guides/outfitters

<P>Take a look at the OW guide page. I know Chapin's guide service Hunts St. Clair..... </P>

 

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">BEWARE of WHO YOU BOOK WITH up there!&nbsp; My advice is do your own thing... Use your decoys and boat blind on the bay!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">My best advice is Never, EVER consider Fish Pointe Lodge!&nbsp; I would avoid booking any hunt with Fish Pointe Lodge.&nbsp; Our group was not treated very well&nbsp;a few&nbsp;years ago up there.&nbsp; I had booked a two-day hunt&nbsp;there for our party of six... Meals, lodging, blinds, taxi service and decoys.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, the experience was so bad that five of us paid up and left after dinner the first day for the long 5 hour trip home, one guy&nbsp;(the smartest one!) headed home at noon!&nbsp; To a man, we will never waste our time and money with them... EVER!&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">We were promised the use of a layout boat so the whole group could&nbsp;hunt together.&nbsp; But we were told&nbsp;the morning of our hunt&nbsp;that there would be no layout available.&nbsp; Disappointment # 1.&nbsp; </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">#2 and 3... Four of us were placed in an offshore (pontoon boat)&nbsp;blind that was badly listing (30 to 40 degrees to the starboard stern!) due to a leaking pontoon.&nbsp; Believe me, it was hard to even stand up and only one of the four of us was in a position to shoot due to the anchor placement... Not that we had much opportunity to shoot!&nbsp; </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">#4... We only had two scaup and a mallard swing by all morning before the guide came to take us in for lunch.&nbsp;None of those birds&nbsp;were decoying just passing by&nbsp;at 50 plus yards!!!&nbsp; Not that you have to shoot a duck to have a good hunt... But,YOU WOULD REASONABLY EXPECT TO SEE&nbsp;A FEW DECOY!... More about the decoys that will explain why in the midst of all that big bay water, there weren't many waterfowl coming near.&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">#5, 6&nbsp;&amp; 7... As it got light, we found ourselves in the midst of what looked like a DUMPSTER!&nbsp; Every piece of trash brought out by previous parties was strewn all over.&nbsp; This was&nbsp;early November, so&nbsp;there was a heap but due to the low temperatures (Thankfully!) the was no odor.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, if the filth would not have abated your&nbsp;desire to&nbsp;cook, then the lack of propane for the grill finished off any further thoughts of cooking.&nbsp; But there were plenty of empty cylinders among all the other trash. The camo&nbsp;on the outside was little to non-existent!&nbsp; </P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">The other two&nbsp;of our&nbsp;party were place in an elevated blind (equally poor camo!) overlooking an onshore pothole.&nbsp; Then, the lodge owner placed another group within 100 yards of their blind!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">By is point in the story, our disappointment is becoming to far too difficult to talley!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">We paid $35 each for the use of the lodge's decoys since we didn't want to haul our own, not&nbsp;knowing if we could wade to place them,&nbsp;and we didn't want to waste valuable hunting time in the morning putting them out.&nbsp;&nbsp;HOWEVER, we were hustled away from the breakfast table only to spend nearly two full hours(!!!)&nbsp;before daylight in our DUMPSTER blind!!!!&nbsp; When it got light, we saw a measly, hodgepodge of EIGHTEEN (YES, 18!) beat-up lousy excuses for decoys sitting in a wad&nbsp;to the stern of our listing dumpster...&nbsp;Not upwind, not downwind, but&nbsp;quartering DOWNSLOPE!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">I will say the food was good and the lodge&nbsp;common&nbsp;area&nbsp;looked very good, but&nbsp;our bedroom was rather&nbsp;shabby.&nbsp; However, at every meal we were rushed to finish eating and 2nd helpings were not available.&nbsp; I can put up with shabby accomadations IF the blind and decoys are good...&nbsp;After all, I'm there to hunt, not sit around the lodge or sleep!&nbsp;&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">When we arrived the night before everyone was congratulating me on how well I had done in setting up the hunt.&nbsp; We&nbsp;all appreciated the lodge's history and&nbsp;decor which only heighten our excitement at having a chance to hunt the storied waters of Saginaw Bay... Our reality of the next day quickly dampened those&nbsp;spirits little by little as we&nbsp;realized with each new disappointment that we had BEEN... THOROUGHLY HAD!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;&nbsp; </P>

 

<P>i thaught we had it bad at hamiltons on reelfoot, untill i read your post. we were just now treated friendly like and the last day january 1st the guide was sleeping because of the new year party.we did do a limit the 2nd day though,</P>

 

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">Thats interesting......a friend of mine books a hunt with Fish Pointe lodge</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">every year near mid November, have'nt heard him complain about anything</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">with the exception of occasionally seeing few birds. He has had some excelent hunts with this guide service &amp; like everything else, some poor ones.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">Like we all know, knowone can control the birds to cooperate every time.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">The poor equipment &amp; blocks are no excuse however. Like you mentioned, just do it yourself, that is a beautiful bay &amp; easy to hunt, both by boat or your two boots.</P>

 

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">sbe023,</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">Let me guess who your guide was that overslept?&nbsp; Tyler Hamilton???&nbsp; I've been to Hamilton's several times.&nbsp; The last couple of times I got stuck with Tyler.&nbsp; Have not been back for a couple of years.&nbsp; In past years I was able to live with Jaime Hamilton's lack of personal skills and the rundown motel because I shot alot of ducks with Joe, Shane, and Wayne.&nbsp; A couple days with Tyler finally put me over the edge!!!</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">Musky</P>

 

<P style="MARGIN: 0px">you missed out with Stan- He is top notch. I got the pics and mounts to prove it.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">&nbsp;</P>