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The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

March 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

Sunday, a lovely day, found Chip, Casey, and Robert in the Mitzi skiff as we searched for hungry fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found lots of fish. They were not hungry. At the first spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but did not get a bite. At the second spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but only got one bite. It was missed. At the third spot we cast to fish for a couple hours. Chip got a decent trout and two rat reds on a DOA CAL shad tail. Robert missed a strike on a Johnson Minnow. Other things we tried included DOA Shrimp, jerk baits, and live shrimp. It was a beautiful day, but frustrating from a fishing standpoint.

Monday, likewise lovely, found Chip, Casey, and I in kayaks on the Banana River Lagoon. We did some fairly serious paddling. We found a school of black drum. Casey had a bite but lost the fish, then they would not bite any more.

We went looking for other fish.

I found another school of black drum. My fishermen were not nearby, so in order to get their attention I hooked a fish, using a black Bunny Leech. Chip and Casey came over PDQ. 

Orlando Fishing Report

Casey battles a fish.

 

orlando fishing report

It was the first black drum he’d ever caught.

 

orlando fishing report

It took a DOA Shrimp.

 

orlando fishing report

Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech, tied by Steve Baker.

 

orlando fishing report

Aye, ’tis a handsome fish!

Casey got one on a DOA Shrimp. Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech tied by Steve Baker. Then Casey got another on a DOA Shrimp. Then the fish would not bite any more.

We had a chance to cast to some tailing manatess. We did not take it.

We had more shots at fish before we left but did not get any more bites.

Still working the run of awesome weather, Rodney Smith and I went out of Port Canaveral on Tuesday on a cobia mission. The waves were running three to five feet, but it wasn’t very windy. The Mitzi handled it beautifully.

orlando fishing report

Rodney works a tripletail in close.

 

orlando fishing report

We saw more turtles than cobia.

The first fish we saw was a tripletail, sitting under a small clump of sargassum. Rodney threw a shrimp over and the fish gobbled it. We ended up seeing quite a few tripletail and hooked five or six, boating four legal fish ranging between five and ten pounds. I found myself wishing I had brought a fly rod because catching a ‘tail on fly would have been pretty straightforward. We did not, however, see a single cobia. 

orlando fishing report

Some delicious eating on display. The fish. I mean the fish.

Back at the Port we ran into Fred Cisneros. He had also been searching for cobia and had seen only one. I guess they are not here in force yet.

The Kumiskis had tripletail fillets sauteed in coconut oil for dinner Tuesday. Very delicious it was!

Thursday I water-tested my new boat, a Sevylor inflatable kayak (read the review here…). This is not a terribly seaworthy little boat. Its main function for me will be small pond fishing for bass and sunfish. It passed that test admirably, as I got five bass on surface flies.

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

The Sevylor Kwik Pak K-1, ready for launch.

 

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

This was the best trip of the morning’s feasibility study. This boat will help me find a bigger one.

So in four day’s fishing this week I handled seatrout, redfish, black drum, puffers, tripletail, and black bass. I wish I had gotten a couple of sunfish, too! And that is this week’s Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

March 6, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar March 14

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar March 15

Only one week until the show and tell seminars, but there is still room both days!

 

My preference is to fish during the week rather than on weekends, but Sunday I had an itch to fish. To scratch it I took a bag of Culprit worms and a spin rod and checked out some retention ponds in Oviedo. You may be familiar with this type of pond. As you drive by you ask yourself, “I wonder if there are any fish in there?” Then you tell yourself, “I need to check that out.” Sunday was the day. I checked out two ponds in three hours and got three bass, the largest (not pictured) which was about 14 inches long. It sure beat watching men’s figure skating on TV. Can’t wait for baseball to start!

orlando fishing report

Lots of bass like this can be found in a retention pond near you.

            Yes, there are fish in that pond.

