Mixed Bag Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

Mixed Bag Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Mixed Bag Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report!

Thanks to all of you who bought books. Shipping all those books reminded me of the good old days!

FISHING

Tuesday
Tammy and I took the Mitzi out of Port Canaveral. The ocean looked like a pond. I tossed the net a few times north of the jetty, and was finally rewarded with a couple dozen pound-and-a-half menhaden. Truly, I’ve caught much smaller fish while using hook and line. But we had some bait.

As we cruised along the beach looking, there were scattered outbreaks of Spanish mackerel and little tunny. I got a nice mack on a Sting Silver.

Finally we saw what we were looking for- rolling tarpon! I shut the boat down and dropped the trolling motor. For a couple hours it looked like Sea World- strings of tarpon cruising just under the surface, monster jacks running by, five foot sharks making their presence felt, even a few king mackerel attacking the baits. There were loggerheads copulating all around us. We had several tarpon bites and Tammy put a big one in the air a few times.

copulating sea turtles

Turtles were copulating all around us.

The bite slowed down and we made the mistake of thinking we could find more fish by searching again. We were wrong.

copulating sea turtles

More copulating turtles!

We returned to the hot spot to find only an occasional roller. But there were thousands of five pound jacks, many with fins in the air. A fly rod appeared, and several fish cooperated by crushing a Krebs popper.

Tammy lays the cast out.

 

A fish cooperated.

 

Mission accomplished!

All-in-all it was an awesome day, as fishing with Tammy usually is.

Thursday
Scott Radloff and I took the Mitzi back out of Port Canaveral. The ocean did not look like a pond. It was choppy and sloppy. I could not catch any bait.

I used the tried-and-true tactic of returning to the place where the fish were last time I was out. The fish did not use that same tactic, however. NO one was home.

We ended up off the tip of the cape. Northern sennett were thick and aggressive. Bluefish and blue runners were there. We got a few small jacks and ladyfish. We saw a few tarpon roll. So we caught a lot of fish, but they were all small ones.

Friday
Nils Johnson and Allen Dronko joined me at Port Canaveral for some ocean fishing. We cleared the jetties. It was choppy and sloppy. There were three of us the skiff instead of only two. So I turned around, loaded the boat, and went to Mosquito Lagoon. The trout bite had been good. It seemed like a solid plan.

The trout had left the building.

We worked it hard all day for exactly two slot trout, basically touring most of my trout spots in the process. It was a tough, frustrating day. But thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

As I left Haulover I realized that I had blown a wheel bearing on my trailer. Jim Savage used to tell me, “Trailering is the weak link in boating.” I had been meaning to do bearing maintenance, had procrastinated, and now probably have to replace the axle. Argh!

That’s this week’s Mixed Bag Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2019. All rights are reserved.

Optimistic Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

An Optimistic Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Optimistic Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report!

Summer has certainly arrived in central Florida, with the thermometer hitting the mid-90s every day. Start your fishing trips early!

FANTASTIC OFFER
This is the final week we run the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
–Flyrodding Florida Salt
–How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
–Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks. Act now!
———————

FISHING
MONday
Just did some retention pond fishing with son Alex, only for an hour. We got three bass between us, all modest size-wise. Alex hooked a larger one, but you know what happens to the Big One.

Tuesday
Alex and I took the Mitzi out of Port Canaveral after waiting for a submarine to sail. We ran south, close to the beach, as far as Patrick AFB, finding very little other than two rolling tarpon. Alex caught a small bonnethead, using a jig.

I turned east and headed out to sea a couple miles, then headed north. The water was BEAUTIFUL, clear, blue, oceanic water with Sargassum. But we did not see any bait or fish.

We ran to Cape Canaveral, fishing around the breakers for a while. I got a dink ladyfish, also on a jig.

We followed the beach back to the jetty where we anchored, tossing out a chunk of mullet. That resulted in a sizable ray, and an exit from the fishing excursion.

Wednesday
Scott Radloff and I took the Mitzi out on Mosquito Lagoon. Recognizing I had been in somewhat of a rut I looked in places I had not been in a long time.

The first fish we saw was a tailing redfish. We did not get a shot. We found a couple dozen reds in water shallow enough that I was pushing the boat through mud. The fish were very spooky, giving us only two shots, neither of which was converted. But it was so good to see them!

