by Jason | Feb 17, 2016 | 2015 Season, 2016 Pre-season, Island Life, Website Fishing Blog
From mid September the 13 acre island that houses Scott Lake Lodge is a pretty quiet place, the silence only broken by the coming and goings of the few hardy creatures that spend their winters in Canada’s northern boreal forest, and perhaps the odd trapper’s snowmobile passing by. An island that sees impressive amounts of activity in a short period in the summer gets a long rest for most of the winter; most being the operative term here. Having a fly in fishing lodge located on the border of Saskatchewan and the Northwest territories presents a number of challenges in getting people, groceries, fuel and materials to the site. When that fly in fishing lodge happens to be one of the few left in Canada on a lake with no winter road access or runway, there are a few more considerations when getting ready for the new season. For this reason the winter trip to Scott Lake by a few folks is an important part of the system that allows us to provide our guests with a first rate fishing trip. Our motto for many years has been, constant, incremental improvement of all facets of the Scott Lake experience. For this reason each spring and fall sees new construction projects to repair, replace or build new the infrastructure that we use to host guests, now in the 20th season of operation under the current ownership. Taking into account the ice breakup period in May and early June where nothing can access the island but helicopter, all new material for spring work needs to be in place in winter when the twin otter can land on skies on the hard water out front of the lodge.
It’s an exciting trip up to Scott Lake in the winter, even early (early) spring, the long milk-run flight stopping at all points from Saskatoon to Stony Rapids, some frenzied running around in Stony securing the last few items needed for the trip and a ski plane flight into the lodge…all in the shortened daylight hours of the North at this time of year. Getting off the plane one never knows what will be found, memories of a squatting bear still fresh in the mind. Now comes a whirlwind of activity that the crew seems to fall into with no planning. The plane is unloaded and a weeks worth of food, gear, beer, snowshoes and fuel to keep things running. Shovels are donned and the process of digging into cabins and the solar room are early priorities. Start a fire, get power going, kick out any unwanted bears, dig out the snow machine (hope it starts) and toboggan, haul gear, start the ice auger and bore a water hole trough almost 4’ of ice, pour a cocktail, check Facebook. After the initial flurry the crew falls into a few days of dawn to dusk work, moving a few lifts of lumber that the ski plane drops off, cutting dead trees fro firewood and for wood chips come spring. It’s a busy time but always a fun time with a portion of each day set aside to check on Scott Lake’s populations of northern pike and lake trout, we want to ensure there are still a few big ones around.
A week seems to fly by in no time at all and then there is a hurried boarding of doors and piling into the plane always thinking there is no way we are going to make the flight south from Stony Rapids in time. What do we have in store? Well, we aren’t going to let on just what improvements are on the docket for his winter and spring, you will have to come see for your self!
Book now or forever lose your spot for 2016
We are very proud to announce that Scott Lake Lodge is over 85% booked for the 2016 season, this is no small feat and we must thank the continued support of you our customers for your business and loyalty to the place. Sales manager Jon “J5” Wimpney has again done an exceptional job matching people with dates to make sure no one misses out on their fishing trip this year. He is doing such a good job filling spots we thought it was only fair to warn you. Book now to make sure you have a place in the boat for the 2016 season! As we mentioned above there are good things brewing and we want to show you what we’ve been up to.
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 Jason | Jun 28, 2014 | 2014 Season, Island Life
Three groups are now in the books at Scott Lake Lodge and the fishing is still red hot! The bitter cold of the Northern Canadian spring is a thing of the past! Weather has been outstanding with temperatures regularly exceeding 30 degrees Celsius (86 F).
The only thing hotter than the weather has been the fishing! At this point last year our world class guide team had boated an amazing 261 trophy sized Northern Pike, Lake Trout, and Artic Grayling. However, this year there has been an astonishing 481 trophies caught! Highlighted by our first 100+ club member of the year Stephen “Big Dog” Bandt with a remarkable 105” total (46” Pike, 43.5” Trout, 15.5” Grayling), guided by J5.
It has been the year of the 46” Jack! To date there has been fourteen 46” Northern Pike caught, six of which all caught on June 24th, what a day! It’s been a great start to the year already with our best Trout fishing still to come so stay tuned! Be sure to keep an eye on our website for regular blog updates, and daily additions of the Tundra Times and Pic of the Day. Also if you have not already done so, like our page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/scottlakelodge
by Jason | Jun 21, 2014 | 2014 Season, Island Life
Even though spring was cold in northern Canada, fishing at Scott Lake Lodge is on fire! Our first two groups of the summer saw its share of challenges, however nothing was going to stop our world class guide team from putting our guest on lots of big Northern Pike and Lake Trout! It started with a lake half covered in ice, and ended with some of our best trophy fish days in years, highlighted by an astounding 52 trophies caught on June 16th.
