by Tammy MacDonald | Jul 29, 2015 | 2015 Season
On the 60th parallel, July is the heart of summer—THE MONTH, the month of high, intense sun; endless blue skies; ripening blueberries and bearberries; countless wildflowers in full bloom, and smiling anglers. It would be wonderful to describe the last twenty days in that vein. But that would be writing about last season or maybe next season, but not this season. The 2015 season is batting a measly .200 (one for five) on the above criteria. Apparently the weather gods in this neck of the woods didn’t get the memo about all that sunshine we are supposed to be having in July. It’s been one of the cloudiest and wettest of the past two decades.
But it’s also been one of the fishiest. Neither rain, wind, clouds nor cold have kept our guests and guides off the wilderness of water of Scott Lake and the dozen fly out lakes scattered through distant reaches of the Northwest Territories. They have been fishing (and some cases even singing) right through the frequent showers. When nature gives you lemons, stir in the rain and make some tasty lemonade; that’s been the attitude around the lodge this summer: our anglers have kept their focus on the mission at hand—catching fish and enjoying the shore lunches, fine dining and the luxurious amenities of the lodge (the sauna has had a lot more use than in other years). It’s been inspiring to watch our crew face some tough conditions. But they have been rewarded with lots of fish and lots of big fish. No one complains about clouds and rain when they are at the other end of a savage pike or a bulldog lake trout. We have a tough group around here. They keep going and going and going and fishing and fishing and fishing, running on the EverReady batteries of the fishing world—the twin hopes that the last cast didn’t get quite close enough to the monster below but that the next cast will.
The past three weeks have afforded anglers great action along with a lot of trophy fish. In just twenty days 347 trophies were tallied: 246 pike, 70 lake trout and 31 arctic grayling. The pike total is getting very impressive. We are now at 739 trophy pike, a number that exceeds the entire 2012 season, is only 32 short of the 2013 season and is closing in on the all time record season of 2104 which saw 1,184 pike of 40” or better end up in the guide’s hands. That’s nothing short of sensational pike fishing, especially since on average our anglers catch about fifty smaller pike for every trophy landed. That’s a lot of fishing thrills. The trophy pike of the past three weeks have not been just a bunch of barely over the 40” mark either: we have seen some real hogs. Of the 246 trophy pike 17 have been in the “supersized” category of pike over 45”, a real fish of a lifetime. Six anglers landed 45s: Liz Shively, Derek Henderson, Bryce Wallace, Tim Smith, Bill Hendershot and Todd Lee. Another lucky six pack of guests added an extra inch to their supersized pike, landing 46s: Dave Wallace, who caught three 46s in a single day, Sydney Hasselkorn, who at twelve years old has the determination and skill of anglers many times her age, Ken Williamson Sr, Bill Williamson, Jason Loughran and Walter Keller. Then there were two anglers who really went deep into supersizing. On her first pike fishing trip Emma Shapiro brought a 48 incher to the boat and Dave Pepe landed his biggest pike ever, a 49” monster that was lurking on the edge of a rocky drop off and just could not resist the little plastic turbo pike at the end of Dave’s line. Both were fat, heavy pike.
We are in the middle of lake trout season now and the big ones have been turning up in the guide’s landing nets or cradles. In June and early July the cool surface water of our lakes allow lakers to spread around. They could be suspended at shallow depths over two hundred feet of water or in pike bays. They can be anywhere which often translates to nowhere. But when the surface water temps increase the trout head down where they can be more predictably targeted. Our electronics can find the trout but they can’t make them eat. Fortunately the Scott guide team has some tricks up their sleeves. Those arcs on the graphic displays of fish finders have been metamorphosing into fat lake trout posing for pictures along with some lucky anglers. People like Sydney (yes, that twelve year old again) Hasselkorn who had a trip of her young life: with no help from anyone she brought up a fat 40” lake trout, not an easy task for anyone. Others joining 40 inchers for photographs were Liz Shively, Jeff Keller, Dave Huntley, Evan Hendershot and Peter Amanatidis. Jack Potts and Jim Lande posed with 41 inchers and Al Williamson, a long time Scott Lake trout hunter, smiled along with a very girthy 42 incher.
