CORNER BROOK Peter Mac Isaac is gearing up for the hunt.
Mac Isaac, owner of Bull Run Productions Inc., is bringing his Best of Bull Run fishing and hunting television series to Newfoundland this fall.
Mac Isaac, who is based in Bedford, N.S., is host of the show which is now filming its third season.
From Oct. 15-21 Mac Isaac and the Best of Bull Run crew will be at Back Country Outfitters Inc. in the Grand Bay River area just outside Port aux Basques.
With some help from Rick Legge, owner of Back Country Outfitters, they’re going after two moose and one black bear.
Mac Isaac has a 30-year background in wildlife. He was a provincial game warden in Nova Scotia for 18 years and also worked as a wildlife specialist for the Nova Scotia government.
His career in film started about four years ago when he worked as an extra on the movie Outlander.
He spent 21 days filming scenes as an archer and was supposed to come to Newfoundland with the movie crew when it filmed in the Bay of Islands area, but didn’t make it.
During his time on set he made a lot of connections with people in the movie industry.
“Twenty-four-hour hunt, fish television was really just getting up and going and I knew with my background in wildlife that I had seen and done things for years that I could never really tell people about. You know, this is what it’s really all about,” Mac Isaac said.
He saw an opportunity to promote hunting and fishing at a time when the industry was on the decline in the Maritimes and went out and bought some equipment and the Best of Bull Run was born.
The show airs on WildTV, Canada’s hunting and fishing network, and the Sportsman Channel in the United States.
This is not the crew’s first visit to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Mac Isaac said they filmed a salmon fishing show in Robinsons and another moose hunt with Legge in 2009.
It was on that last trip to Legge’s lodge that Mac Isaac’s co-host and daughter Candace, 24, got her first moose.
His son Craig is the company’s co-owner, producer and cameraman.
Drew Wilson acts as editor and cameraman and also looks after the graphics and Justine Lewis is the web developer.
A regular guest on the show is 23-year-old Amie Boudreau, Candace’s best friend.
Having the two young women participate fits in with a goal Mac Isaac has for the show.
“What we’re trying to do is rekindle interest in young people to get out and do this.”
He said the episodes often show him teaching the young women.
On the October hunt, Candace and Boudreau are going after their moose and Mac Isaac the black bear.
“It’ll be a hoot,” said Mac Isaac.
And he’s confident they’ll be successful.
“The last time we were at Rick’s we saw 23 moose in three days.”
Legge also told him that on the last day out during last year’s moose hunting season he counted 44 moose.
“So we’re not optimistic that we’re going to get a moose, we’re optimistic that we’re going to get the bull moose, the big one.”
As for his role in the show, Legge said he’s “just trying to promote the business and Newfoundland tourism.”
Legge has been guiding for 20 years. About seven years ago he decided he wanted to retire as a guide and ending up buying the business.
When asked if he would be appearing in the Best of Bull Run Show, he replied “oh, I think probably so, definitely going to be.”
The 13 season three episodes will air between January and June 2012.
THE WESTERN STAR.
