There are a couple notes to make on the survey. Food was often rated more than 5, (one fellow rated it an 11), but I only put in a 5. Hunting quality was definitely down for us this year, a result of very few moose killed in early September. The first two weeks of the season were brutal, the weather was sweltering hot (hottest week of the year in fact), there was a full moon, and the early rut was totally nocturnal.

Here are all the comments for each category. (Many people just filled in ratings without making comments)

The Outfitter
“Dan Brooks is a straight shooter. Everything was as he represented.”
“Extremely knowledgeable, courteous, hard working to give the hunter the best experience possible. Fun to be around.”
“Dan and Ellen: you make a great team and you took very good care of me and my wife. Very gracious hosts.”
“Dan goes all out for you.”
“Very professional.”
“Overall well laid out and organized.”
“Dan Brooks is a real pleasure to hunt with. This is a first class operation.”

The Guide
“A real joy to hunt with. Very accommodating.”
“Like moose, guides have different styles. Dan and Barry both did a great job.”
“Did a fantastic job.”
“Not much talk, but a good guide.”
“Very optimistic, great knowledge of the hunt!”
“Needs to improve hunting skills, very good with everything else. Good company.”
“Very hard working and friendly. Carly is fairly new and could use more experience hunting, but is an excellent outdoorsman.”

The Cabins
“Wonderfully rustic and adds to the outdoor experience.”
“Very rustic but satisfactory.”
“Very comfortable and gorgeous view of the lake. Met all our needs. Generator is a big plus.”
“Unlevel.”
“Everything to be comfortable.”
“Warm and cozy!”
“Comfortable, dry and warm.”

The Food
“Absolutely the best home cooking and plenty of it. I can’t say enough good things about the food. Wonderful! I also loved the fact that prayer was given for our meals and the hunt.”
“Ellen is a fantastic cook. Well done!”
“Superb homestyle cooking in all-you-can-eat format. Ellen is an artist!”
“Guide prepared.”
“AAA Eating.”
“Hot wholesome meals, homemade breads, desserts, and pastries.”
“Excellent, even though in a small camp.”

The Equipment
“Plenty of equipment to get the job done. . . ATV’s, trucks, boats, trailers, etc.”
“All first class equipment.”
“All first class on vehicles, ATV’s etc. The hot shower with propane water heater was a very nice touch.”
“Boat at Lost Lou has scratches.” (The hunter put them there!!)
“Excellent equipment, quads/boats.”
“Had all the equipment necessary to get the job done.”
“Everything ran, most of it well.”

The Hunting Quality
“A true wilderness hunting experience yet allowing for some creature comforts. All locations were awesome and beautiful.”
“Slow for us this year, but we know you can’t control the moose. Bowhunting distances are an extra challenge.”
“Awesome!”
“I would book another hunt.”
“Plentiful moose.”
“Bad year:(”
“Had an off year, rut started late.”

Meat and Trophy Care
“These guys go to great lengths to see that your game is 100% properly taken care of… from packing out to processing. Very clean and neat operation.”
“Great!”
“Didn’t use, but observed others. Outstanding!”
“The cleanest animal I have ever taken to a meat market!”

Overall Rating of Crystal Lake
“Wonderful! I hope to be able to come back in the future. You feel like family there and they all definitely treat you that way.”
“It is not very often that I can say that something exceeded my expectations, but this experience was better than I could have hoped for.”
“A wonderful time with wonderful people. We love Rachel and all the girls. Keep it up!”
“Awesome place.”
“My first outfitted hunt, but would rate this hunt as outstanding!”
“I would highly recommend this outfitter.”
“Didn’t reach my objective but it was a good vacation.”
“Very enjoyable even though I got skunked.”

Stan Weeks 51" Bull

I called several bulls in this fall, but this 51″ bull moose I called in for Stan Weeks was by far the best. As soon as I got to the meadow and gave a couple calls he answered. He was only maybe 300 yards away in the timber. He came right in to about 100 yards but wouldn’t come out in the open. Suddenly he growled at us and ran off growling as he went. We could hear him way off in the distance, at least 1000 yards off. I thought perhaps the gig was up, did he smell us? There was almost no wind. Did he see us? We were well concealed. Did I blow a call? I was calling an awful lot, maybe that made him nervous, but then why did he get so growly? Maybe it was because he couldn’t see or smell us that he left. I didn’t give up on him though.
We stayed in exactly the same position, and I kept doing high pitched cow calls. He would growl after each of my calls. Eventually, after about 20 minutes of this growling banter, he started grunting again and began coming back. I was sure to be really patient, I wasn’t about to give up our superior position in the meadow where he might wind or see us. He would grunt and walk a few paces closer and then stop, and I would then cow call. The bull would wait in silence for a couple minutes, then he would grunt and come closer again. This cycle repeated several dozen times until he got to within about 100 yards again, but still out of sight in the timber. Then he grunted, raked a tree, and came forward just on the edge of the meadow. We still couldn’t see him, but he was so close! I gave another call and waited, and waited and waited . . . and then waited some more, the anticipation of knowing this bull was only a couple steps away from being visible was nearly killing me. I fought down all the urges to call again, and decided to let him make his move. He knew where I was, and he knew if he wanted to see me, he was going to have to step into the meadow himself. Finally he grunted, raked another tree, and stepped ever so cautiously into an opening on the edge of the meadow just inside the shadows, but we could see him and his magnificent rack. Stan didn’t hesitate and shot him directly in the chest, the bull spun and Stan shot again before he disappeared back where he came from. We found a strong blood trail immediately, followed it about 100 yards before we came upon him still standing, though obviously not feeling well, in a small adjacent meadow. Stan put a finishing shot on him and the bull went down. What a magnificent trophy! I smeared my birch bark horn with a little blood, cut a notch in it, and gave it to Stan to remember how I called the bull in for him.

BC has a great junior hunter program that allows parents to take their kids hunting. It was time to stop being a hypocrite and take my own girls hunting. I tell hunters all the time that “Bears Rugs are Forever”. That taking a kid out bear hunting will give them the best hunting memories as it doesn’t matter how big the bear, a bear rug will stay with them forever. If you get them a small deer for their first game, the antlers will probably be relegated to a closet at best. But a bear rug is a great hunting trophy no matter the decor. When your kids go off to college, they will take the bear rug, when they get married, they will take the bear rug, and when you have grandkids, they will play on that bear rug.

Lonne #1 – 19-8/16″, 290lb (heaviest bear this spring)
Lonne #2 – 18-4/16″
Brandon – 18″
Jim – 19-13/16″
Rolly – 18-4/16″
Terry – 19-12/16″
Larry – 18-14/16″
Rolly #2 – 18-1/16″
Larry #2 – 19-7/16″
Don – 17-5/16″ (Archery)
Allen Jr – 18-14/16″
Allen Sr – 18″

We took 8 trophy bull moose over 40″ in 2009. The bull below was taken by Casey Jones, the next largest bull of the year that scored 175″ B&C. Nathan Brooks called this bull to within 3 yards of Casey at one point, but Casey patiently waited for a 30 yard shot that didn’t have a tree in the way.

We only took 8 spring black bear hunters in 2009, but every single one of them harvested a trophy bear over 6 feet long with a skull over 18″. Even bow hunter Jeff Nelson got his trophy after he made a great stalk and and a perfect shot.

Clint Johnson took the trophy 6 foot long – 18 5/16ths skull cinnamon bear in the photo below. His color phase was an exceptional trophy.