Great Hunt at Big River Camps in Newfoundland

Ogemaone

FNG
Joined
Jan 16, 2024
Messages
8
Had a great opening week hunt with Big River. My 17 yr old son shot a beautiful 45” bull and my buddy shot a stud as well. I harvested a nice meat bull the last day. Seen moose everyday as well as several monsters. All three came in to the call. Weather was warm several days but cooled off at the tail end of the hunt. Our guide was awesome and accommodations were excellent. Food was great as well. Highly recommend.
 

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Went to Big River Camps last year and it was a fun hunt when Judy was manager. Went this year after booking again last year with Judy but it's under new management and it was absolutely horrible. Stay away far far away. Worst hunt I have ever been on in 50 years of guided hunts and I have been on some real stinkers. Anyone wants detailed horror stories I will be glad to share. It will blow your mind the crap they did.
 
How much time do you have? Here are a few and i could go on for days.
1) guides wouldn't go after bulls if not on the pond. Seen nice bulls they refused to go after. Actually sat down and refused to go with the boys after them.
2) left 1 bull on the hill shot 2 hours before dark .5 miles from camp to rot. Said they didn't make enough to work 12 hour days and no work after dark.
3) Put boys baby bull meat in a used meat bag full of maggots.
4) only would hunt 2 3 hours in the morning 2 3 hours at night. Left the field 1.5 hours early every evening. Would not hunt full days like we are used to hunting here in the Midwest. The boys turned around 1 evening and tbe guide actually got up and left them never said a word.
5) 3 boats in camp all leaked. 10 minutes every time we needed to use the 1 boat we had with 6 guys and only 1 motor after we lost a day of hunting due to all 4 motors in camp were broken and they finally flew in 1 that worked.
6) left the trash inside the cabin for days until it got so stinky i had the boys take it out on porch. Sat there almost the rest of the week before they burned it. When we left we had 3 more bags of trash on deck for the new hunters to walk by. The guides a tally asked our boys to help unload the new hunters gear from the plane.
7) That's just a few not even tip of iceberg for the pot head guides in camp I could go on and on.

Now for the new management. HORRIBLE
I booked last year great hunt Judy the manager was awesome so I booked again this year for my brother nephew and son. She did absolutely everything for us paperwork everything easy. They retired her to give the new partners brother a job. What an incompetent human being. Not qualified at all for that position.
1) I guess since I was a client of the old manger somehow we were less than his clients. He was abrasive and combative from first contact. Not sure why my money is green no matter the manager.
2) we got stuck in camp and extra day. Sure he can't control weather but we had all our gear at the dock waiting for 10 am pick up. Never heard we weren't being taken out until one of the guides (I say that with a heavy heart) told us around 2 pm. We had all of our bedding stripped and helping cook do laundry and then had to remake beds and do it all over next day.
3) The new manager new we had no way to call out so how was I supposed to rebook passage you may be wondering. Well thankfully I still communicate with Judy the old manager because he wasn't helping us and she re booked and got me on next available ship. We lost a day and a half coming home and for you fellas like me with limited vacation days thats a big deal. If not for her we would have missed a week the ship was so backed up with prior cancelations.
4) The old manager gave us a place to stay at her cabin and made us a meal she felt so bad. While there she checked over our paperwork for border crossing and noticed we were missing a lot of our paperwork. Omg we would have been turned away at the border then what? Thank the Lord fir her. They sent a driver to where we were staying to give it to us. Accidentally or intentionally I will let you decide.
5) The new manager refused to meet with me in person after we left camp to discuss our issues. You would think he would want to avoid this type of feedback.
6) The new manager told our driver not to give us our 9k dollar hats. Why? No idea just to be more of an ass. My son read the message over the drivers shoulder. Yeah he hired a driver to avoid us i think. Old manager took us everywhere.
7) I can't prove it but in my opinion he was not letting us hunt areas of this pond that hasn't been hunted in years to keep for himself and his buddies after all of us are gone. Bragged about what a big hunter he was.
Sorry for the long post and trust me I could go on and on. In my opinion and after my first hand experience avoid Big River Camp under this new manager at all cost. Nothing legally they can do to me I checked before posting. This is MY first hand account. Everything is 100 percent accurate to the best of my recollection and I just got back today so my memory is still pretty fresh. 😏
 
How much time do you have? Here are a few and i could go on for days.
1) guides wouldn't go after bulls if not on the pond. Seen nice bulls they refused to go after. Actually sat down and refused to go with the boys after them.
2) left 1 bull on the hill shot 2 hours before dark .5 miles from camp to rot. Said they didn't make enough to work 12 hour days and no work after dark.
3) Put boys baby bull meat in a used meat bag full of maggots.
4) only would hunt 2 3 hours in the morning 2 3 hours at night. Left the field 1.5 hours early every evening. Would not hunt full days like we are used to hunting here in the Midwest. The boys turned around 1 evening and tbe guide actually got up and left them never said a word.
5) 3 boats in camp all leaked. 10 minutes every time we needed to use the 1 boat we had with 6 guys and only 1 motor after we lost a day of hunting due to all 4 motors in camp were broken and they finally flew in 1 that worked.
6) left the trash inside the cabin for days until it got so stinky i had the boys take it out on porch. Sat there almost the rest of the week before they burned it. When we left we had 3 more bags of trash on deck for the new hunters to walk by. The guides a tally asked our boys to help unload the new hunters gear from the plane.
7) That's just a few not even tip of iceberg for the pot head guides in camp I could go on and on.

