Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/13 to 7/20 2019

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/13 to 7/20 2019
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This was a typical summer week with the temperatures being normal or a little above normal during the day but cooling in the late evening and nighttime along with a few rain showers and thunderstorms. With all that being said all enjoyed great fishing for all species of fish, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, and Muskie along with having a few interesting catches.
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Ron Vincent from Sherrills Ford NC returned for his 20th consecutive year with son Jake for his 4th, son-in law Tim for his 2nd, and good friend Steve Foster from New London, NC for his 5th trip to Fireside Lodge. Also, Ron’s brother Jeff and his son Cooper from CO were here for their 1st Canadian Wilderness Fishing Adventure at Fireside Lodge.1st day Ron, Tim, and Jake got into a bunch of Smallmouth Bass with a lot in the 15-18-inch category and Tim came away with the 1st Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass at 18.5-inch and his very first. Jeff and Cooper caught a lot Northern Pike and had a HUGE Pike come up ate almost take Jeff’s lure but backed away at the last second. Jeff said it was the biggest fish he had ever seen.
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2nd day was great and Tim came up with his second trophy Smallmouth Bass. 3rd day was fast action and fun with Ron, Cooper and Jeff catching well over 100 fish, mostly Northern Pike plus Cooper caught HUGE 17.5-inch Smallmouth that seemed as wide as it was long and Ron had the fish of the day landing a BIG 19.25-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass. Also, Tim and Jake caught a lot of Pike and Jake landed the biggest Northern Pike so far measuring 37-inches.
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4th day was a mixed bag of fish for this group catching all species with Ron even catching a Walleye and Jake caught the fish of the day a nice 38-inch Barred Muskie. 5th day was a fun day catching a lot of Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass with Steve having the Smallmouth Bass of the day catching a Trophy 18.5-incher and Jake had the largest Northern Pike landing a nice 37-inch fish.
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Day 6 was another very good day and the story of the day was when Ron, while in the process of catching a Smallmouth Bass had a big 38.5-inch Muskie grab his Smallmouth Bass and the fight was on. Well after some time he got both fish to the boat and netted then realized that the Musky was just hanging onto the Smallmouth and was never hooked. Great Catch and Great Story for the memory book. 7th and final day they caught many Northern Pike, over 50 per boat, and a few huge Smallmouth Bass. All left having a fabulous fishing trip and said they are looking forward to returning, and Ron the will be back in only be 6 weeks from now for our last open week.
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Father and son Gary and Kevin Nehila from Winter Haven, FL were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their first time inspired by Kevin who has been reading our Fireside Lodge Fishing reports for several years and decided it was time to visit us. DOA the did well learning Little Vermilion Lake while catching 20+ fish, a combination of Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass. 1st day was even better as they caught 30+ Smallmouth Bass and 10+ Northern Pike exploring the Upper Arm of Little Vermilion Lake.
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2nd day they tried a portage lake for Muskie fishing and did well getting 12-15 Follows and Kevin caught his very first and second Muskie. Before going to the lake Kevin decided to tie up a few leaders with Fly Fishing wire which its much lighter and thinner, feeling this made the difference on catching his two Muskie. 3rd day was a special Muskie day for Kevin as while having about 16 follows Kevin hooked and landed 4 Muskie 34 to 40-inches plus a BIG Fat 38-inch Northern Pike. So having never caught a Muskie before in just two days Kevin caught 6 between 32 and 40-inches. WOW That’s Muskie fishing!!!
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4th day was a super fabulous day catching a Northern Pike on every 4-5 casts Gary saying that they caught so many fish they could not possibly keep count but estimated their catch between 60-70 fish easily. 5th day had them in search of a Muskie for Gary, catching some very nice Northern Pike up to 36-inches, and Kevin hooked one Muskie but lost it at boat side when as attempting to keep the fish from jumping in the boat the fish came unhooked.
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6th and final day the search was on to have Gary catch a Muskie. Well they caught a lot of Northern Pike, Gary landing a huge 38.5-inch Pike, however the Muskie eluded him. But not Kevin as he landed a Muskie in the mid-30-inch range being his 7th Muskie caught in 6 days of fishing. This was amazing being that he never caught a Muskie before and as quoted from Kevin he stated that “This Was His Best Fishing Trip Ever” and him and Gary fish a lot. They left with smiles and a boatload of father and son memories.
