Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 6/22 6/29 2019

[Alan Brandys]

Fireside Lodge Fishing Report 6/22 6/29 2019


Temperatures finally moderated to more seasonal weather having some beautiful days in the mid 70’s and only one rain day. The fish also started changing their locations to more represent the early summer pattern.


Long time return guest Ross Lagerblade from Crestwood, KY was back with his whole family for the first time, wife Tracy and 2 sons Rex and Reese. All were very happy to be back and on DOA they all caught fish, about 8-10 Northern Pike and a half dozen Smallmouth Bass plus Tracy caught her first Northern Pike ever. 1st day was unreal as they caught 86 Northern Pike before suppertime and had plenty of other action in the way of missed fish and follows. All were excited and passed fishing after supper to enjoy a game of Yuker. Hard to believe this group could top their 1st days catch but on day two they did just that by 2 fish catching 88 Northern Pike. It was also a picture perfect early summer day and in the evening Ross and Tracy just went for a boat ride to enjoy the evening.


3rd day they decided to target Muskie and Big Pike and were very successful as they caught 15 bigger Pike, Tracy landing the largest fish of the day measuring a hefty 34-inches and Ross caught a nice Muskie which gave him a special fight, tail dancing all they way to the boat. 4th day was off to Closs Lake and they had a great day despite the relentless rain all day long, having follows, catching 12 Smallmouth Bass without even trying for them as Muskie were the focus of the day, and Rex caught his very first Muskie a nice 33 incher and Tracy had a really nice Muskie on but lost it right at the boat, which would have been her first. 5th and final day was another family fun filled day being out on the water catching fish and enjoying their last moments in the wilderness.

This concluded another Lagerblade traditional annual fishing trip dating way back to the childhood years for Ross with his family and many years with him and his father, Roy, with us at Fireside Lodge. Thanks for making some of your special family memories with us at Fireside Lodge.

The Thomas Family of Stephen, Marcy, and Gage from Joplin, MO. were making their first appearance fishing at Fireside Lodge referred by long time guest Richard Pim. DOA fishing was just like Richard said it was going to be, as they caught 45 Smallmouth Bass, most on the larger side of 16 to 19-inches in just 4.5 hours of fishing. 1st full day was outstanding catching 75 to 80 Smallmouth Bass, 20 trophies being between 18-20 inches, and the majority of the other fish were 16-17.5 inches. They also caught some Pike while fishing for Bass.

2nd day was amazing. Steven, having fishing some bass tournaments, said he never saw anything like the Smallmouth Bass fishing him and his family experienced on this day catching over 150 Smallmouth Bass of various sizes including a lot of fish 16 to 20-inches. 3rd day was another Smallmouth Bass fest catching well over 100 Smallmouth Bass using basic jig techniques with plastics. I asked Steven how his Smallmouth Bass fishing compares to his other experiences and his response was it is the best Smallmouth Bass fishing he has ever had.

4th and final day was another fabulous day despite being rained on all day long they were troopers being the only boat staying out until suppertime and did they ever catch Smallmouth Bass, well over 100 with 15 Trophy Size Smallmouth Bass 18-20.5-inches. All had a wonderful family fishing vacation and loved it so much they made reservations for 2020 before departing.

First time guests Mark Geenen from Uxbridge, ON and good friend Nick Pugliese from Lakeland, FL were here to catch fish and Mark specifically to catch a Tiger Muskie. First day out they did very well catching many Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike and close to the days end Nick caught a nice thick 36-inch Tiger Muskie. 1st day goal accomplished, however Mark disagreed saying that their mission was not complete until he caught a Tiger Muskie. Pretty tough goal for a 3 day fishing trip but Mark was determined. 2nd day was an amazing day Muskie fishing. Mark and Nick had 50-60 follows, sometimes 2-3 at a time being anything from medium size to huge trophy size Musky. Mark said he never saw anything like this and he has had a cabin on Georgian Bay for many years. By days end Nick caught 2 Muskie, one a 37-inch barred Muskie and the second was again another 36-inch Tiger Musky with a large girth.

