Week 17 in Review: A Farewell to Summer

Week 17 in Review: A Farewell to Summer

Week 17 in Review: A Farewell to Summer

Fall Fishing is on the Way

For a few groups now, we’ve been circling the idea that fall fishing is on the way. There have been hints, yellow leaves on the birches, the sky a slightly darker shade of blue, and it gets dark just after supper. This week, the northern summer did its best to convince us the change in season was still weeks away, temperatures in the first few days were in the high 80’s even touching 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32 Celsius for our Canadian staff. It was hot, shorts off the dock in the morning kind of hot! What a feeling to be wet wading a wild river in the Northwest Territories at the end of August and watching grayling launch themselves after dry flies. Sight fishing for pike in water measured in inches instead of feet. It was an amazing week, the first three days, people were wondering how it could be warmer on the 60th parallel than at home. Then, all of a sudden, about 3 a.m. on the fourth morning, fall came. Canada geese led the charge from their tundra nesting grounds, and the north wind followed. Fall was here. The fish, however, were still hungry and cooperative as fall fishing begins.

Our anglers were lucky this week; 149 total trophy-sized fish were landed, of those 87 were pike, 54 grayling, and only 8 big trout came to the nets. This is a transitional time for the trout as they begin to spread out in the water column, preparing for their fall spawning season on cobblestone reefs.  Todd Schroeder was the top trouter, catching a 39 and 38” laker. Susan and Kevin Edwards added a couple of big trout of 37 and 36.5” on a tundra adventure to the far north.  While trout were a bit tougher to catch, the pike were plentiful and found in shallow water this week. 87 big pike were brought to hand, admired and gently released to fight another day. Some were even made famous on our nightly photo essay aptly named…Fish Porn.

Peggy Light was our top pike angler this week, catching a giant 47.5” northern as a part of an incredible day filled with seven pike over 40”.  Deed Whitney had a similarly epic day of catching six big pike on the fly. In all, ten fish over 45” were caught, Tom Granneman and Shad Smith with the 46” mark, Dennis Schroeder and Chris Goggans hit a pair of 45.5”s. A few big fish at the 45” mark from Todd Scroeder, and Tom and Pete Granneman made for some furious big fish action.

Desiree Curfman found a big grayling in the Mary River, an incredible start to a day that ended with the sighting of some Barren Ground Grizzlies…a sow and three cubs, truly an experience of a lifetime.  Chris Reimer and Susan Edwards both caught some 19” arctic sailfish. The week ended with both Peggy Light and Susan Edwards eclipsing the 100” mark to earn jackets and become new members of the 100+ Club. The real trophy was the weather, the Northern Lights, time by the bonfire, and the laughs and memories that permeated the lodge each evening.

Week 15 in Review: The Leaves Turned Yellow and the Fishing Was On Fire!

Week 15 in Review: The Leaves Turned Yellow and the Fishing Was On Fire!

Week 15 in Review:  The Leaves Turned Yellow and the Fishing Was on Fire

Trophy-sized Pike, Trout and Grayling

The past five days were truly a whirlwind! Each day so many stories permeated the happy hour and dinner conversations, excited anglers recounting just incredible fishing. Big fish, lots of fish, T-Bones, muskox, northern lights. This week really had it all. As the first few flocks of geese made their way past the lodge in the first evening’s twilight, guests were treated to duelling loons and geese as the sun set and northern lights began to dance. A campfire, a cocktail, and some true wonder of this northern wilderness – it was a quiet evening. What a way to settle into a week of fishing at Scott Lake…and what a week of fishing it was! Guests plied the waters of Scott Lake, and many of the flyouts, the fishing was good, great even for many of our anglers. It was a way to make a first impression with so many first-time visitors in camp.  Our week fifteen guests tallied an astonishing 269 trophy-sized pike, trout and grayling.  An incredible number and a true testament that the best fishing of the year can be on any week the weather blesses us with near perfection.

Despite the hints of fall, northern summer kept most of the layers tucked safely away in the drybags. Pike were shallow, trout were deep (mostly), and grayling were as eager as ever to pounce on dry flies. Our anglers landed 147 big pike this week, led by Dan Vogel, who found a fat fall 46.5”er on the flyrod. Justin Spence and Manda Gaskins both added 46’s to their photo album, while Laurie Yliniemi and Manda got 45.5s also. Proctor McInnis, Logan & Meagan Gaskins, along with Amanda Yackel were lucky on the 45s. Overall, 14 super-sized pike, eclipsing that 45” mark, were caught.

