Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/22 to 8/5 2017

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/22 to 8/5 2017
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Weather was fabulous with temperatures being in the low to high 70’s and there was only one day we were threatened by Thunder Storms but all the really bad weather seemed to go just to the North of us. The fishing for some was super as you will read about below.
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Jerry Miller returning for his 22nd consecutive year and over 30 trips was with another long time Guest Larry Beard, repeat guest Duke Osborne and first timer Robert Hardin all from Erwin, TN 1st full day Jerry & Duke caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass with Duke catching two over 18-inches and Jerry caught a really nice 24-inch Walleye / Larry & Robert caught about 10 Smallmouth Bass and 20 Northern Pike with Larry losing a very large toothy critter. 2nd day was great with Larry & Robert catching over 50 Northern Pike, Larry caught a 19-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass, while Jerry & Duke stuck to Smallmouth Bass fishing catching 40-50 with Jerry landing a 19.5 and 18.5-inch Trophy fish and Duke caught a 41-inch Trophy Northern Pike fishing for Smallmouth.
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3rd day Duke & Jerry called it a day at 12:30 because of T-Storms approaching but not before they caught 54 Smallmouth Bass, most on the larger side landing 3 more Master Anglers Award Trophies. Larry & Robert also did good catching about 25 fish being a mix of Smallmouth Bass and Pike. 4th day Jerry & Duke caught 56 Smallmouth Bass having a lot of BIG fish 16 to 19-inches, while Larry and Robert did the same catching about 40, and Larry lost the grand daddy of Smallmouth Bass. 5th and final day Jerry & Duke caught 56 Smallmouth Bass with Larry & Robert catching 44. Many as Larry said “Were Big Hogs”. All left having a super fishing trip and Larry made arrangements for a group in 2018 before departing.
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Mike and Leann Sebade returned from Lander, WY for their 2nd consecutive year. DOA they got right to it with Mike fly Fishing for Northern Pike catching several nice Pike and had a heart stopper Muskie follow his fly not once but twice. He said it was the biggest fresh water fish he has ever seen and was very excited and expressive when describing his experience to me at my tackle shop. 1st day was very good catching Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike having some great top-water action and had to re-supply at my tackle shop. 2nd day they caught Northern Pike all day long saying at times it was one after another where they just could not keep count. 3rd day was interrupted by T-Storms but they caught fish in the morning and Mike took a nap while Leann did some Yoga. After the storms past they were right back at it and the caught a few more Smallmouth & Pike. 4th day was amazing fly-fishing for Mike as he caught 34 Smallmouth Bass fly-fishing all on the same black popper. 5th & final day was more of the same having great top-water action for Smallmouth Bass. Both left just as excited about fishing as they left and hope to return again soon.
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Father & Daughter Dan Mosier & Abbi Mota returned to Fireside Lodge for there 3rd time as a pair while Dan has visited Fireside Lodge for at least his 18th time with 4 different children. Abbi was the first in 1999 coming with her Dad as part of her graduation present. 1st day they got right to it catching both Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. 2nd day even though it was slower than the first they still caught some fish and Dan caught an 18-inch Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass.
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3rd day was a good day, even though T-Storms brought them in for three hours, they caught pike and Smallmouth Bass and Dan caught a very large 39-inch Northern Pike. 4th day these two had a ball portaging to another lake and then came out and fished Little Vermilion Lake biggest fish of the day was Dan landing a 35-inch Northern Pike plus Dan caught a nice Muskie. 5th and final day they had some fast action with Abby doing well. Both left with great sadness and very hopeful for a future return.
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Ed & JoAnn Piotrowski from Hampshire, IL returned for their 4th consecutive year and 6th trip and with them were Larry Starzec Hainesville, IL returning for his 3rd time and Rich Starzec from Round Lake, IL for his 1st visit. 1st day JoAnn caught 15 Smallmouth Bass with her favorite worm (The Worm) including 2 Mater Anglers Trophies measuring 18 and 19-inches plus a 34-inch Northern Pike. Larry and Rich caught 22 Smallmouth Bass and had multiple follows on Muskie and caught a few Northern Pike. 2nd day was another good day with them all catching a lot of Smallmouth Bass and some Northern Pike. JoAnn continued to get the best results from her worm. 3rd day all caught fish but the wind made it tough to fish certain locations. 4th day Larry & Rich had a really good day catching 34 Smallmouth Bass and 1 Pike.
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4th day they all had a good day catching mostly Smallmouth Bass with Larry and Rich landed 38 Smallmouth up to 17.5-inches. 5th day was really good with Ed & JoAnn catching 18, Ed having 2 over 18-inches and lost at least 4 between 18 to 19-inches. JoAnn also caught a BIG 36-inch Northern Pike. Rich and Larry had a GREAT Day catching 49 Smallmouth Bass up to 17.5-inches. 6th and final day at breakfast we were kidding about Larry & Rich toping their 49 Smallmouth Day and the conversation ended with us all agreeing that probably would not happen. Well it did as they caught 54 Smallmouth Bass. All left having a great fishing vacation and made their reservations for 2018 before departing.
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First time guests Dennis Norton Clarkson, MO Dennis Boldrey Manchester, MO James Stangl Yorba Linda, CA and Dick Lockard Glendale, MO were here to hunt Smallmouth Bass. 1st day they did well learning the waters all catching Smallmouth Bass and at supper Dennis B said he caught several 17 to 17.5-inchers and a 19-inch Trophy. After supper Jim caught some nice Smallmouth fly-fishing with a surface popper. 2nd day was good learning new locations and catching Smallmouth Bass and Jim, after we discussed a technique of just dropping your fly and giving a do nothing approach, went out and applied the technique with success.
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3rd day was excellent as they caught at least 75 Northern Pike. The 4th day was even better with them catching well over 100 fish, with most being Pike, and some Smallmouth mixed in. 5th day had the catching upwards of 50 Smallmouth Bass but the bigger fish evaded them. 6th and final day they all caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass ending their trip on a high note and considering when their return trip might be.
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Mike Stevens, Jack Schneider Huntley, IL Bob Lauffer Clermont, FL and Johnny Sills from Orlando FL were back to visit us for there 4th time and for his 1st was Paul Lampier from Elgin, IL. 1st day the wind was their enemy keeping them from fishing according to plan. They caught some fish but it was a slower day. 2nd day was just the opposite catching more Northern Pike than they ever did, catching at least 165 between the group plus a half dozen Smallmouth Bass.
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3rd day was just as good and a little better catching over 175 Northern Pike for the group and said they were catching a lot between 28 to 31-inches and all were fat and healthy. 4th and final day was an excellent Smallmouth Bass day as they all caught many fish and sizable bass and Mike expressed that he alone caught 42 Smallmouth Bass and it was the single best fishing day he has had to date.

15-years ago Tim Bergen, Palos Hgts, IL brought his 9-year-old sons to Fireside Lodge and for 15 years it has become a Bergen Family Tradition to fish at Fireside Lodge. This year Tim and Joe made it and Adam had to pass because of school. DOA they went out and caught some nice Northern Pike. 1st day the did well in Cedarbough catching some Northern Pike and seeing some very big Muskie follows. 2nd day was slower but the 3rd day they had a lot of action on Muskie with Joe catching a nice 35-inch fish and they caught some Northern Pike. 4th and final day was a great day searching out the BIG toothy critters catching some medium size Northern Pike in the process. They left hoping the Adam will be able to join them in 2018.
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Dick Nagengast from Woodway, TX returned for his 2nd year in a row with son Thomas from Mount Morris, MI for his first time. DOA they caught some nice Pike in just a few hours and Tom caught his personal best Pike at 32-inches. 1st day these two caught a lot of Northern Pike up to 31-inches trolling. Second day was another good Northern Pike catching day, plus Dick caught his first Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18.25-inches. 3rd day had these two catching a lot of Northern Pike up to 33-inches. 4th and final day was another good day trolling around baitfish schools for Pike & Muskie. Both had a wonderful father and son fishing trip catching up on each other lives. Before departure Dick said he had several other children he intends to bring fishing at Fireside Lodge.
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Jerry Amer Columbus, OH, on his 16th consecutive year, was back for his second time this year bringing his grandson Austin Corry for his first Canadian Fishing Trip. 1st day was excellent as they caught more Pike than Austin could ever imagine saying they just could not keep count but it was somewhere around 60-70 Northern Pike. 2nd day was a portage to Closs where the Muskie showed up but were just following their lures and even the Smallmouth would just look at their offering and swim away. 3rd and final day was a great finish catching a good number of Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. This was truly a memorable trip for Jerry & Austin and Austin had such a great time he was sad to see it end. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make such valued memories.
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Brian Dombrowski Sr from Mokena, IL returned to visit us at Fireside Lodge with his son Brian. Brian Sr came with his father Ron for many years starting when he was 16 years old so now coming with his 10-year old son. was a very special and emotional return. 1st day this father and son combo caught Smallmouth Bass ranging up to 16-inches plus Brian Sr landed a big 17.5-incher. They also caught Pike and after landing a Pike, while Brian Sr was teaching his son Brian to hold the fish, another Pike grabbed his lure that was dangling over the boat and Brian just grabbed his pole in time to catch the fish instead of the fish catching his fishing rod. 2nd day was a slower beginning but in the afternoon they got into some Northern Pike both having a very fun day. 3rd and final day these two had a blast catching over 30 Northern Pike and had just as many misses. This was an amazing trip between father and son making first memories of a fishing trip together, and also of many wonderful memories from the past being re-kindled between Brian Sr and his father Ron. Thanks for spending such special family time with us at Fireside Lodge.
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Jerry OKane a & Marjorie Berta from Penn Valley, CA with Jerry’s sister Judith from Crossville, TN found themselves at Fireside Lodge from a referral from Mike Ramsey also from Penn Valley, CA. 1st day these three had a blast and despite the high winds they found places to catch fish on new waters. They caught both Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass with Jerry missing a BIG Smallmouth Bass and Judith missing a BIG Northern Pike right at the boat. 2nd day was very good catching many Smallmouth Bass up to 17.5 –inches and all caught fish. Marjorie & Judith said Jerry again lost a very large Smallmouth right at the boat. 3rd and final half day was very good for Smallmouth Bass and all left saying they had a wonderful stay with us at Fireside Lodge.
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Hot Lures: Yo-Zuri Popper, Pop-R, Blue Fox Spinner, Spinner Bait, Tube Jig, Ned Rig, Sinking Worm, The Worm, Crank Baits & Twitch Baits, X-Rap, Yo-Zuri 3D Sinking Twitch Bait

Hot Flies: Black Popper, Pencil Popper,

Catches of The Week: 41-inch and 39-inch Northern Pike, 19.5-inch Smallmouth Bass
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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
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800-545-0815
Email at:fireside@xplornet.com