Welcome to Wistaria Guiding. Our guiding area is located along the northern shore of Ootsa Lake, which borders the Tweedsmuir Provincial Parkshore in beautiful British Columbia. We provide some of the worlds greatest big game hunting, fishing, and upland bird hunting. We offer Mountain Goat, Moose, Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Wolf, Upland Bird hunting and excellent fishing. You have a choice to either hunt each species alone or combine it with a Moose, Grizzly, Black Bear, or Wolf. If sightseeing or photography is your passion, you've come to the right place for that too! Contact us today and let's start putting your vacation together.

Picture flying into a camp nestled in a valley with pristine mountain moose meadows. This remote area offers excellent record book hunting. Here hunting is done by backpacking into the high country. This area requires a person to be in reasonably good physical condition.

From our main camp, hunting is done on foot, boats, 4x4's, and four-wheelers. Whatever your personal preference, we try to accommodate you. We provide the expertise of three generations of guiding experience and pioneers of the area since the 1920's. This area gets little hunting pressure and also offers record book trophy animals. From your camp you can hear the call of a moose or pick out your goat on the slopes above.

At our main camp, you will sleep in a large rustic log cabin and hunt from our front door. It sits on the shore of a small lake in the hill country. The cooks and guides stay in a smaller log cabin where you will be treated to delicious home cooking and good conversation.

We are a small family run business and provide the expertise of three generations of guiding experience in this area. We work hard to guide you to a memorable hunt. For more information and to obtain a price on your package, please contact us.

Opatcho Lk. Outfitters offers big game hunting adventures in the heart of BC’s prime wilderness. Specializing in quality Canadian Moose hunting, Black Bear hunts, Grizzly Bear, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer and Wolf hunts. Our guiding territory is rich in hunting heritage under the former guide outfitters “Fred Colebank and Ralph Maida” offering first class British Columbia hunts for over 50 years. The present Outfitter “Ken Watson” has extensive knowledge of the area having worked with Fred and Ralph for the last 21 years.

Our 2500 sq mile area has one of the highest moose populations in North America. We have hundreds of lakes, swamps and three major river drainages that form a perfect moose habitat. Average bulls range from 40 to 50 inches.

Opatcho Lake Outfitters has a very healthy Grizzly Bear population. Only recently have we been given a limited number of tags. Most bears are shot in higher alpine areas but some are also harvested in the lower elevations.

At Opatcho Lake we are extremely successful hunting black bears with both rifle and archery equipment. Our territory varies from river bottoms, agricultural lands (which green up first) to high elevation country and alpine. This means we always have excellent hunting conditions. All hunting is done by “spot and stalk”, hunting old roads, burns and clear cuts.

Our Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer are usually hunted in the lower elevation part of the area. Many live on the agricultural lands and river bottoms. We hunt along the rivers by drift boat and jet boat as well as by still hunting and spot & stalk.

Our beautiful main Lodge is situated on the shores of crystal-clear Opatcho Lake. This lake is full of trophy size rainbow trout with some exceeding the 10 pound range. Our hunters stay in comfortable log cabins and enjoy our hearty home cooked meals. Real hot showers and a sauna are just a few of the amenities to mention in our fully equipped base camp.

At Vancouver Island Hunts we offer Spring and Fall Black Bear hunts, Roosevelt Elk hunts, Cougar hunts, Blacktail Deer hunts and Wolf trapline hunts.

Vancouver Island Hunts Ltd. (formerly known as NWT Outfitters Ltd.) is owned and operated by Eric and Lorna Mikkelson. We made the name change so that hunters looking for a premier destination for Black Bear hunts or Roosevelt Elk hunts can find us more easily on the Internet.

For the past 16 years, hunting outfitter Eric Mikkelson has dedicated all his efforts to the outfitting industry and his guiding business. Vancouver Island Hunts Ltd. has the exclusive right to guide non-resident hunters within the boundaries of our 3000 square mile guide area in the northwest quadrant of Vancouver Island, B.C.

The remoteness of our guide area on Vancouver Island, B.C., coupled with sudden weather changes and unexpected animal movements make challenges inevitable. Guide outfitting is an art, not a science. Authentic fair chase hunting involves strategies and plans that are likely to change at a moment's notice. From the true sport hunter's perspective, this is more about mental conditioning than physical stamina and will always require some flexibility.

We are very conservative on all the species we harvest, we spare no expense when it comes to equipment and support services, and we want you, the hunter, to be successful just as much as you do.

We measure our success by our clients' success, and the quality of game animal our guide area provides them.

Please Also View OUR NWT Hunts