Hello from Fireside Lodge in Northwest Ontario, Canada. With signs of fall staring to show up it’s not surprising that we had unpredictable but gorgeous weather with highs in the mid 70’s and lows in the 50’s along with unbeatable orange sunsets, & fabulous nightly star displays that would put anyone in awe.
David Bone, Dean Taylor from Woodland Park & Colorado Springs, CO returning f or their second trip brought Mark Forsyth from Gold Canyon, AZ. 1st day was slow so the second day they approached the lake differently on day 2 deciding to fish a different depth zone. Well, it worked as they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass along with a few Pike. Dean also caught a trophy size Smallmouth Bass weighing in ay 4.5lbs. As we all know making adjustments is the key to fishing success. Day three they decide to portage to a lake & got more than what they bargained for by accidentally taking the wrong trail and going an hour out of their way. All were great sports about it and continued on getting to the lake and having a ball catching a bunch of Nort
hern Pike. After a rain delay on day 4, a great excuse to take a morning nap, they got on the lake about 2:00PM and did well catching Smallmouth, Pike and David caught a nice Musky. See what relaxing can do for your fishing. Days 5 & 6 were both on the windy side but they managed to work around this and did well catching Smallmouth & Northern Pike. Also, David was able to celebrate his birthday with us on Friday. All left saying they hope to see us again in the near future.
Bill & Tim Stayer from New Freedom & Mifflinton, PA returned to experience Fireside Lodge in the summer as apposed to opening week. They had to change their trip this year because of Bill having shoulder surgery & will see if a BIG fish can put his recovered shoulder through its test. First day they were greeted with high winds that kept most from fishing but they managed to catch some Pike. Next day had Tim having the hot hand catching Pike with a new lure purchased from our tackle shop. Tim was attentive on working the lure as we discussed, which paid off. 3rd & 4th days they had had a cold front storm system with high winds. Doing their best in these conditions they caught some Pike. Throughout the rest of their stay they stayed on the Pike search & Tim continued to do very well with his secret lure. He was using a #6 & #5 all gold Blue Fox Spinner, not so secret but very affective when fished slowly. They also enjoyed a portage lake for their last day expressing how the serenity and the short hike were special. They also enjoyed seeing those BIG Musky that lazily followed their offering. Tim hooked up on a nice fish but lost it as fast as he hooked it after the beast rolled on the surface. Both had a great stay and hope to return.
Steve & Debra Johnson from Haltown, MO were back for Steve’s 5th & Debra’s 2nd trip. 1st day started with T-Storms along with a cold front & high winds & this they still caught about 8-10 Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day despite cold front conditions, was very good as they got into good Smallmouth activity early on, catching many along with bigger fish. Debra caught two 17-17.5-inches and Steve caught two trophy Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at 18 & 18.5”. 3rd day was great as they caught 19 Smallmouth Bass, most on the larger side, including three at 17-17.5”. 4th and final day they stuck with their pattern of fishing wind blown rocky/weedy areas, again getting good results. They caught many good size Smallmouth Bass over 15”, and up to just under 18”. Debra lost one that would have probably topped the 19” mark. Both had a fabulous stay relaxing while fishing in our great wilderness setting.
Mike & Dee Hummel from Urbandale, IA returned to Fireside Lodge for their 10th time. Even with cold front conditions these two did great on their 1st day and had a fabulous time catching many Smallmouth Bass 14 to 18”. Dee caught 2 Master Anglers Award Trophy Bass over 18”. 2nd day was also a very good Smallmouth Bass day with a few Pike mixed in and many of the Smallmouth Bass were 14 to 17”. Dee did very well again using both live leeches and a plastic bait named “Yum Dinger”. On their 3rd & final day, when I asked how their day was, Mike said he thought the fish were on to them. They did catch some but not like their first two days, but that’s fishing. Both went home having an enjoyable stay and said they hope to return in 2012.
