Season Update

As August settles in at Scott Lake we are looking at the final third of our season. It’s a perfect time to reflect on the year so far. To say the least, it has been a tremendous summer at Scott Lake Lodge.

The fishing on Scott Lake and it’s fly outs has delivered. But that of course is expected here. Being 300 miles from the nearest paved road in Canada’s far north brings fish of size and quantity. Among the thousands of hard fighting fish, many trophy sized pike, lake trout, and grayling have been brought to the boat, a testament to our veteran guide team and the zeal of our anglers. Simply put, the trophy sized apex predators lurking in these lakes constitute a very small percentage of the total fish population, probably only 2%. They have been found, caught and photographed to aid the many fish tales that are bound to be told after a trip to Scott Lake. It has been an especially good season for big lake trout. We are well on our way to setting a Lodge record for lakers over 40″, a measure of a true fish of a lifetime. Over 40 anglers have already had that experience in 2011. And there have been many pike over 45″, another mark of a major angling accomplishment. In short, it’s been a great year on the water.

Great fishing and great weather seem to go hand in hand. And the weather could not have cooperated better this year.  An average day in June and July this season was hot by northern standards. Temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s were the norm as were shorts, sandals, and t-shirts. Now I admit that attire might sound somewhat peculiar when thinking of a typical trip to the North, with or without sunshine, as most people conjure images of dreaded swarms of mosquitoes and black flies. Yet truth be told, it has been a near insect-free season. (I can already hear the echoes coming from the south across the lake – “LIAR!” But it is nothing but the truth.) Our low water this season, a hazard only for the guides who have to navigate  through many reefs, has been a huge blessing, keeping the lowland areas dry and keeping the bugs high, dry and MIA.

THE SHIFT INTO FALL

While it’s still hot, there is already a hint of fall. It’s in the air and every living thing here is getting ready for its arrival. The loons have become more active and are starting to congregate; the first yellow has popped out in our hillside birches and the northern lights made their first appearance of the season on August 6^th. It’s coming. Soon, the lake trout will change their colours, the pike will start to feed heavy for the long winter, all the birch will change to a fantastic yellow, the mosses a brilliant red, and the dance of the northern lights will be a nightly occurrence as the long days come to an end and darkness returns to our night skies. The only disappointing thing about this time of year is knowing that only 20 short days remain of our season. Everyone here will make the most of them.

• Number of flyout days cancelled due to weather: 1
• 375 barrels (17,000 gallons) of fuel have been brought to the island to date
• 35,200 lbs of groceries have been flown in (ok, some of that was beer)
• 702 copies of the island newspaper “Tundra Times” have been delivered by Office Administrator Tyler Tuck.  They are posted daily on our blog.

• 947 trophy fish have been recorded as of August 1st (on track to wallop last year’s total)
• 292 extremely happy guests have shared this tremendous season with us so far

If YOU want to be one of those extremely happy guests next summer, now is the time to act.

While most of this season’s guests did rebook a trip next year, there are still openings available in June and July of 2012. However they are like our lake trout; they don’t hang around the boat…they move quickly. Lock in your 2012 Scott Lake Adventure right now. There are less than half a dozen openings for June 15-20 and June 20-25; a few more for June 30-July 5 and July 5-10. Set the hook on these now.

You can book at the current price (with the US dollar dropping we cannot hold the current price much longer) and get the $250 Early Booking Discount if you confirm with a deposit before October 1. Email our Sales Manager and veteran guide, Jon Wimpney, right now. He guides for 10 hours a day but he will be at his keyboard late into the night if needed to answer your questions and get you on board for next season. His email address is easy: j5@scottlakelodge.com Do it today.