I hunted Pelee for 15 consecutive years. Three of my best labs spent part of there hunting careers on Pelee. The most important thing for you to remember is the hunt is now very well policed, by the OPP and game wardens. So the hunt rules are strictly enforced where at one time things were very laid back. Those days are gone.
By the third hunt the crops are mostly all cut which gives you a lot more hunting territory. You can not hunt in standing crops (soybean) fields. Get caught you will be charged. At one time they grew some corn and they didn't mind you hunting it as it caused no damage to the corn. They grow little to no corn now. You, and especially the dog cause damage to soybeans. So they are fussy on this point. The hunters brought it on by ignoring the rule.
There is also a lot more birds around by the third hunt as there are left overs from the first two hunts. I have hunted all three hunts and prefer the third with two as a second choice. Some years we used to go down twice. Don't even bother going down if you do not have a decent dog that is experienced on upland hunting. Pelee can and is tough on dogs. Bring a doggy first aid kit as there are no vet services on the island, on several occasions over the years we had injured dogs. Punctured/cut pads being the most common.
Being new you will probably get an Tuesday ferry time which is good as it will give you Wednesday to scout things out. You are allowed 10 birds on your licence. You can shoot them all in the first morning if your real lucky or spread it over the two days. The more time that passes the more difficult it is to get your birds. There is a lot of bush area on the island and they release a lot of birds in those areas. The bush is difficult to hunt as it is thick and there is a lot of hunters in it which raises huge safety concerns. Browns Line is a notoriously popular and busy bush area as is the south east end of the island around Stone Rd. More areas are now off limits to hunters due to inconsiderate hunters.
We always hunted the ditch rows between fields as you could see other hunters if any where around so you were not shooting at each other. To get your preferred spot for opening morning I strongly suggest you arrive at the spot no later than 5am to claim it. "No Kidding"!! The vast majority of your bird count should be taken the first day, so do the best you can the first morning. So getting a good spot first thing is important. For many years we would have our 20 birds before noon the first day. Best we ever did was 20 birds 55 min.
I can not stress enough the importance of a good dog (dogs). This point will make or break your hunt. Your first couple years will be a great learning experience on where to go and what to do. But without a good dog with a keen nose that he/she trusts and believes in you will be very frustrated as you will be getting very few if any birds. Everybody thinks going to Pelee is like shooting chickens in a penned yard. Nothing is further from the truth.
After being absent for several years I was invited to go two years ago. We had very poor dogs (3) . Two days 4 men, 14 birds out of 40. And we hit every bird that presented. My suggestion is to get your dog to a few game farms so he knows what a pheasant smells like and what to do. And get yourself to a sporting clays field to get some practice behind the gun.
Take the whole week off vacation as the weather, mainly wind can play havoc with the ferry so expect delays. One sad thing I noticed when I went back a few years ago is the atmosphere of the hunt had changed. It is no longer a laid back and friendly. The hunters were inconsiderate to each other by running across fields to get ahead of each other on ditch rows. They had no respect not only for each other but for the farmers and land owners property and crops. Hence the OPP and game wardens were out in full force. We got checked 3 times the first day alone. Previously we had encountered one game warden in 15yrs.
I hope this helps and you have a good time.
