Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/4 to 7/13 2015

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/4 to 7/13 2015

Pam with a 40-inch Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge

This week brought variable weather having a few warm days, a few T-Storms, & a few cold fronts however the fishing was HOT!

40.5-inch Trophy Northern Pike by Al Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Long time guests of 15 years Al Sins & Don Funderude from Asheville,NC met up with Dave & Pam Hamilton from Raleigh, NC. The 1^st 1.5 Days they 4 boated numerous Northern Pike & 12 Muskie, several 35-36”, one at 37.5” & Dave had the largest at 40.5”. Pam on both days had the trifecta landing a Musky, Smallmouth Bass, & Northern Pike.

BIG 40-inch Muskie Fishing by Dave at Fireside Lodge

2^nd day was a BIG fish day as Pam caught her largest fish landing a Trophy 40” Northern Pike & after Al & Don had a day of many Muskie

1 of 23 Musky fishing in 6 days by 4 people 37.5" By Don

follows & catching 3 at the end of the day AL caught 40.5” Trophy Northern Pike. That’s 2-trophy Pike in 1 day for this group. 3^rd was fabulous Northern Pike fishing as Dave & Pam caught 73 with Al & Don at 84. 4^th day Al & Don caught 26 nice Pike, 4 SB while Dave & Pam caught a bakers dozen. 5^th day Dave & Pam had 10 Pike with Don & Al catching 8 Pike & 5 Muskie despite a severe cold front. That makes 23 Muskie for the group. 6^th & final day was spent chasing that Monster Muskie with Dave & Pam having two different follows that qualified but despite great efforts could not get either to bite. All had a great trip & hope to return in 2016.

Huge Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Mike

Huge Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Bob at Fireside Lodge

Bob & Ollie Waldeck from Cotter, AR returned for their 4^th consecutive year this time spending two weeks with us including a very special day being their 20^th Anniversary. 1^st full day they caught 19 nice Smallmouth Bass & a Pike. 2nd day had them doing very well catching more fish than they could keep track of, mostly Northern Pike & a few Smallmouth. 3rd & 4^th day were spent

Trophy Smallmouth Bass by Ollie Fishing at Fireside Lodge

exploring the upper half of Little Vermilion Lake finding some great Smallmouth Bass areas & Bob landed a Trophy 18.5”er. 5^th day was full of fast action & fun with Pike. 6th & 7th days they caught their fare share of SB along with a few Pike. 8th day they caught a lot of Pike searching for trophy Smallmouth Bass. 10^th day was a special day for Ollie & Bob as the celebrated their 20^th anniversary & congrats to them both. Their last several days were full of Northern Pike action while also catching some Smallmouth Bass. Both left having such a terrific time the reserved 2 weeks for 2016.

Terrific BIG Pike Fishing by Butch at Fireside Lodge

Mark McDermotte, Chicago, IL returned for his 8^th consecutive year

Trophy Smallmouth Bass by Dan Fishing at Fireside Lodge

bringing his son Sean. 1^st day was spent catching some nice Pike up to 33”. 2^nd day was gangbusters catching 105 Northern Pike & 3 SB. 3^rd day cold front conditions slowed things down but still caught a bunch of Northern Pike 50+. 4^th day they spent most of the day searching out bigger Pike & Musky, catching some 30-33” while seeing a few really big fish. 5th & final day they again caught well over 50 Northern Pike leaving on a high note. After making wonderful father & son memories, Mark made his standing reservation for the same dates in 2016.

Terrific Big Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Butch

The Ramsey family Mike & Cathy from Roseville & Sacramento, CA

Giant Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Mike

Butch & sons Will & Nick from Hillboro, Oh & Dan from Germantown, OH returned for their 3^rd time. They arrived with team shirts on ready to compete between the elders & youngins. Butch & Mike got a head start catching 9-Pike before breakfast.

Double Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Will & Nick

Trophy Musky Fishing by Nick at Fireside Lodge

1^st day was unreal catching 250 Northern Pike & 18 Smallmouth Bass with Cathy landing a Trophy 18”. 2^nd day brought a severe cold front but it was their BIG fish day as they caught number of Pike & couple of Muskie in the 33-36 inch range plus Will caught a MONSTER 43” Muskie. 3^rd day was a fabulous day catching 189 Northern Pike & 44 Smallmouth bass including 8 Trophy size 4 at 19”.

Many Pike This Size Fishing by Dan at Fireside Lodge

Cathy Fishing for BIG Pike at Fireside Lodge

Dan & Mike had a double Trophy catch & if Butch didn’t loose his it

Great Tiger Musky Fishing by Will at Fireside Lodge

would have been a triple. 4^th day brought another cold front, catching some larger Pike & 9 Muskie as a group with Butch catching the two biggest Musky at a vey fat 33 & 35”, plus Mike had a 36” Pike, & Nick & Will both lost what they thought were over 40” Musky. 5^th & final day was an enormous day as they caught 351 fish as a group, mostly being Pike, but they also caught some huge trophy Smallmouth Bass several in the 19-19.5” range. All left having a blast & made reservations for 2016.

Will Fishing for HUGE Trophy Smallmouth Bass at Fireside Lodge

Great Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Mike at Fireside Lodge

Also back for their 3^rd trip was Mike & Janet Estes from Livonia, MI. DOA after supper they caught 8 Pike. 1^st day they had a real good day catching Northern Pike up to 32” & landed 3 Smallmouth over 17”. 2^nd day was a great day catching Northern Pike. 3^rd day was portage lake day where Janet caught her biggest Smallmouth ever landing an 18.5” Trophy. 4^th day was a GREAT Northern Pike day catching many

Trophy Smallmouth Bass caught by Janet Fishing

27”-33” fish plus they enjoyed the great weather in our remote peaceful wilderness atmosphere. 5^th day was more of the same & their 6^th day, despite high winds, had a another great day Pike fishing. Their last evening they went for their last ride up the lake minimizing to just a few fishing rods to enjoy the beautiful evening. The fish were biting as they caught 10 Northern Pike with about 8 coming from their favorite spot, which was the very 1^st spot the caught fish on their 1^st visit. Both had a very enjoyable stay & before departing made reservations for 2016.

Great Fly Fishing at Fireside Lodge for Northern Pike by Tom

For his 13^th consecutive year Steve Jensen, Springfield, MO returned

Big Pike on the Fly-Fly Fishing by Steve

bringing a good friend Tom Logan, Tallahassee, FL. & they were here to fly fish only. 1^st day despite severe cold front conditions they caught a lot of Northern Pike up to 30” fly-fishing. 2^nd day the wind gave them problems fly-fishing. 3^rd day had them Musky hunting with flies but the Muskie, as they often do, out smarted these two very good fly-fishers. Their last day was a super day fly-fishing for Northern Pike as they cautching so many they could not keep count. Both left having had a great time & Steve reserved his dates for 2016.

Many BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Troy

Returning for their 4^th trip were father son Troy & Javan Starkey, Creston, OH. with David Bowman, Wooster, OH & Daniel Vavra from Sterling, OH. 1^st day before breakfast each boat caught 7-9 Pike & a few Smallmouth Bass up to 17”. Rest of the day they caught several Smallmouth & Many Pike with Troy landing a 34”, 36” & HUGE 38.5” Pike.

Terrific Fishing for BIG Pike by David at Fireside Lodge

2^nd day they did great with Javan & Dan catching over 60 Pike & David landed a Trophy Smallmouth at 18.5”. 3^rd day had Javan & Dan each catching a big Smallmouth Bass all caught 21 Pike 30-34”. 4^th & 5^th days they all caught a lot of Northern Pike with Troy & Dave catching the most & largest fish landing most of their fish in the 30-35” range. Dan also caught his first Tiger Musky. 6^th & final day was good Pike fishing for all catching many 28-34”. All left having had a blast.


Triple Northern Pike catch Fishing by Zack, Tyler, Jordan at Fireside Lodge

Musky by Brian Klimes Fishing at Fireside Lodge

The Klimes family Group returned for the 4^th consecutive year

HUGE Trophy Smallmouth Bass by Kenny Fishing

headed by Brian & his boys Zack, Tyler, & Jordan from Willow Brook, IL, his brother Kenny & son Kameron from St Louis, MO area, brother Kerry & son Kody from Phoenix, AZ & Geno Dombrowski & Eddie Clark from Orland Park, IL. After a slower Start on day 1 they made up for it on day two catching over 150 Pike with a few Smallmouth mixed in. 3^rd

Plentiful BIG Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Kameron

day was good as Kenny & Kameron got into some SB, Brian & his boys caught over 20 bigger Pike up to 33”, Kerry & Kody also got into some nice Northern Pike with Kody landing his largest ever on a fly rod measuring a fat 33”, & Geno & Eddy also caught plenty of Pike with Geno loosing a monster near the boat breaking his line.


Tyler with a BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Big Northern Pike HUGE Smile by Jordan Fishing at Fireside Lodge

4^th day Brian, Zack, Tyler & Jordan had a great day catching some nice Pike. Brian also caught a Muskie & the boys went swimming to relieve themselves of the heat. Kenny & Kameron got into the Smallmouth & Pike. 5^th & final day Brian & his boys really got into the pike again, Brian catching a Trophy Smallmouth Bass & Zack, using a lure I gave him the night before, caught a 35” Musky. All had a great time making family memories together which is the biggest catch of all. Thanks for choosing us to make our family memories.

Terrific Musky catch Fishing by Zack at Fireside Lodge

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