Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/21 to 8/1 2015

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/21 to 8/1 2015

Trophy Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Pete

Weather was the story this week as we had a series of heavy showers, windy conditions, & T-Storms which affected time on the water. All managed the storms & had good fishing.

Big Northern Pike Fishing By Joe at Fireside Lodge

Tim & son Joe Bergen, with Tim Komenda & Gerry Curran from Orland Park, & Hickory Hills, Il were back being consecutive year guests since 2002. 1^st day was great having many Muskie follows, catching a lot of Northern Pike & Tim K caught an 18” Trophy Smallmouth while Joe landed a BIG 38.5” Northern Pike. 2^nd day was more difficult because of the wind but all still caught fish. 3^rd day was a great day fishing combining for over 20 bigger size Northern Pike & Tim K came up with another Big 17” Smallmouth Bass. Last day was similar to the 3^rd searching for Muskie for half the day then switching & catching a bunch of Northern Pike. All left having had a fabulous stay already talking about next years group being bigger.

Great Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Steve

First time guests of Steve & Kyle Kashius & friend Danny Rollins

Walleye Fishing by Kyle at Fireside Lodge

from Elmwood Park, IL & Orlando, FL were happy to arrive. They had an excellent 1st day catching many Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Danny, never having fished in the north caught his first ever Northern Pike, Muskie, Smallmouth Bass, & Perch. 2^nd day after a slower morning despite the windy conditions Danny & Kyle had a good afternoon catching Pike & Smallmouth Bass plus Danny caught his 2^nd Musky on

Tiger Muskie fishing by Danny at Fireside Lodge

BIG Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Steve

his secret lure “The Ghost”. 3^rd day was a good day for Danny & Kyle catching plenty of Pike and Smallmouth Bass discovering the West End of the lake. 4^th day was off to a portage lake for Walleye and they had a great day catching 13 Walleye 22-26” while landing countless Pike searching for the Walleye. 5^th day they did another portage lake for Muskie & Steve had a fabulous day hooking up on 4 Muskie and landing 3. All left having had a fabulous time.

Trophy Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by John

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Tim at Fireside Lodge

4^th time repeat guests Pete LaMontagna, Keith Marks, & John Zeng from Glen Ellyn, & Naperville, IL brought their sons Matt, Tim, & Patrick for their 1^st experience. DOA before supper they all caught fish including John landing a BIG 36” Pike. 1^st day as a group they caught 55 Northern Pike with Pete catching the largest at 36” & Tim landed a

Great Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Patrick

BIG Heavy Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18”. 2^nd day all had a lot of fun but Pete stole the show by landing a HUGE beautiful 43” Muskie his way with his favorite bait, a Top Raider. After supper John also caught a BIG Musky landing a fat 38.5” fish. 3^rd day while searching for Muskie again & having follows & catching some Pike their were two firsts. Tim caught his 1^st Muskie, a big 36”er and Matt caught his biggest fish, a nice 34” Northern Pike. 4^th & final day was a good day for Tim catching four big Smallmouth Bass up to 17.5”. All left with many father & son memories.

1st ever Musky Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Tim

Returning for their 4^th consecutive year were Jerry & Susie Florea from Martinsville, OH. DOA a few hours before suppertime they caught 5 Pike. 1^st day despite the wind they caught some nice 28-30” Northern Pike. 2^nd day was windy & Jerry did well catching Pike while Susie took a day off fishing staying back & enjoying the wonderful wilderness atmosphere we have at Fireside Lodge. 3^rd day they portaged to Closs Lake getting many follows but could not get one to hit. Jerry said they saw 4 different fish over 40” & one that went 48-50”. 4^th day was adventure day fishing up in Hooch Lake catching many Northern Pike. They both almost lost their fishing rod when a fish hit a lure that was dangling over the boat just ticking the waters edge. 5^th day had them catching some nice Northern Pike before the severe rain & T-Storms hit chasing them in for cover. Both had a wonderful visit & made reservations for the same dates in 2016.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Jim

