Week 12 Recap: It’s Summertime Fishin and the Livin’ is Easy

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 summertime fishin, 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 years summertime fishin before they headed south.

Week 11 Recap: Well Worth The Wait, Time to Fish

To say the anticipation was high for our 11th week would be an understatement. Rewind to July 29th of 2023 when we had to make the gut-wrenching decision to cancel week 11 due to forest fires and smoke. Overnight in the thick smoke, the fire had crept under a mile from the lodge, smoke was so thick we were not able to see a boat 75 yards off the dock. So, among the ash and hot embers falling on the island, we had to make a tough call…it was right. Our team soaked the island down constantly and patrolled all night. Eventually a few days later when the winds switched, and rain came to lessen the risk, we resumed operations.

When the day broke on July 29th this year, the forecast was clear, and the smoke was down (due to the 4” of rain the previous week). All went smoothly this time, save a few thunderstorms at the changeover that delayed us only a few minutes. The group was here…it was time to fish!

Some rain and wind have cooled down the surface temperatures and saw big pike creeping back into the shallows on Scott and the flyout network. 121 trophy-sized fish hit the nets this week, adding to a phenomenal season of fishing. High water this year and spreading our fishing pressure across 2 million acres of water has made for some truly incredible opportunities. Big (giant!) Pike of the week honors go to Jeremy Stanford with a 47-inch tank that was hanging out in some current and weeds. Again we saw a great run of Mids, those fish in the 44-46 inch range, Jeff Thomsen had a big week landing a 45.5 and 45-inch pike. 44s were landed by Brooks Stanford, Patrick Goris, Troy Carrothers and Chad Stanford. In total, 57 pike over 40 inches were landed this week, with fish being caught on in weeds, on rocks and still in the shallow bays offering top water and sight fishing opportunities.

Esox weren’t the only target for our anglers, as summer progresses we start to see more big lake trout photos on our nightly showings of Fish Porn. That great tradition where anglers celebrate the big catches, funny or odd occurrences and wildlife sightings…it’s a blast, and our guide team is quite creative in capturing the essence of the day. Back to the trout, Will Coates on his first trip up to Scott, tied into an impressive 42.5 inch beast fishing with Jan on Scott Lake. Jeff Thomsen and Robert Gallegos will close behind with 41’s. Adding to the over 40 inch trout total were Win Scott, Stuart Sullivan and Doug Waters, with many others coming in just under the 40 inch mark. The big girls were hungry as most of the trout trophies were over 37 inches, which is a remarkable fish that might be 60 years old in these cold, deep northern lakes.

Out of the boats and into the rapids, our anglers were on the hunt of Grayling as well. Summertime and dry flies go hand in hand on these wild Northwest Territory rivers. The aggressive surface takes and acrobatic jumps still don’t outshine the unique iridescent colours of a grayling when studied in the net. Great days on the river happened on the first day for Zac and Jeff Thomsen as well as Brooks and Mike Stanford, who all got in to many big grayling. Mike earned a Trophy Triple the next day with a big trout, while Brooks got his hat a few days later. Jeff and Zac both got into our 100” + Club. Jamie Scott found a pool on Ingalls that was loaded with fish up to 18 inches and along with her dad Win, they earned Trophy Triple hats. More Trophy Triple hats went to Will Coates and Kim Brown, the Grayling were eager!

Off the water, the sauna and gym were full each morning and evening. Cold plunges after steam are a great rejuvenation for the next day of fishing. Craft cocktails and laughs were served daily in the Last Cast. Impromptu Cornhole tournaments on the lodge deck occurred, with cheers and jeers from the crowd around the fire pit. The Northern Lights made their first substantial appearance on the third evening, just to coincide with the annual staff trout derby. The views were stunning, many cameras and phones were pointed skyward to capture the moment. In all, this group enjoyed a delayed trip to the 60th Parallel to the absolute fullest. We are thrilled so many decided to join us again next year and made the time to fish.

