Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/11 to 8/17 2001

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/11 to 8/17 2001

Hello to all from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario. We started off our second full week of August with nice warm summer temperatures, having a slight cool down by the latter part of the week. Fathers and sons took over Fireside Lodge this week. Bob and Andrew McCrosky, from Kalamazoo, Mi., were at Fireside Lodge for their second trip in 6 weeks. Within their first 15 minutes of fishing, on the day of their arrival, Andy hooked and landed a mid 30 inch Muskie. Their second day they had a fabulous day catching a bunch of Pike over 30". The rest of their trip consisted of very good Northern Pike fishing and they landed a few more Muskie. Bob and Andrew enjoyed their two trips to Fireside Lodge so much that they are already in the process of putting a fishing trip together, with more people, for the summer of 2002. Edward and Gary Guzdziol, from Worth and Oak Forest, IL., were another father and son combo at Fireside Lodge this week. Gary constantly had a smile on hid face, and they thoroughly enjoyed catching Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Muskie. After breaking through the learning curve of being on a lake system for the first time they did very well, not only catching all three species, but also catching some larger fish. The smiles on their faces telling the stories of their catch said it all, as there was no doubt that valuable father and son memories were made at Fireside lodge. Yet another father and son combo Louis and Lou Brough, from Chicago, IL. were at Fireside. Louis Jr. for his third time, bringing his father Lou Sr. Louis and his experience got them off to a quick start catching a lot of bigger fish consistently. Examples are; 1) two Muskie 30" to 33" and 20+ Pike, and 1 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18", 2) 14 Northern Pike and loosing a number of Pike, 3) landing 3 Muskie and 16 Northern Pike all over 30 inches biggest being 36". Rob Krebs, from Burnsville, Mn., came with three sons Nick, Aaron, and Sam. They had a ball on their short 3 day stay, as they did last year. All Rob's boys remembered the scary catch on the last night of their fishing trip last year. While in Cedarbough they caught a Muskie just about at dark, and all the boys were a little humbled at this big toothy monster being in the boat with them when almost dark. They caught their share of Smallmouth and Northern Pike, and the highlight for the boys seemed to be when they portaged to Booger Lake and caught 26 nice Northern Pike. The portage was also an adventure and a remembrance for many years to come. On their last night I missed Sam's story of his Big 33" Pike he caught. Sam is 57" tall so this is almost 60% of his total height. I would have liked to be there to high five him. Maybe next time Sam. Father and sons David Warner, David Jr., and Michael came from Foxboro, Ma., to enjoy the Canadian Wilderness Fishing Fireside Lodge has to offer. They soaked up all the wilderness, especially when the got caught out on the water with no rain suits. This team caught many Northern Pike, a few Muskie and some Smallmouth. One very memorable day was when they landed over 25 Pike, most over 30" and up to 36". They enjoyed their trip so much the spent every minute of daylight on the lake their last day. Thanks for coming from so far, and hope to see you back soon. Rich and Scott Kukowski, from Newtown, Pa., were the last father and son combo to report for this week, but surely not the least to report about. They had a fantastic three day stay, with the second and third days being the tops. They had never been at Fireside before so the first day was spent catching a few fish and learning their way around. The second day they came back gleaming, as they caught over 30 Northern Pike. On their last day they could hardly wait to express themselves after returning off the water. They caught 2 Muskie, 36" and 32", over 30 Northern Pike, one 36", one 33", two 31" and the rest were between 26" to 30", and they also caught six Smallmouth between 14" to 16". They had so much action that they were running out of lures, and had to borrow a few from another Fireside Lodge guest. Scott also landed aNorthwest Ontario Master Anglers Smallmouth at 18.5". Great Going Scott. Not bad for a father and son which never did any fishing like this before.
Ross Connell, from Waukesha, Wi., had his dream fishing, trip at Fireside Lodge, with his daughter Marle. Here for a short 3 days Ross watched Marle catch her first two Northern Pike both over 30", largest was 33". Marle also finished her last night by landing several Pike, one being 33". They also caught some nice Smallmouth with Marle landing several in the 16" range. They saw a lot of wildlife and thoroughly enjoyed all the experiences the Canadian wilderness has to offer. Fishing is not always about size and numbers of fish, but the total experience, and memories made. In the case of Ross and Marle memories of a lifetime were made, between father and daughter, and what more can any father ask for?? We also had a brother and sister combo at Fireside Lodge this week, as Julie and Jeffery Greene traveled all the way from Alderpoint, Ca. to experience the fabulous fishing and wilderness we have to offer. Spending most of their time on the water these two did great catching toothy critters, mostly Northern Pike. This is just what they came for as they do have bass fishing at home, however they did catch some Smallmouth Bass. At their departure they told me that the fishing they experienced was the best ever had on a fishing trip.
