Week 14 Fishing Update – Northern Lights, Meteors, and Shorts Weather!

After a couple summers of being at odds with each other it seems mother nature has decided to bless Scott Lake, and the surrounding ten million acres of Northern Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories we chase trophy fish on, with more “shorts weather”. The guides gauge the weather on the number of days shorts can (or must) be worn guiding our guests. 2015, according to some guides had single digit short days, while 2016 had a dismal 0.5!!! Despite the weather though we caught record numbers of fish each year, setting the bar continually higher with new water, better catch and release practices and guides constantly learning and improving (amazing what retaining great staff can do…) 2017 has been a year of record setting fishing and banner weather as well. At last count, the short days litmus test was well into the mid thirties. The Nortek group in week fourteen was treated to everything a fly in fishing trip to Canada should be in August. No bugs, sunny skies (with temperatures up to 90F), fat fish and of course Northern Lights.

We are lucky to be in the perfect location to view the Aurora Borealis and witness the start of the Perseids Meteor shower. What a show to witness, cocktail in hand, from the comfort of our new deck! The fish must have felt it too because they picked up what was already a fast pace of hitting the nets.

Both the trophy northern pike and trophy lake trout were accommodating to our anglers this week…they only had 3 days to get things done and wasted no time! Dan Brazeale kicked off the trip with a 42.5” pike and 35” trout on the first day. Dan’s fishing partner Terry Longest got an arm workout in pulling in three big lake trout, 35, 35 and 37”. As the group spread over Scott Lake and some of the flyouts they found the second day to be just as active. Tim Chadwick netted a 41 and 43.5” pike, while on the other side of the boat Tim Knoop got a 42 and a 43”er. Fishing rookie Kris Holla was quick to catch on, he caught a 42” pike and 37.5” trout. Skip French had quite a day with two pike trophies and three big grayling. The day two pike champs were Ed Barbieri accounting for a 45” fat Saskatchewan pike and Greg Maccarone a 47” slob.

The crew had big plans for shore lunch on Tundra Beach, the whole guide team was on hand to show off their ability to cook gourmet meals on an open fire with a view to rival any restaurant. The big pike were on fire on Scott Lake. Randy Smith got three overs, Jeff Watkins a 44”er, Greg Peifer a 46.5” Josh Blake a 44.5, 45 and 46 for a run of giant pike. And top honors for the trip went to John Hobson with a 47.5” northern. We had two guests lucky enough to catch all three of our target species in trophy size Phil Lepoudre and Peter Plapp hit the Scott Lake Lodge Trophy Triple mark.

What a week! Everyone caught fish, a lot of fish. Some just happen to be longer than others…they are all fun though and it would be hard to think of a bite that didn’t make the angler smile or have a story attached to it to be recounted later at happy hour. It’s amazing to watch a group bond over the stories of the day, fish caught, wildlife seen, perfect moments, blunders…without a doubt the collection of professional colleagues that arrived left friends. More importantly we welcomed them into the fold of the Scott Lake Family. Sounds like a good place to hold your next corporate retreat. Fun, fellowship and fishing, all in the breathtaking northern backdrop of a luxury fishing lodge, which provides an unmatched level of personalized customer service…. it’s a business decision we think will pay off!