Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/18 to 8/25 2018

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 8/18 to 8/25 2018
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Weather was absolutely fabulous for the entire week having average to just above average temperatures and reasonable to lite winds. The fishing reflected the nice weather as I have found over 29 years guests are always more successful with more manageable weather conditions.
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Jeff Wilson from the Burlington, ON here for his 3rd time arrived with his father Bill for his 2nd visit with us at Fireside Lodge, and joining them in just a few days will be Jeff’s brother Craig from Hubbard, Nova Scotia returning for his 2nd time this year and his 4th trip, along with his friend Tracey MacKenzie, both from Halifax, Nova Scotia, for his 1st experience fishing Little Vermilion Lake System. Jeff fishing just a few hours after arrival caught a 17.5 and an 18.5 Trophy Smallmouth and a nice Pike fishing with his favorite lure from last year, a Zara Spook. 1st day they had a good day Smallmouth Bass fishing, caught some Northern Pike and had the opportunity with three larger fish. 2nd day Jeff had some exciting action surface fishing for Northern Pike but the fish kept missing his lure.
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3rd day Jeff and his dad had a great day catching many nice Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike and this is the day Craig and Tracey arrived. Well on the day of Arrival on Tracey’s very first cast he caught an 18.5-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing with a small popper. What a great way to start. 4th day they all did very well catching big Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike, and Tracey while Fly Fishing had a BIG Northern Pike right up to the boat and it came off just before Craig could get the net under the fish. 5th day was super good for all catching a lot BIG Smallmouth Bass in the 17 to 18-inch range, Bill landing a huge Master Anglers Award 18-inch Smallmouth Bass plus they all caught Northern Pike. Tracey did great again Fly Fishing landing his first Northern Pike on a new fly that has great action. 6th day Jeff purchased a few lures from our tackle shop and it turned out well catching a lot of big Pike with it and had a minimum 40-inch Trophy up to the boat with the same lure. Also, on the same lure Jeff said he had the biggest Smallmouth Bass hooked he had ever seen in his life, but missed landing it as it threw his hook very near the boat.
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7th and final day for Jeff and his Dad they had a fantastic day again using the same lure with Bill catching a half dozen Pike and Jeff catching 11 BIG Northern Pike including a 40-inch Master Angler Award Trophy and soon after that hooked and landed a HUGE 42-inch Muskie. WOW, what a fabulous fishing feat and what a way to end a memorable traditional fishing trip with Jeff and his father.
Craig & Tracey still have two more days. Well they did very well on the next day catching many Northern Pike to the point that Tracey said the fish wore out a lure that he purchased from me that very morning. Final day for these two found them on a portage to one of our out lakes. Well the fishing was so good they could hardly get themselves to leave. They had a tremendous amount of Big Muskie follows plus had several hooked & lost and Jeff had the catch of the day landing a beauty 40-inch+ Muskie. They also cashed in BIG Smallmouth Bass both catching numerous fish and Craig managed to catch a Monster Trophy 19-inch Smallmouth. Both had a fabulous visit and upon departing Craig said “See Ya Next Year”.
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First Time Group made up of Frank and Jason Thompson from PA and Frederick, MD with Patrick and Kent McBride from OK and WV were all vey excited to be fishing at Fireside Lodge. The trip originated as a Christmas gift to Frank presenting him with a card giving him the gift of a fishing or hunting trip of his choice and Frank, after doing some research, decided on Fireside Lodge to be their fishing destination. 1st day they did really good all catching both Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike, Patrick catching the fish of the day being a 17.5-inch Smallmouth Bass.
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2nd day was great as Frank and Jason caught 23 fish, a good mix of Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike, and Jason caught a Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18.5-inches. Patrick and Kent caught as many fish with Kent having the hot had on Pike using an all white Rooster Tail. 3rd day was terrific for Jason and Frank hooking up on 60+ Fish lading 33 Smallmouth Bass plus 1 Pike, all the Smallmouth Bass being 15 to 17.75-inches. 4th and final day they did well catching a variety of fish not being action packed as day three but that’s fishing as all good fishers know. All left saying the could not have had a better fishing trip together and Frank told me while grasping my hand that everything was terrific and could not have been better. All made some great family memories, which of course is the biggest catch of all.
