by Tammy MacDonald | Dec 30, 2013 | Guides
A Memorable Guide Retreat
The Guide Retreat is a long and noble tradition for Scott lake guides. Every year they go somewhere for fishing, bonding and even some company brainwashing. After covering the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Florida and various other destinations, this year’s spot on the map was in the vast Amazon watershed. It’s a long way from Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Whitehorse or White Fox to the headwaters of the Agua Boa River in the far northern reaches of the Amazon basin where the legendary peacock bass inhabits the Rio Negro and its many tributaries. But most of our guide team made the long trek to Manaus, Brazil, a frontier city on the banks of the Amazon. It’s a sprawling metropolis of nearly three million people. The crew did an urban tour of the city which included a stroll through the fascinating fish market where very day thousands of fish from Amazonia are brought for sale. Every strange fish imaginable is on display, available for purchase. It was everything you might expect in the equatorial heat and humidity. You like the smell of fish? Go to the Manaus fish market. The day also included a boat tour of the harbor area and to the “meeting of the waters”—the place where the two major rivers of the Amazon, the Rio Solimoes and the Rio Negro join to form the true Amazon River. Many people consider the longer Rio Solimoes arm upstream of Manaus the Amazon, but locals make a clear distinction and the two rivers could not be more distinct. The Rio Negro, the homewater of the peacock bass, runs cool and dark but it relatively sediment free. The Rio Solimoes, which has no peacock bass, is muddy and warm. The line where these two mighty rivers meet is visually distinct for many miles before they completely merge. It was a tourist thing to do but hell, we were all tourists. We even went to a riverside tourist trap where they have dozens of huge Pirarucu (the lung fish of the Amazon), some weighing a couple of hundred pounds, in an enclosed area. Using a hardwood pole, a heavy line and a fish tied (but no hook) to the line, we watched and felt these primitive fish fight for the bait. The game was to see how long one would hold the bait and how much water would be sprayed on the onlookers. It was a wonderfully chaotic scene: the guides loved it. Dinner at a traditional Brazilian steak house (the meat just kept coming and coming) ended a full day.
Then it was time to start the real trip. We flew in style in a private plane for two hours north to reach the Agua Boa Lodge airstrip, a short landing area carved right out of the jungle. It’s a cool way to start an adventure. The Agua Boa Lodge is an oasis of comfort in a remote and wild location, sort of like Scott Lake South, way south. It’s a fabulous lodge place with a fantastic fishery. The river was a bit high due to recent rains but that did not stop the Agua Boa guides with their Scott Lake guides as clients from finding lots of big peacock bass. Our guides fell right into the rhythm of this type of fishing. It is remarkably like fly fishing for our pike at Scott—same rods and essentially the same flies. Whistlers, big Deceivers, and all the other flies we use at Scott worked their magic on peacocks. After just a day and a half in the jungle Jon Wimpney and Jan Phoenix found their pot of Amazon gold—an 18 and 15 pounder respectively. Over the next five days dozens more double digit bass followed. Everyone got fish in the 12-14 pound range. Even owner Tom Klein (the only non-guide on the trip) added to the big fish parade with a 16 and 17 pounder caught within an hour of each other. But he gives all the credit to his fishing partner and good luck charm that day, Jon Wimpney, who passed along his peacock touch to everyone who happened to be in his boat. Must have been the rum. Graham Coulombe nailed a 16 pounder and Paul Hamilton, Curtis Woloshyn, Mike Demyen and Cory Craig all landed 14s. Cory, the Scott head guide, had to be patient though. He went quite a few days without a double digit bass and was starting to feel like some Scott customers who see everyone else getting their trophy pins for big pike or trout. When he did cash in though, the big fish were on his line several times a day. It’s all about patience, just like up at Scott, but he now better understands Scott customer’s “need” to get those big fish. Even though this was just a fun fishing trip, the pressure to get a big one or two was there. Everyone got their imaginary peacock trophy pins.
The Scott guides learned a lot from this trip. Graham noted how critical guide to customer communication was for fishing success and customer satisfaction, reinforcing his desire to communicate clearly and effectively to his customers when there is a big fish around. Even with a language barrier (Portuguese is the local language), the Agua Boa guides did a great job in helping all the Scott guides get their fly in front of big fish. Paul Hamilton approached this trip with no expectation regarding the size of the fish but with the confidence born of years of fishing. Paul appreciated every fish he caught, even the smaller ‘butterfly peacocks”. That’s of course the right attitude about fishing (and maybe life). One thing they all commented upon was how much work it was to throw a sinking line or sinktip line on an 8 or 9 weight fly rod all day long. Mike Demyen feels that he can now better relate to the Scott customers who choose to cast a fly rod ten straight hours. He had done a lot of small stream fly fishing but waving the big sticks was work. All of the guides also noted that own skill level with fly casting and fly presentation improved over the seven day trip. That will have payoffs for Scott’s fly fisherman. Fishing was the core of the trip but keeping with long running Scott Lake guide tradition these guys partied as hard as they fished. The beer and rum inventory of the northern Amazon basin was seriously dented. And they really crushed the peacock bass, both with numbers and size. After a slow start (luck is always part of the fishing equation) Curtis put on a virtual clinic over his final two days at the lodge, catching 20 peacocks over 10 pounds, including a gorgeous 14 pounder on his last cast of the trip.
And this was not just a peacock trip. Most of the guys landed some Arawana (a cool looking snake-shaped fish). Jan Phoenix just loved sight casting to Arawana, a surface loving, insect eating fish. They readily take shallow running flies and put on quite a show when hooked. He caught a bunch. Many caught the vampire fish of the Amazon, the Payara, with two vicious looking fangs. Some caught piranhas and even a couple of catfish ate flies. Mike Demyen landed a hard fighting and very tasty Piarara (the red-tailed catfish) of over 30 pounds the old fashioned way– “soaking “a piece of meat on the bottom. Cory Craig started every morning throwing a 5 weight fly rod off the dock landing many two to four pound Pacu on dry flies. Unfortunately no one landed the “lung fish of the Amazon”, the legendary Pirarucu. We had to be content with the captive critters at the Manaus tourist trap. Many were sighted and some had flies thrown their direction but there were no takers. There was almost a take once when a Pirarucu was spotted by the guide within 20 feet of the boat. Tom Klein put the cast where it should have gone but out of nowhere a tiny butterfly peacock grabbed the fly before the monster could react. Sounds just like many Scott Lake sight fishing opportunities when the 20 inch pike darts in to grab the fly before the 45 incher can move. There was one dramatic taker though that doesn’t quite qualify as a fish. A huge black caiman (maybe a 14 footer) moved in quickly on Curt Woloshyn’s big peacock and devoured it in a huge spray less than two feet from the boat. Curt fought the huge reptile for six minutes before the line went slack, peacock and caiman gone. Mike Demyen was quick with his video camera and captured the attack. (It will hit YouTube down the road). That kind of activity puts a little edge to fishing as do the electric eels and the piranhas. Swimming was not part of the program.
As the group gathered in the lodge swimming pool every day after fishing the phrase “best guide trip ever” was heard more than once. From the gluttonous dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse (The Buffalo) in Manaus to the video and photo sharing on the morning of departure this was a trip to remember. There was substantial team building, individual bonding, and even some serious meetings in the mix to complement seven days of great fishing. We offer our thanks to all the 2013 customers whose trips last summer make this adventure possible. Our guides will never forget you or the trip to the Agua Boa.
