Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 6/23 to 6/30 2007

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 6/23 to 6/30 2007

Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. Our weather has been very pleasant, with a lot of welcome rain keeping water levels at normal to slightly above normal levels.

Kevin Marks from Hebron, KY was back to Fireside Lodge with his group for the 10th time in 11 years. The group this year was Jim and Dylan Graham from Morningview, KY, Jay Lind and Mike Colitti from Matthews, NC, Mike Strohl from Indian Trail, NC, Mike Muir from Knoxville, TN, Tom Hurdman from Jacksonville, FL, Andrew Hurdman from Chester, NJ, Wayne Osborne from Covington, KY, and Scott Carson from Day Ridge, KY. Kevin always sends me a recap of their group trip after returning home and here it is from the horses (Kevin’s) mouth.
As always our group fishes hard all day, typically non-stop casting and trolling. This year was the same and we put some serious numbers in the boats. Mike Muir started off the trip with his perennial Master Angler 18” Smallie, only to be outdone by Andrew Hurdman’s 19” Master Angler Smallmouth “ringer”. On a portage to Booger Lake, I pulled in a 36” Northern. I was also fortunate enough to catch two Muskies and two Tigers, all about 34 inches during our stay. Dylan Graham was having a great time landing fish, including a 33” Northern on day two of our stay, and then landing his first Tiger Muskie on day three. He was outdone by his father on our final night fishing when Jim Graham landed a 38” Northern, followed by a 40” Muskie about ten minutes later. Top water action was hot this year, and Pike were exploding on Zara Spooks and Woodchopper buzz baits. Tom Hurdman was catching everything in the water! He would just wing his Zara Spook out there, the water would erupt and his lure just flew! Mike Strohl was our most prolific Pike Fisherman this year, landing 140 in the 3 1⁄2 days we were with you. Wayne Osborne and Scott Carson had a great time experiencing the hot catch and release action, boating 190 fish during their stay. Their only slip up came on the first night when they missed the turn for home and wound up on the wrong side of Little Vermillion. Thankfully they realized their mistake and were back at the boat dock shortly after curfew. Jay Lind quietly boated 130 fish, including three 38” Pike and four 17” Smallies, just missing some nice Master Angler fish. Mike Colitti enjoyed the upgraded boat this year, using the trolling motor to help land his greatest number of fish in a single trip with 147.

As you know, our group has our own friendly fishing tournament. We take daily notes on fish catches, including numbers, species and sizes of fish in the boats. This year was our best year yet in regards to total fish caught. Our numbers as a group were 63 Smallmouth Bass, 4 Tiger Muskie, 5 Muskie and 1,373 Northern Pike for a grand total of 1,445 fish!

We want to thank you for a wonderful trip and an amazing experience for all of us, especially the new guys. Thanks to the staff for taking great care of the boats and cabins, and keeping us well fed! See you next year as reservations are already made for 2008

Lee Meyer from Willard, OH, Tim Casler from Heath, OH, and Scott Brockway from Granville, OH returned to Fireside Lodge bringing a first time guest Erik Vradenburg from Hebron, OH. This group had tones of fun and caught a lot of fish during their 6 days of fishing. They did it right concentrating on either Smallmouth or toothy critters depending on the day. They had a few great Smallmouth Days and a few great Northern Pike days, and a few reality days, but that’s what fishing is all about.

For the third year in a row Bill Aulenbach from Barberton, OH and Bill Rasbach from Hudson, OH returned to Fireside Lodge with Sons Mike from Ft Myers, FL, and Kyle from Monks Courner, SC. All had fabulous fun as they caught a lot of Northern Pike with one day the group catching 42 and another day they caught over 70 Northern Pike. They also had fun chasing some Muskie, Mike catching his first and Mike also caught an 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass. They also had a few good days catching Smallmouth Bass. All had a great time and made their reservations for the same dates in 2008, and Bill A will continue to pursue his first Musky catch.

Returning to Fireside Lodge for the second time were three brothers and sons Robert Meyer with sons Jake and Mitch from Florissant, MO, Marty and sons Jordan and Nick from Lake St Louis, MO, and John with sons Mick and Jack from St Louis, MO. Here for a short three days they did fabulous. The boys ranging in all ages from 7 to 15 had a blast as they did two years ago. In fact we celebrated Mitch’s 7th birthday in the dinning room. First day out they caught a lot of Northern Pike between the whole group. Second day was a lot of Smallmouth with Jake catching a 17”, Jordan a 17.5 inch and Marty caught several Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass over 18 inches. The third and final day they had their best catching Many Northern Pike and some Smallmouth Bass. Fun was had by all and many father and sons memories were made for the second time at Fireside Lodge.

Dave Young from Franklin, TN. Returned to Fireside Lodge to have a reunion requested by his boys BJ, David who had to come all the way from Seattle, WA. Dave brought his boys to Fireside Lodge since 1995 when BJ was 9 and David was 13. They made a lot of memories and were back to add to that memory log. When Dave asked his sons what they wanted to do for a summer vacation and they responded by saying they wanted to have a reunion at Fireside Lodge I don’t think Dave could called us fast enough. They had a great fishing trip as always catching a lot of fish having a few very good Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass days and the other days were spent searching for the BIG fish. All three left with another set of memories and a good dose of Fireside Lodge wilderness magic.

Return guests Marlin Bergman and Son Ryan from Ankeny and Ames, IA with Jim Backus from Des Moines, Jay Miller from Runnells, Dave Stucker from Johnston, and Kurt Hohnstrater also from Ankeny were back to enjoy the great fishing and wilderness we have at Fireside Lodge. This group had one of their best fishing trips ever. It started out on the day of arrival with Kurt and Dave catching 35 Smallmouth Bass and Marlin and Ryan caught 22. First full day Jim and Jay caught 40+ Smallmouth Bass, Kurt and Dave 70, and Marlin and Ryan topped 100 Smallmouth Bass Second day Jay and Jim caught 57 Northern Pike and 2 Smallmouth all on Zara Spook’s, Marlin and Ryan caught 25-30, with Kurt and Dave landing 17. Another very good day fishing was when Marlin and Ryan caught over 30 Smallmouth, Jay and Jim caught 27, and Kurt and Dave pursued bigger fish concentrating on deeper weeds, caught 22 heftier Northern Pike including Kurt’s personal best which was a 41 inch Master Anglers Award Northern Pike, and Kurt also caught an 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass. Yet another great day had them catching over 100 Northern Pike as a group and some Smallmouth including a 17.75 inch Jim caught, which was thee third for the week, and Jay landed a 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass. Great fishing, fun, and relaxing was had by all and Kurt made a point to tell me it was his best fishing trip ever, not only because of the catching but because total experience. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to have fun fishing with family and friends.

Doc (John) and Judy Hogan from Pewaukee, WI returned to Fireside Lodge once again to pursue Musky. Doc and Judy gave been Fireside Lodge guests for 33 years and during that time period have brought all their children to Fireside Lodge making many family memories. These two always enjoy the atmosphere and all the remembrances Fireside Lodge has given them and their family. Doc on the other hand is a very serious Muskie angler only interested in one BIG Musky. Doc always leaves me his true account of the weeks fishing and here it is: Day 1; 2 Musky follows and 4 Northern Pike caught on Bucktails. Day 2; 1 Pike and missed a BIG Northern Pike at the boat. Day 3; 2 Strikes and 2 Muskie caught 33 inch and 34 inch. Day 4; Bad storms in the morning had 1 strike and 3 Northern Pike caught. Day 5; Severe cold front conditions 1 Musky follow and caught 3 Northern Pike up to 36 inches. Day 5 one 34-inch Musky and lost one Musky at the boat. Day 6; Caught lots of Northern Pike but no Musky. Doc and Judy thoroughly enjoyed their stay at Fireside Lodge and we hope to see them again soon.

Father and son David and Marc McFarland from Pendleton and Muncie, IN returned to Fireside Lodge for their fourth consecutive year. They have had some wonderful experiences as father and son at Fireside Lodge and this year was no different catching a lot of fish, enjoying the wilderness, and seeing a Bull Moose swim right in front of their boat. Three of their Smallmouth days had them catching 16, 27 and 35 Smallmouth, and Marc came away with an 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. The Northern Pike days were full of fast action and fun catching many Pike. Both had a blast and already made their reservations for 2008.

Another father and son John and Michael Lutz, from New Lisbon, NJ were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their 9th consecutive year. Over the years Mike has become a very good fisher and this year had his best ever year
John and Mike as always caught a lot of Northern Pike, many over 30 inches and John’s best fish were a 36 inch Northern Pike and a 35-inch Musky. Mike’s best were two HUGE fish, one being a 41 inch Musky and the other a very thick GIANT 42-inch Tiger Muskie, Both had another fabulous trip and made their reservations for 2008 before leaving

Kurt and Diane Haines from Avon, IN returned to Fireside Lodge for their 5th time in six years. Kurt and Diane always have a great time and have gotten to know Doc and Judy Hogan, Marc and David McFarland, and John and Mike Lutz so well that we have called these 8 the Fireside Lodge family for this traditional week. Kurt emailed me shortly after returning home and gave me a recap of the weeks fishing and here it is; “We caught 1 34" Tiger Muskie, 3 30" Muskie, & 1 24" Muskie. We also caught 137 Pike. Diane caught 1 18" Master Angler Small Mouth Bass. We caught around 20 Small Mouth Bass under 18". Both had a terrific time and reserved the same dates for 2008 before departing.

Back to Fireside Lodge for their 5th time was Rob Delamatre from Sandusky, OH and good friend and fishing partner Al Fischhaber from Northwood, OH. These two come to Fireside Lodge only to pursue toothy critters, and they had a fabulous catching trip. First day they caught a bunch of Northern Pike of medium to smaller size. Next day was a big fish day as they caught over 25 most being 30 to 34 inches and Rob got the fish of his life landing a 41.5 inch Master Anglers Award Northern Pike and also caught an 18 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass fishing for Pike. Their last three days were fabulous one being a ‘Fireside Lodge Day” (see definitions below) catching 47 Northern Pike and Al caught a 34.5 inch Muskie, the next day was a “Inversely Proportional Fireside Lodge Day” catching 67 Northern Pike, Rob catching 10 and having 25+ hits on his Fly Rod, and the last day they had a “Fireside Lodge Day Cubed” catching over 70 Northern Pike and a few Musky. Al is a math teacher so Rob and Al came up with classifications of a day fishing at Fireside Lodge.
1) Fireside Lodge Day: a day that you catch lat of fish way above your expectations
2) Inversely Proportional Fireside Lodge Day: same as 1 but you are using all the lures in your tackle box to see what the fish will not hit, and can’t find one.
3) Same as 1 & 2 cubed.
These two had a FANTASTIC trip and will be back in two years unless they can sweet-talk their wives into coming back in 2008.

Long time friends Stuart Berkowittz from Manalapan, NJ, Gary Weitzer from Scarsdale, NY and Alan Miller from New York, NY came to Fireside Lodge for the first time. In fact this was their first ever fishing trip. They decided they wanted to experience the wilderness, and what better way to do this than learning how to fish and develop a new interest among old friends. Stuart and Alan’s friendship goes back 46 years when they were in their early school years. These three had a fabulous time at Fireside Lodge learning about fishing which they never did before. The had to learn how to run an outboard motor, drive a boat, cast, and navigate a lake system. After a detailed lake and equipment orientation they were off and running, and even though there were some bumps along the way during their three days they did accomplish some goals and caught some nice Northern Pike on their second and third days. They were also in awe with the wilderness and wildlife nature brings to a Fireside Lodge fishing experience. All three had a wonderful time, had many laughs, and made many memories among long time friends. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make this special trip.

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

Hot Lures of The Week: Blue Fox Spinner, Salt Shaker, Tube Jigs, Mepps Spinners, Zara Spook

Catches of the Week: 42 inch Tiger Musky, 41 inch Musky, 42 inch Northern Pike, 41.5 inch Northern Pike, 20 inch Smallmouth Bass, 19.5 inch Smallmouth Bass and over 20 Master Anglers Award fish caught.

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