Monday, August 29, 2011

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/13 to 8/20 2011

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/13 to 8/20 2011

Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. This week our weather showed some change by mid-week having thunderstorms with high winds coming in on Wednesday & again on Friday with a major cool down. This is just a reminder that fall is just around the corner.


Frank & Doug Kerr from Plainfield, IN & Henrico, NC made their first trip to Fireside Lodge. First day they got started and caught some Smallmouth while learning their way around the lake. 2nd & 3rd days were very good as they caught many Smallmouth Bass along with some bigger fish up to 17-18-inches. 4th day was slower during the day catching 10 fish before supper & catching a few after. 5th & final day they finished strong catching many Smallmouth Bass, 40+, with the sinking worm presentation they were using all week. Both had a terrific trip with us at Fireside Lodge not only fishing but catching up with their lives and reminiscing about there past. Before leaving they were asking about availability in 2012, and we sure would be glad to have these two back.

Tom Nayder from Orland Park, IL and sister Leah Bezin from Berwyn, IL returned to Fireside Lodge for their 12th consecutive trip. 1st day had them catching a mix of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Second day was a portage lake day and did very well catching two dozen Smallmouth, mostly bigger girthy fish. Tom said one Smallie was 17” long with a 13” girth. WOW!! Leah also landed an 18” Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. Their technique was using wacky worms & their presentation was slow. 3rd day Had Tom the leader catching both Pike & Smallmouth with Wacky Style Sinking Worms, but Leah’s fly-fishing presentation was not what the fish wanted today. 4th day was a fun day with most of their action preceding a storm that rolled in & out very quickly, catching 16 Smallmouth Bass & a few Pike

. 5th & final day they did great catching 18 Smallmouth Bass with no small fish. They each caught a Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth Bass & both tied catching 3 each during their 5 day stay. Side story on the last day a Bass got away from Tom & slipped into the bilge area then under the floor. Tom decided that if he filled the boat with water then bilged water out the Bass would slide to the back where he could nab & release the fish. All worked as planned except Tom had to stick his arm up under the floor to grab the fish so we all decided give this new recreational way of catching a fish it’s very own name. The name “Bilge Noodle’n for Smallmouth Bass”. Both went home making some wonderful brother & sister memories & before leaving Leah was already talking about next year.


Long time Guests Ed Burns & Todd Smith from College Station & McKinney, TX returned. First day was great catching both Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Very first fish was Ed landing a 38” Pike. 2nd day was slower but they did catch some nice Pike & Smallies. Todd caught 5 big Smallies after supper. 3rd day had them catching Smallmouth & Northern Pike with Todd landing a BIG Northern Pike just missing the 40” Master Anglers Trophy mark. Fourth day was windy therefore tough fishing conditions, however they still managed to catch some Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike here & there with no real pattern. Both had a great trip as they have since about 1997, and both hope to return next year.



John & Monica Ziegler from Union Hall, VA returned for their 3rd time. 1st day they did great catching 9 Smallmouth Bass, with Monica catching some in the 16-17” range along with 4 Northern Pike. That evening after supper Monica shinned again catching some nice Smallmouth including a GIANT TROPHY 18” Master Angler Award Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day Monica caught 6 Smallmouth up to 16.5” & John did the same along with catching a Pike, which he could not move for several moments, but it turned out it was a feisty 26” Pike that got John tangled in the weeds. 3rd day John described as unbelievable as they got into a bunch of 15 to 17” Smallmouth where they visually saw them and were dropping tubes in front of the Smallmouth & watching them take their tubes. They got into such a feeding frenzy that Monica & John had multiples of double hook ups. Very exciting story as told by John & Monica at suppertime. 4th day they caught some nice 14-16.5” Smallmouth Bass & John landed a big 35.5” Northern Pike. 5th day they faced high winds, caught a few fish and came in early. 6th day was their first portage lake adventure, which they enjoyed, while catching about a dozen Smallmouth Bass & Monica again came up with the big fish landing a 17.5 & 18.5” trophy. She had a very big smile on her face at suppertime. Their 7th & 8th days were windy with some showers & t-storms which had them catching some fish in these tough conditions The highlight was John landing a HUGE 18.75” Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth Bass. Their 9th a final day they spent catching some very nice size Smallmouth Bass and soaked in as much of the wilderness around them as they could. Before leaving they expressed the wonderful time they had together & made their reservation for the same dates in 2012.

David & Michael LaFever from Burlington & Bettendorf, IA, Kenneth & Emma Plummer also from Burlington & Scott Brown from Normal, IL were all here to experience Fireside Lodge for their first time. First day all went out and caught some fish while enjoying the beautiful wilderness of Little Vermilion Lake. After some lure purchases at my tackle shop all were ready for day two. Days two & three all had a ball catching some Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. Scott had a story as while he was trying to land a big pike the fish slipped right through the bottom holes of a rubber net. Unfortunately the fish got away but the memory lives on. Day four was extremely windy conditions, which brought all back to the dock before noon. They managed to catch a few fish but it was mostly reading & internet time. For their last 2 days one was forfeited to very high winds & the other all had a great time catching some Northern Pike & Smallmouth on two lures, Mepps #3 & #5 Blue Fox Spinner. Also Ken & Emma took canoe ride / swim if you know what I mean, and they also went on a Moose excursion very early Friday. All had a FABUOUS family trip & David was very proud to have three generations of his family with him for the week. David, Thank you very much for choosing Fireside Lodge to make these special family memories.

