Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report 518

May 18, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report

Bumper Sticker of the week:

This week’s Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report:

Monday morning Scott Radloff and I braved 20-25 knot winds and thick overcast to try fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. I got a redfish on my first cast. I would love to say “then it got better.” That may be a bit of an exageration. We did get a half dozen each of reds and trout though, including some very solid fish. And the overcast broke up, and the sun came out! The wind just kept a-honking, though. My lure of choice was an old Riptide Weedless jig outfitted with a four inch DOA CAL jerkbait. The last two fish we got on mullet pieces. We did better then we had any right to expect, that’s for sure.

Scott said I look scary while wearing the Sun Armor. That may be true, but who looks scarier, me…

I got several trout. This was the nicest.

…or Scott?

Scott was real happy with this 28 inch redfish.

Wednesday saw another 4 AM wake-up call and four hours of driving to fish with friend Rick again. I had shots at tarpon all day long (wasn’t sick this time either). On the best shot I had three fish closely examined the fly. All said no. I pulled it in and looked. It was fouled. I hooked two small cobia that were following rays and lost both of them. Thus the day ended.

Thursday we tried again. Again I had shots most of the day. I had several “almosts” and got one bite on a black and purple streamer. I broke the fish off after beating it. It wasn’t very big, only about 50 pounds, but I got a real tarpon on a fly, something that had been missing from my repertoire lately. Gracias a Deus! They are such incredible fish!

Tarpon and I, mano a mano.

That is this week’s exciting version of the Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Tarpon Fishing Report

May 4, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Tarpon Fishing Report

Monday morning my alarm clock went off at 4 AM. I turned it off, thought about going back to sleep. I had a sore throat, never a harbinger of a bright, rosy day. But I told Ricky I’d be there so I got up, did what I had to do, and hit the road.

Thoughts of Kim swirled in my head as I drove. She’d looked so good last time I saw her. Now she’s fighting for her life? It wasn’t right. Didn’t make sense. Along with the sore throat it colored my mood a somber shade.

I pulled into Ricky’s driveway at nine o’clock. We had to go to the vet before we could fish. Danae’s cat is diabetic and they needed syringes for the insulin injections. When we got back to Rick’s he hooked up the boat and we were finally off.

This guy wants a handout.

The first spot we checked was a laid-up tarpon spot. There were a few fish there and I had a couple shots, crossing a streamer in front of their scaly faces. No eaters, though.

Clouds showed up, always a great help when tarpon fishing. Being facetious there, folks. We made a run to another spot, anchored the boat.

Fish started showing up immediately. Sometimes we could see them well, sometimes not very well at all, depending on how the clouds were configured at that moment, depending on where they were in the water column. None of them made any attempt to eat my fly.

Rick had a brand new rod. He asked me if I minded if he tried it. Heck, no, I didn’t mind. I’m out in his boat, using his expertise. Fish away, bud!

He rigged it up, got on the bow of the boat. A single fish came along. He throws to it. It eats. WTF? I can’t get a sniff and he hooks up on the first cast? I must be way more rusty than I thought.

Rick hooked the first fish he threw to.

But that’s how the day ended, one bite for Ricky, none for Johnny. Try again tomorrow.

Tuesday we again went to the laid-up tarpon spot. Again I had a few shots and again no one was interested in my streamer. Yes, my throat was still sore. Definitely not at 100 percent.

How can you not love these fish?

We again made the run to the other spot, anchored the boat.

The fish did not show up immediately. We didn’t see any for three hours. I put a different streamer on. Ricky said what Ricky says. “They’re not gonna eat that.” Like the fish can tell his flies from mine…

The clouds make seeing the fish much more difficult.

A pair of fish come. I throw my fly out there. One of the fish gets behind it, follows it ten feet or so. The bite comes. I set up. The line goes slack. The Hufnagle has come apart, something that had never happened before. Ricky rags on my knots, my leaders. New stuff has come along while I wasn’t paying attention. OK, I’ll learn the Slim Beauty. Just not at this moment.

I tie on a Cousin Itt. It feels like I’m trying to cast a raccoon. It doesn’t sink very well. But here comes some fish. I’m throwing it out there.

A tarpon comes up for the fly in an explosive surface strike. I react with a trout fisherman’s rod pull, popping the fly right out of the mouth of the fish. The strike was amazing, my response considerable less so.

Some fish come around the back of the boat. Rick gets a bite, can’t come tight. The fish shakes off.