THE BOYS IN THE NORTH
While the Scott guides felt right at home fishing for peacocks, they are at home on Scott Lake. Nearly all our guides are in their second decade of guiding on Scott Lake. Cory Craig is on his third decade starting his 21st season in June. All our guides know and love their home water. At Scott Lake Lodge we fully realize that a great guide is the difference between a good trip and a great trip. There is still some room for the 2014 season. Jon Wimpney can catch more than 18 pound peacocks. He can catch a world class fishing trip for you. If you want a great Canadian wilderness fishing trip this summer give Jon a call at 306/209-7150 or email him at j5@scottlakelodge.com You will catch some lifetime memories.
by Tammy MacDonald | Nov 12, 2013 | Guides
Sales Surge
It’s like a run on the bank in reverse. Interest in Scott Lake Lodge fishing trips has hit an all time high. Bookings for next year’s season (June 10-September 8, 2014) are running about 20% ahead of the pace of 2013, a year that sold out in late April. We are looking at a sell out again but at a much earlier date. It is of course a lot easier to sell out a season when 70% of your capacity is gone before your last customer leaves. That’s what happened this year when 340 of our 2014 trips were booked by our September 6th close date. Things are moving. So if you are “thinking” of a trip to Scott stop thinking and start calling. While a few of our 2014 weeks are full, we have openings scattered throughout the schedule. Give Jon Wimpney, our veteran guide/sales manager, a call today at 306/209-7150 or email Jon at j5@scottlakelodge.com. Jon can give you open dates or just talk to you about the subject he loves the most—fishing.
The Boys in Brazil
The Scott Lake Lodge Guide Team is counting down the days for the next Guide Retreat. This one will be a dandy—peacock bass fishing in the jungles of the northern Amazon basin. Peacock bass will be right in the wheelhouse for our guides. While not similar to pike in appearance or habitat, they act a lot like pike when something looking like food moves in front of them. The savage strikes and hard fights are legendary and well earned. It’s a spectacular game fish. We have visited many exotic locales over the years like Mexico, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, the Florida Everglades but the Agua Boa River in northern Brazil will be special. The trip starts in Manaus Brazil, a city of two million on the banks of the Amazon River. Even though Manaus is over 1000 miles from the ocean it is a major port—that’s how big the Amazon River is. The Agua Boa is actually a tributary to a tributary of the Rio Negro which joins the Amazon at Manaus. We will be near the headwaters of the entire system where the water is almost as clear as the water of Scott Lake. Sight fishing these brightly colored tackle busters will take fishing excitement to a new level. As with all of our previous guide trips, there will be a lot of opportunity for professional development and team building. There is no better way to improve guiding skills than watching what other guides do (or don’t do). And this will be a time for all our guides to refine their fly fishing techniques. The Agua Boa Lodge is a fly fishing only venue. Getting a 20 pounder (it’s possible) on a fly rod would be a lifetime thrill. The trip is December 14-21. Watch for a full report on our website right after Christmas.
Our Evaluations Are In
Every year we ask our customers to fill out an online evaluation survey. We had a robust response with 30% of our customers (many responding for two anglers) giving us their feedback which was generally laudatory. In our book though, any response less than an “excellent” rating is just not good enough. We did get a lot of “excellent” ratings but will be working in 2014 to push the “good” ratings into the excellent category. Some highlights of the process: 99% would recommend Scott Lake Lodge to a friend; 94% rated the guiding as excellent; 91% rated the overall Scott Lake experience as excellent; 89% rated the service at meals as excellent; 85% rated the housekeeping as excellent and 97% rated our travel planning assistance as excellent. Not bad but we will keep working to make Scott Lake Lodge the top rated lodge in Canada for customer service. Many very specific suggestions for improvements around the lodge were received and we will tackle each and every one of those. Thanks to all who participated in the survey.
by Tammy MacDonald | Sep 19, 2013 | 2013 Season
If you locked a dozen Hollywood screen writers in a room for a week they could not have dreamed up a better finale to the 2013 Scott Lake Lodge season than Ma Nature wrote across the flat horizon of the lake. Those last eight days had it all: big fish, one exciting storm, several nights of vivid northern lights, glorious yellow/gold birch trees and six absolutely perfect sunny fall days with four days without a breath of wind—the big lake was gorgeous.
