Fireside
Lodge Fishing Report 8/26 to 9/9 2017
The
weather was variable during this time period having many some
beautiful days in
the low to mid 70’s but we did have two distinct cold fronts with rain and the
second front brought day time highs down to 48 F and a low of 30 F. This seemed
to turn on the toothy critters and some big trophies were caught along with
many Trophy Smallmouth Bass.
Great BIG Smallmouth Bass Fishing by Debra in Canada |
Long
time return guests Steve & Debra Johnson from Halltown, MO.
were back to
chase the BIG Smallmouth Bass that roam our waters. 1st day was a
weather-in day for Debra as it was windy, cool, & rainy so Steve faired it
alone catching 9 Smallmouth Bass including a 19.5-inch and 18-inch trophy and 6
Northern Pike. 2nd day despite cold front conditions they managed to
catch 24 Smallmouth bass with most on the bigger side up to 17.5 to 18-inches.
3rd day Steve said they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass with a lot
over 15-inches up to 18.5-inches.
Special Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge |
4th day was more of the same with
a mix of sizes toping out with Steve landing a 19-inch monster Trophy
Smallmouth Bass. 5th day was slower then previous days, and we
blamed it on the light SE winds, but they still caught 9 Smallmouth Bass. 6th
day the light SE winds persisted but managed to catch a few more fish. 7th
day was as calculated when talking at breakfast Steve mentioned the wind
had
changed to the SW and we figured the Smallmouth Bass would be good in the
afternoon. Well they caught only 2 Smallmouth up to 1:00 PM and ended up with
25 by 4:00 PM with some nice fish 16 to 17.5-inches. 8th and 9th
days they caught about a dozen Smallmouth each day with most in the 15 to 17
inch range plus some Northern Pike. 10th day Steve lost a huge
Smallmouth first thing, and then caught 9 others and several Pike. 11th
day they did very well catching 19 BIG Smallmouth Bass with 4 over 18-inches up
to 20-inches. 12th and 13th days were not about numbers
but excellent quality catching most of their fish 17, 17.5, and an 18-incher
weighing 4 pounds. That is a HUGE 18-inch Smallie.
Amazing Walleye Fishing by Steve in Canada |
14th and final
day they were faced with windy cold front conditions, temps not expected to get
out of the high 50’s. Debra opted out and Steve fished just a partial day alone
ending his fishing with two BIG Smallmouth Bass measuring 19.5 and 18.5-inches.
Both had a fabulous stay visiting with the other guests and enjoying the
wilderness surroundings at Fireside Lodge.
Guest
of 20 years, Paul Letourneau from North Oaks, MN returned for his 2nd
trip in 2017 with Spencer Olson from Minneapolis, MN for their traditional
August fishing trip. 1st day they caught both Northern Pike and
Smallmouth Bass.
2nd day they caught some Smallmouth Bass and a lot
of Northern Pike casting a trolling. 3rd day was a good day for
Northern Pike but the big fish they were looking for just did not show up. 4th
day was a great day catching over 33 Northern Pike and two nice walleye.
5th
day these two caught some nice Northern Pike to 31-inches and got chased in by
thunderstorms. 6th and final day they were really trying for a
trophy fish catching well over 20 Northern Pike but the large trophy fish
evaded them this trip.
2nd
year return guests Wade Keiss, David Goacher, and Kurt Koziol respectively from
Mount Prospect, Libertyville, and Prospect Heights, IL were glad to be back
chasing Northern Pike. DOA in just a few hours of fishing they got a good start
catching 12 fish.
FUN Fishing Northern Pike in Canada by Kurt |
1st full day was very good catching 24 Northern
Pike up to 30-inches and 2 Smallmouth Bass. Day 2 was spent exploring a new arm
of the lake they have never fished before and the results were not as good as
day one, landing 8 Pike, but that’s fishing.
3rd day the caught 18
Northern Pike and Dave caught a Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18-inches. 4th
and final day they finished strong catching 29 bigger Northern Pike Wade
catching the largest measuring 37-inches. All had a great time and hope to
return next year.
Return
guests Donn, Matthew, and Christopher Seidholz from Omaha, NE were glad to be
back. 1st day was great catching many nice fat Northern Pike using
the magic Yo-Zuri suspending twitch bait. They have the pause technique down to
a science getting most fish to hit on or just after the pause.
2nd
day was a great day catching many numbers of Northern Pike and a nice walleye.
The also enjoyed a fabulous shore lunch taking about 2.5 hours enjoying the
whole experience cooking over an open fire on a beautiful day. 3rd
and final day they had a blast fishing and just making great conversation.
Fishing is one of the best ways to reunite and being that these three are
traveling their opportunity to see each other is slim. All left having a
wonderful stay, making some special father & son memoires and thanks for
choosing Fireside Lodge for your family fishing destination.
Returning
to Fireside Lodge for their 4th consecutive year were Reed Thacker
and Todd Cambron from Indianola, IA. DOA the caught 15+ Smallmouth Bass several
Northern Pike and had several large follows, 1st day They caught a
good quantity of both Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass plus they saw a few of
the big fish they are after. 2nd day they caught 18 total fish and
it was again a mix of Smallmouth and Northern Pike with that trophy still
evading them. After some discussion and tackle purchases from our tackle shop
they were off for their 3rd and last day of fishing. Well they had a
good day catching both Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike on the new lures they
purchased and Reed was especially impressed with the Yo-Zuri he bought as it
not only caught a bunch of Pike but he had two large Muskie follows on this
lure. Both left as fast as they came saying they had an absolutely fabulous
stay and intend on returning again in 2018.
