by Jason | Jun 11, 2011 | 2011 Season
We are up and running this season with a single mission; to make this the greatest season in our history. With a veteran group of guides, a fresh look in the kitchen (which is humming along flawlessly), the island in top notch shape, and the fly-outs open and ready to go, we are off to a great start meeting that mission.
We are 100% full for the season with nearly 100 more anglers than 2010. We thank all of our guests, returning and new alike in achieving such a remarkable goal. We will not disappoint, you expect the best and we’ll provide it.
See you at the dock!
by Jason | Jun 5, 2011 | 2011 Pre-Season
I can’t begin to express how nice it is to get back to the island. Myself and small, excited crew touched down on Scott Lake on the first of June to temperatures in the 70’s. The ice had retreated enough around the island to just get the Beaver down and to the dock. Since then, 18 round trips with the Beaver has brought in groceries, fuel, supplies, pop, and of course the beer. At 1300 lbs a trip, the crew have been kept rather busy, smiling the entire time. With all of our supplies in place, we are turning to preparing the island and boats for the arrival of our first group of guests on the 10th.
While the weather had cooled down considerably, some steady winds have beat the ice back to almost completely open water. The forecast looks great for the following week, the lake will be wide open, and the fly outs will be ready to go. I am looking forward to having guests back on the island and running the finest fishing program on the continent. The 10th can’t come quick enough.
See everyone on the dock!
by Jason | May 17, 2011 | 2011 Pre-Season
Ice Report
The temperatures at Scott Lake have been warmer than normal this spring, to say the least. At this writing Stony Rapids hit a high of just under 80 degrees, far warmer than here in Bozeman MT, about 1100 miles south. Since there is no one at Scott right now, we can only assume that the wonderfully unseasonable weather has visited the lodge. The long term forecast is cooler but still well above average: the only ice our first group coming in on June 10th should see will be the cubes in their favourite drinks. The stage for an early ice out was set months ago when the heavier than normal snow cover provided an insulating cover and prevented the formation of our typical six to seven feet of ice. We love these “no drama” springs.
Staff Retreat
From April 22-27th most of the Scott Lake guide staff and the departmental managers got together for the annual “get ready for the season” company meeting/fishing trip in Chilliwack, British Columbia. This beautiful city, surrounded by mountains, is next to the mighty Frasier River, a river on par with the Columbia. And a river with massive sturgeon. While the trip was a pre-season planning session which helped integrate some new staff members to the team, sturgeon fishing was the daytime activity. And daytimes were busy. Catches of two dozen sturgeon per boat per day were common, with some true monsters landed. A lot of fish over five feet were boated and there were several that stretched the tape to nearly seven feet. Scott guides love big fish and the Frasier did not disappoint. This type of fishing can’t replace the excitement of sight casting to savage pike but it is just plain fun. And since it’s hands-free bottom fishing there was ample opportunity for beverage consumption. Suffice to say the crew had a great time. They are primed for a wonderful 2011 season.
New Chef in Town
One of the anglers at the event was our new Head Chef, Robert Rose. After a Canada-wide recruiting effort, lodge General Manager John Gariepy landed his trophy of the season—a Red Seal Certificate (the highest professional level in Canada) chef with a powerhouse resume. Rob, as he would rather be called, recently was a chef at one of Canada’s finest restaurants, the Church Restaurant and Belfry in Stratford, Ontario, a CAA four diamond rated establishment. He has also worked at Langdon Hall in Cambridge, Ontario, a five diamond restaurant listed at one of San Pellegrino’s Top 100 restaurants worldwide. With working history in the organic foods industry, Robert brings a lot to the Scott Lake Lodge table. He has a passion for local products and will add a distinctive Canadian flavour to his offerings. But with considerable experience with classic French cuisine he will probably slip in some continental delights now and then. We are delighted that Rob will head up the kitchen staff at Scott, making your next trip not only a world class fishing experience but a dining one as well.
Thanks to the Class of 2011
We are back! After a tough 2010 it looks like 2011 will be a 100% sold out season. Out of 360 available spots we have bookings for 354. We will sell out. If you want to grab one of those final tickets give Tom KIein a call or email ASAP. You can reach him at 406/539-5245 or tom@scottlakelodge.com We thank all of our customers for giving us the opportunity to provide a trip of a lifetime—again.
by Jason | Nov 9, 2010 | Guides
Our guide team is an assembled cast of professionals spanning from New Brunswick to Saskatchewan and down to Costa Rica. One thing ties them all together – their love of all things outdoors. After the season the crew spread to their respective corners of the world plying their passion in the form of fishing, and even farming. Here is a brief update on what they are doing.
Ken Johnson
Since the close of the season, Ken has been busy working the phones and emails for Scott Lake booking the next round of guests for the 2011 season. In his meager spare time, Ken has been able to get out into the boat for some walleye and pike fishing, as well as doing some hunting. Ken shot this moose two weeks ago and has since (understandably) put on a few pounds.
Cory Craig
Cory spent some time with his family in the Winnipeg area where he introduced his youngest, daughter Kaya, to fishing. Cory and his family then returned home to Costa Rica where he owns and operates Tropic Fins adventures. If anyone is interested in a salt water adventure this winter contact Cory through his website at www.tropicfins.com
Jan Phoenix
Jan has returned to Whitehorse, YT for some fall fishing and hunting. Pike, grayling, and coho salmon have been his target since getting home as well as hunting of all sorts. Jan recently shot this bull moose and on the way home afterwards he managed to pick up a few grouse as well.