The beneficiary of a good weather forecast on Monday, I took the kayak to the Banana River Lagoon. When I pulled up to unload my stuff a cock cardinal landed on my rearview mirror and proceeded to do battle with his reflection. Most extraordinary. Beautiful, silly little bird!

The cardinal landed on my mirror...

The cardinal landed on my mirror…

 

...and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

…and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

 

cardinal3

            The fog was thick and I found the spot with some good luck. I couldn’t see anything until a tidal-wave sized wake started moving away from me. After staking out the boat I went blind casting with a black bunny leech. The fish pictured below took the fly on the second cast. It was a nice fish- the photo does not do it justice.

orlando fishing report

Definitely not a bad start to the day.

            After releasing it I went blind casting again and hooked a significantly larger fish. It took me deep into my backing and then broke off. A piece of my heart may have broken off a second later.

            I could not find the fish again, and so moved along.

            There was nothing at the next place. In the meantime the fog cleared and the sun appeared in a cloudless sky, making for excellent sight fishing conditions.

            At the next spot I saw nothing for a while. Then I almost ran over a bunch of drum. After staking out the boat I went searching for them, now armed with a black and green Clouser minnow. A single was spotted. The cast was decent, and the fish obliged.

orlando fishing report

No one accuses black drum of being beautiful.

            That was the only black drum that cooperated, although several more shots were taken.

            Through the day two more redfish bit. One broke off on the strike (perhaps we need a beefier tippet), the other was about ten pounds, also on a black bunny leech.

            All in all a very enjoyable day.

Tuesday Mr. Joe Nourigat joined for a day’s paddle fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Although calm in the morning we again had fog. When it blew away there were clouds up there so we never got any good sight fishing light.

            The fish were not very active. For every one we had a cast to, we ran over a half dozen others. Joe had a limited number of shots at tailing fish, only got a single eat, and as so often happens when your luck is running that way we missed it.

            We tried blind casting, which yielded exactly nothing.

            We did have a wonderful, day-long conversation about books, and music, and a smattering of other topics. But when the boat was back on the car we had not caught a fish. It’s a good thing the birds were awesome. Joe was pretty cool, too.

Wednesday Fernado Fonseca, Mr. Orlando Mobile Marine, visited me to do an annual service on the Yamaha. The job is done, the money is in his bank, and see ya next year!

Fernando doing his thang.

Fernando, doing his thang.

Thursday afternoon I dusted off the cobia tackle. The water temperature is hitting the right spot. If the wind ever dies and the sea ever calms down I am going out there. Hopefully that will be next week.

Friday I needed to scout, so in spite of the clouds and wind the Bang-O-Craft and I went fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. No kidding, I caught a trout on the first cast. Often that’s the kiss of death. Not this day. The trout bite was steady by using the DOA Deadly Combo.

orlando fishing report

The Deadly Combo was, well, deadly.

As often happens there were quite a few little ones but I got six or eight in the slot. Some more trout and a couple junior league redfish also fell for a DOA CAL Shad tail. In four hours at least 20 fish were released, certainly entertaining if not spectacular.

orlando fishing report

The little bitty reds were out on Friday.

 

orlando fishing report

The trout were smacking the shad tail, too.

And that is this week’s Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

January 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Can’t get enough of this sticker…

Things seem to be looking up in the fishing world. We didn’t catch a lot of fish this week, but finding them became a lot easier.

On Monday Rob Boman and David Cline joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We saw two schools of redfish right away. They were spooky enough that we could not get a cast to either. We continued on our way.

Spot number two yielded nothing. We did not see a fish there.

At the third spot we kept blowing out fish. Dave got a redfish on a RipTide Weedless Shrimp. Went through again. No bites. Staked out the boat and tossed a couple mullet chunks out. Rob got a 16 inch trout, released it.

Tried another spot. There were a lot of fish there, both trout and reds. They did not want to eat our offerings, and we did not get a bite. Yes, we were changing lures. No, it did not seem to matter. On the way out I spotted a school of reds lying at the edge of the flat. We had several good casts to them and Dave had one nail the weedless shrimp. It was a n-n-n-nice fish, 28 inches of glorious copper-colored Scianops. We released it.

