splawik

Hello guys,
First time poster – long time reader 
We got back from Donat last Friday. Our first day of hunting was Saturday (Nov 20th). First two days were awesome as we saw hundreds of caribou. On Saturday we got 2 in around kilometre 36-42 of LaForge Rd. with plenty to chose from. We decided to treat first day as a recognisance day. Small groups of two to fifty were almost everywhere. If you’d sit at one place you’d get a group every 5 to 15 minutes. Next day we went past Kisk to kilometre 92 to 98 and they were all over the place in greater numbers. I saw couple of herds of 100+ with decent bulls. That day we tagged 12 within couple of hours.
With two tags left we hoped to feel them the next day in the manner of minutes, but we couldn’t be more wrong. The areas above km 40 were completely dry of caribou. We scraped one loner bull and that was pretty much all we saw. Next day I got one on the km 36 out of small group of 6.
There was a guy that has a friend that does a fly scouting and apparently there is (was?) a herd of 100 000 waiting to pass the LaForge reservoir. I assume they’re having an awesome hunt right now.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink - can you see the Bou?

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink - one day harvest

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink - those bunch of idiots shot along the road directly into the incoming traffic! they were shooting to the small group of 8 to 10 caribous crossing the road. One was wounded in the leg; how many wounded that got away - god only knows. It was a scene from Bonanza!

moorebam4

hey guys just got back from Kisk, we had a awsome hunt, oppertunity of a lifetime! A good size groupe went through before we got there and migrated through. There was not a lot of numbers the first day but if you were willing to work and listen to your outfitter( if you went with one worht going with) you would get your boo. We saw plenty of good bulls comming into camp. By mid day of the first day of our hunt the boos were comming through again. We tagged out quickly, and we saw some monster bulls, big doubles, lots of tines and large back points. We were at Kisk great people good food and an awsome plact to hunt. Thinking of going back in the summer just to fish. If your looking for a place to go and make long lasting friendships give them a shout.

SLOKIE

splawik / moorbam glad to see that you both had successful hunts sounds like the bays froze more , hopfully that is what was holding them back some (thin ice), we hunted out of kisk on the opener got some nice bulls tagged out on wed hopefully the bous will come down slow so more hunts are are like yours/ Having a hard time deciding what to do next year been bou hunting last 5 years great time , would like to go west on a hunt but i take my 3 sons and son in law some are young with not much patience hence the bou hunt its like duck hunting if they are there, you can talk on the radios smell as good or as "bad" as you want walk around , its the only hunt that i know of that fits , ANY IDEAS ? thanks and congrates on a safe and sucessful hunt

beardog 836

please post anything usefull for 2010 winter hunt dates and game killed.whats the best date for lots of bou and horns

WESTFORD HUNTER

Just got back from Mirage and I must say it was a complete slaughter on Tuesday caribou everywhere and plenty of bulls! Had a blast watching hundreds of caribou crossing lakes all day. I must say that that was the worst drive in the world it rained for 2 days and turned that road to solid ice made for a long drive home!

bjess

Beautiful caribou Westford Hunter, one to be proud of, congrats!

Maineah

Thank you to all that have posted, It is always appreciated to hear from people that have real experiences. I'm sure some of you will think I am crazy but I am going up to Mirage on December 31 for the four day hunt, yes I know it will be cold. I have spent all of my life in Maine, mostly for the Fall and Winter hunting. If it weren't cold here I would not be here. However, the cold up there will certainly be a challenge for me. My question is this, is anyone going up there around the first of the year, or has anyone been up there in late December? Of course other than the cold, would you have any recommendations, mainly hunting tactics for the Caribou on their Winter range? Thanks again to all posters, I look forward to some feedback.

beardog 836

has anybody flown horns hide and meat from can to us what the cost montreal to us lax and what does it take .pain in the butt

kevinnorth

Just got back last thursday, hunt was wonderful. Been up three times, four years ago we were up in early December, days started out between 20 and 30 below, warmed up to around 0 to 10 below, it's not as brutle as it sounds. My Dad and I were outside all day, hunting and dragging and butchering..don't get me wrong it's cold, you don't want exposed skin, but it's dry, you would be colder in Pennsylavania at 15 than up there at 15 below. But be prepared, your vehicle will feel it, so will your gun, we took a spare battery for the truck and kept it inside at night and in the truck during the day. Use common sense too...take surival gear, if you've never driven up there it's a drive, a long one on snow, ice covered roads, take gas, you may need it dependeding on your tank size and mileage. But you want to take some just because at the Mirage you'll be paying close to seven dollars a gallon if not over seven. The roads are usually kept well, but they will either be hard pack snow or ice, the Trans-Tiaga is usually better than the Bay Jaimes even thought the Bay Jaimes is paved. Another thing to keep in mide when gutting caribou in these temps, you'll get wet with blood, your gloves will freeze solid in moments when removed and will freeze instantly to anything metal you touch. Overall the Mirage was a much friendlier place this year, food is wonderful and the upgrade rooms are well worth the price. Not sure what you'll find on the hunting, the Bou were there in big numbers last week, we, my Dad, Brother and I, saw over 3000 on our hunt, the biggest bulls had lost there antlers, but some could be found with them. The animals were still traveling in relatively large groups, some groups having well over 300 animals. The best tactic we found was to find a heavily used are by the tracks and then wait, we found a lake and watched it, the lakes provide a good field of view, the forest is almost all spruce and quite dence, not as bad as Northern Maine, but still would only provide a 50 yard shot in a relatively open area. Having been on three winter hunts, I would say it's an expierence well worth the effort, just seeing the vastness of that area is worth going once, if you drive a bit east past the north road, you will be as far from a town as you can be in North America and still be on a road. Hope you have a great time !

jlucky

Hi This is a great site I am new today but I am sure you will hear from me often. I have a question what is the difference between mirage and donat? Do they have different hunting ares? Is one better early in the season?