The Return of Summer

What a difference some sunshine makes! During our first week (we call our 5-day trips weeks because, well, just because it’s easier) of operations, there were precious few times when the rays of the intense sub-arctic sun hit the faces of our anglers in their boats or the backs of our pike in their bays. That changed in Week 2 and so did the fishing. It was a fantastic week on Scott Lake and our 18 fly out lakes with some amazing individual days.

Trophy Fishing is Heating Up!

Let’s start with a day that John Heinmiller will never forget. John and his wife Julie have a cabin in northern Minnesota where big pike do fall into nets now and then, but nothing prepared him for the experience of having ten pike over 40” end up in his guide’s boat in a single day. These weren’t skinny pike with length and no body. These were healthy, battling fish with substantial girths, one topping out at 46”. That’s a good day of fishing. Peggy Light had two incredible days of fishing. On her first day of the trip she got a 45” pike with four more trophy pike. On her second day she bagged a six-pack of pike with another 45. Mike Rogers and Jameson Viljaste were a two-man wrecking crew, getting 30 of the 147 (that’s a big number) of trophy pike caught this week. They have some destroyed spinners as mementos.

Along with some enchanting sunsets (around midnight), wonderful shore lunches, lots of bear sightings, dozens of loon, eagle and osprey sightings, those fish plus a few big lake trout and grayling created some powerful memories. Few more powerful though than the ones fueled by the images of four-feet, yes 48 inches, of beautiful pike in your guide’s hands. Bob Noble, after over 50 years of fishing throughout Canada, now as that memory. It was his biggest ever. Joe Daugherty equaled his personal best, also caught at Scott, with his 48” pike, caught on his fly rod no less. It was Joe’s 40th trip to Scott (he’s not that old—he just comes to Scott more than once a season, a smart man). Will they ever beat those marks? We might find out next season because like many of the other Week 2 guests they will be back in 2018 for more.

We are off to a great start in 2017. Our thanks to our Week 2 guests for making the trip north.