Dollard Pond Camp FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q. Are the posted hunt costs complete or are there other expenses aside from getting to Gander?
A. The posted rates include the flights into and out of camp, 1X1 guide service, food, lodging, and your tags, but there are a few other things to consider: The government makes us collect a 7% GST tax, if flying into Gander you'll need to spend one night in each direction at a hotel and pay for one meal each way while there. You'll spend about $25.00 for a cab (each way) from the hotel to the airport. You should consider a tip for your guide and a few bucks for the hard working cook. You may want the meat processed, frozen, and boxed for shipment home, which can be arranged for a slight additional cost (we just pass on the actual cost of this optional service).
Q. What is the best week to book my hunt?
A. This is a tough one! Each week offers something a little different. The first week has summer like weather, great fishing, and very good spot and stalk caribou hunting (with excellent meat for the table!). If you like fishing almost as much as hunting, and are driving up (so bringing the meat home is not expensive), this is a great week! If you want to try for a moose by calling during the pre-rut, and also get a good caribou, the last week of September is the best. If you are flying in and don't care about the meat as much as a chance to hunt the biggest stags in the peak of the rut, come the second or third week of October. The later hunts are also best if you'd like to add a spot and stalk bear hunt, as they will be feeding "hard" on the berry covered hills at this time.
Q. How is the fishing?
A. In Dolland Pond there are large numbers of land locked salmon. They tell me you can get one on almost every cast, but don't expect them to be huge. We haven't explored the potential for rainbows in the streams into or out of Dollands because everyone is always too busy hunting, but every client that has wanted to spend a day fishing has had fun catching salmon in the pond. We intend to limit the kill to one fish per day per person to maintain the excellent fishing opportunity for years to come, and one day may expand the offering once we have a better handle on availability.
Q. It seems too far to drive, yet you recommend driving if possible, why?
A. Flying since 9/11 is difficult at best, and flying out of Gander with boxes of meat, capes, and antlers is "very" difficult. I seriously recommend people that fly don't even attempt to get the meat home, which is why I try to steer them to the later hunts when the meat is no good anyway. Driving isn't as bad as you'd think looking at the map. From mid Massachusetts (intersection of Rte 495 and I-90) it takes about 14 hours to get to the ferry landing in North Sydney. With two people sharing the driving this is a cake walk! I allow 15 hours for traffic and plan to arrive one hour before departure. I pre-book passage for the truck and a sleeper bunk (about $12.00) for me. I'm fast asleep before we leave the dock and get six hours or better on the way across. When they give the 30 minute alarm I freshen up and eat a good breakfast. When you drive off the boat you are less than seven hours from the float plane base. It only takes a few hours longer than if you fly and it costs about 1/3 if you share the ride with one other person. You don't have to worry about missing flights, or how much meat you are going to bring home, just pack a lot of coolers!
Q. Are the accommodations comfortable enough so my wife would enjoy hunting with us?
A. The accommodations at Dollands are very comfortable, but not "plush", bring her along if she enjoys the outdoors, you'll have a great experience, get plenty of good pictures, enjoy great food, and make new friends!
Q. What is my chance of seeing a trophy class caribou?
A. If you get out and hunt you should see good animals almost every day. This is not however a hunt where you take a boat ride to a crossing on the river and park your butt all day waiting for the migration! You need to head out every day and hike around the country. The country is beautiful and the hiking is relatively easy, so enjoy yourself. More than half our clients the past seven years took their caribou on the first or second day. By the end of the week they usually wished they would have held out for a bigger one, but that's why so many clients come back at least twice (and some have booked their fourth trip already)!
Q. How is the moose hunting?
A. We don't sell stand alone moose hunts because they are not as predictable and we want all our clients to be successful. Usually the cows are bellowing the third week of September, but they are always bellowing the last week, which makes this the best week for calling them in. Later in the season the moose will be "talking" on cold mornings and evenings, but it's hard to call the big bulls away from the cows once they are in the rut. You can get lucky and find one in a stalkable position at almost any time and there are lots of moose around. We will discourage the taking of small bulls and not allow the taking of cows to maintain good numbers of trophy class moose in the area for the future. We won't take many moose hunters but our goal is to give them all a good chance at a true trophy class bull.
Q. How much should I tip my guide?
A. This is a tough one! I've heard numbers as low as 5% and as high as 10% of the hunt cost for a good guide, but a lot has to do with service. You're going to spend a week in close company with this fellow, at the end of that time you'll either be fast friends or you'll hope to never see him again! If he is good company, works hard to get you your animal, and teaches you a little about the country, he deserves a good tip. That is the type of guide to expect when you get to this camp! Also don't forget a few dollars for the cook. All those great meals and home baked bread are the result of hours of hard work in tight quarters while you are off hunting and an extra $25-50 per client per week makes the difference between a minimal wage and good pay! I've found happy cooks make better meals!
