Any PEI hunters?

J

Jon Zuccolo

Active member
Anyone out east in Canada? I was looking at a job in Charlottetown and got to thinking, it might be nice place to live (couldn't be any hotter than Oklahoma city in the summer :p ).... Can anyone comment on the waterfowl there? Is it a nice place to live, or is it tough being on the island? Are there salmon rivers (very important question) ?

Cheers,

Jon
 
Jon,

I'm not from PEI, but am Canadian and my wife spent some time there getting ready to write her vet equivalency exam after coming back from Europe. She also had colleagues who were from there and once commented on duck hunting opportunites.

Apparently there are lots of ducks, specifically black ducks! It's a major stop over for ducks coming down the coast from Labrador.

What I do know, though, is that it is very very rural, and very very small (entire population of 136,000 people), with not much to do. Every see or read Anne of Green Gables? you should check it out..

Hopefully someone else will chime in. Just my partially narrow view as a Montrealer :)

Best of luck!

Sincerely

Anthony
 
Thanks for your perspective :)

Everytime I move to a smaller city, I like it better! But I do realize that Charlotte town is REALLY small, so I will have to check it out and see if I like it. So far its been Vancouver -> Calgary -> Oklahoma (can you believe I like calgary and oklahoma better than vancouver? Must be the sunshine.. hehe)
 
Jon,
my thinking is Shermie may have some info for you. I know he is a bit restricted for online time but you might try a PM.
My father in law loves PEI and bugs us all the time to get up there.

I dont have a job offer so...... not moving this week, but would be a great try for a few years I bet.

Bob
 
Chris Hutchins, who very occasionally posts here, has a family connection on PEI. I know he fishes a bit down there--says some good things about PEI brook trout. You may want to send him a PM.

Shermie is a good suggestion, too. I would think that PEI is right on the Atlantic flyway, and being an island with a lot of productive farmland and a bunch of rivers and wetlands, the duck opportunities ought to be good.
 
One of my original hunting partners from college used to field hunt geese up there in October every year ( late 80s- early 2000s) He said it was great hunting.
 
Jon, in addition to the brook trout (including sea run trout) there are also several salmon rivers. I believe the best is the Morell (spp?).

You're also not far from the Margaree and several other rivers over in Nova Scotia.

I suspect PEI is less isolated since the bridge was built, but I've never been there.
 
Jeff is right that the bridge has made a big difference for folks on the island. It is not nearly as isolated as it once was. I don't live there but we do employ folks that do and it is a whole lot easier on everyone now that there is a bridge.

If you like a laid back attitude, friendly folks and an outdoor lifestyle I don't know how you could go wrong. If you like the big city stuff this is not the move for you.
 
Hi Jon,

I live on PEI. Drop me an email at lfjones@gov.pe.ca and I can answer some of your questions. What line of work are you in if you dont mind me asking?


Thanks,

Locke
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Good stuff! Figured a native PEI-er would chime in at some point :) thought about moving there myself!
 
Thanks for all the information everyone! Much appreciated. Does sound like a great place for a fella like me (I like to do outdoors stuff 4 seasons of the year) and I don't want to spend my mornings sitting in traffic :)

Next post I should try landing a job :p

Cheers,

Jon
 
Hi John - I have gunned canadas with a guide on PEI with excellent results. Also super atlantic bluefin tuna (giants) sometimes in the fall. Oysters are great and potatoes are the best. Most of the mussels we eat down here are grown there in clean water. The duck shooting is black ducks and that may vary a good deal depending upon weather/season and nesting success.

I was on Cape Breton Island last September and there is atlantic salmon water there that is Public on the Margarey river..........very rare to have public access to wild salmon these days............I understand that they do catch fish at certain times and landowners allow fishermen to cross their property to reach stretches of that river. Probably about a 4 hour drive over from PEI.

Having visited there about 6 times I can tell you without question the best reason to live there is the people............very friendly and sincere with a sense of humor.

sarge
 
Not from there but my family and I vacationed for a couple of weeks on PEI in the summer of 2009. Rented a cottage in North Rustico and the owner was a very serious waterfowler. We sat around his pool one evening having a few beverages and discussed hunting and fishing. Big numbers of black ducks (4 a day limit) and his group of four usually shoot several hundred each year. He also mentioned they shoot several hundred canada's a year and then there is supposed to be very good diver and sea duck hunting. He didn't mention salmon but PEI is known for it's large (5+ lbs) sea run brooke trout. While I didn't land anything that large I did spend a few hours with my fly rod and consistently landed 12+ inch brookies and never saw another person on the river.

