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Back From Gangler's Sub Arctic Lodge

I have returned from Ganglers Sub Arctic Lodge and I had a really good experience. The weather was perfect, between 36F and 50F, and the colors were outstanding. Ken runs a very tight ship. The equipment was in great condition, the guides were knowledgeable and did not pressure you to shoot an animal your we’re not happy with. My guide coached me on what animal was better than others and advised me not to shoot something that he was not sure of. The cabins were something left to be desired. The wood stoves had some issues that we fixed and the roof was a blue tarp, so it got a little cool at night, but nothing too concerning. Ken uses those cabins 3 weeks out of the year and the government will not allow him to make a “permanent shelter” on that lake. That is the reason for the tarp roof. Once again, be prepared and you will be warm enough. I say all of that first, because that is what an outfitter can control. The animals, as you know, are migratory and the outfitter can’t do anything if they are not there. Ganglers has two camps, No name and courage lake. No name lake housed 16 hunters and courage held 9. 16 hunters in one can is a little more than I would like and I was grateful to be at Courage Lake. Both camps are on the Nunavut border and there is no option for flying to a “better” area if the caribou are not in your area. As a matter of fact, the border was only 500 yards to the north of our camp. I can’t begin to count how many animals I saw during the week. There were a lot of small pockets of caribou ranging from 2 to 25 in a group. We seen big bulls, small bull, cows and calves. During the week, I seen 3 wolverines, 1 wolf and caught over 50 fish in my spare time. I had an afternoon on the river after tagging out and I caught 18 Arctic Grayling. To say I had a trip of a lifetime is an understatement. Would I book again with Ganglers? Yes I would. The things he could control were in good condition and managed well. I was just lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. From what I hear from the guys in camp this week, they are not having the same luck as me. They got 3 inches of snow two days ago and they are not seeing anything big enough to shoot yet, but I think we all agree, that is Caribou hunting.

Thanks to all the Bowsiter’s that helped me prepare for this trip.

Passed on this bull snoozing 50 yards away.

One of the 18 Grayling I caught.

Second Caribou.

Beautiful bull. Great tops and shovels. Congrats!!

Is this the hunt that is 4 1/2 days?

Manitoba is still a 2 caribou area and the hunt is for 7 days. For those reason I choose Gangler's. The other outfitters only have 4-5 day hunts, same price, and I wanted the extra time if needed.

Sixteen guys in one camp sounds like a lot. Particularly if fifteen of them are rifle hunters and you are the only bowhunter.

Congrats on a very nice trophy! And thanks for a forthright story. Mike

16 guys isn't a camp it's a convention.

Thanks for sharing your adventure and your candidness about your experiences. May have not been in best of lodging but the hunting & fishing adventures were super.

Congrats on some nice trophies.

The convention seemed to work well enough. God Bless

Awesome and congrats! Nice report as well!

Mark

I have found that some people believe that if you pay money, you should be able to shoot a P&Y animal. I believe one of the reasons for that is the outdoor shows. They create a false positive that in 1/2 hour you see tons of animals and always put a record book animal on the ground. That is not true. A guided hunt is still a "hunt." You are paying for an experience in that area with the hopes of tagging a good animal. Granted, you are also paying for the outfitter to do some homework to locate the animals before you get there, but in the case of Caribou they are either there or not. I just so happen to be there at the right time and place. In my camp were 2 hunters that hunted with Gangler 2 years ago and they saw zero caribou. I mean nothing, they fished for the entire week at a cost of $7k. They rebooked with Ken, at the same cost, with no discount and they both shot better than average bulls last week. To me, that says something about the outfitter. Good luck to all in the up coming seasons and my your arrows fly true.

Congrats!

Looks like a great trip, congrats on you Bou

That is a nice bull!! Congrats!!

Sent you a pm. hope it went through. Gary g.

Thanks for the honest review. Congrats on a couple beautiful bulls. Looks like they're just starting to rub. Also looks like you had a great time!

Were any of the bulls in camp taken by bowhunters? Are they a "bowhunter friendly" operation?

There were a couple of bow hunters in camp that picked up the rifle when the bigger bulls stayed out of arrow range. I can't answer the "bowhunter friendly" question but I can say that due to the amount of cover, it would be easy to get within bow range if the opportunity came up. I got with 50 yards of several animals and as close as 10 feet of a shooter bull. The small amount of trees make it great for an ambush. I hope I answered your questions.

Thanks much. Looked like country it was doable for sure.

There are more than a couple outfitters that don't really take bowhunters and several more that will... but kinda roll their eyes when you bring it up. I know it's more work for them and they tend to be longer in the field. Not to mention a lower success rate (which often can translate into lower tips =D)

Great pics. Thanks again.

Congrats again Dan! Great bulls!!!

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