Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/11 to 8/18 2012

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/11 to 8/18 2012

45" Clear Muskie caught Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

This week had weather for every fisher starting out with warm and sunny for the first several days. Then some rain moved in followed by a severe cold front with high winds. By the end of the week we had moderately cool temps with some clouds mixed with sunshine. This also brought with it some pretty great fish stories.

38" Northern Pike are HUGE Fishing at Fireside Lodge

37" Muskie caught Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

Father & son Jim & Mike Stalknecht from Ringwood, NJ & Guthrie, IA with very good friend Rick Crescente from Highland Lakes, NJ returned for their 5^th time. 1^st day was a very good day as they all caught Northern Pike and each lost a Musky which were coming out of the water performing acrobatics. Jim had the best day catching a 38”, 36”, & 31”, all having BIG girth. 2^nd day Mike & Rick portaged to a lake doing well catching all the Pike they wanted & 12 Walleye, mostly between 21” to 26”. Jim fished alone catching both Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike, nothing huge but fun. 3^rd day was a portage to a Muskie lake having a ton of follows. Sometimes 2-3 at a time. Rick hooked a Monster, and during the fight it leaped completely out of the water showing it’s full body, threw the hook back at Rick & waved goodbye with it’s tail. Painful for Rick?? Yes, but very exciting. 4^th day they pulled their boat through Cedarbough creek and were the fish ever active having follow after follow all day long. Mike said they were a lot hot after his figure 8, however most short hit. One he hooked but lost, and between the 3 of them they landed two smaller Musky 28-30”.

GREAT Fishing for Over 30" Pike at Lodge at Fireside Lodge

5^th & final day they caught over 25 Northern Pike, with a lot of nice 30”+ fish up to 36”. Rick changed to a spinner with a pink blade & skirt, and after taking some jazz from Mike & Jim caught 5 pike in a row. Well, this had them scrambling to find something pink in their tackle box. After supper their goal was to catch a Musky to finish their trip. After discussing a few new spots, Mike accomplished their goal by landing a BIG heavy 36” Muskie. Great end to a fabulous memory making fishing trip.

Super Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Canada

Father & Son Brian & William Reames from Nashville, TN were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their 1^st time. 1^st day ever on Little Vermilion Lake Brian caught 12 Smallmouth Bass & William caught 17 Smallies, 2 Northern Pike & a 28” Tiger Muskie, Terrific 1^st day Fishing Little Vermilion lake for this father & son. 2^nd day these two had an adventure traveling through a long creek and working 60 minutes to break up a beaver dam. After reaching the lake they had a wonderful time catching 10 Northern Pike & 6 Smallies. 3^rd and final day they finished very strong having their best day yet landing 41 Smallmouth Bass, 3 Northern Pike 28-30” and Brian caught his first Musky ever. Terrific finish to a FABULOUS father & son fishing trip full of memories.

Biggest Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

1 of Many Smallmouth Bass fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

Catch Many Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

Glen Babka & Dan Zeiler from Columbus Oh returned for their 3^rd trip bringing with them Phil Valbert from Bend, OR and Tracy Zeiler from Annaplois, MD. 1st day out all had a great day catching Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Tracy was the story of the day as she caught her first ever Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass. Phil’s story was not only about the fish he caught but the one he had seen. After seeing a big 36 “er, which he thought was big, he had a follow from a massive Northern Pike. Being a tournament angler Phil has seen a lot of big fish, but this one really had him excited, and it really showed through when he told his story in the dinning room. 2^nd day they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass along with some Northern Pike and Tracy, the newcomer to Pike fishing caught the biggest so far at 36” and had a HUGE Pike bite her off. Her and Phil thought it might have been the one the saw the day before. 3^rd day all caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike and enjoyed the beautiful 75-degree day. 4^th & final day was a Great finish catching bigger Pike in th3 28-31” range along with many Smallmouth Bass. They also visited our fabulous “Twin Falls” enjoying lunch and some viewing time. Tracey really loved doing this and said she would come back just to see the Falls again. All left having made some long lasting memories and hope to return for future trips.

Heavy Tiger Musky at Fireside Lodge Canada

Catch a lot of Mid-30" Northern Pike at Fireside Lodge Canada

Gary Johnson with sons Pete, Josh, & Kevin from Midlothian, IL returned for their 2^nd trip along with father & son Steve & Steve Trafficanta from Oak Forest, IL. 1^st day on the water Gary & son Kevin had terrific Smallmouth bass fishing with Gary catching a 4lb’er but the BIG catch was Kevin landing a Master Anglers Award Musky measuring 44”. WOW what a catching for a 16year old. Congrats to Kevin. Pete & Joshua caught 10 Northern Pike & 25 Smallmouth Bass & Steve & Steve caught a bunch of Smallies and 6 Northern Pike. 2^nd day was a portage day for Steve & Steve 2 and they had a fantastic day catching 30 Northern Pike & 25 very large Walleye. The other four caught about 20 Smallmouth Bass & 10-15 Northern Pike per boat. Also, Gary & Steve missed a Big Musky in the evening. 3^rd day was fishing after a heavy rain a cool down so the fish were a little slower on taking any presentation, however this group still caught Smallmouth on a live bait presentation. Also Pete & Joshua had a great day catching 20+ Walleye 22-26” along with about 10 Pike. Steve Sr also had a few BIG Musky follows. 4^th day Joshua had a FABULOUS Musky day, while fishing with his dad Gary & brother Kevin, as he landed three between 28 to 33” & a BIG 36” Northern Pike. That evening while fishing with father Gary, Pete caught a 37” Tiger Musky WOW, What a terrific day catching Muskie in Gary’s boat. Pete, & his father & brother in law Steve & Steve had another Great day catching 15 Northern Pike & 15 Walleye which were all huge. Steve 2 had a 24”er that was exceptionally fat & Joshua caught a 27” trophy. 5^th day was in general a slower day for the group but Joshua again had an opportunity to land an over 40” Musky, but the Musky won this battle. After supper however, Gary, who seemed to guide all three of his sons to Musky catches, was rewarded “BIG TIME” as he caught a GIANT clear Musky 44-45”. 6^th day they were facing severe cold front conditions with high winds after very heavy rain, but still managed to catch a few fish. 7^th & final day ended with a Pike bonanza catching 20-30 per boat with many being between 26”-35”, Pete landing the biggest at 37”. All left having a trip full of family memories & fishing fun to last a lifetime.

HUGE 19" Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

18.5" Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge Canada

John & Monica Ziegler from Union Hall, VA returned for their fourth time. 1^st day they had “FABUOUS” fishing catching over 40 Smallmouth Bass in the middle of the afternoon with high sun and calm conditions. 20 of these Smallmouth were between 15 to 17.5”, Monica landed a 19” Trophy & John an 18.5” Trophy. WOW, what a GREAT day, their best ever. Monica said she was so tired of fighting Smallmouth Bass she had to put on a wrist brace and John was in need of s shoulder massage. 2^nd day they portaged to another lake & caught over 25 Smallmouth Bass with half being over 15” and both caught 18.25” Trophy Smallmouth Bass. 3^rd day after a night of heavy rain John found the Smallies more tentative with a lot of soft hits or misses but they still caught 15. 4^th day they quit about 2:30 PM to avoid a rain storm, but still managed to catch 20 nice Smallmouth. 5^th day was a day off because of a severe cold front with heavy rain & high winds. 6^th& 7^th days were about the same catching 20+ Smallmouth Bass & a few Pike. 8^th day was another good Smallie day with tubes, plus they hooked up on a lot of Pike. At one point they got bit off 5-6 consecutive times. 9^th & final day was a slower day as far as catching fish but they tried to enjoy every last minute in our crisp cool wilderness taking a few last pictures and reminiscing about their wonderful last 9 days of fishing, the people they met, and great conversations at suppertime & in the main lodge. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge as your special getaway.

