This hunting guide outfitter review is for NANIKA GUIDING Ltd. whose base of operation is located at Francois Lake in northwestern British Columbia, CANADA.
The guiding territory reaches from Francois Lake on the most eastern point to the continental divide between the interior of British Columbia and the coastal area of British Columbia. There is 40% of the territory that are accessible by vehicle and 60% of the territory that are accessible by float plane or hiking.
Nanika Guiding is a family owned and operated business with every member of the family assisting is one way or another. Nanika Guiding has been in business since 1948 and boasts a 70% client return rate.
Nanika Grizzly
1. Cost or Value
ALL COSTS (this is the truth) even government tags and stuff are included in the price quoted.
Jim told me he doesn’t put his prices on the Internet site because he wants to talk to the hunter. I respect that approach and will honor it.
The price and packages will get me up at his place soon. He’s more than fair with the fare. The VALUE is every bit at Nanika Guiding. I can’t stress enough that Nanika offers a very high bang for the buck! 5/5
2. Availability
We have spoken with Jim many times. Jim is an agile emailer and very, very easy to talk to on the phone. He knows his business. 5/5
3. References
I think Jim Tourond is either related to or bribed all his references. JUST KIDDING–We spoke with multiple clients of his and everyone loves Jim and his outfit. I can’t imagine better references. Give us a call and we’d be happy to tell you what we know: 801-613-2327
I spoke with hunters who hunted, moose, goat,
black bear,
grizzly bear and maybe more. Oh yeah, and fishing!
5/5 (the best)
4. Comfort
Nanika Guiding offers several types of accommodations depending on the specific hunt.
They also have 7 remote locations for hunts and the accommodations vary from a small cabin to a tent camp.
All the food is taken with the hunt group to remote camps. Camp cooked meals are hot and personal and a high priority of Jim’s. I think he spoils his hunters.
Some of their remote camps are only accessible by ATV’s and others are fly-in only.
I get the feeling Jim is so accommodating he’ll take you anywhere but closer to the main camp may be more luxurious and further away gives you and Jim more options trophy wise. For ranking sake–4/5 and maybe 5/5.
One of Nanika's many locations
5. Species Hunted/Trophy Quality
To maintain trophy quality harvest, the outfitter (Jim Tourond) is very selective on how many hunters he allows to hunt a particular area. This solidifies the chances of having a trophy hunt. The only exception to trophy or large animals may be the moose harvested. However hunter satisfaction in almost perfect.
Black Bear————Medium to large and lots of them (5’6″ to 6’6″). ‘sounds like a small one can get in the way of a big one. 4/5
Nanika black bear - they shoot nice bears!
Moose—————-Lots of moose, perfect moose habitat. Perhaps not the giant huge size–however I think with a “fly in” hunt, time and some luck Jim has jumbo moose (35″ to 50″). These are Canadian moose not the smaller Shiras or the larger Alaskan Yukon moose. Nanika’s moose measure up well with and have smaller palms and longer tine length instead of wider palms and shorter tine length like the Alaskan Yukon moose. Best chance to get a real trophy for the dollar I’ve ever seen. Check out the pictures of Jim’s moose with this review. You can choose how aggressive to be as a hunter and Jim will cater to you. My suggestion is to get off your bum and on the stair stepper and go on this hunt THIS YEAR!! 4/5
45" spread. Notice the difference in antlers from the moose below.
46.5" Moose
Mountain Grizzly——-Good supply of the big bear but they’re still grizzlies–hard to find and to me the ultimate trophy (mature males). 4/5 (I hedge on a 5/5)
Very nice grizzly
Mountain Goat———can’t think of one bad or sad thing to say about his goats. Hard hunt and lots of goats (8.5″ to world record!). The way it should be. Do the “fly in”. 5/5 plus
Nanika Goat
Fishing (for relaxation)-It’s sad but I’m not much of a fisherman. It sounds like there’s lake and stream stuff and lots of it.
I guess this category is 20/25 or 4/5 on average—that’s pretty stinking good and way better than average!!
6. Hunting Area
Nanika Guiding hunting territory is 1250 square miles. The area is mostly government land with very little private land. Some camps are only accessible by ATV or fly-in. I find it difficult to even try and speak of Jim’s area as one area. Its, HUGE, varied, covered with bogs, lakes, streams, mountains, and much more.
Some of the area has been conveniently logged and roaded, other is extremely remote.
With moose you have lots of choice and the price varies accordingly. The rest of the species, Jim will take you where you need to go. 5/5
Nanika Falls
7. Hunting Success/Season
Black Bear – Each hunter is allowed 2 bear per season due to the heavy bear population. The Spring and Fall hunts are 99% successful. The hunts are spot and stalk.
Moose Hunting – Moose hunting season is from September 10th to November 15th. The moose hunt package is 6 days and takes place at the remote camp at Nanika Lake, which is accessible only by plane. By the way that’s one of the moose hunts. There are several other including very exclusive 1-2 person per year areas. HINT HINT!!!!
Mountain Grizzly – Nanika Guiding offers a 12 day Spring or Fall Mountain Grizzly Hunt.
Mountain Goat – This is a 6 day fly-in hunt which occurs during from the middle of August to the middle of September.
Combination Hunts – A 10 day hunt combining Moose and Black Bear.
Grizzly bears are grizzly bears and do not have an extremely high success rate but I think that’s the species not the area. Jim has a lot of big bears and the grizzly hunter needs to hunt and pray for some luck. His other offerings, moose, goats and black bears I think with the appropriate effort on the hunters part will get the hunter way satisfied. 5/5
8. Hunting Style
Nanika has spot and stalk, roading, walking, climbing, backpacking, boating and likely more methods of hunting. No bow hunters. I’d say Jim is a little old fashion,(don’t tell Fred Bear)(or Ted Nugent), and honest, and I, for one, like it!!
5/5 for the honesty and 1/5 for the poor bow only hunters among us.
Here are a couple of categories that we thought might be helpful for this review…..
Location/Travel
There are two ways for clients to reach Nanika Guiding.
The first way is the fastest and most direct, commercial aircraft from Vancouver (YVR). Vancouver BC is accessed by international flights from all over the United States and the rest of the world. Most flights into Vancouver can be booked to connect to the flight north to Smithers BC. Nanika Guiding staff will meet the flight and transport you to our base at Francois Lake BC, an 80 mile trip.
The second way and the most popular are by public road system. “Many of our hunters drive from various parts of the United States to our base at Francois Lake”.
“fly in” hunts make Jim’s area accessible. If the cost is additive, with a flight, I feel it’s only gas, and is worth the extra, when indicated. Especially for moose and goats. 5/5
Animal Quantity
Several of the guided hunts provided by Nanika only allow 1 hunter per hunt. This preserves the quantity of animals to be hunted hence the quota type area. Which is a tiny part of Jim’s whole area.
Nanika is a great, better than average area for most of what British Columbia is famous for. If you’re after great trophies Nanika is hard to beat. 4/5
Family Friendly
Very family friendly environment with examples of 14 year-old boys hunting with their Dads. Family owned and run. Caters to whomever. Jim’s family will tend to adopt you and your family. 5/5
NANIKA GUIDING IS JIM OWNED AND RUN BY HIS FAMILY. I LIKE THE OUTFIT AND THEIR BUSINESS. ‘CAN’T WAIT TO GET UP THERE!!!
We feel comfortable talking about Jim’s business and would love to chat with you about his outfit or any of the many others we’ve visited.
801-372-6166
Go to outfitter reviews for an explanation of how we rank outfitters.
