Bowhunting.net
Tag A Long opens new lodge
By Roy Goodwin
Mar 17, 2006, 07:14
What is Sit Down Pond Camp?
The short answer, “The result of four years effort to find
the perfect place for bow hunters to chase woodland caribou, moose, and black
bear.”
OK, there is more to it than that: For seven years now I have been successfully
sending bowhunting clients to a great camp in Newfoundland for woodland caribou. If you check some of my past columns at
bowhunting.net you’ll find that I’ve had a good run of personal success at this
camp, as have all of my clients. A few
years ago bookings increased to the point where we had more clients than tags
each year, and had to make some clients wait almost two years for their
hunt. Knowing that not everyone will
wait, I started investigating all possibilities to expand the opportunities. (Web Site: tag-a-longconsultants.com)
The camp we were hunting (Dolland Pond Camp) had only 16
tags for caribou, and the facilities only supported four clients per week. The prime season is only four weeks, so 16
tags was the right number for this camp.
Over the past few years I’ve looked at other camps, and even explored
new areas to establish spike camp locations.
Some areas were good, but we couldn’t get tags (there is a moratorium on
tags and guide licenses in Newfoundland),
other camps/areas had tags, but the hunting would not have been the quality we
were looking for….the search continued.
Finally we found a perfect camp with plenty of tags in a
great area for caribou, moose, and black bears.
Nothing is perfect however, and the problem with this camp was the
price! Not that the place wasn’t worth
the asking price, its just that there was no way to cover the cost based on
operating it as a hunting camp of any sort, never mind a bowhunting only
hunting camp! The five building complex,
with generators, boats, motors, and related equipment had cost over a million
dollars to construct, and there was a $400,000.00 float plane that came with
the package. Nice, but too rich for my
blood! At about the same time the owner
passed away and the whole camp got tied up in the estate.
Zoom ahead three years and the estate is interested in
selling, and selling NOW! They had
already sold the plane, which helped bring the price down. All the other interested buyers dropped out
one by one, and the camp was offered to me directly at a price I couldn’t refuse! Well, at least I didn’t refuse it! So this is what we have today: A five building complex on the shore of a
nine mile long lake accessible only by float plane during the hunting
season. With the camp, comes 48 hunting
tag allocations, including 24 woodland caribou, fourteen moose, and ten black
bear.
The main lodge is a three story log structure with five
guest rooms each having two beds. It has
a huge stone fireplace in the living room area, a full basement, and a large kitchen/dinning
area. One side has multiple sliders on
to a full length deck offering beautiful views of the lake stretched out in
front. The guides building sleeps ten,
and the managers three room log cabin sleeps two more comfortably. The generator building keeps noise to a minimum
and the large boat house shelters three boats and a canoe, along with motors
and other equipment.
Ok, so who cares about pretty buildings and/or creature
comforts? What we really care about is
the quality of the game and the adaptability for bowhunting. This camp has it all! The animals here have not been hunted the
last three seasons, so this year’s clients will be chasing animals that have
been undisturbed for four years! The
trophy quality was good even before the camp shut down, because the fellow that
owned it only used it for his family and friends, leaving most of the tags
unused every year. The terrain is ideal
for spot and stalk bowhunting, another bonus!
Add the fact that the weather in southern Newfoundland is mild right into November and
you have a great opportunity to hunt during the peak of the rut.
People that know me won’t question the fact that this camp
will be maintained as a trophy caliper, bowhunting only camp. No guns will be allowed! The camp will only be open during the peak
middle portion of the season from mid September to the end of October. The September dates will offer hunting at
undisturbed animals still in their summer feeding patterns, with the moose rut
just beginning. The early October hunts
are during the hard moose rut, and the beginning stages of the caribou
rut. By mid October the big caribou
stags are about “loco” with the rut, very visible, and easy to approach. The bears are feeding on the berry covered
hills hard trying to pack on the last few pounds prior to their long winter
nap, and the moose are gathering herds of cows.
It is a wonderful thing to experience with bow in hand!
To kick off the first hunt, of the first season, in this
newly established bowhunting only camp, I’ve decided to offer a special
package. Five bowhunters will get to
join me on a “Tag-A-Long” adventure for trophy woodland caribou. The hunt will be featured at bowhunting.net
as an “on Line” hunt adventure, so all five clients will have the opportunity
to be involved in the story line with photos of their stags and an outline of
the excitement. To make it more
interesting I’m selling these five spots at last year’s price of only
$3,500.00, including air fare into camp, 1X1 guide service, a full time cook,
and great facilities. The price includes
your tag, and some great fishing.
There’s more! We’re making this
offer to visitors of bowhunting.net first.
The openings will go, first come, first served, according to the order I
receive emails stating an interest in signing up. Act quickly, there are only five
openings! I’ll be out of the country for
the next two weeks, but will contact everyone interested in this opportunity as
soon as I get home. Once again, it will
go by the order I receive the inquiries, so act quickly!
Check out my old columns, there is no better place or time
to chase caribou than what we offer. The
group I took to another camp in the general area last fall managed to collect
three stags that met the minimum score for entry in the Boone & Crockett records. The largest was officially scored with-in two
inches of the P&Y World record set back in ’65. Last year’s camp isn’t as
nice and has had much more hunting pressure! Whether your interest is geared toward getting
your first caribou, or trying to complete your caribou “slam”, this is an
opportunity you shouldn’t miss. In
addition to straight caribou hunts, we’ll offer some limited caribou/moose
combo hunts, and a few caribou/bear hunts.
We are even putting together a special “Charter Membership” package for
those that might like a package including five trips for a discounted rate for
helping us put the investment capital together.
Complete information on this offer (maximum of ten investor/members)
will be available in early April, so people interested should get their names
on a list. Those limited charter
memberships will also go on a first come first served basis. Get your name in early!
Good hunting,
Roy Goodwin
roygoodwin@comcast.net
Web Site: tag-a-longconsultants.com
© Copyright 2005 by
Bowhunting.net
