Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/13 to 7/21 2015

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/13 to 7/21 2015

Huge Trophy Muskie Fishing by Madeline at Fireside Lodge

This week the weather was in the mid 70’s concluding the week with T-storms & heavy rain but the Musky & Big fish were biting.

Terrific Fishing for Big Pike ay Fireside Lodge by Bob

Father & son Bob & Ron Ramsey from Leavenworth, KS & Asheville, NC returned for their 11^th consecutive year.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass at Fireside Lodge by Ron Ramsey

DOA & 1^st day they did well catching what they come for, Northern Pike. They caught pike up to the mid 30” range with Ron having a HUGE Muskie follow his lure several times. 2^nd day was very similar to the 1^st. 3^rd day they had plenty of action catching 8-10 nice size Pike, but lost twice that many.

Love Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge

They could not pin point why they lost so many & just laughed it off figuring tomorrow will be another day. 4^th day was off to Closs Lake to fish Muskie, finding plenty of big Musky following their offerings but had no takers. 5^th & final day they caught Pike & soaked up their last moments on the water together. They left making many memories & also reserved their dates for 2016.

Great Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Jeremy

Here for their 1^st time were father son

Super Fun Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Austin

Jeremy & Austin Zellers & Grandpa Randy Wedel from Wichita, KS. DOA they caught 6 nice Northern Pike, 30”+, in just 2.5 hours before supper with Randy landing a BIG 38.5” Pike. 1^st day ever on our lake system & these 3 caught 105

Huge Northern Pike by Randy

Northern Pike with Austin leading the pack catching 51. 2^nd day was very windy creating a challenge, which they met by catching 21 Northern Pike by days end. 3^rd they had to resupply at my tackle shop which meant they had a great day catching Northern Pike, most on the bigger side. 4^th day was another over 100 Fish day most being Northern Pike. All lefty having a wonderful stay with us & making three generations of family memories.

41" Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Madeline

Craig Roberts & Madeline Wedge from Spooner, WI arrived very

Smallmouth Bass are Huge at Fireside Lodge

happy to be hear after a yearlong wait. This trip was a very gracious wedding gift from Craig’s parents. Craig fished with us before with his dad Pat when he was 16.

1^st day was FABULOUS as they caught over 50 Northern Pike Craig saying that the fish were so active they couldn’t miss. Madeline came up with the Big catch of the day landing a HUGE Trophy Muskie at 45”. They also enjoyed seeing the

BIG Fat Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge

blooming water Lilies & Wild Iris. The best thing about this day is it was Craig & Madeline’s 1^st anniversary. 2^nd day was a large day catching slightly over 50 Northern Pike but the bonus was seeing a HUGE Moose feeding in the water. After realizing what they were seeing they enjoyed in amazement. 3^rd day they started the morning off fishing

43.5" Muskie by Madeline Fishing at Fireside Lodge

before breakfast with Madeline catching her 2^nd huge Musky landing

Fireside Lodge Northern Pike are HUGE Fishing by Craig

a 43.5”er. Then it was off to a portage for Muskie, catching one mid size Musky, but being tormented by many follows, Craig saying that one looked like it was over 50”. 4^th day they had some fabulous Smallmouth Bass fishing getting into such a hot bite they fished right through suppertime. Big fish Madeline amazingly did it again by catching a BIG 41” Musky. 5^th & final day it was all about finding a Big Pike so Madeline could get a Tri-Fecta Master Anglers Award for all 3 species. They did well finding a lot of Pike over 30” but trophy evaded them. Both left making many life memories together.

Many Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Long time return guest from the 1990’s was Bill Hochstetter,

Trophy Smallmouth Bass by Bill Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Rockford, IL with return guest James Trier Byron, IL bringing his grandson Aaron from Sycamore, IL. DOA they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass using leeches. 1^st day was great as they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike with James catching his 1^st 4 Northern Pike. 2^nd day was interrupted by a severe T-Strom but did not stop them from having another good day catching fish with

Big Smallmouth Bass by Aaron Fishing at Fireside Lodge

more focus on Toothy Critters. James seemed to been hooked on fishing after landing his first few fish. 3^rd day was a gangbusters Smallmouth Bass catching day as they landed well over 40 fishing ranging 14 to 17.5”. Also, Aaron caught a 28 & 32” Northern Pike. 4^th & final day they finished catching a combo of Pike & Smallmouth Bass with Bill landing a trophy, all leaving with many family memories.

Big Northern Pike have Girth Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Steve Falkenthal with good friend David Botkin from Bumpass & Ruther Glen, VA were here for their 1^st visit. 1^st day was fun with Steve catching a Big Smallmouth Bass & Dave caught his 1^st Muskie ever. 2^nd day was all Steve as he caught 11 fish, 6 Pike & the rest SB. 3^rd day they had great action for Northern Pike catching close to 30 & David caught 5 on his fly rod. Their last 3 days were all good catching mostly Northern Pike with a few Smallmouth in the mix. Both left saying that they had a great time never experiencing such great service, food, & hospitality.