Now for the new management. HORRIBLE
I booked last year great hunt Judy the manager was awesome so I booked again this year for my brother nephew and son. She did absolutely everything for us paperwork everything easy. They retired her to give the new partners brother a job. What an incompetent human being. Not qualified at all for that position.
1) I guess since I was a client of the old manger somehow we were less than his clients. He was abrasive and combative from first contact. Not sure why my money is green no matter the manager.
2) we got stuck in camp and extra day. Sure he can't control weather but we had all our gear at the dock waiting for 10 am pick up. Never heard we weren't being taken out until one of the guides (I say that with a heavy heart) told us around 2 pm. We had all of our bedding stripped and helping cook do laundry and then had to remake beds and do it all over next day.
3) The new manager new we had no way to call out so how was I supposed to rebook passage you may be wondering. Well thankfully I still communicate with Judy the old manager because he wasn't helping us and she re booked and got me on next available ship. We lost a day and a half coming home and for you fellas like me with limited vacation days thats a big deal. If not for her we would have missed a week the ship was so backed up with prior cancelations.
4) The old manager gave us a place to stay at her cabin and made us a meal she felt so bad. While there she checked over our paperwork for border crossing and noticed we were missing a lot of our paperwork. Omg we would have been turned away at the border then what? Thank the Lord fir her. They sent a driver to where we were staying to give it to us. Accidentally or intentionally I will let you decide.
5) The new manager refused to meet with me in person after we left camp to discuss our issues. You would think he would want to avoid this type of feedback.
6) The new manager told our driver not to give us our 9k dollar hats. Why? No idea just to be more of an ass. My son read the message over the drivers shoulder. Yeah he hired a driver to avoid us i think. Old manager took us everywhere.
7) I can't prove it but in my opinion he was not letting us hunt areas of this pond that hasn't been hunted in years to keep for himself and his buddies after all of us are gone. Bragged about what a big hunter he was.
Sorry for the long post and trust me I could go on and on. In my opinion and after my first hand experience avoid Big River Camp under this new manager at all cost. Nothing legally they can do to me I checked before posting. This is MY first hand account. Everything is 100 percent accurate to the best of my recollection and I just got back today so my memory is still pretty fresh. 😏
We are truly sorry to hear that your experience with us did not meet your expectations. We take all feedback seriously, whether positive or negative. This helps us improve both our operations and guest experience.

We would like to address a few points raised in your review:

Some of details in your review are not accurate. While we won’t go point by point in a public forum, we do want to be clear that not all of the events you described reflect what actually occurred. That said, we certainly recognize that there were legitimate issues, and we take full responsibility for the aspects of your stay that did not meet the standards we set for ourselves.

Our Guides are committed to providing safe and ethical hunts. While we understand you wanted to pursue every bull, there are times when conditions, timing, or safety considerations prevent guides from extending hunts further into the evening. Our team must also ensure proper handling of harvested animals to avoid spoilage and maintain quality. Rest assured, there were no old meat bags at that camp, everything was brand new.

Operating in a remote wilderness setting naturally comes with challenges related to equipment, weather, and logistics. While we work hard to maintain boats, motors, and camp supplies, occasional breakdowns can happen. When they do, we respond as quickly as possible — such as flying in a replacement motor during your stay. Weather and impacts from weather is out of our control but when we are able, we do our best to utilize the nice days. Such as brining you and your guests in a day early. We also take pride in keeping our camps clean and well-maintained to provide the best experience possible for both guests and staff.

We’re glad your experience with previous management was positive, and we value the connections built with our guests. While the transition to new management has brought some challenges, we acknowledge that no matter what the case may be, there is always room to improve and that will always be our focus going into new bookings and new seasons.

Management,

Big River Camps
 
We are truly sorry to hear that your experience with us did not meet your expectations. We take all feedback seriously, whether positive or negative. This helps us improve both our operations and guest experience.

We would like to address a few points raised in your review:

Some of details in your review are not accurate. While we won’t go point by point in a public forum, we do want to be clear that not all of the events you described reflect what actually occurred. That said, we certainly recognize that there were legitimate issues, and we take full responsibility for the aspects of your stay that did not meet the standards we set for ourselves.

Our Guides are committed to providing safe and ethical hunts. While we understand you wanted to pursue every bull, there are times when conditions, timing, or safety considerations prevent guides from extending hunts further into the evening. Our team must also ensure proper handling of harvested animals to avoid spoilage and maintain quality. Rest assured, there were no old meat bags at that camp, everything was brand new.

Operating in a remote wilderness setting naturally comes with challenges related to equipment, weather, and logistics. While we work hard to maintain boats, motors, and camp supplies, occasional breakdowns can happen. When they do, we respond as quickly as possible — such as flying in a replacement motor during your stay. Weather and impacts from weather is out of our control but when we are able, we do our best to utilize the nice days. Such as brining you and your guests in a day early. We also take pride in keeping our camps clean and well-maintained to provide the best experience possible for both guests and staff.

We’re glad your experience with previous management was positive, and we value the connections built with our guests. While the transition to new management has brought some challenges, we acknowledge that no matter what the case may be, there is always room to improve and that will always be our focus going into new bookings and new seasons.

Management,

Big River Camps
Not going to debate you on here gave your manager every opportunity to make things right. He would not. Yes game bags they used in my nephews meat was full of maggots from my broyhers animal..I believe he has phogo evidence if so i will post it. Animals we seen were within the first hours of light plenty of time to pursue. Spin it how you want the truth is the truth. Here is some of the conversation about the stinky garbage with your new manager and a photo. You probably dont want to call me a liar with all of my photos
 

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