It’s now sixteen days and counting!
Sixteen straight days of really, really hot weather. Over the past 17 seasons of current ownership this is the longest stretch of calm, almost cloudless weather we have ever seen. Daily high temps have hovered around 90°F, yes 90°F with nighttime lows (if you want to call the extended twilight here in June and July night) of around 75°F. There have been maybe four or five hours of cloudy skies with just a few scattered showers, none on our island on the 60th parallel. With a fishing region, including the fly out lakes, that sprawls over three million acres of Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, it’s hard not to have a little variance in the weather but little is the right word. It’s been hot with quiet water everywhere.
As with most things in life, there are tradeoffs with this heat wave. Sitting around the traditional open fire shore lunch is not as inviting as in most years; the heat has produced a bumper crop of misquotes, and it’s way too easy to take a mid-day nap, but on the plus side there have been no bumpy boat rides, no cold rain in the face and no need to fire up the stove in your cabin. Getting around our lakes has never been more pleasant: it’s been idyllic. Day after day the lake is like glass with only an occasional light breeze to provide a few riffles on the surface. And the swimming has been wonderful. Protected beach areas offer water temperatures in the mid-70s or even higher.
And thankfully the fish like it hot too. Fishing has stayed strong throughout this northern heat wave. Trophy counts are on par with last year’s great numbers and the count of really big pike (over 45”) is the highest in many years. Some customers like it hot and so do most fish. We’ll take it and just keep counting and enjoying the smooth boat rides, the shorts, T-shirts and sandals. And even the swimming. It’s a good life here at Scott Lake Lodge.