Week 18 Recap: Falling for Fall

Week 18 Recap: Falling for Fall

by | Sep 9, 2024 | 2024 Season, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

“FALLING FOR FALL”

Aggressive Fall Pike Fishing

There was no doubt. In earlier weeks we’ve had hints of fall but now it was for real: you could feel it in the cool morning air, the up tempo winds hitting your face; see it in the scuttling low clouds, the turning of the birch leaves from their drab green to brilliant yellow; hear it with the nighttime honking of migrating geese and the almost comical one-note call of migrating Pacific loons. And for our guests, more importantly, you could feel fall in the savage jolt of an aggressive northern pike trying to get an easy meal. Violent strikes were incredibly common for our Week 18 crew. The pike were on the prowl for the entire week. The action was steady for most anglers almost every day on Scott and on our two dozen flyout lakes. It could have been a windy shoreline, a patch of weeds or a deep drop-off. The pike seemed to be everywhere. And they were angry. These are “take no prisoners” pike that barely show a resemblance to the sometimes picky pike of early summer. The spinners, spoons, plastics or flies this week were often not visible when the fish were brought to the boatside. These pike were committed to their next meal as they put on weight in preparation for the long and relatively lean winter months. These are ferocious, feisty, fat fall pike—a fish you just have to love.

Typically, at this time of our season we get into the quantity vs. quality debate. The quality of fall pike fishing is undisputed. They are much heavier than they were a month or two previous. Often though, our trophy numbers taper off as we get near the end of the season while the size increases. This group had it all—QUANTITY AND QUALITY. The trophy count landed at 154, a respectable number even for June or July. Add the heft of this group’s catch and you have the ingredients of a sensational week. It was: there were fifteen pike of 44-inches or better, topped by a magnificent 47-incher.

We had 114 trophy pike and, as they often do, the big fish came in bunches. Ron Juergens, Seth Snyder, Paul Lorusso, Kevin Thorp and Liz Snyder landed a trio of trophy pike on the same day; Mike Strobel, Tom Davis, Brenda Gray, Paul Lorusso, Veronica Strobel and Seth Snyder (another big day) made it a four-pack; Valarie Strobel and Rebecca Graf each landed five trophy pike on their big days. Pike between 44-and 46-inches were as common as the yellow leaves on birch trees. Our guides term these monsters the “mids” as opposed to “regular” trophies between 40- and 43-inches or the “megas” between 47- and 50-inches. If you hook into one of these mids, you know that you have an impressive fish. In most Canadian settings they are pretty rare. Not at Scott Lake Lodge. Not during Week 18. Pike of 44” were caught by a slew of our anglers: Ron Wamsted, Seth Snyder, Jason Sikkenga, Dave McCarty, Mike Strobel (a pair of brutes) and Valarie Strobel (also a pair). Pike of 45” were taken by Seth Snyder (that name yet again), Don Thorp and Brenda Gray who landed two at 45, giving her an incredible trip. Mark Graf went to the top of the “mid” scale with a pike of 46-inches. But the fish-of-the-week belonged to Mike Strobel with a beautiful 47-incher. That is a big batch of QUALITY fish.

A week at Scott is not complete without someone landing a big lake trout or two or more. Our pike did not completely dominate the TV screens after dinner. There were some impressive lake trout as well. Mike Winegar pulled in a 39-incher; Don Thorp caught a fat 42-incher, along with a 38- and 40-incher. The Top Trout though went to Kevin Thorp who landed a 42.5-inch pig of a laker.

Grayling were in the game too. Only four anglers (Mark and Rebecca Graf and Kevin and Don Thorp) went after the acrobatic resident of the far north, but all cashed in on fish of 17-inches or better, big grayling in these parts. Those grayling catches gave a Trophy Triple hat to Mark, Kevin and Don. Hitting over 100 total inches, Kevin and Don also earned the 100+Club jacket.

As we’ve come to expect, there were numerous wildlife sightings. Fall is a time when all critters, both in the lakes or on the land, become active. The only missing entrée in the exciting fall smorgasbord were the northern lights. They were probably up there but we had five consecutive cloudy nights. But no one complained about not staying up late to watch the celestial show; everyone was tired from catching too many big fish! Simply put: it was a hell of a week, one that all our anglers will remember for the rest of their lives.

