Big Cliff Posted January 20, 2009 Report Posted January 20, 2009 Well, I sure appreciate the review. So many of us only have the opportunity to take one trip like this a year and to have it wasted by an operator who doesn't give a ..... really isn't fair! I have only ever had the pleasure of dealing with one operator on Nippissing and believe me it was a pleasure, the service was fantastic, the prices fair, the accomodations couldn't have been better. I would love to go back there again for a weekend or better yet (for me anyway during the week). Anglers Haven Anyone else ever used them? Your comments?
Bernie Posted January 20, 2009 Report Posted January 20, 2009 Big Cliff, Marc at Anglers Haven is a friend of mine.We grew up in the same town and we both share a love for the lake and where we live. He has a good heart and is really good with people. Often stop by his place on my way out to my place and have a chat. He runs a good operation and has some good people working with him. He knows where the fish are.
Big Cliff Posted January 20, 2009 Report Posted January 20, 2009 You got that right Bernie, both he and his wife are super people and run a first class operation! In fact I have never been treated so well by any outfitter I have ever used!
johnnyb Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 I dont know if it's just me, but, this seems to be a different kind of "slag" post. Usually someone tears a guy up one side and down the other, then everyone gets in a big fight about it. This time, the criticism was harsh and direct, but not malicious, and so far everyone agrees. Wow. Just goes to show how bad service will kill ya.
mikemcmillan Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Anglers Haven is the place for me, I have not been out with Mark & Shelly for a couple of years (got our own place on the lake) They are great people and look after there guests like they have been your freinds for years. Put 3 of us and a hairy golden retriever in his biggest bungalow. Mark wouldn't let me pay for my son, he was 9 or 10 at the time and said kids are always free. I think Shelly's dad took us out once as well, very nice gentleman. I will some day go out with them again but I need to find the fish on Lake Cecebe first. Ha, Ha, this could take awhile though.
Big Cliff Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Well, so far there have been 1590 views of this thread. Will we put him out of business? Not likely! Will we save a lot of people money? I would like to think so. For every day he has an empty hut, he can thank himself and the way he treated his customers.
Rizzo Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 I'm with johnnyb on this one. Usually after a bad review some people step up to agree, but others stick up for the place in question...not this time apparently...which means it must be a truly horrendous operation.
FSNmachine Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Sucks when you put your time and money into and outfitter that doesn't give a crap next time try South Shore Ice Condos service is the best on the lake they will go outta their way to help you check in on you at least 3 times a day most days more than that Yes South Shore looked after us very well last year as well. They checked on us many times a day for bait and supplies and would even run into town if we needed anything.
duber Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 We went with Anglers Haven last time we were up and had a much better time.Good people,good accomadations and a few fish to boot. Snowfari called me up to rebook the next year too. I'll take up knitting first!
Lowe Rider Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 It's to bad about this place because you can see the potential for the business. The huts or bungalows seem to be of nice quality for what they are. I think he said he was a farmer and this is a hobby, so maybe he doesn't need the money. If you treat people better they will come back over and over, look at all the other outfitters getting great praise. Why? Customer Service, period.
boatman Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 It's to bad about this place because you can see the potential for the business. The huts or bungalows seem to be of nice quality for what they are. Actually, the huts were fine. We had no problems with the huts. It was the service and the lies that bothered us. I think he told us he was retired. Moved up from down south or something.
jimcassidy Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 I have a totally different opinion of snowfari. Last weekend was my fifth time in three years and again it was an amazing time. The wallies were off, but we had great success with the perch, pike and herring. I have always found the service excellent and the bungalows in great shape. I am a fan of the portables because it now gives the serious angler the chance to move around. I have even spent much longer there than I should on a Sunday, squeezing in every last possible minute of fishing I could. The owners were very accomidating, and in this man's opinion go above and beyond in customer service. I am sorry to hear some of these complaints because I never have any thing but the best time. The minnows are always of good quality, the owner will even give you GPS locations to some of his hot spots. I feel they try to provide an excellent service and experience. Its called fishing not catching
fishnpro Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) I think you`ve smoked one to many. Did you just join the forum today so you can defend this place from getting bashed?? It cant be that good of a place if you have all the customers complaining. I have buddies that have stayed there and said the same thing everyone else is saying. The fishing was lousy and so was the service. Edited January 21, 2009 by fishnpro
douG Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Welcome, jim78. It's great to have you aboard, and howdo, too. Where do you like to fish? Please share with us .
ctdd2006 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Although I appreciate a differing opinion.....your "first" post lessens the value of your opinion! As someone in the market for a trip I'd love proof. Snofari is still off my list of outfitters. Don't get me wroong....we all need a place to make our first post, but a "defence" post ain't the place to garner credentials. Sorry.