Rick gets another shot a few minutes later, sticks the fish well. The fish takes off, the line goes slack. The fly line has broken.

Yes, tarpon can break things.

The sun gets low. The fish stop coming, or maybe we just can’t see them any more. At any rate I am completely drained. We call it. Try again tomorrow.

These clouds moved in carrying rain. They hung around for days.

The next morning a storm system moves in. We call it before the boat leaves the yard. The ride home is in the rain the whole way. It rains for the next three days.

I visit the doctor. I have a fever and a respiratory infection. No, I wasn’t at 100 percent. But I’m going back to try those fish again.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Tarpon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski

http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, orlando fishing report, tarpon fishing

Redfish- Presenting the Fly

April 17, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

This is an excerpt from the book, Redfish on the Fly, by Capt. John Kumiski

Redfish- Presenting the Fly

It was a redfish fisher’s dream, a school of at least 500 fish, swimming fast, up on top, crashing bait all around us, one of the finest sights in all of angling, and one that one doesn’t see very often in the Mosquito Lagoon. Rob Ricks was trembling with excitement. He had caught exactly one redfish on fly in his life, and badly wanted another. It was practically certain that the deed would now be done.

“Cast out in front of them, and just make it look alive,” I told him. Rob was a weak caster. When he got the fly in the water, not very far away, there was so much slack in the line that the cast was useless.

“Try it again,” I said. “Lead them, put it where they’re going and let them swim into it.” Rob tried again with the same result. And again, and again, and again. Finally the fish disappeared. We’d caught exactly none.

The moral to this story? Your casting must be second nature in order to take advantage of opportunities, especially once in a lifetime opportunities like this one was. But it’s a great segue into this section’s premise- after locating the fish, how you present the fly to them is the single most important variable in getting one to bite, much more important than what’s at the end of your leader.

The Strike Zone
When I was younger and just getting into saltwater fly fishing, I was fortunate to get a copy of the finest instructional fishing video ever made, the late Billy Pate’s Fly Fishing for Tarpon (which I recommend highly). In this video Billy explains the concept of strike zones as it relates to tarpon fishing. We’re going to revisit this concept and then relate it to presenting the fly to redfish- cruising fish, laid-up fish, and tailers.

The strike zone is an area around the fish where, if the fly is properly presented, you have a reasonable chance that the fish will take it. This area is roughly shaped like a half a football, extending with the wide part at the mouth of the fish to the apex out in front of it. Since their mouths point down, redfish prefer to feed down, but they show little hesitation in coming up for a fly unless they are heavily fished or have been disturbed by boat traffic.

Understand that the strike zone changes in size constantly though, going from non-existent to huge and back again, and occasionally even goes behind the fish. Over the years I’ve seen a few fish do about faces to take a fly. It’s rare, but it does happen. Our assumption here is that in order to get a bite, the fly must be in the strike zone.

Hopefully it’s obvious that the longer the fly is in that strike zone, the more likely the fish is to take it. This brings us to presentation angles.

Read the rest of the article here, or buy the book!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

How Not to Catch Redfish

Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips · Tagged: fishing story, fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, fly tying, redfish

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 23, 2013 by john kumiski · 4 Comments

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

What a week!

Sunday morning found me at Parrish Park holding a conversation with my potential fishermen as to whether to go out or not. Picture it- sun shining, no clouds, temperature of 39 degrees, wind howling along at 20-25, Indian River Lagoon covered in whitecaps- how could they fail to go?

They wisely decided not to, and I lost the day’s work.

Monday fly fisher Chris McGoldrick joined me on a still chilly but enormously nicer day for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Chris is a middle school social studies teacher in Brooklyn. I hoped he would have a good day. Having taught middle school myself I know he deserved one.

He had lots of shots, at both trout and redfish. Only a single one resulted in a bite. The fly did not stick very long. Sadly, he did not get a fish.

Mr. McGoldrick enjoyed himself in spite of the visit of this critter…

…the dreaded skonk!!

On the way home something happened to the engine of the chariot. The “check engine” light has been on for a couple years now, but in addition to the running rough and loss of power it started flashing off and on. At least the van got me home.

Monday night I rented a Chevy Silverado to take out my Tuesday party.

Tuesday Bill and Mike Crochunas, father and son, joined me for a six hour Mosquito Lagoon trip. The fish were all over the first spot, by the hundreds. In an hour of trying we could not get close enough to any of them to reach them with a cast. Leaving fish to find fish is never a good plan but that’s what we did.

We didn’t find a whole lot else, and what we did find was not much more cooperative.