Father & sons Jim, James, & Jake Ekdal from Chicago, IL & San Francisco, CA were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their first time. In just a short 1.5 hours after supper on DOA each caught 3-4 Smallmouth Bass with a few in the 16” range. 1st full day they caught a few Smallmouth Bass and learned the lower half of the lake. 2nd day they had loads of fun portaging into a lake & catching many Pike & Walleye with James landing an 18 & 20” & Jake caught a very big 22” walleye. 3rd day was fun as they caught some Northern Pike a Smallmouth. 4th day was very windy which brought them in before noon. With the winds still strong after supper but calmer they went fishing for a short while & James landed a BIG Smallmouth bass over 17”. 5th & final day they portaged again for Northern Pike & Walleye. Well, they certainly finished with a BANG catching 55+ fish half being Pike & half being walleye. The walleye were very impressive as just about every fish was 20-26” & Jim said half of the walleye you could hardly put two hands around the fish. All had a fabulous father & son’s trip and made some wonderful memories.

Good friends Larry Hinshaw & Pat Hobson from Blue Grass, IA & Elmwood, IN returned for their 5th time. 1st day involved a portage for Musky having many follows but to takers. 2nd day had them catching 25 nice Smallmouth but none came easy as they just picked up a fish here & there all day long. 3rd day was very slow going for these two and the 4th day came with the strongest winds of the season with gusts over 50km per hour, which hampered their fishing. Despite this they did do well for the conditions and caught 12-15 Smallmouth Bass. They also had a little extra time as the winds blew into the evening so they took advantage of this taking a little longer enjoying their daily cigar on the screened in porch at the main lodge. 5th day they picked away catching 22 Smallmouth Bass. 6th & final day had them facing t-storms during breakfast and shortly after that the winds kicked up again which brought the back in hopes things would calm down later. It did somewhat, which enabled them to go out & catch 6 more nice Smallmouth bringing their daily total to just over 20. Both knew their trip was just about concluded when their traditional evening cigar was down to barely a stub. They made the most of their trip right to the end and hope to return in 2012.


Steve Jensen from Springfield, MO. returned for his 2nd trip this year which makes 9 times in the last 8 years, bringing his better half, Nancy for her first ever fishing experience in the Canadian Wilderness. 1st day was a practice fly-casting day for Nancy with Steve catching a few fish. 3rd day was great as they caught 7 Pike & 2 Smallmouth Bass along with losing some while fly-fishing. Steve said he saw an eye opener Smallmouth Bass which was GIANT estimating it to be over 20”. This monster just came in and eyed up Steve’s fly, caused all kinds of commotion, then just slowly swam away. 4th day was fabulous as they caught many Northern Pike & Nancy landed her first two Pike ever. Steve’s main goal was having Nancy catch a Pike on the fly. All were caught fly-fishing of course, as this is the only fishing method Steve & Nancy use. 5th & final day very high winds were not suitable for any type of fishing let alone fly-fishing, so Steve & Nancy stayed back enjoying their beautiful cabin view and atmosphere around it, while catching up on some reading & looking forward to Audrey’s famous Wednesday night ribs. Both thoroughly enjoyed their stay and we look forward to seeing them next year, as they already have reservations for 2012.

Mike & Zack Gerulski from Huntington Woods, MI returned with us for their 10th consecutive year. DOA Zach started catching fish right off the bat landing Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. 1st full day Zack was the leader before supper catching most of his fish on “Zack’s Bass Zapper” both Smallmouth Bass & Pike with one being a BIG 34” Northern Pike. Zack’s Bass Zapper was a lure he created about 6 years ago which Is simple but very affective. 2nd day Zack still had the hot hand catching many Smallmouth and several Pike, but at Supper Mike bought some Slimmers to try and turn things around. That same evening Zack caught several nice Smallmouth including a Trophy 18.5” Smallie & Mike caught some Smallmouth & a 30” Pike. 3rd day was very fun catching a mixed bag of both Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass & for Zack I mean this literally. Zack while fighting a Smallmouth Bass had a Northern Pike charge towards the Smallmouth Bass on his line. Then the Pike circled the Bass twice and then attacked the Smallie. After fighting both of the fish Zack got them close enough for Mike to net them both. For Zack he caught two fish on one cast, one lure. Moral of the story is when fishing for Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike Zack does not fool around. 4th and final day brought torrent winds blowing over 50km per hour but Mike & Zack made the best of it as still caught 10 fish before supper. They also made a final run after supper catching a few more. Both made fabulous memories and are hoping to return & meet up with a few friends in 2012.


