northern pike Archives - Page 9 of 12

Fall’s Arrival & The Week 17 Scott Lake Lodge Fall Fishing Report

by Jason | Aug 31, 2018 | 2018 Season

FALL, SETTLING IN

When the 17^th group of the 2018 season landed at Scott Lake Lodge, exactly an hour after their chartered plane from Saskatoon landed at the float base at Stony Rapids, Saskatchewan, many, hailing from distant and warm places, were wearing shorts and sandals. They got a shock of cool air. That grab didn’t last long. It was fall here. As they looked out of the float plane on their landing, they could have seen all the signs: some bright yellow birch leaves, the smoky gold of the tamaracks, and the muted reds of the ground cover. It was fall alright. The fishing was fall as well—for pike it was what the guides call the “low and slow” retrieve for spinners, crankbaits or plastics. Fly enthusiasts were using intermediate or full sinking lines, especially on their first day of fishing when it was cold, real cold. The surface temperatures of Scott Lake and our fly out lakes had dropped several degrees over the past few days and the fish were there but deep. On that first day the fingers were cold but that didn’t stop our anglers from fishing or the fish from biting. We had the straight flush of pike of 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45 that day as well as seven trout trophies. At their cool depths the lake trout didn’t really care what was happening on the top.

On the second day things did warm up and on the fifth day the morning dawned bright and clear. The week ended with an absolutely perfect fall day. It also ended with a big milestone. On that last day, either Bill Russell or Jon Wheat landed our 2,000^th trophy of the season—a record. (Since no one was looking at their watch, we can’t be sure if Bill or Jon got it). In 22 seasons at Scott, we have watched those trophy numbers rise, especially over the past five years, but hitting that mark was special for all the guides who worked hard all season to bring big fish to their guests. Big fish were certainly part of the week. Again, we hit triple digits with the trophy count, many supersized, like the 45” pike landed by Frank Saraka, Mark Readinger, Mark Graf and Scott Sheldon. Or like the one Martin Skolnick got. He came to Scott for the first time to get a big pike. He did. It was a spectacular looking 47.5” feisty, fighting fall pike.

This is the time of year for big trout as well and they made their appearance in the guide’s nets. Mark Graf saw plenty of them, a pair of 38s, a 39 and a 40. Zack Skolnick and Ron Spork admired their 38s. Bud Rector was pretty impressed with a fat 42 that almost filled a big net, but Tim Delaney was astounded by the super fat 43.5” monster that did fill his guide’s big net. That was a fish of a lifetime. Big grayling also filled the small trout nets. Tim got one of those too, an 18 incher as did fishing partner Larry Noesen. Scott Sheldon and Bill Russell did their supersized grayling an inch bigger at 19, both beautifully colored fish. Bill’s big grayling was enough to get him into the 100+Club.

There was a lot of interest in northern lights, but the heavy cloud cover kept them out of view, The group, though, did see some dramatic moonrises, especially the full moon on Day 2. There were many other memorable sights and sounds like the zinging of a reel’s drag, as well as some smells like the first plate of shore lunch, the whiff of the spruce chips on the island’s walkways or the many savory odors of the dinner hour. The group got the full fall treatment and most of them signed up for a return tour in 2019—the best compliment on the service and fishing we could hope for.

The Week 16 Scott Lake Lodge Fishing Report

by Jason | Aug 26, 2018 | 2018 Season

DOG DAYS OF AUGUST? NOT!

At many lodges throughout the northern US and Canada, August is the time to go swimming, have a picnic, play shuffleboard, take a canoe paddle or just sit at the bar. August doesn’t have a good reputation for fishing. Unless you happen to be on the 60^th parallel. The only dog days up here involving watching the black lab, Gozer, take incredible running leaps off the pier to fetch a tennis ball or watching the antics of Rascal, the eight-month old collie, as he tries to steal the ball from Gozer. Those are minor distractions. Our guests are fishing.

This was a memorable week for the August 19^th-24^th guests for three reasons:

It was the most enthusiastic and fun-loving group of the season. From the staff introductions on the first evening to the wild cheering during the nightly trophy announcements to the laughter from the hot tub every evening, this group knew how to have a good time and they found their voice. The expression “a good time was had by all” doesn’t begin to do justice to the experience.
It was the week that marked the unofficial but real transition from summer to fall and it happened on a single day. On the third day the wind which had been blowing from the south or west for weeks did a 90 degree turn and blew with authority from straight north. It brought thousands of geese for a free ride down to the grain fields of southern Saskatchewan and it brought a rather dramatic drop in temperature. It brought fall. At least the geese above had down coats. The anglers below weren’t so lucky. The prior day was around 70 degrees with a mild wind. No one was ready for that blow. Some people even had sandals on when the temperature dropped about 30 degrees over a 24-hour period.
It was simply fantastic fishing with a total of 164 trophies in the books, one of the best trophy weeks of the season.

