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
This
week gave us below normal temperatures along with on and off rain showers that
only let up for a day and a half. Our guests however were hardy souls not
letting the weather get them down and as a result they were rewarded with
fabulous fishing.
Long
time guest Mike Uebehlerr Stow, OH returned with his daughter Kate and her
fiancé Chad who are currently living in Ethiopia and few almost half way around
the world to fish with Mike. 1st day out they had a blast catching
some fish while fighting some very strong winds. Second day was great as they
caught Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, and Muskie. Both Kate & Chad caught
HUGE Trophy 19.5-inch Smallmouth and Chad had his first encounter with a Big
Muskie as it hit his lure at boat-side, thrashed violently and as Chad did his
best to keep it on the fish did what Big Muskie tend to do more often than not,
throwing Chad’s lure and waving goodbye to him with it’s tail. 3rd
and final day was a great finish to a terrific trip as they caught over 70
Northern Pike. They all had a fabulous time making some wonderful family
memories together.
Every
year guests since 1999 brother and sister Tom Nayder Orland Park, IL Leah Bezin
Norwalk, WI with good friend Dave Sivicek Pierceton, IN who brought his wife
Helen, and son-in-law Dan daughter Katie and granddaughter Ade for their first
experience. 1st day they went out and caught Smallmouth Bass,
Northern Pike and Dave landed a beauty spotted Muskie.
2nd day had
them doing fantastic with Leah and Tom catching 38 Northern Pike, Leah catching
one after another fly-fishing and the Sivicek family caught just as many with
Ade catching her 1st and 2nd Pike ever both over
30-inches, and Helen caught her 1st Northern Pike Fly Fishing.
3rd
day was great catching a mix, Leah landing a Muskie keeping her Muskie queen
title and also an 18-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass and Tom caught 2 Trophy
Smallmouth at 18 & 19”, and others were caught in the 17-inch range. 4th
day was a great day catching many Northern Pike in the inclement rainy and cold
weather with temperatures reaching a high of only 55F. 5th and final
day was very good for Tom & Leah catching Smallmouth Bass, Tom with an
18-inch Trophy and Leah with a 19 & 20-inch Trophies. All left very happy
for the memories they made but somewhat sad it was over.
Back
for there 16th consecutive year were Jerry Amer & Bill Calhoon
from Columbus, OH. DOA these two got to it catching 57 Smallmouth Bass with
lots in the 16-17.5-inch range and Bill caught 4 Trophy Size between
18-19-inches with Jerry catching one that size.
1st full day was
even better catching 70+ Smallmouth Bass in the same size range and Bill had two-trophy
size over 18 and Jerry had one. They also caught a big pike in the mid 30-inch
range and two Muskie 33 and 34-inches. 2nd day they targeted Muskie
catching two at 33-inches and Bill landed the largest, a nice 36-incher, while
also catching a few Pike in the 30-inch range and some Smallmouth Bass.
3rd
day had these two catching 20 Smallmouth Bass with two Trophy size and 54
Northern Pike. Their 4th and final day they, they thought was an off
day at first as the weather, cold & rainy, beat them up, but after tallying
their total they caught 36 Smallmouth Bass with 3 over 18-inch Trophy fish and
21 Northern Pike. When departing they both laughed and said they are spoiled
with the fishing at Fireside Lodge.
They caught 19 Trophy Smallmouth Bass
between 18 to 19.5-inches for their 4 days, 4 Muskie & countless Pike.
Jerry will be returning with his Grandson at the end of July and both reserved
the same dates for 2018.
Back
for their 16th consecutive year were father & son Jack &
Steven Starnes from Wise & Duffield, VA 1st day these two did
great catching 50+ Smallmouth Bass and 60+ Northern Pike. 2nd day
was a fantastic Smallmouth day catching over 100 BIG Smallmouth Bass on surface
poppers. 3rd day was targeting Muskie catching 5 and losing a few along with
landing 20+ Pike and a few Smallmouth Bass. 4th day was another day
targeting Muskie having very few follows but catching 2. Steven with a nice
33-inch and Jack caught a Huge 45-inch Trophy Muskie, which made the whole day.
Later in the day they fished for Smallmouth Bass catching 35-40 nice fish all
being 16.5 to 18.5-inches. 5th day was a special day in any Fishers
book as Steve caught a 40-inch Trophy Northern Pike and Jack caught a 46.5-inch
GIANT Trophy Muskie. They also caught about 20 other pike and 25 Smallmouth Bass.
