Manitoba Caribou?
Caribou
I have not heard one report. How are the caribou hunters in Manitoba doing this year?
It's too early for reports.....they're just getting going up there.
From what I heard it has not been hot and heavy
Manitoba Outfitters need to come up with some kind of plan for when the Caribou don't come down. I hunted there in 2013 and it was a great year. The caribou came down and I believe all of the outfitters went 100%. In 2014 the caribou started down and then turned around and went back. There were many hunters who never saw a caribou. I read one outfitter review where 12 hunters never saw a caribou.
I realize that hunting is hunting, but paying several thousand dollars and not seeing even one caribou is just not acceptable in my opinion. JHA in Quebec has the ability to move hunters if necessary. I don't believe the outfitters in Manitoba have that option. In the Yukon or Northwest Territories (I can't recall which) an outfitter has hunters "on call" as the migration varies...that is, he doesn't take hunters in unless he knows the caribou are coming through. I understand that outfitters need to make a living, but if they keep booking hunters without some kind of backup plan if the caribou do not migrate, they will soon find themselves out of the caribou business.
Caribou hunts are also too short in Manitoba. Five or six days is just too short for the money spent. If you factor in potential hunting time lost because of bad weather you could be looking at only a day or two of actual hunting. When I went I realized that it was somewhat of a crap shoot. I rolled the dice and won. Others have rolled the dice and lost...
We went with Henik Lake, and they had the option to move us, but it was not necessary- our camp went 100% on 8 hunters for 2 bulls.
We were right on the Nunavut/Manitoba border.
My dad is leaving shortly to hunt Moose with Russ in Manitoba.
I thought Henik Lake was in Nunavut. ????
I agree, Tatonka. The average Manitoba outfitter hunt is 4 1/2 days. Wayyyy too short for a bowhunter IMO. That's why I hunt caribou elsewhere. Although, I really want a central barren ground 'bou
I hunted Manitoba for caribou in 2015. Not one hunter saw a caribou. The word was the caribou turned around, but this bit of information was never verified. The hunts are expensive, and so anyone interested in hunting up there needs to know this part as Tatonka aptly stated.
just curious why would anyone choose MB over other areas?
Why Manitoba? For me it was for a couple of reasons. Number one was logistics. I could drive up to Thompson and fly into camp so I was able to bring back all of the meat. Secondly, you can kill two bulls there. Central Barren Ground Caribou are not very large as far as their bodies are concerned. You don't get much meat off one, so being able to bring home two was nice. I was also lucky enough to have one of the other hunters give me some of his meat as he was going moose hunting after the caribou hunt and didn't want to mess with the caribou meat.
If I were going to hunt Central Barren Ground Caribou again, I'd book a hunt in Nunavut so I could hunt them before and possibly as they were migrating and I'd book an early hunt. There are outfitters there who will move you to where the caribou are if necessary. I just wish outfitters would offer a minimum of 7 days to allow for possible bad weather. If tags are filled early there's always the fishing and I love to fish!
Grant...When I went in 2014, Munroe Lake Lodge was 100% for like 12 years. 2015, everything changed. When I wanted Central Barren Caribou, Manitoba was a "no brainier "for me. Now, maybe not a "no brainier". ?? If I was looking for another Central Barren Caribou today, I'd be looking at Nunvat, just because of what happened in '15.
Manitoba has been a "no-brainer" for success for like 30 years. Prior to '15 and '16. As a good friend of mine said a few days ago..."I wonder what them clever ungulates are up to."
Right now Quebec is a "no-brainer." Next year could be the year it changes. Nobody knows what the future brings.
I see the price for Henik Lake is going up 2K from this fall to next. Was planning to do each specie over the next 5 years and they are becoming slowly out of reach. Will see I suppose...
We hunted with Henik Lake Adventures in Nunavut. My understanding is that Henik was purchased by Webber's Lodges. I enjoyed the caribou hunt so much that I signed up to go on a moose hunt with them flying out of Thompson. If I score on a bull moose I just may go with them on a muskox hunt too.
From what I was told, in 2014 the caribou started down from Nunavut, but for some reason they decided to turn around and head back, and when they did the resident caribou in Northern Manitoba decided to go with them. For whatever reason, the last two years have been very strange.
So, if Nunavut is the place to go for Central Barren Ground caribou, are there any reputable outfitters up there?
Allan the brother inlaw is guiding up there right now for webers lodge Cariboo and moose after in Manitoba. He has a satelight phone no text yet from him, useually sends pics but it don't mean they aren't getting any boo.
BIGHORN you will do well with Webbers for moose! I am friends with the Webbers, and a good friend of mine guides moose for them. You'll have a blast.
I did caribou last year of course...the year they weren't there. Webbers does have a camp on Baralzon lake in Nunavut. My friends and I built the cabin there :)
Kota, You must have been in the group going into camp when we came out 2 years ago (2014). We had a terrific hunt albeit a short weather delayed one. So what happened to the caribou up there? They had a great local herd and were waiting on the migrators that year...haven't heard any of this Thanks Kip
Nick - I looked at the website and it looks like for 2016 they give the cost of the hunt plus a charter fee. For 2017 they include the charter fee. The cost of the hunt is actually going up $50.
