the spotted tail

Orlando Area Fishing Report

May 5, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

A pretty mellow week this week because I had no work :-(. This is an Orlando Area fishing report.

Monday I got a late start. How late was it? It was so late, lunch had happened first. The kayak went to the Econlockhatchee. In an unusual occurrence, it brought a spin rod. Four bass and a stumpknocker fell for a Riptide Sardine. Then the fly rod came out, which accounted for a couple more bass. All fish were modestly sized.

Stan, who could be a professional fish model, his Fenwick, and his bass.

On the way back I ran into a fly fisher named Stan Mercer. He was using an old Fenwick fiberglass rod, and almost on cue caught a bass for me to photograph.

The redfish bit a Riptide Sardine.

Wednesday I went paddling in a place on the Indian River Lagoon I had never paddled before. To my surprise I found some clean water with sparse grass growing. There were a few redfish around (I saw ten or so), I had a few shots, and got one to bite the Sardine. O, successo! I got the fly pole out and walked 1/2 mile or so looking for a fish, but no dice.

Econlockhatchee paddler.

Thursday was Tom Van Horn’s birthday. We celebrated by floating the Econ, casting our fly poles. Tom is in Alaska training mode. The fish were not suicidal but came steadily- bass, bluegills, redbellies, stumpknockers. Tom was using a foam mouse, I a small popper. They seemed to work equally well.

Econlockhatchee fly fisher.

The ferocious stumpknocker. If these things hit ten pounds, nothing near the water would be safe.

Tom’s birthday present.

Friday Scott Radloff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon exploration from the Mitzi. We found some small patches of clean water and some redfish, and Scott caught one. We found some spots that had nothing, and other spots where the fish were sparse. We saw a few tailing fish. All things considered, I saw more fish this day than the entire year prior combined, very encouraging.

Radloff hooked up. You can actually see the bottom.

About to boat the beast.

O, successo!

And that is the Orlando area 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish

Mosquito Lagoon/Pine Island Sound Fishing Report

April 28, 2018 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Mosquito Lagoon/Pine Island Sound Fishing Report

This is a Mosquito Lagoon/Pine Island Sound fishing report. Nothing philosophical to be said this week…

Monday Tammy and I went out on the Indian River Lagoon for scouting purposes. It was windy. The water was not completely gross, a plus. I got one bite from a puffer, who chewed up my plastic shad.

The cinnamon rolls at Sunrise Bread Company were delicious.

Wednesday Bob Duport, from Western Mountains Fly Fishing, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing. We saw some fish here and there. All fled at our appearance. Bob finally got a good shot at a redfish, which was very interested in the fly. I don’t know if the fish missed the fly or Bob missed the fish, but at any rate we did not get it, and Mr. Skunk was all over us. Bob, thanks for fishing with me and for your good humor.

I even had Bob get out and wade fish. Didn’t help.

Thursday morning dark and early I hopped in the chariot and drove to Pineland, where I met son Alex. We paddled our kayaks out onto Pine Island Sound on a fantastic day weather-wise. We were casting soft plastics, picking up a skater trout here and there. A hardhead cat ate my lure. We got a couple ladyfish. I stood up and started sight fishing.

Alex with one of the better trout we got while kayak fishing.

A mile or two of shoreline yielded four redfish and two small snook. I didn’t catch them or even get a shot. That’s what I saw.

I caught this mighty cobia

We fished potholes for a while. More trout, two exciting sailcats, and a small cobia (the fish of the day) was the result. We were off the water about 4 pm.

It was a mighty SMALL cobia.

Friday we got a rental boat from Freedom Boat Club at Pineland Marina. I’ve always thought Lee County boaters were the world’s rudest, and Friday strongly reinforced that opinion. We were anchored at a tarpon spot when this geek motored up to us a cast away, shut off his motor, pulled out a fly rod, dropped the trolling motor, and started fishing. I know I don’t own the place, but would he want that done to him?? There were several other examples that I won’t go into.

We did see some very unhappy tarpon. We caught a couple lizardfish, a couple blue runners, several ladyfish, quite a few bluefish, and several seatrout, two of which were handsome. We were done before 2 pm, after which I drove home again.

And that is the Mosquito Lagoon/Pine Island Sound 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, travel blog · Tagged: florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, pine island sound fishing report

Ozello/Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 21, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Ozello/Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

We fished two days in Ozello, and one day on Mosquito Lagoon, so we have an Ozello/Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

I wanted to scout the lagoon Monday. The 30 mph winds precluded that.

Tuesday morning Scott Radloff and I left Orlando ridiculously early for our 7 am appointment with Brian Stauffer, Fish Head Kayak Charters, at the Ozello Community Boat Ramp. We were on time. We launched on a beautiful morning, and fished our little buttses off. We saw decent numbers of fish. None bit.

It was chilly but beautiful when we launched.

Brian was prepared- five rods!

I’d never been to Ozello before in spite of all the good things I had heard about it. The water was clean. There were mangroves, and oysters, and grass. The habitat looked healthy.

The habitat looked healthy.

The fish didn’t bite, well, that happens. Especially after a front goes through.

Scott demonstrates how to fish one’s buttses off.

We stayed at the Best Western Crystal River Resort, which I can certainly recommend. Charlie’s Fish House a few yards away makes some great dinners, too!

Wednesday we met Brian again, same place. He took us in the opposite direction. The first time I stood up I spooked three reds. In spite of the fact I saw about two dozen fish, all I could muster was a small lizardfish and a modest trout. Brian got a small slot red and a flounder.

Brian foiled the skunk here.

A fish and his man.

Once again we saw good numbers of fish but could not get the sales job done. Maybe Brian needs a higher quality of angler.

He added this beast for good measure.

Brian was awesome! Thanks for taking us fishing, sir! Fish Head Kayak Charters!

Thursday Pete Azur joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We tried a few spots that had a few fish, and we had a few bites that were missed. But it was a tough day. At the final spot Pete hit a nice trout, 21 inches long, on a plastic shad, thereby keeping Mr. Skunk off my boat. But it was pretty close.

And that is the Ozello/Mosquito Lagoon 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: #kayakfishing, #mosquitolagoon, #orlandofishingcharter, #orlandofishingreport, #ozellofishingreport, adventure fishing, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, ozello fishing report

Home Again Inshore Fishing Report

April 14, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Home Again Inshore Fishing Report

The Panhandle trip got wrapped up with a day of epic fishing, at which point I called it and drove home. Then I fished two days here, for the Home Again inshore fishing report.

Sunday
When it started getting light I left the B&B and headed east. I thought if I made it to Panama City early on Sunday, there wouldn’t be any traffic. I was right!

Got to Port St. Joe about 9 AM. Folks were going to church. I parked a short distance away and dropped a kayak in the bay. A short time later, while listening to the church bells ringing, I landed my first fish of the morning, a nice red that took a DOA CAL jig.

A nice red took the jig.

By 1 AM I’d gotten another red, a nice trout, a flounder, and a Spanish mackerel.

A rare break in the clouds yielded this red.

I need to get a new model.

I tried sight fishing, but only saw three sharks and two reds. All the fish were taken while casting blindly into deeper water.

This flounder bit during another short break in the clouds.

Checked into the campground, got set up, and then fished the south side of the bay. In three hours I saw only three fish and did not get a bite.

Monday
Drove to St. George Sound and launched the ‘yak. In two minutes I had a decent trout on a jig. Put the spin rod away and started blind casting with a Clouser Minnow.

Spanish on fly while wading, into the backing. Awesome combination!

The fish were not suicidal but they came steadily, nice ones, trout to four pounds, reds to eight. Got a nice Spanish mac and had another cut me off. Could not sight fish due to clouds but it didn’t matter.

Reds on fly over shell bottom- great stuff!

When I tired of casting the fly in the wind I switched back to spin tackle and a weedless jig. If anything it was even more effective. It was by far the best day of the trip. And I did not see another fisherman the entire day.

Trying to be creative with a fish and a camera while by yourself can be challenging.

Fortunately the camera is “waterproof.”

The Riptide weedless jig and Sardine accounted for several fish.