We spent a day in Charlottetown and mostly did the tourist thing. Looked to be a nice clean town with nice restaurants, a couple brew pubs and your typical touristy things. The airport has decent service so getting away is not too difficult.

The locals are fantastic, some of the very nicest I'm met in many travels. Personally, if I had the chance I would move there ... my kids still talk about the red sand beaches (and mosquitoes on one of our hikes) and how much fun they had on our PEI vacation.

Hope it helps.
 
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Hey Eric,

your host Mr. MacKinnon by any chance? We went to school together. Glad you enjoyed the Island and the people. If you ever make it back, let me know and I'd be glad to show you around.

Cheers,

Locke
 
I hunted geese there about 10 years ago. The goose hunting was very good and I have never seen Black Ducks in such concentration. We actually were able to shoot a Black Duck from the pit we were hunting in and then use it as a decoy and managed to get quite a bit of shooting as we added dead black ducks to the decoy spread. The guide's name escapes me, but he was in law enforcement and guided part time. He was a hell of a nice guy. The place was beautiful and the people were very friendly. PEI is on the list of place that I plan on taking my sons hunting some day.
 
Hey- my wife and I own a cottage in Tignish (north cape very close to the tip) and I have been going there for the last 28 years. The trout fishing is interesting in that one can land 50 small trout a day under 8 inches if you want, or go lfor Salters, and hook onto some very solid Brookies- but landing some of these in the "rivers" is hard...I fish 3 spots that hold 5 pound fish ...and I can SPIT across the water. I made a mistake some years ago and fished for trout in a river (Dunk) that held salmon...a 4wt will not hold a salt fresh Atlantic salmon for more than 2 jumps. The Morrell river is said to be good salmon fishing, the Trout River area holds some fine salt trout, and the tidal salt water can be very good.

I have goose hunted there also, and it was good. lots of farm field hunts and we found the Blacks to be common. Early in the fall teal are there in numbers. We also hunted a hunt cub, and while I am not a canned hunt person often, this place ran
Some very close to wild pheasants and chukker .

The people are solid, honest, and bright. they want to be respected and treated as equals-as they should ...but alcohol is pandemic, and poverty is apparent. There are unspoken understood rules that take years to decode. there is an economic subculture, and poaching is stunningly common. e have had break-ins every other year, but while we have had stuff stolen, they do not destroy the cabin. We have had some of the greatest people in our lives become important to us on that island....they'd help ANYONE if they needed it.

I would not live there under any possible conditions as it is enjoyable for 3 weeks...and deadly after 4.

Hutch
 
Hi Jon looks like ya got alot of good info on our fair island,theres birds aplenty and no big game but just drive across the bridge and you have nova scotia or new brunswick and maine to hunt the big stuff..

as for fishing all atlantic provinces have good to fair salmon runs and a few have steelhead searun rainbows we also have big brown trout to and not to mention the striped bass and everything else that floats and crawls in the sea we all love to snack on from time to time....

there are a few stocked ponds to take fish from over there i suggest Bens Lake ,june and ken are friends and we stay a week at least every year withthem or maybe 2 weeks,,,its a campground and it has a chalet to rent as well on a you fish pond ,it has a catch and keep side by the pound or the upper section is fly fish barbless hook and catch and release...

no matter where you located in the charlotte town area in an hour and a half you will have driven to one side or the ther on PEI...

we spend alot of time over there with family from there and friends we visit and i hunt there for a few days chasin ducks ,

one thing you mite find funny but no one is in a hurry when your on the island its" Island time"

i hope this mini tour guide has helped
shermie...
 
Anyone know anything about real estate on PEI? Don't need much. A small, secluded house and some acreage? Sounds like a great place to write, shoot and f course, catch tuna!
 
Yes sir, I appreciate all the information. Sounds like a great place for me and the wife. I have sent in my application and hope they give me a call :)

Better start planning out my potato wine recipes :p
 
Hey Eric,

your host Mr. MacKinnon by any chance? We went to school together. Glad you enjoyed the Island and the people. If you ever make it back, let me know and I'd be glad to show you around.

Cheers,

Locke
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Thanks Locke.

We did in fact rent one of Paul's "Chalets" ... great cottages. Paul treated us very well, gave us a good rate, and was more than helpful with suggestions to explore the island. We have been talking about going back and maybe staying on the east end this time ??? Didn't get out there last time. Personally, I just want to go up and do a few days of hunting ... Paul mentioned he could put us up and take us but I just haven't been able to put the time aside to do it.
 
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