Charlie McDermid from Gardnerville, NV returned for his 2nd trip to Fireside Lodge with first time guest Chris Stromm from South Lake Tahoe, CA. These two were here primarily to hunt Musky. First day they faced cold front & windy conditions, caught some fish, however the Musky eluded them. 2nd day w
as excellent, catching a lot of Northern Pike with some size to them, 30”+, but did not raise a Musky. In talking with Charlie & Chris at supper Charlie indicated that he really wanted to catch a Musky and said he had the fever. So the third day they changed tactics, made some purchases, and after going over the map they were off to catch a Musky. Well, they did just that as they had many follows and Charlie hooked and landed a 36.5” very heavy Musky that gave an exceptionally strong fight. Leaving their fish cradle in the other boat they found themselves without a net so in order to take proper care of the fish they actually got in the water with the fish to unhook & release Charlie’s fish. Great effort by two avid sportsmen!! Fourth & final day these two tried to re-capture that Musky success and did to some extent. Even though there were no hook ups they had close to 30 follows and some of the fish were huge. Both were so excited that the stakes at that evening’s cribbage game was a subscription to Musky Hunter Magazine. Chris & Charlie left having a fabulous stay with us and hope to return one day soon.
John Eakle & Jim Pauley from Summersville & Blue Creek, WV returned to fish with us for their second time. 1st day had them catching some Pik
e & Smallmouth Bass. After reviewing the map and deciding they might be fishing two shallow they were off to be more successful on day two landing some nice Pike and Smallies. Day three they decided to go though Musky Creek and into Muskie Lake, which has been a challenge with us having no rain all summer. After some great effort getting through a silt bar & three beaver dams, they made it in and were rewarded catching 42 Northern Pike. 4th day gave them a rain delay until about 1:30PM afterwards catching several Pike & Smallmouth while dodging a few storms. 5th day they had a FABULOUS fishing catching close to 50 Northern Pike and Jim caught the biggest Smallmouth Bass of his life measuring 18.5” with a humongous girth. Last day was TERRIFIC also, as they caught over 60 fish, mostly Pike, & a few BIG 17”+Smallies. Both had a FABULOS stay and made some memories to last a lifetime.
Returning for their 11th consecutive year were father & son Tom & Mark Reese from Bartlett, TN & Alexandria, VA.1st day had them in a rain delay waiting out heavy rain and high winds, but by 1:00 thing got good enough to give it a go. They did well for a half-day catching 4 Pike & 8 Smallmouth. On their 2nd day they had a successful morning locating and catching some nice Smallmouth Bass in several new spots they never fished before. Always great to find new fishing locations. That same afternoon they experienced some serious fishing equip
ment malfunctions, which took a good chunk of their fishing time up. Both were able to tease and laugh about it at supper knowing tomorrow will be a whole new day. 3rd day was very active on the catching end landing many Smallmouth, Mark catching a Trophy 18.5”er, and Northern Pike. The pike were hitting their Smallmouth baits which resulted in many bite off’s. 4th & final day was great weather wise and they had a good day fishing catching Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. The biggest catch for these two is their father & son time spent together. You never know what the future holds, and if possible you should try and capture special moments with parents, family, & friends. Congratulations to Mark for doing just that with his Mom & Dad, and thanks for choosing Fireside as one of the places to make your special family memories.
John O’Neil from Holland, OH was fishing with us for the first time. 1st day was a half day of very heavy rain but John did get a few hours of fishing before supper and landed 8 Pike and saw a very big Musky. 2nd day John
said he had a terrific day, catching 8 Northern Pike & 10 Smallmouth Bass including a 18.5” Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallie. At supper he said he was worn out and did not fish that evening. 3rd day had him catching about 10 fish and he had several very big Musky & Northern Pike follows.
4th day John said was absolutely fabulous, hooking 40+ Smallmouth Bass & landing another 18.5” Trophy. Also, as he was fishing on a big reef area he had a follow from a big Pike however all of a sudden a HUGE Musky came from the side and chased the Pike off. Then this monster followed John’s lure back to the boat twice, swirling at he lure the 2nd time. Very exciting as John explained his experience at suppertime. 5th & final day John caught 12 Smallmouth & a nice 35” Northern Pike. He left having had a great time and said he would love to come with his wife & son next year. By the way John’s son is currently serving for the US Special forces in Afghanistan and we want to thank him very much for his service to his country.
Make sure to go to our website listed below to see the 2010 Photos
For Fabulous Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our Social Sites Below.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireside-Lodge/304211179043?v=wall
YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/FiresideLodgeFish
http://twitter.com/FiresideFish
Hot Lures: Mepps #5 & Musky Killer, Yum Dinger, Live Leeches, Tubes, Blue Fox Spinner, Swim Baits, Sinking Worms, Husk Jerk
Catches of The Week: 19” Smallmouth Bass & Many between 17-18.5”, 36.5” Musky, 36” Northern Pike
Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for next weeks report. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan
http://www.firesidelodgefishing.com
800-545-0815
Email at:fireside@xplornet.com
