Report from the North:

Bear Repair

The work has begun to repair the damage that one apparently angry black bear inflicted on Laker Lodge at Scott Lake. For three weeks Chester Porteous (you know him as The Poacher) and our new winter watchman, Tell Keiper, have been cleaning up after our not so friendly bruin friend. The more they looked the more they found. Somehow this determined critter clawed through the floor under our ovens and destroyed all the controls as well as ripping off the doors of an commercial oven that weighs probably a thousand pounds. A new stove is ordered and will be put in well before our June 11 opener. Since it’s too big for the Otter it will make the trip from Stony Rapids dangling from a helicopter, maybe a first for any commercial oven. The lodge floor did not survive the attack either with parts of it ripped out. A work crew will be landing on the ice in late April to tackle all the Laker Lodge tasks, complete the work on reflooring all the guide boats and do the normal annual chores of getting the infrastructure in perfect condition, including the cutting of several hundred trees to create the wonderful spruce chipped trails connecting the guest cabins to the main lodge (Laker Lodge) and the boat docks.They will be essentially be stuck there until lake opens allowing float planes to again take to the air and land on Scott Lake. The job is big but the plan is tight. We look forward to seeing the faces of our several hundred “regulars” when they see all the improvements around the island.

Winter Hanging On

The winters at Scott are always long and cold. This year is no exception. There is a lot of snow which bodes well for a continuation of the high water levels we had last season which allowed the guides to get back into some of their favorite shallow bays. Unlike last winter when the lake just crawled with caribou, they have been scarce this winter with the concentrations to the north and east of Scott. It’s been a relatively quiet winter with a lot less snowmobile traffic on Scott. The Native hunters and trappers are heading further north this winter for their rendezvous with the caribou herds that travel hundreds of miles from the far tundra in late fall to spent the winter near the treeline just above the 60th parallel.

Report from the South

Full House

As we head into the final month of our booking season we are confident that we will have a full house all season at Scott. The number of repeat customers from last season was well over 300 and a lot of new guests have signed on for 2013. We are headed for a record number of guests this season, keeping all of our guides on the water straight through from June 11th to September 3rd. We thank all of our dedicated repeat customers and the new guests for their support and trust. The entire team at Scott is counting down the days to the first day back on the island. It is a remarkable community that develops every season at Scott. We have nearly all of our staff returning for the 2013 season. There will be a lot of hugs on the dock when staff and customers meet again. It’s just that kind of place.

For anyone still thinking about a trip to Scott this summer now is the time to make a move. Their are still some spots scattered through the season and we do get the occasional cancellation. Our Sales Manager, Jon Wimpney, is always close to his phone and laptop, even on the recent Guide Retreat in the jungles of Nicaragua. Give him a call at 306/209-7150- or drop him an email at j5@scottlakelodge.com for the latest availability. Or just call to talk fishing: it’s in his blood.