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Ontario Fishing Adventure...

Get away from it all and enjoy a Canadian Wilderness Experience at Fireside Lodge. Three and a half hours from the Minnesota border, Fireside Lodge is road accessible, and is the only resort located on Little Vermilion Lake.

Little Vermilion is the largest in an eleven-lake system. Approximately sixteen miles long, Little Vermillion is a long narrow body of water with a lower and upper section. These spring-fed waters are deep and cold with numerous bays, reefs, and deep weed beds that have created excellent fish-holding structures. The lake forage consists of whitefish, cisco, suckers, perch, various minnow life, and crayfish. With the combination of all these factors, the unpressured-waters of Little Vermilion offers our guests some of the best sportfishing Canada has to offer; year after year.

Fireside Lodge Accomodations...

Fireside Lodge is a unique structure, built in 1904. It provides a homey meeting place for friends, new and old, to gather and enjoy each other's company, or to just sit quietly and savour the moment. A bag of freshly popped corn will hit the spot while sitting by the large fireplace. The more active will take on the challenge of a game of pool or ping-pong. Books, puzzles, and board games are here to fill some quiet time. The spacious screened-in porch allows you to enjoy our fantastic Canadian sunsets. You will enjoy hearty home-cooked meals in our dining room and a friendly atmosphere where you can share the stories of the day.

Our lodge provides a change of atmosphere from your everyday life. Photographers will enjoy the natural surroundings and the wildlife that our area has to offer. For the exercise enthusiast, our two miles of quiet scenic road are excellent for jogging or hiking.

Newly built log cabins are nestled in the trees along the lake front, providing a comfortable home-away-from-home atmosphere for your stay. Lodge rooms also accommodate our guests, each with a refrigerator to store any "goodies" they choose to bring along.

Excellent Canadian SportsFishing...

We at Fireside Lodge want to preserve the exceptional sportfishing on Little Vermilion Lake. To do so, we ask our guests to follow the catch-and-release program that we believe will keep the fishery abundant. Your efforts, along with ours, will enable Fireside Lodge to continue to be the place to catch the big one. We would like to have the opportunity to share Fireside Lodge with you, your family, and your friends. Let us make your long-awaited trip a memorable one.

Smallmouth Bass: are caught and released in large numbers throughout the year. Often, 3 to 4 pound Smallies are caught and 4 to 5 pounders are not uncommon. Guests at Fireside Lodge release Smallmouth Bass over 5 pounds every year. Although Smallmouth Bass will change their location during seasonal fluctuations, the consistency of the catch does not change for our guests. The practice of catch-and-release has kept our Smallmouth Bass fishing of premium quality, hard to be matched anywhere in North America.

Northern Pike: Little Vermilion is known for its large-bodied Pike. Because of its cold deep water and excellent forage, Northern Pike grow rapidly and develop a healthy body. Many Pike are hooked every year that weigh between 10 to 15 pounds. A number of our guests have released Pike between 15 to 20 pounds, and there are pictures of over 20-pounders every year. Then there are those that got away?...

Whitefish: Little Vermilion has an abundance of this often overlooked species. Being flat, football shaped, and silvery white in color, they usually roam our waters in schools. Average size is 1 to 5 pounds with the potential growth of over 10 pounds. Locating Whitefish is sometimes a challenge, but when met under proper conditions you'll be rewarded with fast action and fabulous fun. Whitefish caught on light tackle are very scrappy; similar to Smallmouth Bass.

Muskie: our lake system is unique to most in this category. Little Vermilion Lake is connected by creeks to three lakes that are Muskie Sanctuaries and were closed to fishing from the 1930's to 1993. These lakes are now opened under special regulations. This natural hatchery, coupled with its great forage, structure, and deep cold water, has conditions to fulfill any fisherpersons' dreams. Little Vermilion not only has numbers of Muskie but holds very large fish. One guest's best day on the lake is 14 Muskie. That's in just one boat. All released! In fact in every year many Muskies are caught, some very large, every one released. Yes, even the whoppers!