Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 6/9 to 6/15 2001

Hello everyone, and welcome back to hear of the exciting fishing action at Fireside Lodge for week four. Well Ed, Danny, and Robbie Caudill, from Knoxville, Tn. were here for their second week and the fishing for this trio just kept getting better, even though they had a great first week. The first day into their second week they caught 27 Smallmouth between 16-18.75 inches and five Master Anglers Smallmouth over 18". The next day they caught 11 Big Smallmouth with Robbie landing a huge 20"er and they also caught 11 Pike and missed a lot. Throughout the week they continued to do well with a highlight of landing 36 Northern Pike up to 30" in a half day of fishing. Besides the catching of fish these three had a wonderful family bonding vacation.
The F-Troop (named after the comedy show in the 60"s) came storming into Fireside Lodge for the 2nd year in a row. This group consisted of Fred & Matt Shadrick from Troy, Mi. & Hingham, Ma., Clark & Thomas Benton from Grand Rapids, Mi. & Acton, Ma., Mike Rothermel, from Jenison, Mi., Bruno Leon, from Santa Fe, NM., Bill Secinaro, from Brosse Pointe Woods, Mi., and Dan Venier from Rockford, Mi. Yes they even have a full size flag they hang outside their cabin. First day brought Mike and Dan catching 34 Smallmouth Bass 2 Pike and 1 Muskie. Dan caught a Master Anglers,18.5", Smallmouth and Mike caught the Muskie at 38.5". Many of their Smallmouth were 16" to 17". On F-Troops second day fishing each boat caught 22-26 Smallmouth, with a lot of good size fish between 15-17" and Dan catching the top fish at 18.5". By the end of the fourth day at supper the F-troop figured out that they already topped their fishing for any other fishing trip ever, that's about 17 years of fishing trips. Some other highlights were Clark and Thomas Benton catching over 20 Smallmouth all Fly Fishing, Bruno catching his Muskie, Mike catching a 41.5" Muskie, Dan catching a 43"-44" Pike which got out of the cradle after a last burst of energy, Fred catching some great pike in the low to mid 30" range, and Matt's great picture with his Dad and Grandpa from years great memories were made, and continue in the making. On the last day Mike and Dan finished strong landing 5 Muskie, losing 1, and having many follows. The F-Troop has already made arrangements for 2002 and we are looking forward to there return.
New to Fireside Lodge, a group from the Chicago, IL. suburbs, Michael Stevens, John Schneider, Paul Douglas, Ken Stiff, William Johnson, and James Borkowski all had a great time fishing at Fireside Lodge. On their first day Mike and Jim caught 35 Smallmouth, Jim landing a 18.5" Master Anglers Award Bass, and Mike also caught a 35" Muskie. Bill and John also caught over 30 Smallmouth. Another day Mike and Paul caught 48 Northern Pike and had a lot of follows, and Jim and John landed 4 Muskie at 27", 31",34", and 37". They did well throughout the week fishing and had loads of fun. Father and son Paul and Michael Letourneau, from North Oaks, Mn., had a wonderful 4 day trip to Fireside Lodge. They caught plenty of Smallmouth during their stay and had a super day pike fishing having lots of action and landing 48 nice fish. These two most importantly made some father and son memories to be remembered throughout their lives. Another father and sons combo, Herb, and sons Brian and Barry Lewis, from Huntsville, AL., were also at Fireside Lodge for their first experience ever fishing in the north. This would be the first time all would catch any of the fish species we have at Fireside, and did they ever have success. First day they caught over 40 Smallmouth, and Herb caught a 34" Northern Pike, his first. Second day they caught over 50 Northern Pike. Another day brought them catching over 40 Smallmouth, Herb landing a 18.5" Master Anglers Bass, and Herb and Brian also landed their first Muskie at 35", and 34". Great Muskie for their first. On their last day Barry was talking with me at the tackle shop wondering if he would catch his first Muskie before they left. Well by the end of the day was he ever smiling. Well he ended up catching 8 Muskie in 1 day all between 32" and 40". Unbelievable for a person who never caught, or fished for Muskie before. These three were such a delight to watch enjoy the different experiences the Canadian Wilderness has to offer, always having smiles on their faces telling of the daily adventures they had. This trio made wonderful father and sons memories. Talk about memories, long time guest Tony Majcher, from Hawthorn Woods, IL., brought his Grandson Michael to Fireside for his first Canadian fishing experience. Well Tony was kept very busy in the boat as Michael proved to be a very good angler, landing 58 smallmouth during their 4 day stay. Tony also did well landing many Smallmouth, and catching a Master Anglers award Smallie at 18.5".
Terry Ides and his son Darin, from Fifield, Wi., were at Fireside Lodge for their first time with friends and family Mike Megna, from Fiffield, Wi., John Reardon, from Sedalia, Co., Greg Maertens, from Phillips, Wi., and Ka Squire, from Aberdeen, SD. They are Smallmouth fishermen, and did the ever catch Smallmouth. First day Terry and Darin caught 65+ and the other two boats caught over 50 in each boat. This group had several other days of catching 40 to 50+ Smallmouth per boat, and on one day one boat caught 80+ and another caught 100+. What GREAT Smallmouth fishing, and this was the first time ever on our waters. Great going guys. Also first timers Todd Ball, from Omaha, Ne., and John Carper, from Arlington, Ne., were excited to be at Fireside. The did well for their short stay pursuing Northern Pike. One day they landed over 40, with a lot of other action. Donald Landbo, from South Elgin, IL., and Dan Szkola, from Sugar Grove, IL., had some great experiences at Fireside for their first trip. Their first day brought them 22 Northern Pike and a couple of Smallmouth. On the next day they had the Big fish experience of their lives. After Don just got through landing a 41" Muskie, he had an even bigger fish caught and in the cradle, seemingly caught, but in it last effort to get away it thrashed so severely it broke out the side of the cradle and swam off. How BIG. The fish filled the 48" cradle, and was estimated at least 44-46". On their last day these two caught 32 Pike, and after supper on the last night landed a 39" Pike to end their trip. What a great finish.
Charles & Karen Hoeg came to Fireside with friends Robert & Lila Winter from Northfield, Mn. This was their first visit with us and did they ever have fun. These four always had smiles on there faces, and were enjoying each other company. Karen was the one to reckon with on the water catching fish every day of their 3 day package, however Lila came on strong the last day catching some nice Pike. Charles and Karen came back one morning looking for line as Charles had four large Pike or Muskie on and lost, all four lost to broken line. Robert caught a number of nice Pike in three days, commenting on how big the girth is on our Northern Pike. All in all great fun was had for these two couples on there 3 day adventure. Tom Kosturick, from Park Ridge, IL. was on a quest to catch Smallmouth Bass fly fishing. He was with us for three days and commented that of all his previous stops, Fireside Lodge is where he caught the most Smallmouth so far. He was at three places before arriving at Fireside. One day he landed 30 nice size Smallmouth while fly fishing, and one was a Master Anglers Award Smallie at 18". Great fish on the fly Tom.
Last but not least is a wonderful group which has been coming to Fireside Lodge for the last 5 years. Father and son Gary and Mike Rose, from Oklahoma City, Ok., and Gerald Adams & Brent Houston, from Shawnee, Ok. What made this year extra special was Brent and Gerald bringing their fathers Richard & Laddie. They wanted their fathers to experience the great Canadian wilderness and fishing, they have experienced the last 5 years. At the end of the week it was obvious their mission was accomplished. In fact it was obvious to me after their first day. This group did terrific fishing as always and on their first day Brent and Ricahrd caught 20 Smallmouth all 15"-17.5", Gerald & Laddie caught 28 all big and landed 2 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth over 18", and Gary & Mike Rose broke their all time record at Fireside Lodge catching 74 Smallmouth Bass. Some other highlights were 2 boats in 1 day catching 38, and the other catching 21. As a group they caught 110 Smallmouth on their second day. Gerald and Gary going out on an early mornng venture landing 16 Smallmouth in a few hours, and all Gerald's were on a fly rod. In fact this year, after talking about it for the last few trips to Fireside, Gerald committed to his fly rod. One of my best memories will be listening and watching the smiling faces of Gerald and father Laddie describing their wonderful day fly fishing for Smallmouth, Gerald landing 22, and Laddie 9, with a lot of other action. It was also nice to hear Gary, Gerald, and Brent describe how they have watched Gary's son Mike from his first fishing trip with them when he was 12, grow into a mature gentleman that he is today. These are the types of memories people carry with them forever, and memories is what life is all about. Thanks for reading this weeks fishing report, and please stop by next week. Until then "Keep On Fish'n. Alan