Have you ever heard that saying, “Don’t leave fish to find fish”? These fish weren’t biting so I went to another spot where I had seen fish last week. There were hardly any there. Given time to think about it, and getting close to the end of the day, I went back to the previous spot. They still weren’t biting very well, but Rob got a 20 inch red on a four inch DOA CAL jerkbait. So, it had been a slow, tough day, but we saw quite a few fish. I thought things were finally looking better as I loaded the boat.

Dave was kind enough to send me this email- “Thank you for the great day fishing.  You put us on all kinds of fish and that is all a person can ever ask for.  I like that you bypass all the latest doo dads and fishing gadgets/gimmicks and concentrate on hardcore fishing.   I think we did pretty well considering the lockjaw that seemed to be so prevalent.  Robbie and I learned a lot too.”

Thank you Dave, for the kind words.

 

Tuesday Patrick Phillips joined me for some fly fishing, also on Mosquito Lagoon. We brought waders with us. I parked the boat and we got out and waded for a while. I can’t say fishing was hot but we got three trout and a red between us, on a gurgler and a streamer.

The wading was not fun because the bottom was gooshy. We got back in the boat and fished from it the rest of the day. Patrick had a lot of shots from both trout and reds. They sneered at everything we tried. The last fly he tried was a crab pattern. The final cast of the day was into a school of reds. They blew out.

So once again, the fish were there, but getting a bite was a tough proposition. But we were in fish the entire time.

black drum

A gratuitous black drum photo.

Wednesday I went kayaking on the Banana River Lagoon, all by my lonesome. I do some of my best work when I’m alone. Not this day. I found several schools of huge black drum. I only tried two flies, the wool crab and the black bunny leech. I easily had 100 great shots, but got only one bite, on a brown and olive green wool crab.

I hooked the fish solidly. I could not break it out of the school. My line went slack and I pulled the now fly-less leader in. It was broken cleanly, not at a knot, a mystery break. I speculate another fish swam into it, but really don’t know what happened.

All I know is I only saw a few trout, a couple dink reds, and excepting two puffers did not get another bite. The day was magnificent, the water clean. The fish caused some frustration, but it was an awesome paddle.

Should have gone fishing Thursday, didn’t.

Friday and Saturday I had no work and the weather wasn’t nice, didn’t fish.

The St. Johns River is still very high. Saturday’s rain won’t help it drop. Reports of scattered shad catches are coming in, but I’ve heard this year we have a shad walk, not a shad run.

And that is this week’s Saltwater Orlando fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Skipped a Week Orlando Fishing Report

December 20, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Skipped a Week Orlando Fishing Report

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers. Thank you all for your support this year!

Last week’s skip was not intentional. I fished Thursday and Friday, had a yard sale Saturday, and fished Sunday. The report just didn’t happen.

Thursday’s fishing was a solo scouting trip to Mosquito Lagoon. Starting late, the Mitzi didn’t hit the water until after 11. I checked six spots and found fish in four of them, catching two slot reds and a flounder, all on a DOA Shrimp.

Friday I went with Tom Van Horn. We checked some different spots and didn’t find much until we went to one of my fishy spots from the previous day. Tom got a couple reds and a beautiful 25 inch trout, again all on a DOA Shrimp.

The yard sale was a success. I sold $100 worth of stuff I didn’t use any more, met some of the neighbors, and tied a couple dozen flies.

Sunday Michael Edwards and his friend Mitch joined me for a day’s fly fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. It was cold on that first boat ride but generally the weather was spectacular. Those fish I found Thursday? Mostly MIA. Michael got a low-end slot red in the first spot we tried. Mitch had a bite late in the afternoon that he unfortunately popped off on the strike. In between we either saw very spooky big trout (LOTS of them) that would not bite, or hardly anything at all. I for one was very disappointed.