After 10 days on the water our guides are averaging over 28 trophies per day. These numbers are not going to slow down anytime soon because the weather forecast is looking great, and we have barely scratched the surface of our fly-out lakes!
The spring bite is on so stay tuned to our website for regular blog updates, and daily additions of the Tundra Times and Pic of the Day. Also if you have not already done so, like our page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/scottlakelodge
by Tammy MacDonald | Dec 22, 2012 | Island Life
Most Scott customers form a bond with their regular guide and often ask what they do in the off-season. It’s a tough group to keep track of but we have a lock on most of them. Not surprisingly hunting and fishing headlined most of the guide’s off season activities. After some southern Saskatchewan trout fishing, Head Guide CORY CRAIG took his family down to their winter home in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica where he runs his saltwater charter fishing company (take a look at www.tropicfins.com for some exciting fishing opportunities). He has been busy there putting the finishing touches on his home and taking out his son Tosh for some inshore fishing.
CODY MYCHALYSHYN filled his fall with a lot of hunting and helped out at his family’s fishing lodge in Ontario. But he made time to head to Kansas City for the American Royal Barbecue Competition, the biggest in the states. Maybe Cody’s shore lunches next summer will have a little more kick. Soon Cody will head south to spend the rest of the winter roaming around South America. (It’s wonderful to be young. . .) And the young at heart, STEVE LINDER, much better known as BIFF, is also setting his sights for South America. He will be in Columbia soon, somewhere in a beach community just focused completely on inventing new ways of entertaining his Scott customers and maybe having a beer now and then. STEVE YANISH is staying put in Canada this winter. Steve has spent most of his off season getting his new hunting outfitting business, Alpine Valley Outfitters, off the drawing boards. He was successful. This fall he will be taking clients into a pristine mountain valley in British Columbia for some spectacular hunting. He did take some time out to bag a moose and a deer. GRAHAM COULOMBE also put a moose on ice this fall and has been doing a lot of work on his home near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Speaking of moose no one on the Scott team knows moose better than JAN PHOENIX. We don’t call him the Yukon Man for nothing. Every year he brings home the moose meat. 
This fall he took three buddies and they went 4 for 4 with racks from 41 to 53”. He also teamed up with GREG HAMM to tame some of the monster rainbow trout on Lake Diefenbaker, a huge flowage of the Saskatchewan River, famous for equally huge rainbows. They both got lots of double digit bows and Jan almost broke the 20 pound mark with a 19.5 pound pig of a fish. Greg is taking care of business in Saskatoon as an electrician but will spend a lot of time on the ice this winter. After Christmas Jan will head to his traditional wintering grounds in Costa Rica, near Cory’s home port. 
Super-sub Scott guide JASON HAMILTON has spent the fall shooting geese and catching big muskies in between his work as a field biologist working on whale and walrus research in arctic waters. 
Another Hamilton, veteran guide PAUL HAMILTON has kept his line in the water, fishing for sturgeon in Saskatchewan and coho salmon in Alaska. His top fish this fall was a five foot long sturgeon. And he’s bagged a nice buck. He will be heading way up north shortly to continue his research work on arctic char in the inland lakes of Baffin Island. This involves incredible (really life threatening kind of stuff) snowmobile trips over arctic ice to reach remote lakes where char are netted under the ice—not a job for wimps.
Most of the Scott guides did a lot of hunting this fall but none had success like CURT WOLOSYN and CHESTER PORTEOUS, known to most as just The Poacher.
They teamed up on an extraordinary whitetail hunt on Curt’s family farm near North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Curt and Poach always seem to bag big bucks but this year hit pay dirt. Using trail cameras, hunting savvy and a lot of just plain hard hunting, they each put massive whitetails on the ground (just look again at those photos). The biggest they named “Sr. Combs” and studied his movements for days. Poach got the chance and closed the deal—a true monster whitetail. 
Curt and Poach are both staying in Canada this winter. Curt is taking course work in Edmonton to earn his credentials as a National Construction Safety Officer. Poach will be studying the safety of the ice near his Winnipeg home, as he pulls 10-15 pound walleyes through it. JON WIMPNEY, or J5 if you prefer, has been logging a lot of hours as the sales ace for Scott Lake Lodge pulling in a record number of customers. But he has squeezed some time out for golfing, hunting and of course fishing. This fall he entered Canada’s largest walleye tournament and finished a very respectable 9th out of 160 entrants. He will be on the ice soon still looking for the walleye of a lifetime. And he is still looking for a few customers looking for their fishing trip of a lifetime. Call Jon just to shoot the breeze about fishing or book a trip at 306/209-7150.