September 7

When you hook onto one of these, the reeling in just hits different. Mike and Biff found this monster yesterday and knew it was huge. #catchandrelease #pikefishing #canadianfishinglodge #orvisflyfishing #makingmemories #canadianfishing #orvis

September 6

You cast, you catch, you measure. Three amazing parts of finding a trophy pike. This one had a mega girth after feeding on another fish. #catchandrelease #pikefishing #canadianfishinglodge #orvisflyfishing #makingmemories #canadianfishing #orvis #catchandrelase

September 5

Over 100 fish caught in a day! Sounds incredible, & the smiles in this photo prove it. #canadianfishinglodge #orvisflyfishing #pikefishing #catchandrelease #makingmemories

September 4

The fish are biting! #catchandrelease #canadianfishing #pikefishing #orvisflyfishing #canadianfishinglodge

September 3

Starting off the week right with big fish and great weather! Seth hauled in this massive Northern with Jordan on Selwyn Lake. This fantastic photo is just a sneak peak into the awesome day they had! #pikefishing #catchandrelease #orvisflyfishing #canadianfishing

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Week 14 Recap: Some Heavy Hitters

by | Aug 20, 2024 | 2024 Season, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

“Some Heavy Hitters”

Trophy Pike, Trophy Grayling, Trophy Lake Trout

It’s late summer, the heat of the pennant races and it’s time for some baseball talk. Going 2 for 5 in a game is darn good, a .400 average. It’s been 83 years since a major leaguer hit .400. That was Ted Williams who also happened to be a great angler. So, for Scott Lake Lodge to bat .400 during its 14th week of the season is more than good. Over the week we had two spectacularly beautiful days, one OK day and two cloudy, cool, rainy, windy days. Which days do you think were the two hits? If you’ve been following this blog over the years you know. Sunshine drives quality pike and grayling fishing. No exceptions this week. The two warm, sunny days averaged 49 trophies per day; the three not-so-nice days averaged eight. Sunshine is fishing catnip; the pike and grayling go a little crazy.

To hit .400 though, you need more than ideal weather. You need some sluggers. And we had them. We had anglers who could handle our trophy fish—pike over 40”, arctic grayling over 15” and lake trout over 35”. Our Week 14 team hit doubles, triples and homeruns every inning. When the dust on the basepaths settled, the home team had 107 trophy pike, 44 trophy grayling and 13 trophy lake trout for an impressive total of 164 big fish, some very big. We had eleven anglers who “super-sized” their trophies by landing pike over 45”, lake trout over 40” or grayling over 18”. We saw some seriously big fish on the big TV screens after dinner every night. And this is mid-August when fishing in most Canadian lodges in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan start to see their fishing fall off. In the areas to the south their big days are in June and early July. In August the water just gets too warm. In the cooler waters of the far north, our big days and big weeks happen throughout the season. Our first seven groups of the 2024 season averaged 146 trophies per 5-day session; the next seven, starting July 21 and wrapping up August 18th, averaged 151, demonstrating that any week of our season could be sensational; it all depends on the weather, not the calendar. Anytime is the “best” time to be fishing along the 60th parallel. Up here we don’t miss many pitches.

So, just who were the big hitters of Week 14? So many! Leading the hit parade though would have to be Mark Velleca who really hit one out of the park, getting an absolutely beautiful and girthy pike, a 49-incher, tying the mark for the biggest of the season. Another longball hitter was Jim MacDougall who brought to home plate (well his guide’s net) our biggest lake trout of the season and one of our biggest ever, a powerful 45.5-incher with a massive girth; ten other trophy fish were part of his batting production.

Many other anglers made contact with big pike using their fly, spinning or casting rods as bats. We had six anglers land 44-inchers (Dave Schauer, Dave Morales II who got a pair, Dave Morales, Stephanie Tilton, Bill Schuneman and Amy Blackstone); two got 45s (Dave Schauer and Susan Saraka); one got a 46-incher (Sam Velleca) and one (Stephanie Tilton) got an impressive 47-incher. We didn’t see many trophy trout, but we had some nice ones: in addition to Jim MacDougalls’ monster we had a 38-incher (Tom Olson), a 39-incher (Dave Morales II) and a pair of 40-inchers landed by Dave Morales. Grayling were a big part of the Week 14 game. Super-sized grayling (over 18”) were landed by Jim MacDougal, Amy Blackstone, Carl Sparks and John Replogle. At a distant fly out river, Carl and John hit a grayling bonanza, using fly rods to bring home 35 trophy grayling as well as a few trophy pike. Trophy Triple hats were handed out to Cintia Powers, Dave Morales, Dave Morales II and Jim MacDougall. The two Daves and Jim had enough big trophies to join the elite 100+Club with Jim gunning for our MVP award. He’s sitting at the top of our 100+Club leaderboard, currently edging out Jim Hambright with a 106.75 total inches for his biggest pike, trout and grayling.

There were other trophies as well. Kathy Lawler went home with some amazing northern lights images in her camera. With a lot of cloud cover and the full moon hanging around, she earned those, staying up until 2:00 AM on two different nights to hit her visual homerun. Everyone had trophy dining experiences with the Lamb Fesenjan, Lobster Risotto, Salmon Wellington and Beef Bourguignon scoring the highest. All things considered Week 14 was a winner, in contention for winning our Week of the Year award. It didn’t have the most trophies of the season, but with a 47” and 49” pike along with a 45.5” lake trout it was an All-Star week, definitely a contender.