Mike ended up with a couple of decent trout he got on a DOA CAL jerk bait. The reds all finned their noses at us. That was it for the day.

Sometimes I think I should just switch to bait fishing, you know, get a party barge with a big cooler, etc.

A couple of trout like this was all we had to show for our efforts.

Wednesday morning found me at the service department of David Maus Toyota. The ignition coil on the number six cylinder had failed. For only $520 I got a new spark plug, ignition cable, and ignition coil installed on that one cylinder, which took most of the day.

Not as much fun as being out in a boat.

Thursday’s trip didn’t start until 930, at fly fishing client’s Harold Brown’s request.

We got to fishing spot number one. Schools of fish are moving all over the place. We get close enough to see, and cast to, some of them. They were black drum. They completely ignored the fly several times, and swam away rapidly after seeing us. An hour of that and I was ready for something else.

Spot number two had no fish.

I barely got the boat in to spot number three. At first we didn’t see much but then we started seeing big trout, good numbers of them. Harold had at least a half dozen take the fly. The hook never stuck any of them.

A rat red attacked the fly with gusto. We released him as a reward.

We fished those fish for about four hours and never got one of those beautiful trout, or anything besides that one red. In the meantime the water had dropped a couple inches.

Because we started late it was now into the latter stages of daylight. The boat would not float out the way I got in. I had to remove my pants, put on the wading booties, and slog through the mud for 150 feet to get it out of there. We did get out, though.

Friday I was part of a four boat charter, along with Chris Myers, Tom Van Horn, and Drew Cavanaugh. I had three guys in my boat, Mike, Derek, and Alan. I remembered why I charge an extra hundred dollars for that third passenger. At least I only got hooked once. I did have to re-rig a couple times after cutting out the tangles.

We got on a school of big reds first thing. We had some good chances. The fish did not cooperate. Not only that. they quickly vacated the area. Can’t imagine why.

Spot numbers two and three had nothing.

At spot four we got a few small trout and ladyfish. By now the wind was a solid 15, with lots of clouds. Sight fishing was out of the question.

In desperation I anchored along the whale tail and soaked bait. We were rewarded with a 22 inch trout and a fat little catfish, our last fish of the day.

So I saw a lot of fish this week, but did not catch very many of them.

We didn’t catch anything like this this week.

More repairs to the chariot on today’s agenda.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: DOA Lures, florida fishing, fly fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, seatrout fishing

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

February 16, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

MINWR Launch Complex Update- rather than clutter up this report with all the correspondence flying back and forth, please visit this link for the latest updates. At the link I have a letter you can copy.

Florida has some fishery problems, but nothing like this:

Kentucky will unleash a full-court press against invasive carp during a tournament being held in March.

The Carp Madness Tournament will get teams of commercial anglers competing in a contest to corral the growing population of Asian carp in two of the state’s largest and most popular fishing lakes. Five teams that bring back the highest poundage of fish will split $20,000, with the top prize being $10,000.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is putting together this unique event for March 12-13 at Kentucky and Barkley lakes in the western end of the state.

A sighting by a commercial angler on Kentucky Lake last fall is giving officials a greater sense of urgency to tackle the problem. “Right about dusk, he saw a huge school of carp just underneath the surface,” Brooks said. “He reported there were fish from bank to bank, and as far up the lake and down the lake as he could see. That’s why this tournament is so important.”

Read the entire piece here…

Fishing!

This has nothing to do with fishing, but Sunday we went to a skeet range. I still can’t hit a clay, but I got a photo I never expected to- my bride holding a shotgun.

Monday I effected repairs to the aging chariot- no fishing.

Tuesday I had the pleasure of a visit from Rick DePaiva. We fished for about six hours in the Mosquito Lagoon. It was fairly windy with lots of clouds, which made sight fishing difficult. In spite of that Rick got a half dozen slot reds on the new DOA Airhead. We wanted a big trout too, and saw quite a few, but that prize eluded us. Perhaps next time. Thank you, Rick!

Ricky D. with a nice one.

Wednesday and Thursday I had no work. The weather was windy and rainy, so I worked around the castle. No fishing.

Thursday night I spoke to the Backcountry Flyfishing Association of Orlando about fly fishing and BFA history. I really enjoyed it, and apparently the club did too. Here’s what Tom Dyll emailed to me: “Great talk. Probably the best I have seen in the 3 or 4 years I have been with the club. Great mix of content and entertainment.” Thank you, gentlemen, I hope we can do it again sometime.

Friday I got a late start, leaving home near 11 AM. Went kayak fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Hadn’t done that for a while. Should have been. Got a half dozen reds on a sparkle crab, and blew some shots too. All but one were cruising when I spotted them, the odd one being a tailer. All were in the slot. A very enjoyable afternoon.

More repairs to the chariot on today’s agenda.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: DOA Lures, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report, redfish, Space Coast

Orlando Fishing Report

January 6, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013
-Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog posts this week: Seven Must Have Lures for Winter Fishing in Florida’s Lagoons

New Website Department- http://johnkumiski.com -photography and a more literary writing sampler than I typically post here, even a few poems! Please check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks!

The coffee this morning is especially delicious.

On Tuesday Dr. Ken Unger, from Calgary, did some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing with me from the Mitzi. Although the sky was overcast for much of the day, until about 1 PM the lagoon was slick calm. There were a lot of fish around, just lying around. I would have expected tailing everywhere but no, they wouldn’t do that. We ran over a lot of fish.

Ken did get a few reds on a crab pattern. We tried for trout. They had moved from some spots and were protected by copious amounts of floating grass in others. He got a few good strikes but none were converted.

Dr. Ken with a decent red.

It was a little frustrating but we had a good time and we did get some fish. Here’s what Ken said: “Wanted to thank you for the good day yesterday. Enjoyed the company. Learned a little which is something I always want to do in a new area. Caught some fish. A good start to the new year. I will be back. Thanks again.”

On Thursday morning I braved the fog, launching the kayak at KARS at about 730. I dared not get more than 150 feet from shore. There was no wind. I didn’t have a compass, or for you modern types, a GPS either. The sun hid behind the clouds. If I couldn’t see shore I would be utterly lost. It was very cool but very spooky at the same time.

Paddling steadily north I ran over the occasional trout. The object was to find big reds or black drum. Stopping at one place I cast a streamer for trout for a while but did not get bit. The quest continued.

The fog burned off around noon.

I went most of the way to the NASA causeway.

I did not find what I was looking for.

On the way back I saw a tail, as it turns out the only one found. I stalked the fish. It was a big black drum. It ignored my fly and swam off. I would not see another.

The final score was one shot, no bites, four fish seen- pretty disappointing. More searching needs to be done. It’s the right time of year.

Speaking of the right time of year, shad are being caught in the St. Johns River. I do not have any details. I wanted to go Friday but that 60 degrees and raining put me off. Too much like Alaska.

There are some shad in the St. Johns River!

Yesterday son Maxx and I went running along the Florida Trail, most of the way to Orlando Wetlands Park. Beautiful day, nice woods. Hamstring is kind of tight today, though.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: Banana River, Black drum, florida fishing, Florida Trail, fly fishing, kayak fishing, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 24, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Merry Christmas to All, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to Everyone!

Upcoming Events-

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

- Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

My bride had knee surgery. I spent most of this week taking care of her, as she can’t get around very well. She’s doing fine, thanks, and we expect a complete recovery.

Only three days were spent on the water this week but many other things got done.
-My website got hacked and crashed. It needed a complete re-build. That took some time.
-As long as I was at it I built a new website for my sister, the glass artist. See it at http://www.cherylkumiski.com

Blog Posts this week:

-A Christmas Gift to You

On Wednesday Tammy Wilson met me at Parrish Park. We spent four hours looking around the Mosquito Lagoon for fish. We did not see many, perhaps because we started late.

Tammy got a trout and a redfish, both out of the slot, while blind-casting with an olive colored bunny leech.

I got two smallish trout blind-casting with a DOA Shrimp.

A cold front came through Thursday night. The water level dropped six or seven inches, and the water temperature dropped by 10 degrees, between sunset Thursday and sunrise on Saturday. At that point I met Jason and Jonathan Brege, my fishermen for the next two days.

It was 38 degrees at the boat ramp and the flag was almost straight out. The Indian River Lagoon was covered with whitecaps. They wanted to go anyway so we launched the boat at Titusville Marina. That first boat ride was almost like the brain freeze you get when you eat ice cream too fast.

We fished in every dredge hole and canal I know. We came up with a grand total of three trout to 23 inches, all caught on jigs. Late in the day we found a bunch of fish, mostly trout but a few reds too, up on a flat. We could not get them to eat anything and didn’t get a bite there.

Sunday dawned much more placidly. With the winds forecast to be light and variable we went to Mosquito Lagoon with the intent of fly fishing. The first spot, which had been holding fish, was nearly barren. Playing a hunch I went to the spoil islands. Good call.