Tuesday
Got up in the rain, broke camp, tossed the soggy tent into the car, and drove home. It rained most of the way.

Wednesday
Had wet, messy mess to clean up, correspondence, etc.

Thursday
Took the Mitzi to River Breeze for scout duty. Water is pretty dirty. Did not see a lot. When I found clean water it was devoid of life. Got two trout the Riptide jig, one nice, the other spectacular. Hoped I would be able to find them the next day.

The other one was much bigger. I didn’t remove it from the water.

Friday
Met Kacky Andrews at 7 AM. While launching the boat I began conversing with a crabber on the other side of the dock. He said the crabbing right now is the best he’s seen in a 56 year career. He said one reason for that is the hurricane that passed. Another is that most of the redfish are gone, and you know how many little crabs they eat. Funny, his observation exactly reinforces my own. Only it’s sad, not funny.

Kacky and I went hunting for fish. She fly fished for four hours or so without a bite. Of course during that time we saw maybe a half-dozen fish. She switched to the spin rod. In the next four hours we saw maybe another half-dozen fish. She managed one very modest seatrout, our only fish. Tough day. She was awesome, though.

Thanks for fishing with me, Kacky!

And that is the Home Again inshore 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, RipTide Lures, seatrout fishing, St. George Sound, St. Joe Bay

Destin Inshore Fishing Report and Photo Essay

April 8, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Destin Inshore Fishing Report

I’m writing this from an Air B&B room in Destin, while lightning flashes and rain pours, thus the Destin Inshore fishing report. The report covers a lot of water, from East Bay to Hogtown Bayou near Sant Rosa Beach. I even fished Basin Bayou today after the lightning stopped.

Monday
Jim Tedesco and I paddle fished on our own on East Bay. The water was too deep to see the bottom and we fished blindly, catching several trout that lacked a certain desirable size dimension. But this trip is about exploration and learning, and we did both under beautiful sunshiny skies.

The fish lacked a certain size dimension.

Tuesday
Tuesday Jim and I fished the south side of Santa Rosa Sound in Gulf Islands National Seashore, walking and wading along a half mile or so of stunning flats.

The flats were stunning.

We did not see, nor did we touch, a fish. I am sure they use this place sometimes, and a discussion with a local fisherman confirmed this. They just weren’t there when we decided to show up, as so often happens when one is fishing a new spot on a one-shot deal.

We did not touch a fish.

We tried fishing the spectacular beach, too. Other than one large, distressed fish that I could neither identify nor catch we did not see nor catch any fish there either.

Afterwards we visited the Quayside Art Gallery in Pensacola. It’s a fine gallery- if you’re in Pensacola it’s well worth your time.

Wednesday

A historic pelican?

Wednesday was Pensacola museum and travel day to Destin. Pensacola has an historic district with some interesting museums, and we spent close to three hours exploring them before driving to Destin and our Air B&B. And my friend Jim headed back to North Carolina.

A historic door?

I enjoyed the street art.

Thursday
Chris Gatz and friends were kind enough to show me their fishing spot out of Fort Walton Beach. Thank you, Chris!

Chris and Dean deal with a fish.

Joe in action.

There were fair numbers of trout and reds around, although they behaved like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. In spite of that I managed a nice red on a plastic shad. Other members of the party got some fish, too.

I managed to get one.

One thing I’m discovering up here is that there is certainly no lack of fishing pressure. The behavior of the fish reflects that.

Spotted on the road in Fort Walton Beach. He means business.

Friday
I drove to Santa Rosa Beach and launched the kayak in Hogtown Bayou. I was by myself and knew nothing whatsoever about it. In spite of that I found both trout and reds, although the one trout I got was shall we say modest in size. The water was fairly clean, the seagrass looked good. A local fly fisher at the dock told me I had gone to the most heavily fished area, where catching fish was always tough. Go figure.

This guy was just fine until I showed up/

Saturday
In the morning lightning and heavy rain convinced me to not go fishing. I instead visited the Destin Fishing Museum. It was interesting, but lots of pictures of large dead fish are not for me.

A helm at the museum.

An old tackle box, full of old tackle.

Insert caption here.

