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. The
temperatures were gorgeous this week having highs in the mid to upper 70�??s
including a few heavy thunderstorms on Thursday with mega lightning, which
drove most looking for cover. The fishing was �??TERRIFIC�?� for all with the
catching being the same for most.
Long time return guest for his 9th consecutive
year Bill Westbrook from New Philadelphia, OH for the first time came with his
entire family of Wife Jill & Matt, 2nd year, Mark 8th
year who came with Katie Perica from Cincinnati, OH. First evening fishing all
caught Smallmouth Bass with Jill setting the pace as she caught the most &
the largest fish up to 17.5�?�. First full day all caught a lot of Smallmouth
Bass with the ladies leading the pack on larger fish as Jill & Katie caught
17-17.5�?�ers. Katie, having never fished before caught 10. Great day for all. 2nd
day was a fun portage day for Muskie & Smallmouth, getting Muskie follows
& catching a lot of Smallmouth. Jill again landed some 17�?�+ fish and Mark
came up with the catch of the day landing a HIGE 19.5�?� Master Anglers Award
Trophy. 3rd day was super as the whole crew caught over 70 fish with
99% being Smallmouth Bass. A lot of big bass were caught up to 17�?� and Katie,
Mark, Bill, & Matt all caught Master Anglers Award Trophy 18�?� plus fish. 4th
day was volatile as T-Storms chased them off the lake at the noon hour, but not
before Bill & Mark took advantage of the before the storm bite. They caught
many big Smallmouth 16 to 17.5�?�, caught 5 Trophy Smallmouth between 18-19.5�?�
with Bill landing a GIANT measuring 20�?�, Matt caught the 19.5�?�er & a side
Story is that when Bill caught his 20�?� Smalllmouth Matt also caught a 17�?�
Smallie. That�??s a heck of a double catch on Smallmouth. The last day because of
weather only Bill, Mark, & Matt fished for 3 hours and caught about a dozen
Pike All left making GREAT family fishing memories at Fireside Lodge.
Newcomers to Fireside Lodge were Brad Carpenter from White
Bear Lake, MN Chuck Bach from Mukwonago, WI, Chris Kelly from Cape May, NJ
& Rich Hoffman from IL.
First night after supper all caught Smallmouth &
Northern Pike. 1st full day they did great catching close to 25
Northern Pike & some Smallies. 2nd day was nothing less than
terrific. After an adventurous & challenging creek ride these four caught
well over 100 Northern Pike with plenty of other follows or lost fish. On there
3rd & final day they dedicated to Smallmouth Bass. After some
discussion on location & presentation they were off. The results were
�??FABULOUS�?� as they caught fish all day long and big Smallmouth ranging from 14
to 19�?�. They said it was non-stop and could not give me number because the
excitement was so great from watching 4-6 Smallmouth following right behind the
one they were catching. This was a great finish to a fabulous 3-day fishing
trip.
Father & son Mark & Matt Donovan from IL. &
Albert Marco from Middleton, WI. returned for their 2nd trip. 1st
day was slow starting having many follows from toothy critters that would not
take anything, but it cranked up in the afternoon with the Smallmouth Bass as
they caught some nice fish & Al set the bar landing an 18�?� Master Anglers
Award bass. 2nd day they did very well catching fish all day with
Pike, up in the 32�?� range, Smallmouth of all sizes, & Matt landed his
biggest at 17.5�?� & Al caught another over 18�?�. They also had a lot of large
follows. 3rd day had these three fishing an out lake catching 6
walleye & over 40 Pike. 4th & final day they finished strong
catching 25 Northern Pike & a dozen Smallmouth all being Big between 15 to
18�?� & both Al & Mark caught 18�?� Master Anglers award Trophy Bass. All
left making wonderful memories.
Ron & Lisa Vincent from Sherrills Ford, NC returned for
their 13th consecutive year. DOA Ron caught a Tiger Muskie &
both did well on Pike & Smallmouth Bass. 2nd day Ron caught 2
more Musky (that�??s 3 in 1.5 days) & both had a FABULOUS day catching many
BIG Smallmouth Bass ranging in the 13 to 17.5�?� area. 2nd day was a
big day for these two as the caught a bunch of Smallmouth bass up to 17.5�?� and
some nice pike. 3rd day was as good as you can ask for as they
caught well over 50 Northern Pike about 15 Smallmouth with Lisa landing a BIG
trophy 18�?�er. The next two days had them seeing about 30 Musky follows but no
takers and they caught a bunch of Smallmouth Bass & Northern Pike. Lisa
landed another 18�?�+ along with many 14 to 17.5 inches & Ron had similar
success but despite him landing about a half dozen 17-17.75 inches he could not
break the 18�?� mark. He also said Lisa was keeping him very honest. They also
caught a lot of pike including some in the 33-35�?� range. 5th day was
a very good day & Ron did some catching up in the Smallmouth Trophy
category coming up with 2 18�?� Smallmouth Bass tying Lisa. The 6th
& final was a change in weather day being cooler with some rain so Lisa
took the day off & Ron went fishing with another guest, Leon, who is also
from NC. Both caught fish and Ron enjoyed his last fishing day, while Lisa
enjoyed her personal day. Both had a GREAT vacation making some memories in our
wonderful wilderness setting.
Dave Warner with sons David, Michael & Grandfather
Philip from Foxboro & N Attleboro, MA returned to Fireside Lodge for their
6th time. 1st day each boat caught close to 20 fish, mostly Pike up
to 31�?�, Dave Jr caught a BIG Smallmouth just under 18�?� & Dave Sr caught a
37�?� Musky. 2nd day had Dave & Phil having success landing some
nice Pike up to 32-inches. 3rd day had Dave Jr & Michael catching
over 30 Northern Pike with Dave & Phil landing a bakers dozen, which made
pushing over a silt bar for a 55 minute drive & getting over 3 beaver dams
all worth the effort. 3rd day had these three taking a weather day
off as we had a typical northeastern storm come through with thunderstorms
& cold front conditions. 4th & final day was finished with a
bang as David Jr & Michael had a SUPER DAY FISHING catching over 70 fish,
60+ Northern Pike along with 12 Smallmouth Bass. All left having a wonderful
trip & hope to return again in the near future.
Father David Stefanini from Olmsted Twp, OH & his two
sons Todd from Upper Arlington & Dave from Hood River, OR returned for
their 2nd trip. 1st day had these three having plenty of
action landing over 40 Northern Pike, and Dave landed his while fly-fishing. 2nd
day they caught mostly Smallmouth Bass & Todd was the top dog landing a
17.5�?� Smallie. 3rd day brought cold front conditions with high winds
& the fishing was slower, however they still caught some Pike with Todd
landing a MONSTER 37.5�?� er having a tremendous girth & Dave Sr landed a
heavy 31.5�?� Musky. Not bad for tough weather conditions! 4th day had
these three catching 15+ nice Northern Pike. 5th day had them
fishing for Muskie & Smallmouth Bass with great results. Dave Sr caught a
32�?� Musky & lost another, Todd landed a 26�?�er & Dave had a Musky
briefly hooked. Also, they had countless Musky follows throughout the day and
caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass including both Dave Sr & Todd each landing
a trophy 18�?� Smallie. Last day they were on the hunt for BIG fish & Todd
found a beauty 19�?� Trophy Smallmouth Bass & Dave Sr finished with a 35.5�?�
Pike with a very wide girth. All left having a great visit & making
wonderful memories between father & sons.
First time guests David Nero& Woody Kessell from Akron & Uniontown, OH arrived
with anticipation. First day ever on our lake they recognized a pattern &
started catching Smallmouth, landing over 40 before supper. Second day had them
catching 30+ Smallmouth Bass until T-Storms brought them back at noon. They
ended up only fishing a few more hours because of weather & ended up the
day with 38 Smallies. 3rd day was very windy with a cold front which
made it slower going, but even with these conditions Dave & Woody managed
to catch 20+ Smallmouth. 4th day they stuck to there pattern of
fishing 8-15 foot depths away but parallel to rock shore lines & caught
another 33 Smallmouth Bass with their wacky rigged 3�?� Slug-O�??s. 5th
day they caught 20 Smallmouth and on the 6th & final day they
finished strong with 34 Smallmouth Bass. Both had a great trip and said they
would like to return in the future.