Fran & Colleen Stack from Lorain, OH returned for their 8th consecutive year. DOA both Fran & Colleen caught Smallmouth & Pike and before breakfast on 1st day Fran had a BIG Northern Pike shake his lure off at boat-side. The rest of the day Fran kept the hot hand catching 8 Smallmouth & 5 Pike. 2nd day had these two landing over 20 fish, combination of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. 3rd day had these two catching both Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass with a mix of small and larger fish. 4th day brought extreme winds (50km+) however Fran & Colleen had some excellent fishing catching 25 fish, mostly Smallmouth Bass & Colleen caught 2 Trophy Master Anglers Award Smallmouth & Fran landed one. They also had a double, Fran’s being 14” and Colleen’s measured out at 18”. 5th & final day was terrific as they got into a bunch of Smallmouth bass using everyone of their 48 leeches and then started catching some on gulp alive leeches & Colleen landed a 31” Pike. After supper they added 7 more Northern Pike & a Bass. Both had a GREAT time enjoying our wonderful wilderness fishing & making memories.


Walt LaCasse from Minnetonka, MN returned for his second trip this year bringing his grandson & fishing buddy Keeghan for 3 days of fishing. They had a ball together catching Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike with Keeghan doing very well catching a few bigger fish. On their second day they adventured to a portage lake having fun walking through the bush, seeing animal tracks, & just enjoying the scenery. They also enjoyed the fishing as they caught a bunch of Pike on this very windy day. Walt would just drive to one end of this long beautiful lake and then drift all the way to the other end casting and catching fish. Both caught a few large Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike & had a wonderful time making their third set of Fireside Lodge fishing memories together. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to spend this special time together.


Father & son Jerry & Ben Lester from Waconia & Edina, MN returned to Fireside Lodge for their second trip & this time daughter/sister Jenna joined them. First day they caught a ton, over 80 Smallmouth Bass on leeches, plastics, and top-water lures. Many large fish were caught between 15-17.5-inches. Great fist day for all but especially for Jenna, as it was her first experience fishing with us at Fireside Lodge. 2nd and final day was spectacular as they caught over 50 Smallmouth Bass, with most being larger 15 to 18.5” Smallies, and it was all on top-water prop baits. The excitement was very evident as they were re-supplying with surface lures at my tackle shop. The reason the 2nd day was their final day was that the wind kicked up so bad on their 3rd day it made fishing very difficult and they bailed out by noon. All had FABULOUS father/son/daughter fishing trip, made memories to last a lifetime, and said they will return.







Make sure to go to our

website listed below to see the 2010 Photos

For Fabulous Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our Social Sites Below.

FaceBook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireside-Lodge/304211179043?v=wall

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/FiresideLodgeFish

Twitter

http://twitter.com/FiresideFish

Hot Lures: Wacky Sinking Worm, Live Leeches, Tube Jigs, Surface Pop Baits, Blue Fox Spinner, Mepps #3 Spinner, Zacks Bass Zapper,

Catches of The Week: 17 Smallmouth Bass 18” or larger, 38.5” Northern Pike

Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for next weeks report. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan

http://www.firesidelodgefishing.com

http://www.firesidelodge.com

800-545-0815

Email at:fireside@xplornet.com


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/6 to 8/13 2011


Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/6 to 8/13 2011


Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. The temperatures were gorgeous this week having highs in the mid to upper 70’s including a few heavy thunderstorms on Thursday with mega lightning, which drove most looking for cover. The fishing was “TERRIFIC” for all with the catching being the same for most.

Long time return guest for his 9th consecutive year Bill Westbrook from New Philadelphia, OH for the first time came with his entire family of Wife Jill & Matt, 2nd year, Mark 8th year who came with Katie Perica from Cincinnati, OH. First evening fishing all caught Smallmouth Bass with Jill setting the pace as she caught the most & the largest fish up to 17.5”. First full day all caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass with the ladies leading the pack on larger fish as Jill & Katie caught 17-17.5”ers. Katie, having never fished before caught 10. Great day for all. 2nd day was a fun portage day for Muskie & Smallmouth, getting Muskie follows & catching a lot of Smallmouth. Jill again landed some 17”+ fish and Mark came up with the catch of the day landing a HIGE 19.5” Master Anglers Award Trophy. 3rd day was super as the whole crew caught over 70 fish with 99% being Smallmouth Bass. A lot of big bass were caught up to 17” and Katie, Mark, Bill, & Matt all caught Master Anglers Award Trophy 18” plus fish. 4th day was volatile as T-Storms chased them off the lake at the noon hour, but not before Bill & Mark took advantage of the before the storm bite. They caught many big Smallmouth 16 to 17.5”, caught 5 Trophy Smallmouth between 18-19.5” with Bill landing a GIANT measuring 20”, Matt caught the 19.5”er & a side Story is that when Bill caught his 20” Smalllmouth Matt also caught a 17” Smallie. That’s a heck of a double catch on Smallmouth. The last day because of weather only Bill, Mark, & Matt fished for 3 hours and caught about a dozen Pike All left making GREAT family fishing memories at Fireside Lodge.

Newcomers to Fireside Lodge were Brad Carpenter from White Bear Lake, MN Chuck Bach from Mukwonago, WI, Chris Kelly from Cape May, NJ & Rich Hoffman from IL.