There is still one other gamefish on the Scott Lake fishing agenda—the arctic grayling. Found in river segments between fly out lakes, the arctic grayling is easy to overlook. They have an image problem: they are small fish. When you only weigh a few pounds it’s tough to compete with bruisers like 49” northern pike. But for some of our guests grayling are just the right size. There are few fish that are as acrobatic and cooperative as grayling. It’s an understatement to say that they are not finicky: they love tiny spinners or almost any fly that either floats or sinks. Wading in a fast moving stream and casting to grayling is a satisfying experience for many of our guests. It’s quite similar to fishing streams in Montana, Idaho or Wyoming with one big exception: you will catch a lot more grayling here than trout there. Our supersize for grayling is 18” and we’ve had a few recently: Jim Williamson, Ken Williamson and Jason Loughran pulled in 18s and Jim Lande landed a 19” “sailfish of the north”, a descriptive tribute to the outlandish dorsal fin of the arctic grayling.
Getting a trophy grayling is one of the accomplishments needed to earn the Trophy Triple Hat or the 100+Club jacket. By getting a trophy in all three of our species, Al Ritter, Steve Ritter, Dave Huntley, Mark Jansen and Peter Amanatidis earned their hats. Ken Williamson, Al Williamson, Ken Williamson Jr got the hat plus the custom 100+Club jacket by catching trophies in all three species whose collective lengths reached or exceeded 100 inches, not an easy goal. For the season 14 year old Chase Larson still holds the top spot with 105 total inches. Al Williamson is at 103.5 and Joe Novicki is at 103. But the season is still young with 35 fishing days to go. Often our biggest fish of the year show up in August. Maybe this year August will be THE MONTH for both sunshine and big fish. Our angles will be waiting and watching. Stay tuned.
by Tammy MacDonald | Jul 7, 2015 | 2015 Season
A big story in Canadian media and a smaller story in the US media has been the fires in Saskatchewan. It’s all over the news. Many of our guests have contacted the lodge wondering what things are like here, even wondering if we’re still open. I guess we’re living in a fool’s paradise here because we have fewer fires around Scott Lake this season than any in recent memory. Except for a relatively small fire near the Stony Rapids airport in late June, we have been fire free. After the drenching rains of July 4 and July 6, some of the heaviest we have ever seen here, we don’t expect any fires beyond those that cook your fish at shore lunch. There have been substantial forest fires to the south, especially around La Ronge, about 350 miles southeast of Scott Lake, but nothing close to us. Fortunately, favorable winds have kept nearly all of the smoke from the southern fires away from us. Even Saskatoon, the largest Saskatchewan city, has been heavily smoked in over the past few weeks. Most guests arrive at our dock expecting the smoke that we just don’t have. It has been very cloudy and cool with lots of rain, but the air is clear. Instead of battling fires, we are battling big fish.
While the conditions for catching big fish have not been in any way optimal (too cool and cloudy for effective sight fishing and for creating those pike feeding frenzies), our guides have found a way to find fish, especially northern pike. Fishing hasn’t been as hot as last year which set all time records for trophy pike, but it has been solid and is on track for an excellent trophy year. As in most years there are always a lot of fish caught, but big fish can be illusive (that’s why we call pike over 40” trophies). But our experienced guide team, thirteen guides with over 150 seasons on Scott, has been up to the challenge. So far this season (through July 5th) they have helped clients land a total of 493 trophy pike. That’s well ahead of the pace of the 2012 season (627 for the full season) or 2013 (771 for the season). Only an outrageous optimist would have expected to equal last year’s record total of 1,184 trophy pike for the season. But we still have 55 fishing days left and we haven’t yet had our big shot of hot weather–pike and sunshine go together like eggs and bacon. So just maybe that record isn’t so safe. The same trend is apparent in our “super-sized” pike, those over 45”. We have 25 of those in the books already, on pace to better 2012 and 2013 and even challenge 2014.
So who’s been catching all these huge pike? Since our last update (June 16th), twenty-nine anglers have watched the guide’s tape stretch out to 45” or better. Patrick Lynch watched the tape hit 45” twice; Steve “Big Dog” Bandt was seeing double as well with a 45 and a 45.5 incher; Glen Milner watched twice too but his pike were each 46”; Joe Daugherty split the difference—he landed a 45 and a 46. A number of other angles broke the 46” barrier: Ryan Luke who paired his with a 40” trout, Rory Wright, Craig Mataczynski and Scott Loeppert. A lot more got 45s: David Green, Mark Graf who also paired his pike with a 40” trout, Sam Sapien, Len Dorr, Joe Novicki, Conrad Paulus, Bill Rini, Bruce Kozlowski and Gerry O’Brien.
