The weather turned pleasant in mid May so instead of staring at the Minnie in the driveway, I decided to load it up and head north for a few days.
I had the boat and a bicycle in tow for alternate transportation and entertainment. The destination was Cadillac State Park and Lakes Mitchell and Cadillac. Upon arrival I launched the Crestliner and headed to the interlake canal that I would be camping next to.
I hadn't been to the campsite yet, so the bike stayed in the boat which got me a few stares on the way down the canal.
This is one of the few parks in the state where you can camp next to boat access. It's really quite nice and this early in the year, before Memorial Day, uncrowded.
I'd guess there were maybe three dozen units in this park during the week. I even had decent TV reception on my brand new, state of the art, big screen TV.
Believe me, that's a BIG improvement over what it replaced and it's plenty big enough for the 60 sq. ft. area it serves.
So I went there to get out of the house and maybe find a fish or two. The weather on my first morning was spectacular.
And what was even better, was the fishing was decent as well. Like this 18" walleye.
and one of several 20"+ pike.
All these fish came on artificial lures which was nice not to have to deal with bait. The gold/red Hot & Tot lure in the pike's mouth has been dubbed the "Cadillac Killer" in my boat.
After the first day and a half, some weather rolled through with cold and wind so I decided to take a hike on the trails at the park.
I have a new camera and intended to see what kind of photogenic specimens I could find along the way. Turns out, I got lost on the trails and ended up at the city park parking lot a mile or so away and never saw much except for this guy.
Oh well, back to the campsite for some gourmet fare...
Pie iron pizzas.
The weather cleared the following day and I gave the lake another try.
Unfortunately, fishing was every bit as bad now as it was good a day before. And with that, I packed up and returned home to gear up for the next adventure which was...
DRUMMOND ISLAND!
We packed up the minivan and Crestliner and headed north.
We met Kathy's folks along the way and stopped at our favorite Mackinaw City restaurant for lunch, Darrow's.
After a hearty meal, it was onward across the Mighty Mac...
and into Michigan's upper peninsula.
Within a few miles, traveling north, we pass Castle Rock.
I can remember as a child the advertising "Just a dime to climb". I imagine it's a couple bucks now or even more. The statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox is even still there although they are inside a fence now. I remember a picture of us sitting on the knee of Paul Bunyan. Can't get there now.
So on to Detour, MI where we get in line to board the car ferry across the Detour Passage to the island.
The prices aren't all that bad and are round trip. I guess they assume all the vehicles/passengers will make the return trip at some point.
The line of vehicles enter the ferry
And we're really jammed in. There is no exiting a vehicle during the crossing which only takes about 10 minutes.
On the island, it's maybe about a 15 mile drive to our destination...Papin's Resort.
"Resort" is kind of a relative term for this place. "Fishing Camp" is a better description but that's why we're here.
We're in cabin #4.
It's a 2 bedroom unit and was OK. It had everything we needed...except for adequate racks/hooks/bars for the bathroom towels. Also, only had one electrical outlet per room. That was a challenge to manage.
The boat docks were decent. There was an electrical outlet at every boat to use for charging batteries.
This was a nice evening spot to watch the sunset.
Now, for the reason we came...fishing!
Some days were better...
than others.
Actually, we were there during the onset of the fishfly hatch and had a storm blow through early in the week that stirred up the water that made catching a bit more of a challenge than a week or so earlier.
Sometimes I trolled with the outboard...
and other times with the electric motor.
Success was definitely superior using the electric motor.
Probably due to better speed control and quiet in the 8' to 10' of water we were typically in. We caught fish on just about everything we used but the catch rate was very sparse. These were typical catches for a couple hours effort.
The walleye are about 18" or so and the bass is the only one I got above the 14" minimum. We caught several smallmouth at 13"+ and a few perch and rock bass.
Kathy spent the week looking like she was cold.
It was chilly some but I'm not sure it required three layers. On the other hand, that boat goes 40 mph so there is a wind chill.
The best part was the fish cleaning staff. Shanna cleaned all of our fish.
What a woman!
The afternoon included a dock fishing excursion for grandpa.
Kathy spent the week looking like she was cold.
It was chilly some but I'm not sure it required three layers. On the other hand, that boat goes 40 mph so there is a wind chill.
The best part was the fish cleaning staff. Shanna cleaned all of our fish.
What a woman!
The afternoon included a dock fishing excursion for grandpa.
He had some success there with panfish...
and a bass.
On Drummond Island, you're living with nature and it's everywhere.
A deer on the shore of one of the small islands in the bay. Almost had one on the grille of the car on the way off the island too.
A seagull acting as sentry at the dock.
Snakes alive!
More than one kind too.
A pair of swans with their young.
And ducks too.
Those chicks are morsels for the muskellunge that swim in these waters.
Evenings were campfire time.
I think the real purpose was to provide Brian with his evening snacks.
And so it was for a week on Drummond Island. Probably could have been a little better fishing but at least the weather was decent and we all had a good time.
And the final June event was a trip over to Lake St. Clair. on the 29th. I left the Clinton River mouth about 7:00 am and it looked beautiful.
I motored out near the shipping channel where I have fished many times.
What I wasn't expecting was...
BUGS!!!! There were four different kinds of bugs that I encountered. These white "moth like" things were the worst. Those in addition to fishflys, muffleheads, and some kind of gnat made it miserable. On top of that, my electric motor ran out of juice and the small outboard wouldn't start (I flooded it, my fault) so I called uncle and left.
On the plus side, I did get a couple walleye and a big sheephead which was the best fight of the year so far.
So that's a wrap on June.
Off to Aloha State Park and Mullet Lake in another 5 days. I'll target Mullet Lake's walleye and inland lake steelhead fishery. That could be interesting.
Stay tuned.
A deer on the shore of one of the small islands in the bay. Almost had one on the grille of the car on the way off the island too.
A seagull acting as sentry at the dock.
Snakes alive!
More than one kind too.
A pair of swans with their young.
And ducks too.
Those chicks are morsels for the muskellunge that swim in these waters.
Evenings were campfire time.
I think the real purpose was to provide Brian with his evening snacks.
And so it was for a week on Drummond Island. Probably could have been a little better fishing but at least the weather was decent and we all had a good time.
And the final June event was a trip over to Lake St. Clair. on the 29th. I left the Clinton River mouth about 7:00 am and it looked beautiful.
I motored out near the shipping channel where I have fished many times.
What I wasn't expecting was...
BUGS!!!! There were four different kinds of bugs that I encountered. These white "moth like" things were the worst. Those in addition to fishflys, muffleheads, and some kind of gnat made it miserable. On top of that, my electric motor ran out of juice and the small outboard wouldn't start (I flooded it, my fault) so I called uncle and left.
On the plus side, I did get a couple walleye and a big sheephead which was the best fight of the year so far.
So that's a wrap on June.
Off to Aloha State Park and Mullet Lake in another 5 days. I'll target Mullet Lake's walleye and inland lake steelhead fishery. That could be interesting.
Stay tuned.