First night after supper all caught Smallmouth & Northern Pike. 1st full day they did great catching close to 25 Northern Pike & some Smallies. 2nd day was nothing less than terrific. After an adventurous & challenging creek ride these four caught well over 100 Northern Pike with plenty of other follows or lost fish. On there 3rd & final day they dedicated to Smallmouth Bass. After some discussion on location & presentation they were off. The results were “FABULOUS” as they caught fish all day long and big Smallmouth ranging from 14 to 19”. They said it was non-stop and could not give me number because the excitement was so great from watching 4-6 Smallmouth following right behind the one they were catching. This was a great finish to a fabulous 3-day fishing trip.


Father & son Mark & Matt Donovan from IL. & Albert Marco from Middleton, WI. returned for their 2nd trip. 1st day was slow starting having many follows from toothy critters that would not take anything, but it cranked up in the afternoon with the Smallmouth Bass as they caught some nice fish & Al set the bar landing an 18” Master Anglers Award bass. 2nd day they did very well catching fish all day with Pike, up in the 32” range, Smallmouth of all sizes, & Matt landed his biggest at 17.5” & Al caught another over 18”. They also had a lot of large follows. 3rd day had these three fishing an out lake catching 6 walleye & over 40 Pike. 4th & final day they finished strong catching 25 Northern Pike & a dozen Smallmouth all being Big between 15 to 18” & both Al & Mark caught 18” Master Anglers award Trophy Bass. All left making wonderful memories.


Ron & Lisa Vincent from Sherrills Ford, NC returned for their 13th consecutive year. DOA Ron caught a Tiger Muskie & both did well on Pike & Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day Ron caught 2 more Musky (that’s 3 in 1.5 days) & both had a FABULOUS day catching many BIG Smallmouth Bass ranging in the 13 to 17.5” area. 2nd day was a big day for these two as the caught a bunch of Smallmouth bass up to 17.5” and some nice pike. 3rd day was as good as you can ask for as they caught well over 50 Northern Pike about 15 Smallmouth with Lisa landing a BIG trophy 18”er. The next two days had them seeing about 30 Musky follows but no takers and they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Lisa landed another 18”+ along with many 14 to 17.5 inches & Ron had similar success but despite him landing about a half dozen 17-17.75 inches he could not break the 18” mark. He also said Lisa was keeping him very honest. They also caught a lot of pike including some in the 33-35” range. 5th day was a very good day & Ron did some catching up in the Smallmouth Trophy category coming up with 2 18” Smallmouth Bass tying Lisa. The 6th & final was a change in weather day being cooler with some rain so Lisa took the day off & Ron went fishing with another guest, Leon, who is also from NC. Both caught fish and Ron enjoyed his last fishing day, while Lisa enjoyed her personal day. Both had a GREAT vacation making some memories in our wonderful wilderness setting.


Dave Warner with sons David, Michael & Grandfather Philip from Foxboro & N Attleboro, MA returned to Fireside Lodge for their 6th time. 1st day each boat caught close to 20 fish, mostly Pike up to 31”, Dave Jr caught a BIG Smallmouth just under 18” & Dave Sr caught a 37” Musky. 2nd day had Dave & Phil having success landing some nice Pike up to 32-inches. 3rd day had Dave Jr & Michael catching over 30 Northern Pike with Dave & Phil landing a bakers dozen, which made pushing over a silt bar for a 55 minute drive & getting over 3 beaver dams all worth the effort. 3rd day had these three taking a weather day off as we had a typical northeastern storm come through with thunderstorms & cold front conditions. 4th & final day was finished with a bang as David Jr & Michael had a SUPER DAY FISHING catching over 70 fish, 60+ Northern Pike along with 12 Smallmouth Bass. All left having a wonderful trip & hope to return again in the near future.


Father David Stefanini from Olmsted Twp, OH & his two sons Todd from Upper Arlington & Dave from Hood River, OR returned for their 2nd trip. 1st day had these three having plenty of action landing over 40 Northern Pike, and Dave landed his while fly-fishing. 2nd day they caught mostly Smallmouth Bass & Todd was the top dog landing a 17.5” Smallie. 3rd day brought cold front conditions with high winds & the fishing was slower, however they still caught some Pike with Todd landing a MONSTER 37.5” er having a tremendous girth & Dave Sr landed a heavy 31.5” Musky. Not bad for tough weather conditions! 4th day had these three catching 15+ nice Northern Pike. 5th day had them fishing for Muskie & Smallmouth Bass with great results. Dave Sr caught a 32” Musky & lost another, Todd landed a 26”er & Dave had a Musky briefly hooked. Also, they had countless Musky follows throughout the day and caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass including both Dave Sr & Todd each landing a trophy 18” Smallie. Last day they were on the hunt for BIG fish & Todd found a beauty 19” Trophy Smallmouth Bass & Dave Sr finished with a 35.5” Pike with a very wide girth. All left having a great visit & making wonderful memories between father & sons.


