It was a whirlwind…the group in week 12 came in with some serious excitement and energy. Right off the float planes they hit the ground running and didn’t stop until the floats left the water on the way home. It’s a safe bet that many in this group need some holidays to relax after these five days of fishing, water sports and some of the best summer weather. The fish seemed to catch the excitement of 5 full days of sun. It shows that any month of our short season can have the best fishing of the season, when the sun is out during a stable weather pattern the fish respond!

This week we had a total of 137 trophies, an impressive tally. The majority of the trophy count, (90) was made up of big pike, and many of the lucky anglers told stories about sight casting to these big fish up shallow, truly an awesome opportunity. The ladies took the lead this week for the top pike honors, 47-inch giants were caught by both Gina Benson and Tiff Skogen. Tiff also added another 45.5 jumbo, the same day her husband Mike nailed a matching 45.5 incher, MIke also added a pair of 44’s this week. 2024 is proving to be the year of the mids, those impressive Esox that are in the 44-46 inch range. These fish are over 20 years old and make quite an impression when seen up close in the net. Daniel Wendell sight casted to and landed a fat 46.5 inch fish with the fly rod on his first trip. Scott veteran Bernie Heile added a 46, while Derek Swenson found a 45.5 incher edging out the 45 caught by Andrew Fierbaugh. 44 inch fish were caught by Len Dorr, who got 3 of them, Dave O’Donnell and Jared Fierbaugh. It was a great week of pike fishing, but there is more to the story…

Big trout made a for some serious oohs and awws from the crowd during Fish Porn; the nightly photo essay, that showcases the special fish and events of the day. Here again the our female anglers set the bar high! Priscilla O’Donnell led the way with a 44.5” giant, that landed her in the 100” Plus Club. Meghan Perkins found an equally impressive 44 inch beast in the south end of Scott, marking a new personal best laker for her. Dave Wanderer and Tim Fierbaugh added 43s and Tiff Skogen, who had big fish luck this week found a 42 inch jumbo.

Late summer also is a great time for Grayling, those special Arctic Sailfish. Rivers subside from, bugs are hatching and it’s a perfect time to send some dry flies along current seams. Bret and Tina Walker had a day in the rapids that resulted in their guide writing “too many big grayling to count” on their trophy submission. Grayling helped round out the Trophy Triples for Jen and Kacie Evans, Brady Hutson and Len Dorr, while Bernie Heile caught a membership in our 100” Plus Club. Fishing wise it was an incredible week.

Before and after the angling, the crown enjoyed just about everything we offer at Scott Lake. The sauna was roaring every morning and evening, laughs from the hot tub were heard each night. Canoes, paddle boards, and even wake boards were part of the water sports program, with temps soaring everyone wanted to be in the water. Add a few evenings of northern lights, this was about the perfect week at Scott. No wonder every angler chose to sign up for next year before the headed south.