“Let The Good Times Roll”, Big Pike

Right now at Scott Lake we have some good mojo going. The momentum of our record-setting prior week rolled right into Week 9. As if we didn’t know it already, it was confirmed: hot weather means hot fishing. The first three days of the group featured the same wonderful sunshine and warm temperatures of Week 8, with the same results—lots of big fish. Of the 24 pike over 44-inches landed by this group, 21 were taken over those first three days when the temps were still in the high 70s and low 80s. Pike just love hanging around in shallow warm water, some literally sunbathing with their backs almost exposed.

The continuation of the heat wave helped all of our fishing. It pushed the big pike up of course but it also pushed the big lake trout down which makes them much easier to target. There are only so many deep holes (100-200’) in our lakes and that’s where they end up, escaping the warmer temperatures near the top. Trout are a cold-water fish, feeling best in water temperature around 50 degrees. With their sophisticated electronics our guides can find the fish and even watch them hit. Like a video game except this is real. Big trout know how to give anglers a workout. Jim Hambright found that out when he successfully battled a monstrous 44.5” laker at Wignes Lake, an adjacent and connected lake, just a 45-minute boat ride from our dock. He barely made it to the end of the fight and then needed a massage which fortunately was readily available at the lodge. His is the biggest trout of the season. Very nice 39-incher were taken by Grant Bowditch and Brad Sailbury. We had an even dozen trophy trout this week, a start to the serious trout season here which is just getting started. The heat also put our Arctic grayling in a fighting mood. The warm water triggers insect hatches that get these beautiful fish moving. We had two dozen grayling trophies from area rivers taken. Jarrett Peters led the pack with a big one, almost 20-inches, about as big as they get around here.

The big story though was again the pike fishing. They are still shallow and still in a feisty mood. Of our 149 trophy fish, 112 were the long and mean water wolves that are always looking for their next meal. The big ones have around 700 individual teeth. Most of those are in the top half of their cavernous mouths and all of those slant inward. It’s no place for your fingers. And no place for prey: it’s a one-way street. Sixteen of our anglers landed a pike of 44-inches or more. That’s a new record for the lodge. Of that group six guests caught a 45-incher (Chuck Dannewitz, Brian Wolf, Brad Sailsbury, Mike Minado, Gratz Peters and Bog Nettune who got a pair. Three lucky anglers bested 46-inchers (Mike Rogers, Grant Moering and Garek Peters who also got a pair). If your last name was Peters you had a particularly good trip. Between Garek, Gary, Gratz and Jarrett Peters 36 trophy pike slid into their guide’s nets, about a third of our trophy pike. But the trophy fish were well spread around. In a great display of fishing democracy every guest at Scott had their names announced at least twice during our nightly trophy announcements.

It was simply a great week. Trophy Triple hats were taken home by Mason Bowditch, Jarrett Peters, Grant Bowditch and Jim Hambright. Grant earned the 100+Club jacket clocking in at exactly 100 inches, but on the strength of his massive lake trout Jim Hambright got his 100+Club jacket on order and now leads the season with 105.5 total inches.

It was also another week of exciting wildlife sightings. Muskox and Moose pins (yes, we give out pins for wildlife sightings as well as for landing big fish) were flying around the tables at dinner. A giant bull moose was spotted at Wignes and a old friend musk ox was seen at Smalltree with another at Burslem lake. Muskox sightings are getting more common every season. For some of our guests these experiences rival or exceed the thrill of landing big fish. It’s all part of the Scott Lake Lodge package, along with great food and world class customer service. There is nothing quite like summer on the 60th parallel. It’s the best, especially when the good times roll like they did this week.

