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One Mosquito Lagoon Day Report

December 21, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

One Mosquito Lagoon Day Report

Thank you for reading this One Mosquito Lagoon Day Report. Shaky weather and errands important and less so kept me off the water the rest of the week.

For all you pagans, Saturday 12/21 marks the solstice. Start partying! The days will get longer from now until June!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

Rodney the Cover Boy.

The inadequate eulogy to Rodney was posted, but the photos are fun.

I had to get blood work done Monday, and ran errands a good part of the day afterwards, trying to get them all done. Did not succeed.

Tuesday I loaded up the kayak and drove to Mosquito Lagoon. It was a beautiful day, just a touch breezy. The first spot produced a fat, top-of-the-slot trout on the second cast with the spin rod, 3″ shad. Immediately switched to the fly pole, got two more trout and a red blind-casting with a red-over-white Clouser Minnow, which was the fly du jour. I was wading here and at all the other spots but one. Bite stopped- on to the next spot.

The next spot coughed up four equally nice trout, all on fly. Bite stopped- keep moving.

The next place was fished from the kayak with the spin rod. Five trout, all larger than their predecessors.

The next place did not produce a thing. But the one after that produced a flounder, a ladyfish, a solid redfish and a small puffer.

The final spot gave up a half-dozen trout. So far, the day is pretty awesome.

I tried sight-fishing from the kayak on the way back, saw five reds, did not come close to getting a shot at any of them. But had zero reason to complain. The boat was loaded up around 1530.

That’s the One Mosquito Lagoon Day Report. As always, thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , ,

Ten Thousand Islands Report and Photo Essay

December 14, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Ten Thousand Islands Report and Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this Ten Thousand Islands Report. I spent time in south Florida gathering information for this report. You can thank me later!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

I’m sure someone with waders wants to know what happened with my FlexSeal experiment. First off, FlexSeal ought to be illegal. The stuff that comes out of that can is NASTY! On the other hand, what comes out of my car’s exhaust pipe is nasty, too. But, I digress. I sprayed down a beater, leaky pair of Simms waders with FlexSeal and let them dry. Then I wore them every day in the Ten Thousand Islands. They behaved differently (FlexSeal isn’t all that flexible), and I don’t think they’re breathable any more, but they kept me drier than they did when they were leaky. Score one for being cheap. Hopefully they’ll last the winter.

On November 30, I drove to Monument Lake campground, where I rendezvoused with Mike Conneen. The next morning, we launched our kayaks at Port of the Islands and paddled seven miles out to the Gulf, some of it against the tide, into the Ten Thousnd Islands National Wildlife Refuge. We camped at White Horse Key. Wading that evening, I got two nice snook using spin tackle and a DOA Shrimp.

 

And killer colors in the sky, to boot!

In the morning, the tide was out- way out. Even with kayaks, we weren’t going anywhere.

The tide was way out.

 

River wanted to go fishing.

When the tide started coming in, I went wading, and got another snook with a 3-inch plastic shad. Mike made his getaway when the water got up enough, but I kept wading, this time with a fly rod. I watched a dark shape that looked like a small permit chase down and eat my fly. It turned out to be a sheepshead, the only one I’ve ever caught with a fly.

Sheepie on fly- my first one ever.

The wind got to be too much (the reason I wasn’t kayaking in the first place), so I switched to spin, and got another snook on a DOA Shrimp. Hooray for the Shrimp!

The next morning we were stuck again by the low tide. We packed up, and when the water came in enough, we moved to Panther Key. At the point of the island, two ladyfish and two reds fell for a Rattle Rouser cast blindly, and a trout took a Culprit 4″ Mullet.

Red on a Rattle Rouser.

 

Morning came. The tide was low. We used driftwood as skids and got the boats in the water. Mike sightcast to a pair of snook and landed a beauty, the fish of the trip. He was also using the 4″ Culprit Mullet.

Yeah. Nice fish!

Our last day there had the best weather and the worst fishing. Mike got a nice red, using a Vudu Shrimp. I got a lizardfish on a 3″ Shad. I went most of the day without a bite until finding a trout slick, where four slot fish were caught in 20 minutes on the 3″ Shad. In the meantime, Mike found his own trout hole, where it was “…a fish on every cast…” according to his report.

