Dave McLellan has spent his autumns hunting the shorelines, fields and woodlots of Prince Edward Island for geese, ducks, Hungarian partridge and grouse since boyhood; and springs and summers fishing the province’s rivers, estuaries and ponds for sea run speckled trout and salmon.  His affinity for the outdoors is a central focus of his life, a fact showcased when he was featured in Outdoor Canada as one of the top five goose guides in Canada.
 
That is what he brings to his outfitting business - knowledge and experience - and a sincere desire to share both with like minded hunters and anglers.  Combine these attributes with his team of qualified and licensed guides - and your hunting or angling expedition with "Dave's Hunting & Fishing" is bound to be a memorable experience.
 
Prince Edward Island is by far Canada's smallest Province. With its points stretching east and west, it beckons migrating waterfowl to the richest feeding and staging area in the eastern Atlantic flyway.

It has become one of the best destinations in Canada to bag a Canada goose and the prized black duck when the birds stop in for refueling on their southward migration from nesting grounds in Newfoundland and Labrador.The Island lies in the direct path of the Atlantic Flyway ; and for years , that has meant great and easily accessible goose and duck hunting in the fields and shoreline of Prince Edward Island.
 
Prince Edward Island farmers plant about 100,000 acres in potatoes each year. Migrating geese have the harvest leftovers in those fields to nosh on; as well as another 200,000 acres in rotation planted in corn, soybeans, barley to pick from for a fill-up feed on their way south.
 
Dave McLellan hand-picks likely fields and leases hunting privileges from farmers. About six weeks prior to season opening in early October, McLellan and his guides are out and about scouting the countryside, looking for signs the migration has started and the birds have been feeding in particular fields; then putting in blinds - pit blinds dug out of the sandy red soil and semi-pits. Concealment is key to success in field hunting. On bluebirdy days, wary old honkers leading a flock can spot a candy wrapper or anything else out of the ordinary from miles away.

Dave uses a variety of decoys to entice the birds within shooting range, everything from "stuffers" to Avery's flocked decoy (of which Dave is an Avery certified outfitter) depending on the weather and wind.
 
Dave's hunting parties are in position well before sunrise. Black ducks sometimes are the first to buzz the decoy set, even before the sun peeks over the horizon. Often they present early morning passing shots to tune up the reflexes. Within the first hour of legal shooting time, the first flight of Canadas usually makes an appearance; coming off the nighttime resting place out on the water. That's when the adrenalin begins to pump. The sound of the call mingles with answers from the flock as the birds respond, coming nearer until the guide calls the shot as the birds swing into the decoy set. It is the thoroughness with which Dave McLellan sets about his task of bringing goose to gun that sets him apart from other outfitters on PEI. Through the years ,he has developed that intuitive quality locally known as " goose sense " - an uncanny ability to analyse weather and other elements influencing goose behaviour to predict the movement of these magnificent birds.
 
While the major attraction to waterfowl hunting on Prince Edward Island is undoubtedly the prevalence of Canada geese and black ducks, the assortment of ducks resident or passing through the province is a prime attraction by itself, or as an add - on to fill out the day after goose limits have been bagged.  We've got tremendous variety - on our saltwater shores, in our ponds and rivers, and feeding in our grain fields.  The salt water dwellers include the magnificent Eider, several types of merganser, buffleheads, long tail ducks, scaup and golden eye.  The dabblers and divers provide the most inviting quarry, and without question the mighty and very wary American Black Duck tops the list. Many are local residents nesting and  raising their broods alongside teal and wood duck in the many farm and fishing ponds that dot the landscape. They provide the bulk of early season shooting. But real duck hunting devotees wait every season for the flights of what we call "northern redlegs" wafting down from Newfoundland and Labrador. These are the big males of the nesting couples, sporting their characteristic reddish hued legs and feet. They move farther north after the breeding time before migrating down the flyway just ahead of winter blows.

Bag limits are generous, with some restrictions on specific species as a conservation measure.