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
Well, for all the worries
about the water levels, the rain this week really clinched the fact that we
will have high water for a while, having rained most of the week and very heavy
at times. I don�??t think you can start a forest fire if you tried.
Very good friends &
long time Fireside Lodge guests Joe Denise from Palos Heights, Il and Bob
Nelson from Elmwood Park, NJ were back to hunt down Smallmouth Bass &
Northern Pike. On DOA they caught 16 Smallmouth Bass while fishing for 2 hours
before supper. GREAT Start!! First day Joe had the hot hand as they caught lots
of Smallmouth Bass. Joe teased Bob as he struggled a little the first day
getting the kinks out, but tables turned day 2 as b Bob was on top of his game
of surface fishing, and had Joe repeatedly going into his tackle box in an
attempt to catch up. 3rd day was a draw as they were in sync, both catching a
lot of Smallmouth Bass along with a few Pike, while discovering a new fishing
spot. 4th & 5th days were slower for them in their
search for Smallmouth Bass, but they still caught enough fish to keep them
interested along with gaining some great stories of fishing in & around
wood. Last day they got back in sync catching plenty of Smallmouth Bass all day
long. This was a sad day being their last, but left having caught lots of nice
fish, great conversation, and another set of lasting memories between best
friends & fishing buddies.
Mike & Linda Lapresi
from Tucker, GA returned for their 16th time fishing at Fireside
Lodge. 1st Day had Mike out at dawn catching 9 15-17�?� Smallmouth
Bass fly-fishing before breakfast. Linda & Mike had a very good day up
until noon catching many big Smallies, then very strong winds blew up making it
difficult keeping location & presentation of lures/flies. 2nd
day was even better despite rain on and off all day long. They caught a lot of
big Smallmouth, all on surface baits, which is their favorite presentation.
Third day was another fabulous day catching 36 Smallmouth 15-17.5�?� their way,
on surface lures/flies, all before supper. 4th day had them with 30+
Smallies, while discovering a new spot. Today your casts had to be accurate as
they were fishing very close to shore structure & between the pencil reeds.
5th day the weather turned around favoring surface fishing and Linda
& Mike took advantage having one of there better days landing 35-40 bigger
Smallmouth & Linda caught a Trophy Master Anglers Award 18.5�?� brut. Way to
go Linda. Both left having a FABULOUS stay & we were sad to see them go.
Walt Lacasse from
Minnetonka, MN returned with his spring crew of Jim Jones-McKinney, TX, Terry
Ahrens-Plymouth, MN, John Hietala-Northfield, MN, Bruce & Richard Laybourne
Milford, OH & Allen, TX, and Dick Oksanen-Mabank, TX. First day was
terrific fishing with Walt & Dick having a BIG fish day. They caught 24
Northern Pike over 30�?�, including a 36�?�, 37�?�, and Walt landed a 40�?� Tiger
Musky. Dick also had a HUGE Muskie on which came completely out of the water
doing the tail walk while throwing his lure right back at him. This group had
lots of smiles & laughter at their supper table. 2nd day all
caught fish as brother Rich & Bruce catching many Smallmouth and Bruce
landing a trophy 18.5�?�er. Dick had the biggest Pike of the day with a beauty
39�?� very fat Pike. 3rd day had Bruce and Rich doing the best
catching Smallmouth all day. 4th and final day was fabulous as the
group caught well over 100 Northern Pike and John came up with a very special
catch landing a 48-inch. 35lb GAINT Trophy Northern Pike. WOW!!! What a
fabulous catch. Before leaving Walt signed the group up for 2013, & I am
sure the planning is already happening.
Dan & Nathan Mosier
from Lincoln, NE returned for his 13th time as Dan has brought 4 of
his children over those years. First night Dan caught a 37�?� Northern & a
big Smallie. 1st day they did great catching 20 Smallmouth Bass
& 15 Pike, with Nathan landing a Trophy 18�?� Master Anglers Award Bass and
Dan caught a Huge 37�?� Northern Pike. 2nd day was 15 Smallies &
15 Pike. Nathan, at 17, made a life long memory with his father as he landed a
Giant 42�?� Muskie, his first fish of this size class. This was a very exciting
moment for Dan & Nathan, who was rewarded for his persistence &
patience. He also caught it on his favorite lure, which he has bought at least
one from me every year since he was 9. 3rd day was a little slower relatively.
