For weeks, the management of Scott Lake Lodge has been asking anyone and everyone in Canada’s chain of command what the key metric will be for opening the US/Canadian border. Well, we finally got an answer, but it’s one we don’t like.

The government’s current position (it could change) demands that 75% of the Canadian population be fully (two shots) vaccinated prior to the opening of the border. Considering that just under 4% of the population has both doses now, it might seem like an impossible mountain to climb, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. Canada has gone with a single dose first strategy and have just over half of their population covered with the first shot. After many delays, their deliveries of vaccine have increased dramatically. Currently Canada’s vaccinations per capita exceed that of the US. Canada will hit that benchmark. But exactly when?

Looking at the math of expected vaccine deliveries from government sources, we are convinced that it will not happen in time for our guests arriving before July 28.

TO HELP OUR JULY GUESTS PLAN THEIR SUMMER, WE ARE NOW CANCELLING WITH REGRET OUR WEEKS 7, 8, 9 AND 10, COVERING THE FOUR GROUPS STARTING ON JULY 8 AND ENDING ON JULY 28.  

We do want to keep everyone’s options open for trips starting on July 28. There are a lot of optimistic signals over the past week. At last, discussions between the US and Canada have started over opening procedures. Also, Canada is in discussions with the European Union about international travel protocols. Since the EU (in the near future) will allow international travelers into the EU countries for vaccinated people, Canada may reconsider their position on not having any special consideration for vaccinated travelers. That, of course, is pure speculation on our part, but there is still hope for some season at Scott Lake Lodge.

Our staff will be on payroll in early June and will be on call to get to our island in the far north on short notice. Our required Covid plans have been submitted. We have the transportation links from Saskatoon to the Lodge secured. Our infrastructure will be ready. Once that stop light at the border turns green, we will do everything we can to get as many people as possible on our beautiful northern waters.

As we did last year, we will have a small work crew on the island for June and July to complete the construction work started last summer. There will be no rest for them as they make our facilities just a little bit better. There will be rest though for the fish on Scott and the 24 flyout lakes. They will patiently await your arrival. We want to thank you for your patience and loyalty as we sort through the Covid mess. We hope you can wet a line somewhere this summer.

As promised a month ago, we have been waiting and watching. Carefully. While the Covid news on the US side of the closed border has been a stream of good news with the return to normal life just around the corner, the news from the north is not so good. Canada is in the grip of a third wave of infection that has created their greatest health crisis of the pandemic. Ontario, the most populous province and politically the big dog of the country, is in a tight lock down with their highest positivity rates of the pandemic. Several other provinces are also locked down. There is nothing encouraging to report from the north.

EARLY SEASON CANCELLATIONS

We made a tough call this week. Weighing the best available evidence, we have cancelled Weeks 1-6, our June 14th to July 8th trips. We made that call by weighing the best evidence available on the prospects of the US/Canadian border opening. We are assuming that the current border closure currently in effect until May 21 will be extended to June 21. If the border does open then, we will need a couple of weeks to orchestrate the wide range of logistics required to offer a world class fishing trip. If it’s humanly possible, we will get it done. This has been a fluid, fast moving situation; we don’t want to sabotage your trip on a hunch. We will continue to press for more clarity from governmental officials and report back with any breaking news. Everyone wants to get back on northern waters.

CHARTER FLIGHT REVISION

In recent days there have been several fight time changes into the Saskatoon airport. To accommodate guests who are planning on flying into Saskatoon on the same day as the charter flight, we are changing our charter flight departure to Stony Rapids to from 3:30 PM until, 4:30 PM. To keep a margin of safety for our float flights from Stony Rapids to the lodge we cannot extend that time any longer. If you feel your connections are too tight consider arriving, as do roughly half our customers, the night prior to the charter flight. Obviously, there are a lot of balls in the air here. We will do our best to catch them all.

Can we be certain that the border will be open without restrictions by July 8? Absolutely not. We are dealing with uncertainties, but we’re trying to keep options open. Should you book your commercial flights now? Tough call, one we can’t make for you. Most airlines have been generous about offering credits for cancelled flights, but that could change; many of our customers are holding off. We’re short on crystal balls.

