Michigan Sportsmen’s Web

Hunting and Fishing Product and Service Reviews

We have had many request from our visitors for reviews on products and services from the world of hunting and fishing. So here it is! We will field test a product, stay at a resort, hunt with an outfitter or fish with a charter service and give you our opinion. Visit often to read our reviews. Do you have a product or service you would like to have reviewed? Just drop us an email and we will contact you for details! For each item we review there is a link to their website (if they have one) if they do not have one a contact phone number will be listed. Have you had a bad experience with an outfitter, resort, guide, or hunting/fishing product? Register on the site and then click on the comment box to add your own review.

Resort Reviews

Papin’s Log Cabin Resort ~ Drummond Island, Michigan Last October we stayed at Papins Resort. The accommodations are log cabins located either on Scott’s Bay, Fairview Cove or the Maxton Plains. We stayed in the Scott’s Bay area of the resort and were truly satisfied. The cabins are clean, and supplied with dishes, pots and pans, linens and clean towels. The craftmanship of the woodwork inside the cabins is a must see. Hunting on the Island includes: deer, bear, woodcock, rabbit, ducks and geese and grouse. Fishing includes: perch, northerns, walleye, bass, cisco and salmon. The view of the Bay is spectacular and your hosts Ron and Bonnie Papin are wonderful. The prices of lodging ranges from $300 per week to $850 per week.

---

Fishing Charter Reviews

In the Red Fishing Charters ~ Port Sanilac, Michigan In the Red Fishing Charters offers fishing trips for Salmon, Laketrout, Steelhead and Walleyes. Captain Jeff Parker was our guide for our half day King Salmon Fishing Trip. We went out on Cpt Parker’s 26′ Sea Ray Amberjack. Even though the day we planned our trip turned out to be a nasty day (weather wise) Captain Parker took us out and gave us a fishing trip to remember! This is the first time I had ever fished for the King Salmon and what a treat it was, when he hollered fish on, the fight was on! For the experience or the inexperienced fisherman, booking a trip with In the Red Fishing charters is money well spent! Rates are as follows: Rates are based on a party of up to 4 people, up to 2 more can be added at an additional cost of $ 75 per person. A $ 75 deposit is required to hold a date, a receipt will be issued and the deposit is refundable if notice of cancellation is received within 72 hours of the charter. 1/2 day (5 Hrs.): $ 375.00 - Most requested charter - Full Day: (8 Hrs.) $ 550.

---

Outfitter Reviews

Lucky Strike Hunting Guide Service ~ Drummond Island, Michigan On one of our trips to Drummond Island for our annual week long bowhunt we met up with Brett Johnson, owner of Lucky Strike charter and hunting guide service. He offers guiding service for bear, deer, and duck hunting. We have not used his services for the bear hunting yet, but hear that his success rate is over 90%. His deer hunts work as follows: Pay a visit to his store, let him know if you are just deer hunting or buck hunting. Whether it be firearm or archery season you choose ground blind or tree stand (you provide the stand) , with archery he guarantees a 15 yard shot and with firearm he guarantees a 100 yard shot.-Doe $100.00-Bucks $200.00 per stand. Our deer success rate with Brett over the past 5 years has been 99%. One of the great aspects of his service is if he puts you in a spot and you don’t get any deer activity he will move you to another spot. I guarantee you will be a happy customer with Lucky Strike Guide Service!

---

Product Reviews

Deer Cart This item has proven to be a handy item in the woods hauling out your deer…but….if you are hauling over logs, stumps or rough terrain this cart does have a tendency to tip and turn over. Our suggestion to improve this cart is to add a third wheel to one of the ends of the cart this would keep the cart from tipping and falling over so much and would help balance the load.

String Trackers My experience with the string tracker has been that the string has never (for me) stayed with the deer the entire time after being shot. It has either broke, slid off the arrow or in the case where the arrow does not pass through and the deer pulls out the arrow so goes your string tracker. On the upside I have found the string tracker to be an invaluable tool. Some of the shots I have had have not produced a good blood trail for the first 30 or so yards, during this time the string tracker puts you on the trail of which way the deer ran through the woods, by the time the arrow is pulled out or the string breaks you usually have a good blood trail. I for one will not go without my string tracker. You can find these at most sporting goods shops.

PSE Bow - Nova Model with the Mossy Oak camo pattern This was my second bow purchase. My first bow was a Browning. Being a short woman the PSE offered a good bow at a reasonable price, that had a shorter draw length and lower poundage options. I shoot 40 pounds and find this bow very easy to draw back, not heavy to carry through the woods and has been very accurate in the shooting lanes and in the woods. I would recommend this bow to any woman or to a parent looking for a lighter weight bow for a child.

Portable Treestand Blind This blind is very easy to use. You bolt 4 holders into the corners of your treestand, after hanging the stand you unroll the blind and insert the sticks into the 4 holders and then you push it out. I conceals the hunter well as you can see in the photo to the right. When using this product this year I could move my feet around with deer only 9 yards away from me and they never noticed the movement. I had lost parts to this blind last year, when I called the company I had no trouble getting another set of hardware. This item is very reasonable with a cost right around $29.95. I would highly recommend this item to the treestand hunter desiring a little more concealment. Found at D&R Sports

This is a photo of the blind in use. It breaks up most of the hunter that is in the tree.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS