Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 7/7 to 7/14 2007

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 7/7 to 7/14 2007

Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. The weather was the story this week as it was very variable with cool and warm air fighting each other creating several days of thunderstorm activity and one day of downpour rains all day long

A group back for their fifth time was Ryan Briggs from Jackson, TN, Bill Mosqueda from Lake In The Hills, IL, Brian Stoner from Bloomingdale, IL, Scott Tourtellott from Streamwood, IL, Thomas Gohr from N Aurora, IL, and Alan Gage from Frankfort, IL. Experience is your best teacher as the first day this group caught over 70 Northern Pike with a lot of other action, and Ryan caught a 30-inch Musky. On the second day while fishing over a very special area in remembrance of his dad, Scott hooked three Musky and landed two, and ended up with yet another fishing memory with his dad. One of their four days was a wash because of a severe cold front and rain however this group caught well over 200 Northern Pike, many Smallmouth, and four Musky. Another great trip fishing at Fireside Lodge and all said they would see us in two years.

Another two fishing buddies back for their 8th time were Dave Hamilton from Odenton, MD and Al Sins from Asheville, NC. Here for Big fish only, preferably Musky. First few days they caught some Pike had some Musky follows and saw Bubba and Bubbet, which are nick names Dave and Al have for some big HUGE Musky they have been tormented by in the past. The also saw an absolute GIANT Northern Pike. The third day things started to happen as they had plenty of follows and landed four Musky, at 29, 31, 37, and Dave catching a beauty 40 inch Muskie. Their fourth day proved to be their best day Muskie fishing ever for either Al or Dave. They saw 46 Musky, hooked 11, landed 9 and lost two at the boat. Dave had a remarkable day catching 7 of the 9 Musky. Dave’s great success came with his specially modified Mepps Spinners, which made his catches even more gratifying. The last two days had these two with follows and some action including a 37-inch Northern Pike by Dave, however some of their efforts were hampered by volatile weather. Both had a blast and can’t wait to come back and hunt Muskie at Fireside Lodge again.

Here for their first Fireside Lodge experience were Lincoln Duncanson from Dresser, WI and Cliff Bjork from St Croix Falls, WI. Here for a short stay they we mostly interested in Northern Pike. Even though their first few days were rough weather conditions they still caught some Northern Pike and a few Smallmouth Bass. The last day was their best as they caught some Northern Pike in the morning, got chased off the lake, and then caught more Northern Pike that evening. They had fun staying in the main lodge, enjoying its wonderful wilderness atmosphere, and other guest’s conversations. One evening Cliff entertained us with some good old fashion Story Telling. This is a lost art, and I think Cliff reminded us that there is a lot of enjoyment to be had by a well-told story. Both had such a great time that before departing Lincoln made reservations to bring up his three sons in 2008.

Long time guest of Fireside Lodge back for his 10th time was Gerald Adams from Shawnee, OK with his dad and son Laddie and Zack and with very good friend Matt Hopkins and his son Jack, also from Shawnee. First day out Gerald, Laddie, and Zack caught 43 Smallmouth Bass and Mat and Jack caught six. Second day was a great catching day as the three generations boat caught well over 40 Smallmouth and Matt and Jack caught 24 with 8-year-old Jack landing 19 himself. Way to go Jack!! Third day brought severe cold front conditions with messy rain and wind from the Northeast. This limited Gerald, Laddie, and Zack to fishing for 4 hours total but ended up catching 36 good size Smallmouth in that short time period. Also Zack, Jack, and Matt left being Smallmouth Master Anglers all catching 18” plus Smallies and Laddie just missed one because of a netting mishap at boat side. The rest of their stay was excellent as they had some wonderful lodge conversations with other guests, some old friends they had gotten to know by coming during the same dates for years, and other new Fireside friends. They all hope to return in 2008 during the same time period.

Returning to Fireside Lodge for their second time in as many years was Dave, Terry, and Kaitlin Dobson from Milwaukee, WI. This family had a very good return trip even though the weather just wound not cooperate one bit. For three of there five days they got chased off the lake many times because of thunderstorms rolling in and out. They did well one each of those days catching Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike between the weather systems. One such evening Dave caught three 28-inch Northern Pike in 30 minutes. On a more agreeable day they caught over 30 Northern Pike. They also made some new friends as Kaitlin found herself having a friendly game of Scrabble with Jack Hopkins, and Dave and Terri connected with another father and daughter Mark and Cailin McDermott. Great fun was had by all, and another wonderful set of family Fireside Lodge memories were made by the Dobson Family. Before leaving talk was on them planning their return for the 2008 fishing season.

First time guests of Fireside Lodge were David Dalsky from Sagamore, OH and Dale Smith from Canton, OH. Being first time guests of Fireside Lodge these two did well as they were learning the lake with three days of storms, lot of wind throughout the week and a severe cold front. That did not discourage their effort put forward. The result was they did catch some fish every day. They also enjoyed the wilderness setting, and wildlife that nature brings to us at Fireside Lodge.

Father and son at Ray and Mike Heika from Inverness, IL came to Fireside Lodge for their first time and for Mike’s first ever-fishing trip. This trip all started back in Illinois on a pond when Mike caught his first fish, which was a Crappie. Ray saw the excitement in his sons face, and he himself enjoying the sport of fishing, decided to call us and bring Mike on a Canadian fishing adventure. They had a ball and on their very first day, just getting familiar with their equipment, caught Northern Pike. The next day they were catching a good number of Northern Pike but equipment failure brought them back to the lodge for some repairs. The third day was a fabulous day for anyone, let alone two people just starting to learn the sport of fishing. They managed to catch 30 plus Northern Pike, two Smallmouth Bass, and Mike caught a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 18.5 inches. They enjoyed the rest of their week catching fish every day, but more importantly spending some father and son time together and making priceless memories together which will stay with them the rest of their lives.

Steve Jensen from Springfield, MO returned to Fireside Lodge for his fourth consecutive year with good friend Jon Harrison from Georgetown, TX. Fly Fishing only for these two, and despite the windy stormy conditions they still did well catching fish. First day was a great day for fly-fishing and for catching Northern Pike. Steve and Jon landed about 25 Northern Pike with three over 30 inches. Next day they caught some Smallmouth, and the third day was a complete wash as they tied flies all day waiting for the severe cold front and windy rainy conditions to subside. Their last two days were also rough because of wind and general weather conditions, however they still caught some nice Smallmouth while fly-fishing. In fact Jon caught his personal best landing an 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. Both had great fun together and secured their reservations for the same dates in 2008.

Father and daughter Mark and Cailin McDermott from Chicago, IL came to fish at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Despite the windy, wet, and stormy conditions Mark and Cailin had the dream father and daughter Canadian Fishing trip they had hoped for. Despite their first day being extreme cold front and stormy conditions Cailin caught her first ever Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike, the Pike being a hefty 27 inches. Cailin bought a secret lure from me, caught fish on it right away, and never stopped catching. Catching fish is important to people but the wildlife, wilderness atmosphere, and bonding of father and daughter on this trip took precedence to any fish catching. The catching was very good despite the lousy weather as they caught 50 Northern Pike and 19 Smallmouth Bass, and caught a good number of nice size fish. Upon departure Mark reserved the same dates for 2008 when he will bring his son Sean.

Long time return guests of Fireside Lodge Alan and Jon Wohlman from Northbrook and Glenview, IL were back again to enjoy our wonderful wilderness fishing we have to offer. This father and son have gotten to know our lake system to the point that they do well every day with the odd exception. This week they had great fishing throughout their stay except for one very cold day with relentless rain. Lucky it was their last day and they had four days of catching a lot of Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. Many BIG Smallies were caught including both Landing 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, and Jon caught a 32-inch Musky. Great fun was had, many new memories made, and reservations were already secured for the 2008 fishing season

Second time guests of Fireside Lodge were Jeff and Heater Krueger from Shakopee. MN with both their fathers Bob Krueger from Chapel Hill, NC and Paul Dettinger from Burlington, WI. Here for a short three days, and having cold front conditions did not stop this group from being positive and catching fish. Every day they caught fish, and on the second morning Bob lost a BIG Musky, lure and all. After the careful selection of just the right substitute he had great success at producing top water strikes from toothy critters, and ending up missing a few big fish. Their highlight day had each boat catching about 25 Northern Pike with plenty of other action. There were a lot of smiling faces that evening in the dinning room. Jeff and Heather several times were found sitting in the chairs at the end of the dock having conversation, reflecting, and taking in the beautiful view we have from our bay. All went home having a wonderful stay at Fireside Lodge and there was talk of a return trip with even more family members.

Keith Wallace from Gallup, NM with sons Nolan and Austin returned to Fireside Lodge for their second time, this time with Keith’s brother Stephen from Oklahoma City, OK. Here for four rainy, windy, and cold days these four proved worthy adversaries to Mother Nature’s wrath. First day out they caught as a group over 100 Northern Pike with Keith and Stephen catching 35 or more fly-fishing. Keith also caught a Musky fly-fishing, and 6 smallmouth were caught with Austin landing an 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. GRRRREAT DAY!!!! Second day was a slower day catching some Smallmouth Bass and the highlight was Austin landing two Musky. The third day they caught about 20 fish each, mostly Northern Pike and Nolan caught two Musky. Last day they toughed out a day which rained continuously and came out catching slightly over 50 Northern Pike. Nolan also caught an 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, and all left having a great time and many memories made.

Returning for their third time were father and two sons Art Rulon and Barron from Lexington, KY and Bart from Greenbank, WA. These three, as stated by them, had their best fishing trip ever. During their 6 days of fishing the total number of Smallmouth and Northern Pike caught each day were 109, 66, 48, 60, 93, and 81 for a total number of fish caught being 472. They also had lots of other action and fish lost. They put their time on the water to accomplish such great fishing, and at many times it was rainy and cold. Bart caught three Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 18, 18.25, and 18.75 inches and Barron caught four measuring 18,18, 18.75 and a HIGE 19 inches. They also caught a lot of 15 to 17.75 inch Smallmouth. Art lost the fish of his life during the netting process, it being a BIG Muskie estimated at over 40 inches. All four had a great time together as shown by their smiling faces in the dinning room every morning and evening. This father and sons trio had many laughs, and made countless life long memories, Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to spend special time together.


Make sure to go to our website listed below to see the 2007 Photos

Hot Lures of The Week: Tube Jigs, Mepps spinners, Blue Fox Spinners, Wacky Worm

Catches of the Week: 40 inch Muskie, 37 inch Northern Pike, 19 inch Smallmouth Bass and 15 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth

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.firesidelodge.com
800-545-0815
fireside@xplornet.com