BIG Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge in Canada by Bob |
Bob
Babcock and Jane Waldron from Midland, MI returned for their
19th
consecutive year to chase BIG toothy critters. DOA when Bob was catching a
small pike and HUGE Muskie came up and took a swipe at it hung around a little
the disappeared. Bob said it was very large at least 45 to 48-inches. 1st
day Bob had a good day catching all the fish and Jane did and excellent job
making sure Bob’s fish got into the net.
Jane Fishing Large Northern Pike in Canada at Fireside Lodge |
2nd day it was almost the reverse
with Jane having the hot hand catching most of the fish. 3rd day
things equaled out with both Jane & Bob catching a bunch of sizable
Northern Pike. The only difference was that in picture taking end of things Bob
focused a little too much on the fish and not enough on Jane (see photo). The
only hope of seeing Jane’s head was Photoshop. 4th day was very
rainy but very active catching many Northern Pike the Biggest going to Bob at
38-inches and Jane’s largest was 35-inches with many 30+.
5th and
final day they had a very good day catching lots of Northern Pike finishing
their trip on a high note. Also, as usual they had great conversations with
guests the already knew and met a few new Fireside Friends.
2nd Trophy Northern Pike Fishing by Bryan in Canada |
Bryan
Neel lll and Tim Stewart from Rochester, MN returned for their 2nd
trip this year and for the 15th consecutive year to hunt BIG Northern Pike
& Muskie. These two did very well on day 1 catching 21 Northern Pike and 10
Smallmouth Bass and Tim had a huge, approximate 45-inch Trophy Northern pike
get off when it took off suddenly under the boat plus he landed an 18-inch
Trophy Smallmouth Bass.
2nd day was fabulous catching many Northern
Pike up to 1:30PM
and Bryan had a terrific fight from a Muskie on his hands
that he ended up landing measuring in at 45-inches. 3rd day was a
very rainy day with a cold front but the Northern Pike turned on catching 38
total, with ten being 33-inches or better, and Bryan landed a huge 40-inch
Trophy. 4th day had them catching a few less fish than the day
before all being good size and for the third day in a row Bryan caught a Trophy
Fish this being a 42-inch very heavy Northern Pike. 5th day had them
catching 25 Northern Pike and a Tiger Muskie and for the fourth consecutive day
Bryan caught a Trophy Toothy Critter this Northern Pike measuring is at
40.5-inches and Tim caught another Trophy Smallmouth Bass at 18-inches.
3rd over 40-inch Trophy Northern Pike Fishing at Fireside Lodge |
Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fishing at Fireside Lodge in Canada at Fireside Lodge by Tim |
6th
day was a little slower, still catching Pike, but they were not as aggressive
as the previous days. 7th day they explored new areas catching about
20 Northern Pike. 8th and final day was great catching 24 Northern
Pike of all sizes, Tim caught a Trophy Smallmouth Bass at 18-icnhes plus a very
large bodied 37-inch Tiger Muskie. Both had fabulous stay and enjoyed the last
evening watching the beautiful sunset from their deck. Upon departure Tim said
see ya in 6 months.
Long
time guest Gary Johnson from Midlothian, IL returned for his 3rd
trip this year this time with sons Josh, and Charlie who joined them on Tuesday
evening. First day out was a short but they caught some nice Northern Pike and
Gary caught a HUGE Trophy Smallmouth Bass on a classic lure, The Road Runner.
The 2nd day, had Charlie joining them catching Northern Pike and
Gary caught a very nice heavy Muskie measuring 38.5-inches. 3rd day
was a post cold front day catching-11 Northern Pike.
4th and final
day was terrific catching 30 fish, 6 Smallmouth Bass all Big, and two were
Trophy Size caught by Gary. The remaining fish were nice size Northern Pike and
with Josh landing a large 41-inch Trophy Northern Pike. All left making some
wonderful father and son memories and intend on returning in 2018.
Special Note: This is our final fishing report
for 2017 so Audrey and I would like to thank all of our guests from this year
and the last 28-years for making the success we have had a Fireside Lodge
possible. It is all of you that bring energy to Fireside Lodge and make it come
alive. Also all the friendships we have developed with our guests is way beyond
our expectations, and we thank you all for making that possible. As I write
this we are hard at work already preparing for the opening of or 29th
fishing season in 2018 which is looking to be very active. We have been
receiving an unusual number of early reservations and for those of you planning
to visit us in 2018 you may want to start early so your preferred dates are
available. With that we wish you all a wonderful fall and winter, Thanks Audrey
and Alan.
Next
Fishing Report will be May of 2018.
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: Rad Dog Spinner Bait, Mepps Giant
Killer, Sinking Worms, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, Blue Fox Spinner
Catches of The Week: 45 and 38-inch Muskie,
37-inch Tiger Muskie 42, 41, 40.5, and 40 inch Northern Pike, Many Smallmouth
Bass 18-19.5-inches
Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge
Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for the next weekly report which will be
published at the end of May in 2018. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan
800-545-0815