Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/27 to 9/3 2005

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/27 to 9/3 2005

Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. This week was a mixed bag of weather having sunny and 70 degrees one day, and 60 and rainy the next. The days are much shorter now, with sunrise at 6:24 AM and sunset at 7:51 PM. The leaves are starting to show a hint of change, and you definitely feel fall in the air.

Barry Scott and Dick Reczkowski from Saugus, MA were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Here for three days they were more interested in catching the long toothy critters. They did well during their short three day stay catching some good size Northern Pike every day, and learning a lot while they were here. Most of their past fishing has been for Bass, and this type of fishing was fairly new to them, however they adapted very well as by the last day they made contact with a bunch of Muskie getting follow after follow from Musky in the 30 to over 40 inch range. They were very excited that evening as they explained the happenings of the day, and you could tell that both had caught that Musky bug, that only Muskie fishers know about. Both said they had a great trip, and went home saying they learned a lot about fishing for toothy critters.

Steven Johnson from Palatine, IL and Jeff Gurosh from Lemont, IL were back to Fireside Lodge for their fourth time. First day of their four day trip they caught some nice Northern Pike, and had a ball doing so. Next day was off to Musky fish, and they did well with Steve landing two, one being a beauty, and they also caught about 10 Smallmouth while resting their arms between casting for Musky. Third day the had an absolute fabulous fishing day catching a whole bunch of Northern Pike, and at least 20 walleye ranging from 16 inches to 25 inches. On the fourth and final day Steve and Jeff finished with a great day Smallmouth fishing, catching lots, and a lot of big Smallmouth 15 to 18 inches. Jeff caught a Monster 19.5 inch Master anglers Award Smallmouth. Great finish to a wonderful fishing trip, and both said they had a fabulous time and hope to return.

Walt and Jean Arms from McAurthur, Ohio were at Fireside Lodge for their first time together. Walt was here last year with brother Bob, had a great trip, and decided to bring his best fishing partner, Jean, to Fireside Lodge. First day they caught some nice Smallmouth Bass, and the second day was a tough cold windy day. We get those sometimes when fishing, and we all know that when the cold wind blows with rain in the summer time, catching is usually tough. Next day the weather turned around and these two did great catching a lot of Smallmouth, Jean landing a 15, 16, 16.5, 17.5 inch Smallmouth, and they had several Northern Pike bite them off. Walt had one bigger Pike all the way up to the boat on an ultra light rig, wit 4 lb test and #4 hook, but then the fish took a hard run that the 4lb test could not take. Very fun day. The fourth day brought a lot of fast action and fun as they both caught a lot of Northern Pike. Jean had a fabulous day catching not only many Northern Pike, but two 34 inches, and as Walt put it, Jean caught his Musky which was 32.5 inches. It was Jean's first Muskie, and congratulations to both on a great day of fishing in the wilderness. Their last day was a good Smallmouth Bass catching day as they caught some nice size fish and enjoyed their last moments in the wonderful wilderness surroundings. Both Walt and Jean had a very fun time and hope to return.

Roger and Holly Rock, from Homer Glen, IL were at Fireside Lodge for their first time. They enjoyed their first few days having fun and catching some nice Northern Pike, and Roger caught a Musky. He also had to resupply as the lure he was using, a Jointed Rapala, met it's match in the toothy jaws of a BIG Northern Pike. Both had a fun day catching some Smallmouth and enjoying the wonderful wilderness our area provides to all of our guests. Their fourth day they both did well catching a lot of Smallmouth, and Holly did very well catching larger Smallmouth. Both had big smiles on their faces as they described their fishing day in the dinning room that evening. Fifth day was exciting for Roger as while catching and having fun with Smallmouth Bass, he hooked into a 34 inch Northern Pike on 6 lb test line and a number 4 circle hook. Well, with Rogers skill and patience he landed this heavy fish on a very light rod and reel. Great catch, and lasting memory. Their last day was a cold rainy day, however both Roger and Holly had a great day catching Smallmouth and having fun. Roger and Holly told me they really enjoyed their first stay at Fireside Lodge, but the week went by far too fast. They hope to return to Fireside Lodge in the near future.