Orlando Fishing Report

Here’s my water chariot, complete with surrounding litter.

Tuesday the weather looked awesome, as did the water level and the water temperature. Although it’s still got a ways to go, the water level is finally starting to get to get near normal winter levels!

The water levels at the Hauler Canal this week.

The water levels at the Haulover Canal this week.

I took a solo kayak trip to the Banana River Lagoon. It took me quite a while to find some fish. Once I did it was pretty hot with the nice trout and the slot reds for a couple of hours, mostly on a black redfish worm.

Orlando fishing report

One of several nice trout that took the redfish worm.

 

Orlando Fishing Report

Forgot to mention I got this little feller. There were lots of them around.

Thursday I made another trip, intending to look for big fish. Again there was a lengthy search mission, but I found a school of black drum and released five between fifteen and thirty pounds. They were eating pretty good. All of the took a black bunny leech. On the way back to the car I got four slot reds, too. Awesome day. The sunset was arguably the most spectacular of the year, but hard to photograph while driving at 70 MPH.

Orlando Fishing Report

It’s hard to photograph these when you’re by yourself.

That, my friends, is the Skipped a Week 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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The Orlando No Fishing Report

November 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

The Orlando No Fishing Report

First of all, wishing everyone a magnificent Thanksgiving holiday. Don’t forget to count your blessings and give thanks!

Friday morning Sue and I drove to Madeira Beach to go to Ashley and Anton’s wedding. It was a lovely affair and we had a great time, spending the entire weekend over there. See the photos here… http://johnkumiski.com/ashley-anton-got-married/

Monday there was a monsoon as a strong cold front pushed through.

Tuesday was cold and windy with intermittent light rain. It was almost comfortable at the auto repair palace- Auto Nation Toyota Winter Park. They do good work there.

Tuesday evening I attended the public scoping meeting for the Port Canaveral Rail Extension. The Port Authority wants to build a rail line along the route shown at this link… http://www.portcanaveralraileis.com/documents/Port_Canaveral_Project_Area.pdf

Gadzooks!

In order to build the 11 miles of track they want to build a new causeway and trestle bridge across the Banana River Lagoon, which will certainly involve dredge and fill. Once the track is in place a 200-car train will come and go along the track four times a week.

I fail to see how this project benefits the people of central Florida as concerns their quality of life. It certainly won’t be good for the health or biodiversity of the Banana River Lagoon, or for those of us who enjoy using it.

To get more information about the proposed project, visit these links… http://www.portcanaveralraileis.com  …https://www.facebook.com/nofillnokill

You can make comments to the Surface Transportation Board at http://www.stb.dot.gov/Ect1/ecorrespondence.nsf/incoming?OpenForm

My letter to them is at this link… http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/canaveral-rail-extension-letter/

Please paste and copy and send the Surface Transportation Board a letter. If you enjoy fishing in the no motor zone please take the 15 minutes to send the letter. That’s the beauty of the democratic process. You need to write!

 

Some more thought provoking reading- http://www.scribd.com/doc/247019882/Rethinking-Industrial-Animal-Production

 

Broken cars and computers kept me occupied on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday too. The fact that the water temperature dropped 11 degrees over the past four days did not make me want to rush out to go fishing, either. The weather this week has been awful. But my computer is now restored and has had a memory upgrade (I wish I could get one of those) and my car is ready to go. Susan’s car needs a little more work, but the big stuff is fixed.

Friday I worked on various things, especially books. It was reasonably nice out but I just couldn’t get jacked to go fishing, as windy as it was.

One of the errands I ran on Wednesday was to Mudhole Custom Tackle (http://www.mudhole.com ) to get some parts for a rod repair. One of the things I’m thankful for this year is that Mudhole is 15 minutes drive from my house, and they stock every fishing rod component known to man. The rod got repaired on Friday.

