Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/2 to 8/8 2003

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/2 to 8/8 2003

Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario. As we enter into the first part of August we continue to get great summer weather with temperatures in the 80's and cooling off into the low 60 to high 50 degree range at night. We also continue to be dry, getting a little rain but just in the form of thunderstorms instead of all day rains. The first group I want to talk about this week is the Kleinwachter group of George, Jerry, Herb, Jim, Joe, and Jeff Aiken from Warrenville, and Naperville, IL., Six years ago they made reservations with us at Fireside Lodge figuring to fish with us 1 or 2 years and find a new place, because this is how they usually arrange their fishing trips. It seems as if they found a home, because they just completed their 6th consecutive fishing trip with us, and they seem to always have great new fishing experiences and memories here at Fireside lodge. Well, experience paid off for this group as one day Jim and George landed 5 Muskie including two 40 inchers, Jerry / Joe team caught lots of Smallmouth 16 to 17.5 inches, with Joe loosing a 20 inch plus, and they caught a Muskie and had tones of follows, and Jeff and Herb also caught loads of Smallies with Jeff catching a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at a huge 19 inches. Jeff and Herb had another great day by catching over 25 Northern Pike 28 to 33 inches, and a bunch of other smaller ones, and Jeff caught another Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 19 inches. Listen to the day father and son Jerry and Joe had, or I should say Joe had. In one day Joe caught 6 Muskie, that's right 6 Muskie, largest being 39.5 inches, and he caught 4 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 20.5, 19.75, 19.5, and 18 inches. WOW what a great day, not only fishing but catching. At 21, Joe will have a great challenge in trying to beat that days catch. In all, this group caught 17 Muskie and 14 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth from 18 inches to 20.5 inches. Joe and Jim had five each, Jeff had two, George and Jerry each had one each. Experience on our waters sure shined through with this group, in logging another memorable fishing trip together. Thanks for your patronage.
A group from Tennessee Dave Renfro, AL Chaffin (Spud), Kevin
(Charles) Peterson, Eric Osborne from Erwin, Jeff Muncy from Greenville, and Ken (Pete) Petterson from Unicol were all referred to Fireside Lodge by a group that was up from the same area in July. Here for a short 4 days their buddies in Erwin, Tn got them a jump start by giving them fishing information from their recent visit to Fireside Lodge. Just on this groups second day they caught 40 to 50 Smallmouth per boat, and Pete had landed two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth, both at 18 inches. On their last two days they had a ball catching Northern Pike up to 34 inches, which was caught by Spud, and others caught plenty of Pike in the 28 to 33 inch range. Out of this group Jeff, Dave, and Spud went home catching their first Muskie. Pretty remarkable results for a bunch of guys from Tennessee who never fished for toothy critters before. They all went home sad not wanting to leave, and wishing they had a few more days left. That means we did our job at Fireside Lodge. Thanks for coming and hope to see all again.
Ken Roberts and Rebecca Davis from Alliance, Oh. were at Fireside Lodge for Ken's 4th time and Becky's 1st. Actually it was Becky's first ever experience in Canada fishing, and had never fished for Northern Pike, Muskie, or Smallmouth before. They caught a lot of Pike throughout the week with Becky catching her first, which scared her half to death, she caught her first Muskie, and some Smallmouth. She also caught a Pike on a surface bait which is a thrill for any angler, but what a great catch for a beginner at Pike fishing. These two had a wonderful stay besides the great fishing, as they embellished themselves with all the other things Fireside Lodge has to offer. Peaceful atmosphere, wildlife, lakeside sunsets, starry nights, northern lights, historical lodge, great meals and unprecedented service. These two also left sad they were going, and for sure will be back as a couple again. Thanks for joining us at Fireside Lodge to make some great memories.
Donald Brink from Addison, IL., and Robert Greenlee from Naperville, IL., had a wonderful first stay at Fireside Lodge. They enjoyed the week fishing for Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike, catching their share of both, and just enjoying the wilderness surroundings and wildlife we have to offer at Fireside Lodge. They also enjoyed the meals and friendly atmosphere in our dinning room, as this is the hub of giving and receiving fishing information. While cleaning out their boat Don told me that they will be back, and that they finally found a home for their fishing vacations. Thanks for coming to Fireside Lodge
Father and son Bob and Scott Kimball from Lake Quivira and Olathe, Ks., were at Fireside Lodge for their first fishing adventure. This father and son combo were after large toothy critters, and they did great for the first time ever on our lake system. They caught many Northern Pike and some Muskie throughout their stay. Also, they each caught the biggest Northern Pike and Muskie during their week stay at Fireside Lodge. Scott went away with the biggest catch of the week, landing a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike at a HUGE 42 inches. This was a great catch by Scott, however the story behind it is even better. Scott is a young father with 3 children and his oldest daughter gave him a fishing lure for a going away present. It was a large soft plastic fish swim bait. Never using anything like this before, Scott was leery of what it's performance would be. But coming from his daughter you bet he was going to use it. That he did, and it ended up being his most productive bait. So productive, that on the night before his last day it was almost spitting in two. After some diagnosis, Scott and I went into surgery, and did a repair job to save his bait, as Scott said "so I can use it to catch just one more fish." Well, that he did as on the very first cast the next day, his last day, he hooked into his biggest fish of the trip and of his life, a 42 inch Northern Pike. As Bob cradled this fish Scott's bait broke in two pieces. Scott was amazed and will hang his daughters, now broken in half bait, from the picture of his lifetime best catch, a Master Anglers Award catch, caught while with his father. What a fabulous story and memory to carry with him forever. Congratulations to both Scott and Bob, for making the effort to make these memorable moments.