Inspired by the hunting and fishing exploits of the Scott guides, owner TOM KLEIN spent enough time in the Montana mountains to bag a couple of elk and a whitetail buck. His freezer is full and his fishing obsession is in check, at least for a spell. He travelled back to his old stomping grounds in northern Wisconsin to catch his first musky on a fly and then trekked to the Agua Boa River, a tributary to a tributary of the Amazon, deep in the rainforest, to check out the peacock bass story. He can now verify that, yes, peacocks are a dynamite game fish. 
He brought about a dozen double digit peacocks to the boat on his 8 weight, including an 18 pounder. And as a bonus he got an arapaima or “lung fish” of 70 pounds or so to eat a fly, a fairly rare event. And then he landed the brute on his fly rod. This primitive fish, an air breather, grows to 400 pounds in the Amazon basin and has legendary fighting power. But he still thinks that lake trout caught in shallow water are the toughest freshwater fish he has encountered. So what’s General Manager JOHN GARIEPY been up to? With three kids five or under John is pretty busy around the house, keeping the kids and Scott Lake Lodge in line. But he will be on the ice soon both at Scott Lake and on Lake Winnipeg.
by Tammy MacDonald | Sep 17, 2012 | 2012 Season, Island Life
Every year we try to get our maintenance work caught up after the last customers leave. This fall we tackled a lot of big jobs. In a ten day period we got a big start on a boat rehab project. All fifteen of our 18 foot Alumarine boats were stripped right down to their hulls. That alone was a big job. Next spring before the ice leaves another crew will come in to put in new foam floatation blocks, new vinyl flooring, repaint the interiors and buff the exteriors. New seats will be added to whole fleet. The boats will look and perform like new. Other big jobs tackled included the addition of soundproofing wallboard to the common walls in three of the guest buildings, major repair to the big deck off the main lodge and repair of landscaping timbers. Of course there was the routine but not minor job of shutting down the entire island: draining all water lines, boarding up all the door and windows and giving all the facilities a deep cleaning.
There was some time for fishing of course. One prospective new fly out lake was given a three day check but unfortunately failed the tough standards applied to the collection of jewels in the lodge’s fly out roster. There was no failing the big fish test though for Mel Linder, dad of long time guide Biff Linder. Just a couple of days after the last customer group flew south, Biff and Mel fished the Wayo cabbage, a popular spot all season. It’s usually a good spot but it usually doesn’t produce a 48” pike like it did for Mel and Biff. Just another monster pike to punctuate a season full of huge fish. That fish though wasn’t a surprise to some of the guides. Head guide Cory Craig was still on the island when he heard about the big fish. “I saw that one three times this summer but would it eat for me?” was his lament but only after congratulating Mel on his personal best pike. That’s fishing. The big ones are usually there but you never know when one will decide to hit. It was the last in a very long string of August monsters. In just 24 days there were 176 trophy pike caught in August, but 33 of those were 44s or better. There was an incredible run of supersized pike: seven @ 45; eleven @ 46; two @ 47; one (Mel’s big one) @48; two @ 49 and the lodge record 51 incher. While customer demand is much higher in June and July when the typical day’s numbers are higher, August (or fall as it’s known at Scott) produces the big gals.
There were some great northern lights nights to entertain the staff, but this was more of a solid work post season than most. The weather was typical of fall—a sunny day here and there mixed in with windy and rainy days. Weather is even more unpredictable this time of year than in our two other seasons (spring which is June and summer which is July). It’s amazing looking back at the three months to realize that there are typically three distinct seasons in that short window. Winter covers the other nine months. It’s always difficult to leave our island. This year was no exception even though it was a miserable day with spitting rain and a low ceiling. But as the Beaver taxied for takeoff it was sad looking back at the island: all the doors and windows boarded up; the main dock sitting on shore; the solar collectors covered on all the cabins; no boats in the water and the beautiful spruce wood chips in disarray from a downburst the second day of the Post Season. The island will be a lonely witness to the freeze up which will start in early October. But in May the island will be bustling again as a work crew descends to bring it back to life: finishing the boat work, cutting hundreds of spruce trees to provide chips for the walkways and getting the entire system up and running for the June 11, 2013 opener, a date that for most of the Scott Lakers can’t arrive soon enough.
