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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.

The Scott Lake Lodge Week 12 Fishing Report

by Jason | Aug 13, 2018 | 2018 Season

A Full Retreat

Nortek Global Hvac, LLC, a global leader in air handling technology, decided to send some customers, engineers, sales reps and company executives from all over North America on a three-day corporate retreat to Scott Lake Lodge. But they didn’t retreat. They attacked. And it turns out that they can handle more than air: they can handle fish. In between meetings and bar time, they fished Scott Lake and a few of our 22 fly out destinations, taking up the challenge of moving some northern pike, lake trout and arctic grayling from the water to their guides’ nets. Some were seasoned anglers. Many were not. But everyone caught a lot of fish. Bruno Blasietta led the way, getting a trophy in all three species, to take home a Trophy Triple hat. Dave Williams and Tim Willoughby each landed a 44” pike. Joe Sbarra found himself tied to a heavy 38” lake trout and brought that fish to the net. Brian Black won the Biggest Lake Trout bet with a girthy 39 incher, a close race. The battle for the Biggest Pike of the trip wasn’t even close. On the last day of the trip Mike Tzimentos was on the winning side of a battle with a monster 49” northern pike, the biggest pike off Scott Lake this season. The scene of the battle was just a 15-minute boat ride from the lodge, a time and place Mike will never forget.

There were many highlights, including some northern lights, for this geographically dispersed group but nearly all rated the final full group shore lunch mid-afternoon on the last day as #1. All hands were on deck as the Scott Lake guides demonstrated their culinary skills. The site was a beautiful beach just a mile north of the lodge—Tundra Beach. There is a firepit there big enough to roast a pig. On this day though it was fresh caught northern pike, perfectly filleted. It’s a show to watch the teamwork of 13 guides, most with 15 or more years at Scott, as they put together an incredible spread of food. The menu included, of course, the traditional deep-fried fish and the “supers”—French fries like you’ve never had them. But our guides go way beyond the standard Canadian shore lunch fare. They had a baked fish, pike stir fry, buffalo jack, butter chicken pike and pike chili. All of that with onion rings washed down with lots of beer.

As the plates emptied everyone knew that the trip was reaching its end. It was all too short. After the final boat ride back to the lodge, it was time to make the mental adjustment to the “other world”, the one with meetings, schedules, deadlines, conference calls, full inboxes and dozens of texts. All that was still for tomorrow. They had one more float plane flight to Stony Rapids ahead of them and they had memories of three days of spectacular sunrises and sunsets, the haunting calls of loons, the adrenaline rush of a savage hit by an angry pike and pleasant conversations with colleagues. For that time the only HVAC these guys had to deal with was the breeze off the big, cool lake. They will be back.

Week 11 Scott Lake Lodge Fishing Report

by Jason | Aug 9, 2018 | 2018 Season

DAMN THE TORPEDOS: FULL SPEED AHEAD

After 50 consecutive days of guiding, cooking, cleaning, flying, fixing and muscling around baggage, fuel and food, the Scott Lake team would have plenty of reason to start slacking off. But that’s not what this group is made of. That’s not what any guest who landed on our island on July 30 experienced. At the opening night orientation session, the enthusiasm, energy and excitement were off the charts. You would have thought it was Day 1 of Week 1 not deep into our season. There is just no half-speed for our crew. There is no half-speed for our anglers either. They came to fish and hit the water hard.

Especially one Amy Towers, one of the Scott Lake “regulars”, who wasted no time getting into big fish. One her first day she accomplished the Done In One—getting into the 100+Club by catching a trophy pike, lake trout and arctic grayling whose collective measurements reach or exceed 100 inches. She was full throttle, getting a pike of 45”, a lake trout of 41” and a grayling of 16.5”. But having 102 total inches was just not good enough for Amy. Before her five-day stay ended she had “upgraded” to an 18” grayling and a 42” lake trout. That put her at 105 total inches to lead the season’s 100+Club standings. She also tallied no fewer than 22 trophy fish for her week. Congrats to Amy. And to husband Jeff, who quietly landed 8 trophies and also joined the 100+Club. The action wasn’t limited to the Tower clan. There were bragging rights all around.

