Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 5/30 to 6/6 2003

Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report 5/30 to 6/6 2003

Al Wortz , from Howards Grove Wi., and Al Sr, from Bluffton, S.C., were here at Fireside Lodge for another fishing adventure, and this time brought son / grandson David for his first Canadian Fishing Trip. This was the first time Al & Al Sr have been to Fireside Lodge this early in the year, and they found the fishing to be very exciting. Their first day out they caught 23 Smallmouth Bass, Al catching the first of two Master Anglers Award Bass at 18.75 inches, 6 Northern Pike, and 2 Muskie. David, 12 years old caught a lot of the Smallmouth and landed a 30" and 33" Northern Pike, both being his biggest ever. The second day David broke his Pike record again catching a 36 incher, and just missed a Master Anglers Smallmouth at 17.75". You know dad was measuring this one, and not Grandpa. On their 3rd day they caught a bunch of Smallmouth with David catching 24 alone and a 36 inch Pike, and together they caught a number of 30 to 35 inch Pike. On the last day they all caught 33" to 35" Northern Pike, and some great Bass with David catching not one but two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth one at 18 inches and another GIANT 19.25 inches. Great catches David. Al Sr also caught a Masters Smallmouth at 18.25". During their stay these three had fun with a game they manufactured. Giving their own names to locations on the lake. Such names as, Big Mama Bay, Bloody Finger Bay, Lone Weed Bay. When they were discussing these locations we were all lost, and had to just start laughing at the given names. It started to really get difficult for me when other guests started asking me where Bloody Finger Bay was. This trio made some great memories to last a lifetime and beyond, and thanks for selecting Fireside Lodge as one of your memory making locations.
Dennis Brogan, from Carol Stream, IL., Joe Sisco, from Cable, Wi. were at Fireside Lodge for their second consecutive year, and brought good friend Jeff Ziegler also from Carol Stream, IL. They had very good Smallmouth Bass fishing all week, and also had some highlight catches by Jeff and Joe. Jeff landed a 39 inch Muskie on light Smallmouth tackle, and Joe also repeated this same thing later in the week, also catching a 39 inch Muskie. Dennis highlight catch was a Master Angler Smallmouth right at 18 inches. The biggest catch of the week was the sighting of a cow Moose with new calves. Jeff got such terrific pictures of this sighting it would be hard to beat by any professional wildlife photo. It was perfect, and not only did he capture the cow moose broadside at the waters edge with the two little calves right behind her, but a loon also appeared in the picture, of which Jeff did not even realize it was there at the time. The water was calm, and reeds and trees filled the background. Look for this picture on my website later in the year, and also in our newsletter we send in December.
Ron Mehling, from Warrenville, IL., James Gumm, from Wheaton, IL., John McCluskey, from Glen Ellyn, IL., and Ray Black from Courtland, IL., were all at Fireside Lodge for their first time. What a great first trip it was as they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass each day, and not only numbers but a lot of quality size Smallmouth. Ron and John on their first day ever landed 35+ Smallies, and had several Muskie and Northern Pike on while fishing for Smallmouth. Each pair from this group caught from 20 to 40 Smallmouth per day, and on some days they were catching the majority of Smallmouth between 16 to 17.5 inches. They all caught Master Anglers Award Smallmouth with Ron taking the lead with 4 over 18 inches, and many very close. Both Jim and John caught 18" plus Smallies, and Ray snuck up from behind on the last day and caught a huge 19 incher. Great first trip to Fireside Lodge for these four.
Regular return guests of Fireside Lodge are Walt LaCasse, from Minnetonka, Mn., Jim Jones, from McKinney, Tx., Ron Ditillo, from Pittsburgh, Pa., Steve Walton, from Salisburg, NC., and first timer, also from Salisburg, NC, David Bolick were back for their traditional spring get together at Fireside Lodge. They had a wonderful time as always enjoying each others company in the great wilderness atmosphere we have to offer here at Fireside Lodge. Well, Walt set the stakes high on the very first evening of arrival catching a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike at 40.5 inches, while with Jim and Ron. Great catch Walt. This trio teamed up on their second day catching a lot of Smallmouth, and Walt caught two Master Anglers Award Smallmouth a 18" and 18.25", and Ron caught one at 18.25". On this same day Steve and David caught 27 Smallmouth some coming close to being Master Angles Awards. They had great fun and it was wonderful for us to have these fellows in the lodge again this spring.