Changing locations, I was happily surprised to find the water was much cleaner than it’s been lately. We hit a few dink trout. Then I saw a real one. It struck my bait (soft plastic shad) without hesitation. It was at least four pounds, perhaps more. I did not take it from the water before releasing it.

spottedtail.com

The best fish of the day, caught and released by Scott.

The best part was, it was one of four that size, plus several smaller ones. So while we did not hit a red we got about 20 trout including some real nice ones. And the water was cleaner.

Nice day!

Sunday brothers Chance and Charlie Moore, Texans both, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We first went to the redfish spot. I thought they would be tailing- WRONG. There were fish there, hitting bait. I thought we should have gotten a few-WRONG. Nary a bite. So we changed it up and went fishing for trout.

Trout fishing was pretty good. We got about twenty, with the best a fat fish close to five pounds. All were taken on 3” plastic shad, and all were released.

orlando fishing charter

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

The water looks pretty good, as clean as its been in quite a while

That’s this week’s Optimistic Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2019. All rights are reserved.

A REAL Short Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

A REAL Short Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

Only got out one day this week, out of Port Canaveral with Tammy. I did not take any pictures. Thank you for reading this short Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report!

While you’re out enjoying yourself this weekend please make a moment of silence to thank all those whose sacrifices made your enjoyment possible.

FANTASTIC OFFERZ
We are still running the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
-Flyrodding Florida Salt
-How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
-Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks until June 15. Act now!
———————
Susan had me clean the garage, so I am also selling some rods and reels. The rod link is here…

The reel link is here…

IF you are in the market for such.

I also have a Wang shallow water anchor for sale. That link is here…

FISHING MONday
Tammy now works on a charter/commercial fishing boat out of the Port, and she is out fishing most days. When she tells me it’s good, I go (weather permitting). Her report was major Spanish mackerel and tunny action near-shore, perfect for the fly rod. So we went out Monday.

port canaveral fishing report

This is what we wanted!

We looked from Cocoa Beach south of the pier to the tip of the cape. We saw a fish here, a fish there, nothing very targetable by fly rod. I got a single tunny on a Sting Silver with the spin rod, and that was it for the day.

Apparently there are some redfish around the jetties, mostly being caught on bait. We did not try.

For some reason I forgot how nasty chiggers are and went for a six mile Florida Trail walk on Tuesday. I pulled a single tick off my hip when I got home.

The chigger bites didn’t really appear until Wednesday, at least fifteen of them, from my ankle to my neck. Chiggers are the gift that keeps on giving. Those bites will be torturing me at least another week.

Not a good idea to go walking in the woods here when the weather is warm!

That’s this week’s short Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2019. All rights are reserved.

East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

With the nice weather this week we got out several times and fished around. Thank you for reading this East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report!

FANTASTIC OFFER
We are still running the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
-Flyrodding Florida Salt
-How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
-Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks until June 15. Act now!

My current reading material is Basin and Range, by John McPhee (If it’s by McPhee you know it will be good!), a book about the geology of the southern Rocky Mountains. For a while I’ve been upset about rampant development and the loss of fisheries habitats. This book put everything in its proper perspective though.

Geologically speaking, in less than the blink of an eye we and all our works will be a part of the fossil record. Plastic lasts 500 years in the environment. What’s that to the earth? A little lava here, and little magma there, some erosion, some deposition, and all that stuff will be gone. REALLY gone.

The ocean will clean up the Indian River Lagoon, and the Everglades, and everything else, and some new specie will be running things. So everything’s good, unless you are a Homo sapiens. Because of their behavior as a species, their outlook is pretty bleak. They are nowhere near as smart as they think they are.

FISHING!

Sunday-
Carey and Joey Cordell, father and son, joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. The weather was amazing. We tossed soft plastics all day. The fish came in fitfully, and they were all small- four reds and maybe a dozen trout. We had a few shots at sight-fished, uncooperative reds, getting only one in spite of some ace casting by Joey.

The reds were small, but not this small.

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

MONday
Launched the Mitzi at Port Canaveral- love the new construction there by the boat ramp!- and went up into the Bight. Again the weather was amazing. There were loads of fish along the beach- five-pound crevalle swimming near the surface in big schools, some bluefish, and quite a few Spanish mackerel. Got the fly rod and did some jack damage with a popper, great fun. Got some macs on streamers.

I love jacks! Jack damage via a Krebs popper.

After getting my fill of the smaller fish I went looking for cobia, tripletail, etc. Zero success with that, though.