THE HEAT IS ON! FLYOUT LAKES ARE HOT

Coming off a tough five days of cold, cloudy and rainy weather with matching challenging fishing, there wasn’t a lot of optimism within the guide crew about Week 8. Getting big fish was a grind, but here in the far north you predict that things will be unpredictable. If you don’t like the weather, wait a day or in this case five days. Right on cue the fishing gods cranked up the thermostat and brought in a south wind loaded with the one thing we needed—heat, and lots of it. The results were immediate and dramatic. From an average of 11 trophies on the last three days of week 7, the trophy count soared to an average of 48 on the first three days of Week 8. That’s a bump! Our eighth group of the season enjoyed five full days of the kind of heat rarely experienced this far north with temps in the high 80s, even touching the low 90s

What did the fish think about this radical weather change? Judging by the results, they loved it, especially on some of the far northern flyout lakes where during the previous week guides couldn’t find that magic number of 60-degree water temperature in the shallow bays. When the bays in those lake get north of 60 degrees, the big pike sailed in from all compass points.  It turned into a slugfest, angler against pike. Some battles were won some were lost, but 165 times in just five days a pike over 40″ ended up in a guide’s net. With lake trout and Arctic Grayling trophies, we topped the 200-trophy fish mark for the first time ever, ending up with 206. It was an exciting, high-energy week. The nightly evening slide show of the day’s fish had over the top enthusiasm. The fishing was fantastic throughout our nine-million-acre fishing empire. Our Turbo Otter and Beaver floatplanes were humming all week to reach every corner of it.

And the big fish just kept coming. Our guests landed an astonishing 31 pike over 44″. There were six at 46; two at 47 and one a full four-footer. Everyone played the trophy game but none better than Peter Myhre who had another sizzling week (there are no rules here limiting guests to just one trip a season) with 41 trophy pike. Dave Wallace also had an epic trip with 18 trophy pike. His were not the run of the mill 40-inchers; he landed five at 45″ and brought in the top pike of the week, a brute of a fish that measured 48 inches, sporting a huge girth.  Pike of 47-inches were brought in by Rob Parminter and Mike Johnson. And a slew of 46ers were landed. Rhys Reese, Peter Myhre, Angie Erickson, Laci Martoglio and Eric Brown hit that number, but no 46-incher was more memorable than Cole Booth’s. How does an 11-year-old get what for most serious pike anglers would be their fish-of-a-lifetime? That’s simple: they come to Scott Lake. There is probably a 50-incher in that young man’s future. Often the biggest pike of the week at any Canadian fishing lodge (and a fish that would be headline news in the fishing towns of northern Wisconsin, Minnesota or Michigan), 45-inchers were taken by Rob Parminter, Peter Myhre and Dave Wallace who got five of them. Pike of 44-inches were as common this week as loons on the lake. Peter Myhre alone landed five; Jaden Brown (only 15 years old) brought in three; Rob Parminter and Mike Harrell each got a pair and Trevor Myers, Laci Martoglio, Marian Bensema contributed one each to the pile of fat 44ers. With the focus on pike few spent a lot of time looking for big trout, but Dave Bensema found a beautiful 39-incher at the end of his line. Angie Erickson and Laci Martoglio spent most of one fly out day catching a bunch of big grayling on dry flies and each got 18-inchers. And some Trophy Triple hats left the lodge this week, five in fact. Loyd Phillips, Todd Phillips, Rob Parminter, Caden Burnside and Floyd Burnside all proudly wore their hats. Rob, Todd and Floyd will also be receiving the customized 100+Club jacket this fall.

Simply put our eighth week was one of abundance: lots of huge fish, lots of sunshine, lots of heat and lots of laughing. Every evening the expansive deck outside of Laker Lodge was crowded with guests soaking in the cool breezes. Some were playing the “new” traditional game of summer—cornhole (and why can’t someone rename that game?). Some were quietly sipping a summer drink. But most were recalling and retelling the fish stories of the day, from flyout lake to flyout lake. It was a classic week at Scott, kind of week all our guests hope to have when they travel to the 60th parallel. To paraphrase that infamous line from “Animal Farm”, the novella by George Orwell, all weeks at Scott are equal, but some weeks are more equal than others. This was one of the latter. Let’s hope for more inequality down the line.