Q. If I get my caribou early can I leave and go home?
A. Anything is possible, but why would you want to? Enjoy your vacation. The food is great and the accommodations very comfortable. Go fishing, or take your camera for a walk. It is almost as much fun stalking up to with-in ten yards of a small stag to take his picture as it is a bigger one to shoot him for the wall. If you must leave early anticipate extra costs for the extra flying time out of camp and you'll need to pay the airlines extra to change the commercial flights. You will be better off enjoying the experience of being "in country" than spending the extra money to hurry back to the rat race you couldn't wait to leave when you came here.
Q. I want to book a hunt, but I can't come this fall, when I should book for next season?
A. Now! Seriously, the further in advance you book any hunt the better off you are. The best dates always go first, so the further in advance you book a hunt the better chance you'll have to get the best week. To help every client make the best plans, we allow bookings up to three years in advance with a small partial deposit of only $500.00. The balance of the 50% deposit isn't due until mid January of the year of the hunt, or you can make partial payments on your hunt as time goes on. For those that have a hard time imagining the ability to pay $4000.00 for a hunt, but always dreamed of something like this, I recommend making plans! Send $500.00 now and make a couple payments a year. Book the hunt for 2-3 years out and plan accordingly. You'll be surprised how quick you'll get the money together once you make the commitment and start sending payments.
Q. Can I and a few friends arrange to have the camp all to ourselves for the week?
A. Sure, if you have enough friends and book far enough in advance! We try to have a maximum of four clients per week and only hunt the prime five weeks of the season, so openings are very limited and book up quickly most years. The best thing to do is get one or two deposits in for a week with no other bookings and ask for a certain amount of time to fill the remaining spots. We'll hold them for you for a reasonable amount of time, but if you fail to fill the available spaces, we'll have to.
Q. I never liked the idea of sitting over bait swatting black flies for hours at a time to kill a bear, what's the chance of getting one on the ground at this camp?
A. Excellent! We'll only allow one client per week in the fall to have a bear tag (caribou/bear combo hunt) and it is not at all unusual for several bears to be spotted each week while looking for caribou. Once someone in camp finds a place where the bears are feeding, they will be there every day. The client with the bear tag will hunt that area keeping an eye out for both bears and caribou. If you keep the wind in your favor it is not difficult to approach these feeding bears to with-in twenty yards. And, yes we have some big bears! We also have a couple "special places" for serious bear hunters. One pond just north of Dollands can be hunted as a day trip from the main camp and runs along the side of a berry covered hillside that always holds lots of bears. It is not uncommon to watch 5-8 bears feeding on the hillside at the same time! We also have a camp on Byron Lake which is more "rustic" but is also right in the middle of great bear country. By limiting the number of bear hunters to one per week in the fall, we can almost assure each client several good stalking opportunities during a six day hunt.
Q. What is the best footwear for this hunt?
A. I've had guys swear by their waterproof leather boots, but for my money a good 14" high rubber boot with a removable liner is the best. I usually buy an inexpensive pair with felt liners, then turn around and order some good Gortex replacement liners for them. I bring both sets so I can swap them out if one set gets too wet to dry over night.
Q. How do I bring everything I need if I'm limited to only 70 pounds?
A. Pay attention to the recommended clothing/equipment list. Most people bring 2-3 times what they need and never use more than half of it. I've done it myself! Remember, the weather is mild in the area during the hunting season, and you'll be staying in a comfortable lodge. You don't have to pack for a two week arctic expedition!
Q. What does "flagging" mean?
A. Caribou during the rut are very receptive to a variety of calling methods. One thing that often works well is waving a white towel to simulate a big stag shaking his mane. Another stag takes this as a challenge, and will sometimes come straight to you from 300-500 yards away. I've found that once you get his attention it is better to roll the towel up and hang it around your neck and down over your chest. If the stag "hangs up" take the bottom of both ends and shake them. Doing this in combination with raking a bush with a stick, antler or axe handle can be deadly!
Q. Does the "Full Frontal Attack" you wrote about really work?
A. Almost every time! I've found that when you try sneaking up on caribou everything has to be perfect and it often takes several chances before everything works just right, however if you don't sneak up on them they are not as threatened. The last four times I've hunted woodland caribou (especially during the rut), I've located groups of 20-30 caribou in a herd. A herd this big will always have a good stag during the rut! By getting the wind in our favor, and announcing our approach from at least 100 yards out with a combination of snort grunts and raking brush, we are always able to work our way into the middle of the herd without cover and shoot the biggest stag in the bunch. Not only is this successful, it is a ton more fun then crawling on your belly for two hundred yards and watching the herd take off before you are in bow range!
Q. Do your guides understand the needs of bowhunters?
A. Yes, they guide bowhunters every year, and most are bowhunters themselves