Tom & Jen Born from Burlison, TN returned to Fireside
Lodge for theirtrip.
First day out had them catching some fish, both Pike & Smallmouth, &
seeing a few monsters just take a look & leave, 2nd day was
Musky day for Jen as she hooked & landed a nice 31�?�er. 3rd day
they portaged to a Musky / Smallmouth Bass lake in server cold front
conditions, & had many Musky follows and caught some nice Smallmouth Bass.
Tom landed a monster 19.5�?� Master Anglers Award Trophy Smallmouth. 4th
day had them catching Pike and Smallmouth with Tom landing another GIANT
Smallmouth, this one measuring 19�?�.Another exciting event was when a Musky the same length as the width of
their boat followed Tom�??s lure through a figure eight, then sat a few feet
below their boat just long enough for Tom & Jen to get a good look, &
then it slowly swam away. 5th & final day had them on the last
search for that Monster Pike or Musky. First choice was to try fishing in
Cedarbough, but the low water conditions prevented them from getting to this
lake, so they decided to fish the lake with the BIGGEST fish which is Little
Vermilion Lake. They had a blast soaking up their last day, seeing some follows
and catching some Pike, but the MONSTERS eluded them on this trip just teasing
them with follows and near strikes. Both left having a wonderful time and
adding to their memory log.
Barrett Bunce from Santa Barbara, CA returned for his second
visit bringing his sons Brandon from Ventura, Ca & Andrew from Sheridan,
CO. 1st full day on the water had these 3 catching many Pike &
some Smallmouth Bass, & Andrew told me he was starting to believe my weekly
fishing reports. 2nd day had them portaging & catching many
pike, 30+, in only 3.5 hours, but were driven out because of T-Storms. 3rd day
was facing cold front conditions & the fishing was slower, but they still
managed to catch 20 Smallmouth Bass. 4th day was a fun portage day
adventuring to another lake having a great time catching a bunch of Pike. 5th
day had these three fishing for Smallmouth Bass catching 15 & they also
took some time to enjoy the Twin Falls Area. This is and amazing natural wonder
on Little Vermilion Lake that all should see and it is a perfect photo opt. 6th
& final day was a portage for Musky & Smallmouth Bass. Well the Musky
did not get the message, but the Smallmouth did as they caught a bunch of
Smallies. Many memories were made between father & sons on this trip &
for Barrett it was a special trip not only being with his two sons but also in
remembrance of a very good friend who was with Barrett on a previous trip with
us. Thanks for choosing Fireside Lodge to make some of your special memories.
Long time guest Leon Robbins from Yadkinville, NC returned
with three timer Justine Sebastian from Mont Holly, NC & Leon�??s nephew Troy
Reed from Winston Salem, NC for his first experience. This was Troy�??s first
fishing trip & he arrived never having caught a Smallmouth Bass, Musky or
Northern Pike. 1st evening they caught 11 Pike & 8 Smallmouth
with Troy catching the most including his first ever Smallie & Pike. 1st
day after breaking through three beaver dams & a shallow silt bar they
caught over 60 Northern Pike & a dozen Smallmouth Bass. Terrific day for
all & in just 24 hours Troy went form never catching a Pike or Smallmouth
to becoming very good at it. 2nd day was a bit slower because of
high winds, T-Storms, along with sever cold front conditions. All still caught
some fish & had tons of fun. 3rd day was their Musky day as the
saw a lot of follows & landed 4, with Troy catching his 1st, 2nd,
& 3rd Musky in the same day, his biggest being 36.5�?�, &
Justine caught a HUGE 39.5�?� Musky. It was a very exciting day as they also
caught plenty of Smallmouth Bass. 4th day all had a fabulous time
catching over 50 Northern Pike along with a half dozen big Smallmouth Bass,
& Leon landed a nice 37.5�?� Musky. 5th & final day was almost
a copy of the 4th as they caught 48 Pike with 8 Smallmouth Bass. All
left tiered & worn out, but feeling great, & before leaving were
looking into dates for 2012.