For some reason almost every Tiger Musky is fat and heavy. Nick also caught a BIG 38.5-inch Northern Pike and Mark’s catch of the day was a Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth Bass measuring 18.5-inches, while searching for his Tiger Muskie. 3rd and final day, boy 3 days fly bye, they caught a mix of Smallmouth and Pike and Mark landed his Muskie of the trip a nice 34-incher. So two Tiger Muskie caught, both by Nick, accomplished a trip goal by not Marks personal goal of him landing one of these beauties, so being a determined angler before departure Mark made a reservation for 2020 for him and 8-10 if his fishing buddies.

John Papp and son Michael from Atlanta, GA were returning for their 3rd consecutive year. 1st day out was fantastic Northern Pike fishing with Michael catching 33 and John 17 Northern Pike. The action was very fast at times seeing that they lost fish and had follows. This means Michael wins day one of their traditional friendly fishing competition. Day 2 they did well catching Smallmouth Bass and Pike and John closed the gap by two on their contest. They also saw a lot of Big follows and Michael hooked a HUGE fish getting it to the boat but only to have it get off just before attempting to net the fish. I told Michael it was better to have the opportunity to catch the fish and lose it than to not have the opportunity at all. 3rd day was very rainy in the morning into early afternoon and they had a lot of big fish follows but it was very difficult getting the fish to strike.

4th day and 5th days were much better catching Northern Pike and at the end of the 5th day the competition became much more interesting as John closed the numbers gap to within 4 with Michael hanging on to the lead. 6th and final day had them catching 60 plus Northern Pike, ending their trip in a flurry. As for the contest, after John had passed Michael once during the day, Michael turned it on and ended up winning the 2019 annual Papp fishing tournament by 2 fish. Both had so much fun they reserved their dates for our 2020-fishing season. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make special father and son memories together.

Father & Daughter Dan Mosier & Abbi Mota from Lincoln, NE returned to Fireside Lodge for their 4th visit together while Dan has visited Fireside Lodge for his 18th time with 4 different children. Abbi was the first in 1998 coming with her Dad as part of her graduation present. DOA they caught fish right away and Abbi came up with the catch of the day landing a 19-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass on a top-water lure. 1st day was very rainy all day long so they were in about 11:00am after having a very good morning catching Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike. They took a nap and after supper Dan asked me to pick out a few packs of worms and jigs that might work on Smallmouth. I did and they went out and applied their skills doing very well catching some Bigger Smallmouth Bass.

3rd day had these two catching a lot more BIG Smallmouth Bass on the same worm. 4th day was fantastic catching over 90 Northern Pike up to 33-inches before supper. Afterwards on their evening fish just before calling it a day Dan hooked into a monster, and when Abbi saw it swim by the pressure was on for this will be her first attempt at cradling a fish. Well she did a fine job and the end result was Dan’s biggest Trophy Northern Pike catch ever measuring a very huge 48-inches. WOW, what a way to end a fabulous day fishing with your daughter.

5th and final day they enjoyed catching more Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike but relaxed a bit more coming in at noon to get out of the sun and had a much needed nap. After supper they concluded their trip with a beautiful evening on the lake watching the sunset and planning their return visit. Thanks for spending this special father and daughter time with us at Fireside Lodge.


Return guests from 20 years ago Mike Fair from Hebron, KY. and Kensey Beard from Florence, KY were back to relive some memories of the past years fishing with us in the 1990’s. First day was very good catching a combination of Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass and Mike lost a Muskie boat-side. Second and third days were good despite being almost totally rained out on Monday and by the morning of the 4th day at breakfast Mike said he was just one fish away from having a totally satisfying fishing trip. Not really sure what that fish is but I assume he is shooting for a trophy Northern Pike or Musky.

4th day had these two being very helpful getting some other boats up and over a beaver dam travelling to our back to lakes and they were paid back with excellent fishing and catching quote; “All The Northern Pike They Wanted to Catch”, saying it was none stop until they quit to search out some trophy fish. 5th day was another super catching day for Northern Pike landing more Northern Pike than they could keep up with to count, with a good number being over 30-inches. 6th and final day they finished strong again catching all the Pike they could possibly catch, with extremely fast action at times.

Back for their 8th time were Jim, Rich, Pim Shell Knob & Carthage, MO. Robert Dorsey Sarcoxie, MO. Steve Howlett Shell Knob & Steve Barton from Joplin, MO. Doug Pim with son Tyler from Frisco, TX and Dallas Flowers from Blue Eye, MO. DOA all went to some of their old haunts from years past catching many Smallmouth Bass and Doug also caught a 34-inch Northern Pike fishing a Beaver Dam.