Ryan Robbins had an epic day with lake trout. In one of the best lake trout days in recent memory, he pulled 10 trophy lakers into his guide’s big net. They were not just barely “over the line” trophies either—he got two 38s, a 40 and a 41 incher. That’s a day. There were lots of big days this week. With just over a hundred trophies, it’s not surprising that there were many memorable fish. Fish like 45” pike taken by Dave O’Donnell, Tonya Mcgraw and Bob Chadwell. Or like the 46s landed by B Juno Francis and Bill Golz. Bill had a sensational trip, also getting a fat 47” pike which tied Bill Mcgraw’s for the biggest pike of the week. Our menu for the week included big trout. In addition to Amy and Ryan’s haul, Rob Neumann contributed a 41 incher and Betty Chadwell a 40 to the week’s abundance.

As our season has progresses the arctic grayling have been making a more dramatic appearance. The season started with very high water, making fishing for the sailfish of the north tough on the fast-flowing rivers of the area. Now, as the waters are dropping, the grayling are rising and getting within reach of our ultra-light spinning rods and 4-weight fly rods. Some very nice grayling were landed on our rivers: 18 inchers by Amy Towers and Jono Francis and a 19 by Jeff Towers. While not all of our guests go for grayling, those that do love it. It’s a more contemplative fishing experience that going one-on-one with savage pike or pulling lakers out of the depths—the contrast is wonderful.

For many guests there were other trophies besides the ones that earn pins at the nightly trophy ceremony. This week we had the first northern lights of the season (that gets better week by week as we start to get some nighttime darkness, something we don’t have in June and July). We also had a lot of moose and bear sightings as well as the daily sightings of loons, eagles and osprey. There were trophy moments too just enjoying the evening campfire or the conversations at dinner. Scott Lake is about fishing but it’s about more than fishing. Some anglers left with lots of trophy pins or the 100+Club jacket (besides Amy and Jeff Towers, Juno Francis and Ryan Robbins earned that). All our week 11 anglers left with a strong sense of satisfaction after spending five beautiful summer days in one of the most pristine and private settings imaginable. The big fish are a bonus.

What Happened During the 9th Week of Fishing at Scott Lake Lodge

by Jason | Jul 29, 2018 | 2018 Season

FAMILY FUN WEEK

If there is such a thing as a typical Scott Lake Lodge guest, they would look, well, male for starters, with just a bit of white around the temples; they would own a business (or two or three) and would be experienced anglers. Half of the ninth group at the lodge didn’t fit that profile at all. This group was a lot more diverse: more female anglers than usual, a few guests living large in their early 20s, and a lot more kids—seven to be exact (since kids don’t like to be called kids, we’ll call them young adults or teenagers). It gave the week a wonderfully effervescent feel . The cheering during the nightly fish du jour show may have been a bit higher pitched, but it was infectious. It brought out the kid in all of us.

These teenagers were not sitting around consumed by their screens; they were out fishing. In fact, the big fish of the week, a monster 48-inch pike was taken by thirteen-year-old Ben Matherly. It was a beauty and caught in a well-known spot just a pleasant 15-minute boat ride from the lodge. And the person on the 100+Club leader board is now fourteen-year-old Thomas Purcell who fished hard and well and claimed a fat 18-inch grayling, a 45-inch northern pike and on the last day of his trip boated a very plump 39-inch lake trout, giving him a 102 total trophy inches, combining the lengths of his biggest pike, trout and grayling. Greta Hall at the young age of 14 also joined the exclusive club with her three big trophies, including a very heavy 42-inch lake trout, also on the last day of the trip and within sight of the lodge. Other young adults did well too: Kai Boland, Thomas Purcell and Greta Hall earned their Trophy Triple hats; Griffin Kristo nailed a 45-inch pike, and Andrew Matherly pulled a 40-inch lake trout right into his guide’s net.

Our adult contingent wasn’t sitting on their hands or texting on their cell phones either. They were catching big fish as well. Long time guest Art Rice picked a pair of perfect 46-inch pike. Pat Baker got a 46 and Steve Kristo matched his son Griffin’s 45. This was the kick off of our prime lake trout season when the big lakers start to congregate in deep water in search of cooler water temperatures. There were 19 trophy trout taken during the week, the higher number of the season so far. The Kracum clan did some real damage with the big lakers: John got two 39s; Matt got a 39 and a 41; and Rich Kracum got a pair of 40-inchers which helped him get into the 100+Club. Matt and John Kracum got the Triple Trophy hat trick along with Eric hall.