Since fishing is what Scott Lake Lodge is all about, let’s expand on that word fantastic. It was a week of superlatives. Finally, the dominance of the northern pike in our trophy mix was tempered by a surge of lake trout (40) and grayling (49) trophies. It was a perfect mix. The trophies came in bunches for many of our anglers, like for Mary and Joe Daugherty who landed eleven trophy pike or for Bill Sandbrook and Sonya Boone who landed twelve trophy lake trout or for Cheryl Massie who landed six trophy lake trout. And that was all on the first day! Our fishing started hot and stayed hot despite the intense cold front.

It wasn’t the sheer number of trophy fish (164 is a lot) that impressed our guests—it was the size of some of them. None impressed more than “EL BLIMPO”, a 44” by HUGE lake trout brought in by Bernie Heile. Just behind that trout were other blimps, a 43.5” winched in by Joe Daugherty and a 43” pig landed by Andre Lechowicz. There were 42” trout angled by Bill Sandbrook and Cheryl Massie; 41s by Bill Sandbrook and Andre Lechowicz; a 40 by Cheryl Massie; 39s by Bill Sandbrook, Darrel Massie, Joe Daugherty, Mira Lechowicz and Chris Smisek, and 38s by Jimmy Kloote, Darrel Massie, Sonya Boone and a pair of those by (who else?) Bill Sandbrook. If you’re counting along that’s 18 lake trout of 38” or better, quite a pile. Jimmy Kloote’s was even hooked right on the surface on a pike fly (the classic black bunny leech) in eight feet of water. Who knows where they will show up.

The pike story was similar—lots of trophies (75) and lots of huge fish. There were nine of the supersized variety—45” or more. Those are all memorable fish. But what could be more memorable than getting a royal flush of pike, like Peter Mhyre did, a 44, 45, 46, 47 and 48 (the four biggest in a single day). His 48 tied Joe Daugherty’s as the biggest pike of the week. Five anglers—Mary Daugherty, Susan Smith, Cheryl Massie and Len Dorr—landed 45s. Grayling joined in on the big fish parade this week. Emily and Kayla Mayfield had an amazing day way up north when they landed 17 trophy grayling and saw five herds of musk ox on the way. Grayling of 18” or better (our supersized standard for that species) were caught by Sandra Boone, Mary and Joe Daugherty.

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you know what comes next. It’s simple math: with so many big fish in all three species, it must have been a good week for the 100+Club. It was. Back in Week 13 we had a bumper crop with seven entries. That was a record number. Now we have a new record number at eight. Most interestingly six of those eight—Darrel and Cheryl Massie, Bill Sandbrook and Sonya Boone, Len Dorr and Bernie Heile—were frequent tablemates at dinner. And they all hit their 100” on the same day. The odds makers would have never hit that one but good luck (and skill) makes for good company. Speaking of odds, Mary and Joe Daugherty defined good luck and skilled angling. They became the King and Queen of the 100+Club for 2018. Mary landed at 107.5”, often the biggest number of a season, but husband Joe hit 109.5, just a half inch off the all-time record. Congrats to both for an incredible accomplishment.

And speaking of records, another big one will bite the dust during week 17. In 2017 we set the total trophy record with a huge number—1,965. As the Week 16 crew put away their fishing rods on Day 5, that number stood at exactly 1,900. Getting 66 more trophies is an inevitable as death and taxes, but a lot more fun.

The 15th Week Fishing Report at Scott Lake Lodge

by Jason | Aug 21, 2018 | 2018 Season

THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES

What a pleasant week at Scott Lake Lodge. It’s early fall, a wonderful time to be in the far north. While we had, (again) stronger winds than we would have liked for easy boat travel, we still had great fishing. It was another week with a triple-digit trophy result and a perfect mix of trophy pike (68), lake trout (20) and grayling (20). Everyone had lots of action as well. And again, lots of our supersized fish: eight Pike over 45”; four Trout over 40” and six Grayling over 18”. What made the week so interesting and enjoyable though was another mix—we had a lot of couples in camp. It changes the chemistry—for the better. Our women anglers bring a measure of civility and calmness to the proceedings. With the all-male groups (we’ve had a few), the testosterone gets a little heavy. While still outnumbered 19 to 7, the women brought some balance to the week—some estrogen to even things out.