Muskie caught Fishing by Tom Miller at Fireside Lodge

Tom Miller with son-in-law George Carney from Madison, WI

Huge Trophy 20" Smallmouth Bass Fishing by George

returned for their 9^th time. 1^st day they caught some nice Northern

Pike up to 34” & Tom caught a mid 30” Muskie. 2^nd day was mix of Smallmouth Bass & Pike with George catching a BIG Smallmouth Bass surprising him by exploding up on his Buzz Bait. 3^rd day was a portage & George had the hot hand catching one Smallmouth Bass after another including 2 Trophies one at 18” & a GIANT 20”er. They also saw Muskie one being every bit of 50”. 4^th day was a blast a when Big Smallmouth started hitting their Buzz Baits. 5^th day was super day Northern Pike fishing catching over 70 and missing another 50 all on Buzz Baits. While coming to grips that it was there last day they spent it soaking up every moment while catching Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass. Both left hoping to return in 2016 for their 10^th visit with us.


40" Muskie caught by Tim Saphr at Fireside Lodge

Big Musky caught by Phil Spahr held by Tim Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Long time consecutive year guests the Spahr family of Phil, with

19" Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Phil

sons Tim, Brad, & Greg and Grandsons Stephen & Christopher from Fairborn, Oh & Maroboro, MA were all thrilled to be back. 1^st day they caught a lot of Northern Pike & Phil set the pace catching a 35” Muskie & a Trophy 19” Smallmouth Bass. 2^nd day was a big fish day as Steve caught 2 Muskie and several big Northern Pike but Tim, on a special lure from my tackle shop that morning, landed a HUGE 40”

Stephen With a BIG Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Muskie caught Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Brad

Muskie using a specialized technique. 3^rd day was fabulous as this group accounted for 38 Northern Pike, all bigger fish between 28 to 35” plus Phil caught a Trophy 18”SB. Tim was hot on the Yo-Zuri sinking twitch bait catching 3 on 3 casts, & Christopher found a Mepps to be his hot lure.

Christopher with his 1st Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge

4^th day was a huge Muskie day for this group hooking up on 13 Muskie & landing 7 as a group. It was definitely a group effort a every member caught a Muskie Stephen catching 2, Christopher catching his 1^st ever & his 2^nd, Brad & Tim both caught one in the 30’s & Phil came up with the largest landing a BIG 39” heavy Musky.

BIG Pike by Christopher Fishing at Fireside Lodge

5^th day brought them in just after the noon hour because of T-Storms with very heavy rain. They all caught fish & Stephen came up with a nice Tiger Musky. 6^th & final day was spent catching 28-33” Pike while chasing after more Muskie to add to their weeks total of 16, which did not happen but all were plenty happy with 16. All made wonderful family memories & were already planning their return trip in 2016.

Great BIG Musky by Martin Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Martin Duda, Belleville, MI back for his 3^rd time with his wife April

Big Smallmouth Bass Fishing by April

for her 1^st experience. DOA they got chased in by severe T-Storms but not before getting into some Northern Pike. April was thrilled as she caught 7 having never caught a Pike before. 1^st day they caught some nice Smallmouth Bass with surface poppers. The 2^nd day they continued to do well on Smallmouth Bass catching the early morning bite, but this time using a Bass color crank bait. After breakfast they did great catching over 30 Smallmouth Bass, 10 Pike & April lost two large fish, one being a Muskie hitting & breaking off at the boat. 3^rd day was another god day catching many Smallmouth & Pike plus an afternoon nap. That’s a vacation!! After some discussion about location of Big Smallmouth Bass these two went out and found them.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Martin

On the morning of their 4^th & final day they caught 15 Big Smallmouth Bass, including 1 trophy before breakfast using their new fish location knowledge. Rest of the day they caught more Smallmouth, a few Pike & Martin landed a big Musky just at 36”. They left having an absolutely “FABULOUS” visit that they emailed me while on the way home for mid July availability.

Big Northern Pike Fishing By Ewell Scott at Fireside Lodge

Ewell & Grandson Mitchel Smallmouth Bass Fishing

Ewell, Adam Scott from Moorhead, KY returned for their 9^th visit bringing Adams son Mitchel for his first time. 1^st day was quite an amazing day as a group catching 104 Northern Pike & 2 SB. This was Mitchel’s 1^st experience fishing for Northern Pike. 2^nd day the target was Smallmouth Bass & did they ever do well catching 45 plus 6 Pike, Ewell landing a huge 37.5”er. 3^rd day was better than their 1^st catching 109 Northern Pike & 1

My 1st Musky Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Mitchel

Smallmouth. 4^th day was another great Smallmouth Bass day catching over 40 at 14-17”. 5^th & final day was a repeat of day 4 however the fish were 15 to 17.5”. All left having a great time & made wonderful 3 generation memories together.**

1^st time guests Joe & Cynthia O’Connell came all the way from Las Vegas, NV to visit us at Fireside Lodge. This was a walk back in time trip as 45 years ago, being newly weds, they visited the area. 1^st day they went right out and caught some nice Northern Pike, and had to visit me at my tackle shop to replace some torn up tackle & line. 2^nd day they were pushed in by late morning from bad T-Storms with lighting lasting the remainder of the day, cramping their fishing time. 3^rd day they did well catching more Northern Pike but Cynthia lost a 3rd large fish at the boat. Joe, after closer inspection, realized Cynthia’s drag was not working at all so for day 4 she was fixed up with a different reel. 4^th & final day they were mostly rained in, however the small amount of time they were on the water they caught some nice Pike. They left saying that they enjoyed themselves thoroughly loving the Fishing, Service, Food, Accommodations & most of all the very nice people they met. Before departing they mentioned several times that they would be returning in 2017.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass are a Blast by Adam Scott Fishing at Fireside Lodge

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