 

An ebook version of Fishing Florida’s Space Coast is now available at Amazon at this link… http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PX4PS8C

I’m also working on an ebook revision for Redfish on the Fly. Now that the computer is repaired that work should go a little faster.

I got the new Florida Sportsman magazine on Friday and had an article in it, featuring photographs of handsome son Alex.

 

And because I did not go fishing once this week, that, my friends, is a fortunately rare Orlando No 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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The Back in Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

September 6, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

The Back in Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report, featuring ALEX!

The trip home from Alaska started at 4 AM one morning and ended at noon on the following day. Not only did we make it home just fine, but we got to visit with a dear friend along the way, and meet Ray Troll besides. Does getting from point A to point B get any better?

SO, Sunday Alex and I took the Mitzi out of Port Canaveral. We headed south along the beach. The water was muddy. The menhaden were scattered all along the beach, hard to net. Lots of glass minnows, though, and the occasional mackerel blasting through them. We got about halfway down Patrick AFB before turning out to sea.

We hadn’t gone very far out to sea when diving birds and busting fish told us the tunny were partying. We joined in, using DOA CAL jigs and tails as favors. The fish received them enthusiastically, and we caught ten or twelve. They are such awesome fish on light tackle!

orlando saltwater fishing report

Alex goes toe-to-fin with a tunny.

orlando saltwater fishing report

I shot the first one we got, but we got some significantly larger than this beauty.

Still, we wanted tarpon, so left the tunny behind and kept looking. Once we got north of the Cocoa Beach pier we started seeing sargassum, and started thinking cobia/tripletail. We found a lot of weeds but only saw one junior-sized tripletail, eight or so inches long. I was surprised and disappointed at the same time.

We looked all the way to Cape Canaveral, and did not see any tarpon. We did find three schools of jumbo crevalle, though, hooking two and boating one. We also found lots of bait with regular sized jacks, ladyfish, and bluefish blowing up on it. There are loads of bait of all kinds in Canaveral Bight.

orlando saltwater fishing report

It turned out to be pretty hefty.

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

Do you like your fish photos vertical or horizontal?

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

And then there’s the classic close-up. It was a real nice jack.

So we did not find any tarpon, but we did catch some fish. It was a great day out on the Atlantic.

Thursday at sunrise found Scott Radloff and I launching kayaks in the Banana River Lagoon. We were out five hours on a slick calm lagoon and had a pretty slow morning. I got two slot reds, one by blind casting and one by casting to an obvious push, both on an Electric Sushi fly. I jumped one very small tarpon on a gurgler. Scott caught a very small tarpon on a DOA Shrimp. We did not miss a strike.

The grass is all back like there was never a problem and the amount of bait is approaching mind-boggling proportions. The water is pretty dirty in most places we fished. But we did not see very many fish. It may be a few weeks before I go back.

Friday Vincent Serra joined me for a day of searching for tarpon out of Port Canaveral. My plan to run south, to Satellite Beach if necessary, fell apart as soon as we cleared the jetties. The sea was already a bit worked up, and I didn’t trust the weather to make such a long run. As it turned out we could have done it, since the weather got better during the day. When I’m responsible for someone’s safety I can’t count on that happening.

We ran north, along the beach in Canaveral Bight. Lots of bait, but no fish did we see for a while. Around Canaveral Shoals all kinds of birds were working over breaking fish. We ended up with bluefish, blue runners, little tunny, ladyfish (BIG ones), jack crevalle, and Spanish mackerel, using DOA CAL jigs, Sting Silvers, and Chug Bugs. But we only saw a solitary tarpon, which we did not hook. We went through a few lures, as you might imagine. It was good, clean fun, and another great day out-of-doors.

And that, gentle reader, is the Back in Orlando 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

February 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report 22214

Upcoming Events-
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 15. Visit this link  for more information or to register…
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 16. Visit this link  for more information or to register…

Blog Posts this Week-
– Sharkwave Fly Lines Coming
– Lunkerhunt Swim Bentos Bait
– Oil Drilling Coming to the Everglades

The new issue (March 2014) of Florida Sportsman has an article about the Indian River Lagoon Odyssey, by John Kumiski! Check it out!