I thought of Bob Stearns immediately. I don’t think he was writing for them then.

Once the rain stopped I went to Basin Bayou and fished for a few hours. Actually I probably spent as much time with the camera as with the rod. What a lovely body of water!

Lovely indeed.

Water’s clear, bottom’s covered with Vallisnaria, I caught a bass and missed a couple strikes, and just had a grand time. Wish I had more time to explore the place.

More loveliness. I tried not to get carried away.

And fish too! Never said it was a big bass 🙂

And that is the Destin inshore 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, destin inshore fishing report, DOA Lures, florida fishing, kayak fishing, redfish, seatrout fishing

Pensacola Fishing Report

April 1, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Pensacola Fishing Report

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter.

I’m writing this from a motel room in Pensacola, thus the Pensacola fishing report. I did fish at home two days before travelling.

Ode to a Great One
I learned this week that Lefty Kreh passed away a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure like everyone else he had trials, tribulations, and frustrations, but from the outside looking in what a great life he had! What a great person he was! Everyone who fishes, especially fly fishers, owes the man a tremendous debt of gratitude.

I hope his last days were peaceful. I doubt if he had any regrets.

Monday

Not a monster!

Son Alex was home for a visit and we got to fish together on Mosquito Lagoon for a few hours. Neither the weather nor the fishing were particularly good, but spending time together certainly was!

But better than no fish.

Tuesday
The long awaited Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting presentation was finally realized. They wanted Redfish on the Fly. I hope they were happy with what they got!

Wednesday
Jodi and Tanner Smith, a mother/son combination, joined me in Spotted Tail for a half-day on Mosquito Lagoon. The weather was beautiful, the fishing less than great. We got a bunch of short fish and laughed quite a bit. They were both awesome. I hope I see them again. Jodi and Tanner, thanks for fishing with me!

Jodi and her redfish.

Thursday

Ready for the road!

The chariot took me all the way to Gulf Islands National Seashore‘s Fort Pickens campsite, where I camped two nights. Spring break = romper room at the campground! The kids were having loads of fun. All their noises were happy ones. It warmed this reporter’s heart to see them playing outside without e-devices.

The Blue Angels put on an airshow that I stumbled onto. The precision with which they fly is breathtaking.

Blue Angels, on the go.

The children and their parents were at Fort Pickens too, watching just like I was.

Blue Angels fans, at Fort Pickens.

I fished fairly aimlessly in Santa Rosa Sound on three separate occasions in three different spots over Friday and Saturday, finally finding some trout and redfish I could not get to strike.

Sunday

The sun has risen.

Jim Tedesco and I watched the sun rise through pine trees from our kayaks on East Bay, guided by kayak guide extraordinaire Nick Lytle. My primary aim was photos, although I carried a six-weight and did stick and lose two redfish. Nick did the heavy lifting for me so I got some pictures. Nick, thanks for an awesome morning!

Jim through a frame.

Nick did the heavy lifting.

Heart-shaped spot, by Nirvana.

And that is the Pensacola 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, kayak fishing, pensacola fishing, redfish, redfish fishing florida

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

March 25, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

Because of our hailstorm on Tuesday, and because we are in Florida, this is the hail yes Florida fishing report. We only got out twice this week, not hitting it hard either time. Weather was definitely at play here!

What A Guest Should Not Do
While sleeping one night this week I had a dream about fishing (not unusual). In the dream I’m in a boat with a guide(?) and my sister (?). The fish are not biting. The guide takes us to his favorite fishing spot. There are fish there feeding on fry minnows. We use fry minnows for bait but still don’t get a bite.

The guide takes us to his house, on the water nearby. In the house is a large, elaborate saltwater aquarium. I use my fry minnow (on a #8 Daichii X510 hook, amazing how detailed some things in dreams are) in the aquarium to try to catch a crab when the guide’s favorite pet fish, a two foot long translucent sort of cross between a tarpon and a snook but not really either zooms up and takes the minnow.

When I set the hook the fish jumps out of the aquarium up towards the ceiling, falling to the floor and its death. I try to revive the fish but we can see the insides just look like Jello now, having exploded when the creature hit the floor.