1st Timers to Fireside Lodge were Gene O�??Bara
from Manville, NJ, Vito Palombella from Needham, MA, Jerry Klaus from Orlando,
FL & James Miller from Fort Lauderdale, FL. First day on the water these
three did very well catching many Northern Pike/Smallmouth Bass and both Gene
& Vito lost Muskie, & Jerry landed the first Musky of this trip. Great
day for it being their first ever on Little Vermilion Lake. Facing cold front
conditions & high winds on their 2nd day Vito hooked and landed a 34�?�
Muskie with no leader and 6lb test line and Gene caught a nice Pike & also
losing a BIG Muskie. Then they had a three-hour delay because of a hook
incident. Afterwards they went right back to catching many Northern Pike. Jerry
& Jim had many follows and landed 10 nice Northern Pike. 3rd day was just
one of those wonderful weather days & the fishing was �??FABULOUS�?�. Gene
& Vito caught over 30 Smallmouth Bass along with several Pike & Vito
landed 2 Master Anglers Award Trophy Bass measuring 18�?�.Jerry & Jim also did great catching
over 50 Smallmouth with a lot in the 14 to 17�?� range. 4th day had
Jerry & Jim portage to a Pike lake while Gene & Vito fished for bigger
Toothy Critters. We hesitate to say fishing for Musky because Gene figures that
if you don�??t fish for this elusive fish that�??s when you might catch one. The
results were �??all had a fabulous day�?� as Jim & Jerry caught over 30 Northern
Pike and a few Smallies, with Gene & Vito catching 7 Pike 6 Smallmouth but
the topper was Gene hooking & landing a 40�?� very heavy Musky on a top-water
prop bait. Very exciting as they both saw the fish blow up on Gene�??s lure. Both
will have that memory engrained in their minds forever. 5th & final day had
Vito & Gene portaging for Pike & Walleye catching 7 nice big walleye
and about 40 Pike. Jim & Jerry also did very well catching 22 Northern Pike
& 8 Smallmouth Bass. All left having a memorable trip & hope to return
one day soon.
Long time return guests Steve & Lawrence Sandler from
Richmond Hill & Markham, Ontario were back for their 6th visit
with us at Fireside Lodge. First day they faced a cold front right off the bat
but still caught 7 Pike & many nice Smallmouth Bass between 13 to 17�?�. 2nd
day was a �??Fabulous�?? day as they caught well over 50 Northern Pike and had lots
of action in follows & lost fish. 3rd day was fun catching good
size Northern Pike, 26-31�?� throughout the day, Lawrence landed a nice Tiger
Muskie & Steve caught some great size Smallmouth Bass up to 17�?�, all having
a good thick girth. 4th and final day they finished strong catching
50+ Northern Pike along with 5 Big Smallmouth Bass all at or near 17�?� & as
fat as footballs and Lawrence caught a nice Tiger Musky. Both left having made
another set of wonderful memories between brothers & the chatter on their
departing morning was about making reservations for 2012.
Gordon Mair from Skippack, PA returned for his second visit
in as many years. First several days fishing Gordon mixed it up catching
Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pike and enjoying the other wonders we having in
our great wilderness setting. Gordon spent close to 45 minutes just watching
Bald Eagles do what they do every day. That�??s one of the many benefits of
fishing in the Canadian Wilderness. Second day Gordon caught 4 Smallmouth Bass
and 3 nice Northern Pike. On Gordon�??s final two days he did very well expanding
his knowledge of our lake by exploring some new areas and catching some good
Northern Pike while doing so. He left having a thoroughly enjoyable stay and he
hopes to return in 2012.
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Photos
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