Canadian Fishing Archives - Scott Lake Lodge

Week 4: Fun in the Sun!

by Jason | Jul 1, 2024 | 2024 Season

WEEK 4 RECAP

“FUN IN THE SUN”

It keeps getting better and better. We thought Week 3 was great fishing until Week 4 showed up. With abundant sunshine the big pike and the pike anglers were happy and energized. On 176 occasions a trophy fish brought smiles to our guests and a graceful return to the lake to the cooperative fish. With all those trophies (141 pike, 20 grayling and 15 lake trout) this recap writes itself. Our group didn’t waste any time: the week started out with one of our all-time high single-day trophy counts of 56. Just one day. Leading the Day 1 charge was the Kristo Clan. If your last name was Kristo, you had a good day and a good week. On that first day on Wholdaia Lake, 10-year-old Coyen led the charge with five trophy pike, topped by a 45-incher. Older brother Griffin landed three, also topped by a 45. Uncle Tom took the prize though with three, including an absolutely massive 49-incher, the biggest of the season so far. Steve Kristo, the proud dad, added a pair of trophy pike. As a group, they had a Lucky 13 day. Team Kristo went on to catch a total of 35 trophies with Coyen getting nine of those. Will there be stories back at school this fall! While most kids will be talking about the bluegills or crappies they caught, Coyen will be talking about pike almost as long as he is.

Another young angler got a taste of big-time fishing. Loki Johnson at the tender age of nine (yes, not even double digits) landed a dozen trophy pike, including a 45-incher and not one but two 46-inchers! His dad, Odinn, had to settle for just three big ones. Who’s teaching who how to fish? But Loki was just oozing in paternal pride. His encouragement was admirable. Another father/son team put on a big show. How’s this for bonding? On Sandy Lake, Rory and Brian Wright demonstrated perfect family symmetry. Each landed a pair of 41-inch pike. That’s common enough. But each also landed spectacular 47-inchers, another story altogether. (There were a few years in our 27-year history where a 47” pike was the biggest of the season.) The Wright’s showed us the right way to create a lifetime memory. Interestingly, the two huge pike were the first and last big fish of the day, but were caught at spots less100 yards apart (and no they were not the same fish caught twice—we have picture proof). You can bet their guide will be back to that part of the lake again soon.

The big days just keep rolling along. You don’t end up at 176 big fish by getting them one at a time. Rich Kracum landed seven trophy lake trout including a fat 40-incher and three trophy grayling on his flyout to Wholdaia Lake. (That was the hot lake of the week, but next week it will probably be a different lake.) long time guests, Frank and Susan Saraka, landed eight trophy pike on Smalltree Lake. For Susan her 46.5” beauty was her personal best. Matt Kracum picked up five trophy pike on Wholdaia on his memorable day. Andre Lechowicz picked up four nice trophy pike on a sunny day on Flett Lake. The big fish were spread all over our flyout system and on our three “home” lakes—Scott, Premier and Wignes.

Just so many big fish. In addition to all the huge pike, referenced earlier, there were some very big trout. Matt Kracum, Steve Kristo and Curt Frisbie all landed 39 or 39.5” lake trout. Matt and Rich Kracum got 40-inchers. Big grayling of 18 or 18.5-inches were pulled out of the rapids by John, Rich and James Kracum, Joe Novicki and Bill Calabresa. With all those big grayling there must have been some Trophy Triple hats handed out, right? Of course, all those anglers took home a hat; all except John upgraded to the 100+Club, our first members of the 2024 season. To enter this prestigious club, one needs to land trophies of all three of our gamefish (pike, lake trout and grayling) whose collective measurements hit or exceed 100-inches, not an easy task. Members receive a custom jacket with the lengths of their trophies embroidered on the front, a wearable reminder of a serious angling accomplishment.

The week ended on yet another sunny, though windy, day. Most of the group had a final leisurely shore lunch before they wrapped up their amazing week. Memories will focus on fish caught but memories of the long evenings with spectacular sunsets (the evening light really doesn’t end this time of year), the haunting calling of loons and the rare opportunity to experience pure, pristine wilderness will linger for years or until this entire group comes back again next season. It’s that kind of place.

Week 3: Much Better Than OK

by Jason | Jun 27, 2024 | 2024 Season

WEEK 3 RECAP

“MUCH BETTER THAN OK”

At Scott Lake Lodge there are OK Weeks, Good Weeks, Great Weeks and Fantastic Weeks. Our Week 3 anglers who made the journey to the 60th parallel in far northern Canada had one of the latter. The week had it all: an incredible total number of fish, a very respectable number of trophy fish and most importantly an impressive number of monster fish. Our group landed fourteen pike over 44” and two lakers over 40”. For many Canadian fishing lodges that would represent a full season not five days in June.