Yeah. Another nice fish!

 

Sunset was nice, too.

 

Home, sweet home.

Friday morning we packed up and fought the tide the entire way back to Port of the Islands, arriving there fairly spent. Mike left for home the next day. I went to the Swamp Heritage Festival, then headed to Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park, where I spent two nights.

Dawn at Long Pine.

 

In a mangrove tunnel.

 

Roots!

Sunday found me in a favorite paddling spot near Flamingo. My first fish was a snook on the 3″ Shad, and it was a nice one! Then a long dry spell happened, broken only by a single snooklet.

A fine snook.

After getting on a lee shore, I saw a fish blow up on some mosquitofish. Paddling over, I spotted the fish and dropped a Krebs Popper nearby. The fish blew up on it and finally I had a snook on fly for the trip.

Krebs Popper snook.

Then the heavens opened up, piscatorially speaking. On the way back to the pull-out, snook after snook hit the 3″ Shad. Most were small, but there were a couple decent ones. Finally, something ate it that meant business.

I was in a narrow place, trying to play the fish, keep the boat out of the mangroves, and get pictures, all at the same time. The fish must have sensed my lack of concentration, since it dove under the boat with conviction. It was as close as I’ve ever come to capsizing the kayak, and it was really close. The fish, a tarpon not all that big, was caught, photographed, and released, the final fish of a pretty amazing trip.

The guy who almost capsized me.

 

Quarter-moon and pine tree.

That evening found me at a marsh near the Anhinga Trail, trying to get sunset pictures. I heard fish popping and decided to try fishing there in the morning, which was done. It was a lovely paddle through the marsh, but there were no fish- it was quite shallow. Never figured out what that popping noise was. After a couple hours, I returned to the car and loaded things up for the drive home.

At the fishless marsh.

When I pulled off the buff, something stung my forehead. My hat had a trout fly in it from the trip to Montana. The fly had stung me. Now the hat was pinned to my head by the fly- caramba! There was no one around. Figure this one out, John.

Examination in the car mirror showed the hook (size 14) had gone in and come out again. I was truly hooked. The hat and the fly needed to be separated, so with pliers in one hand holding the hook shank, and a pocketknife in the other, I sawed a small hole in the hat and was able to pull it off the fly. Then the barb of the hook was crushed, although it maybe was crushed in the first place, it was impossible to tell. With the hat out of the way, the hook was easily removed. After returning to the campsite and showering, I drove home.

But I photographed the dwarf cypress forest on the way out!

Upon arrival I found a text on my phone from Karen Smith. Rodney was in the hospital, in the ICU. I called her Wednesday morning. She was crying- he wasn’t doing well. She sent me a text that evening, that he’d “passed peacefully, surrounded by family.” I’ll be writing a eulogy, soon. It made me very sad. Rest in peace, my friend.

That’s the Ten Thousand Islands Report. As always, thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go camping! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Two Days on Mosquito Lagoon Report

November 29, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Two Days on Mosquito Lagoon Report, and the last TAF Update

Thank you for reading this Two Days on Mosquito Lagoon Report, and the last TAF Update. I fished Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday we had the tree work done, in order to maintain the domestic tranquility. Thanksgiving we ate excessively, like good Americans! The Assistance Fund got some more donations, and the fund-raiser is over!

There will not be a report next week. Sorry.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please. And speaking of photos- these are from my files, since I didn’t carry a camera this week, again.

A huge THANK YOU to all TAF donors, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz
-Curtis Duffield
-Michelle Wilm
-Anonymous
-Marcia Foosaner
-Nicholas Colantonio
-Stephen Truscott
-Stephen Butrym
-Jorge Hidalgo
-John Harrison
-Henrique DePaiva
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Lisa Pello
-Anonymous
-Lynda Wehmeyer
-James Roberts
-Ralph Tedesco
-Cheryl Kumiski
-Lars Lutton
-Lori Markoff
-Thomas Van Horn
-Jim Tedesco
-Roger Cook

This is quite a list, a bunch of generous, selfless people. We have raised $3,828,00 over 33 donations, 77 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again! Great job!

