Week 11 in Review: Hot Weather & Big Fish

Week 11 in Review: Hot Weather & Big Fish

Week 11 in Review: Hot Weather & Big Fish

Any week of the season can just hit right on the weather, and the fish respond; you never quite know what you are going to get. What was that Forrest Gump quote? Something about the south wind and stable weather makes giant pike get hungry.  There was high anticipation of the float planes as the unsettled weather of the previous week gave way to a beautiful evening. The first day was perfect, sun, light winds and some big fish up shallow. Nathan Stepansky and Bernie Heile, both on the fly rods, kicked off the big fish tally with a 47 and 47.5” respectively. Tonya McGraw landed a 41.5” trout to set the stage for some big lakers to come.  The flyouts went out to explore wild waters in the Northwest Territories, the Stanford crew was on the grayling bite, and it was a great day overall. The next morning, the wind had switched and with it, brought in a blanket of smoke from forest fires over 100 miles away. After a summer of almost nothing on the smoke front, we got a hint of what has been going on in southern Canada and the Midwest.  Planes were not moving, the good news is that with 350,000 acres accessible from the dock at Scott Lake, everyone caught fish and had a fine time…the smoke lifted by the afternoon.  The horizon was a welcome sight, and the rest of the week, flights and fishing happened under sunny skies.

This week our anglers were lucky to have 167 total trophy pike, trout and grayling.  Of the 113 pike over 40”, an incredible 6 of them topped 47”. Mike Mathis held top pike honours with a massive 48.5” northern from some shallow weeds. Kim Brown on the way to her 100+ Club jacket landed a 47.5” er, Jeff Savin a 47” and “Big Fish” Tonya McGraw another 47” pike.  Preston Renyolds nailed a big 40” trout to get into the 100+ jacket. Kim Brown was on big fish and adventure all week with a 41” trout to tally over 100” of trophy fish, as did her fishing partner, Mike Weiss!  Another 100+ Club member, Jeremy Stanford, found big fish of all species under sunny skies.  New season leader in the big fish totals, Bernie Heile set the bar high with an incredible 110” of trophy-sized fish, helped along by a 44” laker, the season’s biggest to date!

Fish weren’t the only thing being photographed this week; the northern lights made for some beautiful nighttime shows…now that is getting dark on the 60th Parallel.  Our guests saw moose, bear, eagles (and their nests!) and many loons, which are already starting to raft up in anticipation of fall flights south. Brent and Lisa Simon celebrated their anniversary in style with a shorelunch and some great fishing in the grayling rapids at Ingalls Lake. The group played cards and laughed, cheered on the photos of the day, and just thoroughly enjoyed a pleasant week in the north.

Week 10 in Review: …Wait Five Minutes

Week 10 in Review: …Wait Five Minutes

Week 10 in Review:  …Wait Five Minutes

“If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

It’s the adage about the way weather can change on a dime in the north country.  Our anglers this week nearly wore their dry bags out pulling rain gear and layers out, and stuffing them back in. The skies were moody, more like fall than mid-summer, rain showers passed through frequently, and the wind… blew.  We passed out all of our loaner sets of rain gear this week, and extra layers for many. It didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of our anglers; they toughed it out and caught some damn nice fish!

Grayling were on the agenda for many anglers this week; the romance of wading a wild river in search of a truly unique and northern fish lured them in. Ultralight spinning setups and 4-weight fly rods were the order of the day, and an astounding 53 trophy-sized grayling hit the long-handled river nets.  Dylan Williamson caught a dandy 19” arctic sailfish at the Wholdaia outflow on his way to the 100+ Club. Ken Williamson Jr. also caught an 18.5” for his 100+ jacket. Grayling of the week went to 13-year-old Griffin Beckman, on his first trip to Scott, he found a 19.25”er on his way to a truly incredible week. Guide Biff and Grandpa Mike Rogers found were great teachers. Griffin got into a 38” trout and giant 48” pike to become the pace setter for the largest trophy total of the year…for a few days.