The big fish came fast and furious, and in bunches. We had some over the top single days of fishing excitement. Like Patrick Lynch landing eight trophy pike on Wignes Lake (an adjacent lake reached from our dock); like Dave Thome putting nine huge pike in his guide’s net including a 44-, a 46.5- and a 47-incher on Wholdaia Lake; like Greg Larson bagging five trophy pike with a 44- and 45-incher on Ingalls Lake; like Rachael Bandt and her dad, Steve (AKA Big Dog) getting ten big pike on Selwyn Lake, like Rory Wright and John Kroner landing the same number on the same lake, or like Joe Novicki having another of his sensational days with five trophy pike topped by a massive 48-incher, the biggest pike of the season. So far.

The really big fish were well spread out among our angling group: Barbie and Ross Purpura, Rachael and Steve Bandt, Rory Wright, John Kroner, Hunter Larson, Greg Larson, Joe Novicki, Debbie Creigh, Boyd Meyer, Troy Phillips, Pat Lynch and Reggie Sullivan all landed pike over 44 inches. Ross Purpura got a 45, Rory Wright and Reggie Sullivan topped 46 and Joe Novicki had the 48. Everyone of our 28 guests landed at least a pair of trophy fish. We had a dozen trophy lake trout as a bonus with a 40-incher taken by Grant Larson and a magnificent 43-incher taken by Bill Calabresa.

And that’s just the fish! With a few pleasant, sunny days there were many epic shore lunches, served with skill and ceremony on rocky points throughout the 250,000 acres of the connected lakes of Scott, Wignes and Premier. And our Executive Chef always tries to outduel our guides by serving up epicurean dinners every night at Laker Lodge. And our course we have continued the long tradition of our “fish du jour” show, putting up photos of big fish, wildlife sightings or just pictures of guests caught having fun. With many of the photos of trophy fish that graced the TV screens, there were cheers and gasps. We had so many huge fish to show off. Our guests love all fish but there is a special recognition of the BIG FISH; honoring the big ones really gets the crowd going. Trophy pins were handed out left and right every evening. Our goal is always the same: having fun. That can be done with big fish, small fish, many fish or few fish. It’s all about spending time with friends and family in a spectacular corner of the world surrounded by a team that loves to define what customer service is all about. It’s all part of the summer scene at Scott Lake Lodge.

Let the Games Begin! The Week 1 Report

by Jason | Jun 16, 2024 | 2024 Season

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

It was a classic opening week with cold nights and mornings but hot fishing. For weather we had it all: wind, cold rain, clouds and just enough intense sunshine to wake up the slumbering giant pike. While it’s been reported in these posts often, it’s simply a fact that great pike fishing and sunshine go together like peanut butter and jam. We had just enough to drive a sensational week. While each day produced plenty of trophy fish, the fourth day of our five-day weeks was incredible. On that single day our guests landed fifty (yes, that’s 50) pike over our trophy standard of 40-inches with three trophy trout (35-inches) thrown in as a bonus. That’s a decent total for an entire season at many other Canadian fishing lodges. And there were some real hogs caught that day—four over 45-inches including a 47.5-inch beauty and a massive 48.5-inch tundra shark. Of course, that was the one day it was full sunshine all day throughout our nine-million acres of fishing territory which encompasses our 22 fly out lakes and the quarter of a million acres of productive water accessible from our docks at Scott.

The other four days weren’t shabby either: the week tallied 140 trophy fish—127 pike and thirteen lake trout. Four of those lakers found the end of Andrew Horan’s line and really made memories. He had a DAY on Smalltree Lake. At the inflow of the Dubawnt River into the lake, he found some dandy lakers, landing fish of 35, 36.5,39 and a monster of 43-inches. While lake trout numbers like that are fairly common in the deep water “trout season” of mid-July to mid-August, they are exceptionally rare for our shallow springtime fishing. And a trout of 43-inches is rare anywhere, anytime. To get a fish like that in water only a couple of feet deep is the angling thrill of a lifetime. Jim Meyer had a similar trout experience. At an inflow (lake trout love moving water in the spring) on Selwyn Lake, Jim found heavy lakers of 38 and 40 inches.

But the week still belonged to the big pike. The big screens at Laker Lodge were filled with huge pike photos every night at the “fish du jour” post-dinner show. Some barely fit the screen. The stats are impressive: seventeen pike taped at 44-inches or better. A bunch of those big ones were landed by Peter Myhre who had an epic pike week. It went like this: Day 1—six trophies; Day 2—six trophies; Day 3–three trophies (an off day); Day 4–eight trophies, and Day 5—eight trophies with a 46 and a fat 48. Peter had eight pike over 44 inches. That’s a trip. Stay tuned. Peter is hard at it right now on his second five-day stay. He did cover a lot of our huge fishing universe, flying to four of our fly out lakes—Selwyn (twice), Gardiner, Sandy and Wholdaia. He’s got some frequent flier miles going.

