Fishing reports are written weekly throughout the open fishing season based on Fireside Lodge guests reports of their daily fishing experiences while fishing at Fireside Lodge
Hello from Fireside Lodge
in Northwest Ontario, Canada. This week has two words to paint the whole
picture. “Wonderful” Weather and “Terrific” Fishing & Catching.
High School friends and
best buddies Dan Szkola and Don Landbo from Sugar Grove and S. Elgin, IL
retuned to Fireside Lodge for their 7th consecutive year. After Don
left he sent me an email of his and Dan’s results. So as the saying goes this
is straight from the horses mouth from Don’s letter: “Forgot to give you the results during checkout-I
had not been that tired since my Basic Training days. We really went at it hard
again for two old guys. Thur-14 SM and 3 NP to 34" between us, Fri-Blown
off lake, but managed 6 SM and 4 NP between us, Sat- record shattering day-Dan
12 SM (1 @ 18") 65 NP Don 9SM and 85 NP and some great video,
Sun-Dan 3 SM (1 @ 19.5") 44NP Don 3SM (1 @ 18.75" & 1 @
18") 36NP, Mon-Dan 17SM (1 @ 18") Don 29SM (1 @ 18.5") 4NP, Tue-
Dan 9 SM and 47NP -Don 5SM and 48NP
Wed- Dan 3SM and 32NP
-Don 2SM and 44NP more good video,
524 boated
fish, plus all the top water misses and fish that never made it all the
way to the boat, which was likely 8 or 9 for every one
boated.
As usual everything
was to the highest standards. We both have great new memories and new
fishing and wildlife stories. I think we forgot to mention the
bobcat/lynx we saw run across the hill and over to the utility shed Tuesday as
we were leaving the dock one morning. And possibly the best story of 2010
was you having a smaller version of Dans' beat up (from catching lots of fish
for years) unknown lure at checkout. If I miss you at the St Charles show, see
you in 50 1/2 weeks, Don Landbo
Phil Spahr from Fairborn,
Oh. his sons Brad and Tim from Marboro, MA and their Uncle Jerry from WV were
all back to Fireside for their 10th consecutive year. DOA and the first day
they caught 20 Pike up to 34” & 18 Smallmouth Bass up to 17”. Second day
was a BIG day as the group caught 148 Northern Pike & Tim landed a nice
Tiger Muskie. Third day they caught 15 Smallmouth, 6 Pike, and Tim caught his
second Musky, however Phil was up to his old Beatle Spin tricks as after
hooking a Smallmouth a Musky decided to take it away from Phil. After the
obvious struggle the Musky won and got lunch. Fourth day was a BIG catching day
as they caught 77 Pike and 2 Smallmouth. Fifth and sixth days Phil & Jerry
kept their numbers up as they landed 95 Pike and 5 Smallmouth and a Musky, but
Tim and Brad changed tactics and decided to chase BIG toothy critters. After
some discussion on lure type and a new technique they were off to test their
skills. Well, the results happened on Brad’s third cast catching a BIG FAT
35-inch Tiger Muskie and they proceeded to catching Pike in the 30 to 33-inch
range. Last day the did even better landing more big fish including each
catching a 38” Northern Pike, Tim caught two Musky at 30 & 34-inches and
Brad caught a chunker35” Pike.
This set the stage for many winter discussions in planning for their next
fishing trip. This entire group caught 358 Pike, 48 Smallmouth, and 6 Muskie.
Great Trip making Fantastic Family Memories!!
Tyler Tennant from TX and
father-in-law Peter Higman from IL returned to Fireside Lodge for their fifth
consecutive year. Always after the big fish, this year was no different. They
had plenty of follows but the big boys were not cooperating as they did in
previous years. Tyler and Peter caught a lot of toothy critters, mostly Pike
and also caught a lot of BIG Smallies on large lures. Tyler landed the biggest
of the week, a MONSTER measuring 19-inches. Both had a great time fishing
together as always.
Father Paul Capecchi with
son Tony returned to Fireside Lodge for their 8th consecutive year.