But the real fish story in this young season was delivered by an angler who was born in the 21st century: Chase Larson is only 14 years old and he took everyone else on the island (some who have had over 30 trips to Scott Lake) to fishing school. He had the fishing trip that anglers five times his age have only fantasized about. He started with a massive 48 inch pike, the biggest of the season. Then he added a fat 42” lake trout, also the biggest of the season. To put the icing on his cake and earn the first 100+Club of the season, he finished of with a trophy grayling for a total of 105 trophy inches, a number that just may hold the top spot all season. Joe Novicki isn’t far behind with his 100+Club total of 103. Congrats to both. We have had a number of Trophy Triple winners as well. If an angler gets a trophy in all three species (pike, lake trout and grayling) they get some bragging rights and a neat hat. The winners: Bridget Manuel, Josh O’Brien, Tim Van Den Heuvel, Bill Calabresa, Joe Novicki, Gord Kluzak, Glen Kluzak and Chase Larson.
Big fish are exciting to catch and talk about, but they are only a part of the Scott Lake experience. In the first 25 days of this young season, thousands of smaller pike, lake trout and grayling have bent our St. Croix fishing rods, giving anglers the shot of adrenaline they crave. There have been hundreds of fish just under our arbitrary trophy measures (40” for pike/35” for trout/15” for grayling). There have been pictures of 39” pike shown at the nightly “fish du jour” show that had incredibly large girths and would have weighed more than a lot of 40” pike, our trophy standard. Forty is just a number. A trophy fish is any fish that gives an angler a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. The trophy numbers are tallied and biggest fish celebrated because the other parts of the fishing experience are so tough to quantify. Just try to put a number on seeing a black bear or moose on a wilderness island, or seeing an eagle cut an arc through a blue sky. Or even attempt to quantify the pleasure of getting your first hard fighting pike on a fly rod, tasting that first bite of a shore lunch fish that was swimming less than an hour before or hearing a common loon echo its haunting call around a quiet bay. There is sublime pleasure in simply pausing a cast to look at the pristine landscape. There is a lot more to a fishing trip than fishing. There are the conversations with your fishing partner in the boat, with new friends over an elegant dinner at the lodge and with your guide at boat side as you unwind the day or prepare for the next one. There are permanent memories created and friendships deepened. And all that in five days on the water at Scott Lake Lodge.
So, it’s been a great start to the 2015 season. Way beyond all the numbers: a lot of smiles and laughs. Who could ask for more?
by Tammy MacDonald | Jun 16, 2015 | 2015 Season
The first week of the 2015 season at Scott Lake Lodge is in the books. For the Scott Lake Lodge staff is seemed like June 10 would never arrive. The planning and anticipation hit a crescendo at the traditional pre-season employee meeting on June 9th. There were many, toasts to the season ahead. The Scott crew was eager for the season to begin. Thanks to the relatively early ice out, our twelve acre island in the far north was ship shape and ready for prime time when the first anglers stepped off the float planes on the evening of June 10. It was a highly enthusiastic group. They were all primed to be the first to throw flies or lures into the inviting waters of Scott Lake and the lodge’s 14 fly out destinations. For the first time ever all but one of those fly outs were open and ready to go for the first group. Only Smalltree Lake, about 85 miles further north, still had ice. The ice was dark and broken up. Smalltree, one of our very best pike lakes, will be ready for our second group of guests. All of our guides were thinking, actually hoping, that this year would be a carbon copy of last season when the first group had the luxury of fishing in 80 degree weather with virtually no winds. That didn’t happen.
THERE WILL BE PIKE
It’s a good thing our guests were eager and hardy because it was overall a very cold and windy week; definitely not shorts and T-shirt weather. For the fly fisherman in the group, the wind was at times overwhelming. Despite the challenges of the weather, our inaugural group brought in some great fish. In the five days of fishing a total of 110 trophies were tallied, mainly pike, but also some beautiful lake trout and even a few grayling which are more active later in the summer. Things started off with a bang on the first day when Scott Smet brought a 46” pike to his guide’s cradle. With our pike trophy standard at 40”, neither Scott nor his guide had to wonder if that fish made the trophy mark: it was a beast of a fish. Over ninety more trophy pike followed that fish. One of the staff’s favorite guests, long time regular Doug Roche, was just under the leader with a very fat and healthy looking pike of 45.5”, the same tape length that Tim Van Den Heuvel saw when his guide pulled the tape on another beauty. Danny Martindale was right behind with a 45” heavyweight. Six anglers had the fight of their trip with 44 inchers: Bob Weyers, Dave Wanderer, Jim Kasier, Peter Leonivitz, Jeff Weyers and Harry Moulopoulus who picked up a pair of 44s. There were lots and lots of 42s and 43s. The fish wealth was spread around nicely. Everyone at Scott for the first week got a trophy pin for pike, lake trout or grayling and 23 of the 24 anglers got their pike pin.