I didn’t reach my $5000 goal with the fundraiser, but I’d never done a fundraiser and didn’t really think I could reach it. I aimed high! The late advertising executive Leo Burnett had a famous quote- “If you reach for the stars, you might not make it, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.” Thanks to all the donors for keeping me out of the mud.

Fishing

Monday

Went kayaking on Mosquito Lagoon. In the morning it was chilly. I wore my old beater waders. They leaked, badly. I’m experimenting by coating them with Flex-Seal. If it doesn’t work, in the trash they go!

My first fish was a mangrove snapper, a rather unusual catch from Mosquito Lagoon. It, and the several fish that followed, took a grizzly Seaducer. What were those fish, you ask? I will tell you! Two crevalle jacks, (rather small), two spotted seatrout (decent ones, high slot), a snook (dinker) and a puffer. All at the first spot! I’m out less than an hour and already have five species, all on fly.

Several more trout and two more puffers took that fly. The last puffer was more than it could take, and it now lives in the dead fly bag.

On my spin rod I had the amputated DOA Shrimp you may have read about in the last report. That bait fooled several more trout, a reasonably-sized snook (22″ or so), two redfish, and a ladyfish, I wanted a black drum for some kind of bizarre ultimate slam, but never saw one. Another puffer pretty much finished the amputated DOA Shrimp. Boat was loaded around 1500.

The baits of choice on Monday. Pretty motley, but the fish didn’t care.

The weather was fantastic, lots of fish were caught, an altogether wonderful day.

Wanted to fish Tuesday, but, the tree crew. Awesome weather, again.

This guy was VERY athletic.

Wednesday

Caleb Vogl joined me, same place on Mosquito Lagoon. Again, the weather was fantastic. I didn’t wear waders because the Flex-Seal experiment had not concluded.

The first fish I saw was a tailing red. When I cast to it, my backcast wrapped around Caleb’s rod. Why he was in my back pocket was unclear. I may have been a little grouchy about it. He got me untangled eventually, and to my amazement the fish was still there! I laid a cast on him, he ate, and was released a few minutes later. It was the only fish I got on fly, mostly because I didn’t use the fly rod again.

The spin rod had a DOA Bait Buster tied onto the leader. My next fish was a fat trout that ate it. After that I switched to a DOA Shrimp. That lure should go into the lure hall of fame. It fooled a dozen or so trout that all hovered around 20 inches, a 22 inch snook, and 15 or so jacks. At the one spot they were camped at, they were thick enough I got one on almost every cast until the novelty of “a fish on every cast” wore off. And the puffers mangled it, of course. Boat was loaded about 1430.

That’s the Two Days on Mosquito Lagoon Report. As always, thanks for reading!

Again, no report next week!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report · Tagged: , ,

Two Days, Two Lagoons Report

November 23, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Two Days, Two Lagoons Report, and a Penultimate TAF Update

Thank you for reading this Two Days, Two Lagoons Report, and a Penultimate TAF Update. I fished Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday we had someone come look at our trees- they need some trimming. The rest of the week was way too blowy for realistic fishing. The Assistance Fund got some more donations!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please. And speaking of photos- these are from my files, since I didn’t carry a camera this week.

And lest I forget, wonderful wishes from me to thee for a perfect Thanksgiving.

A huge THANK YOU to all TAF donors, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz
-Curtis Duffield
-Michelle Wilm
-Anonymous
-Marcia Foosaner
-Nicholas Colantonio
-Stephen Truscott
-Stephen Butrym
-Jorge Hidalgo
-John Harrison
-Henrique DePaiva
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Lisa Pello
-Anonymous
-Lynda Wehmeyer
-James Roberts
-Ralph Tedesco
-Cheryl Kumiski
-Lars Lutton
-Lori Markoff
-Thomas Van Horn

This is quite a list, a bunch of generous, selfless people. We have raised $3,398.60 over 30 donations, 68 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again! Great job!