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Bill Aulenbach from Barberton, OH at age 85 returned for his 13th trip with us at Fireside Lodge, coming with his son Michael from Ft Meyers, FL for his 5th visit. 1st day out was great as Bill had 11 Northern Pike landing all seven all on a lure he purchased from my tackle shop using a stop and go / pause retrieve. As soon as Mike switched over to the same lure, Bill purchased two, he started catching fish. 2nd day was a slower day but they did catch some Pike and enjoyed just being together catching up on their lives in the wilderness surroundings. 3rd day was a rest day for Bill and Mike. Bill got too much sun the first two days and needed a break from the sun and since it was going to be a clear day they thought it best not to push the situation. After supper they went fishing and Bill had a big fish bite him off above his 9-inch leader. 4th day they spent chasing Muskie, which they never caught up to one but had fun trying. 5th and final day was very good as they searched out some new areas catching many Northern Pike. They also changed their tactics fishing different depths and types of structure, which worked well. For these two it has never been just about the fish but more about spending time together making father and son memories at a place they enjoy. Before departing they were already planning next years return.
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Brothers Jim and John Dickerson from Westfield and Noblesville, IN with sons James from Hoboken, NJ and John II from Indianapolis, IN returned for their 4th time with Richard Whitney from Still River, MA for his 1st visit fishing at Fireside Lodge. DOA & 1st full day out all caught fish, a mix of Smallmouth Bass up to 17-inches and some nice Northern Pike. 2nd day was very active with James at times being kept so busy netting Jim & John SR Smallmouth Bass that they kept him out of the water. James said they were catching one after another both landing a 17.5 and 17.75-incher but James was rewarded catching his fair share plus catching the biggest in the boat, a Trophy measuring 18-inches. All the while John II and Rich were also doing very well John II coming up with the catch of the day landing a 20.5-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass.
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This group had a special contest formulated by Jim nobody really understands yet as the rules will be revealed on the last day after all fish have been caught. He gave me the rules in advance and the prize winners will be the largest percentage of the master anglers award size for Smallmouth Bass, 18-inches, & Northern Pike 40-inches & Muskie 44-inches & Walleye 24-inches which makes a potential of 4 prizes. So with John II he would have a percentage on his 20.5-inch Smallmouth 20.5/18 = 1.13. This will be hard to beat in the Smallmouth Bass category. 3rd day John II did it again catching another Trophy Smallmouth Bass right at 18-inches and James just missed, landing a few in the 17-inch range. Day 4 was windy and challenging however John II did it for the third day in a row catching a Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18 inches. 5th day they caught a mixed bag of fish enjoyed the heck out of their last evening. All departed making great family memories.
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Long time return guests Gary & Josh Johnson from Midlothian, IL were back for there 2nd time this summer to chase BIG Toothy critters. 1st day was very good catching 17 Northern Pike up to 34-inches before supper. 2nd day was a bit slower for them but the third day was great hooking up on at least 35 + Northern Pike and landing 23 nice fish. They were very pleased but could not figure out why they lost so many fish, but as all fishers know we just have some days like that.
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4th day was another good day catching a lot of Northern Pike up to 36-inches. 5th and final day they did very well again catching 17 Northern Pike with a lot being good sizable fish between in the low to upper 30-inch range. Both enjoyed their stay and are already looking forward to returning for their 3rd time in 2019 on September 2nd.
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Long Time Return group from Noblesville & Martinsville, IN John & Trent Elmer, Phil Beer, Brian Cooley, Steve Dillinger, Steve Schwartz, Steve Eickman, and Mike Davis were all very glad to be back fishing at Fireside Lodge. 1st day fishing was great for John and Trent catching many Smallmouth Bass with Trent landing a beauty 18-inch Trophy Smallmouth plus they caught some nice size Northern Pike. Brian and Steve H also had a fabulous day on bigger Pike with Brian catching a 40-inch Trophy Northern Pike plus he hooked and landed a huge 42-inch Muskie. 2nd day Steve Schwartz and Mike caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass up to 17.5-inches and some Northern Pike up to 32-inces. Also Steve said he had a MONSTER 4 footer come up a consume the favorite lure of the week which was a #6 Blue Fox Spinner, and he quickly replaced it at my tackle shop along with a few spares.