First time guests David Nero & Woody Kessell from Akron & Uniontown, OH arrived with anticipation. First day ever on our lake they recognized a pattern & started catching Smallmouth, landing over 40 before supper. Second day had them catching 30+ Smallmouth Bass until T-Storms brought them back at noon. They ended up only fishing a few more hours because of weather & ended up the day with 38 Smallies. 3rd day was very windy with a cold front which made it slower going, but even with these conditions Dave & Woody managed to catch 20+ Smallmouth. 4th day they stuck to there pattern of fishing 8-15 foot depths away but parallel to rock shore lines & caught another 33 Smallmouth Bass with their wacky rigged 3” Slug-O’s. 5th day they caught 20 Smallmouth and on the 6th & final day they finished strong with 34 Smallmouth Bass. Both had a great trip and said they would like to return in the future.

Tom & Jen Born from Burlison, TN returned to Fireside Lodge for their trip. First day out had them catching some fish, both Pike & Smallmouth, & seeing a few monsters just take a look & leave, 2nd day was Musky day for Jen as she hooked & landed a nice 31”er. 3rd day they portaged to a Musky / Smallmouth Bass lake in server cold front conditions, & had many Musky follows and caught some nice Smallmouth Bass. Tom landed a monster 19.5” Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth. 4th day had them catching Pike and Smallmouth with Tom landing another GIANT Smallmouth, this one measuring 19”. Another exciting event was when a Musky the same length as the width of their boat followed Tom’s lure through a figure eight, then sat a few feet below their boat just long enough for Tom & Jen to get a good look, & then it slowly swam away. 5th & final day had them on the last search for that Monster Pike or Musky. First choice was to try fishing in Cedarbough, but the low water conditions prevented them from getting to this lake, so they decided to fish the lake with the BIGGEST fish which is Little Vermilion Lake. They had a blast soaking up their last day, seeing some follows and catching some Pike, but the MONSTERS eluded them on this trip just teasing them with follows and near strikes. Both left having a wonderful time and adding to their memory log.


Barrett Bunce from Santa Barbara, CA returned for his second visit bringing his sons Brandon from Ventura, Ca & Andrew from Sheridan, CO. 1st full day on the water had these 3 catching many Pike & some Smallmouth Bass, & Andrew told me he was starting to believe my weekly fishing reports. 2nd day had them portaging & catching many pike, 30+, in only 3.5 hours, but were driven out because of T-Storms. 3rd day was facing cold front conditions & the fishing was slower, but they still managed to catch 20 Smallmouth Bass. 4th day was a fun portage day adventuring to another lake having a great time catching a bunch of Pike. 5th day had these three fishing for Smallmouth Bass catching 15 & they also took some time to enjoy the Twin Falls Area. This is and amazing natural wonder on Little Vermilion Lake that all should see and it is a perfect photo opt. 6th & final day was a portage for Musky & Smallmouth Bass. Well the Musky did not get the message, but the Smallmouth did as they caught a bunch of Smallies. Many memories were made between father & sons on this trip & for Barrett it was a special trip not only being with his two sons but also in remembrance of a very good friend who was with Barrett on a previous trip with us. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make some of your special memories.

Long time guest Leon Robbins from Yadkinville, NC returned with three timer Justine Sebastian from Mont Holly, NC & Leon’s nephew Troy Reed from Winston Salem, NC for his first experience. This was Troy’s first fishing trip & he arrived never having caught a Smallmouth Bass, Musky or Northern Pike. 1st evening they caught 11 Pike & 8 Smallmouth with Troy catching the most including his first ever Smallie & Pike. 1st day after breaking through three beaver dams & a shallow silt bar they caught over 60 Northern Pike & a dozen Smallmouth Bass. Terrific day for all & in just 24 hours Troy went form never catching a Pike or Smallmouth to becoming very good at it. 2nd day was a bit slower because of high winds, T-Storms, along with sever cold front conditions. All still caught some fish & had tons of fun. 3rd day was their Musky day as the saw a lot of follows & landed 4, with Troy catching his 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Musky in the same day, his biggest being 36.5”, & Justine caught a HUGE 39.5” Musky. It was a very exciting day as they also caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass. 4th day all had a fabulous time catching over 50 Northern Pike along with a half dozen big Smallmouth Bass, & Leon landed a nice 37.5” Musky. 5th & final day was almost a copy of the 4th as they caught 48 Pike with 8 Smallmouth Bass. All left tiered & worn out, but feeling great, & before leaving were looking into dates for 2012.

1st Timers to Fireside Lodge were Gene O’Bara from Manville, NJ, Vito Palombella from Needham, MA, Jerry Klaus from Orlando, FL & James Miller from Fort Lauderdale, FL. First day on the water these three did very well catching many Northern Pike/Smallmouth Bass and both Gene & Vito lost Muskie, & Jerry landed the first Musky of this trip. Great day for it being their first ever on Little Vermilion Lake. Facing cold front conditions & high winds on their 2nd day Vito hooked and landed a 34” Muskie with no leader and 6lb test line and Gene caught a nice Pike & also losing a BIG Muskie. Then they had a three-hour delay because of a hook incident. Afterwards they went right back to catching many Northern Pike. Jerry & Jim had many follows and landed 10 nice Northern Pike. 3rd day was just one of those wonderful weather days & the fishing was “FABULOUS”. Gene & Vito caught over 30 Smallmouth Bass along with several Pike & Vito landed 2 Master Anglers Award Trophy Bass measuring 18”. Jerry & Jim also did great catching over 50 Smallmouth with a lot in the 14 to 17” range. 4th day had Jerry & Jim portage to a Pike lake while Gene & Vito fished for bigger Toothy Critters. We hesitate to say fishing for Musky because Gene figures that if you don’t fish for this elusive fish that’s when you might catch one. The results were “all had a fabulous day” as Jim & Jerry caught over 30 Northern Pike and a few Smallies, with Gene & Vito catching 7 Pike 6 Smallmouth but the topper was Gene hooking & landing a 40” very heavy Musky on a top-water prop bait. Very exciting as they both saw the fish blow up on Gene’s lure. Both will have that memory engrained in their minds forever. 5th & final day had Vito & Gene portaging for Pike & Walleye catching 7 nice big walleye and about 40 Pike. Jim & Jerry also did very well catching 22 Northern Pike & 8 Smallmouth Bass. All left having a memorable trip & hope to return one day soon.


