Week 16: Attack of the Bobcats

THE ATTACK OF THE BOBCATS

Corporate Group Fishing Trip

When one hears the word bobcat there are usually two thoughts—either the furry but sometimes nasty feline wildcat or the neat yellow machines that push dirt around and do some heavy lifting. The only wild felines around Scott would be the illusive Canada lynx and the only thing that pushed dirt and lifts heavy objects on our island is the muscle power from our maintenance staff. But for our sixteenth group we had just over a couple of dozen of real Bobcatters at the lodge for a late summer corporate retreat. They took time off from building and selling those construction site staples to test their mettle against the lake trout and northern pike of the 60th parallel. And just like Bobcats can handle just about anything in the construction world, these Bobcatters handled the best that our big fish could offer. Like their namesake animal they just attacked our lakes.

The result was a pile of trophy pins and a lot of wonderful memories. The group brought exactly 100 trophy fish to their boats. These super-sales guys obviously know how to close a deal and set a hook. Many of those big fish were lake trout. Some were landed while casting for pike. While the temperatures have continued for this time of year to be extraordinarily warm here, the lake trout are responding to the calendar and starting their journey from the deep holes of our lakes to the shallow fall spawning areas. Trolling and jigging is still the path to big trout though. Our Bobcatters took plenty: 38-inch lakers were landed by Jeremy Holck, Jay Robinson and Russ Honeyman; 39s by Dustin Goodsell, Ron Hadaway and Tyler Todd; 40s by Brady Seavert and Scott Nelson. John Grandon got two of the biggest trout of the trip—a heavy 41 and a tank of a 42. But leaders lead. Jeremy Holck put together this trip and he put together a one impressive trout day, getting a bunch including a 40 and a 44-incher, just a blob of a lake trout.

The group dug up some big northern pike too: Brad Claus, Ron Hadaway, Billy Phebus, Jeremy Holck and Jon Grandon landed 44-inchers while Pier-Olivier Catonguay and Tyler Todd landed 45-inch beauties. But the big pike of the week belonged to Matt Ross who brought a massive pike a full four-feet long to his guide’s net. Sprinkle in a few grayling and you have a great fish stew in the making. On their last day at Scott the group had a festive shorelunch that included everything but fish stew. Fourteen guides served up six different fish dishes with all the sides. It was a perfect ending to a four-day escape from the real world of phone calls and meetings. While no one saw a real bobcat or the rare Canada lynx, several of the group saw bears and muskox along with our standard wildlife mix of loons, eagles and ospreys. It was week of great fishing and even greater fun—everything a corporate group fishing trip should be.