The fundraiser link if you’re motivated to donate (Please!)- https://giving.tafcares.org/-/NVCCHJED?member=SPEXUGER The fundraiser ends November 24, so it’s not too late to donate. If you do it right now!

As a reminder, the Assistance Fund helps underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, illness obtain treatment and medicine by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.
————————————————–

Fishing

Monday

Three trout were fatties like this.

I drove the kayak to, what for me, was a new spot on the Mosquito Lagoon, launching at about 0730. It was pretty good! The first fish I got, on the Culprit Mullet, was a trout about 18 inches. Then I saw a tail, briefly. A cast resulted in a strike and a top-of-the-slot redfish.

After that it was all trout, including three beautiful fish in the 25-inch range, one on a fly rod popper. The final fish was a slot red that hit a gold spoon. The way the puffers are, hard baits are the only way to go unless you own a lure company. The boat was loaded up about 1530.

Spoon-fed red!

Tuesday

found me launching the kayak in the Indian River Lagoon, at a spot I hadn’t seen in quite a while. There were redfish there, but they wouldn’t eat. In the morning it was too cloudy to see much. I would cast over an area, not get anything, then paddle over it and move three or four fish. This happened repeatedly. Frustrating! I tried soft plastics (puffers, puffers, puffers), a spoon, a fly rod popper, even a MirroLure, the first time in years I’ve used one of those. Nothing worked.

I tried a glow-in-the-dark DOA Shrimp, and got a snooklet. Then a monster trout ate it, right by the boat. Splashed water all over me, he did.

It’s nice when they pull drag, pull the kayak around.

Then another baby snook ate it- a monster trout followed him up to the boat. Maybe he was looking at the little snook as a snack? Then a puffer amputated the tail of the shrimp. I kept throwing it and got a slot trout. I put a smoke-colored DOA Shrimp on once the sun came out. A puffer amputated the tail. I kept throwing it. Now I could see the fish. I made good casts to four, who all snubbed me. I finally got one to bite the half-shrimp, and he came unbuttoned after about two seconds. And that was it, fish-wise. The boat was loaded up about 1330.

That’s the Two Days, Two Lagoons Report, and a Penultimate TAF Update. As always, thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , ,

One Day on the Indian River Lagoon

November 16, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

One Day on the Indian River Lagoon, and a TAF Update

Thank you for reading this One Day on the Indian River Lagoon Report, and a TAF Update. I fished one day on the Indian River Lagoon, by kayak, with Caleb Vogl. The rest of the week was way too blowy for realistic fishing. The Assistance Fund got some more donations!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

A huge THANK YOU to all the donors, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz
-Curtis Duffield
-Michelle Wilm
-Anonymous
-Marcia Foosaner
-Nicholas Colantonio
-Stephen Truscott
-Stephen Butrym
-Jorge Hidalgo
-John Harrison
-Henrique DePaiva
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Lisa Pello
-Anonymous
-Lynda Wehmeyer
-James Roberts
-Ralph Tedesco
-Cheryl Kumiski

This is quite a list, a bunch of generous, selfless people. We have raised $3,227.60 over 27 donations, 64 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again! Great job!

The fundraiser link if you’re motivated to donate (Please!)- https://giving.tafcares.org/-/NVCCHJED?member=SPEXUGER

As a reminder, the Assistance Fund helps underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, illness obtain treatment and medicine by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

The updates will continue every week until the fundraiser ends (at Thanksgiving), and of course if you’ve considered donating, it’s not too late!

—————————————————————-

Fishing

Tuesday Caleb joined me for an Indian River Lagoon excursion. I didn’t know what to expect, since I hadn’t been to this spot in a while. The water was too high for my tastes (a recurring theme this time of year), murky in some spots, lovely and clean in others. Based on what we could see and what we caught, most of it was fishless, even though there were plenty of glass minnows and mullet around.

The water level was around two feet. I like it around 0.5 feet. Eighteen inches of water makes a huge difference.

Caleb said he got a couple of nice trout, but I didn’t see or photograph them. We spent a lot of time pretty far apart. I got three snook on flies. The three of them together wouldn’t have made a decent sandwich.

