Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 7/21 to 8/1 2015
Attachment 24551
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.
Attachment 24553
Tim & son Joe Bergen, with Tim Komenda & Gerry Curran from Orland Park, & Hickory Hills, Il were back as consecutive year guests since 2002. 1st 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. 2nd day was more difficult because of the wind but all still caught fish. 3rd 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 3rd searching for Muskie for half a day then switching & catching a bunch of Northern Pike. All left having had a fabulous stay already talking about next years group being bigger.
Attachment 24557Attachment 24558
First time guests of Steve & Kyle Kashius & friend Danny Rollins 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.
Attachment 24559
2nd day after a slower morning despite the windy conditions Danny & Kyle had a good afternoon catching Pike & Smallmouth Bass plus Danny caught his 2nd Musky on his secret lure “The Ghost”. 3rd day was a good day for Danny & Kyle catching plenty of Pike and Smallmouth Bass discovering the West End of the lake. 4th 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.
Attachment 24563Attachment 24564
5th 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.
Attachment 24566Attachment 24567
4th time repeat guests Pete LaMontagna, Keith Marks, & John Zeng from Glen Ellyn, & Naperville, IL brought their sons Matt, Tim, & Patrick for their 1st experience. DOA before supper they all caught fish including John landing a BIG 36” Pike. 1st day as a group they caught 55 Northern Pike with Pete catching the largest at 36” & Tim landed a Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18”.
Attachment 24571Attachment 24572
2nd 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. 3rd day while searching for Muskie again & having follows & catching some Pike their were two firsts. Tim caught his 1st Muskie, a big 36”er and Matt caught his biggest fish, a nice 34” Northern Pike.
Attachment 24573
4th & final day was a good day for Tim catching four big Smallmouth Bass up to 17.5”. All left with many father & son memories.
Attachment 24576
Returning for their 4th consecutive year were Jerry & Susie Florea from Martinsville, OH. DOA a few hours before suppertime they caught 5 Pike. 1st day despite the wind they caught some nice 28-30” Northern Pike. 2nd 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. 3rd 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”. 4th 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. 5th 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.
Attachment 24577
Back for his 3rd consecutive year was Paul Miller from Kearney, NE with friend Jim McKnight. DOA before supper they caught 6 Pike with Paul catching a 36”er. 1st full day was fantastic as they caught over 75 Northern Pike & Jim caught a trophy 18.5” Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day was slower as they could only fish select spots because of the high winds. 3rd they caught a few Pike while fishing for Muskie getting some follows & then they switched tactics to trolling & did better catching Pike. 4th day was very active catching 68 Northern Pike. 5th & final half day was great catching over 30 Northern Pike in just 3.5 hours. Both left having had a fabulous time.
Attachment 24580
Returning for their 12th consecutive year were Kent Williams & Bill Black from Atlanta, GA. DOA before supper they caught 10 Pike Bill having the hot hand. 1st day they did well catching 15 Pike & their second day was even better catching over 20 with a few Smallmouth mixed in. 3rd 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”. 4th & 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.
Attachment 24581
Return Guest David Montovani came with good friend Kevin Ward & his son Sean all from Indianapolis, IN. 1st & 2nd days they caught some nice Northern Pike with day 2 being excellent catching over 30 Pike before supper. 3rd day was another good Northern Pike day catching many with Kevin having the hot hand using an old standby lure, a Johnson Silver Minnow. 4th day was good Northern Pike fishing with Kevin doing the best again with the same spoon. 5th & 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.
Attachment 24586Attachment 24587Attachment 24588
1st 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. 1st 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 2nd 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 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.
Attachment 24591Attachment 24592
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 4th & 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.

Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
Pinterest
Trip Advisor
Attachment 24593
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