6th and final day had them catching 35 Smallmouth Bass and 30
Northern Pike. Both left having another great father and son fishing trip &
made their reservations for 2018.
Another
guest returning for their 16th consecutive year were very good
friends Don Landbo & Dan Szkolza from S Elgin, IL and Sugar Grove, IL.
1st
day despite the windy conditions they caught 26 Smallmouth Bass, 5 Pike with
Don landing a Trophy over 18-inches and Dan catching two Trophies. Also each
caught a Muskie. 2nd day was a super day catching 9 BIG Smallmouth
Bass and 176 Northern Pike using Buzz Baits 80% of the time. 3rd day
had them catching 122 Northern Pike using Buzz Baits, & 16 Smallmouth with
5 being Trophy Size over 18-inches. 4th day they caught 116 Northern
Pike & 12 Smallmouth. 5th day was focused on Smallmouth Bass
catching 28. The 6th and final day they were searching for both
Smallmouth Bass and Muskie finding them both catching 32 BIG Bass plus Dan
landed 2 Muskie with one being a very large 39-inches. This ended their trip on
a high note and after taking their traditional picture in front of my tackle
shop they reserved the same dates for next year.
1st
time guests George Siemer and his sons Alex & Andy from Hamilton and
Harrison OH were excited to arrive & fish our well know excellent
Smallmouth Bass fishery. 1st day before supper the caught over 3-dozen
nice Smallmouth & both Alex & Andy landed a very nice Northern Pike. 2nd
day was even better as they caught 57 Smallmouth Bass with Andy catching a
Trophy at 18-inches & a 31-inch Pike. 3rd day they caught 28
Smallmouth Bass with a few Northern Pike. 4th day they did well on
both Pike and Smallmouth Bass with Andy catching a BIG heavy 37.5-inch Northern
Pike and had some fast action on Smallmouth after supper with both Andy &
Alex catching BIG Smallmouth Bass on surface poppers. 5th and final
day was a great finish with them catching 38 Northern Pike both Alex and Andy
landing 19.5-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass and George caught a large 42-inch
Muskie. All left making great father and son memories for years to come.
Ted
Payseur & Jan Anderson from West Des Moines, IA were here for there 3rd
year in a row bringing with them 1st year fishers Alan Lepley from
Plymouth, MN and Gerhard Rivera from Phoenix, AZ. 1st day out they
caught a mix of Pike and Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day was a Pike fest as
the caught many Northern plus Jan landed an 18.5 and 19.5-inch Smallmouth Bass
& Gerhart caught an 18-inch Trophy. 3rd day Jan & Ted fished
together having a banner day catching 43 Smallmouth Bass with 18 being over
17-inches and 11 Trophy Smallmouth Bass over 18-inches, each landing
20-inchers, 4 at 19-inches, and 6 between 18 to 18.5-inches. WOW, what a fabulous
day!! The next day had Alan & Gerhard having fantastic Northern Pike
fishing Alan saying they caught as many pike as they wanted to as long as they
kept fishing.
5th and final day weather & wind were not on their
side however Ted & Jan still managed 14 Smallmouth Bass with 8 over
17-inches and 2 over 18-inches. This ended a great fishing trip for these guys
to talk & reminisce about for some time to come.
Paul
Capecchi with son Tony from Inver Grove Hgts & Woodbury, MN returned for
their 15th year in a row, 17th trip, and with them for
the 2nd year was Tony’s wife Jody and their 3-year old son Joseph. They
wasted no time on the DOA going to an original familiar location, Chicago Bay,
all catching Pike. 1st full day had Paul & Tony hunting Muskie
with Tony landing two up to 35-inches and also caught a 38.5-inch Northern
Pike. They also caught 5 Smallmouth Bass and 3 Trophy fish 18 to 18.5-inches.
2nd day Tony & Paul went fishing catching over 100 Northern Pike. 3rd day
all four went fishing catching many Northern Pike again, Jodie catching a fish
on her 1st cast & was on top of the daily leader board. 4th
and final day Paul & Tony caught over 50 Northern Pike along with 8
Smallmouth Bass and Tony caught 3 Trophy Smallmouth Bass 18-inches plus. The
also took a fun family boat ride to see Twin Falls which concluded a fabulous
family fishing vacation making three generation memoires that will last their
lifetime. Before departing Paul made their reservation for 2018. Thanks for
choosing Fireside Lodge to make your special family memories together.
