the camp is by float plane, so you won't see any other hunters during your stay here. Because the animals that live here have never been hunted by rifle, they are much easier to approach than game in most hunting areas. The animals are resident here, so your hunt is not contingent upon any migration or weather pattern. The weather here is mild in October and this area offers one of the very few places where a hunter can chase caribou during the October rut in decent weather. It is one of the most enjoyable hunts a bowhunter can do!
We allow only a very few moose permits each season, and don't ever disturb the resident population of moose. It is not uncommon to see moose with 50" spreads and heavy racks, an unusual situation in Eastern Canada! There are few things as exciting as calling a bull moose into with-in 20 yards and getting to loose an arrow at him before he even knows you are there!
We also have some awesome trophy bears around the camp. In the fall they can be seen all day feeding on the berry covered hillsides, where they can also be stalked to with-in 15 yards if you play the wind to your favor. Talk about exciting...sneak up to with-in 15 yards of a 400+ pound bear on the ground and shoot him behind the front shoulder! If your heart isn't pounding through your chest, you must have died!
Well, enough for now. If you want to know more, check out the attached pages or some of the columns/stories I've written about past hunts at this camp. If that doesn't answer all your questions, send me an email or ask for references. This is a great camp, and provides what I honestly believe are the best bowhunts for caribou in North America...I'd love to talk to you about them, or better yet share a camp fire!
Roy Goodwin
Director
Tag-A-Long Consultants