Then you have the cost of the tags, which for 2017 adds another thousand bucks. I think you are still looking at a 10k hunt.
Here's the last blog update from the Lodge at Little Duck.
Edehon Lake Caribou Camp Update
David Fisher September 2, 2016Uncategorized
The weather in Nunavut is certainly making our staff work a little harder to keep ahead of things at Edehon Lake Caribou Camp. That said, the first group has 6 good bulls in the meat shack, and everyone is out hunting as of this morning. Here’s hoping for a very successful day for Paul and the Canada in the Rough crew and the guests that accompanied them. Stay tuned..
When we hunted caribou in 2014 with Henik Lake we landed at the Lodge at Little Duck to board our float plane which carried us to Henik Lake's camp.
As mentioned above, everyone at our camp harvested 2 bulls each. When we came back through on our way out we were told by hunters there that no one had harvested caribou at their place. Every year is different on the migration.
The caribou herd that migrates down from Nunavut has declined to an estimated 264,000. Outfitters are still advertising that the herd is over 400,000 but other data I've read says otherwise. Another problem is that the natives are selling caribou meat via facebook, so the number of animals they are killing has doubled....
My source....
http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674caribou_board_says_herd_in_central_nunavut_needs_more_protection/
Report from this past week's hunters?
I just looked at the Manitoba Hunting Forum and it sounds like the Caribou haven't come down from Nunavut yet... A few along Hudson Bay, but most hunters who posted on the site said they never saw a caribou..
I just heard about a week ago that the caribou were moving down into MB and hunters were getting into bulls
I certainly enjoyed the trip with my dad, I also love the biggest of the 2 bulls I arrowed.
"Why Manitoba"? Like Tetonka, the logistics worked best for us with being able to drive to Thompson to bring back all of our meat. Plus, we weren't required to split any of the racks, so the entire group of 5 was able to fly all of our racks back and then loaded into the vehicles. (not sure they'd do that now though) Add to that the success rate of MB at the time, the closure of the NW Territories at the time, very few options in Nunavut back then and the cost at the time, it was a no-brainer for us. The costs have increased dramatically since I was up there in 2011. Glad I went when I did!
Mathewsman, that is a beauty!!!! Congrats!!!
Thanks, the best part was sharing this with my dad.
Here is camp
I am also looking forward to hearing about how the hunts went this year.......
Not so good in Manitoba this year. I've been hunting the Roberts river area since 2007 and always saw caribou... this year nothing. No tracks, no trails not one animal spotted by all the hunters in camp. Not sure whats going on, outfitters must be nervous for next year.
I just e-mailed the manager at the Lodge at Little Duck to see how the hunting was there this year. His reply was that it was bad and bad for all the outfitters in Manitoba. He said they did well at their camp in Nunavut, but it sounded like the caribou haven't come down again this year. He didn't share any numbers, but just said it was not a good year. At this point, I would be very reluctant to book a caribou hunt in Manitoba any time soon.
Webber's Lodges is thinking about not having camps in Nunavut next year because the caribou have not been coming down until way later. All depends on the weather. They told me that they were not getting anything. Hopefully, that changes for the hunters' sake.
if hunters would do their pre-hunt homework they won't need to have camps up there next year. why would anyone go there given what is happening to the migration in the area. the scenery?
Bou'bound - isn't that the whole point of this thread?
So what happens to those guys that book a hunt like this 2 years in advance? I looked at this hunt a few years ago and ended up deciding it was a little more $ than I wanted to spend, but was pretty close to booking it.
If the hunt is conducted they either go or don't based on their cost/benefit analysis. If the hunt is cancelled they don't go and would be refunded money if the outfitter was reputable.
One thing is certain, this is becoming a hard hunt to book. While we thrive on the fact that that there are no sure things in bowhunting empty tundra with no options pants a grim picture.
Talked to Monroe Lake Lodge and they had another very bad year. Great people and great outfitters but when the caribou don't show up it makes for extremely tough if not impossible conditions. I believe they killed 9 bulls for 36 hunters.
They are waiting to hear from the biologists before they decide what to do for next year.
Too bad...I kind of felt like all we had going for us as Manitobans was moose and caribou. Moose all died a few years ago and now the caribou are leaving us...(insert crying emoji here)
Here in Manitoba, just because a biologist says their patterns have changed, does not mean they will not have a season. For the resident hunters, they have a day when tags will be up for sale. Still the masses flock to stand in line for the tags for caribou that are not coming till well after safe weather has long since left us and what's left of the butchered herd from North of the Manitoba border, make their way south to hide.
The wife and I are booked with Munroe Lake Lodge for 2017. We were supposed to go this year but after the 2015 report we decided to put it off a year.