I saw one redfish, one trout, and two black drum in five hours, and did not get a shot at any of them. My last couple fishing trips have been less than stellar.

I’ve been filling my time by tying flies for an upcoming trip, doing the never-ending yard work, and making Christmas presents.

Krebs poppers, my new secret weapon.

Friday I took a short walk at the Orlando Wetlands Park. The light was wonky, and there weren’t many critters about (not for that place, anyway). As I was walking, hunger pangs started, so I drove to Sunrise Bread Company and got a cinnamon roll. How self-indulgent of me.

It was that kind of morning…

 

The orb-weaver was pretty awesome, though.

 

Great blue heron.

 

Can you see the gator?

That’s the One Day on the Indian River Lagoon report. As always, thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports ·

One Day on Mosquito Lagoon, and a TAF Update

November 9, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

One Day on Mosquito Lagoon, and a TAF Update

Thank you for reading this One Day on Mosquito Lagoon Report, and a TAF Update. I fished one day on the Mosquito Lagoon, by kayak. The rest of the week was way too blowy for realistic fishing. The Assistance Fund got some more donations!

Julia Mitchell has a great guest blog this week- A Pet Lover’s Guide to Digital Nomadism. Check it out!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please. Don’t bother- no photos this week- the camera was left at home.

A huge THANK YOU to all the donors, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz
-Curtis Duffield
-Michelle Wilm
-Anonymous
-Marcia Foosaner
-Nicholas Colantonio
-Stephen Truscott
-Stephen Butrym
-Jorge Hidalgo
-John Harrison
-Henrique DePaiva
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Lisa Pello
-Anonymous
-Lynda Wehmeyer
-James Roberts

We have raised $2,205.90 over 25 donations, 42 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again! Great job!

The fundraiser link if you’re motivated to donate (Please!)- https://giving.tafcares.org/-/NVCCHJED?member=SPEXUGER

As a reminder, the Assistance Fund helps underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, illness obtain treatment and medicine by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

The updates will continue every week until the fundraiser ends (at Thanksgiving), and of course if you’ve considered donating, it’s not too late!

Fishing

After four days of 20 knot winds, it was to calm down on Friday. So I loaded the kayak onto the chariot and drove over, dropping the boat into the water around 8 AM. As I was prepping, it was impossible to ignore the school of mullet fleeing in terror by the nearest spoil island. I paddled over and got bit on the first cast. I like to think that I ain’t superstitious (a great song on Jeff Beck’s first album), but man, that bite on the first cast is never a good thing. This fish meant business, too- I figured it was at least ten pounds. It was tearing line of the reel, making that Zzzzz-Zzzz-Zzzz noise that anglers so love. It turned out to be a crevalle of 2-3 pounds, foul-hooked at the base of the pectoral fin, where its leverage was much greater than if it had been hooked in the mouth.

Five minutes later his twin bit the Culprit Mullet, and I got him, too. It was much easier, since this one was hooked in the mouth.

And that was it, almost for the rest of the outing. I did see two redfish, and did just before loading up catch a snooklet on a Krebs Popper tossed with the fly pole. It was mostly watching out for manatees, and watching dolphins and the occaisional blowup by jacks (almost had one crash into the kayak as it single-mindedly pursued a terrified mullet). A manatee skull, complete with mandible, was found. It’s still there.

The water seemed higher than last week, and was certainly more turbid. Probable cause of the turbidity, those 20-knot winds all week. Sightfishing was impossible for all practical purposes. Boat was back on the car about 130 PM.

That’s the One Day on Mosquito Lagoon report, and a TAF Update. As always, thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: ,

North IRL System Report

November 1, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

North IRL System Report and a TAF Update

Thank you for reading this North IRL System Report and a TAF Update. I fished one day in the Indian River Lagoon and two days in the Mosquito Lagoon, by kayak. The Assistance Fund also got some more donations, thank you very much.