SURPRISE APPEARANCE
During the early season lake trout, the stars of mid-season are difficult to target. They are feeding close to the surface but that surface could be two feet above the bottom or 200 feet. At this time of year with still very cold surface temperatures, they cruise the entire lake. At Scott that’s a lot of surface area, making big trout illusive critters in June. But this year we had our best ever opening week trout fishing with quite a few big trout making an appearance. Many of the really big ones found themselves at the end of Ray Johnson’s line. He was Mr. Trout of Week 1, landing lakers of 41, 40, 38.5 and 36 inches. All were caught close to the surface. Mike Roche got into the big trout game casting to a 39” fatty. One of the most exciting fly fishing experiences of the week was owned by hardcore fly guys, Bart Davies and George Virtue. They were fishing below the Kimiwan rapids and got into a bunch of hard fighting lake trout. In just over an hour they landed over twenty trout including a 36 incher. In that fast water their drags were singing and they were singing the praises of Scott Lake. Actually all the departing guests were singing the praises of both the fishing along with the great shore lunches, fine dining and the extraordinary service provided by 30 hard working men and women who have but one focus for 90 days—making every guest’s trip memorable, big fish or no big fish. They did a hell of a job to kick off the 2015 season. Fifteen more groups to go. . . who knows what will be caught. Stay tuned.
by Tammy MacDonald | May 27, 2015 | 2015 Season, Guides, Island Life
It’s been hot, incredibly hot for May, on Scott Lake. In our twenty years of operations we have never had the lake open in May. But it just could be this year. The lake is just one windy day away from breaking up. What a contrast to last May when the temperatures were hovering just above freezing for most of the month. Our island in the north has been basking in temperatures in the high 60s, even 70s for a couple of weeks now. An intrepid crew including guides Paul Hamilton, Cody Mychalyshyn and Jan Phoenix flew in by helicopter on May 12th to start the process of getting camp ready for the 2015 season. Instead of wearing down coats as our early-in crew last year did this year the appropriate apparel has been flip-flops, shorts and T-shirts. You can follow their exploits, including an interesting version of a “northern bath” by checking out our Face book site (www.facebook.com/scottlakelodge). At least we have a season when we will have a leisurely and enjoyable opening. After the drama of 2014 we’ll take it and enjoy it.
The crew has a lot to do yet before we are fully ready for our June 10th opener. The gang is putting the finishing touches on a new quadplex staff dorm. We have been increasing our staff numbers over the past few years and now have a lot more elbow room in Guideland. Also on the agenda are the many routine but time consuming tasks we do every season: take down all the plywood boards on all the cabins; connect all the water lines and install the large submersible water pump; unload thousands of gallons of Jet fuel for the Otter, AvGas for the Beaver, unleaded gas for the boats and diesel fuel for the two generators. This year we are also setting up four new 18’guide boats for Scott and four new 16’ boats for the fly out lakes. Of course there are the fourteen fly out lakes to set up as well. We have nearly forty outboards motors to check out and service. And a few hundred spruce trees to cut down, haul to the island, run through the municipal-sized wood chipper and then spread over the quarter mile of island trails. And unload and store several tons of food and supplies. And inspect, clean and maintain the 28 buildings around the island. And the list goes on and on and on. This season all those “ands” will require about 2000 hours of what can only be called what it is—hard labor. But ask any of the Scott Lake crew: it is a labor of love. And the early birds love every minute of their work, especially with warm temperatures making everything just a bit more pleasant.