Max Furrer, from Riverside, Oh., William Power, from Fairborn, Oh., Mark Frechetts, from Miamisburgh, Oh., Robert Sandrus, from Huber Heights, Oh., Milford Leedy, from Middletown, Oh., & Harold White, from Chesterfield, Va. were at Fireside Lodge for their first time. It took a few days to learn our waters, however this group did do well catching Northern Pike and Smallmouth, with Milford becoming a Northwest Ontario Master Angler landing a 18.5" Smallie. They also caught several Muskie in one day and, on the last night Bill Power caught a 42" Muskie. Great going Bill, winning the big fish bet right in the final minutes.
Another group of 4 guys headed by Al Reiter, from Romeoville, IL., Brian Reiter, from Chicago Ridge, IL., Al Nowdomski, from Coal City, IL., and Pat Vinelli, from Lemont, IL. Al & Brian Reiter hunted Muskie all week catching a few, having many follows , and seeing lots of BIG fish, however getting them to strike was difficult. Pat and Al however fished for Smallmouth all week and did fantastic, having very good action just about every day. Three days they caught over 30 Smallmouth, and on their last day before supper Pat and Al caught about 100 Smallmouth. WOW what a great day!!
Brothers Gary and Stanley Haines, and friend Benny MaKinney, from Louisville, Ky., were also at Fireside Lodge for their first time, and at the end of there trip said it would not be their last time. They did very well having good Smallmouth Bass or Northern Pike fishing every day.
Jerry Miller, from Johnson City, Tn., back for his 4th year in a row brought a friend Terry Williams, from Pond, Tn. Jerry just loves the Smallmouth fishing at Fireside Lodge, along with our Pike and Muskie fishing, however if you would ever talk with Jerry you would learn that Smallmouth is his passion. Several days they caught over 30 Smallmouth with most being 15" to 17", and on one day caught over 50. While catching these Smallmouth they were also catching Northern Pike, anywhere from 5 to 10 and Terry landed a big 36"er. On there last day they Pike and Muskie fished and caught 15 Northern Pike, and each caught a Muskie, Terry's 1st ever. All these fish were quality fish being over 30" up to 36".
Tim Casler and Lee Meyer from Heath and Willard, Ohio were back at Fireside for their 3rd time and are they ever getting to know our lake system. They had good fishing every day, during their 6 day stay, for Smallmouth or Northern Pike. On their last day they caught 22 fish 4 Muskie in the low to mid 30 inch range, 6 nice size Smallmouth, and 12 Northern Pike up to 36 inches. They also lost as many as they caught..
For two couples it was their first time ever at Fireside Lodge. First there was Scott and Mindy Hartwell, from Edinburgh, In. They were here for a quick 4 days, wishing they could stay another week. Mindy had never done this type of fishing before and being new at it, and both being new to the lake system the first day or so was spent learning a few things. After loosing a "few" lures and finding their way around, by the second day they started to catch fish. They ended up catching a good number of Smallmouth and also did well on catching Pike. Mindy ended up catching her first Smallmouth, and Northern Pike on this trip, and Scott was very pleased with this accomplishment. The fishing was very good for these two however, they were also very impressed by the wilderness around them.
Ed and Pam Tam, from West Des Moines, Ia., had a fabulous fishing trip at Fireside Lodge. Ed was very pleased one evening, early on in their trip, as he told me Pam had caught her first Pike ever. The did well catching Northern Pike and Smallmouth during their stay, but I think Pam will have dreams for a long time to come about their last evening. Just about to come in, as the sun had already set and darkness was setting in, Pam hooked a huge 42 to 44 inch Muskie, which made it to the side of the boat for and extended stay, but then departed at will when ready. I cannot, nor can the best writer describe, the excitement in Pam's voice when explaining her wonderful fishing event. The only thing we are concerned about Pam, is that she will get a good nights sleep between now and their next trip to Fireside, which will be the same week next year.
Well that's our Fireside Lodge fishing news for this week, and until next week "Keep On Fish'n" Alan.