The fishing results below were taken from notes that Tony & Paul gave to me
when departing. DOA these two saw a Moose & Caught 15 Pike up to 32-inches,
and what more can you ask for? First day was fabulous catching over 150 fish,
Tony landing two Muskie at 31” and a Big Fat 43” Trophy Clear Musky, and a GIANT
19” Smallmouth Bass. Next day was another 150 fish day, mostly Pike, the
biggest being a FAT 35-incher. Third day they were in search for Muskie only
and had many follows but no takers, caught 1 large Pike, a dozen Smallmouth and
one 1400LB Moose sighting. GREAT DAY!!! Fourth day had them at near 100 fish
the highlight being an 18” Master Anglers Smallmouth Bass. Fifth day was over
150 fish and Tony caught a HUGE 39” Musky. Last day was over 100 fish day and
Paul landed a beauty 18.5” Trophy Smallmouth and they ended their trip with a
traditional double catch of Northern Pike. They had 8 doubles in all and Tony
caught 7 Pike on 7 consecutive casts. Most of all they caught & kept to
take with them another set of wonderful father and son memories fishing together
in the great wilderness we have to offer at Fireside Lodge.
Joe & Mike Martineck
from Addison & Bolingbrook, IL were fishing at Fireside Lodge for their
first time. For first timers they learn fast as they caught over 100 Northern
Pike on their first day. WOW!! Second and third days were not as fast action
but they did caught some quality Pike and after leaving their big net back on
the dock Mike hooked into a GIANT Master Anglers Award size Muskie and had it
to the boat several times and in an attempt to land this monster by putting
it’s head in a Bass net and picking it up by the tail, the fish shook
violently, flopped out of the net only leaving the hook behind and all Mike
& Joe could do is watch this submarine slowly swim away. As for the big net,
be assured they will never leave the dock without it again. Fourth day was full
of action again as they landed over 40 Northern Pike. Their fifth day was a
slower day, but on the sixth and final day they finished strong catching well
over 50 Northern Pike, 3 Smallmouth & Joe caught a GIANT 19.5” Master
Anglers Trophy Smallie. Great Fishing and GREAT Memories for this father and
son.
Leon Robbins from
Yadkinville, NC returned for his 5th year and Justine Sebastine from
Mount Holly, NC was back for his 2nd year. On their DOA while
fishing for just two hours before supper they had an amazing start to their 5
days of fishing. Justine hooked into and landed a BIG 41” Musky. That’s setting
the bar Justine. Next day they had a great day catching 63 Northern Pike, 11
Smallmouth Bass with two being Trophy Master Anglers measuring 18.5 &
19.25-inches. Two of there remaining four days were spent chasing Musky having
lots of follows and Justine caught two more near 30-inches plus they caught 8
Pike & 20 Smallmouth. The other two days were full of catching 125 Pike 10
Smallmouth Bass with Justin also catching a Master Anglers Award Smallmouth at
18-inches and one more Musky. Both had a blast and were already discussing
their plans for 2011.
Ross Lagerblade from Crestwood,
KY with Father Roy from Rock Island, IL returned for their 6th trip.
The day of arrival these two caught some nice Northern Pike to get started off
right. There first full day of fishing they accomplished their personal best
day by landing 78 Northern Pike with a bunch of other action. Second day was
spent chasing Musky having some follows but no hook ups. Third day was another
action packed Pike day; Ross saying his dad and him caught Northern Pike all
day long. On the fourth and final day they again fished for Musky but could not
get any to cooperate and caught a few larger Pike. Both left as they came, full
of chatter and laughter logging another set of fishing memories made together.
Jim Pim returned to
Fireside Lodge with brother Rich, Robert Dosey, Steven Barton, Edward
Prichard,& Howard Reding from
Shell Knob, Carthage, Sarcoxie, Diamond, & Joplin, MO. These fellows had
fabulous fishing and fun. First day of fishing was fabulous as they caught lots
of Northern Pike with Howard and Steven saying that they could have caught as
many Pike as they wanted. Second day Jim and Robert caught 40+ Smallmouth,
Robert landed a Master Anglers 18.5-incher, & a Musky each, Howard and
Steven said they were wore out by suppertime catching Smallmouth and Rich and
Ed caught just as many. Third day was another fabulous Pike day as each boat
averaged 75 Northern Pike, and Rick had the catch of the day landing a BIG FAT
42.5” Tiger Musky. Fourth day was another great Smallmouth day with each boat
catching 35-45 per boat. Fifth and last day they all had another great Pike day
catching many pike in the 26 to 32-inch range. All left having a fabulous time
and after they left we missed the laughter and fun coming from their dinning
room table.
