Three Wonderful Days Report
Thank you for reading this Three Wonderful Days report. The weather this week was fantastic- if you could dial up perfect weather, you would get this week. And so fishing was good as well.
Before we get to the fishing report, though, we need to deal with some nonsense so ridiculous I can hardly believe it’s being considered.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announces a meeting to which all persons are invited to discuss a Blue Origin (AMAZON/ Jeff Bezos) renewal permit using the Indian River Lagoon as an overflow dumping site.
Friday, January 30, 2026 – 4:00pm EST – 7:00pm EST
3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa, FL 32926
First off, the date and time of this meeting has been scheduled so that the fewest possible number of people will attend. Second of all, with all the water quality problems in the lagoon, and all of the lip service about correcting them, why would this even be considered? Can’t Billionaire Jeff pony up the bucks to take care of his waste material? Fuck you, Jeff Bezos! Get out of Florida!
I’ll be going. I hope to see some of you there. And pardon my French, please.
Fishing
Monday
Monday was my first day fishing in this new year. I hoped it would go well. The trip was by kayak, on Mosquito Lagoon. Since the water is cold, I brought my four-weight, as well as a six-weight. No spinners. It was chilly, with a light east wind.
At the first spot, six trout were caught and released. No big ones. Fourteen to 17 inches, on an olive over white Clouser Minnow. A decent start to the outing, if not too exciting.
The second spot produced but a single trout, although it was around 20 inches.
The third spot produced another slot trout. Any other kinds of fish out there?
The fourth spot produced nothing.
The fifth spot produced nothing.
The sixth spot produced nothing until I noticed some black drum there. The four-weight was in my hand, so I tossed the Clouser to them. One of them quickly took it away from me.
I went and got the six-weight, armed it with a crab fly, and walked back. One of the fish ate it, and resisted strongly enough that he blew out all the others. I did get him, though. Even took a photo of him. The hook did not want to come out of its lip. While I struggled with it, the fish kept using its tail to toss sandy water all over my left side. Soaked to the skin I was. Glad I was that the sun was shining.
Now I’m thinking if I get a redfish, I’ll have a lagoon slam for my first new year outing. After putting an unweighted slider of the leader of the four-weight, the search commenced.
I pooched several chances, but managed to get the red and finish the slam. Happy New Year!
Tuesday
was a change-of-venue day. As I went over the bridge in Titusville I had visions of tailing reds dancing in my head. The lagoon looked like a sheet of glass! And it was already around 11 AM. The ‘yak was launched in the Indian River Lagoon.
The tailers were not as prevalent as hoped. But I got the first fish I saw, a cruiser in water shallow enough that just the tips of its dorsal and caudal fins were ticking the surface. The fly was still the unweighted slider. And so it went all afternoon. The air never started moving. The fish were calmly grazing, not feeding aggressively, but when the presentation was good, they ate. It was a wonderful day!
Wednesday
I made the decision as to what to do Wednesday way harder than it needed to be, but finally decided to try to repeat the lagoon slam. So the ‘yak got launched in the Mosquito Lagoon, and paddling commenced under an overcast sky. Wind was light from the west. My plan was to try for the drum first, then the red, then the trout. Ha! Pretty optimistic.
Paddled all the way to the drum spot, saw only three reds along the way, had a shot at one, who laughed at me. The drum were not at the spot. Dang! But at least the clouds were mostly gone.
Spent an hour paddling around looking for them, and I got lucky! I got the six-weight out, with the crab fly still on it. And I cast, and cast, and cast, and cast some more. Finally, one ate it. This one I was able to drag away from his buddies, and got and released him.
I went back, and the fish were still there. There was a big redfish, 15 pounds or so, swimming with them. I cast the crab in front of him, watched him eat it, felt the tug, and missed him. Well, duh. Got a couple more hits from drum, and missed them, too. Pulled the fly in to check it, and the hook was broken at the start of the bend.
Pretty sporting of me, fishing without a hook, don’t you think? It did save the trouble of playing the fish and unhooking them. Maybe I will start a new trend.
At any rate, I tied a new crab on, cast it two or three times, and hooked another drum. I could not break this one away from his friends, who all spooked. He fought me tough for at least fifteen minutes, eventually losing the battle, to be photographed and released. He was kind enough not to throw water all over me!
At this point the search for redfish began. There weren’t many showing, in spite of the awesome weather. I had four good shots, hooked and lost one, missed two strikes, and spooked a fish with the fly. No reds.
Went to the spot where I got six trout on Monday. No bites. No trout. No slam. Had a heck of a day anyway.
Thursday
We took our in-laws to Goodrich Seafood, then the Orlando Wetlands Park. Good food, good people, good wildlife! Good day!
Friday
I took a class in pine tree identification with Tommy Nordstrom, Volusia County education specialist. We learned the difference between slash and longleaf pines, learned about several species of carnivorous plants, and more. A fine little outing.
So there were more than three wonderful days for me this week, but only three wonderful days of fishing!
That’s the Three Wonderful Days report. Thanks for reading!
Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go walking! Stay active!
John Kumiski – https://spottedtail.com
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, ©John Kumiski 2026. All rights are reserved.