Macs on streamers, too.

Tuesday
Beautiful weather again! Took Shawn Healy out after telling him how great it was Monday. Of course it was not at all great on Tuesday. We worked it hard for four hours with spin tackle, to the tune of three mackerel, two jacks, and one ladyfish. Slow fishing but better than no cheese.

Thursday
Took a kayak and a fly rod out on the Indian River with low expectations. They were met! Found a small clump of black drum. They would not play, even with a crab fly. Saw two redfish, did not get a shot. Got a skunk-busting ladyfish, blind-casting with a streamer. Was loaded up by noon.

That’s this week’s East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2019. All rights are reserved.

Central Florida Fishing Report

Central Florida Fishing Report

This is a central Florida fishing report covering the Indian River Lagoon, the Mosquito Lagoon, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Econlockhatchee River. Yeah, we got around this week.

Upcoming-
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar, March 23. An all-day fishing seminars that take place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

-On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 24. Fun, educational four hour fishing seminar that takes place in my Mitzi on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish. For More information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Monday found me paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. It was pretty windy. I found a few redfish tailing but could not get near them. The waves made the kayak slap, and the fish all disappeared before I could get into fly casting range. Three dink trout managed to get impaled on the point of the fly’s hook, though.

Tuesday I took the Mitzi out of River Breeze to see how far south the clean water went. And, as long as there was clean water, I could do a little sight fishing, too. Find some fish for the upcoming trips, maybe. Such an idea!

I looked in a half-dozen spots, working as far south as Tiger Shoal. The water was still clean there. Fish were scarce, though. While I did see a few black drum and redfish I didn’t get a shot at them. Blind casting with the shad imitation netted me a few dink trout.

Working my way back north I fished a flat which has been a fish producer in the past. There were some redfish and decent sized trout there. I got a nice slot red and a solid 20” trout, and pooched a couple of strikes. It was a nice way to end the day.

orlando fishing charter

The best trout of the week, on a plastic shad.

Wednesday found me back at the lagoon, still scouting. At the first spot I released four slot reds. NICE! There were more there but not wanting to beat them up I left them and looked elsewhere.

A couple elsewhere spots had nothing. But then I found another batch of fish and got a half dozen or so reds and trout, all slots. Again, I left them so as not to beat them up.

orlando fishing charter

Not the biggest redfish of the day, but the spots!

At the next spot an hour plus was invested. A few dink trout were caught, and four redfish were spotted too late. Then three more slot reds came in quick succession. Then it was time to quit. It had been a very solid day, even though the fly rod was not touched. And, clean water almost everywhere I went.

Thursday Mike Conneen joined me for some near-shore Atlantic exploration. Off Cape Canaveral we got a few dink bluefish and a couple of the smallest pompano I’ve ever caught. We spent hours looking for tripletail, ending up near the steeple in Cocoa Beach. We saw thousands and thousands of cannonball jellyfish, but only one tripletail. He did not eat our offering.

orlando fishing charter

The cannonballs aren’t very sporty.

Saturday Marisol and Cheryl joined me for a shad outing on the Econlockhatchee River. Two awesome ladies who love to fish, it’s a wonderful thing! The shad were cooperative enough that we got two doubles and lots of singles, releasing a couple dozen, all on little crappie jigs.

orlando fishing charter

Cheryl got the first fish, a tiny crappie.

Great day, and thank you for fishing with me, Cheryl and Marisol!

orlando fishing charter

Marisol with one of many shad they got.

I have not heard from the publisher about my latest book. While the suspense is killing me, not hearing is usually a good thing. If you hear right away it’s because the work ain’t up to snuff. I will try to continue being patient.

That’s this week’s Central Florida Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2019. All rights are reserved.

 

A Good East Central FLorida Fishing Report

A Good East Central FLorida Fishing Report

No news or announcements, so let’s get right to the Good East Central Florida fishing report!

Monday Tammy, the new Katmai Lodge fishing guide, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing aboard Spotted Tail. The weather was spectacular and we spotted tails almost immediately. Tammy made the most of the opportunty. The fly was a grizzly seaducer.

east central florida fishing report

Tailing redfish, Mosquito Lagoon

Subsequent shots did not go as well, and that was the only fish we got. We had quite a few more chances though.

east central florida fishing report

Tammy’s fly-caught redfish.