Sam Hana and Colin McConville also experienced the adrenaline rush of seeing a giant gaping mouth open to engulf their lure. Sam landed a 47.5-inch beauty and Colin saw his guide’s tape reach 48.5-inches end to end and 20.5-inches around the middle, a massive girth. We had so many big fish and big days. Chase Masuga had a seven-trophy day; the father/son team of Harry and Aris Moulopoulos put eight big pike in their guide’s net, including a 45.5-incher that Aris got on the fly rod; Paul Hana also nailed a 45.5-incher on his fly rod, and other 45s were taken by Bubba Morrill and Rob Shaffalo who also got a 44. Pike of 44 were landed by Tom Goebel, Ben Russert and Chase Masuga.

As if all these fish-of-a-lifetime weren’t enough, there were some exciting wildlife encounters. There were four black bears observed on Scott Lake while a wolverine and a muskox were seen at fly out lakes. Of course there were loons, osprey and eagles seen every day on all our lakes. While the weather for the week was variable, there was one constant—FUN. Our guides and customer service team know how to facilitate that #1 Scott Lake metric. While we do count and celebrate big fish, this place is about having a good time, on the water and on our island. Fun is difficult to quantify but easy to spot: it’s the big smile on ten-year-old Landon Gobel’s face as he pulled in his first pike or the smiles all around the room as the image of Andrew Horan’s giant lake trout hit the screen. Fun and food often go together. From our guide’s creative shore lunches to our Head Chef’s magnificent dinners, we satisfied every appetite. The only trouble was that no one wanted to leave. And nearly everyone signed up for 2025 hoping to repeat a memorable week.

It Begins: The Week 14 Blog and Fall Fishing

by Jason | Aug 21, 2023 | 2023 Season, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

IT BEGINS – FALL FISHING

Sometimes you know in an instant when something is about to change. It was on the last day of the Week 14 group: a flock of 50 or so geese in an almost perfect V (the right side just a little longer than the left) flew right over our 12-acre island on the 60th parallel. They weren’t the first of the season, but they were low and loud, a reminder that fall is knocking on our door. There have been plenty of other signals that the season is about to shift gears. We had our first vivid northern lights show just a few days ago; the number of bright yellow leaves on the birch trees are multiplying exponentially, and a humble little plant, improbably named the Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata), has started its transformation to brilliant red, the start of creating the multi-colored fall carpet for our tundra landscape. It’s early fall here and for most of our guides it’s the start of their favorite fishing period, fall fishing.

Fall fishing is often fewer fish but bigger fish. For the Week 14 anglers, it seemed like they got the best of both worlds—the action of early season and the size of fall fish. When the water starts to cool our pike and trout put on the feedbag, getting much more aggressive. Flies and lures are often inhaled rather than just taken. And their fight is definitely more prolonged and spirited than the same fish might have offered two months earlier. Our thickest girths and heaviest fish always come in late August and September. Fishing now is not in our shallow bays as in June but in or off structure—any structure like weed beds, rocky points or drop-offs. Wind on deep shorelines is often the guide’s first line of attack. And it’s been working. Our group had just over 100 trophy fish but in that number were some monsters.

Lake trout again were the top billing, both on Scott Lake and our fly out lakes, notably Selwyn. The father/son team of Dave and Adam Schauer had a banner day on Selwyn, landing seven trophy lakers with six of them over 39”. Adam had already taken a 40” lake trout off Scott. John Duro had a big trout day on Scott getting dozens including a 39-incher. Carl Tanner, his fishing partner, caught a 41.5” and a 43” lake trout on Scott. Chris Ellis bagged a 39.5’, a 40” and a 41” on Selwyn. Shane Fifield was on Selwyn for a 40-incher and long time Scott regular Frank Saraka got his tank of a trout there as well—a girthy 44.5” monster. The biggest of the week though came right the lodge’s backyard and it was massive, a 45-incher pulled in my Linda Watt. Linda also landed a 45-inch pike. Not bad for her first trip to Scott.

Yes, there were plenty of pike, both in numbers and size. Pike at 44” made their appearance on the big TV screen, during the after-dinner fish show, accompanied by their angling friends—Cave Schauer, Cooper Allen and Johnny Davis. Pike of 45 were landed by Cooper Allen and Jim Loken. Bobby Regan tied Adam Schauer with the biggest pike of the week at 46.5 inches. There were a few Trophy Triple hats handed out as well this week. Graham Allen, Cooper Allen and Johnny Powers all pulled off the hat trick of getting all three of our species (northern pike, lake trout and arctic grayling) in trophy size. Cooper and Johnny had enough total inches of their three biggest to earn entry into the 100+Club. They will be wearing a custom jacket from this fall fishing.

