Tag-A-Long Newsletter:
Newfoundland 2004 Update
Dave Albiston and son Kelly with their 2004 Dolland Pond Stags. Dave's will make the minimums for P&Y, and Kelly's just missed. It was Kelly's first bow kill and an awesome experiance for a father and son to share.
This newsletter will deal only with the hunts I represent in the Province of Newfoundland. A second newsletter will follow this winter detailing all the other hunts as well as announcing some exciting "Tag-A-Long" opportunities for both the 2003 & 2004 seasons. If you are interested in something special (not contained in this issue), please do not hesitate to contact me so I can try to help you put it together.
As many of you already know, I have put a great deal of time and effort the past few years into developing something "really special" for bowhunters in Newfoundland. All that effort has paid off! There are a number of reasons why this was worthwhile (three actually). Those reasons are: Bears, caribou, and moose!
All kidding aside, Newfoundland is a special place for all three species. They have the largest black bears in Eastern Canada, more moose per square mile than any other place in North America, and the only huntable population of Woodland Caribou. If not reason enough, it is the only place I know where you can hunt caribou during the rut with decent weather, and the hunt costs are very reasonable.
There is usually a "down side" to anything, and bowhunting in Newfoundland is no exception. Actually there are/were two major obstacles. First: the terrain in much of the Province is not "conducive" to bowhunting. Hugh expanses of open "bog" (with no cover) surrounded by large tracks of impenetrable "tuck" is the rule rather than the exception. This leaves the bowhunter no option but to "slog" through endless miles of bog hoping to find an animal in the open, than trying to crawl in 6" deep bog water to get a shot at 60-80 yards. I checked out a couple places like this that thought they offered "ideal" bowhunting conditions, but couldn't get excited about sending clients! The second problem was finding an operation that understood the needs of bowhunters and was willing to cater to them. Do not get me wrong, there are 86 operations in Newfoundland that will gladly take a bowhunter's money!
Allan Anglyn with his 22 point bull which scored just over 161 P&Y. Allan also took a nice stag and missed a 600+ pound bear, before coming home smiling!
I now highly recommend two operations that have solved these problems and offer highly successful "trophy" bowhunts out of honest "bowhunting only" camps. Both hunt from very remote camps in areas that have either never been gun hunted, or that have not been gun hunted in a dozen or more years. Both use experienced native guides that trap the areas in the winter and many have become bowhunters themselves in the past couple of years. Following is a brief explanation of the hunts by species, and then information on the camps with prices. Because every effort will be made to offer premium quality hunts, these camps take a very limited number of clients per week (four per camp) and have a very limited season (they want to take clients only when there is a high probability of success). The result is the total openings per season are very limited. Plan accordingly.
Supujij Lodge (Dollands Pond): The 2003 season will be the fourth "bowhunting only" season for this camp. The camp was not used at all for eight years before reopening as "bowhunting only". They have maintained very close to 100% success on caribou for three seasons (no one left camp with-out shots at caribou at less than 25 yards!). Note: See my columns/stories at either the NETAA website (www.NETAA.org) or at bowhunting.net (I write a trophy bowhunting column for that site). I personally have taken three record book Woodland caribou stags (two make B&C minimums) from this camp in the past three seasons. This past season they were able to acquire six moose tags for the camp and over 100 moose were sighted during the season (two taken, two wounded). Sipujij also offers a limited number of baited bear hunts in the spring (2X1) on the southern coast, and has a spike camp for fall "spot and stalk" bear hunting.
Trophy Spring Bear Hunt
(includes deep sea fishing for cod)$ 2,200.00 Trophy Fall bear Hunt (spot & stalk) $ 3,200.00 Moose Hunt $ 3,200.00 Moose/Caribou combo $ 4,200.00
PRICES: Trophy Spring Bear Hunt (includes deep sea fishing for cod) $ 2,200.00 Trophy Fall bear Hunt (spot & stalk) 2,700.00 Trophy Caribou 3,200.00 Moose Hunt 3,200.00 Moose/Caribou combo 4,200.00
(Notes: All hunts are six full days and include tags, transportation from Conne River to camp and back, trophy preparation and are 1X1 guided bowhunts, except the 2X1 spring bear hunts.) TRUE HILL CAMP: To be honest, this probably will not be the name of the operation, but this is where the main camp will be built this winter/spring. It is also where I scouted last February, and where I just hunted out of a "rustic" trapper's cabin. By way of further explanation, this new camp will be run by the people that I have been working with at Sipagmekik Lodge. They tried all year to get their tags transferred to this new area we found last winter. The terrain is perfect for bowhunting, and the area has not been hunted as far back as anyone can remember (and the three brothers trapping this area are the fourth generation in this family to have exclusive trapping rights here!). They were not able to get the tags transferred so they sold their tags to one operation and purchased tags from another in this zone. The agreement assures them a limited number of tags for the next three years (six moose, fourteen caribou, and five bear), and the option to increase into the fourth year.
