Your Experience
Arrival
Clients will arrive on Sundays, in time to sit down to a Maritime supper of steak, seafood, and homemade potato salad with homemade mayonnaise (a Harvey Station tradition).
This will be the perfect opportunity for us, your hosts, to get to know the hunters, share what your adventurous week will entail, and allow the you all (the hunters) to get to know each other. Not only can you expect to have a memorable hunt at Dead Bear Walking but an amazing week overall.
The Week
Sitting on the front porch, fresh coffee in hand, hearing nothing but the birds chirping and the rippling water will surely be an incredible way to start each day.
After a hearty breakfast of fresh eggs from our chicken coop or French toast with fresh homemade maple syrup, you can pick from many activities to keep you entertained until it’s time to hunt.
Activities include:
Baiting
Joining Mike as he baits the stands. See first-hand how it’s done! Tag along in the his truck or his wheeler to check baits and trail cameras. The country you will see during this time is amazing!
Fishing
Bring your pole and cast your line just steps from the lodge’s porch. The Northeast Dead Water Branch of the river connects to the river near the lodge as well, giving plenty of great spots to fish.
Harvey is a more than perfect spot for the casual and avid anglers. With 7 lakes and several rivers surrounding the area, it’s not hard to pick a spot to throw a line in. Mike may even know a secret spot or two that he will share with you!
It’s not uncommon to hook into a 16”-17” native brook trout or bass that weighs up to five pounds in the local lakes and rivers. Other local species include pickerel, white perch, yellow perch, Atlantic salmon, and landlocked salmon.
ATVing
You can start on the trails on our property and go for miles and miles! Spring, summer, and fall are beautiful in NB and there’s plenty to see while on the trails.
Sightseeing
The village of Harvey and surrounding areas are full of places to go to …visit the local businesses that have been in operation for over 100 years. Browse the shops such as The Gun Dealer- Canada’s largest display of guns, or The Kubbyhole’s wonderful selection of items made by local artisans (great place to find the perfect little gift to take home for your loved ones!)
Nature
Throughout the week we hope you take the opportunity to explore the surrounding woods/waters. With the lodge sitting on our private 100 acre property, there is plenty of area to walk without even leaving the grounds. A stroll through the woods, on the trails or by the water is not only amazing but the chances of seeing a beaver swimming around or a deer grazing in the fields are high.
The Cabin
Our clients enjoy relaxing on the porch. Regardless of the weather, the covered, screened in porch is the perfect gathering place. Enjoy great conversations, listening to the water flow by, and the sound of only nature surrounding you.If it’s a chilly day, relax in the living room area by the wood stove.
Meals
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You will love the eggs, as they are as fresh as can be. French toast and pancakes drizzled in maple syrup tapped by our family, home fries, bacon, toast, sausage, After an exciting or relaxing morning, whichever you prefer, a home cooked meal will await you. Each day’s meals will be homemade; you will experience Harvey traditions and recipes passed down through generations.
We are proud to offer hand raised meats- chicken and beef, wild meats such as moose and deer from our family hunting, vegetables from our gardens, homemade pickles/preserves, fresh rolls, and desserts made with hand-picked blueberries or rhubarb.
Hunting
With a full belly and ready to go, Mike, your guide, will take you to your stand which sits over an active bait. The baits are monitored by trail cameras on a regular basis. Mike will take you into the stand/blind and help you get situated.
With years of experience, Mike is hands down the best at picking spots to hunt. He is very dedicated when it comes to baiting, getting sites ready, and checking trail cameras. You can be assured that the ground blind/tree stand that he has chosen for you is an active bait with lots of action.
While you are hunting, enjoy the view! You will be situated surrounded by amazing wooded lands. Enjoy watching wildlife come and go (birds, squirrels, mink, weasels, and who knows what else!) and make sure to remember the moments, it can be truly breathtaking!
Legal hunting times vary throughout the seasons. At the end of the evening, Mike will promptly come back to get you and your gear and bring you back to the cabin.
Successful hunt!- You will call or text Mike and he will quickly be back in to get you and retrieve you animal. He is second to none when tracking the animals. You must remember, he has grown up in the woods, whether hunting himself or trapping, he knows his animals and their patterns! Your bear will be tagged and photos will be taken!
Your Trophy
Once you bear is found, tagged, and loaded, you will make your way back to the cabin. Upon arrival, your bear will be weighed and prepared for you to return home with it! Included in the cost of the hunt is having your animal skun with hide carefully and professionally removed, and the meat processed. We will promptly get it to the freezer and then help you pack it before you leave.
If you are interested in taking your bear to a butcher to have bone-in processing done, we can arrange that for you. This would be at an extra cost and would be need to be discussed with the butcher himself.. If you are curious about speaking to him prior to your hunt, click here.
We have an incredibly talented local taxidermist in the area. Many of our hunters choose to leave their hide here with him with plans on returning the following year to get it. Shipping arrangements can be made as well. Extra costs for taxidermist and shipping is to be discussed with him. Would you like to contact him before your trip to ask questions? Click here.
Arriving back at the lodge
After your you will return to the lodge and be served a light lunch. This will include a variety of home cooked items such as seafood chowder, submarine sandwich platters, chili, soups and biscuits and a taste of your harvest!
If not too late, the evenings can be enjoyed sitting around a camp fire, playing cards and socializing on the porch.
Your departure
By the end of the week, you will have seen and done many things that we as a family partake in all the time. You will catch a glimpse into our simple, self sufficient life style. By this time, we have gotten to know you well and look forward to staying in touch. To us, it’s about giving you an experience of a lifetime, it’s about making friends and not running high numbers of clients through each week. We want you to have a week full of adventure and memories to last forever!
The week will fly by quickly and Sunday morning after a delicious breakfast, we will say our’ see ya later’ ( not good bye) . Our clients who arrived the previous Sunday will leave as friends with remarkable stories to share and possibly will book a hunt for the following year or the lodge as a rental prior to leaving.