I woke up at this point, furious and upset with myself for being so stupid. How could I have done such a thing??

Finally I told myself, “Let it go John, it was a dream.” Still not comfortable with the entire tableau I fell back to sleep to have other bizarre dreams which won’t be detailed here.

Monday
I saw Tammy’s FB post about how low the Econ was. The gauge read 1.0. In the afternoon, in spitting rain, I launched the kayak to see how fishing was.

That’s an aggressive little fish.

It was not great. My gurglers accounted for a stumpknocker, a couple redbellies, and one 12″ bass. I switched to a purple Bouncer eelworm, which accounted for a couple more redbellies (how do the get the hook in their mouth?) and two more bass.

Bass on the gurgler.

Great and little blue herons, kingfishers, sandhill cranes, vultures, and a bald eagle were observed, as was a couple painted turtles. The river was full of fry minnows. Didn’t see an alligator.

Bass on the eelworm, front…

…and side views.

Another redbelly for good measure.

I was home in time for supper.

Tuesday was exciting weather-wise- wind, rain, lightning, thunder, hail. I watched most of it from my desk.

Wednesday and Thursday’s weather was not as exciting, but the wind just did not let up. I again stayed home for the most part.

Friday I got to take a drug test. Afterwards I drove to Satellite Beach, picked up Rodney, and drove to Donald McDonald Park in Sebastian, where we camped for two nights at the Indian River Paddle Adventure reunion campout. Nick Colantonio, Bones Benton, and Mike Conneen were there, and we had a visit from Mim Duncan too. It was great to see all of them, and I probably gained five pounds from Nick’s cooking. Thanks, Nick!

The original IRLPA crew.

I fished for five hours or so on the Sebastian River on Saturday, watching people who may have been crazy jumping out of perfectly good airplanes the entire time. The water was reasonably clear, and there was a lot of bait, but I did not see a tarpon or a snook, only getting two modest crevalle and a surprising bluefish.

Thought I had a snook at first, but this bluefish was the fish of the day for me.

We did see three alligators, an unidentified shark-like creature, several dolphins and manatees, a bald eagle and lots of other birds, and enjoyed by far the week’s best weather.

Great weather for searching for fish, but I didn’t see much.

And that is the hail yes 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, kayak fishing, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report

Just Another Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 18, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Just Another Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

This week Spotted Tail visited Mosquito Lagoon four times. It did not sink under the weight of the fish caught! This is just another Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Upcoming Events–

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM.

Wednesday

On an almost frigid morning I ran from River Breeze to JB’s Fish Camp to pick up Jim Weaver and Warren Martin. Then off we went for some fishin’ and adventurin’!

Jim with the day’s best fish.

We fished in many places where I had found fish just a few days before. They were mostly gone (the fish, not the places). I poled for miles. We got four or five trout, only one of which made the slot. Tough fishing. Many thanks to Jim and Warren for joining me.

Thursday

On Thursday I had the pleasure of hosting Scott Kruchowski, a fly fisher from St. Lewis. We got on a small school of mostly uncooperative redfish. Scott managed to fool two on an Estaz Crab, one barely legal, the other not even close.

Scott’s first redfish on fly was this specimen.

Not wanting to further traumatize the fish we visited another spot. There were some fish there but we could not see them, running over several and not getting a bite. Reluctantly, I went back to spot #1. Ha! The joke was on me- all the fish had disappeared. We looked around a bit more, saw nothing, and called it a day. I’d like to thank Scott for fishing with me.

Saturday

Kevin and Caroline Rice, a father-daughter team from California, graced Spotted Tail for a half-day fishing trip. Weather-wise it was probably the day of the year, simply spectacular.

The day of the year.

By accident I found some fish on a shallow flat. They had their radar on and we hardly got a cast to them. They would just pace us, out of range and staying that way. The old adage is don’t leave fish to find fish, but when it ain’t working it’s time to go!

Father and daughter teamed up on this redfish.

Working behind the spoil islands we found a few fish. None of the ones we saw would bite, but they got five redfish including a giant 24″ specimen by blind casting plastic shad.

The first redfish Caroline ever caught!

The nail polish was awesome.