One guy not working very hard is our Sales Manager, Jon Wimpney. His work is essentially done. We have had very few cancellations this year (a tangible sign that the economy really is back to pre-2008 levels) and he has only a handful, a small handful, of open spots to fill. Call him at 306/209-7150 if you have the itch. If the dates work he can scratch it.
by Tammy MacDonald | Apr 27, 2015 | 2015 Season
WARMING UP
It’s getting pretty warm in the north. The last few days of April will see temperatures into the 60s with rain forecast in early May. That’s quite a contrast to the below freezing temperatures of last May. It is looking good for an early ice out. Scott Lake Lodge, with its collection of 28 buildings, is also looking good. A crew led by Jason Hamilton, Scott’s General Manager, returned recently from an inspection trip. There were very few snowmobile tracks in the area (the caribou that lure snowmobiling hunters north stayed much further north this winter, leaving the lodge untouched). Everything was exactly as we left it last September. The final loads of lumber and supplies were flown in with a single Otter on skis to complete the new staff dorm that was started last fall. A small group, including guides Paul Hamilton, Jan Phoenix and Cody Mychalyshyn, will be flown in by helicopter (the skis come off the planes very soon) in mid-May to finish that job and get the island ready for the June 10 opener.
SOME NEW/MANY FAMILIAR FACES
The entire guide team will back for the season. Steve Yanish and Shaun Ledoux will be splitting the season with Shaun on deck for the first half and Steve for the second. And we are very pleased that long time Scott guide Greg Hamm is returning after a few years in civilization, if you can call working in potash mine civilized. All of our guys will be ready, willing and eager to show their anglers a fantastic trip this summer. There are some new faces in the Shore Staff group, arriving from all compass points except north—Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. We have a new massage therapist, Sydney Raeburn. Returning veteran Dani Grunberg will be the Hospitality Manager this season. She will be bringing into the fold three new servers—Brenna Savery, Mary Reid and Jackie Tourand. Head Chef Jeff Walker has all of his team back except for Sefan Beattie. Those shoes will be filled this year by Nigel Rivera. Agnes Ramos, our Hospitality Manager for several years, will be heading to the lodge office to take over as Office Manager. She will be utilizing her organizational expertise to keep track of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of logistical details and dilemmas that get passed off to that position. Everyone at Scott appreciates the hard work and big smile that Agnes always brings to her work.
WELCOME RON SPORK, NEW SHAREHOLDER
After 19 years of going solo as owners, Tom and Pat Klein are delighted to share the risks and rewards (yes, we do have secret, private water) of ownership with Ron Spork. Ron owns and operates Consolidated Fabrication and Contractors, Inc., a Gary, Indiana company specializing in building custom petroleum storage tanks and other equipment for the gas and oil industry. Ron has been a Scott “regular” for several years and shares with Tom and Pat a tremendous love and appreciation for Scott’s pristine lake environment. And he does love to fish as well: lake trout are at the top of Ron’s favorite fish list. Ron’s stated goal for joining the shareholder group is to “make sure that the unique culture at Scott doesn’t change”. It will not. And with his sons he will be doing some Scott Lake fishing for many years to come when his busy travel schedule allows. The management structure at Scott will not change at all: Tom Klein will continue to do what he’s always done over the past 19 years—interact with customers and fish. Jason Hamilton will run the place. It’s a great system—for Tom.
SASKATOON TRAVEL: GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY
For any angler traveling to northern Saskatchewan, Saskatoon is the jumping off point. It is a very busy summer city. With the recent pull out of United Airlines, commercial air travel to Saskatoon has become a bit more difficult. The only non-stop from the United States is now the Delta flight from Minneapolis. There are connecting flights from Canadian cites to Saskatoon. Air Canada flights from Winnipeg and Edmonton do synch up nicely with the Scott Lake charter flight. Check with the Scott Lake Customer Service Office before you book your flight to Saskatoon or play it safe and do what many Scott customers are doing– arriving the day before their charter flight to the lodge or stay with the daily Delta flight leaving Minneapolis at 1:05 PM. The Scott Customer Service Office number from the US is 888/830-9525 (from Canada use 715/362-7031).
STAY IN THE LOOP
Stay tuned to all lodge developments including ice conditions, the spring work schedule and some great pictures by regularly checking out our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/scottlakelodge). And check out the News from the 60th section of our website (www.scottlakelodge.com). If you can’t make the trip this summer, it’s the next best thing.
JOIN THE FUN BUT DO IT NOW
But a digital, vicarious trip is nothing like the real thing. We have very few openings left for 2015. There are have fewer than normal cancellations this year but we do have a few. We now have openings for two anglers July 10-14; July 20-25 and July 30-August 4. And we have room for up to six for August 19-24. That’s it! Call Jon Wimpney, the Scott Sales Manager, today at 306/209-7150 for details.