I was able to get one client into this area this fall ahead of me. Alan Anglyn (email: ahanglyn@hotmail.com ) says that anyone can contact him for more information/recommendation. He had shots at all three species with-in the first three days, and is coming back! I had tough weather my five days in camp, but still managed to shoot a huge black bear and a record book Woodland Caribou while hiking the area looking for spike camp locations. There are huge moose, B&C caribou, and 500 plus pound black bears here in decent numbers.
Tropy Moose $ 2,850.00 Trophy Caribou $ 3,500.00 Fall Bears (spot & stalk) $ 2,200.00 Black bear/caribou combo $ 4,500.00
BEARS: Newfoundland may have the largest percentage of truly large bears of any Eastern Canadian Province. The baited hunts on the southern coast hold the potential for 500 plus pound spring bears with skulls over 20". These hunts also offer some super fishing as a bonus. They only take two clients at a time (max), so book early! The fall hunts (also very limited) are spot and stalk hunts on bears feeding in the open on berry covered hillsides in a few remote locations. There are few things as exciting as stalking up to with-in twenty yards of a 600-pound black bear in the open, and on the ground, and then loosing an arrow at him. Trust me on that one! There are very few openings each fall during the peak season for these hunts, and fewer yet that are in the right place at the right time to offer "excellent" chances to take both monster bears and record book caribou on the same six day hunt. Contact me personally if interested in this special hunt.
WOODLAND CARIBOU: If you hope to complete the "slam" of caribou, you will need a woodland, and Newfoundland is the only place they can be hunted legally. If you want to "hunt" caribou (rather than just sit by a crossing waiting for the migration), there is no better time than during the rut, and no better place than Newfoundland. If you want a trophy caribou, but do not have nine-foot ceilings in your trophy room, the compact, many-pointed rack of a record book woodland may be just what the doctor ordered! In any case, there is no species that is more fun to hunt, that can be hunted more successfully, or that offers the satisfaction of a true 1X1 hunt, than the woodland caribou on the mixed terrain offered at these two camps.
There is another note that needs clarification here: These woodland caribou hunts can vary greatly from early September to late October; both in hunt strategy, and quality of the meat. The later hunts (during the peak rut) are much more fun, but the meat may not be fit to eat. I recommend the later hunts for serious "trophy" hunters flying to Newfoundland (where getting the meat home on the airlines is a problem anyway) from other than the Northeast. I recommend that those living close enough to drive hunt a little earlier and bring the meat home, its great!
MOOSE: Both camps offer the very real potential for record book moose (I've personally seen moose over 50" as have most past clients). I am no longer recommending combo hunts with caribou however, because I believe you should really concentrate on getting a good trophy moose, and there isn't one behind every tree! While you might get lucky and get both in six days, I believe it is better to concentrate on one each trip and get the best one you can of the species hunted. By hunting moose alone, and going during the prime time, you stand an excellent chance at a record book bull, and a real chance at a high scoring record book entry. In addition, because the moose tags at each camp are so limited, I want to see each client have the best possible chance at collecting his trophy with that tag. There will soon be a 1-3 year waiting list for these tags, and it would be a shame not to capitalize on it when you get the chance.
SUMMARY: There you have it! We have some great opportunities for a limited number of serious trophy bowhunters each season. The best way to figure out which hunt, at what time, in which camp, is best for you is to contact me personally. Let me know what your priorities and goals are and I will help you develop a plan to accomplish them. For some I may recommend a small deposit placed now to hold a special hunt/week two years out, while for others I may be able to help you set up your dream hunt this coming season. If any of these three species is part of your long range goal, you should set a plan in place soon to assure you'll get the hunt you want when you are ready. Some of these hunts book two or more years in advance, and it will only get worse as the word gets out about how good this area is.
Good hunting, Roy Goodwin
