Fishing Reports at Fireside Lodge

Friday, August 7, 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.

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.

Great Walleye Fishing at Fireside Lodge

Hot Lures: Mepps & Blue Fox Spinner, Yo-Zuri, X-Rap, The Ghost, Leeches, Tube Jig, Twister Tail, Spoon,

Catches of The Week: Muskie 43”, 38.5” Northern Pike 38.5” Smallmouth Bass 3-18”

Well, that's it for this weeks Fireside Lodge Fishing News Report, Please stay tuned for next weeks report. Until then "Keep On Fish'n" Alan

http://www.firesidelodgefishing.com

http://www.firesidelodge.com

800-545-0815

Email at:fireside@xplornet.com

Sunday, August 2, 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

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.