It was still sandals and T-shirts into September. The final scenes in the script of 2013 featured relaxed shore lunches, after dinner bonfires with laughter blending with the cries of the loons, small groups of guests and staff gazing in disbelief at the power and beauty of the aurora borealis dancing overhead and of course some exciting action sequences involving unpaid actors dancing at the end of a line.
There were some notable catches over those last eight days. There was an exceptionally fat 45” pike taken by Ray Newkirk. And a beautifully colored 46” pike caught in just two feet of water by Ken Wollin when the guide recognized the potential of the warm weather to push big pike back into their spring spots. It sucked in a black leech just like it was mid-June. Probably the biggest big fish day of the season was enjoyed by Peter Myhre when on a fly out he brought nine trophy pike to his guide’s cradle, the biggest being 47 inches, and caught three trophy lake trout, one 39 inches, on the same day. It was a scene stealer of a day for sure. Joel Elfman also bagged a big trout—a fat 40 incher. In a memorable angling moment Joe Daugherty got a personal best pike that pulled the tape to 48 inches, topping the 47 he got on an earlier trip (Joe comes two or even three times a year—he knows how to live.) With that trend line he should have a 50 or 51 next season. As with any fishing trips there were tradeoffs. The flat water days made getting pike tougher. Our guides love and pray for wind to create some disturbance down under that gives a predator an edge over prey and gets them moving. But who can’t enjoy totally bug-free days with the reflections of the clouds and trees providing a surreal experience, while in T-shirts. It was simply glorious.
On September 6 the sound of the last Twin Otter arrival of the season roared over Scott Lake Lodge. It’s always a bitter sweet time for the Scott Lake Lodge staff and management. They had spent nearly 100 consecutive days together on a 12 acre island; forming a deep bond during the fast paced, at times intense atmosphere while making sure all 26 guests have the trip of a lifetime, even if it’s their 30th trip. Yet when that last Otter started its takeoff run loaded with the last 26 happy customers of the season there was a cheer heard across the island. For a few minutes there was the pure joy of knowing that the job was done and well done. But it was also time for reflection, some hugs, some tears and always the talk of NEXT SEASON. There is a strong Scott community. It’s why over half of the Scott guides have been at Scott for at least 12 years: this is their home. They know, along many of the long time shores staff team members like Jeff Walker, Head Chef, Shaun Ledoux, out chef turned guide, Jerry Yanish, the Silver Fox running the maintenance department and eleven year veteran, General Manager John Gariepy, that the next season will be even more satisfying and exciting than the one before. That’s how it’s been for 17 years. There are no reruns at Scott—just great new movies season after season.
THE POST SEASON
Unlike football, baseball or hockey the postseason doesn’t feature a lot of drama. It’s primarily work. This year fall was like summer revisited. There was an incredible Indian Summer at Scott in September right up until the day the last four of us were scheduled to leave on September 17th. Then all hell broke loose with an arctic blast straight from the north. There were no floatplanes in the air nor any chance of even taking a boat even around the island. We had gale force winds with four to five foot waves banging onto the back dock. But even in the maelstrom of wind, rain and flying debris the internet still worked. Strange feeling actually. The other world is never that far away even on the 60th parallel. With the temperature dropping to below freezing, the bigger lake trout finally came to their traditional spawning reefs. For nearly a week the smaller males were present in large numbers, patrolling the shallow rocky areas of the lake, patiently waiting for the females to make their appearance. With a little snow on the shorelines and a lower surface water temperature the bigger males and some of the females arrived.
We got out in the boat on the 18th when the winds abated a bit. The fishing was great. But it was still a violent scene on the lake. The fishing was like the early days of the Lodge when the peak of “reefer madness” would land around the tenth of September. The warmer lake temperatures of recent years have delayed the spawning and stretched out the season. While pike fishing is still great in September, it’s hard to focus on deeper water pike when trout that typically live in 100 feet of water are in two feet or less. Closing down the fly out lakes, especially Dunvagen, Smalltree, Gardiner and Ingalls gave the “closers” a look at some huge shallow water trout but time for any fishing was short. There are eleven fly out locations needing attention, too many to take time to fish. There were many tasks over the dozen days after the last customers left: boarding up every cabin, draining water lines, sinking some leftover beer and pop, cleaning up the kitchen, pulling the big water pump, cleaning all the bedding, washing all the linens, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So now it’s the 19th and still no window for a flight out. But we plan to fish today. Why not? Not a bad place to get stuck!
It’s been a lot of work but things are in great shape for the “opening” crew that will land right after ice out to get ready for the 2014 season. It will be worth waiting for. Our deepest thanks to all our 2013 customers for making this season so memorable.
PS: On September 20th the skies cleared just enough to offer an escape route. It was not clear sailing with a lot of low hanging clouds. On the flight to Stony the clouds did part often enough to show the glorious yellow landscape created by the birch trees in full fall color. It was time to head home for all of us but it was still hard to leave.
by Tammy MacDonald | Sep 3, 2013 | 2013 Season
Let’s get this straight right off the bat. The big girls of August refer to the incredibly heavy pike that have been caught at Scott Lake and its fly out lakes over the past few weeks. All big pike are female; they need the larger body size to produce the hundreds of thousands of eggs a large female produces every spring. Most males top out at 38 or 39 inches, not the stuff of legends.
The big fish and the good times just kept rolling through the third week of August. Warm temps and moderate winds kept everyone smiling and fishing. The initial transition to fall was subtle, like most years when summer and fall melt together like the marshmallows and chocolate in bonfire-roasted s’mores. But this year the melding of seasons ended abruptly. On August 24th fall came like an uninvited guest to Scott Lake Lodge. One group left the island in the garb of summer: T-shirts and shorts with fresh memories of sight casting to pike in sunny bays. The next group donned as many layers as they could find topped with hooded rain jackets.
It got cold fast. Evening temperatures at Scott dropped to the high 30s and low 40s. Daytime temps hovered and shivered in the 40s with rain and strong winds. Unfortunately the group enduring the worst the 60th parallel has to dish out was from Texas and other southern states. But they were troopers and fished through the worst of it, shop catching fewer big fish than they had hoped for. But they kept the wood fired sauna running and spent plenty of time in the hot tub and around the big bonfire pit outside the main lodge. They burned more wood than the previous 16 groups combined. We honor their tenacity and ability to have a great time despite the nasty weather.
But the three groups fishing at Scott during the final two weeks of August did manage to catch a lot of fish—hundreds with 132 trophy sized fish landed. In fact some of our biggest girls of the season were taken during this period. Jared Dubinsky fishing on Premier Lake, a lake connected to Scott, got the biggest pike of the season so far, a fat 49 incher. There were three 48” pike landed over the three groups. Scott Bixby, who also had a 45, was in that elite group along with Damian Carroll and Sondra Eoff.
Sondra’s story is worth telling. While her husband Toby spent a big portion of his trip lounging in the hot tub and sauna, Sondra was on the dock every morning going out with her guide, Shaun Ledoux, fishing in whatever the elements threw at her. It was her first pike fishing trip and she was going to make the most of it. She did. On her second to last day she hooked into a fish of a lifetime. It was probably the heaviest of all the big girls of the season. It had a monstrous girth and a nasty disposition. It was the best pike battle Shaun had ever witnessed. But the outcome was never in doubt. Sondra talked to the fish during the entire fight. After a third blistering run, she let the fish know she meant business: “You ain’t going anywhere– I’m going to win this fight” were the exact words Shaun recalled. Sondra won. It was for her “the experience of a lifetime”. We believe it was the biggest pike ever taken by a female angler at Scott.
Lots of other memorable fish were caught as well. Long time Scott regular Mark Graf got his personal best, a beautiful 47” pike and Katherine Velas on her first trip to Scott tallied a 46.5”. The leader of the Texas contingent, Todd Lee, scored a 45 incher along with several other trophy pike. Kay Myhre landed the heaviest 46 incher veteran guide Jon Wimpney had ever held. However it was a slow period for the trout heavyweights. Two over 40 inches were caught, one by Ron Kirwer (42”) and one by Mark Graf (40”). Mark landed the biggest grayling of the season, a 19 incher and his son Foster got an 18.