Zubris21 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 I wonder if word has gotten back to the owner/operator about this thread?? I've never fished Nippissing, and I've never booked with an outfitter, but based on this post and this post alone, I will steer clear for this business. Like others have said, usually there is a heated battle when customer service is disputed on this board. The simple fact that there has been no controversy up until now leads me to believe my money would be spent better else where. by the way will the outfitters still be operating out there in mid-late March?
tilly Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Gotta chime in and say that my buddy and I just returned from 4 days at snowfari...have to admit that it was my first time using an operator for ice fishing, actually a first time for proper ice fishing itself. Anyways, I had a blast up there...Ron was a nice enough guy; set us up with some good tips and locations, had no problems getting bait finding the fish. The cabin was awesome, had a good heater, sweet double cooking grill and a nice washroom attached to the side of the building. I suppose the only 'problem' was that we caught a single mudpuppy from the main hut, but driving to the other locations was no problem, actually nice to get out of the hut and onto the open lake.
richyb Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Is it just me or is the whole point of going to an operator and paying money is so that you have a hut to sit in for the day ? I wouldnt be paying to go and sit on the ice. I can do that for free.
Disspatcher Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 There is no doubt his website is great, the Bungalows are top notch too! The problem is effort IMO.He plants the bungalows just off shore. Early ice maybe ok for fish but later on they move. Other operations try and move with the fish. His excuse EVERY year is that the ice crack is too big to move the huts out to the hot spots. He may offer to take you there, but thats not why you spend $1600 bucks for the bungalow. If that were the case, Id rather rent a cottage for the weeknd and venture out to the hot spots each day. Only good thing, when the mudpuppies stop biting,,,there is always the Moe-Zee-On Inn to kill a few hours!
Jer Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 To be fair, we had no issues with the quality of the bungalow. Biggest problem with the place is he just plunks his bungalows just offshore (sounds like the same spot every year, very handy for him I guess) and then expects you to drive yourself out on the lake to his "adventure" huts (they're an adventure alright) for any possibility of catching a fish. The water was 12 of mud where our bungalow was last year. He made no excuses about why the bungalows were where they were, that's just the way he did things. Hard to say he couldn't get his huts out due to ice conditions and then send you out on your own in your car. He offered no alternative if someone wasn't comfortable driving their vehicle on the ice, nor did he mention anything about offering no transportation when we booked. It was about -20C when we were there and the one day we did follow him out to the "adventure" huts with my buddy begrudgingly behind the wheel of his minivan. These huts were tiny little 6' x 6' jobbys with no seats, awkward holes right in the corners crusted over with about 2" of ice that Ron neglected to bust out or leave us with anything to do so, strict orders from Ron not spill any snow on the floor??, a propane burner that Ron neglected to light for us or ask if we might have a lighter or any matches (which we did but it was too cold to get it to burn). By the time we figgered all this out, Ron was gone, also neglecting to leave us any minnows. We didn't bother with the hut (I think it was colder inside than out) and went and jigged a few holes that some other guys were just leaving. We stuck it out for a couple hours, managed one slot size pickerel and headed back to the bungalow once our beer started freezing faster than we could drink it. Great service Ron offers. (insert sarcasm) Wouldn't be so bad if you knew what to expect heading up and have all the gear for your own adventure (sleds, augers, portables, etc) and just use the bungalow as a HQ (and pay accordingly). This isn't what we expected having been to a lot of different operators over the years.
Clampet Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) Here's what you do (all of us). Go to their website. There is a provision to send them an e-mail under the heading: Contact Us. You may choose to include this entire thread by clicking on the weblink located at the top of your web browser, and highlighting it then pressing the "Ctrl and C key simultaneously to copy the thread, then paste it in the body of the message box (Ctrl & V) keys. Contact Snowfari Adventures Name: Email Address: Subject: Snowfari Adventures Web Response Your message: Send a copy to myself: Edited January 21, 2009 by Clamp-it
Cast-Away Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 I wonder if Jim78 on page #2 is actually the owner of the operation? Can the mods check the email address on this account? The reply sounds to mushy to me.
forrest Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Here's what you do (all of us).Go to their website. There is a provision to send them an e-mail under the heading: Contact Us. You may choose to include this entire thread by clicking on the weblink located at the top of your web browser, and highlighting it then pressing the "Ctrl and C key simultaneously to copy the thread, then paste it in the body of the message box (Ctrl maybe & V) keys. Contact Snowfari Adventures Name: Email Address: Subject: Snowfari Adventures Web Response Your message: Send a copy to myself: Why do something unproductive like that copy/paste? A link would suffice or maybe the google ranking is good enough. Even better, an email to Jim78
fishinggeek Posted January 21, 2009 Report Posted January 21, 2009 Thanks for this thread. Another establishment that doesn't cater to their customers it seems. I'll scratch it off my list.
Recommended Posts