Every week, we do everything in our considerable power and experience to control every variable we can, from airplanes to food and drinks, warm, comfy cabins and more. If we had a way to figure out weather and fishing, we would have something.  The wind and cool of the previous week gave way to high pressure, south winds; something in that combination makes the fish get active. This week showed some more glimpses of the northern summer we all look forward to…sunny skies, puffy clouds and big pike lying up in the shallows just waiting for anglers. A balanced mix of returning guests and first timers were treated to a beautiful week of fishing and sun that left this island on the 60^th Parallel feeling like the tropics. Cold drinks on hot days on the patio, swimming, paddle boarding, saunas, some amazing meals and BIG FISH on the nightly photo show.

Our total count of trophies hit an incredible 213 during the eighth week, pike still accounted for the majority with 177 northerns over 40” coming to the nets of the Scott Lake Guide Team. Trout and Grayling made a few more of the big fish count this week as some of our first anglers made the flight to the tundra, plying the waters of Mosquito Lake at our newly acquired Tukto Lodge. The aptly named Land of Little Sticks as the native peoples called the tundra, didn’t fail to disappoint. Caribou sightings, some lingering ice and a truly barren and wild landscape treated our adventurers to a show.

Top trout honours went to our youngest angler this week, Cole Booth hauled in a 43” hog that may have weighed nearly as much as he did!  Eddie Brown played tug of war with a 40.5” trout, while Caden Burnside got into a 39.5” tundra shark.  Some nice grayling were on tap this week. Flyrod Burnside found a 20 and 20.5 that were leading the season’s tally. Steve and Christian Parminter had a big day in the rapids for grayling, as did Eddie and Jayden Brown, finding these striking fish in great numbers.

Pike were the main attraction as they often are at Scott and the surrounding flyout lakes; they came in size and numbers this week as the bays warmed up again after some windy weather mixed the waters. Incredible days of fishing were not unusual; Dave Bensema, Mike Johnson, and Joe Sauger all tallied 5 pike over 40. Rusty Brown and Joe Wright had 4 overs also. Top pike catches were a pair of 47s for Chris Hermans and Steve Keith, Eddie Brown was close behind with a fat 46.5” er. Tank northerns of 46” were on tap for Marian Bensema, Peter Myhre and Adam Pirtle. Simply put, the pike action was incredible.

Two anglers earned the Trophy Triple designation, catching all three species in trophy size were Alex Clifford and Alex Roznik. We added 3 new members to the 100+ Club, also with Caden Burnside, Fllyod Burnside and Eddie Brown earning this lofty goal.

The group fished hard and relaxed with equal vigour, the happy hours and evening games had laughter echoing across the calm waters. The nightly bonfires drew anglers young and old as they always do, camaraderie, a cocktail, and campfire tend to transfix anyone nearby.  The last evening brought about our annual Eighth Week Mahalo night, where a wild collection of Hawaiian shirts made an appearance, and the Island vibes were turned up for the finale evening.  Something about the mix of fishing and fun hit just right. All of our guests decided to book and do it all over in 2026. Mahalo!

Week 7 in Review: Don’t Let the Winds Win

What a difference a day makes, our guests flew into Scott on a pleasant sunny evening, spirits were high, as was the anticipation of the week’s events.  For the seventh week, the weather started a bit on the nasty side. There were no flyouts on the first day due to high winds and low ceilings, the anglers plied the waters around the lodge for some pike and trout, while eventually it was a sauna, hot tub and nap sort of afternoon.  The temperatures improved a bit, but the wind stayed with us.  It didn’t stop the enthusiastic group from hauling in pike, trout and grayling. We’ve seen it year after year, any week of the season can be the best fishing and largest trophy total, it all comes down to weather and water temperatures. Despite the best efforts of the group this week fishing was a little tougher. 113 total trophy fish came to hand off the pace of previous weeks.

Peter Myhre, on his second trip of the summer, held best pike honours with a last day 47” fish, guide Nick Elcheson was closely second with a 46.5” fish after he won a closely contested game of cornhole with his guest Jack, who had to guide Nick for one spot the next day!  Russ Gesme, Arin St. Cyr, Randy Moret, Mike Sackash and Jack Mewhort all added supersized 45” Pike. 90 pike over 40” in total hit the nets this week, still pretty amazing fishing.

A pair of 41” lake trout for Mike Sackash and Tom Kehoe were the key pieces in both their entry into the 100+ Club, the duo will both sport new custom jackets as a part of the exclusive club. Grayling was on the docket for the Phillips family, also, a great day in the rapids at Ingalls made some lasting memories of these feisty little northern fish. Wading a seldom seen and more rarely fished river in the Northwest Territories is something that tends to stick with you.

The good news with a windy week was some more deadfall trees to trim up for sauna fires. With the newly renovated sauna area, we are seeing this being enjoyed daily; a great way to refresh after a day on the water. We’ve got one of the largest cold plunge pools right at the sauna door! The group had a lot of laughs and were cheering each other on, one and all, each evening on the Fish Porn slideshow. Stories of moose and shore lunch, and yes, even fish, circulated around the lodge at happy hour. It’s just a fun place to be!

Week 6 in Review: The Pike Parade Continues

We kicked things off as we always do on the 4^th of July…with the whole group joining in to sing the Star-Spangled Banner, followed by a round of shots on the house to celebrate America’s birthday. It set the tone for the week; there were a ton of smiles and laughs the entire time. It seemed like the crew had a great time. The fishing was phenomenal, the big pike just kept coming as spring gave way to summer with some lovely weather. 

When the fish are biting and the sun is shining, it’s a recipe for a great week. When the crowd is willing to embrace the whole experience, well, it’s just a little better. Happy Hour was raucous, and fish stories flowed among our anglers this week. Our chefs hit the ball out of the park with the food, and the photos each evening told the story of adventures across a beautiful northern wilderness.

The BIG pike have been on the feed this year, high water has them turned on it seems. Bill Ball led the pike parade this week with a massive 48.5” northern from some shallow weeds on Sandy Lake. His pal Rallis Pappas was hot on his heels with a 48” of his own. Nathan Bender, who didn’t know he was coming to Scott Lake until about 24 hours before the trip nailed a fat 47 on the fly rod, talk about a whirlwind! GM Jason Hamilton even got out of the office to find a 47.5” pike that was interested in chowing down on a fly.  As with the previous weeks, the big pike seemed to be clumped up. When the guides found them, our anglers were able to get into some crazy numbers. Jason Sikkenga landed back-to-back 46” fish on his way to 6 pike over 40”, while Veronica Strobel and Mike Marco also added 46 “fish. The trout again took a back seat to the pike, fair enough with the days that our group had. Mike Marco got into a 40×25” jumbo laker and his wife Alison landed a 37.5” trout. This was important as they had planned a trip for Grayling later in the week, the feisty arctic sailfish cooperated, and both earned entrance to the 100+ Club. Josh and Larry Makal also had a great day in the rapids chasing those purple-finned grayling, finding willing biters. 

Overall, 176 trophy-sized fish came to hand over these 5 days. Incredibly, 20 pike over 45” were landed…21 if we add Bruce Bennet’s 44 and 7/8” pike!  The numbers tell just a part of the story, it was the laughs at the cornhole tournament, the early morning swims while loons chattered and the intangible feel of a tiny island on the 60^th Parallel that becomes a factory for memories for 100 days each summer. No wonder we had so many guests sign up to do it again this week.