Also, Julia Mitchell has another excellent guest blog on Living as a Digital Nomad!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

A huge THANK YOU to all the donors to The Assistance Fund, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz
-Curtis Duffield
-Michelle Wilm
-Anonymous
-Marcia Foosaner
-Nicholas Colantonio
-Stephen Truscott
-Stephen Butrym
-Jorge Hidalgo
-John Harrison

We have raised $1,650.60 over 18 donations, 33 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again! Great job!

The fundraiser link if you’re motivated to donate (Please!)- https://giving.tafcares.org/-/NVCCHJED?member=SPEXUGER

As a reminder, the Assistance Fund helps underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, illness obtain treatment and medicine by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

The updates will continue every week until the fundraiser ends (at Thanksgiving), and of course if you’ve considered donating, it’s not too late!

———————————————————–

OK, Fishing!

I wish I had better news.

Tuesday

found me paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. The water was high and brown. There were quite a few mullet around, and occasionally something large would blow up on them. I tried my 3″ shad, a DOA Bait Buster, and what is for me a new lure, the 4″ Culprit Mullet. I fooled a juvenile snook with the shad and got a ladyfish on a Clouser Minnow, and missed a couple half-hearted bites. Whatever was blowing up on that bait ignored my offerings completely.

After pulling the kayak out (it got pretty windy, a theme that continued through the week), I drove down Route 3, checking spots for future reference. At one, I couldn’t help but notice what looked like baby tarpon rolling. I pulled out the fly pole, put on a little Crease Fly (thank you, Joe Blados!) and proceeded to catch three baby tarpon in succession, then missed several more. A fun (for me, not the fish) 30 minutes that salvaged the day. But I did not find any spots that looked more fishy than anything I’d seen earlier that day.

The Crease Fly, invented by Joe Blados. Mine look somewhat less polished.

Something I re-observed about tarpon-
Tarpon of any size that have not been fished are very aggressive. It doesn’t take them long to smarten up! The three I caught were my first three bites. After that, the bites were more hesitant, and then they stopped altogether. All in about 30 minutes! I’ve noticed this before in similar situations. Perhaps they communicate with each other somehow, possibly chemically, or perhaps you just catch the aggressive ones and the rest are more timid. Generally, if you move a short distance, the same pattern repeats.

Yeah, they were babies.

Wednesday

I launched at River Breeze. While driving over there, I was fairly enamored over the lovely, razor-thin crescent of the nearly new moon, just beautiful. Upon arriving at the lagoon, I was also struck by the richness of the bird life. But the water was high and brown. I paddled about five miles in four hours, only seeing a single redfish. The most exciting thing that happened was an osprey swooped down on that Culprit Mullet, thinking about diving on it, as I retrieved it. Fortunately he pulled up when he was about a foot off the water- I don’t want to have to unhook any birds of prey!

Sadly, no bites happened to disturb the bird-watching. When the wind started pushing near 20, I bagged it, a total skunking with nary a nibble.

Thursday

was blowing hard from the get-go. I did not fish.

Friday

found me paddling and wading at Mosquito Lagoon. I went to the shallowest place I could find, and unbelievably there were some fish there. The first fish I saw elicited both disbelief and elation, especially when it took the slider. The scene repeated twice, and I got another red and a beautiful, fat trout by blind casting with a Clouser Minnow. Then the wind started honking, and I loaded up after enjoying much better fishing than expected.

More than I expected…

 

…especially when he showed up.

The NOAA forecast for Monday through Wednesday here is east at 15-20 knots. May not be fishing much!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Some Fishing and a TAF Report

October 19, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Some Fishing and a TAF Report

Thank you for reading this Some Fishing and a TAF Report. A couple days of azure skies and light winds allowed for a couple of delightful days on the water, and TAF got a bunch of donations!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

A huge THANK YOU to all the donors, by name and in no particular order-

-Laura Rice
-Ed Perry
-Dean Altenhofen
-Anonymous
-Walt Sheppard
-Earl Gillespie
-Ken Shannon
-Emily Nelson
-Kelly Holz

What a great group of people!!!

The total raised so far is slightly over $775, 15 percent of my goal, and thank you, thank you, thank you again!

