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Hunter Comments

I have returned from Ganglers Sub Arctic Lodge and I had a really good experience. The weather was perfect, between 36F and 50F, and the colors were outstanding. Ken runs a very tight ship. The equipment was in great condition, the guides were knowledgeable and did not pressure you to shoot an animal your we’re not happy with. My guide coached me on what animal was better than others and advised me not to shoot something that he was not sure of. The cabins were something left to be desired. The wood stoves had some issues that we fixed and the roof was a blue tarp, so it got a little cool at night, but nothing too concerning. Ken uses those cabins 3 weeks out of the year and the government will not allow him to make a “permanent shelter” on that lake. That is the reason for the tarp roof. Once again, be prepared and you will be warm enough. I say all of that first, because that is what an outfitter can control. The animals, as you know, are migratory and the outfitter can’t do anything if they are not there. Ganglers has two camps, No name and courage lake. No name lake housed 16 hunters and courage held 9. 16 hunters in one can is a little more than I would like and I was grateful to be at Courage Lake. Both camps are on the Nunavut border and there is no option for flying to a “better” area if the caribou are not in your area. As a matter of fact, the border was only 500 yards to the north of our camp. I can’t begin to count how many animals I saw during the week. There were a lot of small pockets of caribou ranging from 2 to 25 in a group. We seen big bulls, small bull, cows and calves. During the week, I seen 3 wolverines, 1 wolf and caught over 50 fish in my spare time. I had an afternoon on the river after tagging out and I caught 18 Arctic Grayling. To say I had a trip of a lifetime is an understatement. Would I book again with Ganglers? Yes I would. The things he could control were in good condition and managed well. I was just lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. From what I hear from the guys in camp this week, they are not having the same luck as me. They got 3 inches of snow two days ago and they are not seeing anything big enough to shoot yet, but I think we all agree, that is Caribou hunting.

Outfitter's Response

I appreciate the comments by Dan. Caribou hunting can be challenging and we are dealing with a sporadic migration this year. This means covering more territory and 'real' hunting. However, there are caribou in but they are scattered, in small groups, and we do not feel the bulk of the herd has made its way into Manitoba yet. With that said, we are currently 49 for 53 after 3 weeks of hunting. The four that didn't take their second animal had opportunity but at smaller animals which they passed on and I certainly understand that. Animals are coming in generally in small pockets and moving in all different directions. The hunters going into Dan's camp the week after are working harder although one group of 200 was hunted the other day and some great bulls taken. The second group was also a bit quick on the trigger, as the sight of antlers got them over revved. They are into their fifth day of hunting and have 11 out of 14 caribou tags filled.

The other camp, No-Name, actually holds 14 hunters and that is what we had the last two weeks. There were three women in camp accompanying their husbands but not hunting. The size of the camps is relative to the size of the lake and No-Name covers four lakes and much more area. As for the ability to move hunters, Dan is incorrect. I do have that ability and will do exactly that today, moving 3 hunters farther east. The only restriction I have is we can not go North of the 60th parallel and into Nunavut.

Ken Gangler