Our time was too soon over. Thanks for joining me, Rices! I had to rush home, wash, turn around, and head to Kayaks by Bo for what turned out to be another strongly attended seminar. Thanks to everyone who came out!

Sunday Mike, Moe, and Buzz (sounds like three astronauts) joined me for the Show-and-Tell seminar. We launched at Haulover Canal, went to the east end, and headed south paralleling the west shoreline, all the way into Max Hoeck Creek. We circumnavigated the Whale Tail along the way. No one was fishing there. We did not see a fish or any seagrass to this point. Water clarity varied between reasonably clear to can’t see three inches.

From Max Hoeck Creek we started running north along the east side of the lagoon. On the bar that comes off Gallinipper Point we saw the only fish of the day.

From Gallinipper we ran up to Turtlepen Point. The water was clear but there were no fish. There was nothing on the flat north of Cucumber Island, or on any of the shoals we checked all the way up to Pardon Slough.

We couldn’t see the bottom in (formerly) White Sands.

Going around the Pole-and-Troll area we ran to the south tip of Tiger Shoal, then took the south entrance of the running lane to the north entrance. We did not see any fish, or any fishermen here. No fishermen on Tiger Shoal on a lovely Sunday morning! There is some sparse grass east of the running lane, especially past Bird Island.

After coming out of the north entrance we ran across the basin to the ICW and headed south again, back to Haulover. Total time elapsed was four and one-half hours.

Many thanks to Mike, Moe, and Buzz for joining me for this excursion.

And that is just another Mosquito Lagoon 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report

Fishfull Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 12, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Fishfull Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The report name may be slightly misleading. We spent five days on the Mosquito Lagoon this week, and although we caught some fish every day, we weren’t covered up every day. But three days we saw a lot of fish- thus the fishfull Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

In reference to last week’s report about the Rock Springs Run, I got the following email from subscriber Tony Magner, which he graciously allowed me to publish here:

“I wanted to comment on this weeks report on fishing Rock Springs Run. Last Friday we had family in town from Vermont. My wife found King’s Landing online and thought it would make for a great paddle for us all. We had never been here before. I must say that Hurricane Irma definitely left her mark. Big time!! We elected to take canoes as we were expecting a leisurely cruise down the river. This was far from what we found. Portions were very difficult to navigate. Especially in a canoe. Two members of our group elected for single kayaks. They had much better luck. I felt that a report of the difficulty of this trip would have been appreciated with your report.”

Point made, sir. There were downed trees all over the place, although someone had been there with a chain saw and cleared a path. I’ve been on trips like that where the trees were down and no one had cleared a path, which is probably why I neglected to mention it. Anyway, Rock Springs Run requires maneuvering, so be ready for that if you go.

This is really tough maneuvering…

…as is dragging your boat over fallen trees. The things people do for fun!!!

Upcoming Events–

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM.

Tuesday

Old friend Kevin Linehan and I went scouting on Mosquito lagoon. In five hours I saw one redfish. The half-dozen trout we got were all short. Not very fishfull.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I had the pleasure of hosting Bob Elliot, a fly fisher from Rochester, on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Thursday morning we started out of River Breeze. It was cold. The wind screamed, out of the north 20+ with gusts. That first boat ride was painful.

I poled from north of JB’s Fish Camp to Bissett Bay. The wind may have helped a bit. Bob got two reds along the way. Both were shorties. Both took the same olive and white Clouser minnow. It never did warm up much. We never lost our good spirits, an excellent development considering we had three days still to fish.

Friday morning we started out of River Breeze. It was cold. The wind screamed, out of the north, pushing 20 with gusts. That first boat ride was painful, more so than the previous day.

It warmed up to almost comfortable fairly quickly, and we found some fish. We could not get them to bite, but we at least saw them, slot reds, honker trout, nice fish.

Bob got a rat red on a Bouncer streamer.

We changed locations and found more fish, got some good shots but no takers. When the sun was nearing our quitting time Bob tossed a Slider at a fish I saw. The cast was good, the redfish took. Bob set the hook- twice. The second hookset broke the leader. Ouch. That was the last bite we got.