Back for his 3^rd consecutive year was Paul Miller from Kearney, NE

Terrific Northern Pike Fishing

with friend Jim McKnight. DOA before supper they caught 6 Pike with Paul catching a 36”er. 1^st full day was fantastic as they caught over 75 Northern Pike & Jim caught a trophy 18.5” Smallmouth Bass. 2^ndday was slower as they could only fish select spots because of the high winds. 3^rd they caught a few Pike while fishing for Muskie getting some follows & then they switched tactics to trolling & did better catching Pike. 4^th day was very active catching 68 Northern Pike. 5^th & final half day was great catching over 30 Northern Pike in just 3.5 hours. Both left having had a fabulous time.

Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge is Awesome

Returning for their 12^th consecutive year were Kent Williams & Bill Black from Atlanta, GA. DOA before supper they caught 10 Pike Bill having the hot hand. 1^st day they did well catching 15 Pike & their second day was even better catching over 20 with a few Smallmouth mixed in. 3^rd day was an amazing Northern Pike fishing & catching day. Their fishing was best described as quoted from Bill “we could have caught as many Pike as we wanted to but we finally just quit fishing for them”. 4^th & final day had them catching a mix of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike in the morning with Kent landing a big 37.5” Pike but their afternoon was literally a wash out as we had very heavy rains with some T-storms. Before departing we had some discussion about dates for 2016.

Wilderness Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Return Guest David Montovani came with good friend Kevin Ward &

BIG Walleye Fishing by Danny at Fireside Lodge

his son Sean all from Indianapolis, IN. 1^st & 2^nd days they caught some nice Northern Pike with day 2 being excellent catching over 30 Pike before supper. 3^rd day was another good Northern Pike day catching many with Kevin having the hot hand using an old standby lure, a Johnson Silver Minnow. 4^th day was good Northern Pike fishing with Kevin doing the best again with the same spoon. 5^th & final day was a planned half-day fishing doing very well on both Smallmouth bass & Pike. Because of their plan they were the only boat that did not get caught in the T-Storms with heavy rain. All had a terrific stay with us and hope to return.


Father & Son Fishing Northern Pike by Michael

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Chris

Kids Fishing Smallmouth Bass at Fireside Lodge by Michael

1^st timers Chris Finelli & son Michael, Coby Maxwell, with 2 sons Cole & Brock, Joe Krkoska & son Michael, Chris Buckman with his 2 sons Ben & Nolan, all from Zionsville, IN & Wayne Winkelman from Apple River, IL. were thrilled to finally be at Fireside Lodge. DOA all caught fish before supper. 1^st day was unreal for never fishing on the lake system before as a group catching well over 150 Northern Pike. Joe & Mike had a fabulous 2^{nd

Joe Fly-Fishing Trophy Smallmouth Bass at Fireside Lodge} day each catching BIG Smallmouth Bass, Michael’s at 17” & Joe caught a Trophy 18”er while landing over 20 Pike, Joe catching most of his & his Trophy Smallmouth Bass while fly fishing. The rest of the group did well being almost a repeat of day 1 & Chris F thought he

Biggest Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge with Dad by Michael

caught a Trophy Smallmouth bass but did not measure his fish. Chris Buckman & sons Ben & Nolan caught 20, which made 50 for 2 days, & this is the first time any of them have ever fished period. Day 3 Chis, Ben, & Nolan caught 8 Smallmouth Bass several Pike with Chris B landing a big 34”er. Chris & Michael had a fabulous day catching Smallmouth bass with Michael catching 37 himself. That evening Chris B toped his 34” Pike catching the fish of the day by landing a BIG 36” Muskie. Their 4^th & final day was fun but cut very short by the severe weather in the form of heavy rain & T-Storm. After getting soaked to the bone all decided t call it a day & prepare for their trip back home. All had a great time making wonderful father & son memories & hope to return in the near future.

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