Jeff Cohlmeyer, from Newburgh, In., and Bill Peter with son Ben, Jack Durchholz with son James, and John Briedenbach, all from Evansville, In. were back again to fish at Fireside Lodge. Jeff and Bill were teamed together and were their usual fishing maniacs, out on the water from dawn to dusk every day. It did pay off as they caught many Northern Pike throughout the week with their highest numbers in one day being 110 in one of our portage lakes, and catching their bigger fish consistently in the main lake. Good friends Ben and Jim were fishing together and did well on most days. A highlight day for them was when they caught 24 nice size Pike on Little Vermilion Lake. Jack and Jim fished together and they were here for the whole experience of atmosphere, wilderness and wildlife viewing, the great meals in the dinning room, along with fishing. They had good fishing and especially enjoyed their day portaging to Booger Lake and catching 24 Northern Pike. All 6 enjoyed what we have to offer at Fireside Lodge in different ways, and thanks for coming back.
Gary Rose, from Mid West City, Ok., returned to Fireside Lodge for his 8th consecutive year, but this time his son Mike could not make it so he came with good friend Bob Dimski, from Oklahoma City, OK. These two had a great three days of fishing. On their 1st night of fishing for 3 hours they caught 15 nice Smallmouth. First day they caught 54 Smallmouth, and Bob also caught some of his on a fly rod. On their second day they caught well over 40, with the majority being 15 to 16 inches. Great size Smallies. On the last day they caught 42 Smallmouth, and in this number was a lot of big Smallmouth. The doubled up twice this day with both catching a Smallmouth at the same time, and one time they both had over 17 inchers. Everyone will see this picture on our website. Also Gary ended up catching two of his three Master Anglers Smallmouth, one at 18 " and the other at 18.5". These two had a great short three day stay at Fireside Lodge, and Gary could not wait to tease his friend Gerald about his catches, as Grerald is due up to Fireside Lodge, with his son, the first week of July.
Ed Caudill, from Knoxville, Tn., also a very long time return guest of Fireside Lodge, was here this week with his two sons Danny and Robby. Well these three had a fabulous fun and unbelievable fishing. One day while taking the portage to George Lake they caught 12 Northern Pike with dozens of follows, and most fish caught were between 28 to 33 inches. They also caught some Pike on the main lake that evening including Danny catching two 34" and one 39" Northern Pike, which was possibly a Master Anglers if it was measured more accurately. The biggest moments of this day was that these three saw two deer, a cow moose with her twin calves, and a bald eagle. It doesn't get any better than this. On another day they caught 26 Smallmouth and 8 of these were Master Anglers Award Smallmouth from 18" to 19 and 15/16 inches. WOW what a great percentage (31%) of trophy fish caught to the total numbers. That's not all folks, another day they caught well over 60 Smallmouth and another 9 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth ranging from 18" to 19.5". In all they ended up catching 25 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. On their last day intending to fish for Smallmouth, until a Pike grabbed one of their Smallmouth baits, and they proceeded to land over 20 Northern Pike, most good size, and the biggest being caught by Danny at 38 inches. Great Fishing, Great Fun, Wonderful Memories, all made between a father and two sons. Priceless.
Kenneth and brother Raymond Woods, from Ottawa and Manhattan, Ks. were at Fireside Lodge for their first time. Here for only three days they did amazing catching Smallmouth Bass, which is exactly what they came for. Their first day they caught 35+ Smallmouth, with Ken catching a Master Anglers Award Smallie at 18.5 inches. Second day they said they caught conservatively 75 Smallmouth, with Ken catching another 18.5 inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth. What great fishing and catching. Of course fishing was the reason Ken and Ray came here, but just spending some brother time together was just as important to them. It was a pleasure to have these two around as they were gentlemen and good conversationalists. Hope to see you two at Fireside Lodge again.
Brothers Doug, Joe, and Jason Masters from Seeser, East Peoria, and Libertyville, IL came to Fireside Lodge for their first time with good friend Tim Colli, from Thompson Station, Tn. This was their first trip to Fireside Lodge, and the did very well fishing. They all caught a lot of Smallmouth throughout the week, and all three brothers caught Master Anglers Award Smallmouth with Doug catching three. Two at 18" and one at 18.25". Jason caught an 18" and a monster 19 incher, and Joe caught a 18.5 inch Smallie. They also caught a lot of Pike over 30 inches, and all caught 34 to 37 inch Northern Pike. Tim took the prize in this area hooking and landing a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike right at 40 inches. Great catch, and great fishing trip for these four. Thanks for coming to Fireside lodge
That's the end for this weeks fishing report and please stay tuned for next weeks. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan