Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 7/26 to 8/5 2006

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 7/26 to 8/5 2006

As the summer goes by the days are getting a little shorter and all the wildflowers have gone to seed, I get the feeling that fall is right around the corner. But the temperatures have given us no indication of fall, as we are still getting pleasant summer warmth in the daytime, and a welcome cool down every evening.

Father and son Robert and Ron Ramsey from Levenworth, KS and Sewanee, TN were back to Fireside Lodge for their second consecutive year. The first two days both had a great time looking for those big toothy critters, getting a lot of follows the first day and catching some nice fish on both days. Third day they had a lot of Big fish follow their lures, and the fish just would not cooperate. Ron said they could hit the fish on the head and they would not react. That’s Musky at their best, showing up, teasing, and driving Musky fishers crazy. Fourth day they caught a good number of Northern Pike and had some very large Musky follows. The last was a great day for these two, as the previous four days were, because every day fishing in the boat together for Robert and Ron are a great day. They did see some monster fish during their stay, caught some, and savored every last moment in our wonderful wilderness atmosphere, as father and son Robert and Ron logged some father and son memories to last a lifetime.

A fifteen year guest of Fireside Lodge and friend Dave Roberson from East Alton, IL was back again with his son Eric and son in law Chris Bailey with his son Nicholas all from Edwardsville, IL Dave seemed very proud to be back with his family, and this time was special as it was his first trip with his grandson Nicholas. Day of arrival all caught some nice Smallmouth Bass, and Eric caught a 30 inch Northern Pike while Smallmouth fishing. First full day was full of excitement for Nicholas as this was his first big fishing trip with dad and the guys. Well, he was really excited about catching 12 Northern Pike by himself as Chris and him caught about 25 Northern Pike. Dave and Eric did well Smallmouth fishing catching a lot of good size fish, and Eric caught two BIG Master Angler Award Smallmouth, one at 18.5 inches and a Monster Smallmouth measuring 20 inches. After Nicholas convincing a tired dad, Chris, to go back fishing after supper Nicholas caught a GIANT Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 19.5 inches. Talk about excitement, he could not wait to fill out his form and receive a new and improved Fireside Lodge Master Anglers Award Patch. Second day was a toothy critter day as all four caught a lot of Northern Pike. Third day was dedicated to Musky fishing, and the Musky won. Eric had one on for seconds before shaking his lure off, and all had follows. Dave and his Grandson Nicholas had a fabulous day fishing together on their fourth day. They caught over 20 Smallmouth Bass together, and Dave caught two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, one 18 inches and a HUGE 20 inch Smallmouth. Dave also hook a GIANT Muskie on a leech, had it on for a long time and up the boat several times. While Dave was fighting this fish Nicholas was trying to figure out how to use the Musky cradle, and you could just imagine the conversation and panic in the boat during these moments. Well, after getting this monster up to the boat several times, the hook finally just came out of the fishes mouth. Dave said it was bigger that his largest Musky catch which is 44 inches, and estimated it a about 47-48 inches. What a great experience and memory made by Nicholas and his grandpa. Fifth day they caught a lot of Northern Pike except for Nicholas, where it seemed to be his day to be net boy. The sixth and final day had Nicholas doing the catching, as he landed his second Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, this one measuring 18.5 inches, and caught two others at 17.5 inches. Father Chris was doing a lot of netting on this day, and Dave and Eric also caught a lot of Bigger Smallmouth with Eric catching his third Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18 inches. All had a great stay packed full of family memories caught at Fireside Lodge.