First BIG 36" Northern Pike Fishing in Canada at Fireside Lodge

Abundant 17" Smallmouth Bass at Fireside Lodge Canada

Terrific Fishing for BIG Northern Pike at Fireside Lodge Canada

1^st time guests Tracey Woolston, son Riley from Loveland, OH, Tracey’s brother Chris from Rushville, IN & Steve Eickman from Indianapolis, IN were fishing with us for there first time by referral from Brain Cooley from Noblesville, IN. Day of arrival they did well for a half day catching both Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass right off the bat. Tracey & Riley teamed up for 7 Pike & 8 Smallmouth Bass and found their way around the lake safely. 1^st day all had a good day catching 23 Northern Pike & 36 Smallmouth Bass. Steve had the biggest Smallmouth landing 2-17.5”ers. 2^nd day had them catching 29 Smallmouth Bass & 5 Northern Pike. 3^rd day the group caught the exact same as the 2^nd, 29 Smallies & 5 Pike but Chris seemed to have the hot hand. 4^th day Steve & Riley caught 30+ Smallmouth Bass & several Northern Pike with Riley catching the biggest of his life landing a big 36”er. Great Going Riley. Chris & Tracey did very well also catching over 20 Smallmouth Bass, each caught a Musky & at the end of the day Chris lost what he & Tracey believed to be an over 40” Northern Pike. 5^th day was there slowest as we had very heavy rains, high winds with a severe cold front & temps dropped into the 50-degree range during the day. They did not leave the dock until 3PM and managed to catch a few fish. 6^th and final day was a very good finish catching 32 Smallmouth Bass & 17 Pike, with both Tracey & Steve landing big 36” Northern Pike. All left saying they had a FABULOUS stay with us, enjoying everything we offer at Fireside Lodge.

Trolling Fishing Northern Pike in Canada at Fireside Lodge

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Drop Shot Fishing in Canada

Paul Letourneau from North Oaks, MN returned to Fireside Lodge for his 12^th time with Spencer Olson from Minneapolis, MN for his 6^th trip. DOA they went right out and caught a bunch of 25-30” Northern Pike. Next day was a Portage Lake for Northern Pike and they had a blast catching 58 Pike between 9Am-4:30PM. 2^nd day they caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. It was a learning day for Spencer as he was fishing the drop shot method for the first time. Paul also lost what he though was a very big Northern Pike. 3^rd day was a tough day for all facing severe cold front conditions with very high winds. These two toughed it out and caught some Pike. 4^th day was much better weather wise & the drop shot lessons paid off as they caught more Smallmouth Bass in the 13-17” range, and some Northern Pike. Paul lost a big fish and Spencer had a BIG toothy critter take him abruptly under the boat and break off. 5^th day was a portage to a Muskie Smallmouth Bass lake. The Muskie were doing nothing, but the Smallmouth Bass were biting so they continued to catch Smallies with the drop shot method and Spencer caught an 18.5” Master Anglers Award Trophy. I guess Spencer has the hang of the drop shot technique. 6^th & final day had then catching Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike in the 28-32” Range thoroughly enjoying their last day in the wilderness away from the big city activities. They left with every intent is to return in 2013 with there other friend Link.

1st Fishing Trip in Canada at Fireside Lodge

Charlie McDermid from Gardnerville, NV & Bill McDermid from Longmont, CO returned with father & son Thomas & Blake Kotel from Inverness, IL. Chris Stromm from CA, who was with Charlie last year, will be joining him towards the middle of their trip. This trip was organized by Charlie as a Musky quest knowing the challenges catching this species, so they also fished for Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Bill, Thomas, & Blake were here for three days of fishing doing better each day catching Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass, and Blake on his final evening caught the biggest Smallmouth Bass in his young life, measuring 17”, and had a big girth. Great ending for this father & son. Chris arrived & stayed on to fish with Charlie for three days. One day they portaged to their favorite lake which treated them well last year. Within the first 10 minutes Charlie hooked into a BIG Musky which came roaring out of the water, displayed how big she was, and spit the lure right back at Charlie & Chris. All they could see afterwards was the wave of its tail. Great memory for both. They also had many Muskie follows throughout the day, and Charlie caught a very large 38” Northern Pike. On their last day they had fantastic fishing & catching. They had 18-20 Northern Pike hooked, & landed a dozen or more with all being 26-32-inches. I can’t say enough about these two & their enthusiastic positive outlook on life. It is no doubt that this has made both Charlie & Chris the successful people they are and that it transfers into everything they do in life. We had some wonderful conversations & laughs, and they seemed to enjoy every minute of their stay with us at Fireside Lodge. Hope to see them again one day soon.

Musky Fishing is Terrific at Fireside Lodge Canada

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Hot Lures: Pointer Minnow, Sinking Worm, Tube Craw, Blue Fox Spinner, Jig & Live Bait, Black Bucktail, Rattl’n Rap, Tube Jig,

Magnum Rapala, Mepps with Pink Blade & Skirt