We will keep you in the loop whenever we have enough clarity to make decisions. We wish it were different. Our staff will be on salary and on call to arrive on our substantially refurbished island as soon as we get the green lift. All of the Scott Lake team will welcome you with open arms when the time is right.

Making Lemonade

With the border closed and the Lodge empty, we decided to make some lemonade out of those sour lemons. We brought in a 12-person work crew to revitalize the island infrastructure. It proved to be an extremely productive summer, constructing new buildings and re-staining all 28 log faced buildings on the island. That alone took two people almost the entire summer, but it was worth it. The entire island is refreshed and looks amazing.

The New Fly Fisher TV Show

While the border for our US customers was closed last summer, it didn’t matter to the Canadian-based crew of The New Fly Fisher, a video production company that pumps out great fly-fishing shows. We managed to convince the New Fly Fisher team to visit a totally empty Scott Lake (boy, that was a tough sell.)

Led by host Phil Rowley, the crew had all 160,000 acres of Scott and Premier Lakes to themselves and made the best of the opportunity, capturing some dramatic top water pike action and some surprisingly great trout action in mid-summer—all on fly rods. Unlike most “grip and grin” fishing shows, The New Fly Fisher productions teach as well as entertain. Drawing on the talent and expertise of our own Scott guides as well as the film crew, the producers provide detailed descriptions of fish behavior, habitat, presentation methods and of course gear—all fly anglers love to hear about rods, lines and flies.

For the pike sequences the show focuses on top water flies with smashing results. There is nothing in fishing film quite like the slow-mo of a pike engulfing top water flies. For the trout action, Phil shows that lake trout are not just an early or late season activity. With the right lines and techniques even mid-summer lakers can be talked into a dance on the end of an 8wt. Combine the exceptional Scott Lake fishery and guiding with good electronics, tackle and techniques and you’ll put lake trout on the end of your line in any season.

Ask a Guide – They Know What Works

Keep Calm and Fish On

Whatever happens with the damn border this summer make sure you go fishing somewhere. We will be ready and more than willing to take care of our guests when the time is right. We know the fish are ready!

We would love to check in with you and hear about any of your recent adventures. We did get some great fish stories for our recent contest but we know there are many outdoor pursuits that don’t involve a hook and line.

Send a note to any of the full time staff: Jon Wimpney, Jason Hamilton, or Tom Klein and we’ll run some of the tales of your exploits on the website. No prizes this time but we hope for some surprises.

Tell us a story, ask some questions, give us some suggestions. We just want to touch base and remind ourselves and you that there will be a northern experience  in the not so distant future. Sadly, we are lacking a crystal ball or Magic 8 Ball to predict the future, but all of us do like to talk, especially about fishing. And we’re just fun to talk to.

It was a relatively quiet summer on our island, except for the sounds of saws, hammers and the occasional swearing about mosquitoes interfering with the extensive infrastructure work. A dozen of our hardiest and handiest staff members spent the entire summer working some major improvements on the island. We could send photos, but we’d rather wait until you get to the island and see for yourself: you will be impressed. What was missing this summer was the sound of the piston Beaver or turbo Otter firing up at the docks every morning. With an average of four fly outs per day taking our guests to even more remote waters, our summers are always filled with the exciting sounds of floatplanes. Not this summer. A Twin Otter bringing building supplies and no doubt some beer landed only once every two weeks.

Other than their workmates and the Otter pilot, our crew saw no one for nearly three months except one TV crew. A Canadian company (they obviously didn’t have any border crossing issues), The New Fly Fisher, filmed a TV show, capturing some amazing footage of top water pike action. We’ll let you know when that show airs. Let’s all hope that there is never another summer like that at Scott Lake again—ever.

To all our Scott Lake friends/guests: stay safe and stay excited about solid hooksets on big pike and trout. The entire Scott Lake team badly missed the good times we all have together on the little island in the middle of nowhere. We’ll do double time of fun next summer.