Conne River Outfitting
NewfoundlandWebsite Address posted for sponsors only
Sorry for such a long comment but everything needs to be said. I have been patiently waiting to write this review and have been on the fence in doing so. I feel now is the time to do so. Conne River Outfitters in Newfoundland I can not recommend to anyone until the manager Robert is no longer allowed to run this outfit. We booked with Conne River at the Harrisburg Pa Sportmans Show, after meeting and speaking with Robert we decided to book for 8 hunters, some moose and some moose/bear combo. I kept in touch with Robert throughout the year getting all the paperwork, deposits and final payment to him. We arrived in camp Sunday and met with Robert and the guides as well as all the staff. We did NOT see or hear from Robert until the next to last day of the hunt. Not one time during our hunt did he reach out to myself or any of the other hunters to inquire as to how our hunt was going and if there is anything that can be done for a more pleasurable and successful hunt. As for the hunt, where do I start. We agreed to a couple hunter doing a 2x1 and the others 1x1, until someone was successful then the 2x1 hunters (myself & another hunter) would then go to 1x1. That DID NOT happen, which was agreed upon at our initial booking. Unfortunately myself and my buddy basically road hunted or walked seeing a total of 1 cow & 1 calf and two gut piles. We were never offered the use of a quad or Argo as all the other hunters used to access the back country . Not until the last day we were able to have someone (not a license guide) take myself with a quad along with our original guide and my buddy on another quad to access other hunting areas. Equipment…WORST maintenance EVER. One of the hunters did not hunt for over 2+ days due to having to walk out miles from a broken down Argo and quad on two different occasions. Myself and my buddy finally attempted to get on the river and hunt from a boat which we were not able to so. The boat’s motor would not start and there was no back up motor available. Robert did finally show up Thursday afternoon and was made aware of our displeasure his response was “We are the worst group he has ever had”. Not what any reasonable outfitter should say. Animals….I can’t personally say anything regarding quality or quantity. My party of 7 shot , 1 really good 52” bull , 1 small bull, 1 spike & 1 cow. Myself & buddy on the one day we had use of quads we did see one bull but never had a chance at him as I feel the guide did not give enough effort to get to the bull quickly enough . There were 2 bears harvested on the trip and that as far as it went. Both bears are now missing. It’s 7 months since we left Newfoundland and the bears are not in our possession and Robert refuses to contact anyone with updates. We have been told it’s due to the government and paperwork (cities permit). We can’t get any answers and no one has contacted us since March. Meat processing: All went well until one of the hunters opened is box after receiving the meat shipment and only had 3 very small packages of backstrap. Any moose hunter knows moose backstraps are BIG. I sent Robert a text message with a picture which went unanswered. That was no surprise, on Saturday the day we were to leave he basically forced us to leave earlier than planned. He then accused us of making his morning chef upset and cry which was a told fabricated lie by Robert. When she was given her the tip from everyone she was not crying and upset with us at all but burnt out from a long season. This was confirmed after speaking with a couple of the guides and staff. Guides: They all know the area very well. My guide was born and raised there as most of them are but he was by no means a “go getter”. In closing, until Robert can no longer can get the BCR (Band Counsel Resolution) I can not recommend this outfitter There much better and honest outfitters to spend your hard earned money. We originally started this hunt with 8 hunters. Due to a very serious and life threatening illness (Cancer) one of my friends in the group could not make the hunt. Robert knowing this situation and took over $6000 from him and never offered to move his hunt to the following year. Robert knew about this at the beginning of the hunt and in reality stole his money.
Was the outfitter notified of problems? - NO
None to date. If you are the outfitter please email us.
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