A group back fort their second year in a row consisted of brothers John and Pete Lamontagna from Downers Grove and Glen Ellyn, IL Keith Marks also from Glen Ellyn, IL John Zeng from Naperville, IL, Rick Conroy from Chicago, IL and Doug Cox from Houston, TX. First day out they caught well over 50 Northern Pike, and Keith set the tone with Muskie, catching a 35 inch Tiger Musky. They also caught a few larger Smallmouth Bass. The second day started with John Lamontagna catching a 36 inch Northern Pike and Keith catching a 17.5 inch Smallmouth before breakfast. On this day they were after Bigger Musky, and Keith, having the hot hand caught his, and most peoples fish of a lifetime, as he hooked and landed a 45.5 inch Master Anglers Award Musky. You can view this beauty on our Weekly Photo 2006 page of our website at http://www.firesidelodge.com Very impressive Muskie and a great picture taken by net man Doug Cox. Their third day was a dedicated Musky day, and they had a fabulous day catching 7 Muskie in one day. Keith was again in the heat of things catching a 26 and 30 inch Musky, a 31 and 36 inch Musky was caught by Rick Conroy , John Zeng caught his first Musky ever a nice 34 incher, and John Lamontagna caught the Big fish of the day, a fat 40 inch Musky and a big 36 inch Northern Pike. Patience a perseverance is why they caught these Musky. After fishing most of the day not having any action, all their catches took place in a fast a furious fashion, in a matter of about an hour. That’s Musky fishing and catching. Rick Conroy also caught a BIG 17.5 inch Smallmouth Bass. After supper John Lamontagna caught another HUGE 41.5 inch Musky, so for John this was his second 40 plus inch Muskie in the same day. WOW what a fabulous day Musky fishing. See this brute on our webpage listed above. The fourth and final day brought this group a lot of action in Musky follows, however no fish landed before supper. Keith did catch a super big Master Anglers Award 19.5 inch Smallmouth Bass. After supper they all gave it one last try, and Pete came up with the catch of the day, landing a GIANT 44 inch Master Anglers Award Musky. Way to go Pete and what a great finish to a GRRRRREAT fishing trip.

Brad Sammons from Indianapolis, IN and his two sons Ryne and Braden were back for their second consecutive year and joining them was father and son Bill and Grant Robertson from Greennwood, IN The day of arrival and first full day Brad, Ryne, and Braden caught well over 100 Smallmouth Bas,s and Brad caught a 35 inch, and a BIG 41 inch Musky. Brad also caught two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18 and 19.5 inches. Ryne had an unusual fishing feat as he landed two Smallmouth Bass at one time on a Pop-R. Bill and Grant did great catching Smallmouth, going through and lot of Gulp Leeches, and Grant came up with an impressive Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 18.5 inches. Second day they caught Smallmouth again, and Brad came up with another BIG fish landing a 40 inch Musky. Third day had all catching a lot of Smallmouth and many bigger fish as Bill and Grant both caught Master Anglers Award Smallmouth both measuring 18 inches. Both Ryne and Braden caught a bunch 14 to 17 inches, and Brad caught his fifth Musky of the trip, and the largest so far catching a Monster 43 inch Muskie. View this fish on our Weekly Photo 2006 page at http://www.firesidelodge.com Fourth day they all did fabulous catching Smallmouth Bass landing a lot of 14 to 17.5 inch Smallmouth and caught three Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, Ryne a 19.5 inch Smallmouth, Braden a 18.5 incher and Mark caught a 18 inch Smallie. Great day had by all. Last Day had them all catching a lot of Smallmouth Bass, with Bill and Grant having their best day yet landing 38 large Smallmouth Bass. All were happy, but sad to leave and departed with many fathers and son memories, which beats any size our quantity of fish caught. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make these special memories.

Fishing at Fireside Lodge for their first time was Gary Butler from Rochelle, IL, father and son Mark and Matt Donovan from Chicago, IL, Alan Welch from Madison, WI, Al and Tim Marco from Middleton and Madison, IL. . First day this group did well catching Smallmouth Bass and some Northern Pike, having some big follows from both Musky and Northern Pike. That evening they experimented with live leeches for Smallmouth and discovered the magic of this method, as they instantly caught Smallmouth one right after another, and Gary caught an 18 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass. Next day had them doing very well catching many Smallmouth, and Gary did it again landing a HUGE 19.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. They also fished a little out from shore in 12 to 20 feet of water, and caught some Big Northern Pike. Al caught a 38 inch Northern, and lost one at the boat that was pushing 40 inches or better. Matt at 10 years old caught his first Musky, a nice 31 incher, and he also caught a 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. What a great day for this youngster, and a Great day was had by all. The third day this group started out by catching Smallmouth Bass ad did well, with Al catching two 18.25 to 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth on consecutive casts. They could have caught more, but decided to fish for the monsters, and had some large follows but could not coax any into taking their offering. Al Marco said he saw the Largest fish of his life. A Great fun day was had by all. This group went Musky Hunting on their fourth day and had about 30 follows, Mark landed a 26 inch Musky, and Gary had several on and lost. The story teller was when Gary did a figure eight on a Musky that followed Al’s lure, and the fish got hot and hit Gary’s lure after following the figure eight several times. Well, the fight that followed was interesting and Gary lost the fish after about 5 minutes to the famous Musky jump and roll, which broke his line, and his heart, as it was a mid 40 inch Muskie. Their fifth and final day had them catching some toothy critters and Smallmouth Bass. All left with high compliments on the service, food, and accommodations, saying it was by far the best of any trip every taken.


