Ruger: Loyal protector and hunting dog. Now a proud father!

Many of our guests at Webber’s Lodges over the past few years have had the pleasure of meeting one of our lesser known team members. This team member is entrusted with the protection of lodges from bears, squirrels and all other manner of vermin.

His job is an important one, and he does it with a sense of dedication and loyalty that few could rival. He performs his duties during the day without complaint and is always ready to welcome hunters and fisherman back to the lodge with an excited enthusiasm that makes you realize he truly loves his job.

Say "Cheese" puppies! You too Kent!

We are referring to none other than Ruger, a 10-year-old male Chocolate Lab who is the constant companion of Webber’s Lodges Head Guide and Operations Manager Kent Michie.

One of our other professional caribou guides, Trent Hedley, is the proud owner of a beautiful 2-year-old Chocolate Lab female named Candy. This past December we got the two labs together in the hopes that we could get the next generation of camp employees.

On February 25, 2012 Candy and Ruger had 10 chocolate puppies! There are five male and five female puppies in the litter and all are very healthy and doing well.

Most of the puppies were spoken for before they even arrived, but three of the new arrivals will be staying within the Webber’s Lodges family. Kent will be keeping a male puppy so Ruger can enjoy a relaxing retirement knowing that the torch is being carried on by his son. Vanessa Desorcy (Sales & Marketing Assistant) will be taking home a female puppy and Mike and Jeanne Reimer (Doug Webber’s daughter and owners of Churchill Wild) will also be getting one of the female pups.

So the next time you are at one of our hunting and fishing lodges please remember to give our “lesser known team members” a pat on the head, as they play an important role in your protection and enjoyment during your stay.

Pet lovers Quote of the Day: “When the aliens come to visit our planet I hope they bring their pets.”  ~ Albert Einstein

Cuddling up with Mom.

Spring shore lunch at North Knife Lake. See you soon!

by Kent Michie

Like many other places in North America, Canada is experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year. Manitoba in March usually means winter for another 30-45 days, but this year the snows have receded, the skies have remained clear and the sun has seen fit to bless us with an early spring.

In southern Manitoba the snow has completely disappeared and the lawns are even starting to green up. This is a welcome sight, as the past few winters have been long, cold and very hard on our local deer populations. The deer numbers in southern Manitoba are extremely low and needed a warm dry spring to help them rebound.

Up at North Knife Lake Lodge, it will likely be early June before the ice starts to break up and lets us get out on the water to hunt for monster northern pike and lake trout. The snow pack at North Knife Lake is only moderate this year and this should benefit both anglers and hunters. Not only will we have an early ice out, but the moose that inhabit the area will have an easier time making it through the spring and into the calving season.

Moving up the province it is worth mentioning that Dymond Lake Lodge and Nanuk should see high goose numbers. The geese have already started to show up in the southern part of the province and will soon be winging their way to Hudson Bay, where they will gather and stage until the arctic is free of ice.  This should be a banner wing shooting season at both of our coastal lodges.

Further up north at our two caribou camps, Commonwealth Lake and Schmok Lake, the winter has been basically normal from all reports. The abnormally warm spring weather will soon move north however, freeing the tundra from ice and snow and allowing the massive herds of caribou to start laying on the calories and readying themselves for the upcoming calving season.

Thousands of new born calves will hit the ground running, but even with an easy spring, a vast number of these newborns will normally succumb to predators and injuries within their first year. Despite this fact, the caribou population will remain stable or even grow at a slow rate, and from all reports we should have another exceptional caribou hunting season this fall at our caribou camps. Hunters have enjoyed a 100 percent success rate over the past two years with us!

If you have not yet booked your trip with Webber’s Lodges, you shouldn’t wait any longer. With a very promising and exciting forecast for 2012, you don’t want to miss your chance to experience our hunting and fishing packages. Hope to see you soon!

Happy Webber's Lodges caribou hunters!

Thanks to fishing guide and outdoor writer J D Richey for this. You can follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fishwithjd or visit his Fishing Magazine Web site at http://www.fishwithjd.com.

Thanks again JD!

Small Girl. Big Pike!

Manitoba’s Red River has always been known for its big fish, but nothing could have prepared long-time Webber’s Lodges guide Quent for the monster his 12-year-old daughter Mikayla pulled through the ice a few weeks ago.

“I wasn’t near the hole when she caught it,” said Quent, “But when I heard all the whooping and hollering I knew they had something big. You always hear about people pulling big catfish and pickerel out of the Red River, but nothing like this. “

The “this” was a rare 19-pound northern pike and apparently it put up quite the fight.