Steve Yanish
Steve returned home to Yorkton, SK after the season and was drawn along with his dad, maintenance manager Gerry Yanish, and brother for moose in their area. After a few days hunting they all managed to fill their tags and their freezers.
Curtis Woloshyn
Not all fun and games for everyone after the season. But Curtis did jump into another one of his passions – helping harvest on the family farm. It was a great year for crops for them and I’m sure that Curt will get his fill of some whitetail hunting yet this fall.
Graham Coulombe
First year guide Graham is no stranger to the outdoors. While most of his time has been spent renovating his cabin this fall, he and his girlfriend did manage to get her her very first black bear.
Matt Cornell
Almost as soon as the fishing season is over it’s time for the waterfowl migration and upland bird hunting. Matt guides for fowl every season when he is done at Scott and by all accounts this one was especially good. Here he is after a morning hunt with a bag limit for everyone in his group.
Cody Mychalyshyn
First year guide in training Cody has been in Northern Manitoba guiding for caribou and lake trout. One of the highlights of his time was having a polar bear wander into camp and get tranquilized for relocation.
Chester Porteous
Chester has had a busy off-season so far guiding for ducks and geese, walleye fishing, and recently getting his daughter her first whitetail, a beautiful 11 point buck. Chester and myself (General Manager John Gariepy) got away for some walleye fishing in Saskatchewan this fall and we both caught our personal best walleye cranking on open water.
Paul Hamilton
Paul has been keeping busy between renovations on his house and getting out for some hunting and fishing. Paul joined myself and Chester in the boat one night cranking walleye on the river at Tobin Lake. Paul caught this beauty just before midnight.
by Jason | Sep 16, 2010 | 2010 season, Island Life
The “After Season”, that wonderful time after the last group of guests head south and before fall turns into winter, started a lot earlier this year. The last guests left on August 15th. The shorter season, while unfortunate, gave our shut down crew an opportunity to get a lot of work done.
The 2010 season was recession challenged. For many years we operated at the very edge of weather allowance. This year we operated with customers only 60 days compared to an historical average of 99 days over the eleven seasons prior to 2008. A little history: our longest season was 2002 when we ran 109 days, starting on June 2nd , running right until the first snows on September 19th. The weather was very cooperative that year and it was a bit easier to fill the Lodge in that year. In February of 2002, for instance, one US dollar turned into $1.61 Canadian, the recent high point of US currency value. Back then our 5 day trips cost the customer only $2,795 US but that price purchased for the Lodge $4,499 in Canadian goods and services, allowing the much lower package price than we have now. In 2010 our Book-at-the-Lodge repeat guests paid $4,295 for the 2011 season. After many price increases over those nine seasons we are actually in the same place, just paddling faster and absorbing nine years worth of inflation including the big jumps in post 9/11 insurance, plane and fuel costs. In short, that’s why the 2010 season was short and that fall work began in mid-August. But we are very optimistic that next season will stretch out a bit. On August 15 when the final 2011 deposits were taken we had 246 people booked for 2011, only 34 less than we had for the 2010 season, and we still have eight months of selling season ahead of us. Next season the shut down crew will be catching some trout on the rocks.
For this season the crew staying on through August 30th had to focus more on work than fishing. With great weather we took full advantage of the early close to attack some major projects, including the building of two new docks. The top priority was the back dock, the entry for what could be called the industrial side of our island in the north. On that platform about a quarter of a million pounds of food, fuel and other supplies reach the Lodge each season. The old dock must have handed at least 4 million pounds over its lifetime. It was due its retirement. It was rebuilt from stem to stern and should be good for another 4 million pounds. The north customer dock on the front side of the island got the same treatment. It was the father/son duo of Jerry and Steve Yanish and the dock avenger, Paul Hamilton, who did the heavy lifting for the dock work. Spruce logs for rock cribs, tons of rocks, lots of 2X6s, huge spikes and an incredible amount of muscle power were the ingredients for the job. Both docks look great.
Painting was the other after season priority. Keeping the 30 buildings on the island looking good is a lot like the painting of the Golden Gate Bridge: you start at one end, keeping painting until you’re done and then start again. Bartender turned painter Allison Whelan was the driving force in this year’s effort. She quickly found out that applying the stain and paint was the easy part. Sanding and scrapping was the tough work. With help from Jeff Walker, our chef for the two weeks, she attacked the job with steely determination. The expansive deck at the main lodge has never looked better.
Having no handyman talents what so ever, owner Tom Klein found himself cutting firewood and replacing the spruce log walkways around the island. Of course he did some fishing too in the good company of Mel Linder, the father of Scott guide, Steve Linder aka, Biff Piston. The trio had to shut down the fly out lakes and give those fish one last exercise session before their long winter’s rest. Ivanhoe was smoking, as was Smalltree. Late August is exciting fishing with a lot of very heavy fish that attack with savage abandon.
The Yamaha 40s were given a comprehensive work over by Don Klassen, a LaRonge Yamaha dealer, who flew in during the worst storm of the season. He will be back in the spring to tackle tune ups of the two dozen Honda 25s and 30s used on fly out lakes. Yes, it takes a lot to keep a fishing lodge finely tuned. But the place was put to bed nicely this fall: all the water lines drained; windows boarded up; plumbing fixtures and all motors winterized; kitchen cleaned within an inch of its life. With two weeks of hard work behind them the shut down crew jumped in the Beaver on August 30th and, like the geese and loons, headed south, leaving the island ship-shape, almost ready for the 2011 season. See you then.