On to the fishing, men!

Monday the weather was gorgeous, so I strapped the kayak to the roof of the chariot and drove over to the Banana River Lagoon. I got there after nine o’clock. Six cars were already there. I avoided the other boats as much as I could.

Travelling along the shoreline I saw two small trout, two small redfish, and then a school of about 20 small reds, less than 20 inch fish. They elicited no response in me.

I went out to the second bar. There was nothing there.

I went to the third bar. Two boats were there, one on each side. I went up the middle. The water was clear, there was hardly any grass, and I saw nothing. I kept going.

On the fourth bar there was a school of black drum, not the big ones. Two tasted my black bunny leech. The larger one was 12 pounds or so.

I left them, hoping to find big fish. A group of eight big reds was swimming high in the water. I got two casts at them but they ignored me.

The paddle back was uneventful, as no fish were seen.

The grass up there is all gone, and so are most of the fish. It’s a sad thing.

Tuesday found me on a bus travelling to Tallahassee for the Clean Water Rally. Senator David Simmons, the senator from my district, was one of the speakers. Good work, sir!

I had a meeting with my district’s representative, Rep. Jason Brodeur. He told me he understands the need for clean water, would be sponsored a bill addressing clean water issues. It was good to hear, but show me the money. Stay tuned.

One of the speakers was a woman from Naples, Dr. Karen Dwyer, of the Stone Crab Alliance. Here is what she had to say: ” The Everglades oil rush is on. In addition to the 115,000 acres leased for oil exploration, Collier Resources just issued two more leases for massive seismic testing operations to identify more locations for oil drilling: 103,000 acres to Tocala, LLC and 234,500 acres to Burnett Oil, all in the Big Cypress National Preserve in the western Everglades. Everyone. March 11. Please. Pack the EPA Meeting. Take a stand for the Everglades and our water. Now is the time. No one can take your place.”

Fight for your right to clean water!

Fight for your right to clean water!

How this has escaped the state and national news media is beyond me. All fishermen should be going crazy over this- hydraulic fracturing in the Everglades? WE CAN’T LET THIS HAPPEN!!! I will be in Naples on March 11. I hope to see you there.

Wednesday Rick DePaiva, one of my dearest friends, came up to fish with me. Because he likes going there and because I got a good report from one of my subscribers we went to KARS Park and launched the canoe.

The weather was awesome.

The short version is that we went most of the way to the NASA Causeway, went out to the islands on the other side of the channel, and worked it hard. We saw maybe eight fish and had one half-baked shot that did not work. So we went fishless. Had a good time other than that, enjoying the day and Rick’s company.

black-drum-release.jpg

 This is what we wanted. It is not what we got.

            Again, most of the grass is gone. This area had such thick grass just a couple years ago, too. Bad, bad, bad Bad BAD.

And that is this week’s not so great Banana River 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports, opinion, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report 12514

January 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Floridians for Clean Water Rally in Tallahassee, February 18
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 15. Visit this link  for more information or to register…
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 16. Visit this link  for more information or to register…

Monday Capt. Tom Van Horn and I took the Mirage out for a test drive, launching at Haulover Canal and exploring the Mosquito Lagoon. The water temperature at launch time was a brisk 54 degrees. We did not catch a fish at either of the first two spots we checked. The third, however, produced a lovely red for Tom, an out-of-the-slot fish that tried to wolf down a DOA CAL shad.

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Capt. Tom in battle.

 

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Tom was victorious, although the fish was released.

Once the water temperature started to climb fishing steadily improved, enough that we even got a double.

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Tom has his hands full…

Not everyplace we looked had fish but enough did that we ended up with about a half dozen apiece of reds and trout. The water temperature when we loaded the boat was 58 degrees. It was a good way to break in the new boat.

