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. HOT!
HOT! HOT!That goes for the
weather & fishing! It was gorgeous weather wise having temperatures in the
high 70�??s to high 80�??s, & the fishing was great as you will read about
below.
Guests since 2002, Bergen family of father Tim & two
sons Joe & Adam from Orland Park, IL were back bringing friend Eddie Tracy
from Monee, IL. First day was a great Northern Pike day as they caught 47.Second day they were in search for big
fish targeting Muskie with great results. Joe caught a 36.5�?�. Adam a 32.5�?�
& Eddie caught his 1st ever Muskie at 28.5�?�. They also caught
some big pike with both Tim & Adam landing 35.5�?�ers& Joe, Adam, & Eddie were full
of excitement as they described a Huge (45-50�?�) Musky that followed their lures
4 different times and a 5th just cruising by there boat for a look.
Adam said at one point he was shaking. 3rd day was a little slow but
the fourth day was very special. They set out to catch Muskie& that�??s exactly what happened as
they landed 7 total. Eddie had the largest at 37.5�?�, Joe caught a 36�?�er, and
Adam a 35�?� Musky. Adam & Joe each caught a 33�?� Pike and to top it off Tim &
Adam both caught trophy Smallmouth Bass, Tim�??s being huge at 19�?� and Adam�??s was
a MONSTER measuring 21�?�.All went
home having a FANTASTIC trip making another set of family fishing memories.
Long time guests, 16 years, returning consecutively since
1995 are Jerry & Wanda Miller from Erwin, TN. 1st day Jerry guided
them to catching over 35 Smallmouth & 10 Pike. The Bass were big with Jerry
landing two over 18�?� & Wanda lost the biggest of the day. 2nd
day was less numbers, but a lot of quality Pike & Smallies. Big excitement
was watching a huge bear swimming across the lake for 25 minutes. Jerry really
got into Smallmouth between 15 to 17�?� along with some nice Northern Pike &
Jerry lost a Pike 35-37�?�. 3rd day Jerry got into some Big Smallmouth
16 to 18�?� using surface lures. The action was very exciting always anticipating
the strike. 4th day was short on the water because of some severe
thunderstorms, however they still caught some beautiful Smallies. 5th
day it was so windy they decided to take a day of rest. On their last day Jerry
decided to try some new areas. They caught some very nice Smallmouth in the 14
to 16�?� range to end of their trip in anticipation of their next visit in 2012.
For their 8th consecutive year father & son
George & Josh Carney with Grandpa Tom Miller all from Madison, WI returned
to Fireside Lodge. 1st day Lots of Pike was on the menu for these
three & Josh was the leader in number & size. 2nd day they
caught too many Pike to count & it was Tom having the hot hand. Next was
portage day for Muskie & Smallmouth, but since it was over 90 with sun
& high humidity they targeted Smallmouth & did very well catching many
in the 14 to 17�?� range & Tom landed a small Muskie. 4th day was
textbook fishing before thunderstorms rolled in, & the action got fast a
furious catching many bigger pike in the 30 to 35�?� range & some nice
Smallmouth. Despite high winds their fifth day was very productive catching
many Northern Pike & several Smallmouth Bass. 6th & final
day they got into some Bigger Northern Pike with George catching several large
30-33�?� Pike. All had a special family fishing trip & are hoping to return
in 2012.
Returning for their 4th time were Chris Grimes,
Robert Fisher, from Thurmont & Frederick, MD & Dennis Winters with his
son Joseph from Ogden, UT. 1st day they caught fish but didn�??t set
the world on fire. We discussed fish location & presentation & the 2nd
day was much better with Chris & Bob catching Smallies, Chris landed a nice
33�?� Musky & they had 6 other follows. 3rd day was their best as
they caught countless Northern Pike with Chris & Bob also getting into a
bunch of Smallmouth. Chris landed two trophies at 18.5�?� and a HUGE 19�?�er. Next
day was a 1 day tournament in Terry Lake. Opposing team players fished with
each other for a half day to control scores & to create competitiveness. The
rules were 1 point for each Northern Pike & 5 points for each walleye
caught. This was created by a plea from Dennis & Joseph who were behind in
the weekly competition on the largest fish in each category of Smallmouth,
Muskie, & Northern Pike. Well, Dennis was the only person who caught
walleye. Catching three put him and Joseph in the winning circle for that day.
5th day was very windy but despite the adverse conditions all caught
a lot of fish, both Northern Pike & Smallmouth Bass. Chris landed 2-18�?� Smallmouth
& Bob caught 1 18�?�er. Dennis & Joe caught all Northern Pike, too many
to count. 6th & final day had them all Musky hunting having
follows and landing 3 with Chris catching the largest at 32.5�?�. Chris also
caught an 18 & 18.5�?� along with Bob catching 2-18�?� Trophy Smallmouth Bass.
David Jewell, Wendell Hill, Robert Nutter, & Michael
Plumley from Pineville, Foster, Clarksburg, & Hamlin, WV were back for
their 3rd trip. All caught a bunch of Smallies on DOA, & before
breakfast on their 1st day David a Bob had 25 & Todd &
Wendell caught 12, most on surface with a Torpedo before breakfast. The rest of
the day they caught lots more on #3 Mepps Spinners. 2nd day was even better
catching 40 to 50 Smallmouth/Pike per boat, having a mix of sizes up to 17.5�?� on
Smallies & up to 30�?� on Pike. Third day was mostly Smallmouth Bass with a
few Pike mixed in, and Smallies ranged up to 17.5�?�.4th day was full of action as they caught more Northern Pike
than they could keep count of, 40-50 per boat, plus had excellent Smallmouth
fishing landing many along with a lot being 15 to 17.5�?�. 5th &
final day, despite windy conditions, they still caught plenty of Smallmouth
Bass, ending their trip on a high note.
David Powell from Springfield, IL & Jim Stark from
Mission Viejo, CA returned for their 3rd trip in as many years. 1st
day they caught a bunch of Northern Pike somewhere around 40+ with lots of
other action. Next day was a Muskie & bigger Pike quest. So after
discussion of locations, depth, & presentation they went out and caught a
number of bigger Pike but the Musky were no shows. Jim did so well he had to
replace a lure that got all busted up. That evening they also figured out the
Smallmouth catching them up to 17.5�?� using a small x-rap. 3rd day
Closs Lake portage was their choice & even though they did not land a
Muskie Jim lost one. They also had some follows & caught Smallmouth. 4th
day was fabulous as they caught about 40 Northern Pike & the action seemed
non-stop with all of the fish lost & follows. Both left having a fabulous
time & hope to return in 2012.
Six time guest
Tony Kujawa, from Lansing, IL returned with his daughter Lauren for her first
experience fishing in Canada. 1st day was all about Pike as they
caught many & had many follows. 2nd day was a portage for Muskie
& Smallmouth Bass being a perfect day for Musky as a weather change was
expected. It sure changed as severe thunderstorms appeared in the early
afternoon. The Musky were on cue with textbook writings becoming very active
just before the storm hit. Lauren had 3 follows, which scared the daylight out
of her, & Tony hooked up on three Muskie in a short time period, &
along with Lauren�??s help landed one. The photo shows the weather conditions, as
it was a completely black sky behind Tony in his Musky photo. Their last two
days were full of fun catching fish & making memories between father &
daughter in the Canadian Wilderness. As a side story Lauren, having never been
here before, ended up knowing another guest, Eddie Tracy above, as the attend the
same High School. What are the chances of that!
Dave Henry returned to Fireside Lodge with his son Jake,
along with Tim Traveny from Palmyra, PA & Bob Mezo from Dixon, IL. 1st
day was slow but they still caught some Pike. 2nd day had Jake
catching his 1st Musky at 33�?� & Dave landed a 21�?� Monster Trophy
Smallmouth Bass. They all also had a ball catching Northern Pike &
Smallmouth Bass. 3rd & final day all had their best day catching
well over 100 Northern Pike as a group along with catching some BIG Smallmouth
Bass. Bobby caught a GIANT 22�?� Trophy Smallmouth. This ended their short trip
with a BANG, & all hope to return to pick up where they left off next time.
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