Click here for the fundraiser link if you’re motivated to donate (Please!)

As a reminder, the Assistance Fund helps underinsured people living with life-threatening, chronic, illness obtain treatment and medicine by providing financial assistance for their copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other health-related expenses.

The updates will continue every week until the fundraiser ends (at Thanksgiving), and of course if you’ve considered donating, it’s not too late!

———————————————————–

Fishing!

Monday the Bang-O-Craft plied the startlingly-clear-even-though-it’s-high water of the Mosquito Lagoon, carrying yours truly and Scott Radloff. We did not tear things up, piscatorially speaking. I got a nice trout on my favorite lure, the 3″ plastic shad, near Vann’s Island, and minutes later Scott got one, too. We saw a few handsome, surprisingly large snook. Not surprisingly, they wanted nothing whatsoever to do with us or our faux minnows.

I got a flounder, a decent one. Susan and I ate it for dinner one night. Scott got a redfish, blind-casting. Actually, such fish as we got all came by blind-casting. The water is deep enough to make sight-fishing difficult. We were out about five hours, saw the Falcon Heavy leave for Jupiter, and were impressed by the amount of bait in the water. Life for the gamefish must be pretty sweet right now!

Tuesday Caleb Vogl joined me for a Banana River Lagoon excursion. Caleb started the festivities by casting to an obvious wake with a Zara Spook. The fish, a crevalle jack, crushed it.

The water was not nearly as clear as Mosquito Lagoon is. And there’s not nearly as much bait. And that jack was it for a couple hours. The place honestly looked pretty dead.

I found a small spot where, in about 30 minutes, I got two juvie snook, a very juvie tarpon, and a ladyfish, all on the plastic shad. Then it quieted right down.

Around mid-day I decided that further searching was most likely futile, and turned the kayak around. On the way back Caleb spotted some breaking fish and I at least got a fish on the fly rod, another jack. Caleb also got one, still using the Spook. Boats were loaded about 3 PM.

The rest of the week was pretty breezy and I had doctors and honey-dos, so no fishing. See ya next week!

That’s my Some Fishing and a TAF Report. Thanks for reading it!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , ,

A Week with the Shannons Report

September 28, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

A Week with the Shannons Report

Thank you for reading this Week with the Shannons Report. During my week there, I helped (in a small way) with the renovations on their lake house, ate too much of Cindy’s incredible cooking, and fished in Annie Battle Lake in Glendalough State Park three times.

Our friend Julia Mitchell has another wonderful guest blog with us this week, too!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

Glendalough used to be a private preserve before becoming a state park. We could have fished in Battle Lake, but the park doesn’t allow motors in Annie Battle, which has no residences on it. Kind of a no-brainer for me. Ken and I fished it from kayaks two days, and I donned my waders and just waded it the other.

Ken wrangles a fish in the bulrushes. It got away!

The fish didn’t seem to care.

The first day, we were under orders to catch some sunfish for dinner, which colored our approach. In spite of tossing tiny baits (I tossed a wooly bugger with the fly rod, Ken a crappie jig with the spin) we caught largemouth bass, rock bass, and northern pike in addition to bluegills and pumpkinseeds.

The bluegills were fat and aggressive.

The wading day I was alone and just wanted to entertain myself. All I had were trout flies, and while I started with the wooly bugger, I ended up tossing a grasshopper pattern around bulrushes. The bugger produced a rock bass and a small northern pike. The grasshopper fooled numerous sunfish of both species and quite a few largemouth bass to maybe a pound-and-a-half.

Ken, rigging up.

Then I got an idea to buy some larger hooks and tie up some bigger leeches and bass bugs.

Bass on a leech.

Our last day, Ken brought some serious plugs and I used my new, larger flies. The results were basically the same. Although bites were frequent, neither of us got a fish bigger than maybe two pounds. I easily had a 30-fish day, fishing about four hours. All beautiful, healthy fish, too.

Bass on a gurgler.

I had a great time during my visit and would like to thank Ken and Cindy for being such thoughtful and gracious hosts. I am not worthy…

Now I’m on my way to Superior, Wisconsin to visit my cousin, Josh. I’m slowly working my way back to Florida!