Long time return guests Steve & Lawrence Sandler from Richmond Hill & Markham, Ontario

were back for their 6th visit with us at Fireside Lodge. First day they faced a cold front right off the bat b

ut still caught 7 Pike & many nice Smallmouth Bass between 13 to 17”. 2nd day was a ‘Fabulous’ day as they caught well over 50 Northern Pike and had lots of action in follows & lost fish. 3rd day was fun catching good size Northern Pike, 26-31” throughout the day, Lawrence landed a nice Tiger Muskie & Steve caught some great size Smallmouth Bass up to 17”, all having a good thick girth. 4th and final day the

y finished strong catching 50+ Northern Pike along with 5 Big Smallmouth Bass all at or near 17” & as fat as footballs and Lawrence caught a nice Tiger Musky. Both left having made another set of wonderful memories between brothers & the chatter on their departing morning was about making reservations for 2012.


Gordon Mair from Skippack, PA returned for his second visit in as many years. First several days fishing Gordon mixed it up catching Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike and enjoying the other wonders we having in our great wilderness setting. Gordon spent close to 45 minutes just watching Bald Eagles do what they do every day. That’s one of the many benefits of fishing in the Canadian Wilderness. Second day Gordon caught 4 Smallmouth Bass and 3 nice Northern Pike. On Gordon’s final two days he did very well expanding his knowledge of our lake by exploring some new areas and catching some good Northern Pike while doing so. He left having a thoroughly enjoyable stay and he hopes to return in 2012.


Make sure to go to our website listed below to see the 2011 & 2010 Photos

For Fabulous Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our Social Sites Below.

FaceBook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireside-Lodge/304211179043?v=wall

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/FiresideLodgeFish

Twitter

http://twitter.com/FiresideFish

Hot Lures: #13 Jointed Rapala, Slug-O rigged Wacky Style, Bomber Long-A Jointed, Mepps Musky Killer, Sinking Worm, Live Leeches,

Top-Prop, Red Blade Mepps #5, Deep Diving Crank Bait, Blue Fox Spinner

Catches of The Week: Smallmouth Bass 13 at 18”, 3 at 18.5”, 4 at 19”, 2 at 19.5”, & 1 at 20”, Countless between 17-18”.

40” Muskie and many Pike between 30 to 38”.

Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for next weeks report. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan

http://www.firesidelodgefishing.com

http://www.firesidelodge.com

800-545-0815

Email at:fireside@xplornet.com

Monday, August 15, 2011

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/30 to 8/6 2011





Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/30 to 8/6 2011


Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Can

ada where the weather was beautiful this & the fishing was great this week. Highs were 80 to 85 with lows ranging in the high 50’s.

The Holesinger family of Don & Audrey and their son Matt from Fulton and Roscoe, IL returned for their 5th consecutive year. Audrey made sure she had her own measuring tape this year as last year there was a doubt the accuracy using Matt’s beat up rusty old tape. After a slow morning they got right into a bunch of 14 to 16.5” Smallmouth Bass during the afternoon. 2nd day they did great only counting the BIG Smallmouth of which they landed 44, and Matt tied into & caught a BIG 37.5” Northern Pike with HUGE girth. 3rd day was another fabulous day catching well over 65 Smallmouth plus Matt caught another big 34” Pike, & Don caught an 18” Master Anglers Award Smallie. 4th & final day was the absolute best ever, as before supper they caught 79 Smallmouth with most being 15 to 18” & Audrey landed the 18” Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. WOW!!! During their cabin time laughter could be hear as they enjoyed having some good old fashion fun playing a few board & card games. All left making another set of wonderful family memories.

Father & son Bob & Ron Ramsey from Leavenwoth, KS & Sewanee, TN returned for their 7th year in a row. DOA these two got right into fish catching Northern Pike & a Muskie before supper. 1st full day they had some big follows & Ron lost a Huge Muskie after breaking his leader. A few minutes after this event Ron and Bob watched this huge fish jump clear out of the water & throw Ron’s lure. This is when they realized how HUGE this fish was. 2nd day had them getting a lot of follows from Big toothy critters, but getting a hook up was not easy. They did catch some average size Pike. 3rd day was a portage for Musky. Well they found Musky having 18-20 follows from different fish, but they were very lazy & at times had them opening there mouth right behind the bait, but then they would turn away & wave goodbye with their tail. Their final two days they caught a good number of sizable Pike in the 28 to 31” range, a few in the mid 30’s & also saw a few more monsters that teased them again. Better to not catch these big fish trying than not trying at all. Both left making another set of wonderful memories at Fireside Lodge, to hold for years to come.

