The Kumiski Report
Thank you for reading this week’s report. We haven’t done much that could be considered fun this week, but I went digging into a stash of stories I was putting together for a book that never got finished, and found a good one,
—————————————————————————-
This week’s story is an excerpt from my unfinished book, Back of the Boat.
His Wife was Sick
by John Kumiski
We met at Punta Rassa before first light. I had the boat. My angler, a fly fisher, had his wife and a fly rod. Since I don’t remember their names, we’ll call them Joe and Lee. By the time we reached Captiva Pass, the sun was up.
We idled through the breaking ladyfish in the pass, and began searching for tarpon on the shoal right outside the pass. The morning was breathtaking- no wind, just a gentle swell, clear water, and zero clouds. Everything a tarpon fisherman could hope for.
We’re out there maybe five minutes and Lee says, “I don’t feel too good.” Poor woman, being from St. Louis, she’s not a boat person. On the Gulf that’s about as rough as your average bathtub, she’s seasick.
We go back through the pass and look for tarpon at some of the Pine Island Sound spots. None are found. Joe asks, basically, “What else ya got?” I take them to the backside of LaCosta Island, knowing there are always redfish and snook there. I also know these are some well-fed fish who see fishermen every day, fishermen who chum them with live pilchards. The chance of getting a bite on a fly there hovers between zero and one percent.
The fish are there, and Joe throws to plenty of them. Unsurprisingly, they all ignore his offerings. We spend the morning doing this, throwing to fish but going fishless, and the topic of lunch comes up. I suggest Barnacle Phil’s, on North Captiva Island. They like this idea, so off we go.
As we pass Captiva Pass, the Gulf looked so good, so sexy, to me it was irresistible. “Just a quick look,” I say, as I run through the pass. We get on the same shoal we had started on in the morning.
No one is there. The place is covered up with tarpon.
The trolling motor is dropped, the fly line stripped off the reel. Joe casts maybe four times and gets an eat. Lunch is forgotten, at least by Joe and me. So is Lee’s discomfort.
She reminds us of it by vomiting into the Gulf. “We have to go,” says Joe. Lee says, weakly and without a lot of conviction, “I’m okay.” Then she vomits again.
In the meantime, Joe is casting to another daisy chain. They are all around us, relaxed, happy fish. We have the whole Gulf to ourselves. Joe has his pick of daisy chains to throw to, something I’ve never seen before. He gets another eat. He’s not having luck sticking them, but there are fish everywhere, and they are taking his fly.
The afternoon continues in the same vein- Joe is in tarpon Heaven, tossing flies to fish over and over again. Lee is leaning overboard, vomiting over and over again. Joe keeps saying, “We have to leave,” and then he keeps casting. Lee keeps saying, “I’m okay- BLEE-eaaghhh…” I feel bad for her, but not bad enough to leave all those fish.
We end up anchored at the point off LaCosta Island. Joe throws to a school of 40 or 50 fish that are coming up the bar. As his fly leaves the school, a fish on the far side of it breaks formation, races 25 feet through his companions, and attacks the fly, an extraordinary eat, Joe’s fifth bite of the afternoon. He sticks this one. I unhook the anchor line and toss the float overboard, and we pursue the fish.
About an hour later, I leader and unhook the fish, a male of about 80 pounds. We revive and release it, then head towards Barnacle Phil’s. We just get to Captiva Pass, and Lee says to me, “You left your anchor back there.”
Well, crap. I had completely forgotten it. I turn the boat around and go back and get it, then turn around again and head back to Barnacle Phil’s. For the third time. When we get there, the staff is cleaning up. They close at 4 PM, and it’s almost five.
We are all hungry, and Lee certainly is running on empty. After a short discussion, we decide to return to Punta Rassa, to call it a day. Joe had wanted to get a tarpon on fly, and he got it. Mission accomplished. It was most unfortunate that part of the cost of his success was Lee’s seasickness. But that’s the life of a fisherman’s wife!
—————————————————————-
That’s this week’s Kumiski Report. I hope you enjoyed it! 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 – https://www.etsy.com/shop/PhotographybyKumiski
All content in this blog, including writing and photos, ©John Kumiski 2026. All rights are reserved.