Back for their second trip to Fireside Lodge in as many years were Bill and Sandy Dubovick from Spotswood, NJ. First two days they caught many Smallmouth, a lot being in the 14 to 16.5 inch range. GREAT FISHING. The second day was primarily top water poppers, and it can’t get more exciting than fish exploding on the surface. Third and fourth day they set out to catch larger Smallmouth, and did exactly that. After getting some advise, they fished the weeds and ended up catching a lot of Smallmouth, with a lot being bigger up to 17 to 17.5 inches. Fifth day was very good catching, a lot of BIG Smallmouth in the morning until noon, then they shut off and had a slow afternoon bite. Bill would have caught 8 more BIG Smallmouth but lost them by various ways. Some days are just like that, and after trying to figure out why he lost these fish, he purchased a new Popper to make sure he was well equipped for their last day. Last day was all about quality as they caught some very large Smallmouth Bass, Sandy catching several in the 17 to 17.5 inch range and Bill coming up with a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 18.5 inches. He received one our new Fireside Lodge Master Anglers Award patches. Both left having a great stay and hope to return again to stalk the GIANT Smallmouth we have in our waters. Look for their great photos on our “Weekly Photo 2006” page at our website http://www.firesidelodge.com

Back for their second consecutive year was father and son Jack and Steven Starnes from Duffield, VA. Day of arrival these two did fabulous catching over 50 Smallmouth Bass, and by the second day they landed over 115 with each catching Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, Steven’s measuring 18 inches, and Jack catching two one 18.5 inches and the other was a GIANT 20 inches. They also caught 10 Northern Pike, and Steven landed 2 Musky, and to make it even more exciting most were caught on top water lures. WOW what a great start. The second day they caught over 40 Smallmouth Bass, Jack caught a Musky, and Steven hooked up two Musky and lost them both. That’s fishing!! Third day was a tougher day wind wise but Jack forfeited most of his fishing time to position the boat for Steven, and they caught over 40 Smallmouth, but at supper time they still did not get their daily Musky catch. They have a streak which started last year where they caught at least one Musky a day every day last year, and lasted up to today. They still have the evening fish to keep up the streak. Well, all good things come to an end and the “at least one Musky a day streak” of 8 days, between 2005 and this 2006, ended for Steven and Jack. The fourth day for these two was fabulous as they caught well over 100 Smallmouth Bass, and had several 40 inch plus Musky follows but no takers. Fifth and final day had these two catching a lot of Smallmouth, and Steven hooked and landed two Musky, one was a mid 30 inch Tiger Muskie, and the second was a 46.5 inch Master Anglers Award Musky, and Steven paid the price for this catch. While unhooking the fish he got hooked, and after a quick trip to Hospital to get it removed they were back on the water catching fish until supper time. It was a great last day, and a fabulous fishing trip for Steven and Jack who intend on returning in 2007. View some of their BIG fish pictures on our Weekly Photo 2006 page at our website at http://www.firesidelodge.com

Back for their second year in a row were George Carney and father in law Tom Miller from Madison, WI and this time George brought son Joshua. First day was fabulous fun as they caught over 40 Northern Pike. Great day, and exciting first day fishing in Canada for Joshua. Funny happening was when George was fighting a Northern Pike his line broke. Tom saw his line floating and handed it to George so he could at least save his lure, when George realized the Northern Pike was still hooked, and he hand lined the Pike into the net. The second day found them fishing and catching fewer fish, but they did catch some nice Northern Pike and George caught a Monsterous Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass measuring 19.5 inches. See photo at website listed above. Third day had these three portaging to another lake for their very first time. They had loads of fun, and George and Joshua caught a lot of nice Smallmouth between 13 to 17 inches. It was not Tom’s day to catch very many, but his biggest catch was the memories of being with his son in law and grandson having fun and watching them catch fish. Their fifth and final day they had a ball catching fish and enjoying laughs together. Joshua had a great first trip to Canada, with George and Tom having a fabulous second fishing trip at Fireside Lodge. All left with smiles, and refreshed to enter the other world outside of Fireside Lodge.