First time Guests, David & Denise Law from East Bethel, MN did great their first day finding bigger Northern Pike, each lading their personal best at 36.5 & 33”. Both commented that all of the Pike caught were very thick, larger than any Pike they catch in Minnesota. 2nd day was a slower 89-degree day. It did pick up in the evening after supper as it seemed chartreuse grubs were the ticket. Last day was their best as they caught a bunch of big Smallmouth & Pike with Dave landing a 37” & a trophy 40.5” Northern Pike along with fish in the 28 to 33” range. Dave thanked us for their fabulous first experience fishing in Canada & have all intentions on returning in the future.

Back for their 2nd visit were Denver & Christi West from Lakeview, AR. They got right to it as they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass on their first day, including big fish, Denver landing two Master Anglers Award Trophy Bass at 18 & 18.25”. 2nd day was slower overall, but for Christi it was a good day as she caught most of the fish. We’ll blame this one on the near 90-degree heat. Terrific Smallmouth fishing was on the menu for their 3rd and final day. Denver said that there were times periods in the morning when they caught Smallmouth on every cast. Lot were in the 14 to 15” range, & a dark green gitzit was their meal ticket for Smallmouth today. Their last evening was spent catching more Smallmouth but mostly savoring their time in the Canadian Wilderness enjoying one last beautiful sunset together. Audrey & I were honored to find out on Denver & Christi’s last night that this trip was to celebrate their 35th Wedding Anniversary. Thanks for spending this special with us at Fireside Lodge.

Frank Poehlmann & Mike Coble from Schwenksville & Phoenixville, PA were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their 1st time. 1st full day fishing they caught both Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike as they were learning their way up the lake. 2nd day had the heat sending them in early, but they did well catching Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass, with Frank landing a big 17.5” Smallie. 3rd day was intended to be a Smallmouth day but after having a double bite off on their 1st cast, they put leaders on and continued to catch Pike after Pike having their best Northern Pike day ever. Next few days these two caught a lot of fish while getting through a few slow periods & experienced several 1st’s. Frank caught his first Muskie, Mike landed his first Pike while fly-fishing, and Mike caught his biggest Northern Pike ever measuring 38”. Last day was a great send off as they caught both Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike, & while Mike was fishing with a Gulp Leech on a plain hook with no leader he hooked a 38” Muskie. Mike battled this fish for 15 minutes and ended up landing it. Great catch & a great end to a fabulous fishing trip.

Long time return guests since 1993 Paul & Susan Frost from N Quincy, MA were here to relax in the wilderness while enjoying the sport fishing & in Susan’s case fly-fishing. First day had them catching a few larger Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day was great as they not only had some great fishing but Susan caught 5 Smallies while fly-fishing & Paul caught a Master Anglers Award 18.5” Trophy Smallmouth, however the story is just as good as the catch. While using a Pop-R surface lure Paul had a fish explode on the lure. At that point the fight was so strong Paul thought in to be a BIG Muskie, however when they got a closer look he had 2 big Smallmouth Bass hooked on the same lure. After a great battle it turned out that Paul was fighting a 16.5” & an 18.5” Smallmouth at the same time. One fish was hooked on each treble hook. Incredible catch by Paul. 3rd day had these two searching for big toothy critters, but while on the search ran into Smallmouth Bass & caught a bunch of fish. As for the Pike & Muskie it was back to the map & discussing locations, lures, & presentation. On their last two days both did very well catching sizable Smallmouth Bass & Susan shined as she connected up with many Smallmouth while fly-fishing. Her go to fly was an olive color wooly bugger. In the process we both learned something about line-to-line knots. Right Susan? Paul also caught a BIG 36.5” Northern Pike & in the end most of their goals were accomplished. Both and a fabulous time making some great outdoor memories together & hope to return in the future.


Scott Kimball from Otathe, KS returned with his son Sam (12) for their third trip. Even though Sam is age 12 their main purpose is to hunt large toothy critters. First day they caught Pike & caught a BIG 40.5” Master Anglers Award Trophy Northern Pike. Sam did a great job of netting & photographing his Dad’s catch. 2nd day had these two catching a lot of Pike. 3rd day was spent hunting for BIG toothy critters & they did find them getting a lot of follows. Sam had a Musky come up on his lure several times that was approaching 50”. Could you imagine the fight that would have been? They also caught 15-20 Smallmouth Bass. The next several days became a mission hunting that BIG Musky in the 50” range, & Sam got the fever bad. After seeing a number of these big monsters he would come to supper every evening asking about lures & presentations to coax one of these fish to hit. Loved seeing this young boy get so involved in sport of fishing & hunt of the ultimate BIG fish. On their last day after hunting for the monsters again they decided to change tactics. Well, all heck broke loose as they caught over 25 Northern Pike in just a couple of hours. Everyone enjoyed hearing the excitement of the story through Sam’s interpretation. After Sam told his story we discussed some things, we both decided that the biggest catch of all for Sam & his Dad was the memories made while fishing together for the week. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make these special memories.