The Scott family group was
back including Ewell, Ed, Greg, Brian, Guest of honor Earl and Tom Carew,
Charlie Tingle, and Troy Burchett. They came from KY, OK, IL, and NC to
celebrate a very special 97th Birthday for Earl. When Ewell asked
his dad Earl what he wanted for his 97th birthday he replied, “I’d
like to go back to Fireside Lodge”, where Earl has celebrated his birthdays of
89,90,91,92,93,and 94. First day out they averaged 35-40 Smallmouth per boat
and that’s 140-160 for the group. Great Day. Second day Greg & Earl caught
over 35 Smallmouth with Earl landing an 18” Master Anglers. Master Angler at 97
is a remarkable fishing feat. Ed & Brian caught 25 Smallmouth and 37 Pike,
and Charlie, Ewell, Tom, & Troy all caught a bunch of Pike, 60-70. Third
day was Ewells 70th B-Day and congrats to Ewell. He was fishing with
Tom and the caught a lot of nice Pike and Tom had a 40-inch plus Pike near the
boat. Charlie and Troy caught over 40 Smallmouth, and Earl while fishing with
grandson Brian caught 40 Smallies himself along with another 18” Trophy Master
Anglers Award Bass. Fourth and final day was another great day in several ways.
First the whole group caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass with Ed, Troy, and Brian
all coming away with Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass 18 to 18.5-inches. Also,
we had a terrific celebration in the dining room for Earls 97th
birthday. The cake was a very BIG traditional birthday cake with a fishing
theme and it said “Happy Birthday Earl – Master Angler at 97”. Everyone, 48
people in all, sang to Earl and it was a very joyous and memorable event.
Audrey and I were very fortunate to have Earl want to spend his birthday with
us at Fireside Lodge. To see this event go to our Facebook or YouTube links.
Enjoy. Earl is truly an inspiration to us all.
John Budin returned to
Fireside Lodge with friends Jerry Sullivan, Bob Gabrielsen, and Bill Foreman
from Arlington Heights, Highwood, & Johnsburg, IL. Very first day these
guys caught many Northern Pike, so many they lost count. Second day was slower,
but the third day was another GREAT day fishing & catching Pike &
Smallmouth with Bob catching an 18.5” Master Anglers Award Smallie. Their
fourth and final day was another very active day catching a lot of Northern
Pike and some nice Smallmouth. All left having a blast and with big smiles
after having some down time in the wonderful wilderness we have to offer.
First timers to Fireside
Lodge were Rich Canada, Ron Arnold, & Bob Ayotte from Johnstown, OH,
Commerce, MI and Waterford, MI. These guys were here for the BIG toothy
critters we are known for and on their first day they caught some Northern
Pike, but they were very surprised at the number of BIG Pike and Muskie follows
they had. So we discussed techniques and tactics to turn some of these follows
into catches and they were off to apply their skills. Well, things worked out
very good as they caught a lot of Pike and Ron ended up taking a picture with
one of those big follows as he caught a Trophy Master Anglers Award 40-inch
Northern Pike. Their third and final day brought them more BIG Pike caught and
had some of those big Pike & Musky follows. All had a great time fishing
together at Fireside Lodge.
Make sure to go to our website listed below to see the 2010 Photos
For Fabulous Video, Wildlife Events, and Current Happenings go to our
Social Sites Below.
Hot Lures: Blue Fox
Spinner, Leeches, X-Rap, Tube Jig, Beatle Spin, Gulp Baits, Wacky Worms, Mepps
Spinner, Floating Rapala,
Catches of The Week: 26
Smallmouth 18-inches or larger with two 19.5” and for 19”, 41” and 40.5”
Northern Pike,42.5” Tiger Musky,
41” Muskie, three 38” Pike.