“It didn’t want to turn,” said Quent. “So it took a little bit to get it out of the hole. But it was worth it. Mikayla was pretty excited about it.”

A Grade 7 student who also enjoys playing piano and guitar, Mikayla and her Dad have been going ice fishing on and off for 5-6 years. If she wasn’t already hooked on fishing, she likely will be now.

Quent has been working at Webber’s Lodges for over 30 years. He started out as a fishing guide at North Knife Lake Lodge for a few weeks at a time and progressed to guiding goose and caribou hunts at the various lodges owned by the Webber family. He now spends more time helping out at Seal River Heritage Lodge on the polar bear tours and photography trips. He’s also taken both his daughters to Seal River to see the polar bears.

Quent spent a lot of time canoeing and fishing with his father as youngster. He’s now transferring his love of the outdoors to his daughters.

Big northern pike and polar bears have them off to a fine start!

Signs of a successful moose hunt with Webber's Lodges!

Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 4 – Post Rut.

by Kent Michie, Professional Guide, Webber’s Lodges

The post-rut stage is an excellent time to connect with a trophy bull moose. This final stage of the moose rut generally occurs after October 10 and can be action packed, with many bulls answering your calls. Fewer cows are receptive during this period and therefore less are calling for suitors. I generally call the same as I do during the pre-rut and main rut weeks, but do make some changes.

I lessen the amount of aggressive bull grunts and shoulder blade rubbing in my calling sequence during this stage. Many of the big bulls will be injured slightly and exhausted from their earlier rutting activities. Fatigued bulls may be reluctant to commit, or may even shy away from aggressive grunting and blade rubbing challenges on the brush. I find that it is best to call mainly in the voice of a lone cow with no other suitors around, until you have the bull fully committed.

Remember that when you are calling during the post-rut, a number of bulls may have broken or severely damaged antlers. Many mature bulls fight so intensely that their massive antlers will have broken points and in some cases will be missing entirely from one side. This can result in the bulls being less aggressive. Weather can also have an influence on the success of your post rut moose hunt, and conditions can be adverse to say the least.

In conclusion, the techniques I have shared with you in these blog posts do not guarantee a sure thing, but rather are observations and determinations that I have made over a lifetime of moose hunting and guiding. Please always remember that some of the aforementioned calling techniques may encourage aggressive behavior from a bull moose, so always be cautious.

I hope you have enjoyed these moose hunting tips and we certainly welcome any comments you might have.

Good luck on your next moose hunting adventure!

Our moose hunts have a very high success rate and book up quickly. If you would like more information on moose hunting with Webber’s Lodges in Manitoba, Canada, please e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com or call us Toll Free at: 1 (888) 932-2377. We would love to hear from you!

Read more…

• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 1.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 2 – Pre-Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 3 – Main Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 4 – Post-Rut.

Webber's Lodges Main Rut Moose!

Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 3 – Main Rut.

by Kent Michie, Professional Guide, Webber’s Lodges

The main rut runs from approximately September 28 to October 10 in most of the northern regions of Canada. About 80% of all moose harvested will be taken during this two week period of prime rut activity. I must admit this is my favorite time of the year. The land is awash with the brilliant colors of change, the skies are full of south bound geese, warm days are followed by frosty nights, and the forest is alive with the sounds of rutting moose.

During the main rut, both bulls and cows are very vocal, with slight vocalization changes when compared to the pre-rut period. One of the biggest changes in moose vocalizations comes from the cows. During pre-rut, cows primarily make calls of annoyance due to being pestered by excited bulls, but during the main rut the cow’s calls change to an inviting call for love. Unlike the aggressive calls cows make to show their displeasure towards unwanted suitors, they now make long, flowing, almost musical calls in an effort to attract the strongest of the bulls. Along with the long mooing calls of love, the cows also make very soft, short grunts and bawls. Knowing when and how to imitate these calls can make the difference between having a bull come out into the clearing or hanging up just out of range.

I was once told by a senior woodsman (who I considered a genius when it came to moose calling) that you could call in a moose with a bad cough. That might be true for some bulls, but if you want to get a look at every bull in the area in your quest for that trophy bull, I think you have to play your cards right and “talk moose.”

The cows will be calling day and night if they are not in the company of a bull. Time is short, the cows need to make sure of the next generation of moose and they know it. As a hunter we can use this to our advantage by imitating “come check me out” calls to bring the bulls in close.