Tuesday Scott Radloff joined me for a Port Canaveral excursion.We went through $25 worth of jigs, getting cut off by fat Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

east central florida fishing report

These mackerel were going through #40 fluoro on the strike.

There were jacks and ladies, too. I pulled out a six-weight and did a litle damage with that, great fun. It was a pretty awesome day. So much so…

…that on Wednesday I returned with my two sons for a repeat performance. We found a school of eight pound jacks. Alex got one with the six-weight, using a gurgler. The whole day was pretty much a repeat of the previous one. LOTSA FISH!

east central florida fishing report

Alex used an UL spin rod…

 

east central florida fishing report

…to get this jack.

 

east central florida fishing report

Then he used the six-weight…

east central florida fishing report

 

east central florida fishing report

…to get this one.

 

east central florida fishing report

Maxx’s mackerel thrashed right onto my lens.

Thursday Shane Thomas joined me for an enhanced on-the-water Show-and-Tell seminar on Mosquito Lagoon. We enhanced it by taking an extra two hours and fishing. We did not see much other than manatees at the south end of the lagoon, but as we worked our way north tailing redfish started to show. He got one to bite a shad tail, but unfortunately missed it. We got a few short trout. Shane did claim to be on information overload by the end of the trip, something this instructor loves to hear.

That is A Good East Central FLorida Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

lagoons fishing report

The water was dirty in the lagoons this week, so we have a Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report for you.

Upcoming Events-

-Last call for the Aloha Protect Our Waters Fundraiser! It should be called th FUN-raiser- Mai-tais, tropical cuisine, and live music highlight this event. There might be some well-known fishing personalities, too. All funds raised help support Anglers for Conservation’s youth fishing education programs. Oct 14, 3-6 PM. For more information visit www.anglersforconservation.org/pow . I hope to see you there!

-MINWR Show and Tell Fishing Seminar. Oct. 27, 830 AM. In this all-day seminar I SHOW you where to fish, and TELL you how to be successful. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar. Oct. 28. In this four hour seminar I take you out in my skiff and show you all my secrets. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

For Sale

sailboat for sale
15 ft Sailboat for sale with trailer! Sails are 2 years old and always dried and rolled into their sailbags. Main and Jib. Great little boat for cruising or racing. Custom trailer.

Boat is ready to go right now!

Visit this link for more information! http://www.spottedtail.com/15-sailboat-for-sale/

Microadventures
Son Maxx showed me a wonderful website called The Art of Manliness. While learning how to get the savoir-faire of James Bond, I also learned of a concept called microadventures. Most folks work from 9-5. What do you do from 5-9? You could be outside, fishing, hiking, bicycling, or simply watching the sun set.

Most people’s lives could benefit from the 8 Week Microadventure Challenge. Read all about it here- https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/my-8-week-microadventure-challenge/. It could change your life for the better!

Fishing!
Monday the weatherman scared me into staying home. It was nice all day! I did learn about microadventures, though.

Tuesday, with microadventures fresh in my mind, I ignored the weatherman and went to the Econ. The gauge read just a bit under three feet, higher than I like it but lower than it’s been for the past month. With a hurricane about to blow by I figured it might go up again real fast, so I got out there.

Fly fishing with a popper netted me four species- bass, bluegill, stumpknocker, redbelly. A two-weight would have been more appropriate than the four-weight used, fish-size-wise. It was a beautiful day and the river looked great. Saw herons, ibis, kingfishers, hawks, vultures, painted turtles. Did not see snakes or alligators.

Thursday I took the Mitzi to Port Canaveral hoping to catch some mullet. The parking lot was nearly empty, never a good sign.

I could not get to the jetty because the seas were so rough.

A tour of the Port turned up zero mullet, or anything else. The Obsession and two other charter boats were trolling inside the port, though.

I pulled the boat and drove to Titusville Marina where I launched the boat among the floating dead fish. A look-see north of the railroad trestle turned up exactly four redfish. I caught a small one while blind-casting a soft plastic shad. You could hardly see the bottom because the water was so dirty. I netted a few mullet up, too.

lagoons fishing report

Friday son Alex and I took the Mitzi to River Breeze to do some scouting. The water was dirtier than it was in the Indian River. You could not see the bottom at all. It’s high, too.

lagoons fishing report

It took us a while (maybe the sun had to get high in the sky) to get down to the main basin of the lagoon. There we found a few fish. Alex got a decent red on a jerk bait, then got a nice trout, too. Dad got three dink trout.

lagoons fishing report

So the water in the lagoons is high and dirty, and fishing could be better (and it could be worse too).

lagoons fishing report

That is the Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

Mid-September Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Mid-September Port Canaveral Fishing Report

orlando fishing report

The surf was up.