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3rd day all said they had a great day with some catching a lot of Northern Pike in the 28 to 35-inch range while others did well catching Smallmouth Bass 14 to 17.5–inches. Trent came up with his 2nd Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass measuring 18.5-inches, and looking at the picture it was a horse of a fish. At supper John and Trent said they are having a fabulous time catching a bunch of fish and spending quality father and son time together. 4th and final day all had a great finish catching many fish including several Trophy Smallmouth Bass and Big Northern Pike. John had the tops for the day landing a 38-inch beefy Pike, son Trent caught another Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass at 18-inches making it his second Trophy. Brian was tops for the week catching a 42-inch Muskie, 40-inch Trophy Northern Pike and six Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18-inches and one at 18.5-inches. That’s and awesome 4 days of fishing for anyone. All left having had a great time making many memories among family and friends.
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Julio Feliciano and David Ramos from Springfield, MA were fishing at Fireside Lodge and in Canada for their very first time. This was a special gift given to Julio from his wife Mara for his 40th birthday and was just presented to him on Sunday, to depart on Monday so they could drive and make it on time for their arrival day on Wednesday. First day was a fabulous discovery day and they started off great with Julio landing a large toothy critter. This type of fishing was all new for Julio, and David having never fished before, they did great finding their way around the lake and catching some fish while thoroughly enjoying the wilderness that makes this area so special. 3rd and final day, boy three days go by fast, they caught Northern Pike and enjoyed soaking up the peace and quiet that’s more difficult to find in their everyday surroundings at home. I just want to give a shout out to Mara for making this all happen for Julio and David.
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1st time Guests of Fireside Lodge were Linda Winthers & Barry Alan from Gold River, CA, Bob Larson from Crescent City, CA and John Harrison from Canby, OR. Their inspiration to visit us was through a long time guest Mike Ramsey from Penn Valley, CA. First day out for this group they did great catching some bigger Northern Pike and Linda stole the show landing the two largest fish 35–36-inches. Catching one of the bigger Pike was a story as Linda had a tangle in her reel and just at the time it was solved, and as she picked up her lure, BANG the fish was there. This goes along with the theory of twitching, stopping, dropping, and changing direction of your lure to get fish to strike. The smiles in this picture really tell the story. Barry is a very avid Fly-Fisher and his goal it to catch a Trophy Toothy Critter with his fly rod. 2nd day was very windy which was a challenge fly-fishing for Barry. Bob and John did well slow rolling in-line spinners catching a lot of Northern Pike and John had big follows from at least 10 different fish.
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3rd day was great catching many Northern Pike, with Bob and John even having a double, sizes ranging all over the board. The Trophy toothy critters were still eluding them, even though they made contact with them getting follows. 4th and final day they did great catching many Northern Pike, Barry hooking into a very nice fish fly fishing, while Bob & John really got the hang of fishing the Yo-Zuri twitch bait they bought from my tackle shop. These are very effective lures if fished with the correct action, and they even had a double using this technique. The key is to make this lure look like a dying baitfish, taking some effort to do this as both John and Bob found out saying that they were feeling it in their arms by the end of the day. All left having had a fabulous time and are hopeful for a return visit. Also I wanted to give a BIG thanks to Barry for being so kind to spend some of his time teaching several young men the basics of fly fishing and creating a new interest in fishing for them.
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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.

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Hot Lures: Mepps, Blue Fox Spinner, Zara Spook, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, Mini-D, Ned Rig, Trick Worm, Rooster Tail, Whopper Plopper

Catches of The Week: 20.5-inch Smallmouth Bass, Several 19.5-inch Smallmouth Bass 2- Muskie 42-inches+, and 2-40-inch Northern Pike,
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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
http://www.firesidelodge.com
800-545-0815
Email at:fireside@xplornet.com