Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge: Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 6-4 to 6-11 2016

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 6-4 to 6-11 2016

Trophy 21-inch Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Horace Phillips

Weather was, Tough, Tougher, and beautiful starting with several cold fronts having lows at 32F and one day it was still 48F at 2PM with a strong wind. By the weeks end it turned sunny having highs in the mid 70’s.

HUGE Northern Pike Fishing by Barry Bennett

Horace Philips from Oklahoma City, OK returned with his son &

Large Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Tom Green

group of 12 friends Perry, Steven & Ethan Culpit, Bob Murrell, Tom Green, Barry Bennett, Tim Turner, Van Shelton, Keith Mitchell, & Dan Jollif all from the same area o Edmond, Newcastle, Moore, & Okarche plus a few from Canyon & The Colony, TX. 1^st day was just coming off cold front conditions so the fishing was slow but by

Giant Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Tim Turner

evening this turned around with Tom, Barry, & Perry getting into some nice Smallmouth Bass & Pike after supper. 2nd day this group did very well with Horace & Dan alone catching over 35 Smallmouth all BIG including Horace with a HUGE 21” Trophy plus 20 Northern Pike, keeping my Tackle shop busy after supper. 3^rd day was gangbusters as all caught lots of Smallmouth Bass & Northern

Super Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Dan Jollif

Pike, with 3 of their 5 boats catching 40-50 Smallmouth each, most being 16-19”. Tim & Perry had a fabulous day catching 131 Northern Pike. 4^th & final day was a continued effort

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Steve Buchanan

from day 3 some catching 30-40 Smallmouth Bass between 15-19”, many pike being caught, Perry caught a Muskie, and the biggest catching was had by Bob as he landed two Muskie, 37” and 38”. Plus two Pike measuring in the 35-36” zone. All left having a blast with all intentions of returning.

BIG Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Bob Murrell

GREAT Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Paul Letourneau

Long Time consecutive year return guest Paul Letourneau from N

Fly Fishing for Northern Pike by Chris Honda

Oaks, MN was here for his 1^st of 2 trips in 2016 bringing a friend for his 1^st time, Christopher Honda from Roseville, MN. These two wasted no time catching big Smallmouth Bass within a few hours of arrival, Chris with 2 17.5”ers and Paul a Trophy 18.5”. 1^st day they caught over 40 big Smallmouth Bass including 10 over 18” and 15 Pike. Chris had 7 of the

Huge Northern PikeFishing by Chris Honda from Roseville MN

Trophy SB & commented that he never thought it possible to catch that many big fish in 1 day. 2^nd day was 18 Northern Pike, 6 SB. 3^rd day while struggling through a cold front they still managed to catch 12 Pike & several Smallmouth Bass plus Paul had a very exciting time landing a 28” Tiger Muskie on 6lb test while jigging for Bass. 4^th day they caught over 30+ BIG Smallmouth Bass, including several Trophy fish, each landing a 19”er. Chris also caught his 1^st ever Northern Pike fly-fishing, a nice 28.5” fish. 5^th day was a portage lake adventure for Pike catching over 30 & Chris accomplished his goal landing 10 Pike in a day Fly-Fishing.

Muskie Jig Fishing for Smallmouth Bass by Paul Letourneau from N Oaks MN

Final day had them catching 28 bigger Smallmouth Bass with just a few shorty’s mixed in, several Pike up to 30” & the BIG surprise was Chris hooking into & landing a HUGE 33” Lake Trout. Chris left having a great 1^st experience and Paul counting his days down until his return in August.

Trophy Smallmouth Bass Smile Fishing by Ken Heflin from Elmhurst IL

Ken Elmhurst, IL with son Kenny Heflin, Berkeley, IL retuned for the

My 1st Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Dennis Heflin

7th year with Ken’s brother Dennis 1^st timer, 2^nd timer Anthony Miceli, Somonauk, John Healy, Franklin Park, & Lon Adams, Sandwich, IL both 1^st time at Fireside Lodge. Ken set the pace for the group catching many Smallmouth Bass 14-16” several 17.5” and an 18”

Great Fun Fishing for BIG Smallmouth Bass by Kenny Heflin

Trophy on the DOA. Ken & Dennis did the best on the 1^st day catching many 17.5” Smallmouth Bass & Dennis had 1 Trophy over 18” & Ken caught 3 more. This whole group had a special 2^nd day catching lots of Smallmouth Bass between 15-19”, Anthony & Lon landing 7 Trophies over 18”, Ken having 3 more with 1 at 19”, and John also had a 19”SB. Their 3^rd plus 4^th & final day were full of Smallmouth Bass action catching countless fish between 16 – 17.5”. Total they caught 28 Trophy Bass between 18 to 19.5 inches. John also caught his 1^st & 2^nd Muskie and Dennis landed his 1^st. All had a fabulous time making many fishing memories together.

Awesome Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing by John Healy from Franklin Park_ IL

3^rd time return guests Dan Garry, Willoughby, OH & Neil Newman arrived 1 day before the other 6 members of their group and did well catching 12 Northern Pike in the 30” or better class fly-fishing.

Big Northern Pike are a Blast Fishing by Keith Mitchell

Second day these two had 12 NP by supper before the rest of their group members arrived, Mike Pece, Paul Cardinale & Son Paul from Solon & Mentor, OH Mike Stauffer, Rod Dennison & Dave Caldwell all from the greater Cleveland, OH area. 1^st day for the whole group was slower mostly due to the cold windy day only having temps of 48F at 2PM. For their 3 day stay fishing was good and very good for some, with Mike P landing a number of bigger Pike, Mike S & Dave catching numbers of Pike, Paul & Paul Jr catching 18 in one day & Dan & Neil caught more 30+ Fly Fishing. Neil commented that he had a 4ft+ Muskie open its mouth ready to inhale his fly but turn away at the last second. This would have been a record at Fireside Lodge for a Pike on the Fly. All left having a wonderful stay and plan on return visit.

Best Smallmouth Bass Fishing Ever at Fireside Lodge by Chris Honda

2^nd Time Return guest Lewie Barber and fishing buddy Ron Baker from Austin, TX started off on the day of arrival with 6 Smallmouth Bass, Ron with 2 over 17” plus a Trophy 18.5”. 1^st day was good action for Smallmouth up to 15”. 2^nd day they caught a lot of Smallmouth up to 17”. 3^rd day had them catching 4 Pike plus many Smallmouth Bass including a number of 15, 16, 17 inches & Ron caught his second trophy Smallmouth Bass over 18 inches. 4^th & final day was great for Smallmouth with Ron landing his 3^rd trophy Smallmouth bass at 18.5 inches plus many more 15-17”. The big bonus was Lewie getting excellent pictures of an adult eagle in the neat with the eaglet. Amazing photo, which is the first captures for the 27 years Audrey and I have owned Fireside Lodge.

Trophy Lake Trout Fishing by Chris Honda

Make sure to go to our website below to see some GREAT Fish Photos. For Fabulous Fishing Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our Social Sites Below.

Hot Lures: Fat Ike, Twister Tail, Shallow Rapala, Sinking Worm, Suspending Crank Baits,

Hot Flies: Streamer

Catches of The Week: 21” 15-19” 8-18.5” 20-18” Many 17-17.5”, 38” Muskie, 37” Northern Pike, 33” Lake Trout

Tiger Muskie Fishing at Fireside Lodge by Perry Phillips