This was not a true battle of the sexes like the Bobby Riggs/Billie Jean King tennis match, but there was an element of unspoken competition between spouses—there always is. Like Billie Jean in that famous match way back in 1973, these women brought their A-Game to this fishing trip. We’re not naming names here, but in every case the wives brought bigger fish to their guides’ nets than the husbands. Were they all just lucky? Were they better anglers? Or maybe they just listened more carefully to their guides? We’ll just let the results speak. These are facts: Mickey Moret landed a heavy fall pike that stretched the tape to 47”; Rhonda Trueman landed a 46”; Anne Harold on one of her first fishing trips got a 45” pike; Veronica Strobel pulled in a girthy 42” lake trout (with no help from anyone), and Patricia Jansma topped the grayling list for the week with a beautiful grayling just under 20 inches. Just luck?

Moving right along, the men on the island weren’t just watching the women land all these magnificent fish. They were busy getting supersized fish as well: Randy Moret with a 45” pike; Jon Myhre and Drew Plain with 46s; Peter Myhre with a 47, and Jon Myhre leading the entire pack with a gorgeous pike just over four feet long. Jon and Peter had one incredible day where they landed ten trophy pike between them—a real father/son bonding day. On the trout front, there was another huge day when Jack and Ben Waitkus teamed up to land six trophy trout in a single day, Jack topping out at 43” (just a massive fish) and Ben at 42”. Peter Mancuso got in the big trout game landing a another 42. The grayling fishing just keeps getting better as the season progresses. This was a great week. Everyone who flew to one of our grayling rivers had lots of action and some had some very heavy fish. Just like their trout day, Jack and Ben Waitkus cleaned up on grayling too, both getting a pair of 18” beauties. Dave Jansma landed a fat 19 incher.

With so many big fish, it was simple math that someone would be inducted into the 100+Club. There were three: Veronica Strobel along with Jack and Ben Waitkus. Patricia Jansma wore the Trophy Triple hat. The northern lights made several appearances for the night owls who waited up for them. They got a first-rate celestial show. Actually, the entire week was one perfect show. And almost everyone rebooked to do it all again in 2019.

Week 14 Fishing Report at Scott Lake Lodge

by Jason | Aug 18, 2018 | 2018 Season

ROUND TWO FOR NORTEK

This was Round 2 for the Nortek Global HVAC summer fishing retreat. Another crew from all across the US and Canada converged at Saskatoon for the two-hour charter flight to our float base at Stony Rapids, 50 miles southeast of Scott Lake Lodge. That small village holds our closest neighbors. That 50-mile distance provides an incredible level of seclusion: you don’t hear anyone mowing their lawn or starting their car. All we hear other than the occasional roar of a Beaver or Otter floatplane taking off are the lapping of waves, the calls of loons or a guttural cry of a raven. For most of this highly urban group, this kind of privacy and wilderness was a unique experience. One guest though was worried that a bear might get him on his way to his cabin. While there are plenty of bears around, over the 22 years of current ownership there has never been a bear “incident”. We leave the bears alone and they leave us alone.

This corporate group had the typical mix of some experienced anglers, some who had fished a bit and even some who had never fished before. Interestingly our guide team loves to have the last group for two reasons: first, they are very happy catching any fish and second, they always do what the guides tell them, virtually assuring that they will catch some fish. So, rather that the intensity of “gotta get a 48 incher” of many of our long-term guests, this group had a relaxed “let’s just have some fun” attitude. It made for a very enjoyable trip for everyone, guests, guides and shore staff. The goals were simple: have a festive shore lunch, experience the northern landscape, have a fly out over miles of pristine wilderness, maybe see the northern lights and catch some fish. All the boxes were checked and then some.

Everyone caught a lot of fish, most around 30-40 per day and some big fish did end up in the boats. Richard Benjamin had a big day, landing a trio of fat northern pike trophies. Matthew Mellert and Todd Nelson both landed 44” pike. They had a good shot at splitting the Big Pike prize money until Jacob Strum pulled a 45 incher into his guide’s net. The Big Trout pool was just as close. It looked like a heavy 40” laker landed by Gary Kresbach was the winner until the last day on Scott Lake when Don Harris topped that fish by an inch. Trophy Triple Hats, earned by catching a trophy pike, lake trout and grayling, were taken home by Don Harris, Sean Sullivan and Patrick Lloyd. For the night owls there was one spectacular show of northern lights, around the bar closing time, that filled the eastern sky. At this latitude you don’t look north to see the lights you just look up. For these three days everything was looking up. The only complaint the group had as they climbed aboard the floatplanes for their trip south was “three days was just not enough”. We agree.