The only day I got out this week was Monday. I went to Port Canaveral, so we have a mid-September Port Canaveral Fishing Report.

There were a lot of parking spaces at 9 AM. I figured fishing might be less than scintillating. But once the boat was in the water there was Sargassum weed and mullet right at the ramp. I got my mullet before the engine was started. These were good signs.

At the north jetty there were usual boats anchored there, fishing. I went a couple hundred yards north and started looking. There were mullet moving, and fish breaking sporadically. There was a school of menhaden. A jig produced several large ladyfish, but nothing else.

The route took me to the tip of the cape. Breaking rollers from the hurricane pounded the beach. The shoals were too exciting for my tastes! The water got dirtier the closer to the cape I got. Didn’t see any fish.

From the cape I headed out to sea, checking weeds along the way. The weeds were all fish-free. Several of the barracuda that never bite were stationed at buoy 4, but nothing else was there. Did not see any bait.

From the buoy I headed south, then southwest, intersecting the beach near the Cocoa Beach steeple, and not seeing anything other than two bonnetheads along the way. The ride north up the beach turned up nothing.

So the ladyfish near the jetty were the only fish of the day, and the parking lot premontion proved to be true. That having been said, the boat ran great, it was wonderful being out there on home waters, and I enjoyed the day immensely.

Clerical note– my website states, “Subscribe to my blog and get of a free copy of ‘Secrets of Fabulous Fishing in Florida’s Mosquito Lagoon’… Twenty or so folks subscribed this summer. Due to my computer issues I have lost all the email notifications I got. If you send me an email I will send you your ebook! My most sincere apologies for any inconvenience.

The Marine Resources Council recently published a booklet, the Indian River Lagoon Health Update. Those of us who use the lagoon for recreation know it’s a mess without reading this publication. But the Council has quantified the problems, which makes the issues easier to tackle. There are also sections on Lagoon Restoration and the all-important “What You Can Do”. For more information contact the Marine Resources Council here…

And that is the Mid-September Port Canaveral Fishing Report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

 Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report

This is a nearshore Port Canaveral fishing report, my last Florida fishing report until September. I write this on an Alaska Air Big Bird, headed to Alaska’s Katmai Lodge on the Alagnak River.

port canaveral fishing report

Tunny will shake. Tunny will bleed.

Monday Mike Conneen joined me on Spotted Tail for some spin fishing. We headed out of the Port and went off down the beach. Near the fishing grounds I threw the net once, got all the bait we might need. It’s nice when that happens!

Tunny were breaking all over the place, as were Spanish mackerel. We got a few Spanish for my aunt, then went a-tunnying.

port canaveral fishing report

Mike got this kingfish without using wire.

It was borderline ridiculous, fish breaking everywhere. We used white CAL jigs and Sting Silvers. I broke out the seven-weight and got a couple on a Bouncer streamer.

port canaveral fishing report

This was as much jump as I got.

Mike wanted a tarpon, so once our appetite for tunny was sated we went searching. We found a place with scattered rollers, and so deployed the baits, what I believe were scaled sardines. Big tunny loved them. Crevalle jacks loved them. Blacktip sharks loved them. King mackerel really loved them, cutting us off repeatedly. Mike hooked a 20 pounder on the back of the head and so landed it. I put on a stinger rig and got one about half that size.

port canaveral fishing report

Mike has the beast near the boat.

We got a lot of bites. Finally I jumped a big tarpon. One jump and it was off. I was not sorry.

By this point I was ready to head back, but Mike really wanted that tarpon, so I made one more drift. A dinosaur-sized tarpon took his bait. Let the games begin!

port canaveral fishing report

It was a BIG fish.

I did not time the length of that fight, but it was a big fish and not jumpy at all. All thoughts of heading back were gone. I stood by with the cameras, waiting for jumps that never came.

Mike finally got the fish close to the boat. I leadered it six times, the last one getting the hook back. I could not hold onto that fish though, and the photo Mike wanted so badly did not get taken.

port canaveral fishing report

Breaking fish, fly rod. Life is good.