I like to get out on the edge of a large swamp, lake shoreline or open ridge over a valley at first light in the morning and start cow calling to locate bulls. The call I make is a moderately low moo that is slow and steady with a slight nasal tone. I usually make two long calls, 5-10 seconds each, followed by a shorter, softer mooing call. On a calm morning these calls will travel a long way and get the attention of any bull in the area.

I repeat this call sequence three to four times with a couple of minutes between call sets. When a bull hears this and he is not already tending to a cow, he is quite likely to come in to check you out. When traveling in to check out your call, bulls will often grunt. It is not uncommon to make one or two sequences of calls and have a bull announce his interest from a couple of kilometers away.

One thing many hunters might not know is that a bull will generally only grunt when he is moving. I have seen bulls stand at the edge of a lake or swamp and grunt a couple of times while standing still, but this is not common. The bulls will grunt loudly while walking and moving towards the cow call. As a hunter you have to remember that if a bull stops grunting, it’s likely because he is standing still and listening carefully to try and pinpoint the position of the calling cow. This is a very important, as my experience shows that this is the most common time for a hunter to “get busted” by a bull moose.

I have learned never to change my position when a bull is stopped and listening. I usually freeze and make no sound at all, just to keep the bull guessing. If the bull hears nothing for a couple of minutes he will often grunt loudly in an effort to get a response from the cow. If that happens, I give him a response. I come back at him right away with a short, soft, sexy cow moo generally directed at the ground. The bull will usually start walking again towards your position with steady rhythmic grunts. This is when you should move if you need to get in a better shooting position.

Moving while the bull is moving and grunting will help you hide any unnatural sounds you might make while traveling through the bush. Two good simple rules to follow: When the bull stops and listens, you should stop and listen. When the bull moves and makes noise, you can move and make noise. If you have played the role of a hot cow correctly and a bull has come directly in to you, but then hangs up just out of range, there are a few tricks you can use to get the bull to step out. One thing I like to do to enrage hesitant bulls is to imitate the sounds of a young bull that has joined the cow. This gets the blood boiling in a mature bull and he will usually come in spoiling for a fight.

To imitate a young bull I use a couple of different methods. I will turn in the opposite direction of the mature bull and grunt to simulate a bull approaching from the opposite direction. I will also rake or rub the trees and brush to imitate another aggressive bull. These two techniques will agitate the mature bull into coming in. To imitate antlers rubbing the brush I use a beef shoulder blade that I have cleaned and bleached white to simulate the sound of bone on brush. Over the past 20 years I have also on occasion used an old canoe paddle for the same purpose. The shoulder blade and canoe paddle work both as a sound stimulant and as a visual stimulant, providing flashes of whitish brown that the bull can key in on and then approach directly.

The aforementioned techniques will work to get the bulls in close, but if the bull is already in the company of a cow you could get into what I call the “Yo-yo Effect.” This happens when you are calling the bull and he calls back and starts his approach towards you, but then suddenly the cow close to him calls him back. This can go on for hours. The bull starts to come to you and then the cow calls him back. This happens when the cow has determined that this bull is her preferred suitor, and she does not want him to leave when she is close to readiness for breeding. When this happens, rather than playing “Yo-yo” I like to move in close a put pressure on the bull.

I usually approach the bull as slowly and as quietly as possible, except for making small bull grunts and dragging the shoulder blade on branches as I get close. When you get within the comfort zone of the bull and you are imitating a smaller bull he will think you are challenging him for the right to breed his cow. This will provoke him to come in and challenge you. This technique can be successful but it can also be hazardous, as the bull will be in an aggressive mood and can approach you very quickly.

Years of calling moose has taught me that if you find a trophy bull with a cow, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The bull’s attention will be fully consumed by the cow, which often gives you the advantage. You can slip in undetected and fool him into making a mistake. When faced with a bull and cow pair, be very careful not to get busted by the cow and you should have little difficulty getting Mr. Big to present himself to you in a vulnerable manner.

In part four of this series on moose hunting in Manitoba we will discuss the post-rut moose hunting stage.

Our moose hunts have a very high success rate and book up quickly. If you would like more information on moose hunting with Webber’s Lodges in Manitoba, Canada, please e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com or call us Toll Free at: 1 (888) 932-2377. We would love to hear from you!

Read more…

• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 1.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 2 – Pre-Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 3 – Main Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 4 – Post-Rut.

The right moose call at the right time can produce...

Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 2 -Pre-Rut.

by Kent Michie, Professional Guide, Webber’s Lodges

The pre-rut stage begins when bull moose begin to lose their velvet around August 31 and continues until approximately September 27. During the pre-rut stage bull moose will be at their peak fitness level, their fully developed antlers ready for battle. Bulls will rub their antlers on brush and trees to strengthen their neck muscles in readiness for the rutting battle that will soon ensue with rival males. Bulls are eating all they can at this stage of the rut, but they will soon stop consuming large amounts of aquatic vegetation, red osier dogwood, box alder, poplar, maple, and birch.

Bulls who were summer companions will now start to spar and assert their dominance over less aggressive or younger bulls. Both bulls and cows start to ramp up there vocalizations during this period, with bulls grunting aggressively at rivals and cows protesting loudly to the advances of amorous bulls and their premature courting. The cow calls you hear are not as inviting as what will come later, but are more aggressive and almost angry in nature. This is due to the fact that the cows are close to the readiness of their very small window of ovulation, but they still will not tolerate close contact from the bulls.

The cow’s loud calls of protest benefit her in a couple of ways. The loud calls prevent any premature mating from excited bulls when the time is not yet right to produce the next generation of moose. And secondly, not only do the loud calls by the cows fend off the advances of bulls that are close by; they also attract more bull suitors, or at least point out her location to bulls that are not in the immediate area.

Hunters can use the aforementioned behavior of the cows in several ways to harvest monster bull moose. In the morning pay close attention and listen for cows bellowing. The cow call during the pre-rut is a whiny, angry, “get away from me” type of call. She is telling the bulls that she is not ready, stay back. You can imitate this loud whiny call to bring in amorous bulls from great distances. Don’t be shy about belting it out there when calling, and vary the pitch up and down to get the “angry” effect. The call duration should be approximately 15 seconds to one minute long. Repeat the call every 5-10 minutes for three or four sets, wait about 30 minutes and start over again. Immediately after making the whiny cow calls, give out a series of light bull grunts to imitate a young bull that is excited but is being shut down.

This type of calling during the pre-rut will work best in the morning and late evening. Once a bull responds with grunts you can grunt back at him to keep him coming in, but keep your grunts short, low in pitch and not too aggressive. You do not want to sound like a too big or dominant a bull this early in the rut. It is better to imitate a smaller bull which is bothering a cow. This will encourage other bulls to come to the cow’s aid and run off the youngster.

The simple techniques described above are very affective during the pre-rut and will get you in close to the big boys. In part three of this series on moose hunting in Canada we will discuss the main moose rut and a variety of calls and techniques that can be used to stir up even more awesome action.

Our moose hunts have a very high success rate and book up quickly. If you would like more information on moose hunting with Webber’s Lodges in Manitoba, Canada, please e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com or call us Toll Free at: 1 (888) 932-2377. We would love to hear from you!

Read more…

• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 1.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 2 – Pre-Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 3 – Main Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 4 – Post-Rut.

UFC Superstar Brock Lesnar

It’s too bad UFC fighter and former WWE champion Brock Lesnar didn’t choose a Manitoba caribou hunt or moose hunt with Webber’s Lodges.

Lesnar wouldn’t be facing charges right now for numerous hunting offenses committed in Alberta had he chosen Webber’s. It seems his guide either wasn’t aware of all the regulations in his province or just chose to ignore them when he took Lesnar hunting. Now they’re both in hot water.

Webber’s Lodges is known for its exceptional guides and high-quality hunts. Our guides are some of the best in the business, as evidenced by the testimonials we receive. You will never have to worry about being nailed for poaching when you hunt with us!

In any event, we wish Mr. Lesnar all the best in his upcoming fight on December 30, 2011.

Guide Kent Michie (right) with very happy moose hunter at Webber's Lodges.

by Kent Michie, Professional Guide, Webber’s Lodges

Sitting on an old, dead autumn stump, you watch the emerging sun as it burns through the mist rising off the water. Daylight breaks on your moose hunt and vibrant fall foliage begins to reveal itself. The damp, musky smells of the boreal forest fill your nostrils as you sit quietly, straining your ears to identify any sign that you are not alone on the muskeg delta of a northern lake. As distinct as a rifle shot you hear a loud guttural grunt echo from the Tamarack covered ridge. Your body stiffens. Your grip tightens on your rifle in anticipation of the next sound from the ridge.

Like magic you hear the grunt again, now accompanied by the sound of large antlers scraping through branches. This time it is much closer and moving directly towards you. Your heart races as your eyes search for movement. The bitter cold you felt only moments ago seems like a distant dream. Like a mythical being, a bull moose steps out of the tree line not more than 100 yards away. He appears in full view in the open. Still and stoic, he stands, like a magnificent statue. You glance at your guide.

