Comment

Comment by Joe Hearn on February 16, 2011 at 12:57pm

Regarding PEI,you seem to be considering only the western part of the island.There are other parts of the island with good populations of geese and outfitters.It may be worthwhile contacting some of these and asking for references.Where I hunted was great-lots of geese and relatively little hunting pressure.Hope this helps.

Comment by Fred Woodman on February 15, 2011 at 8:40pm

if you really want to shoot til it hurts and you bleed. Plan a trip to western canada. Sask has large numbers of birds Canada geese, snow geese, specklebellies and loads of ducks. two years ago three of us shot over 800 rounds in 4 1/2 days. Heres a pic of the last morning ( the half day)

Comment by Robert Sullivan on February 15, 2011 at 8:11pm

I'm going to have to do some more investigating...  If I go away for a trip, I want to have the opportunity to shoot some birds.  If I miss them, then that's my own fault :)

 

Comment by Fred Woodman on February 15, 2011 at 8:37am

I certainly was not satisfied with my experience at WGL this pass fall and I like you was not happy with the effort of the guides. I also had friends hunt at Hunters Chance and I dont think they fired a shot in 3 days.This fall, and they werent happy.

 

Reality is that I have never heard a complaint when the birds decoyed.

I totally agree with you Justin about Sask and Alberta . But there are ways to skin the cost cat. Unfortunately time is a big consideration. But if you can swing a week to hunt its not as bad as you might think.And neither province requires a guide to hunt. Out west on a per day basis its probably less than PEI. getting there and back and a rental machine is the difference.

 

Dont rule out Ontario, South West Ontario believe it or not has MORE Canadas than either Sask or Alberta.Its a long days drive beyond the confederation bridge. ( bring home some $12 a dozen Quebec beer to offset the cost) but like I say you need the additonal two days to make the trip. Grab a seat sale and do a week.

Comment by Robert Sullivan on February 15, 2011 at 7:25am

Everybody will have different results with different outfitters.  Whether the birds just don't come in or whether the guide isn't meeting your expectations.  I have no doubt that all of the lodges have their benifits, however I was just passing along second hand inforation.  I had three different groups of friends who didn't have good experiences with Wild Goose this past fall, but may be it was just a bad year.  I have heard good things about Hunters Chance, so not knowing anything else about the other lodges I booked a trip.

 

All I can say is that I hope we both have good trips this fall and prove eachother wrong :)

Comment by Justin Boutcher on February 15, 2011 at 12:30am

I guess my comment was that long it all never got posted lol. In closing i wanted to wish Robert and his buddies better luck than we had.

Comment by Justin Boutcher on February 15, 2011 at 12:23am

I agree totally with you hunting is called hunting for a reason if not it would be called killing, and with out a doubt it is hit or miss. I hve been working in north western Alberta for the last 5 years living there for six months at a time and if you want to see geese or ducks well taht is the place to go and Sask. is even better again, but that is quit a ways away and look at the expense of getting there, so like you said P.E.I is reasonable goose hunting for and afordable cost at a reasonable distance to travel.

With that said I still can't comend the outfitters we were with every evening after hunting we had to travel 35 minutes from our cabin to one of the owners homes for supper without evening asking us what we liked,  the third night we told them we would cook our own meals with that we found out they were charging us $25 each per meal and the second night we were paying $25 for a bowel of clam chowder which none of us even liked. And as for the guide knowing which geese would come in will he couldn't get of his cell phone long enough to care if they would or wouldn't, the 2 we did kill broke off from a bunch of about a dozen and they came in on there own he ddin't make an effort which was hard to do when you are on the phone mine you. The whole time we were there every evening about 25 geese would land in the pond next to the cabin we were staying in which they owned and had blinds on so with us asking if we could hunt htere they took me and my father from our fild early the last day to hunt the pond when we got there the geese weren't there which we knew they wouldn't be so they said we wouldn't bother to hunt there we were pissed of coarse they weren't there they never came till about hour or so befor dark. So they dropped us off about 45 minutes latter my father and I were on the patio having a beer we heard the honking and loan behold the 25 or so geese flew over our heads and landed next to the blind we were supossed to be in we wouldn't have even needed  decoys, well that put the icing right on the cake lol. Well that evening Mr. Montgomery came to get our money and "drink our beer" lol, we told him what happened and he asked if we wanted to stay another day and hunt the pond well we told him we had work comitmints and had to get home and for that matter we should have already hunted the pond to begin with. We were told that every hunter before us that season went home with there quota if you can belive that one lol. And I almost for \got some of there excusses for us getting no geese:

1. They had too many ticks so they were staying in the water trying to drown them.

2. The wether was too warm so they were staying in the water to keep cool yet we ahd it colder than they had it all season yet everyone else got the quota.

3. On 2 of the blue bird days we were there they said it was too nice and we needed wind and rain and the day we got wind and rain they said it was too windy so explain that one.

And to top it all off four of us went to labrador this past december with Labrador wildlife expeditions booking it prior to knowing about the status of the heard and ahd a ten times worst hunt. We never seen a caribou which never bothered us but our guide and owner was that unprepaired we lost a whole day and a half of hunting and got to spend a night in a cabin in the middle off nowhere north of Churchhill falls by our selves when our trusted guide told us when we got there he had to go back to goose bay and didn't return till a day later. We had an oiol stove that didn't work and a wood stove which he brought about a dozen cunks of wood for in which 6 were too long for the stove. AND he never left us with any food luckey enough we brought chicken legs and had killed 2 grouse and 2 partridge on the way in, so belive me we were roughing it and to make the best of it i have it all on video. And i could right a book about that trrip if i wanted too but i think there is enough said. /body>

Comment by Fred Woodman on February 14, 2011 at 9:40pm

Sometimes its best to not chime in when not asked but i figured I would take a gamble and voice my views on Wildgoose Lodge.I made my first trip to Wildgoose Lodge around 25 years ago. If fact the first fall they were in operation I was there. Over the years I have seen the good the bad and the ugly.A couple of corrections firstly by far Newfs are there largest source of clients, especially in recent years.Very few Americans visit there.Most of those who do are long time clients.

Unfortunately 2010 was one of the ugly years and generally hunting was poor all over the island this fall.

In my time in PEI one thing I have seen over and over ( mostly in Newfs)and thats the fact that you have paid an outfitter to hunt does not guarantee you any birds.If you want guaranteed birds take your money to a farmer/ or supermarket. not an outfitter.

Hunting is not killing.

Typically Wildgoose is a three day hunt and in a 3 day hunt anything can happen. Any given day any given field or area can be a boom or bust.

Another thing to remember is that because you seen birds it dont mean they can be called into a field. One of the faults of PEI Guides is that they know which birds will or wont be coming. Unfortunately the guides often chose not to work such birds. Its my opinion that they should work the birds if for no other reason to make the client happy.

In my experience there are several things to remember

1.WGL has the best fields. They are the largest outfitter.( remember any given field can be boom or bust on a given day)

2.WGL overall has the best callers and guides

3. WGL has the best accomadations

While Newfoundlanders think PEI has a lot of geese. It dont, theres a few thousand geese ( WGL) in Summerside Bay that see the same decoys, set in the same fields and get called to by the same callers 6 days a week.Success largely depends on how and when those few thousand birds arrive.

 

In 2006 we pretty much got skunked I think we killed 11 in three days. In 2007,2008,2009 we pounded them.This fall we have two groups and killed 25 in 3 days.Far from stellar.

PEI is what it is ,decent goose hunting close.Not great but OK.

For example one morning in SW Ontario and you will see more geese than PEI gets in 5 years.

WGL has slipped a little but I have yet to hear tell of anyone who after 5 years of hunting in PEI hasnt been busted at least once.2010 was largely a bust year in PEI.

Comment by Robert Sullivan on February 14, 2011 at 7:05pm

Thanks for he info.  For what its worth, I've heard horrible things about Wild Goose Lodge...  Very similar story to what you have said below.  The guide was just not into it.  I guess it all depends on the particular guide you get.  Also, I've heard from Wild Goose that they tend to cater the American's a lot more than the Newfies and locals.  One of my friends were there this year, the birds were coming in and they were moved to another blind so that a group of Americans could hunt...  I guess ya just never know... :(

Comment by Justin Boutcher on February 14, 2011 at 6:44pm

Not to be negative but I wouldn't recommend them there was a big lack of effort on there part, if I wasn't an avid hunter I might not of noticed but to be honest we could of had more geese on our second day of hunting we seen literally thousands but our guide who was also co-owner just showed a lack of interest and would let the birds go by around a hundred yards away without even trying to call or flag them. Once we had 14 or 15 in shot but told us to wait for them to pitch and we never even pulled the trigger. The 2 geese we did get there was 3 coming in and we had to try and get the guide to get off his cell phone and get down in the blind. We also heard from another source that these were a good outfit but to be honest I would never go back with them they even gave me the chance to go back for half the price but I would never go back with them, though we are thinking about going back up with Wild Goose Lodge I have already been talkin to Jim Dugan the owner. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, perhaps u guys well have better luck if you have a choice ask for John McDonald to be your giude he was a good guy we had him our 1st and 3rd day he would be using 2 different calls a steady with the flage we just never seen many birds those days.

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