Drummond Island Fishing Information

[jlcrss]

My buddies and I headed to Drummond. We are looking to do some fishing and I was wondering what to fish for up there and where to go. Any advice would be graciously appreciated. I am interested in going for some perch or walleye or maybe even some herring. :fish:

[Slim Gem]

Here is the DNR report posted this past Thursday:

De Tour - Is still the hot spot when it comes to catching chinook and atlantic salmon. A few lake trout have also been caught when trolling from the Shipping Channel to the #3 Green Can and around the Lighthouse. Lures in color the color combinations gold and green or blue and green have worked best.

Drummond Island - Some nice walleye along with light numbers of yellow perch have been caught in Scott's Bay and Maxton Bay.

We are headed for Cedarville (just to the west of DI) this comming Saturday for 2 weeks. We like to go for herring too! Might be a week or so early yet. All depends on the mayflies!!

Nice to hear reports of fewer and fewer cormorants buzzing around up there. The perch seem to be on the rebound!!

Have fun!!!

[jlcrss]

I have never fished for herring before. Any advice for someone who hasnt done it before.

[Slim Gem]

It's not too difficult, actually.
Look for the seagulls. When they start swarming, head over to them. They are after the mayflies which are hatching on the surface of the water. The herring are drawn to the mayflies coming up from the bottom.
Once we find them, we like to use a waxworm on an orange or red collored teardrop. Plain hooks are fine too if you don't have any teardrops. With one little slitshot to keep the bait down, put the bait 5 to 8 feet under a pencil bobber. A long-handled, fine mesh landing net is a big plus. These fish fight like crazy. They are very soft flesh fish and die real quick after landing them (and after deposting a million tiny scales all over you and the boat). Best to put them on ice right away.
We also use actually mayflies on the same set-up. You can get a ton of mayflies if you go to the little village of Hessel ( a little town that you go through, on 134, on your way to DI) at about 10:30 or 11PM. They come in to the marina by the millions. We put them in an empty cereal box or grocery bag and put them in the fridge. They keep for several days.
A couple of years ago, my son was messing around while herring fishing. He started casting a swedish pimple (3/4 or 1 oz) with a red stripe on it. He started getting a few herring. We ended up getting some on those too!
You can fillet them, but if you do, COOK THEM RIGHT AWAY. They do not freeze well at all. Really mushy when you thaw them. What we don't eat right away, we gut them, then freeze them whole, take them home and smoke them. Yum!!!
Last year, the herring didn't 'come in' to the Cedarville area too thick. We only got a few. We heard that they were a lot better at DI. Many limits. Hopefully they will be there for you at DI this coming week and then over by us the two weeks after that.
Good fishing

[jlcrss]

Wow great information. That sounds just like the way we fished for whitefish. I didn't use a bobber though. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for the information.

[jakeo]

Mom and Dad just got back from their place on Hill Island. Pike was great and the perch were hitting like crazy on wax worms.
Moscow Bay north area in front of Barefoots Resort was the ticket. Never tried for herring but would love to. where do you go in relation to Cedarville?

[Slim Gem]

jlcrss: You're welcome. When are you going to DI? Let us know how you do!! I check my email every other day or so at the library in Cedarville when we are up there, so I can check this site also!!
Have fun. If you get into some herring, you will have a blast!

jakeo: Wow! Your folks have a place on Hill Island! Too cool!! We like to ride around the island (and Island #8) around dark and look for deer. Last year we even saw a family of fox!!
"Where do we go in reference to Cedarville"? Well we stay at Ford's Cottages on Grove St right in Cedarville, a couple of blocks south of the high school.
As far as fishing, the herring seem to move around a little from year to year, but one place is Joker's Point (at the entrance to Moscoe Channel). Either side of the point seems to work OK. Various spots in Cedarville Bay itself are sometimes good. There is a body of water called The Cresent. It is between Boot Island and Coryell (sp?) Island. We gotten some there. Sometimes we take the boat over to Hessel and fish in some of the bays there. It's a long boat ride, but absolutley beautiful, especially through Snow's Channel.

I heard that the pike fishing was really good the last few weeks. I wish that would last, but usually, by the time we get there, the water has warmed up too much. Glad to hear (as I said before) that the perch fishery is getting better each year. Your report confirms this! Would like to get a bunch of those too!
Anyway, if you go up to Mom And Dad during the last week of June or first week of July, stop and Ford's and we'll crack a couple open!!!
tom

[jlcrss]

We will be fishing on Saturday as long as the wind and waves permit. We only have a 14footer so we will launch out of the marina more than likely. If the wind gets ridiculous we will be fishing for small mouth off our dock. We are going up on friday.

[bias]

jlcrss,

Big schools of ciscoe have been moving into the bay for a couple of weeks now. You'll see groups of boats clustered together, fishing for them. Most folks use long poles, light line, and a small teardrop, baited with a wax worm or may fly. When they're biting well, they are an absolute blast to catch.

With all the mayflies hatching, the walleye are especially hard to catch right now . . . but you may be able to pull a few nice perch out of some of the bays. When you get to the island, stop at Johnson's sportshop, right next to wazz's party store. Rick Johnson is the owner, and will tell you more info. about where and how to fish than you'll ever want to know. If you can't reach Rick, stop in the Northwood bar and ask them how to get a hold of Bias . . . and I'll give you some more details depending on where you're staying and what you want to fish for.

Enjoy your stay!

[jlcrss]

I am familiar with the Sporting Goods store. I actually have been going to Drummond for about 10 years. We have a place on Bass Cove. I have never tried fishing for herring. I have a few ideas for perch but I am all set to go for herring and will be up there tomorrow night. We are planning on heading out Saturday for herring fishing. I may see u at the Northwoods Friday night if you are there we are planning on heading out for some cocktails.

[jlcrss]

We ended up in Whitney Bay. We caught roughly 50. We kept 14. It was a good time and those fish are a blast to catch. Thanks for everyones help.