“He’s the one we want.”

As if in slow motion, you lift your rifle and take careful aim.

One well placed shot dispatches the mighty beast.

As the morning excitement subsides, you sit and reflect on how all this could have happened – picture perfect. You wonder, “Is my guide some sort of wizard that has control over the wild creatures in the forest, or was I just really lucky today?”

I believe I can give you some clarification on the above.

I will share with you what I have learned and used for 25 plus years of guiding moose hunts during the rut. These insights are a result of both hunt experience and an education in wildlife biology. I will not bore you with a complete year-round life cycle of the moose. I’d much rather concentrate on the fall portion of the moose life cycle, which is the time of year when many of us are in pursuit of this grand animal.

I understand that not everyone will agree or even understand my outlook and conclusions when it comes to the moose rut, and that’s ok. As a wise man (my grandfather) once said, “You’ll learn a lot more by listening than talking.” So please enjoy what I have to share with you and who knows, you might even learn something new that will help you on your next moose hunt.

I think many people are misinformed when they talk about moose and their primary senses of sight, smell, and hearing. My beliefs are the result of an enormous amount of time spent in the field in pursuit of giant bulls. I believe that moose are somewhat color blind and that they see their world in shades of greys and blues, but they do have a keen ability to pick up movement. Remember that a moose weighs over 1000 lbs. and they have very few enemies in the wild. This is why they are not as skittish as smaller prey such as deer.

Moose are not intimidated easily, nor are they flighty. Their calm demeanor is often mistaken for an inability to see you, but it’s more likely that they are just not all that concerned. Secondly, many moose encounters occur during the fall rut, at a time when moose are active all day and the bulls are especially brave and aggressive. During this testosterone-fueled period, moose are easy to observe during the day, which gives us a sense that they cannot see us. But the rut brings out a “King of the Mountain” attitude in bull moose, which makes an encounter with humans even more of a non-threatening experience for them. They see us. They just don’t care.

Moose also have a finely-tuned sense of smell, which is likely due to the huge olfactory organ in that enormous nose of theirs. And along with a great sense of smell, moose may possess the most sensitive hearing in the north woods. Their satellite dish size ears are extremely sensitive and play a big part in why moose are such vocal animals.

Many of us are excited by the sounds of a bugling bull elk on a distant ridge or by the grunting of a whitetail buck in the November forest, but I feel moose have been vastly underestimated for their vocalizations, especially during the rut. Moose are very vocal animals throughout the year, but especially during the fall rut. The rut is divided into three separate stages, the pre-rut, the rut, and the post-rut. Each stage  requires the use of different techniques to bring a big bull moose in close.

In parts two, three and four of this article, I will explain why, when, and where, moose use different vocalizations, and how you as a hunter can capitalize on this during the three different stages of the rut to get in close with your next trophy bull moose.

Our moose hunts have a very high success rate and book up quickly. If you would like more information on moose hunting with Webber’s Lodges in Manitoba, Canada, please e-mail us at info@webberslodges.com or call us Toll Free at: 1 (888) 932-2377. We would love to hear from you!

Read More…

• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 1.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 2 – Pre-Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 3 – Main Rut.
• Moose rutting behavior and vocalization. A hunter’s guide to getting in close. Part 4 – Post-Rut.

Crystal Watson - Trophy of the Month - Manitoba Caribou

And the Trophy of the Month goes to… Crystal Watson!

Crystal joined her husband John when John’s brother was unable to make it to their caribou hunt at Webber’s Lodges this year.

John was a bit nervous bringing his wife into a northern hunting camp full of other hunters, not knowing quite what to expect, but after arriving and meeting the staff at Schmok Lake and settling into the very comfortable and modern lodge, John’s reservations disappeared.

Crystal harvested her first caribou with a bow on day one. She had taken many African animals with a bow in the past, but this Manitoba caribou was her first North American animal to be taken by bow. From an incredible 14 yards!

After passing on many other bulls throughout the hunt we decided to take a great bull on the last day with the rifle. After a grueling chase, we finally caught up with the herd and Crystal made an unbelievable shot at 456 yards to anchor her tundra trophy.

Congratulations on your pair of trophy bull caribou Crystal! You also hold the honor of taking your caribou with both the closest shot, and the furthest shot, of the Webber’s Lodges 2011 Manitoba caribou season.