Grayling were on the menu for many of our anglers this week, late summer on a wild northern river, these iridescent beauties leaping in the sunlight. We get it…it’s a cool experience! 80 trophy-sized ‘ling were leaping into nets and the memory banks of our crew. Brad and Adam Couvelle, along with Van & Manda Gaskins all found 19.5” grayling, while Paul & Rebecca Sawyer were right behind with 19s.  The grayling bite was the key to so many Trophy Triple Hats and 100+ Club Jackets being earned.  It was really unprecedented, 16 of our anglers hit the Trophy Triple mark and 12 tallied over 100”. A quick search of the records shows this hasn’t happened before…truly amazing!

Top trout honours went to Bob Sotak with a 44.5” beast! His fishing partner that day Don Weiss managed to haul up a 44”er. Both anglers got into a few other big ones for a day of a lifetime! Brad Courvelle added a 43, Kellie Whittleman a 42 and Ross Emmerman a 41”er. Those are some hog trout! Truly incredible fishing, mixed with some northern lights, great weather and a pristine wilderness in northern Canada. It’s an incredible feeling and community each week at Scott Lake…no wonder so many of our anglers chose to book again for the next year.

Week 14 in Review: Of Rapids and Grayling

Week 14 in Review: Of Rapids and Grayling

Week 14 in Review: Of Rapids and Graying

Targeting the Arctic Sailfish

It may have never happened…pike representing a minority of our trophy count throughout a five-day trip.  It wasn’t because the pike fishing wasn’t good; there were lots of fish and a lot of big ones. Our anglers were just so eager to get after that cool arctic sailfish, the grayling.  Days spent rock-hopping along some northern rapids kept smiles on the faces of our adventuring anglers.  Getting boots on the ground and in the river brings the feel of the wilderness just a little bit closer.  The smell and spongy feel of the thick moss that carpets the riverbanks, the shoreline willows that do their best to ensnare every back cast and those purple iridescent fighters that don’t just sip dry flies…they attack them. Grayling fishing is downright fun.  19.5” was our top grayling trophy this week, a lofty mark hit by John Replogle and Luke Shauer, then came a whole host of 19” ers…too many to name all the lucky anglers.

The pike fishing didn’t take a week off, 85 big fish hit the nets, and a solid 10 of them eclipsed the 45” mark!  Dave McCarty was a top piker with a 46.5” fatty.  Luke Shauer and Carl Tanner hit 46’s. Then Dave Shauer, Johnny Powers, Kevin H., Andy Chafolias, Dave McCarty and Steve Tomsche all added fat 45” northerns to their photo albums.  Kevin H. had a day with Poacher that raised the bar in his lifetime of pike fishing, landing 8 northerns over that magical 40” mark. Steve Tomsche similarly caught 6 “overs” in a day, leaving a lasting impression of this wilderness and the fish it holds. Our guests this week found pike shallow, deep and in between. On the rocks and in the weeds, but most fun still in the bays, sighting fishing in August was a possibility again! Similarly, the lakers were in the holes and still on the shorelines…our anglers weren’t quite sure what the next bite may mean!

Trout leader for week 14 was Steve Tomsche with a 41” tundra shark that came from the near shore areas of Flett Lake. Dale Sellers wound in a 40.5, and Dave McCarty 40” er to round out the top three.  Trout became the quarry of choice for many on the 4th day of the trip. Wind, waves, and fog kept the flyouts grounded, and our anglers dropped in for a chance at some big lakers. Many chose to sauna, shore lunch at the lodge and relax on the island that afternoon, though a few intrepid souls braved the conditions in search of fish all day. Remember the adage, there are no bad days, just bad gear, very true, but also, it’s your fishing vacation, fish as hard or as little as you’d like. The good news, the final day dawned sunny and warm, sending the crowd off in typical Scott Lake style. Our guests took advantage of hikes, morning yoga, photography, hot tubs and more. The kitchen whipped up some great meals, and our crew paired these with many great wines from Canada and around the world. The 14th week was like many that came before it; we caught fish, laughed, cheered, and enjoyed ourselves so much that the majority of the group decided to do it all over again.

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