Our hunt was a good example of the excellent waterfowling opportunities available to visitors at Kaskattama Lodge, which has hosted waterfowlers from across the U.S. and Canada for more than three decades. The lodge was a favorite destination of the legendary outdoor writer Jimmy Robinson, who made annual goose hunting trips there throughout the 1970s.
Owned jointly by Smith and the husband-and-wife team of Charlie Taylor and Christine Quinlan, the lodge is built on the banks of the Kaskattama River at the far northeastern tip of Manitoba. The surrounding Kaskattama River Delta is a major staging area for geese from throughout the Hudson Bay region, offering waterfowlers the rare opportunity to bag several different species and subspecies of geese during a single hunt.
During my visit in mid-September, we began each day well before dawn by gathering in the comfortable main lodge, built on the foundation of a former Hudson Bay Company fur depot. After discussing our hunting plans over a huge breakfast, we departed with our guides for the morning goose hunt on the surrounding tundra.
On most mornings, we were shuttled in six-wheeled ATVs to permanent blinds located in a variety of productive hunting areas, from sandy beaches frequented by loafing geese to grassy meadows favored by feeding birds. When weather and tide conditions were favorable, we took the helicopter to hunt on the more distant tidal flats.
After a hearty lunch back at the lodge, we had the option of returning to the flats for more goose hunting or walking the surrounding tundra for willow ptarmigan. The lodge also offers afternoon fly-out trips for duck hunting on freshwater tundra ponds or trout fishing on miles of remote streams in the region. One sunny afternoon, I joined Mark Leese and John Pearsall on a combination fishing trip and sightseeing tour of the vast wilderness north of the lodge.
Tony kept the helicopter low as we followed the coastline, offering us a chance to observe wildlife below us. We had been in the air less than 10 minutes when we spotted the first polar bear, sprawled out like a huge white dog on the sandy beach. We saw at least a dozen more scattered along the next several miles of coastline, including a large female with two young cubs.
Weighing from 900 to 1,200 pounds as adults, polar bears rank among the world's largest land predators, along with the grizzly bear, African lion, and Bengal tiger. Given their great size and ferocious reputation, I was happy to view these formidable beasts from the safety of a helicopter. In addition to the bears, we also observed several moose, caribou, bald eagles, and spectacular concentrations of ducks, geese, swans, and shorebirds.