Returning
for their 4th trip were father and sons Dan, Adam, & Ryan Spartz
from Columbus, OH and with them for his first Fireside Lodge experience was
Frank Berry from Savannah, GA. 1st day these guys had a fantastic
Northern Pike day catching 102 total. Both Adam & Ryan said the fish were
all bigger with al lot of fight and Frank caught his biggest Northern Pike ever
measuring a fat 34-inches.
2nd day this group targeted Smallmouth
Bass with Adam & Ryan teaming up for a total of 25, Adam catching a Trophy
over 18” and Frank also caught an 18.5-inch Trophy Smallmouth. 3rd
day had Adam & Ryan catching exactly 50 Northern Pike and Dan hit a
milestone landing his very 1st Muskie measuring 33-inches. 4th
day had them searching out Smallmouth Bass doing well catching 35-40 fish and
Frank landed a trophy 18.5-incher. 5th day was a Pike fest with the
group catching well over 100 Northern Pike. 6th and final day Frank
took the day off so Dan, Adam, & Ryan went Muskie hunting having a
fantastic day hooking up on 6 Muskie, landing 3 and Dan came up with the
largest at 37-inches. This ended their trip with much to talk about on the
travels back home.
Back
for their 2 consecutive year were brothers Craig & Jeff Wilson from the
Greater Toronto Area and Nova Scotia. These two had a great first day catching some
BIG Northern Pike and Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day was great catching 34
fish total, a mix of Smallmouth Bass & Pike both landing Trophy Smallmouth,
Craig at 18.5-inches, Jeff a huge 19.5-inches and Craig caught a Trophy 40-inch
Northern Pike slamming his Zara Spook after missing Jeff’s. Jeff also had a
much bigger Pike miss another top-water bait right at the boat. Almost all their
fish were caught on the surface with the Zara Spook being the lure of the day.
3rd day they caught Pike & Smallies and Jeff had a very big
Muskie roll on his lure. 4th was a day of lots of BIG follows while
hunting Muskie and Northern Pike, catching a few but not able to hook up on the
Trophy fish they were looking for. Last two days they searched for big fish
catching some Pike in the mid 30-inch range and on the last day within the last
3-4 hours Craig got hot catching the Tri-Fecta, a Northern Pike, Muskie and
landed a huge 19-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass. This put an exciting finish to a
fabulous brother fishing trip. When departing Craig yelled out, See Ya Next Year.
Back
for their 6th time were Jim, Rich, Pim Shell Knob & Carthage,
MO. Robert Dorsey Sarcoxie, MO. Steve Howlett Shell Knob & Steve Barton
from Shell Knob and Joplin, MO. Joining them for their 1st time were
Doug Pim from Frisco, TX Scott Bryant Glencoe, MO. & Aaron Elliott from
Springfield, MO. DOA Rich & Doug teamed up for over 40 Smallmouth Bass
almost all over 16-inches with Rich’s secret being the Ned Rig. The other 3
boats all caught between 30 to 35 Smallmouth Bass per boat Robert & Steve B
caught 5 over 18-inches and Scott caught 33-inch Pike. 1st full day
they caught 30 to 40 Smallmouth Bass per boat plus 20 to 30 Northern Pike per
boat. Most of the Bass were 16-17.5-iches & many Trophies over 18-inches
were caught. 2nd day they tore the Smallmouth Bass up catching over 200 as a
group. 3rd day was slower, but each person in the group caught a
Trophy Smallmouth Bass between 18–20-inches with Rich landing the 20-incher. 4th
and final day wind made it difficult Smallmouth Bass fishing but all caught
Fish and everyone landed a Smallmouth Bass 18-inch to 19-inches. All left very
happy and already looking forward to a return trip in 2018.
Father,
sons, and Grandson Dennis, Ross, Chadd, & Jason Beavers from Cozad &
McCook, NE were at Fireside Lodge for their 1st time. DOA they
caught both Smallmouth & Pike. 1st day Dennis caught his first
ever Muskie while Ross, Chadd and Jason caught a mix of Smallmouth Bass &
Pike and Ross caught a very nice 18-inch Trophy Smallmouth Bass. Second day
they did well locating some big fish, getting many follows and landing several
nice size Northern Pike. 3rd day was great fast action as they caught about 75
Northern Pike as a group having many other strikes & misses. 4th
and final day had Chadd & Jason catching many Northern Pike while Ross
& Dennis chased some bigger fish catching some Smallmouth Bass and Northern
Pike. All left having had great family fun making wonderful memories together.
Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to do so.
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