James and Nita Jansen from Springfield, IL., had a great fishing trip at Fireside Lodge. They caught a lot of fish, and enjoyed one of the great glacier made wonders of the world. Being experienced on our lake system Jim and Nita, enjoy fishing Little Vermilion Lake only, and caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike during their stay. They also enjoyed each others company in the peaceful surroundings we have here at Fireside Lodge.
Father and sons Bill and Kirk Harlan from Amherst, Oh., and Clemmons, N.C., Norval Sr and Norval Mathie from Stuart, FL., and West Chester, Oh., and friends Walter Dillman and Louie Robbins from Westfield, Oh., and Yadkinville, N.C., were all at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Their main goal was to catch toothy critters and they accomplished their goal. They had three tremendous days of fishing with Walter and Leon in just one day landing 45 fish, 36 Northern Pike, 6 Smallmouth, and 3 Muskie. It was the first Muskie for both, and Leon's first Pike and Smallmouth. They also lost a lot of other fish. The other two boats also caught a lot of fish on this day making their totals to about 80 fish, and Bill caught a Master Anglers Award Smallie at 18.25 inches. Another day while Norval Sr and Norval were catching well over 20 Northern Pike, Norval Sr also caught a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18.5 inches. Norval Sr and Bill are old buddies dating back to dental school, and as you can see their competitiveness is still alive. This group enjoyed everything we have to offer at Fireside Lodge in our equipment, accommodations, dinning room, meals, service, and especially the fishing. Looking forward to seeing this group back in the near future, and thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge.
Gary Haines, brother Gordon, and good friend Danny Cox all from Louisville, Ky were back to Fireside Lodge for their 3rd straight year. They come here to fish for long toothy critters, as they are not available back in Louisville. Coming in they knew it would be very tough to beat last years trip, when they caught amazing numbers of large Northern Pike and Muskie catching 7 fish 40 inches or better, and many more 34 to 39 inches. When you set the bar that hi it is very hard to beat, but they did have a great time catching some good size Pike and a few Muskie, and Gary still left with a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike measuring at 40.25 inches. They had fun every day and enjoyed just being in our secluded pristine atmosphere. Thanks for coming back, and hope to see all in 2004.
Frank Hazzard from Arlington, Tx. was back to Fireside Lodge for his second trip this year, with other nephew Mark. Frank in a remarkable fisherman and person, as he is always helping people, and genuinely trying to make sure people he meets have a good experience on their fishing trip. He is also a terrific Uncle as this is the third nephew he has brought to Fireside Lodge, and he brings them often. Frank and Mark had some great fishing as on one of their days they caught well over 50 Smallmouth, with 35 of them between 16 to 18 inches, an 7 were over 18 inches which are Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. Frank also had an over 45 inch Muskie up to the boat three times on light tackle, but got off before it could be cradled. They caught 25 to 35 Smallmouth daily, and landed 7 other Master Anglers Award Smallmouth during the rest of their stay, with Mark's largest at 19 inches and Frank's at 19.5 inches. One day while targeting toothy critters they caught 21 nice size Northern Pike, 3 Muskie, and still managed to hook and lose 6 BIG Smallies, and landed only one. Great fishing, great fun, and great bonding between Uncle and Nephew, and thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to add to your memory book.
Brothers Charles and Gene Somenek, from Bartlett and Carol Stream, IL. were at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Here for Muskie and Northern Pike that's exactly what they fished for, and they did great for their first time around. They caught many 28 to 38 inch fish, and by the second day told me they were coming back in 2004. Gene will be sending me some pictures which everyone will be able to see on my current photo page at our website www.firesidelodge.com In fact all Fireside Lodge guests who send pictures to us by email or regular mail will have their picture posted on our current photo page. Thanks for coming to Fireside Lodge guys, and hope your other two friends can make it in 2004.
Father and sons Bill and Kevin McNab, Robert and David Kroll, and friends James Jacobs and Evan Martoia all from St Charles, Mo., were all at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Bill and Jim on their second day had fabulous fishing as they landed 41 Northern Pike, some 35 to 37 inches, 7 nice size Smallmouth, and caught three Muskie in just one day. Robert and David Kroll who never fished for Northern Pike before, ended up catching over 20 Northern Pike, and lost some in the process, and David's eyes lit up when telling me about catching his biggest Pike ever at 33 inches. The excitement in a 17 year olds eyes when telling fishing stories, is what I think fishing vacations are all about. Another day when strictly Muskie fishing Bill came up landing three of these evasive fish, largest being 36 inches. The bait of the week for Robert and David Kroll was a gift from Roberts wife upon departing for Fireside Lodge. It was a fish swim bait made by Storm Baits. Robert said that he did not think it was a worthy bait, however Robert's wife proved him wrong, as every one was tore up by Pike or Muskies teeth. All in all this group had loads of fun and made many memories.
That's all for this week folks, and until our next fishing report
"Keep On Fish'n" Alan