P.S. While the Billy Jean King/Bobby Riggs tennis match was the great Battle of the Sexes, we saw a close battle here with seven couples in camp this week. In terms of total trophies landed who won? It was perfect, just like the Week: a tie 31 to 31.

August 19

It’s as big as the head looks. This deserved a drumroll!! Mark and Poacher got this once in a lifetime pike yesterday. This year has been unreal. #canadianfishing #makingmemories #canadianfishinglodge #orvis #catchandrelease #findyourwild #OrvisEndorsedLodge #seewhatsouthere #pikefishing

August 18

What a catch!! Jim hauled in this absolute tank Lake Trout that measured in at a staggering 45.5″. Now, that’s how to cap off a trip to Scott! #troutfishing #catchandrelease #canadianfishinglodge #makingmemories #canadianfishing #OrvisEndorsedLodge #seewhatsouthere

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Week 4: Fishing Fun in the Sun!

Week 4: Fishing Fun in the Sun!

by | Jul 1, 2024 | 2024 Season, Arctic Grayling, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

WEEK 4 RECAP FISHING “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 for more fishing fun in the sun. It’s that kind of place.

Week 2 Recap – When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Catch Trophy Fish

Week 2 Recap – When The Going Gets Tough…The Tough Catch Trophy Fish

by | Jun 22, 2024 | 2024 Season, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH CATCH TROPHY FISH

Our second week at Scott Lake Lodge, typically June 14-19, can be absolutely idyllic with blue skies, warm southwest breezes, warming waters and aggressive, hard charging pike that just engulf anything that comes near them. Can be. However, that wasn’t the case this year. The second chapter in the Scott Lake Book of 2024 was a lot more challenging than most years. Except for a very pleasant first day (a day with 40 trophy fish), the weather conspired against our intrepid group of anglers. Even though they had to layer on the layers, they made the best of the conditions and pressed on. And they did just fine. It was cold and windy without a lot of aggressive fish, but with the help of a guide team averaging over 20 years of experience, they caught plenty, a total of 113 trophy fish, mostly pike. In cold conditions everything has to slow down–the retrieve, the hook set and handling the fight. With a surface temperature of only in the mid-40s, more finesse was required than in warmer water conditions when anglers just need to cast, crank and hang on. A lot of slower moving plastic baits and flies were in order. The group did great in adapting their techniques to the tougher than normal conditions.

And we had some nice surprises like Don Luke’s 40.5” gorgeous lake trout caught on Scott Lake on a fly on Day 2. And the number of really big pike. Cold conditions and huge pike usually don’t go together up here, but we did have some very impressive fish. On that first day Mike and Kent Mathis had an incredible day on Wholdaia Lake, one of 24 of the lodge’s flyouts. They boated nine trophy pike including a 45-incher by Mike and a 46 by Kent. In between stormy weather and yes, even a snow squall, some big fish were taken. Pike of 45 or 45.5 inches were caught by long time guests Judy Schmidt, Clayton Jennings, and Peter Myhre (a pair). Barbie Purpura got a 44-inch pike as well. Despite conditions not conducive to fishing for arctic grayling, a species that loves warmer water than what we had this week, Don Luke got a few trophy sized grayling and earned the Trophy Triple hat, catching a trophy in all three of our species—lake trout, northern pike and arctic grayling. Hats off to Don. And hats off to Brigitte Jennings for also leaving the lodge with her Trophy Triple hat.

In our twenty-six years of operation, we have averaged just one “lodge day” a year—a day when it’s so ugly that all or most guests just don’t want to get out on the water. We checked that box on Day 3, a day with clouds, wind and even some snow. Just plain miserable. That didn’t stop some anglers though from getting out even if for just a few hours. Don Luke got his second big trout, a 38.5-inch beauty, while fly fishing in less than desirable conditions. On that tough day only three trophies were taken–Don’s trout, a 36” trout caught by Jonah Oberloh and a 40.5” pike landed by Jeff Quick. We salute these hardy anglers. Obviously a day with only three trophies did depress the weekly trophy total but card games, a hot lunch in the main lodge and a mid-day nap by some eased the pain of missing a day on the water. Scott Lake Lodge has plenty of creature comforts.

The week was a reminder for everyone on our island that fishing in the far north is not always predictable, but it is always inspiring. Fishing is never predictable. If it were, it would be boring. That’s one thing that never happens at Scott Lake. Our service team makes sure of that. A testament to the quality of our customer service program and the loyalty of our guests is one number: twenty of our twenty-six Week 2 guests, despite the tough weather, rebooked for next season. We thank those guests and thank our staff for making a wonderfully sweet lemonade out of the lemons the weather handed us. In fishing (and sports) there is always next year . . .

Let the Games Begin! The Week 1 Fishing Report

Let the Games Begin! The Week 1 Fishing Report

by | Jun 16, 2024 | 2024 Season, fly fishing, Lake Trout, Northern Pike

LET THE GAMES BEGIN! WEEK 1 FISHING REPORT

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.