Both Jason and Jonathan got their first ever seatrout and redfish on fly. An imitation crab and a minnow pattern did the damage. They took turns fly fishing, so the “off” guy tossed a jerkbait, which also accounted for several trout.

The trout were running large…
Jonathan with a fine trout.

The trout were running large, between 20 and 25 inches. The best redfish was 26. We got enough of each that I lost track (three or four is enough for that to happen, though).

Brother Jason with trout on fly.

The weather was spectacular, the fish were cooperative, my fishermen were great guys, it was a fantastic weekend. Happy Christmas to me!

The brothers with a fat Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, Space Coast

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

November 27, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

Reader Steve Horgan kindly sent me the following email:

“I don’t know if you fish for largemouth bass at all but in case you do I want to make you aware of a great fly for them. It’s called the Swimmin’ Jimmy. In September of 2009 Brian Flechsig, owner of Mad River Outfitters in Columbus, Ohio, gave a talk at our local fly fishing club about warm water species. For about 10 years Brian had an arrangement with The Wilds near Zanesville,OH whereby he guided for largemouth on their lakes. He caught many big bass up to 12 lbs. on the Swimmin’ Jimmy. During his talk he said the Swimmin’ Jimmy was the world’s greatest fly. So I started using it (purchased from Mad River Outfitters) and 3 weeks later I caught a 26 inch largemouth on it, a real dandy for Ohio waters. Here is a link where you can see how to tie it:

http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/ultimatefly/desc/swimminjimmy.pdf

“Please pass it on to your bass fishing friends. It may not be the world’s greatest fly but it is very effective. The strip, strip pause retrieve works very well in clear water. When you retrieve after the pause it is common to find the fish has eaten the fly (sucked it in) while it was sitting still and you weren’t even aware of it. It’s a nice surprise.”

Further correspondence led to this follow-up from Steve:

“One more bass fly for you. This one is the best top water fly I have ever fished for bass. They just suck it off the top. It’s beautiful to see. I have never had one strike it on top. I don’t know if leopard rainbows will eat it. I’ll find that out in July on the Goodnews River or one of its tributaries. It’s an extremely easy tie for a mouse pattern:

http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/ultimatefly/desc/gurglingmouse.pdf ”

I don’t fish for bass very often but am sure both these patterns would work for them as well as for rainbow trout in Alaska.

If any other readers try them please let us know how they work for you. Thanks!

And thanks to Steve Horgan for sharing these instructions for Hot Largemouth Bass Flies!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying · Tagged: Bass fishing, fly fishing, Largemouth bass

Black Drum Images- A Pictorial

November 21, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Black Drum.

Thanksgiving blessings to all. The holiday lies a few hours off. To central Florida fly fishers that should mean black drum begin appearing on shallow flats of the Banana River Lagoon.

We sight fish for these brutes, using seven-weight (some folks like more rod) fly rods with such flies as black Clouser Minnows, black bunny leeches, or Merkin crabs in brown. My preference is for size two hooks. a 1/5oth ounce lead eye. Weed guards are essential.

First you search for the fish. There are no guarantees you will find them. Sometimes it’s a long day, lots of water covered, nothing to show for it.

Searching for black drum in the Banana River Lagoon.

Sometimes, though, you hit the jackpot.

John Thompson with a big black drum.

The best days for them are warm and sunny with little or no wind.

The first time Barry Kent fished with me he got this black drum.

The water is cold though. You need waders unless you’re tough.

Greg Ritland fights a black drum.

Many moons ago I brought one of my students, a seventh grader, fishing there. He had a brand new fly rod. This is the first fish he caught with it.

Matt Van Pelt broke in his new fly rod with this fish. He’s in his thirties now.

No one will mistake these fish for a bonefish or a rainbow trout. But they are probably the largest tailing fish in North America, reaching sizes over 100 pounds.

It’s a face only a fisherman could love,

My good friend Rodney Smith and I had a banner day on drum one time.

Rodney Smith, when he had time to go fishing.

Another good friend, Rick DePaiva, has had more luck there than anyone else I know.

Ricky D with one of the many big black drum he’s taken there.

This was the first fish we saw this particular morning.

We photographed the daylights out of this fish, taking advantage of a good fish and great light.

We took several more fish this day, but this was the best one.