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Long time guests Gary Johnson, with sons Pete, Josh and Pete’s father-in-law Steve Trafacante were back to chase big Northern Pike, Muskie, and Smallmouth Bass. 1st day was fabulous for Pete and Josh catching a lot of BIG Smallmouth Bass with Josh having 2-18.5 trophy Bass and Pete with a whopper Trophy Smallmouth measuring 19-inches.
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2nd day Pete and Josh were hot before a torrential rain hit at about noon catching 21 nice Northern Pike. After taking refuge for a few hours they were back at it and before suppertime they caught another 15 Pike. 3rd day had this crew catching a lot of Northern Pike Gary making mention that the Pike are very active catching them on Buck-tail Spinners, Fluke’s and several other lures.
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4th day was excellent as Gary, Josh, and Pete caught a lot of mid size Northern Pike saying they were really on especially after supper, plus they saw several big fish. So a side story was while Josh was rolling up his pant legs, holding his rod by sitting on the handle, all of a sudden there was a big splash by his lure that was just dangling in the water and then the Rod took off. Just grabbing it before it went in the lake a 28-inch Northern Pike ended up being the culprit. 5th day was a real good day catching many Northern Pike and Steve was on fire catching up after a few days of not feeling well.
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6th and final day they had three separate thunderstorms, forcing them to come in and out because of lightning. Despite this Josh and Gary did well catching Northern Pike and seeing a monster. Steve and Pete were hunting Muskie. Steve was throwing his favorite top water lure and was having a few troubles with his line. He asked Pete to see if he could straighten it out for him, which he did, then Steve asked him to make a cast to see if he thought all was ok with his reel. Well with just one cast with Steve’s rod and reel Pete had an enormous surface strike and after a battle landed a 40+inch heavy Muskie. I guess Steve’s reel and line were good! Great story and memory, which will be discussed for years to come. All left making fabulous memories and will be returning this season in the first week of September.
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Buddy, Debbie, and Angie Boswell with Michael Lasley from Franklin and Whiteland, IN were happy to be back fishing at Fireside Lodge. First day they had great fun catching Northern Pike, Michael’s favorite. 2nd day was great all about catching a lot of Smallmouth Bass with Debbie landing the fish of the day and trip so far, an 18.5-inch Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth Bass. Michael and Angie had a good Northern Pike day landing some bigger fish and got a good soaking from a heavy mid-day rain.
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3rd day was GREAT as Buddy called it, with him and Debbie catching many Smallmouth Bass 13 to 19-inches, and it was Buddy that landed the 19-inch Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth. Debbie had her share of 16 to 17-inchers. 4th and final day, boy 4 days speeds by, was a fantastic finish as Michael and Angie caught well over 50 Smallmouth most being 14 to 17.5-inches with Angie catching the largest in their boat. Debbie and Buddy had an equally as good day and each Debbie and Buddy both caught 18-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass plus Debbie landed two Walleye.
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What a Terrific finish to and fabulous family fishing trip. All made valuable and long lasting memories that will be discussed during family gatherings for years to come.
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Bill & Jill Westbrook from New Philadelphia, OH returned for the 17th consecutive year and their long tenure was obvious as on their day of arrival they caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass including 3 Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass between 18 to 19.5-inches. WOW what a great start. 1st day they caught Smallmouth Bass but found that it slowed down after the thunder, lighting, and heavy rain. The slowdown might have been caused by the well-needed nap they took during the storm. 2nd day they had a good day Smallmouth Bass Fishing and Jill came up with the fish of the day landing a 19-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass.
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3rd day was their traditional day on Closs Lake, but Bill decided to skip it because of windy conditions. Good decision by Bill as they caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass in Little Vermilion Lake with Bill landing an 18.5-inch Trophy. 4th day was a fabulous day catching 33 Smallmouth Bass and Jill was the Master of Angling today landing three trophy Smallmouth Bass, two were 18.5-inches, and one was a huge 19-incher. 5th and final day had these two were in by noon because of a Thunderstorm and decided to pack up, after having a good morning Smallmouth Bass fishing. Both left having loads of fun and hope to return in 2020.