Saturday we launched at Beacon 42 ramp. The weather was nice. We stayed at the first spot for hours. Bob got two nice trout there on a Bouncer streamer, but the redfish just did not want to play. There were a lot of them! They laughed at everything we tried! Finally succumbing to frustration, we tried two other spots. The first lacked fish, the second had a sparse selection of uncooperative specimens. The two trout were it for the day.

Sunday we launched at Beacon 42 ramp. The weather was awesome. We stayed at the first spot for hours, the same spot where we could not get a red the previous day. They cooperated just as readily, and we did not get a bite in spite of the significant time investment and several fly changes.

Spot 2 looked awesome with a minor biological desert problem. I’ve caught lots of fish there before.

At Spot 3 there were trout, redfish, and small black drum. Clouds kept turning off the lights. Bob had easily 50 shots in the 10-15′ cast range, always tough to convert. Using a Redfish Worm he got a rat red on a blind cast. In spite of being in fish most of the day that was the only bite he got.

So we saw hundreds of fish over three days and got a handful of fish to show for it, tough, tough fishing. A good time was had by all in spite of some frustration!

And that is the fishfull Mosquito Lagoon 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: fly fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing report

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

March 5, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

Three straight days of fishing in 20 mph plus winds, no surprise we have a blown away Orlando fishing report.

Bad news for all Lagoonatics– this year’s installment of the algae bloom has already started in the Banana River Lagoon. See this link for all the gruesome details-

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…
-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday- Rock Springs Run

Mr. Conneen rollin’ down the creek.

This painted turtle let me get surprisingly close.

Mike Conneen and I went a-paddlin’ on the Rock Springs Run, starting at King’s Landing and finishing at Wekiva Marina. At this central Florida gem, it’s more about the aesthetics than the size of the fish. You’ll find plenty of brilliantly colored fish here, but they tend to be small ones- stumpknockers, redbellies, even the bass run small.

Rock Springs Run stumpknocker. Yes, it’s small.

Mike, still rollin’.

Use ultralight tackle and small, weedless baits (I like the Beetle Spin or a three-weight fly rod)) and you will have fun racking up the numbers if not the poundage. A bruiser will surprise you on occasion.

One of many ibis we saw.

Mike got a dozen or so bass, the largest was (being generous) maybe two pounds. It’s an awesome trip- the scenery and the wildlife are so nice, who cares about fish size?

One of the larger fish we caught.

A stream-side blue flag iris.

Wednesday
Last week I said this about the shad- “I think they’re done for the season.” PDM, whose name will not be revealed, sent me an email complete with maps telling me he had his best day of the season the same day I caught exactly one. So following his very specific instructions (which I really appreciated- thank you!) I went there on Wednesday. It was not great. I had to work, but I got ten or twelve in a few hours. It was enough that I figured I could use it again of Friday if needed.

Thursday
Went scouting solo out of River Breeze. The places I had been finding fish were devoid of life. On my good friend the 3″ plastic shad I got two slot trout and a few dinks. The slotties were delicious, pan-fried in coconut oil.

Friday , Saturday, Sunday
I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Dan Carr, a fly fisher from Atlanta, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He warned me ahead of time that he brings bad weather.

If you were a kite flyer or a windsurfer the weather over the weekend was incredible. It was kind of windy for fly fishing, though.

Friday morning we started out of Haulover. By noon we had seen exactly five redfish with nary a shot. Dan had caught a rat red on a plastic shad, which was the extent of the action.

I pulled the boat and went to the St. Johns River. Shad were the goal.

In four hours plus Dan got one hickory shad and one small channel cat. I pulled the boat near sunset and went home to get ready for the next day, and lick my wounds. So much for the shad. They are done.

Saturday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

Dan with one of the many rat reds he caught. Note the breezy-looking water behind him!

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, both trout and redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good, enough so that he wanted a repeat the next day.

Sunday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

The fly of choice. Actually, he used several different patterns.

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, all redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good!

We got 15 or so redfish in three days and not one would have held batter. We did get a few legal trout, though. And a good time was had by all!

And that is the blown away Orlando 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, mike conneen, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, Rock Springs Run, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

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