The 2014 season is winding down quickly. The late August weather did rebound after the cold front and brought back the mild summer temperatures. If you don’t like the weather. . . We’ll see what the first week of September holds for the final group of anglers rolling into the lod ge today. Stay tuned for the season finale.
by Tammy MacDonald | Aug 19, 2013 | 2013 Season
While the calendar says fall and the yellowing birches say fall, the weather is stuck in a blissful endless summer. During the first two weeks of August the sun has been unchallenged by clouds of any sort: the good weather, the good fishing and the good times just keep rolling along. Not a drop of rain landed on Scott, but there is still plenty of water to float the boats. It has been hot though with precious little breeze. The Scott guides hate this kind of weather but many customers love it. Who doesn’t love blue skies and flat water? But the guides hate it because the pike go on a hunger strike when the lakes get flat and glassy. They seem to have a deal with their prey that goes like this: when the lake surface is so calm that you can see me and I can see you, let’s call the whole thing off. It’s not the right condition for pike to go on a hunt. Our guides love wind. The pike “chop” as they call it disperses light, creating refraction that provides the predator’s camo and makes the ambush feeding style work. But you fish what you’re given and our guides and customers do not sit on their hands. The fishing might have been tougher but that makes everyone work a little harder. The guide/guest team still gets the job done. In two weeks 244 trophies were landed, most of them pike. And there were a lot of very pike as well. Our list of “supersized” pike (those of 45” or better) just keeps growing. We can add to the growing list of names Jennifer Scott (45”), Travis Hunt (45”), Bob Meeks (46”), Derek Burdeny (46”), Arie Dejong (46”), Joe Daugherty (46”), Katie Olivo (46.5’) and with a real super Doug Howard (48”). Ty Daugherty (son of Joe) started his pike fishing life with a flourish. On his first day ever fishing he landed three trophy pike and a trophy lake trout. Dad was a busy and happy cameraman. Katie Olivo had probably the best single day of two week period, catching five trophy pike in one day with her 46.5” making it a most memorable day.
Big trout were also in the picture. Our supersized standard of 40” was crossed ten times in two weeks. The biggest was a 44.5X25” monster laker that John Vanderdussen joined for a photo opp. John got a 40 the same day. Bob Noble, Jr. caught two 40 inchers on one day. Dru Rafferty got a 40 and three anglers—Stu Sauser, Bob Chadwell and Jill Daubert—landed trout of 43 inches. All girthy and heavy. Loren Larson tallied four trophies but his real trophy was a day when he and his fishing partner, Don Rohrbahck, combined for 93 beautiful lake trout in a single day. For the five days they caught around 300 trout. Not all the trout were caught deep. One angler’s 38 incher grabbed a spinner in 9 feet of water in a pike cabbage patch. It’s the time of year when some trout start moving up.
It’s also the time of year when the grayling fishing hits its peak level of action. Everyone who went after this miniature sailfish had great fishing days. A bunch of people put grayling of 18” (a big one around here) in the guide’s net: Wayne and Clay Parmley, Dru Rafferty, Bryan Weirwill, Mike Shea, Brian Baker, Pete Ricketts and Dave Lenz. Mark Quandahl got one an inch better at 19. Dry flies have been the offering of choice. Grayling are not highly selective feeders. Throw out something that looks like a floating bug and hang onto your four-weight.
The northern lights made their first appearance of the season. Two nights were sensational; others so so. Like fishing you can’t predict the lights but like landing a big fish you do appreciate the experience when it comes. That big fish experience has been pretty common this season. On the last day of our 14th group of the season another big pike was landed, the 43rd over 45”. We have already bested last year’s supersized pike total of 42 and that was a good year. So we are headed to a great year. Stay tuned.