Tyler Sadonis, John Bowen, Matt Hochstein all got into some great grayling fishing, as did Kevin and Zac Fischer. Paul Fischer was into the Grayling and paused to catch a 44” pike from shore in the rapids!  Scott Lake first-timers, a father and son duo of Lance and Landon Marcinek made some lifetime memories this week. They started out on the grayling rapids with some incredible fishing. Lance nailed a massive 4-foot pike the next day, while Landon got into a 41” laker and 45” northern, entering him into the 100+ Club. A big trout for dad earned his jacket.  The last cast of the final day was a big one for Landon. He tossed the fly out into a bay in Premier Lake, and his line tightened into a big pike…48” of buzzer-beater northern came to the net for a pair of 48’s for the father-son team. Landon took over the 100+ lead for the year.

After 4 days of tough weather for the crew they were rewarded with an idyllic summer day in the north to cap things off, light winds and sun.  The last day magic wasn’t done, Mark Jansen set the hook into a couple of dandy lakers, a 38.5 then a fat 41.5”er.  Nick Tallman waited until the last minute to hook into the top trout of the week…an old warrior at 42.5” that landed him into the 100+ Club, his dad Jim had already got a Trophy Triple.

 

A little bit (or a lot) of bad weather didn’t deter the group from having a good time, the sauna was rolling as was the hot tub with lots of anglers warming up after a day on the water. We had lots of running miles logged on the Tundra Trail and other eskers, good wine drank and overall, a fun time even without the

Week 9 In Review: A Mixed Bag

Week 9 In Review: A Mixed Bag

Week 9 in Review: A Mixed Bag

Trophy Grayling, Pike and Lake Trout

Week to week up here at Scott Lake Lodge, you never quite know how things will play out. The weather will change, which affects fish behaviour, rain tests even the toughest Gore-Tex suits. Nothing, however, could dampen the spirits of our week 9 crew! They fished in the rain, they fished in the wind, under sunny skies, and shore lunched on the beaches. This group brought positive attitudes and fun right off the plane; we had a blast.

Our second group of anglers jumped on the plane on the first day to visit Tukto. The wild lake and the barren ground rivers were kind to the adventurers, yielding a pile of big grayling and trout. Bob and Suzanne Noble both got into some 19.5” Grayling set on track to the 100+ Club, as did Amber Lail, who hauled in a 42” trout.  Shanna Bohac waited until the very last day to tally her 100+ Club entry with a late trophy Grayling…catching an early 47” pike got her rolling along to that lofty goal.  Patrick Denney landed another giant 47” pike to share the top pike honours this week.  A few 46” Pike were landed by some lucky anglers this week; Chuck Dannewtiz, Ron Spork and David Harris were happy to see these mega fish hit the nets.  Father-son team Dallas and Wade Clark had a wild day with three fish at 44.5” in the boat!  Trophy Triple caps were earned by Larry Bohac, Randy Lail, along with Mark and Cindy Bixler.

Many anglers plied the rapids of our northern rivers for Grayling, waders on, they tossed flies and spinners to coax these beautiful fighters to the bank. The iridescent purple and blues that shimmer in the sun are truly unique. Overall, our anglers landed 142 trophy-sized pike, trout, and grayling, making for a great week of fishing despite some varied weather conditions. On the island, our staff was on point, crafting amazing drinks and meals, and running a warm customer service program, which we take pride in. Laughs and cards were happening most evenings, we drank great wine, cheered on the anglers each evening and just had a blast.

 

 

Week 5 In Review: A Tale of Two Weeks

Week 5 In Review: A Tale of Two Weeks

Week 5 in Review: A Tale of Two Weeks

Trophy Sized Pike

It was the best of weather, then it was the worst. During the weekly orientation speech, we always encourage our anglers to bring their rain suits and extra clothes.  The weather on the 60th Parallel can turn on a dime. The first three days of the fifth group were idyllic, sun light winds, fishing was out of this world. Then, on partway through day four, a front came roaring off the tundra, bringing heavy rains and wind to our lakes.  Fishing didn’t stop its fast pace, just got more difficult to be out there. The final day was a time for packing, naps, hot tubs and some dice games…it was downright miserable. Winds gusting near 40 knots and sideways rain challenged even our guide team’s fishing ability to get enough pike for a lodge shore lunch; they came through nicely. With the changeover in peril, alternate plans were starting, then as if on cue, the winds dropped, and slowly the sun made an appearance. The departing guests, as well as those arriving, were treated to a perfect evening in the north.