So, big fish and big family fun. It’s all in a season at Scott Lake Lodge. We thank the group of young adults for showing us the way to the pure joy of a day on the water, with or without big fish.

The 8th Week of 2018 Fishing Report

by Jason | Jul 23, 2018 | 2018 Season

BOYS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (TOO)

Cyndi Lauper famously sang “Girls just want to have fun”. Well, at Scott Lake Lodge in mid-July it was the boys who just wanted to have all the fun. This was a rare all-guys week here; they made the best of it. Starting with raucous applause during the staff introductions at the first evening’s orientation program and running right up to the final Happy Hour at the Last Cast Bar just before the float planes carried the very happy crew off the island, fun was the modus operandi of the week. Laughter was the language and song its finest expression. Just one example of many: one evening at the Lake Lodge bar someone innocently started a karaoke evening (without the benefit of course of a karaoke machine). Before the bar closed there were several renditions of Hotel California that could be heard throughout our 12-acre island. It would have been disturbing if it hadn’t been so damned good. Well, these boys really did just want to have fun.

Boys love to fish too. These guys were serious about fun AND fishing. While there may have been a couple of late mornings and maybe a missed fly out or two, there were very few missed hook sets. They made things happen and their big fish totals were impressive: 105 total trophies with ten of those chunky pike of 45” or more. Ken Williamson Sr wasn’t the leader of the karaoke fest, but he was the leader of the pack with big fish—an impressive 47 incher. The rest of the Williamson clan followed his lead. Al Williamson got a 46 and two 45s. Bill land a 46 as well and Ken Jr pulled a 45 into his guide’s net. That’s a lot of big fish pictures for the family album. The O’Shaughnessy clan were a triple threat. Mike O’Shaughnessy scored the top trout of the week, a spectacular 42.5” hog of a fish and picked up a 46” pike as well. Patrick was right by his side, landing a 41.5” and a 38” lake trout plus a 45” pike, one of his first fish of the trip. Gerry O’Shaughnessy wore a permanent smile, probably because he landed 10 trophy pike including a 45 incher.

Seth Degroot supersized his pike fishing as well getting a 45. Ron Spork had a great day with a mixed bag of three trophy trout, including a 38, and a trophy pike. Dave Dalvey, a guy with a long history here of getting a lot of big fish, had a hell of a trip, landing a total of 14 trophies. He finally cracked the grayling code. It’s been a very challenging season so far for the sailfish of the north; the high, fast water in our grayling rivers has made things tough. Many have tried but few have had much success. Dave didn’t let the high water affect his grayling quest. With big mends of his fly line he kept his flies in the zone and landed a bunch of nice fish with an 18” and a huge 19.5” topping his grayling adventure. With some big pike and a nice lake trout behind him, that grayling gave him entry into the 100+Club (getting a trout, pike and grayling with collective measurement of 100” gets one into the club and gets a dashing custom jacket with the trophy lengths and the angler’s name embroidered on the front). Patrick O’Shaughnessy also joined the Club this group. Dave and Patrick were only the 2^nd and 3^rd anglers to make the grade so far this season. (Plenty of huge trout and pike have been caught but not many big graylings.)

There were more than big fish to cheer about at the nightly “fish du jour” picture show. There were a lot of moose sightings which starting this season awards a moose pin to the viewer. Every moose picture triggered an enthusiastic chant of “moose, moose, moose” etc. etc. We thank the group for injecting so much energy and, well, positive vibrations into lodge. It was fun for everyone, especially our guides and shore staff who loved the excitement and energy. One could not help but recall the comment of Joseph Heller, the great novelist: “When I grow up I want to be a little boy.” Send Scott Lake Lodge some men and we’ll return some boys, happy boys. It’s our secret sauce. We’ll keep cooking it up.

P.S. Just to keep up to date on the entire season: it’s been an incredible one for really big fish. Our all-time record for pike over 45” was set last season—138 monsters. After this eighth group’s contribution of ten, we now are standing at 94 with 50 fishing days to go. If you’re a betting person, bet on a new record. It will probably be a new record for the mega pike (those of 47 or better). Last year was the all-time record there too—40. Now after just 40 days we are at 19. Another record could fall. We’ll keep casting.