It wasn’t a particularly sunny week and there were a few showers but the atmosphere in the lodge was always bright and sunny. We couldn’t help but notice how the dozen first-timers at the lodge arrived as strangers here but left with many new friends. Sharing the experiences of fall fishing in this remarkable wilderness surrounded by a team of customer-focused lodge staff creates just the right environment for friendships to develop. It happens all the time. It’s a Scott Lake Lodge tradition. It’s why we often use the slogan “World Class Fishing and More”. That’s the “More” and it’s the best part.

AUGUST 19

When flying from Stony Rapids over the northern tundra, you will be surprised as a small city on an island appears beneath your float plane. The unique experience is bound to be worth it.

AUGUST 18

Watching storm cells but still catching fish in the sun on the fly!

August 17

As summer starts its transition to fall, we are seeing these big pike carrying a lot more weight. This is bulking season

AUGUST 16

This massive trout gave a great fight for Frank Saraka today. All of its 44.5 inches was the first fish of the day! Catch and release will let this old girl grow.

AUGUST 15

Kimiwan Falls is always a beautiful spot to check out when you’re here fishing on Scott Lake. Lake trout love the outflow and the water levels always fluctuate. Johnny and Cintia Powers had a lovely time checking it out!

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The Lucky 13s: The Thirteenth Fishing Week in Review

by Jason | Aug 14, 2023 | 2023 Season, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

Lucky 13 Fishing Week

Let’s call this group Lucky 13, named after the famous Heddon topwater lure of years gone by. They were lucky twice, make it three times. First, they were lucky to have missed the fire-related shutdown of the lodge. Second, they brought with them some perfect weather, five days of warm temperatures, mild winds and absolutely no rain. Third, they were seriously lucky with their fishing week. This group nailed 175 trophy fish including a bunch of really big ones. Especially lots of huge trout. This is what we call trout season at Scott. Early to mid-August is when the big ones head to the deeper parts of our lakes where, counterintuitively, they are easier to find and catch by trolling or jigging. How many? How big? Many as in many hundreds, maybe a thousand. But who’s counting. Just two guys, Peter Mancuso and Todd Gordon, had over 100 lakers to the boat in a single day. Jigging right over the holes was the key there. And big? The Williamson group, long time Scott vets, hammered the big lake trout. Their group of six landed fourteen lake trout of 40” or better on a single day on Selwyn Lake, one of our 24 fly out destinations. Jason Loughran on that day tied our season’s biggest at 45.5 inches, along with a 43, a 42, and two other trophies. Ken Williamson, Sr got five trophy trout with three of them over 40”. The rest of the Williamson crowd did almost as well: Jim, Al, and Leland got two trout over 40” and Tyler got one. That’s an incredible Troutfest: 23 trophy trout in one amazing day. That 40-inch “Supersized” mark was also hit by Les Stevens, Rollin Sears, Peter Mancuso, Russ Robertson, John Gobis and Brad Chapin. That’s a total of 20 lakers over 40 inches. In a typical season we get around 40 at 40”. Our lucky 13’s got half of a season in a single group. This group had the lake trout zeroed in. At just an inch under our “Supersized” mark, 39-inchers were taken by Jason Loughran, Jerry Kyle and John Gobis who got a pair.

Pike were in the crosshairs too for this fishing week. It was a phenomenal pike week with ten over our pike “Supersized” length of 45”. Tyler Williamson, Joe Underwood, Russ Robertson, Jason Loughran, Will Bixby and Scott Bixby got 45s. Will also got a 46 along with Tyler Williamson and Leland Williamson (those Williamson’s again). Scott Bixby on his last day here topped the group with a very impressive looking 47-inch beauty. And so many 44s: Russ Robertson, Rollin Sears, Ken Williamson, Al Williamson, Peter Mancuso, Randy Crawford, Jason Loughran, Luke Beeler and John Gobis all got fish that for many fishing trips is the big fish of the week. Just a long list at Scott. Jason’s name keeps coming up. He got a six-pack of pike trophies in a single day.

Only two anglers ventured out for grayling and both ended up getting entrance into the 100+Club. Tyler and Leland Williamson will get their custom jacket this fall but did leave with their Trophy Triple hats.

A week of great fish and probably better fish stories. It’s all in the Scott Lake Adventure. Not to mention the moose, bear and muskox sightings- Les Stephens and Rollin Sears saw all three species in one day, a first here. Next year they need to see the elusive wolverine!