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
tired since my Basic Training days. We really went at it hard
again for two old guys. Thur-14 SM and 3 NP to 34" between us, Fri-Blown
off lake, but managed 6 SM and 4 NP between us, Sat- record shattering day-Dan
12 SM (1 @ 18") 65 NP Don 9SM and 85 NP and some great video,
Sun-Dan 3 SM (1 @ 19.5") 44NP Don 3SM (1 @ 18.75" & 1 @
18") 36NP, Mon-Dan 17SM (1 @ 18") Don 29SM (1 @ 18.5") 4NP, Tue-
Dan 9 SM and 47NP -Don 5SM and 48NP
Smallmouth a Musky decided to take it away from Phil. After the
obvious struggle the Musky won and got lunch. Fourth day was a BIG catching day
as they caught 77 Pike and 2 Smallmouth. Fifth and sixth days Phil & Jerry
kept their numbers up as they landed 95 Pike and 5 Smallmouth and a Musky, but
Tim and Brad changed tactics and decided to chase BIG toothy critters. After
some discussion on lure type and a new technique they were off to test their
skills. Well, the results happened on Brad’s third cast catching a BIG FAT
35-inch Tiger Muskie and they proceeded to catching Pike in the 30 to 33-inch
range. Last day the did even better landing more big fish including each
catching a 38” Northern Pike, Tim caught two Musky at 30 & 34-inches and
Brad caught a chunker
35-incher. Third day they were in search for Muskie only
and had many follows but no takers, caught 1 large Pike, a dozen Smallmouth and
one 1400LB Moose sighting. GREAT DAY!!! Fourth day had them at near 100 fish
the highlight being an 18” Master Anglers Smallmouth Bass. Fifth day was over
150 fish and Tony caught a HUGE 39” Musky. Last day was over 100 fish day and
Paul landed a beauty 18.5” Trophy Smallmouth and they ended their trip with a
traditional double catch of Northern Pike. They had 8 doubles in all and Tony
caught 7 Pike on 7 consecutive casts. Most of all they caught & kept to
take with them another set of wonderful father and son memories fishing together
in the great wilderness we have to offer at Fireside Lodge.
days were not as fast action
but they did caught some quality Pike and after leaving their big net back on
the dock Mike hooked into a GIANT Master Anglers Award size Muskie and had it
to the boat several times and in an attempt to land this monster by putting
it’s head in a Bass net and picking it up by the tail, the fish shook
violently, flopped out of the net only leaving the hook behind and all Mike
& Joe could do is watch this submarine slowly swim away. As for the big net,
be assured they will never leave the dock without it again. Fourth day was full
of action again as they landed over 40 Northern Pike. Their fifth day was a
slower day, but on the sixth and final day they finished strong catching well
over 50 Northern Pike, 3 Smallmouth & Joe caught a GIANT 19.5” Master
Anglers Trophy Smallie. Great Fishing and GREAT Memories for this father and
son. 
congrats to Ewell. He was fishing with
Tom and the caught a lot of nice Pike and Tom had a 40-inch plus Pike near the
boat. Charlie and Troy caught over 40 Smallmouth, and Earl while fishing with
grandson Brian caught 40 Smallies himself along with another 18” Trophy Master
Anglers Award Bass. Fourth and final day was another great day in several ways.
First the whole group caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass with Ed, Troy, and Brian
all coming away with Master Anglers Award Smallmouth Bass 18 to 18.5-inches. Also,
we had a terrific celebration in the dining room for Earls 97th
birthday. The cake was a very BIG traditional birthday cake with a fishing
theme and it said “Happy Birthday Earl – Master Angler at 97”. Everyone, 48
people in all, sang to Earl and it was a very joyous and memorable event.
Audrey and I were very fortunate to have Earl want to spend his birthday with
us at Fireside Lodge. To see this event go to our Facebook or YouTube links.
Enjoy. Earl is truly an inspiration to us all.