While the sun shone, fishing was superb. 162 total trophy sized pike, lakers and grayling were landed by our anglers. Only 4 trout in the super-sized category were found, Gerry O’Brien was top trout angler with a 41”er on his way to the season-leading tally in our 100+ Club at 104.5”  His fishing partner, Andrew Troop also earned a Trophy Triple cap, catching trout, pike and grayling trophies.  The pike stole the show this week again, with a jawdropping 18 fish over 45” coming to the big catch and release nets. Jim Kusar led the way with a massive 48” fish, as part of his 10 (yes 10) trophy pike day!  Darin Williamson and Mike Wiebolt Jr. both landed 47” northerns, while Jim Kusar and Jim Kloote added some 46” ers…that is incredible fishing.  It seemed once the guides found the fish, the big ones were concentrated, allowing for many quotes of “best day fishing…ever” to be overheard at dinner.  Jim Kloote, Ron Juergens, along with Bruce and Steve Kozlowski all had days with 6 fish over 40”. Seeing these big predators in shallow water creating wakes as they chase down that fly or spinner never gets old. Set the hook and hold on!

The weather will always be a tough one for us to control, fishing also, we can do our best to control the level of service our guests receive, and the staff showed up this week again in an amazing way.  This is where Scott Lake shines, a culture of customer service and community in the wild north of Canada.  This is why so many of our guests want to come fishing with us again. For this, we are truly thankful.

Week 4 in Review: What a Ride

Week 4 in Review: What a Ride

Week 4: What a Ride!

Stories of Incredible Fishing

You never know when it will happen in a season, some weeks the weather and the fish line up and things turn on. The 4th week seems like it could be an early leader in the productivity department. Wildlife sightings graced the photo essay each evening, the crew enjoyed the lodge, played games, raced Kart and the fishing…was on fire!

The smiles and stories of the anglers coming back to the docks each day told of incredible fishing. Shallow pike, lots of them and big ones at that! This week offered our anglers many chances at the spot-and-stalk fishing that we all dream of.  The guides, so adept at discerning these shadowy shapes from the dark bottom, direct traffic from their perch in the splash wells. “…there 30ft, 3 o’clock…cast.”  Out flies a lucky lure, and what looks like a log, certainly too big to be a fish, turns and engulfs it. The fight is on! Our anglers fought and landed an astounding 227 trophy fish. 202 pike, 4 trout and 21 grayling.

Our youngest angler led the pike parade, Coyen Kristo hauled in a giant 4-foot Northern Pike.  Coyen’s fish set a high bar; close on his heels was Rory Wright with a 46.5” last day beauty, to add to his 46 from earlier in the week. Joe Novicki and Andrew Godden took 46’s, as did Andre Lechowicz, who tagged a pair on an incredible day with wife Mira…they had a day that will be a lifelong memory. Our anglers landed two dozen fish in the 44-45” range, which is exceptional fishing anywhere!  Grayling started making their way onto anglers’ agendas also, as the spring runoffs recede, the chance to tangle with the arctic sailfish becomes more viable.  John and Matt Kracum scored on big Grayling to help them into some Trophy Triple caps, while Joe Novicki and Loki Johnson joined the 100+ Club. There seemed to be no end to the incredible fishing.

The revelry and camaraderie each evening were special, no competition (…well, some friendly wagers), just enthusiasm for anglers, young and old. The guests and staff had a multi-evening Mario Kart tournament in the Last Cast, skidding and laughing, but most importantly, making memories in this unique northern wilderness.