Week 12 in Review: Wet and Wild

Fishing the Northwest Territories

It started with an exclamation point! The energy coming in for the twelfth week was high, happy and ready for fun.  The first evening in the lodge was wonderfully wild; the sun was out; it was downright hot. Things simmered somewhat quickly the next morning as some low clouds, coupled with the haze from distant wildfires, put a stop to any flyouts.  The crew hit Scott and connected Wignes, Premier and Wayo Lakes in search of fish…they found a pile. Steve Nicholas and Jerry Kyle were almost worn out hauling in lake trout on the jigs. Watching the fish chase your bait on Livescope is an incredible scene!

After the clouds blew out, fishing the Northwest Territories was our playground as planes headed to all corners of our area in search of pike, trout and grayling. They found them too! The weather was HOT and fishing followed suit, pike were shallow, trout were deep (mostly) and grayling were eager to feed on the small spinners and flies our anglers were throwing. In total, the group tallied an impressive 170 trophy fish, as usual pike make up the bulk of the “overs” with 114 of the toothy predators beyond 40” hitting the long-handled guide nets.  The big pike of the week happened all at once in J5’s boat. Andrew Fierbaugh nailed a giant 47”er and then his boat mate Jacob Benson set the hook into the big fish of the week…a super jumbo 48” northern. Truly a day to remember for these guys who added big trout and grayling to join our 100+ Club!  Mike and Tiff Skogen found his and hers big pike, with a 46.5 and 46” caught in short order, by the end of the week they both joined the 100+ Club ranks after an amazing trip north to the tundra for big trout and grayling.  Travis Barner, Don Cape, along with Jarrett and Garek Peters, all hauled in 45” pike this past week. Gina Benson added a 44.5 pike.

The trout were snapping, especially for the Walker and Skogen crew that headed WAY north to Tukto, catching them shallow and sight fishing in the rivers and lakes on the tundra. Jacob Benson led the anglers with a 41” trout, and Tiff Skogen was next with a 40”er. Andrew Fierbaugh and Scott Lake Lodge’s longest standing staff member Mike Hauser pulled in 39.5” lakers.  As summer wanes into fall the grayling activity ramps up, this week the ladies led the charge on big ‘ling. Tiff Skogen was lucky to find a 20” arctic sailfish, while Tina Walker and Shavon Cape plied the rapids for success with 19” grayling.

The big fish came to play again this week, pushing our season’s total trophy count above 2000! It’s almost an unbelievable number. We love big fish, but as always, the fishing is only a part of the tale.  Northern lights danced overhead on clear late summer nights, the bonfire crackled while guests were treated to the dancing aurora, and the Perseids meteor shower sent streaks across the sky. Laughter from the lodge deck seemed to be answered by the haunting call of the loons starting to raft up for the fall migration. Our crew was treated to fine dining, fine wines and spirits each evening and pre-dinner watersports show. There was wakeboarding, waterskiing and swimming as the northern summer treated us to a perfect streak of weather.  The week was a reminder to enjoy the whole adventure, charter to charter…this crew certainly did.