- Location
- Northern Ontario
I've had the pleasure of growing up at a small fishing hunting lodge in Northern Ontario that my parents have operated for just under 35 years. The money we make in the North, is spent locally in the North.
Each moose season we have about 4-6 hunters (some US, some Can.) depending on how many tags we are allocated. Year after year, the residents of Ontario that hunt on/around our lake have hassled my guests and made it a very disappointing place to hunt. I've got similar problems with fishing and local poachers, but we'll not touch on that right now.
Yesterday, since my 2 American hunters had to wait the extra two days before they could hunt (resident opens 2 days before non-res), they went fishing down the lake. Along comes our local Ontario-moose hunting-cottager and tells them they should be hunting up at our end of the lake. They didnt say "We have a few guys covering this area...." or "We'll be hunting down here a few days"...they said you Americans should be hunting down the other end of the lake. Now the way I see it, anyone with a tag can hunt where they want in the WMU, but this crew down the lake has claimed their area. Its pretty sad when my clients come back confused wondering if they had stepped over some unknown boundary.
Last year, same thing....when my hunters came into a little creek system, the local-Ontario-hunter tells them "Our hunters are in this area, you might as well go somewhere else....." (In that case, the 4 resident hunters claimed a river/marsh system that was a good 12 miles long)
Also last year, one of these genius Ontarians shot himself a moose. The most logical way of signaling his party was to fire off a whole clip of ammo.
Hrm, I should mention as well, some of these Ontario hunters were once guests of mine years ago, until one day hunting, they came back so drunk they had to crawl up to their cabins with their rifles. At that point I told them not-so-politely to never come back. So they called the outfitter down the lake and they stay there now (Despite the fact that outfitter has closed camp around the end of August and isnt even there)
About 8 years back, 2 of my hunters decided to camp a few nights up a small creek and then return to the camp later in the week. So one night, camped near a clear-cut, a pick-up truck pulls up and the guys in the truck hop out and start shooting at them. Well, these two hunters of mine are actually police from Windsor, so they start shooting back at them, right through the tent. When my guys return to camp, fortunately only their canoe had bullet holes in it. From the shell casings collected, some locals were charged but never convicted of any crime.
Now all the hunting in my area is done by traveling around in boats, but a lot of these hunters take it a step further and hunt by boat. Now there's some hefty fines involved there, but they know they can get away with it since Northern Ontario is under-enforced. It is not uncommon to see slow moving boats prowling the creeks and streams with a shooter sitting up front, gun-in-hand. I make sure my hunters obey the rules, our lodge runs a legit hunt.
Well, myself, I like to hunt. I've never gotten a tag, and never shot a moose, but I like to hunt. I find myself a nice little beaver pond, I canoe in, and I sit on the beaver lodge quietly waiting. Thats hunting.
Myself, I would be more likely to hunt with an American than a resident of Ontario. The reason why? - They cherish a moose hunt, they respect our wilderness and other hunters and wouldn't do anything to get themselves in any trouble while hunting in our country. The majority of my clients who do not get a moose go home happy enough that they come back someday. One of my American hunters commented recently..."You know, back in the states, hunters wave at each other, sort of as a understanding between outdoorsmen. Seems like nobody is too friendly up here." Sorry if this leaves a sour taste in your mouth, my fellow Ontario hunters, but I haven't been impressed by locals in a long time.
I am absolutely disgusted with the greed that some Ontarians have for moose meat. The only thing that makes me feel better is the fact that the young generation doesnt hunt. Give it another 10-20 years and all these ignorant idiots will be too old to hunt. Maybe then I'll get a tag Ha Ha. If you ever wave at little squirrely guy in hunter orange, sitting on a beaver lodge, dont blame me if I dont wave back, I'm just a resident.
UPDATE:
This morning, the season opened for my 2 non-resident clients. They went behind our camp to cover the mouth of a river and a bend or two inside, sitting on the shoreline. (well know to everyone a spot that I send my guys if they need a place to start) Sure enough, local jokers come down the lake, cruise by the camp and head into where my hunters are located. Instead of turning around at the sight of two orange hunters, the locals decide to #####-cross the whole swampy area around the river (all the while, slow trolling the boat). When they turned around, they came by and stopped at my dock, so I approached them and asked why they had told my hunters where they should and shouldnt be hunting. They kind of fumbled and grumbled because I was aggressive and up front about it. They did mention that my non-resident hunters have NO RIGHT to even be scouting the two days before they can hunt, if residents are hunting. (Despite the fact they were clearly just fishing). I think anyone hunting a new area has a right to explore on foot, by boat etc to get an idea of the landscape, provided they do not intrude on other hunters. One of my clients is from Europe.....