Tuesday Tammy joined me, same time, same station. Similar action, minus the tarpon. Tammy and I were both more interested in fly fishing, and whacked more than a few Spanish macks and tunny. When the surface action slowed we deployed scaled sardines. Tunny and jacks, with sharks and king macks taking turns cutting us off.

port canaveral fishing report

Lift that fish!

We would have liked a tarpon, but there were fewer rolling and we did not jump one. It was still another ridiculously good day though.

port canaveral fishing report

Tunny will shimmy. Tunny will vomit.

 

port canaveral fishing report

This one was better behaved.

 

port canaveral fishing report

This one was well behaved, too!

Wednesday Tom Finger joined me. We ran down the beach, got the bait, went looking for breaking fish. Nothing. I had called him telling him how great it was, and now had a major sinking feeling. The bazillions of fish that had been there the previous two days were all gone.

port canaveral fishing report

Tom’s tunny. All his buddies were gone 🙁

We went out to deeper water looking for jacks, tunny, and king macks. Not much there, either. Tom got a tunny on a sardine. We missed several strikes.

Heading back north we found a sizable area of breaking Spanish macks. We each got one before they disappeared. Then lightning started flashing and we headed back to the ramp at all possible speed.

Thanks to Mike, Tammy, and Tom for sharing these days with me!

And that is my Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report! Next report will be from Alaska- trout and salmon!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Early June East Central Florida Fishing Report

Early June East Central Florida Fishing Report

June- tarpon time, and I go to Alaska soon, far from tarpon. This early June east central Florida fishing report covers the Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral.

It still rained a lot this week.

Tuesday Robert Ungvarsky and his two delightful daughters joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Our goal was simple- keep the girls catching fish. To that end we stopped at Anchor Hardware and bought 50 shrimp, small ones, to be tossed on ultralight spin tackle. Terminal tackle consisted of a #8 hook and a split shot. We broke each shrimp in half, effectively getting two baits out of each one. Even at that we used all but four.

As luck would have it one of the first fish we got was a 13 inch pompano. Lots of squealing from happy kids on that one! Trout, catfish (of course), pinfish, snapper, ladyfish, a couple of big whiting, a puffer, and a flounder rounded out the catch. The plan worked well, something that doesn’t always happen in fishing. Everyone was happy and we all had a great time. Robert, thank you and I hope you will join me again.

east central florida fishing report

Fred with one of many trout they caught.

Friday found the Finger twins, Tom and Fred, on Spotted Tail, on Mosquito Lagoon, hunting for fish. The hunt took about 30 minutes. Then we hit trout steadily for a couple of hours. Although many were just under slot, we got some to about three pounds. CAL jigs were the weapon of choice. Once that bite dried up we did not find much else, and trailered the boat about 2 PM.

Saturday I joined Tom Van Horn and Rodney Smith on Tom’s Hewes out of Port Canaveral. Someone was holding a tournament and the ramps were chaos. We managed to get out of there and went for a ride.

east central florida fishing report

Zzzz-ZZZzzzzz-ZZZZZZZZZ! Tunny are awesome!

I spotted some breaking fish and tossed a jig at them. BAM-ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! I love that sound! Little tunny, one of the ocean’s finer light tackle fish. They were good sized ones, 12 pounds or so. We got several, along with a single Spanish mackerel.

east central florida fishing report

We knew we might hook some larger fish when a 100 pound tarpon jumped after eating Rodney’s jig. We’re lucky it jumped off. That little spin rod was not designed for that work. We went close to the beach and netted some pogies.

east central florida fishing report

Two musketeers? Two stooges? Two hookups, definitely!

Moving back to deeper water we almost ran the tarpon over. Rodney and I both cast baits out, using actual tarpon gear. Getting his bite took about 20 seconds, mine about twice that long. So we had a tarpon double, both 100+ pound fish.

east central florida fishing report

happy Rodney

 

Getting close!

 

east central florida fishing report

A graceless ballet ensued aboard Tom’s vessel, punctuated by grunting and an occasional curse, and sounds of delight when the fish jumped. After about 40 minutes I had my fish near the boat when the hook pulled. Rodney’s took a little longer. He broke it off next to the boat. After that we messed around long enough for Tom to hook a five foot blacktip shark. After that it was all over except for the ride back to the boat ramp. We left early to beat the crowd!

east central florida fishing report

And that is the early June east central Florida fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

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