Returning for their third year were father and son Mike and Andy Pritzl from Caleicdonia, WI. Here for a short three days they got right to it catching 17 Smallmouth and 3 Northern Pike on their day of arrival. First full day brought them great catching as they caught over 50 Smallmouth Bass. Their second day was dedicated to long toothy critters, and they had their personal best day hooking 48 Northern Pike, landing 38, and Andy caught his personal biggest Northern Pike at 32 inches. Mike also caught a 17.5 inch Smallmouth Bass, while Pike fishing. They had a great day and the smiles on their faces told the whole story. Last Day had them Smallmouth fishing again, and they caught 30 Smallmouth bass and Mike missed a Northern Pike. To finish their trip on a good note during their evening fish they caught 1 Smallmouth and three nice size Northern Pike. Both left having another great fishing trip at Fireside Lodge, and said they will be back.

Also back for their third straight year were father and son Jim and Billy Barnes from Lawrence KS. Day of arrival Jim and Billy headed right for their special Smallmouth hole, and after moving just 50 ft to get away from the Perch they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass, and Jim caught a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth measuring 18.5 inches. First full day fishing they considered their day a slower one at Fireside Lodge, but a fantastic day anywhere else, as they landed 41 Smallmouth Bass before suppertime. Second day they caught 49 Smallmouth with Billy catching 22, and Jim caught two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18.5 inches. Great day fishing and catching. The third and final day for this father and son combo had them catching 52 BIG Smallmouth, 26 each, and they landed five Master Anglers Award Smallmouth between 18 and 19.5 inches. Billy caught two and Jim landed three of these beauties. Both had a GREAT TRIP to Fireside Lodge for their third straight year, and as I told Billy the memories made these last three years are the biggest catch of all. They plan on returning in 2007 to meet up with some other Fireside Lodge guests they have become friends with during their weeks stay over the last three years.


Back for his seventh time was Dan Mosier from Lincoln, NE and for the second time brought youngest son 10 year old Nathan. Day of arrival these two caught 22 Northern Pike between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Great start. Next day had them catching 16 Northern Pike by mid afternoon, and finished with several others by evening time.
Third day was an off day for Dan and Nathan but they had a great father and son day, enjoying time together and making memories which is the biggest catch of all. That same evening they caught twelve bigger Northern Pike, and were all smiles when returning to the lodge to share their stories. Fourth and final day was good catching Northern Pike, Nathan caught his first Smallmouth Bass and it was on a spoon. Nathan loves spoons and always fishes with them having a variety of sizes and colors. We gave Nathan a new nick name at Fireside Lodge “The Spoon Man”. Both did not want to leave and I sensed tears in both of their eyes when we said our goodbyes. I am sure we have not seen the last of “The Spoon Man” at Fireside Lodge.

Kent Williams and Bill Black, from Atlanta, GA, were back to Fireside Lodge for their third consecutive year. First day out was slower than expected so they whet back to the drawing board and figured a new technique to fish for Northern Pike and I helped Kent and Bill with locations to apply this technique. First spot did not produce, but the second spot they never had to leave all day as they caught a lot of Northern Pike, lost some, and at supper Kent said that he caught his Fireside Lodge placemat fish, which was his first ever Musky, and it was a nice heavy 35 inch Muskie. Third day was slower, but they still caught a few fish. Their fourth and final day was very windy, but Kent and Bill adapted as they fished a very windy side of the lake with their new method, trolling, and did fabulous again catching not only a lot of toothy critters, mostly Northern Pike, but Kent caught two more Musky. One was a fabulous catch being a HUGE FAT 42 inch Tiger Muskie. So, Kent who never caught a Muskie before caught 3 in three days. They left with gleaming smiles on their faces, and if I know Kent he was already planning their trip for 2007 while they were driving to the International Falls, MN airport to catch their flight home.

Catches of the week: Total of 36 Musky were caught with many other follows and lost Muskie, along with three Master Anglers Award Musky catches of: 46.5 inch Musky, 45.5 inch Musky, 44 inch Musky, and other large Musky were 43.5 inch Musky, 42 inch Tiger Musky, 41.5 inch Musky, 41 inch Musky, two 40 inch Musky, 38 inch Northern Pike, two 20 inch Smallmouth Bass, and 40 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass were caught between 18 and 20 inches. WOW!!! What a great BIG FISH WEEK.

Hot Lures of the week: Grandma Bait, Bucktail, To Raider, Pop –R, Chug Bug, Blue Fox Spinner, Gulp Leeches, Live Leeches, Tubes, Swim Baits

Well, That’s all for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report. Until Next Week “Keep On Fish’n.” Alan
http://www.firesidelodge.com
800-545-0815
fireside@xplornet.com