Week 13 Scott Lake Lodge Fishing Report

by Jason | Aug 17, 2018 | 2018 Season

GOING STRONG

At the beginning of week 13, we were nearly two months into the 2018 season. It would be reasonable to assume that either or guides or the fish would be getting just a little tired of the whole process. Not so. Both are hitting their stride: the guides finding the fish and the fish responding to our customer’s offerings. It’s a second wind thing. Even with some other strong winds (the kind that makes waves) making boat travel and getting to all the “secret spots” at times challenging, this group just hammered the fish and brought in some huge pike, trout and grayling. Our trophy count for the week (we have five-day weeks here and never know the day of the week or the date—it’s Day 1 through Day 5 for 90 consecutive days, a wonderfully simple life) was again in the triple digits. Our guides just count the big fish—126 this week to be exact—not the many other worthy fish, some just a half inch short of our trophy criteria (a 40” pike, a 35” lake trout or a 15” grayling). So, we don’t know for sure how many fish our guests land in a typical week. But some of our guests bring counters—the little clicker devices. We don’t encourage it because it can take the mystery and romance out of the experience, but some customers just like to know. We had one group of “counters” this week and they came up with some pretty impressive numbers. They had a single day with 161 fish and averaged per person 45 pike a day. If everyone had that average, it would work out to over 5,000 fish for just week 13, a big number.

With that many fish there would have to be some big fish in the batch. And there were—lots of big fish. This week the lake trout were the headliners. It’s been a very cool summer and the lakers were late getting down in their deep haunts in 70-100 feet of water where the guides, with the aid of cool electronics, can spot them as little arcs on a screen. Those arcs often turn into huge trout in the net. There were eleven trout over 38”: Jerry Brown with a 38; Duck Hutson, Dick Emens and Winfield Scott with 39s; Dave O’Donnell with a 40.5; Winfield Scott and Bill Hallinan with 41.5s; Winfield Scott (yes again) with a 42.5 along with Chris Matlock and Dick Hutson who caught 42s; and the top trout of the week, a monstrous 43.5” fatty landed by Paul Tarvin. Those trout alone represent somewhere around 500 pounds of fighting spirit. Lake trout stand with only a few other freshwater fish like the peacock bass, golden dorado and the tiger fish as fish with incredible speed and stamina. Lake trout fight all the way up from their deep holes and keep a stout bend in the rod right until they are in the net.

While those huge trout drew the most “oohs” and “aahhs” at the nightly fish du jour picture show, there were some fat, fall pike as well. Two anglers (Dick Emens and Bill Notehelfer) landed 45” pike; Matthew Moody went a half inch better at 45.5; Elliot Brown got an impressive 47 and Jackie Scott, after a very dramatic battle with her fish diving under the boat around the motor, finally got a 47.5” beauty in the net. Long time regular Dick Huston had the last word on pike fishing though with a personal best (after many years of fishing Canada), a spectacular 48.5” northern pike.

The very high water this summer has discouraged some anglers who love catching the small but acrobatic arctic grayling. Finally, the rivers where we catch these “sailfish of the north” have dropped, making fishing for grayling more productive. Quite a few of our big grayling showed up for a dance on our ultra-light spinning rods or our 4-weight fly rods. Grayling of 18” (a big one in these parts) were caught by Dick Emens, Priscilla O’Donnell, Trux Emerson, Harry Murphy and Joel Tune; 18.5 was the number for Dave O’Donnell and Bill Calabresa, and a 19” by Dick Emens topped the grayling chart for the week. The grayling factory at the outflow of Smalltree lake was the hotspot of the week.

With those big grayling, it’s no surprise that it was a good week for guests joining (earning is a better word) the 100+Club by getting trophies in all three species whose collective measurement hits or beats 100”. It’s a reel accomplishment (yes, that’s a pun not a misspelling). We had a lodge record for a single week—seven anglers made the grade: Dave O’Donnell, Winfield Scott, Jackie Scott, Joel Tune, Bill Calabresa (son Vince just missed but got the Trophy Triple hat), Dick Emens and Paul Tarvin. Dick and Paul landed right near the top of the high total for the season with 104 and 104.5”, third and second respectively behind Amy Tower’s 105”. Will that 105” number hold for the final six groups? Stay tuned. Did those seven 100+Club inductees have a better time than the other 19 anglers on board for the week? Probably not. They all caught dozens or maybe even a hundred or more fish. They all enjoyed the same northern lights shows, the professional and experienced guiding, the same superb dining, and the same peace and serenity of being on water clean enough to drink straight out the lakes. The big fish—just details.