Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/30 to 9/5 2003

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 8/30 to 9/5 2003

Hello to all from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, where this, the first week in September was beautiful weather, yet showing some signs of leaves starting to turn color, and all of the wild flowers are gone, as they turned to seed to give us beautiful flowers next year.
I would like to start out writing about a group that has returned year after year, now staying with us a week and a half. They are Joe Denise from Palos Hgts, IL., Bob Nelson, and father and son Dan and Danny Lesko all from Elmwood Park, NJ. These four have truly gotten bushed at Fireside Lodge, as the enjoy the northern fishing experience so much, that they seemingly can't get enough. They caught a lot of fish, as they always seem to do, having some fast action, 40 to 50 Smallmouth days, and some great fishing for Northern Pike and Muskie, with Joe taking the honors of the largest at 39 inches. A new thing they experienced was catching Pike and Muskie, and having a lot of other action at the mouth of a creek right after a major rain fall. They bumped into this by accident, after their attempt to get up the creek failed because of low water, and Danny decided to throw a cast. After an immediate follow they continued fishing, and the rest was to be recorded in their Fireside Lodge fishing memory book. That's the great thing about fishing is that you never know what will happen next. They also found a lot of new productive fishing spots, that they just boated by the last 5 years. There are always new and undiscovered fishing spots, no matter how long you have fished a lake. This group continued to enjoy the fishing, wilderness, good conversation amongst friends, and leisurely meals in the dinning room. Thanks for your return visits to Fireside Lodge.
It felt like couples week as we had 4 couples from completely different areas. They were Bill and Claire Marks from Pinehurst, NC., Harry and Susan Vilsack from Pittsburgh, Pa., Jim and Donna Jones from MoKinney, Tx., and Tom and Beverly Jennings from Mossy Head, FL. Geographically that is some variety. Some of these couples did well fishing, and they all certainly had fun enjoying our total Fireside Lodge fishing experience, including the dinning, wildlife, lodge atmosphere, and great conversation. Bill and Claire seemed to have good fishing on most of their four days, catching both Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. Harry and Susan started off with a bang on their first day, as Susan caught a Big 36 inch Northern Pike, her biggest and their biggest as a couple. Another day Harry caught several nice Pike, and a HUGE 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. On their fourth and final day they both had the fishing experience of their life as they landed well over 25 Northern Pike, all in the 30 to 34 inch range, and Harry caught his first Muskie ever. You should have seen their smiles in the dinning room that evening, full of excitement as they were telling their stories. Susan said they were catching so many fish that she actually got tired of catching. Jim and Donna did not catch as many fish, but did not enjoy themselves any less as they made a reservation for 2004 before leaving, and decided even to stay one more day next year. These two find Fireside Lodge as a relaxing escape in the wilderness from their every day lives, and we surly enjoy their company. Tom and Beverly came with good friends Carl Carpenter from Springdale, Ar., and Jack Odum from Mt Juliet, Tn. This group did catch some nice Northern Pike, with Beverly catching the biggest at 36 inches, and the Smallmouth fishing proved to be good for Jack as he landed two near 20 inch Smallmouth Bass, which are Master Anglers Award Smallmouth.
`Son and Mother Brad and Clara Pugh, from Pandora, Oh., gave us a total of 5 woman fishers for this week. They had a great week catching 12 to 18 Pike daily, and a lot were over 30 inches into the mid 30 inch range, and Brad caught several Tiger Muskie and Muskie. Brad also lost a Big Muskie at the boat on his second to the last day. Brad just became the proud father of a new born baby boy, and we all send congratulations to him and his wife Sherry. This is the best catch for 2004. Thanks for returning.
Mike Rothermel from Jenison, Mi. was back at Fireside Lodge for his second time this year, and this time came with his son Matt from Hudsonville, brothers Dale from Jenison, Dave from Jackson, and brother in law Mark Brunner from Perrington, Mi. For David and Mark it was their second time around, and this was Matt and Dale's first time at Fireside Lodge. Well, this group had a fishing trip of their lives as they caught countless Northern Pike, and more Muskie than most groups catch in a lifetime. First day they caught 9 Muskie, over 50 Northern Pike, and Mike caught a BIG Smallie without even fishing for them. On their 3rd day they caught well over 60 Northern Pike and 8 Muskie, most between 27 to 32 inches, but did land fish 34, 35, 36, 37, and 39 inches. Matt also caught his first Muskie ever, landing a beautiful 35 incher. The fourth day Mike R and Dave caught 35 Pike and 10 Muskie, with a lot of their fish in the 30 to 33 inch range, and Mike caught two at 35 inches, while Dale and Matt managed to catch 23 Northern Pike and 3 Muskie. That's 13 Muskie in one day. WOW!!!!!!! On their 5th day Mike R, Matt and Mike B. said they had a slower day catching 18 Pike and 3 Muskie. Not bad for a slow day fishing at Fireside Lodge. On their 6th and final day they caught 54 Northern Pike, 6 more Muskie, and three larger Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18.5 inches. In total this group caught 37 Muskie and countless Pike in 6 days. Great fishing, great catching, and great fun had by all in this group. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to spend your valuable vacation time.
Dan and Caleb Mosier from Lincoln, Ne. have spent their valuable vacation time at Fireside Lodge 5 times, and Dan has been here 6 times. Dan's first visit to Fireside Lodge was with his daughter Abby. Dan started coming to Fireside Lodge when Abby decided she wanted to go fishing with her dad instead of going on the school graduation trip with all of her friends. How can a father refuse that?? Dan had Abby pick the fishing destination of her choice, and Abby picked Fireside Lodge after reviewing our web site. After a great trip full of memories, and a very teary eyed departure, the rest of Dan's trips to Fireside Lodge were inevitable. Since that trip Dan a Caleb have become fishing buddies, and on this trip they had another great fishing experience. On their first day they caught 16 nice size Northern Pike, with Caleb catching a 39 inch monster. The second day they ran into a bunch of bigger Smallmouth, 16 to be exact, and Dan caught an 18 inch Master Anglers Award Samllmouth, and they also caught 11 Northern Pike. On their last day they caught 12 Pike between 30 to 35 inches, and had some other action in the way of lost fish and follows. Another thing we have enjoyed doing with Dan is having great conversation in the evening at the lodge, and that's exactly what we did every evening of Dan and Caleb's trip. Thanks for returning, and for the great memories.
That concludes this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report. Until next week "Keep On Fish'n." Alan