Week 18 in Review: The Beginning of the End

Week 18 in Review: The Beginning of the End

It all happens in about 100 days: the main part of our annual cycle here at Scott Lake Lodge, when the full suite of guests and staff inhabit this 12-acre island on the 60^th parallel.  We are nearing the end of this period; the fishing is still great, with trout moving shallow onto the reefs this past week, big pike snapping with considerable vigour and grayling coming full length out of the water after dries. It’s a magical time of year. The birch leaves are starting to change in earnest, the waterfowl migration in full swing with speckle bellies, snows and Canadas all honking away to the grainfields of the central flyway.  Every morning we wake up to a new carpet of yellow leaves on the cabin decks: it’s fall, and it’s awesome.

On the water, it was a stellar week; big pike were one fire. Of the 167 total trophies our anglers caught, 140 were pike over the 40” mark. The fish are as fat as they can be; the 30-38” fish are biting hard and fighting with abandon in the cooler waters.  It was a big week for the Strobel family; Veronica set the bar on the first day with a 4-foot giant over on Selwyn Lake, Adam was lucky on the first day also with a 47” fish..that’s a day worth an apres fish celebration. Continuing on the Strobel slay week, Valerie nailed a 46.5” northern and dad Mike waited unitl the end of the trip to hang a 47, that may be on of the heaviest fish we’ve seen in a long time. A trip of big fish stories to retell for a lifetime!  Craig Mataczyski set the hook into the second-largest pike of the week with a 47.5” jumbo, while son Allen was lucky with a 45.5” er. A couple more 46.5s were in the cards for Craig Hackworth and Brandon Scweers, on his first trip to Scott. Once the dust settled on the week, 17 supersized fish over 45” were caught, released and made famous in a photo for our lucky angling group.

The trout were starting to show up on the shallow reefs and points, making for incredible action. The larger females are still holding on the edges, but good numbers of small to medium-sized trout were chasing spinners and flies, often coming to the boat in a wolf pack, with fish trying to steal the meal of the one actually hooked. Perennial top trout couple Ed and Liz Snyder were on their game again this year, Liz lead the way with a 40 and a half inch hog trout while Ed added a tight tape 39 and a quarter. Those big trout were the springboard to them both joining the 100+ Club! Then a couple of 38- and 37.5-inch trout fell to the lucky pair. Tim Maclean added a pair of 37s, and Elain Ahlberg a 36 and a 36-and-a-half-inch trout. We are looking forward to this next week to see if there are a few more big trout haunting the shallows!

The bittersweet time of the year is coming. While staff start thinking about home, family, and offseason plans, the guides start saying goodbye to spots on the lake. Plans are already in motion for 2027; the flights are booked, construction material staged… There is lots to do. One more week to cap off an amazing season with a great crew; we are ready.

Check out the link to our Orvis Endorsed page. We’d love to be considered for the Orvis Fly Fishing Lodge of the Year; your reviews can help us achieve that lofty goal!

https://www.orvis.com/product/scott-lake-lodge/3GSF.html