Fathers and sons foursome of Dave and Jon Lilja from Woodbury, Mn, and Ed and Phil Witkiewicz from Hales Corners, Wi were at Fireside Lodge for a special outdoor bonding experience. This is such a great story that it makes writing this portion of my fishing report easy. The sons Jon and Phil are in the US armed forces, and they met in Afghanistan while serving their country, hit it off, and have become best of friends. In fact the fathers have not met before this trip. Jon and Phil have the mutual interest in outdoor activities, and all felt this would be the perfect setting to get to know each other. First day fishing they did fabulous with all catching a lot of Northern Pike, Dave and Jon catching about 30 along with some nice Smallmouth up to 17.5 inches. Ed and Philip also mentioned that they saw a lot of follows, along with the fish they were catching. After a first day on the water like that the confidence levels were high. Second day they caught a lot of toothy critters, and Jon caught his first Muskie ever, a nice 34 incher, Phil caught his first and second Musky 29 and 33 inches, and Ed caught his biggest Northern Pike at 34 inches. Great day was had by all. These four had a fabulous last day of their short three day stay. They caught some Smallmouth and Northern Pike, and Phil caught 4 Northern Pike over 30 inches, while his dad Ed had a lot of opportunity with big follows. They all spent lunch time by a spectacular area of our lake called Twin Falls, and all had a wonderful last day. I personally thanked Jon and Phil for serving the US armed forces, and helping all of us keep our freedom and maintaining our way of life. They are courageous young men and truly our future. I thank them again, and the thousands of others just like them, for paving our way for the future, and keeping us safe and free.

A couple at Fireside Lodge for their first experience were Robert and Lisa McCann from Strafford, Mo. On the day of arrival they got started off quick with Robert catching 6 nice size Northern Pike and a few Smallmouth Bass. First full day they adventured on a portage lake and caught over 20 Northern Pike, and it was Lisa's day today as she landed the largest Northern Pike at 28.5 inches. They had a great time walking thru the bush and saw the deposit of a Black Bear right in the middle of the trail, which proves that wildlife is everywhere. Their second day was exciting, as they caught a lot of nice Smallmouth Bass, and Robert caught a HUGE 39 inch Northern Pike, however when he measured this fish he did not compress the tail, which surly would have made it a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike requiring a minimum of 40 inches. To Robert though this did not matter as he was most importantly concerned with getting this Monster back to the water. Great catch Robert. Their third day they had a fun day, and Lisa walked right up to my tackle shop with digital camera in hand, as they were coming in for supper. Her comment was "I caught the big one today," and she was right. Lisa landed the biggest fish of her life, a 39 inch Northern Pike. WOW, what a great catch. Both Robert and Lisa are shown on our digital picture viewer in the main lodge holding their BIG Northern Pike catches. Their fourth and final day they fished a half day and caught 13 Smallmouth, with Robert becoming a Master Angler in the Smallmouth category by landing an 18.5 inch beauty. Both had a wonderful time and hope to return to Fireside Lodge.

Randy Hickerson from Mission Viejo, Ca. was back to Fireside Lodge for his second consecutive year, and this time with a different friend Chris Bruno from Irvine, Ca. The cold front conditions were a little tougher on these two, especially Chris who did not bring rain gear, and they had to come in off the water, and make a run to buy some rain gear for Chris. In the morning before breakfast they caught three Northern Pike to start the day out right. After a dry spell during the late morning and early afternoon they caught about a dozen more Northern Pike that day. Third day they caught about 10 Smallmouth and several Northern Pike. Last day they ventured through a creek to a lake and caught some good size Northern Pike to finish their fishing, and on their last night they we lucky enough to see a spectacular display of the Northern Lights. Thanks for coming from California to enjoy what we have to offer at Fireside Lodge.

Back for his sixth year in a row was Doug Dollhopf from Milwaukee, Wi. with his wife Miriam, who was returning for her second time. The first day of fishing was great as they caught 10 nice Northern Pike, four 34 to 35 inches, three 36 inches, and one 38 inches. Doug also landed a 29 inch and 36 inch Musky. Great first day. Next day they caught some nice Smallmouth, and Miriam caught a 17 incher. Doug also landed several Northern Pike, one measuring 36 inches. Third day was a beautiful day on the water, they caught a few nice Smallmouth, and Doug had some follows, two Huge ones over 40 inches. On the next day the weather was cold and rainy, just like Doug likes it for Musky fishing, and that's just what he did. He had a great day seeing over 25 Muskie, hooking up with four, and landing two measuring 35.5 and 36 inches. He said he saw 4-5 fish between 40 to 48 inches. WOW, what an exciting Muskie fishing day. The last day had Miriam catching a 17.5 inch Smallmouth, and then after bringing Miriam in from the rain Doug went Muskie fishing. Doug showed up, but the Musky did not, which happens a lot in Muskie fishing. Doug saw 3-4 follows and that was it for the day, however Doug left Fireside Lodge landing four Musky, and having numerous chances at landing a monster. Both had a wonderful stay at Fireside Lodge and intend on returning.

Hot Lures of the week: Swim Bait, Blue Fox Spinner, Black Fury Mepps, Jointed Rapala

Catches of the week: 40 inch Northern Pike, 19.5 inch Smallmouth Bass

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