Speaking of which, the Mitzi is still for sale. Visit this link  for more information…

Wednesday found me at the Floridians for Clean Water Rally in Orlando. If you want to sign the Clean Water Declaration, and if you’re a fisherman you should, visit this link http://www.wewantcleanwater.com .  There will be a rally in Tallahassee on February 18. I hope to attend and hope you will too! More information to come!

Thursday found the kayak strapped to the roof of the chariot. Speed laws may have been broken as we zoomed to KARS Park on the Banana River Lagoon. It was cold when I got there and remained so all day. The forecast high was 61 (my sympathies to all living in the near-arctic zones up north)- I do not think we got there. The wind was 10-12 out of the nnw and bone-chilling. But the sun was out and I found decent numbers of fish. In spite of my shivering I even managed to get a few, some on a crab pattern, some on a redfish worm, a mix of redfish and black drum. I saw a few of the school bus-sized fish I was looking for but did not manage to connect.

This drum took a redfish worm.

This drum took a redfish worm.

This one, the best fish of the day, fell for a merkin.

This one, the best fish of the day, fell for a merkin.

Of greater concern was the lack of seagrass up there- the bottom is almost denuded of vegetation, although the Rhodophyta algae sure is plentiful.

This red algae is growing like crazy now that the grass is all gone.

This red algae is growing like crazy now that the grass is all gone.

 

And what fly caster could fail to be thrilled by a trophy puffer fish like this one???

And what fly caster could fail to be thrilled by a trophy puffer fish like this one???

My guide schedule is much too empty- if you want to get out of the frozen wasteland and do some fishing please call or email me! I need the work!!!

And that is this week’s 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

December 7, 2013 by · 1 Comment

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

We had too much stuff. I looked at the mountain of gear and looked at the Old Town, wondering how it could all fit. Somehow it did. Looked ugly, load felt high, but we were off and headed to Jupiter. Like the sound of that, feels like we were off on a space exploration. In a way I suppose we were.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

We had too much stuff. We made it work.

Thirteen boats launched from JB’s Fish camp that morning. Some were only with us for the day. Others were going to Titusville or beyond, or all the way to Jupiter.

We looked for redfish from JB’s to ICW Marker 13, didn’t see much. The weather was gray, misty. We couldn’t see the east shore of Mosquito Lagoon. But such breeze as there was pushed us along beautifully. It was an easy first day’s paddle, the way you’d plan it if you had control over such things as the wind speed or direction. Perfect.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

A crown conch on black mangrove roots along the way.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Black mangrove seeds along a Mosquito Lagoon shoreline.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

This is how hard we were looking for redfish.

The second night we camped on a spoil island west of Haulover Canal. Dee had gotten a redfish and Jay was cooking it up. One fish wouldn’t go far feeding ten. Jim Dyce was wading around the island casting a gold spoon. He said, “I have a big fish. I don’t know what it is.” It was another redfish. That fish was on people’s plates about 20 minutes later, hot and delicious.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Jim Dyce got lucky, and we got dinner.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

The fillets on the fire.

Another wonderful paddle (we’ve been blessed with the weather so far) put us on the spoil island just north of Parrish Park. We had a party to go to at Dixie Crossroads, time to bathe! It’s amazing how stinky you can get in only three days.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Exploring a spoil pile along the Indian River Lagoon.

Capt. Mark Wright came out and picked us up, a very nice thing for him to do. He brought us to Parrish Park and also gave a ride to the restaurant. About 30 people were there to celebrate with us and feast on some of the seafood that Dixie Crossroads is famous for. Personally I concentrated on the oysters and shrimp, merely sampling the blue crabs and clams. After three days of paddling it was extremely delicious, and very kind of Lauralee to do for us. Thanks from all the paddlers to Dixie Crossroads for such a fantastic fete.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

People are having fun. Mike, coneening around.