We'll see what happens throughout this week.
Each moose season we have about 4-6 hunters (some US, some Can.) depending on how many tags we are allocated. Year after year, the residents of Ontario that hunt on/around our lake have hassled my guests and made it a very disappointing place to hunt. I've got similar problems with fishing and local poachers, but we'll not touch on that right now.
Yesterday, since my 2 American hunters had to wait the extra two days before they could hunt (resident opens 2 days before non-res), they went fishing down the lake. Along comes our local Ontario-moose hunting-cottager and tells them they should be hunting up at our end of the lake. They didnt say "We have a few guys covering this area...." or "We'll be hunting down here a few days"...they said you Americans should be hunting down the other end of the lake. Now the way I see it, anyone with a tag can hunt where they want in the WMU, but this crew down the lake has claimed their area. Its pretty sad when my clients come back confused wondering if they had stepped over some unknown boundary.
Last year, same thing....when my hunters came into a little creek system, the local-Ontario-hunter tells them "Our hunters are in this area, you might as well go somewhere else....." (In that case, the 4 resident hunters claimed a river/marsh system that was a good 12 miles long)
Also last year, one of these genius Ontarians shot himself a moose. The most logical way of signaling his party was to fire off a whole clip of ammo.
Hrm, I should mention as well, some of these Ontario hunters were once guests of mine years ago, until one day hunting, they came back so drunk they had to crawl up to their cabins with their rifles. At that point I told them not-so-politely to never come back. So they called the outfitter down the lake and they stay there now (Despite the fact that outfitter has closed camp around the end of August and isnt even there)
About 8 years back, 2 of my hunters decided to camp a few nights up a small creek and then return to the camp later in the week. So one night, camped near a clear-cut, a pick-up truck pulls up and the guys in the truck hop out and start shooting at them. Well, these two hunters of mine are actually police from Windsor, so they start shooting back at them, right through the tent. When my guys return to camp, fortunately only their canoe had bullet holes in it. From the shell casings collected, some locals were charged but never convicted of any crime.
Now all the hunting in my area is done by traveling around in boats, but a lot of these hunters take it a step further and hunt by boat. Now there's some hefty fines involved there, but they know they can get away with it since Northern Ontario is under-enforced. It is not uncommon to see slow moving boats prowling the creeks and streams with a shooter sitting up front, gun-in-hand. I make sure my hunters obey the rules, our lodge runs a legit hunt.
Well, myself, I like to hunt. I've never gotten a tag, and never shot a moose, but I like to hunt. I find myself a nice little beaver pond, I canoe in, and I sit on the beaver lodge quietly waiting. Thats hunting.
Myself, I would be more likely to hunt with an American than a resident of Ontario. The reason why? - They cherish a moose hunt, they respect our wilderness and other hunters and wouldn't do anything to get themselves in any trouble while hunting in our country. The majority of my clients who do not get a moose go home happy enough that they come back someday. One of my American hunters commented recently..."You know, back in the states, hunters wave at each other, sort of as a understanding between outdoorsmen. Seems like nobody is too friendly up here." Sorry if this leaves a sour taste in your mouth, my fellow Ontario hunters, but I haven't been impressed by locals in a long time.
I am absolutely disgusted with the greed that some Ontarians have for moose meat. The only thing that makes me feel better is the fact that the young generation doesnt hunt. Give it another 10-20 years and all these ignorant idiots will be too old to hunt. Maybe then I'll get a tag Ha Ha. If you ever wave at little squirrely guy in hunter orange, sitting on a beaver lodge, dont blame me if I dont wave back, I'm just a resident.
UPDATE:
This morning, the season opened for my 2 non-resident clients. They went behind our camp to cover the mouth of a river and a bend or two inside, sitting on the shoreline. (well know to everyone a spot that I send my guys if they need a place to start) Sure enough, local jokers come down the lake, cruise by the camp and head into where my hunters are located. Instead of turning around at the sight of two orange hunters, the locals decide to #####-cross the whole swampy area around the river (all the while, slow trolling the boat). When they turned around, they came by and stopped at my dock, so I approached them and asked why they had told my hunters where they should and shouldnt be hunting. They kind of fumbled and grumbled because I was aggressive and up front about it. They did mention that my non-resident hunters have NO RIGHT to even be scouting the two days before they can hunt, if residents are hunting. (Despite the fact they were clearly just fishing). I think anyone hunting a new area has a right to explore on foot, by boat etc to get an idea of the landscape, provided they do not intrude on other hunters. One of my clients is from Europe.....
We'll see what happens throughout this week.
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