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Long time guests Ewell, Adam, and Andy Scott from Moorehead, KY and Cape Coral, FL were glad to be back fishing at Fireside Lodge. 1st day out these three did not take long to find Smallmouth Bass catching 35+ by 2:30PM when thunder and lightning drove them in off the water. After returning to the dock because of tornado warnings they returned fishing catching some larger Smallmouth bringing their total days catch of Smallmouth Bass north of 50.
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2nd day was Terrific catching 81 Northern Pike, Andy caught a Huge 17.5-inch Smallmouth Bass and Adam landed two Trophy Smallmouth Bass 18.5-inches and a whopping 19.25-inches. A fun side story when Adam was fighting his 19.25-inch Smallmouth Bass near the boat, and Ewell was about to net it for him, the fish came off. Both thought the fish was gone but as Ewell picked up the net the fish was in it, and must have swam right into the net after getting off Adam’s hook. 3rd day was exciting with Ewell catching several BIG fat Smallmouth measuring 17.5-inches and Adam had a nice Muskie hooked but shook his lure. 4th and final day they ended their trip with a bang catching over 70 Northern Pike. All had a fabulous time and hope to return in the near future.
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Long time return guests and lifetime friends Larry Hinshaw & Pat Hobson from Blue Grass, IA and Yorktown, IN were here for their 13th time to chase their favorite fish, Smallmouth Bass. DOA they caught a good number of Smallmouth Bass with Pat landing an 18.5-inch Trophy to set the bar. 1st full day these two did well catching 17 Smallmouth Bass, most on the larger side. Day two was really good, as quoted by Pat, catching a numerous amount of Smallmouth Bass 15 to 18-inches and Larry came up with the fish of the day landing a Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18.5-inches.
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3rd day was a good Smallmouth Day catching fish in several of their favorite spots. No Trophy fish today but most were good size and full of fight. 4th day these two did well in the morning catching Smallmouth Bass and Larry had an interesting catch. After feeling a strike from a good solid fish but when getting it close to the boat realized he had a Smallmouth Bass and a Northern Pike had the Bass it it’s mouth. After a few moments of excitement the Pike let go of the Smallmouth. 5th day the Thunderstorms drove them in several times during the day plus kept them from fishing after supper resulting in their slowest day. 6th and final day turned out to be a good day for Smallmouth Bass finding a new area. Most of the fish were larger including Pat’s 18.5-inch Master Anglers Award Trophy. Both had a great time and are hopeful on returning in 2020.
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The Ramsey Brothers Mike alias Boomer from Penn Valley, CA, Don alias Blooper or Ned from Hillsboro, OH and Dan alias Bob from Germantown, OH returned for their annual fishing trip with us at Fireside Lodge. 1st day they did well catching a mix of Northern pike and Smallmouth Bass. The second day they were on fire catching 131 Northern Pike and several nice Smallmouth Bass including a Monster Trophy Fish by Dan measuring 20.5-inches. After supper searching for some BIG fish Dan found one landing an enormous 40-inch Northern Pike with a head bigger than Dan’s.
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3rd day was off to their usual visit to Closs Lake and what a great day it was having close to 50 follows and landing 5 Muskie. Butch landed 2 and Mike caught three all in the 34 to 36-inch range. Butch had a trophy Muskie on for several minutes until it did a vertical jump four feet out of the water at the tail which meant 7 feet + from the head and shook off Butches lure. Dan caught several Smallmouth Bass in the 17-17.5-inch range that were round like footballs.
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4th day had these three in and out three different times trying to stay clear of the thunderstorms we had all day long. The weather inhibited fishing but they still managed to catch some Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass plus a few appreciated naps. 5th and final day was, Big or go Home Day, a search for Big Musky and Northern Pike. They caught fish but the BIG fish just did not show, which might have had something do with the T-Storms, thunder, and lightning for the second day in a row. Before departing discussion was already taking place for their 2020 dates. All left as they came, smiling and with laughter, making more fishing memories between brothers.
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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: Blue Fox Spinner, Sinking Worm, TRD Finesse Worm, Mepps, Pop-R, Torpedo, Buck Tail Spinner, X-Rap, Yo-Zuri

Catches of The Week: 40-inch Muskie, 40-inch Northern Pike, 70-plus Northern Pike by Two People in one day, 20.5 -inch Smallmouth Bass, 30+ Trophy Smallmouth Bass in 1 Week, 11 Muskie hooked and 7 Landed by 1 person in 6 Days
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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