Black drum should be on the flats until about Easter time. Make some time to get out there and pursue these unusual fish.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River Lagoon, Black drum, Florida, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, orlando fishing, outdoor photography tips

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 17, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events- Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

Last week I was off on a rant about pretentious marketing for beer. A forum reader responded-
“You mention the beer label being pretentious and say it would be so even if it was on a bottle of wine. Well dear sir, beer is MUCH more complicated than wine, both in production methods and in complexity of flavor. Beer takes on a much broader spectrum of flavor and craft beer is only now beginning to be appreciated like fine wine here. Look for the price of select beers to go up up up over the next several years.

“You are right in saying marketing has taken a turn for the worse, with many beers being overpriced and severely overhyped. In some cases you can go to a limited release and buy a bottle for $20, then turn around and sell it to some ebay collector for $100+, I’ve seen some local cigar city beers go for $350 per bottle. Keep in mind most wines are incredibly easy to make and materials cost is less than beer, but they sell for much more due to the stigma of being a high brow beverage.”

And there you have it. I appreciate the response, sir.

Fishing, oh yes. For a lot of folks fishing and beer go together. But on to the Mosquito Lagoon fishing report…

On a windy Sunday fly fisher JB Walker joined me for a day on Mosquito Lagoon. We had sun a good part of the day and saw reasonable numbers of redfish, including a 20 pound class fish and a school of about 50 or 60 fish. Neither hung around very long. The fish were not bitey at all, very spooky actually.

JB got one small one which we both worked very hard to get. It was a tough day.

Alex and I joined birthday girl Tammy Wilson (now 29) for some kayak fishing on Tuesday. Overcast made it tough to see, except for the rolling tarpon. I got two bites (they weren’t very bitey, either) and caught one.

This tarpon fell victim to a small polar fibre minnow.

Alex fooled three, hooked one, landed none. Tammy got one (in her words) “pecker trout.” I imagine that means it was monstrous.

We watched an eagle harass a flock of hundreds of coots. They were fleeing for their lives and the volume of the sound they made flapping was remarkable. The eagle left them alone after a while. The whole thing was very cool, unless you were one of the coots.

Overcast again on Wednesday morning. I went running along the Florida Trail. There was a new sign that said “panorama parking .4 mi.” Not having seen too many panoramas along there I went to check it out. There were eleven turkeys in the field when I got to its edge. They saw me and left in a hurry, but again, very cool.

Several whitetails were also spooked by my passing.

Birthday girl Tammy (she’s birthday girl for the week) met me for a Banana River Lagoon kayak expedition on Thursday morning. It was solid overcast all day, with a wind from the northwest at 10 mph or so.

We paddled a long way without seeing anything.

One redfish actually tailed near me at one point. I tried but failed to catch it. But blind casting in that area quickly netted two other redfish (black bunny leech, #2).

Tammy bummed a leech from me and she started catching fish too. We ended up with around ten reds to about 27 inches, three snook, a half dozen trout, and a single black drum, all casting blindly with fly rods. Pretty amazing for central Florida. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me.

One of many fish fooled by a black bunny leech.

After catching a bunch of fish I pulled out and devoured my secret good luck charm.

On the way back we met kayak fishing guide Dee Kaminski. Quite a lovely woman, and a fishing guide to boot.

Friday Dr. George Yarko launched the Mitzi at River Breeze. The sun was out but the wind was honkin at about 15 out of the north. The water is too high (check the gauge here). We only saw one fish all day. George got an out of the slot red on a DOA Shrimp. I missed one strike on a Johnson Minnow. That was it for five hours of effort.

Saturday JB Walker joined me again for some fly fishing. While it was not as windy as Friday, the wind made fishing more difficult. The water is too high. We saw a marginal number of redfish but many of them weren’t spotted until we were almost on top of them. You just can’t see them in the depth of water currently there. We had a few shots but did nor get a bite.

I sure hope the water level drops soon.

Three pictures of me in one report. How scary is that? Halloween is over, John!

That is this week’s Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

Share
|

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Black drum, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report, redfish, tarpon, tarpon fishing

the spotted tail

Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report 518

Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report

Tarpon Fishing Report

Tarpon Fishing Report

Redfish- Presenting the Fly

Redfish- Presenting the Fly

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Orlando Fishing Report

Orlando Fishing Report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

Black Drum Images- A Pictorial

Black Drum.

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Categories

Archives

Recent Comments

Mosquito Lagoon and Tarpon Fishing Report

Tarpon Fishing Report

Redfish- Presenting the Fly

Related articles

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Orlando Fishing Report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

Black Drum.

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Categories

Archives

Recent Comments