The kayakers expressed surprise at how fast Rodney and I travel. we can exceed the speed of any of them. We have an Old Town Penobscot, a well-designed canoe. We have Bending Branches paddles, a bent shaft model for the bow and a straight shaft for the stern. Rodney is like internal combustion in the bow. We get a good rythym and the miles fly by.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Nick is not making the speed Rodney and I are. With weather like this that’s not important.

Wednesday morning the mayor of Titusville came out to paddle with us for a while. While it was nice chatting, we had a long way to go. We decided to hit it while the weather was with us. As it turned out it was with us all the way, God smiling on fools and paddlers, apparently.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Mr. Mayor, out for a spin.

We found a school of black drum south of the NASA Causeway. The one we had for dinner took a smoke colored DOA Shrimp.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Pasta, pasta, pasta! Dinner while camping!

While paddling Thursday a flight of white pelicans flew over us. I had a brief glimpse of God. Take Him where you find Him…

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

The white pelicans are trying to earn a living on the lagoon.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Spoonbills roosting on a spoil island, Indian River Lagoon.

 

The water has been high the entire way. We have not seen a blade of seagrass south of Rinker Canal. Fish have been scarce. While we are paddling more than fishing, we’re certainly looking for fish all along the way. We have not seen many.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Fish have been scarce, but we have gotten a few puffers.

But we are having a marvelous time, partly because the weather has been perfect, partly because everyone in the group has been awesome. Bones Benton said this is the coolest thing he’s ever done. Mr. Benton has done some way cool things, too.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Nick paddles the stars and stripes along the Indian River Lagoon.

We haven’t needed so much as a band-aid, either.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

A tree snail in a red mangrove tree.

We’d like to thank Vince and Jim and the Mayor and the Crabman and everyone else who has paddled with us. We’d like to also thank those folks who have said, “Hey, we read about you in the newspaper!” And of course Laurie needs a huge thank you for the incredible cookies!

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

This is the worst weather we’ve had to deal with- a single passing shower.

Saturday December 7 we’ll be at the Indian River Festival at Pelican Beach Park in Satellite Beach. Sunday we’ll be at Lagoon-Palooza at the Lagoon House in Melbourne. Please come out and see us.

That’s the First IRL Paddle Adventure Report. I will do the second as soon as I am able.

Life is short- go fishing.

Life is great and I love my work!

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel


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Fly Fish Banana River Black Drum

November 20, 2013 by · 1 Comment

Fly Fish Banana River Black Drum

It’s getting to be that time of year!

Fly Fish Banana River Black Drum

Black drum run big. If you Fly Fish Banana River Black Drum they’ll probably be the largest tailing fish to which you’ll ever cast a fly.

When you’re in the water up to your hips and that broom-sized tail pops up, I don’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve caught. Adrenaline is going to rush. The mouth will dry right up. It’s exciting fishing.

The requisite fly selection for black drum is small. Flies need to sink like an anvil. A black, size 2 Clouser Minnow with a weedguard or a dark crab pattern such as a Merkin are the best choices.

You need a seven- or eight-weight outfit with a floating line, plenty of backing, and a 10 foot leader with a 15 pound tippet, almost impossible to break.

Paddle up into the Banana River Lagoon’s federal manatee refuge (locally called the no motor zone) searching for them. Either a canoe or a kayak will work. Use the boat to find the fish, then wade.

The best weather is a cool, sunny day with a light north or northwest wind. The best time of year runs roughly from Thanksgiving to Easter.

You won’t find them on the shoreline. Look out on the deeper part of the flat, even at or off its edge. Expect that some days you won’t see any.

While tailers are what everyone wants to see, drum don’t always tail. Many times you’ll see cruising fish. They will still take a well presented fly.

Sometimes you find the drum as scattered singles. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a herd. Anytime you find some, be happy about it. Make the best of whatever situation comes along.

How far will you have to paddle? Some days only a few miles gets the job done. Other days you might have to go all the way up to the NASA Causeway, a round trip of more than 10 miles.

To read the rest of this article, visit this link…

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.

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