Can anyone tell me about the whitetail hunting near the Dryden, Ontario area. Do you have to go further west to get into some real good whitetail habitat? Also, what is the mix of private vs. Crown land in that part of the province? Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Tough I hunted up there a few years ago.

Most outfitters use bait piles.

Still hunting is very hard huge areas of very thick woods. I have a friend with a square mile of property 2 miles from Dryden.

In a week of hard hunting I could have shot a small 6 pointer.

We saw a couple of big boys run across in front as we were traveling.

Hunting the clear cuts is the most productive but the terrain even makes that hard.

So unless you have some one run some bait piles for you it is a very tough hunt.

Go with an outfitter expect to be sitting on a bait pile for many hours of the day.

I decided it wasn't worth while to go back deer hunting. I could go any time I wanted and hunt my friends property.

There is also hundreds of square miles of crown land but what one to hunt?

thanks p dog: So would you say its similar to bait hunting in Saskaschwan? And how about deer population: sounds like very low? Did you hunt the pre-rut or prime of rut? Did you see much buck sign, i.e. scrape activity and rubs? thanks

I’ve hunted Dryden area twice, and Kenora area once. All diy. Like p dog said, woods are very thick in Dryden zone. Clear cuts are large. More farms than Kenora. Always saw a ton of deer, they are as tame as a northwoods partridge in many cases. Biggest bucks I saw were in fields I was driving by on private land. Couldn’t hunt on private w/o permission. I never shot anything, but had plenty of opportunity on bucks up close and personal! Lots of Crown land both areas. I would drive west probably 10-12 miles from Dryden, and then head north into Crown land. Get the “Crimestoppers Map” for that area. Crown - Private boundaries are easily delineated with those maps. I still hunted mostly, with some sitting. Land outside of Kenora is more hilly and ridges. But visibility in woods there was better. Too old now, bad knees, if I went back I’d go to Dryden and pay for the heated stand over bait pile experience. Look up Bonny Bay Camps. He did a great job for my friend. If I was younger and more nimble I’d choose Kenora area. Plenty of services in Dryden. Local radio tells you daily what time your rifle has to be cased, got a kick out of that. Carry a gun sock with you. If you’re in the woods at end of legal shooting, the sock qualifies as a case.

great info ground-tender. Thanks much.