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It was a successful hunting season, despite very poor overall weather conditions

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying a great fall of excellent hunting experiences. Following recent completion of our 2005 hunting season, I thought you might be interested in hearing exactly how our season went.

The latest hunting season at our remote lodges was indeed another memorable one, with some high success rates for big game and some very fine trophies. Our hunting conditions were amongst the worst we have yet to experience, with a very small number of good clear days providing the high quality glassing conditions required to spot our big game. The number of previous guests back to hunt with us again was our highest ever, which gives us a great level of satisfaction in the quality of wilderness hunting experience we are providing for our guests.

As is normally the case, animal sightings at our various lodges showed some ups and downs from the previous year. Hunter kill rate for moose was lower than normal at only 50%, with the poor weather definitely having an impact on that, as our normal hunting method of glassing was often not possible due to reduced visibility in rain, drizzle or fog. Caribou kill rate was higher than the previous year, with only 2 hunters not making a kill. These would have both been archery hunters who would have had multiple opportunities. Caribou sightings were up from the previous couple of years, including a higher number of real trophy stags in the 250 inch plus range. Another item of note was the big increase in the number of caribou calves spotted, which was by far the best in 5 years. Black bear sightings were down from the great activity of last year. Caribou Lodge showed little activity, which was no doubt due to a decreased quantity of blueberries in that area. Salmon Brook and The Forks had good bear activity, including a couple of kills, with one of these successfully qualifying for the Boone and Crocket record book.

All archery caribou hunts were very successful, with all these guests indicating a high degree of satisfaction in the overall hunting experience. Each of these hunters would have had multiple stalk opportunities on mature males. Once again this year, rattling proved to be a very effective aid for our bowhunters. An archery caribou hunt video shoot for Bowhunter Magazine was very successful and will result in a written article in that publication, as well as a TV show in the Bowhunter series on the Outdoor Channel.

Another great piece of news coming out of our 2005 hunting season is that our ptarmigan numbers have increased significantly and expectations are that populations will remain great for hunting for the next few years. 

Operations at all lodges went fairly smoothly, with no delays in helicopter transport of guests to and from the camps. Problems occurring due to a hunter becoming ill and hunters arriving without their luggage due to airline problems were all overcome with extra helicopter flights to the lodge. For the first year in quite a while, we had several new staff members, and all were very impressed by their knowledge, abilities and efforts, making them an excellent complement to our regulars.

All archery caribou hunts were very successful, with all these guests indicating a high degree of satisfaction in the overall hunting experience. Each of these hunters would have had multiple stalk opportunities on mature males. Once again this year, rattling proved to be a very effective aid for our bowhunters.

Another great piece of news coming out of our 2005 hunting season is that our ptarmigan numbers have increased significantly and expectations are that populations will remain great for hunting for the next few years.

Here is a very brief overview of the hunting at each of our lodges for 2005.

The Forks Lodge As was the case in 2004, we only hunted this lodge for one week this year, making it difficult to draw comparison with the previous year. We hunted only moose and bear and their activities can vary greatly from week to week. While there was some very good moose sign, sightings were below the previous year, and 3 hunters (all archery hunters) only took 1 decent bull moose. As expected, black bear activity was good, but no kill opportunity was realized by the 2 archery hunters who held bear tags.

Salmon Brook: As expected, following a reduced hunting effort the previous year, this lodge showed excellent moose activity and increased sightings. While 2 hunters did not fill their moose tags, one of these became ill and had to be flown out early in the hunt. We only had 2 hunters for caribou at this lodge, so very little time was spent spotting caribou, as both animals were taken fairly easily. Salmon Brook Lodge once again showed why it has been our most consistent area for bear activity, with regular sightings and 2 kills, including one Boone and Crocket trophy. As with our other areas, ptarmigan sightings also showed a substantial increase.

Rocky Ridge: Caribou sightings were slightly higher than the previous year, with every hunter (both rifle and archery) making a kill. There were more really good quality stags than last year, and the most calves that we have seen in 5 years.   Moose sightings and success rates were below normal, with the poor weather being more of a factor here than at any of our other lodges, due to the more open terrain. There was some bear sign, but no sightings or kills. Ptarmigan numbers were much higher than the previous few years and with very minimal hunting in 2005, bird populations are expected to further increase next year, providing some excellent sport. Most guests saw ptarmigan on most days and one short 3 hour period of hunting with a dog near the lodge showed close to 50 ptarmigan.

Caribou Lodge: Caribou sightings were up from 2004, with a corresponding increase in hunter success. All rifle hunters filled their tags, and all but 2 archery hunters made a kill. Each bowhunter had multiple stalk opportunities on mature males, and most had encounters each day. Overall size and antler quality of the available stags was better than last year, and sightings of calves were much more frequent than the previous few years. Hunters saw more ptarmigan than any other year at this lodge, and it is hopeful that they will further improve for 2006 and provide numbers worthy of hunting. A much smaller crop of blueberries in the area served to greatly reduce bear activity as compared to the previous 3 years, and there were only a few sightings and no kills.

Here are just a few comments back already from this year’s guests:

- "Had a great week of hunting. The food was outstanding, Thank you Naomi. Our guides were great and got us what we were looking for. Thank you Clarence and Wallace for your hard work in making our trip memorable " Troy & Richard, PA, USA

- "Thanks Tony, I had a great hunt, the camp was awesome and your people are the friendliest, and work as a team better than anyplace else I have hunted. (I hunt at a lot of places) You run a WONDERFUL outfit and I will be back and would be glad to be used as a reference. Good Hunting, Tim Kline "

-" I wanted to take a minute to thank you and your staff for another great hunting experience. Not only was the hunting exceptional but the professionalism of you and your staff was, as always, top notch. And while we all took exceptional animals, it is time spent with friends and family that mean the most. Thanks for making this trip so memorable and thanks for being more than a guide. Thanks for being a friend. Best Regards, John "

"Dear Tony: I had a great hunting trip at Rocky Ridge. Dave McDonald was an outstanding guide for me and worked for my success every day that I was there..  I would like to come back in 2006 with Dave McDonald as my guide for another moose-caribou hunt"

While there are still openings at all lodges for the 2006 hunting season, we have been taking reservations for quite a while and some hunts are already full. Once again, we are very receptive to archery hunters and offer a very special welcome to couples, including any non-hunters. Should you have an interest in hunting with us, an early reservation is essential for either of the next 2 hunting seasons. Looking forward to hearing from you again soon and being your host at one of our wilderness lodges.

You can see a few of our 2005 hunting season trophies at Hunt Photos 2005.  Please click on  Hunt summary 2004 to view a summary of the previous hunting year, Hunt summary 2003 , Huntnews2002 or 2002 caribou racks to view some of the trophies from that fall .

Fall 2005 saw Larry D. Jones and Jeff Waring of Bowhunter Magazine participate in a very successful archery woodland caribou hunt at our Caribou Lodge.  As a result, there will be an article published for that magazine as well as a production for the Bowhunter  TV series.   Please check this site or contact us for further update on timing for these projects.

Please check here for details of our 2006 show exhibits in PA, MA & NJ  Show Schedule 2006