That’s my Week with the Shannons Report. Thanks for reading it!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: , , , ,

Montana Report, Part 2- Fishing for Skunks, and Teddy Roosevelt

September 23, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Montana Report, Part 2- Fishing for Skunks, and Teddy Roosevelt

Thank you for reading this Montana Report, Part 2- Fishing for Skunks, and Teddy Roosevelt. As one might guess from the title, my second week of Montana fishing was not entirely successful.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

After Alex flew home, my decision was to travel east and fish some of the lesser-known streams there. Less pressure, better fishing, right? Great in theory.

Rainbow over the Stillwater River.

My travels brought me to the Stillwater River. At the end of the road was a Forest Service campsite, Woodbine, where I spent two nights. The first evening had rain showers, which produced a nice photo (above). Also, there were some trout rising right under the bridge into the campground. I went down and stuck one immediately, although it jumped off. None of his buddies would touch the fly after that.

A fishing spot on the Stillwater. There were fish there, but I couldn’t catch one.

The morning found me at a fisherman’s access down the river eight miles. A fly fisher was finishing his morning there, unsuccessfully, but he gave me some advice as to places to try. I hit it hard all morning, trying dries, wets, nymphs, and streamers, and did not touch a fish, even though I could sometimes see them swimming in the clear water.

I had read an online article about Rosebud Creek. It was about 45 minutes away, so I decided to try it. When I got there the creek was both tiny and inaccessible, nothing like what I had read about. It was beginning to dawn on me that one of the reasons these streams weren’t fished much was because you can’t get to them. I found a single access on Rosebud Creek, fished one run where the water was flowing much too fast, and decided to try the late afternoon on the Stillwater, at the access I’d tried in the morning.

The first pool had two risers. It only took a couple casts to put them down. The second pool had a couple, too, Again, I put them down. It was cold, and windy, and starting to rain. I bagged it and returned to the campground in a steady rain, after a very thorough skunking.

It rained all night, and was 43 degrees when I woke up. New snow covered the surrounding mountains. A decision was made to get out of the mountains before getting snowed in, and perhaps fish the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone.

A single access was found on the Clark Fork, shallow, muddy, and weedy. It was still cold, windy, and raining. Disappointed in the way things had played out, I didn’t even get out of the car, continuing to I-94, where we headed for Makoshika State Park.

 

The rain ended just as I arrived.

 

I bet the tree appreciated the water!

 

Driving and photography don’t mix.

 

Mule deer buck at the park.

The park had impressive badlands. More importantly, it wasn’t raining. There was no water to fish there, though, so I put my tackle away. The next morning I drove out early, heading to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Badlands at TRNP.

 

Bison at TRNP.

TRNP likewise boasts impressive badlands, and herds of bison as well. When trying to get back to my campsite after photographing the sunset, the van was surrounded by a bison herd. I think it was accepted as a herd member- we slowly rolled along with them as they walked down the road, a thrilling experience.

The shallow and muddy Little Missouri River flows through the park.

 

 

Badlands in morning light.

 

More bison!

In the morning I rolled the chariot onto US 2, heading east toward Minnesota. I stopped at the Geographical Center of North America. Yes, I was there, in Rugby, North Dakota!

My next stop was Devil’s Lake State Park, Graham Island Campground, for the night. Apparently, the lake is full of perch and walleye, although no fishing was done by this reporter. A badly needed shower, a trip to the laundromat, and some fajitas at the local Mexican joint, were all welcome diversions.

I write this from Battle Lake, Minnesota, where I am relaxing as a guest of long-time friend Ken Shannon and his bride, Cindy. Ken and I went fishing yesterday in Glendalough State Park, Ken with a spin rod, I with the fly. Pike, largemouth bass, a rock bass, and several sunfish species were all captured. We kept five big sunnies and ate them for supper! Hopefully the weather will allow more fishing during the rest of the week.

That’s my Montana Report, Part 2- Fishing for Skunks, and Teddy Roosevelt. Thanks for reading it!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , ,
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