BTBowhunter

I got some info that Donat Asselin was almost out of business due to a low success ratio. Booked with Nouchimifor dec 4. Hoprfully the caribou will be there by then and some will still have racks. Figure the drive will be an adventure of its' own. Also got pretty good feedback regarding Kiskimaskatin (did I spell that right?) outfitters. half the outfitters that Quebec puts on their website are out of business or are wrong numbers.

Liquidorange, sounds like you scored the second time. When did you go ?
Did you see caribou on the road on your way to and from the hunt?
Can you really blame Asselin for not calling you to tell you they werent there yet when (based on what I've heard) they might arrive any day?

liquidorange

o.k. you asked for it[>:] i highly doubt donat is out of business. they have a large area to hunt as well as the mirage camp. they are right down the road from each other. there is another outfitter before the mirage on the lg-4 road. is this the one you are booked with? from what i remember the one outfit before the mirage was a small operation. the caribou can move as much as 30 miles in one day but the problem was the first year none of the lakes were frozen so they stayed about 70 miles out and didnt show up for another 10 days after thanksgiving.they can swim these lakes but prefered to bed down till they froze over then they become like hiways for them. in any case he should have called to give us the option to stay home. there were a weeks worth of hunters before us who left pissed off needless to say. i would say you have picked a good week but i would call before i leave. the second year i took a cow and a scrappy looking bull. there are only a few good racks left going into december so dont let them kid you. this is more of a meat hunt and it is delicious.they offered the 2 nd year at a reduced rate. if your coming from pennsy it will take you a good 28 to 34 hours to get there because of the weather. the last 200 miles are a dirt road that was an icey hell that you could only do about 35mph on or you mite end up in a canyon of a ditch. bring a winch or chains for pulling out. we saw several vehicles over the side BE VERY CAREFUL GOING THERE!!!

liquidorange

ALSO! you are in the middle of no where and you have to sign in at the check station office at the beggining of the wilderness area to log yourself and your party i guess if you get lost. there are only indians and quebec hydro power vehicles in the area if you do break down but it could be a while till help arrives. they drive chevy pick ups and suburbans and stock some parts i was told you could buy. i would bring things like belts, jump pack, 2- 5 gallon gas cans( a must)filters. i would even bring an extra starter and fuel pump if it were me. you could always return it when you get back. there aint no AAA. i would change your fluids over to synthetic like 0w 30 maybe tranny? it gets bitter cold so external oil heaters and coolant and block heaters will help as most places have a cord for you to plug in.it aint no joke up there. studded snow tires would be great too ot tire chains that you should practice putting on before you go.they say you dont need 4 wheel drive but i wouldnt chance it! the mirage is a first class operation. i would use them if it were me. donat will cram you in with a bunch of guys you dont know in his converted construction trailers. i didnt see caribou till the second trip and that was within 50 miles of camp. from what i know its only some years you will see them all over the place. i would call references although they probably wont give you any that didnt get caribou as was my case. every reference told me how great it was but beware!

BTBowhunter

Thanks for all the tips Liquidorange! Not sure where Nouchimi is in relation to the others but it doesn't appear to be a small operation. Do they each have designated hunting areas or is it wide open so long as you use an outfitter?

Filmguy, sounds like you'll be back shortly before I leave. Please post details of your hunt when you get back.

Otis, all Nouchimi had left was American plan. Did you go that way or did you use their outpost cabins?

FilmGuy

BT, I'll post the actual hunting footage if admin allows me to...lol!

I heard some good things about Mirage so we decided to book with them. For the first hunt, an upgraded room, american plan and four nights, it's going to be over 1500 cdn per person. We will have four tags between the two of us so hopefully, we'll get some good harvests and footage.

I hope to make it back in time before you leave though.

I'll post from journey's start to end, and include some pics too.

FilmGuy

Here's a link on the Trans-Tiaga Road just in case your coming through Ontario. It seems like a journey.

http://wmuma.com/jamesbay/ttrguide.html

liquidorange

nice site filmguy. i wish i had this info when i went.when i took the trip up there they just called it the LG-4 road. nouchimi outfitters is the one before the mirage on that road. from what i remember it is not that big of an operation and they had to hunt land west of the polaris river which the mirage sits on. i saw very few caribou west of the polaris when i went. donat and the mirage hunt east of that river if you look at a map. this will vary from year to year though. some other ideas i would recommend is to keep a small coleman heater the type approved for indoor use in your truck that runs on propane just in case of emergency. i would also try to keep a normal drive and sleep routine on the ride up there. the cold will beat you up enough. i drove from new jersey in one shot both times i went and it will give you jet lag. 28 to 34 hours- i would sleep or stop over in the city of valdor and then maybe matagami. you will need to stop for gas there anyway. if you like small game bring a shot gun and you will see many partmagin birds along the road to the camp. me and my brother shot 30 in one day and you can shoot them from the road. bring snowshoes to retieve them though. i might do it again with a bigger group but it will be with the mirage for sure. while your up there stop in and you will see why.

BTBowhunter

You've got me second guessing liquid orange! Nouchimi hasnt yet sent me to reservation bill so I'm not on the hook yet. May call mirage tomorrow and see what they have left.

Otis, are you still following this thread? Any thoughts?

THANKS GUYS!!!

liquidorange

you mite have to get on a list to hunt the mirage because repeat customers get first pick so keep on them because dates could open up. i was on a list after my first year fiasco with donat and they never called me back but when i called them they had a couple openings. i went with donat the second time only because they offered a low price after taking my money the first time. i would recommend from thanksgiving week till xmas if you want a good chance of caribou being in hunting range of the camp. horns start falling off in december the later you go. YOU WONT NEED A GUIDE JUST FIND A GOOD CROSSING WHERE THEY TELL YOU TO GO AND SIT ON IT ALL DAY.IF YOU WANT SA GOOD BULL DONT SHOOT THE FIRST ONE YOU SEE AND DONT GO RUNNING AFTER THEM BECAUSE THEY CAN WALK FASTER THAN YOU CAN RUN. you can rent snowmobiles to get the game back to your truck . usuaully someone has one in the area you can tip to bring your caribou out or you could bring a plastic big tobogan. many will hunt in the same area but you can find your own little hot spot while others are sitting in there trucks. something interesting i have to tell you is that if there are no caribou in the area they will offer to helicopter you or your group out to the herds . they have there own unlike the other camps! many think this is not hunting but i would have like to see and experience what the big migration looks like. you still have to stalk and pick an animal so its not exactly fish in a barrel but it will give you 100% oppertunity if there is no chance of the animals being near camp . they were charging an extra 150$ each for that service. there is a list for that also so if your heading up there and the reports are saying no caribou i would put my name on the list so when you arrive in camp you can decide if you still want to go.the one thing great about the mirage is that you can call them and get someone on the phone all the time so there is no games being played. you can go before thanks giving but you may need to charter a flight from them to get to the caribou for more money. ALL THIS TALK IS GETTING ME IN THE MOOD TO BOOK AGAIN GOOD LUCK!

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