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I’m potentially planning a trip to Anticosti island for a November deer hunt. Can anyone give any advice or recommendations? Guide, dates to go, anything that will help. Thanks

PM Longbeardking or look up his posts. He is a regular there.

Yes.
Longbeardking is the man for that.

My wife and I are heading back up on November 16th. Will be heading back on November 25th. So far this year I have heard nothing good. My hunt is a 4 day hunt, 11/21,22,23,and 24th. ALWAYS the same 4 days for my wife and me. The reports I am getting are all from a new SIX day hunt offering. The 6 day hunts have all taken place in September and October and the weather has been very warm. Not many bucks have been seen and the doe sightings have been down as well. This is really not surprising to me. The other thing is that most of the guys hunted the same way they would in November. They find a blind or a tree stand and park in it for hours on end. Even on Anticosti, if you REALLY want a deer, you better be prepared to hunt for it. I walk allot, and when I find a spot with abundant activity, I will sit a spell.

I use Sepaq Anticosti. There are several other outfitters. Lac Genevieve, and Safari Anticosti are tow that come to mind. I just started out with Sepaq and stuck with them.

You being from upstate NY the hunting will be VERY similar. Good luck.

LBK...looking forward to your report!

As I do every year!

I was really struggling with a report this year after the changes with photobucket. I have tried to work with this site's image gallery and I never seem to get it quite done. I seem to post a "link" to the picture but fall short of getting the actual picture to load. I found a site through a post from someone here called tinypics. I set up an account with them and it is EXACTLY the same as photobucket was. I wasn't going to post this year's hunt without pictures, because I think it would be pretty boring. There are some REALLY great people here at the campfire and I do enjoy almost everyone. Thank you for your interest and kind words over the years.

Thanks for the reply longbeardking, I'll PM you some questions later if you don't mind.

Shoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not literally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been to Anticosti many time.. I like to go in September as a way of increasing the amount of time I spend hunting. It is also a little cheaper.

Like any other place Anticosti has good and bad years. It is not the place to find supersized bucks. The nutrition is poor and the occasional bad winter prevents the deer from growing old. This year was an exceptionally bad year with a dramatic drop in deer numbers due to winter kill. It will take a few years for the herd to recover. For example, this year I took a couple of small does. My buddy whose has been to the island for more years than me took none, so I gave him one of mine. In total we saw maybe twenty deer for the whole trip. The only buck I saw was a big spike. Usually, each of us would see that many in a single day. Our experience was similar to other's It will take a few years for the herd to recover assuming there are no bad winters.

If you are looking for bucks the best time to go is in the rut from late October through the end of the season, usually the first week of December. Earlier hunts are cheaper but bucks are scarcer. However, with a few exceptions such as this year, I usually take at least one decent buck per trip.

The island has three outfitters, Sepaq, Safari, and Lac Genevieve. All a reputable. I am no familiar with Lac Genevieve, but I have gone with the other two and know they offer a variety of camps and levels of accommodation. For the last 8 or 9 years I have been going on the European plan where you bring and prepare your own food, etc. American plans are available where food is prepared for you etc. There are a few places with a very high comfort level like Jupiter 12 (Sepaq) or The Safari Lodge (Safari Anticosti).

I love hunting the island. Usually you are the only person for miles and you see, this year excepted, many deer. What I really like is the opportunity to still hunt, to spot and stalk. I have walked into peat bogs that can be miles across seen a deer and worked into a position to get a shot. It is hunting so sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

My suggestion to you is to figure out what you want and do it. The only thing I would suggest is to wait a couple of years.

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking 2019

Anticosti has been on my short list for a long time, I hear mixed reviews on the quality of busks. Can any of you that have been post pics of your bucks?

Here's a pretty good representation.

Thanks LBK

I've had a couple long conversations at the Sportsmans Show in Harrisburg with Sepaq Anticosti but so far have not booked. It's something I'd like to get around to doing.

AMEN! LBK'S Anticosti reports and pictures are one of the things I always look forward too.

Thanks guys. Some folks here are very humbling. Actually all of you are way more interesting than I.

So what is the draw to go, and I am asking a serious question and in no way shape or form mean that in a negative way. I’m interested what brings you back every year.

MM

MM, I saw your post last night before I went to sleep. I had to put some thought into it. My first hunt was a family hunt. I paid full price, but my wife and son got 50% off. It was a September or early October hunt. Each of us shot 2 deer. My wife shot her first deer EVER. I shot the 2 smallest (to this day) deer of my life. I saw one buck and was taken totally by surprise and I missed him. I said then that if I ever went back it would be in November. Well, at that time, there were no openings. On VERY short notice we got a phone call from Sepaq saying there was an opening over Thanksgiving in 2004. My wife took the call and said we'd be there before ever letting me know. Since then, I have only taken my son back once, but my wife and I have returned every year since, except for 2006. I thought I was going to lose my job due to company downsizing. I did NOT so it's been back ever since. We go the American plan. Accommodations are more than comfortable and the food is way more than adequate. It's not about killing deer to me, it's more seeing my wife succeed at something she has really grown to love. It's about going into the woods knowing you have at LEAST 50 square miles to hunt BY YOURSELF. It's seeing deer behavior in 4 days that I wouldn't see, and "haven't" seen In New Hampshire my entire hunting life. I treat it like more of a wilderness vacation rather than a hunting trip. No matter how bad it might be this year, I am confident We will see more deer in 4 days there than we will see in 4 YEARS in NH. Remember, EVERY deer is a trophy if you kill it on it's terms. I LOVE hunting with my wife and if she feels pampered at the same time, it's a win win for me.

I know some guys that go every year the last few days of the season and they kill some very nice bucks. They are hunting migration routes and along the beaches. While they aren't world class deer, they seem to be above average for the island.

I also know some guys that go every year in October and kill does. They consider it a meat hunt.