4th day was gangbusters as they landed 124 Northern Pike, even though they were
driven in early by threatening weather. 5th day started with high winds
which spoiled 2/3rds of a day, but the last third was spent catching Northern
Pike and Nathan caught another BIG fish landing a 36�?� Northern Pike. WOW, what
a great BIG FISH trip this was for Nathan. Both left nearly having tears in
their eyes, but smiles came with the mention of their return in 2013.
Bill Aulenbach-Barberton,
OH, Mike Lewis-Akron, OH with Father & son Bill & Kyle Rasbach from Ft
Meyers, FL returned for their 9th consecutive year. 1st
day this group had a very good day with Bill R & Kyle catching about 35
nice Smallmouth Bass, & Mike & Bill A had success with the toothy
critters. 2nd day had them catching 47 Smallmouth Bass as a group
with Bill R having the hot hand & Bill A caught a BIG 36�?� Northern Pike. 3rd
day was a super Smallmouth day as the group landed 71. 4th day was a
Musky day for Bill A & Kyle without much results, but Mike & Biil R
tore the Smallies up catching 54, most BIG fish, with all but 2 fly-fishing,
& Bill R caught a HUGE 19�?� Trophy Smallmouth Bass. WOW!!! 5th
day was spent half day of wind rest and the other catching Smallmouth with Kyle
and father Bill R catching 20 in just a few hours. On another day they caught
so many Northern Pike it was ridiculous. Bill R & son Kyle caught over 100,
all fly-fishing, and Bill A & Mike lost count in their boat. Last day had
them with a memorable finish as both boats caught over 30 Smallmouth Bass. Even
after 7 full days of fishing it was still hard for them to leave, however
before doing so they made reservations for the same dates in 2013.
For the 7th
consecutive year Jerry Amer & Bill Calhoon from Columbus, OH showed up all
smiles & ready to fish. DOA these two caught about 24 Smallmouth Bass &
10 Northern Pike. At first they mentioned it was a slow start and then realized
that they might be somewhat spoiled. 1st full day they caught over
55 Smallmouth fly-fishing. 2nd day was terrific, catching over 50
Northern Pike, over 30 Smallmouth all 17-18�?� and landed 6 Trophy Master Anglers
Award Smallmouth Bass with 90% fly-fishing. 3rd day was slow chasing Muskie, so
they switched to Smallmouth Bass on Little Vermilion Lake landing many fish
14-17-inches. 4th & final day was a fast & furious finish as
they said they caught Smallmouth after Smallmouth to the point they could
hardly make their fly casts work. Lot of Big fish caught & many more
fishing memories made between two long time friends / fishing buddies. They
made their reservations for 2013 before departing, and once again let the
planning begin.
Grade School friends Don
Landbo & Dan Szkola from S Elgin & Sugar Grove, IL returned for their 9th
year. 1st day was a portage catching 31 Northern Pike and 6 Walleye
20-23�?�. 2nd day had them catching 69 Northern Pike and missing a
bunch. 3rd day was surface all day long. Even though their numbers
were down they still caught 65, plus missed at least as many or more. As Don
said in the dinning room top-water action can be addictive, seeing these toothy
critter come out of no where to slam you lure. 4 day had these two focusing on
Smallmouth with surface baits doing very well catching 60 with many strikes
& blow-ups & Dan got an 18.5�?� Trophy. 5th day was doing it
their way, catching 110 Northern Pike mostly surface fishing. The great thing
about fishing on the surface every explosion & strike is just as good as
hooking & landing a fish. 6th & final day was their best in
numbers landing 107 Pike, 1 Muskie, & 5 Smallmouth with Don catching a
Master Anglers Award Smallies at 18�?�. Great Trip for Great friends &
fishing buddies, & upon departure made reservations for the same dates next
year.
First time guests Paul
Wilson from Fargo, ND father and son Bill & Andy Wilson from Excelsior, MN
& Mike Rowan from Lowell, MA were holding up their 12-year tradition of
fishing together. 1st day was a discovery day doing well catch some
Smallmouth Bass and Pike, with Paul loosing a trophy Northern Pike. 2nd day
beat all expectations as the boated over 160 Northern Pike. WOW! what fast
learners. 3rd day was a slow down from the second but that was
inevitable. They were fishing for bigger fish having some great follows, &
1 was a monster estimated at 47-48�?�. Super fishing for this group on their 4th
and final day as they caught well over 200 Northern Pike. Mike retired a lure
on our lure collection wall as he caught so many fish on it he said it would be
a criminal act to bring it back to Boston with him. All had such a fabulous
time they made their reservations for the same dates in 2013, & we are
thrilled to have them back.
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