1st day it rained all day long but all managed to catching good number of Smallmouth Bass a few Pike and had a half dozen trophy Smallmouth Between them. 2nd day all caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass with Steve and Dallas really hitting it BIG catching 10 Smallmouth Bass 18-inches or better and Dallas caught a HUGE 19.5-inch Trophy and Steve toped that with a GIANT 20.50-inch beast of a Smallmouth Bass. The others did well catching Smallmouth Bass but Doug & Tyler love those toothy critters, and they caught a Muskie 34-icnhes and another Big Pike plus after supper caught over 25 Smallmouth Bass right across from the lodge.

3rd day had three of the four boats catching 30-40 Smallmouth Bass per boat with mixed sizes while Doug & Tyler chased toothy critters having success with Tyler catching the fish of the day, and probably week, landing a huge 40-inch Northern Pike. This is a Master Anglers Award Northern Pike and adds to Tyler’s 20 and 19.5-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass he caught during the first two days fishing. 4th and final day was another fabulous day Smallmouth Bass fishing for 6 members of the group however Doug and Tyler decided to Pike fish and did terrific catching well over 100 Pike and Doug also caught a huge Trophy 20-inch Smallmouth Bass. In all 4 days this group landed 69 Trophy Smallmouth Bass between 18 and 20.5 inches. Great Fishing and Great Memories made and before leaving they were already discussing return dates for 2020.

The family of Mike, Becky, Todd, and Jamie Sparks from St Louis, MO were fishing with us for there first time. 1st day ever fishing Little Vermilion Lake and it poured on the family but they caught Northern Pike and a good number of Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day after buying a few packs of worms and jigs from my tackle shop they applied their skills catching well over 30 BIG Smallmouth Bass Todd catching his fly-fishing with a sinking Clouser Minnow.

3rd day they took an adventure and went up the creek with plenty of paddles, needing them, as the beavers were busy maintaining the dam that has been giving our guests the wilderness adventure we promise them in our brochure and website. After all, conversations at a family get together are more consumed of fun stories like breaking up a beaver dam than how many fish we catch or how big they were. After making it through the creek they found it very worthwhile catching 70+ Northern Pike, and Todd was amazed at the fly-fishing opportunity, catching one after another on his fly rod. 4th and final day their plans were to fish their way up to Twin Falls.

This day was absolutely fabulous catching more Smallmouth Bass that they ever imagined, saying the number was well north of 100 with most being larger fish. At the supper table Mike said it was they best Smallmouth Bass fishery he has ever experienced. They also had some great family fun at Twin Falls during lunchtime. All had a wonderful fishing vacation making many family memories, The Biggest Catch of All.

Gary Keller, Chuck Kozlowski from Naperville, IL and Steven O’Rourk from Bolingbrook, IL, were all here fishing at Fireside Lodge for their first time by referral from Steve Trafacante. 1st day was spent figuring out a lake system new to them catching some Northern Pike. 2nd day they ventured further doing very well catching some chunky Northern Pike and a nice Smallmouth Bass plus Cuck landed a 33-inch Muskie. They commented that the fish seem to have very large girth and well fed. We discussed the various baitfish in our lake system and how the abundance of Whitefish and Cisco make a difference in bulking up our game fish on Little Vermilion Lake system.

3rd day they again caught some nice Northern Pike but had some Big Follows on both Northern Pike and Muskie and all the huge fish were acting lazy just swimming casually away after following their lure, 4th day was a very good day catching a lot of nice Smallmouth Bass after discovering the TRD Finesse Worm fishing on a mushroom head jig. They were very impressed on how well it worked with a do nothing presentation. They also had a lot of nice follows & caught some Pike. 5th and final day the Smallmouth Bass fishing was good until the wind picked up and had them calling it a day at 2:00 in the afternoon. All had a great time and wished they had one more day.


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: Yo-Zuri Suspending and Sinking, X-Rap, Mepps Spinner, Blue Fox Spinner, Dardevle Spoon, Tube Jigs, TRD Finesse Worm, Sinking Worm, Twister Tail

Catches of The Week: 48-inch Northern Pike, 40-inch Northern Pike, 4-20.5 –inch Smallmouth Bass, Over 100 Trophy Smallmouth Bass 18-21-inches

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.firesidelodge.com
800-545-0815
Email at:fireside@xplornet.com