Back for their third visit were Jim & Mike Stalknecht from Ringwood, NJ & Guthrie Center, IA and Mike Crescente & Joe Link from Highland Lakes & Ringwood, NJ. Early bird gets the worm panned out for Jim as being and early riser & fishing by himself before breakfast caught a HUGE 40” Muskie. A challenge landing by yourself but Jim managed and penciled an outline of the fish on the bottom of the boat so all could see. That’s setting the bar!! The rest of the day all caught some Northern Pike & Smallmouth along with seeing many large follows from both Musky & Pike. 2nd day was fabulous as they caught over 80 Northern Pike, but not without effort. Receiving very little rain our creeks leading to other lakes have become very shallow and the Beavers have been hard at work, so they had to contend with 3 dams and a few shallow silt bars, but it was well worth it. 3rd day had Jim & Joe Musky hunting and they did great having many follows while hooking up on three Muskie, & Joe landed two. Jim lost the biggest fish at the boat when the fish spit out his buck-tail. Mike & Rick did well fishing for Pike catching some in the 28-32” range. 4th day had the rolls reversed as Mike & Rick were Musky fishing & they also did great hooking up on 5, catching 3 with Rick getting his first ever Muskie landing a very BIG 38.5” Tiger Musky. Mike caught a 28”er but lost the fish of the day believed to be well over 40”. 5th & final day Mike & Rick did great at an out lake catching 40+ Pike & 13 walleye before supper. That same day at evening time they were very excited to tell us they saw the biggest Musky ever. Mike & Rick said they can’t wait to come back next year to chase this monster.

First timers Michael (Mick) Russo & Ron Suda from E Moriches & Patchogue, NY were here for their first Canadian Wilderness Fishing Adventure. 1st day these guys did great catching over 20 bigger Smallmouth, 12 Northern Pike & Ron came up with a 38” Muskie. Great for 1st time ever fishing this Little Vermilion Lake System. 2nd day these two tore the Northern Pike up catching well over 50 near 60, & several nice BIG Smallmouth Bass mixed in. 3rd day they were off to an out lake to try their hand at Walleye fishing. “FABUOUS” described their day as they caught close to 40 walleye with all but a couple being 20-26”. They got great photos & said the fish were hitting & fighting extra hard. 4th day was another “FABULOUS” day for these two as the had about 30 Musky follows, catching 4, along with having great Smallmouth fishing both landing 18”+ trophies. A very exciting happening was watching Mick catch both of his Muskie on surface poppers while fishing for Smallmouth with 6bl test no leader. WOW!!! They captured video of a Muskie attacking & coming completely out of the water on Mick’s popper. Look for this soon on our YouTube site. 5th & final day these two finished strong catching 15 nice walleye, 30+ Pike and had the opportunity to catch two big Muskie. In fact after Ron did the figure 8 for about 15-20 seconds a BIG Musky finally lunged & actually had it’s mouth around Ron’s lure, but in the excitement Ron set the lure just a second too early and pulled the lure right from the grasp of this monsters mouth. We’ve all done this, & as I always say “That’s Fishing”! Both of these Long Islanders had fabulous time fishing with us for the first time & were talking at supper on their last night about a return trip in 2013.

Long time guest Rob Little with son Aaron from Toronto, ON returned with Rob’s long time friend Michael Winton & his son Tyler from Plano, TX. DOA before supper they got to a great start catching 20 Northern Pike and several Smallmouth Bass in just a few hours. Tyler himself caught 8. 1st full day they did fabulous catching plenty of Pike & Smallmouth Bass as Tyler & Aaron had a blast hooking & landing these feisty fighters. Michael, being his first time ever in our location was really taken by the fabulous wilderness setting we have to offer, and mentioned how he would love to get a group together from Texas, as he was sure they would be amazed also. 2nd and final day. Yes, you read this correct, these fathers made the effort to come from very far away making time to fish with their 10 year old sons. Hurrah to these fathers for such a GREAT effort. This great effort will surely pay dividends in future years to come. This last day was full of both Smallmouth Bass & Pike action with Tyler landing a 25” and Aaron a 24” Pike and all caught many pike up to 28”, and a bunch of Smallmouth. From my observation I think the kids definitely wore out their dads. All had loads of fun and made memories to last a lifetime.

Make sure to go to our website listed below to see the 2011 Photos

For Fabulous Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our Social Sites Below.

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Hot Lures: Surface Popper, Swim Bait, Chartreuse Blue Fox Spinner, Green Mepps Black Fury, Fluke, Tube Jig, Twister Tail, Burt Bait, Live Leeches

Fly of the Week: Olive color Wooly Bugger

Catches of The Week: 40.5” Northern Pike, 19.5” Smallmouth Bass 38.5” Tiger Muskie, 38” Muskie, 20” & 16” Smallmouth caught on a popper at the same time, 26” Walleye

Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for next weeks report. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan

http://www.firesidelodgefishing.com

http://www.firesidelodge.com

800-545-0815

Email at:fireside@xplornet.com