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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: , , , , , ,

Fly Fishing Montana Report, Part 1

September 16, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

Fly Fishing Montana Report, Part 1 and Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this Fly Fishing Montana Report. Oh yes, we finally did some fly fishing.

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

Alex flew into Bozeman on the 9th, Susan flew out on the 10th. The crew now consisted of Alex, Maxx, Catalina, and me. Time to fish. We went to our campsite on the Gallatin River, set up camp, and started flailing in the river. Without success, I might add. The river was too shallow and rocky where we were. Alex missed the one strike he got.

Next day we went up the river, almost to the park entrance. It was cold. While my companions fished, I sat in the car. They came back chilled and frustrated. No fish. We moved to another spot. Now it was raining, too. Catalina joined me in staying in the car, but Maxx got a cutbow that took his big, ugly sculpin streamer. First shot fired.

Even though it was still raining the following morning, we went fishing at a different spot. A deep pool, followed by a rapid and another deep pool, allowed us to spread out some. Maxx took the top of our pool, I took the middle down. We both fished with streamers. I got bit the first cast, and connected on the second with a brownie about a foot long- my first fish of the trip. Maxx got a ‘bow a short time later.

 

The bites stopped, but fish started rising. The smallest mayflies I’d ever seen were coming down the river between showers, loads of them. I tied on a #18 blue-winged olive (Jim Tedesco’s version) which did not match the hatch, started floating it over some risers and got bit almost immediately. It was a feisty rainbow, 13-14 inches. I got two more and missed several strikes before the action stopped. Alex had also done pretty well.

Alex had arranged a guided float trip on the Madison for our next outing. We got up at 6 and drove an hour and a half to Ennis where we met our guides, Justin Edge and Kelly McAllister. It was a brisk 45 degrees with plenty of wind, but no rain. The surrounding mountains had a dusting of new snow.

Kelly’s nails- impeccable.

Bundled up like Eskimos, we got in the boats and started drifting. We were not alone. At least two dozen other boats were floating. Using various techniques including dry flies, streamers, and tight-lining nymphs, we did not touch a fish all morning, and only saw one hookup from all the other vessels. Brutal.

Kelly launching her boat into the Madison River.

 

Alex and Justin getting ready to start fishing.

 

Catalina, Kelly, and Maxx float past us.

After lunch our luck started to change. Alex got a couple dinks on the nymph end of a dry-dropper rig, then got a decent rainbow. I got one on a Chubby Chernobyl dry. Then Alex said, “I’ve got a real one.” While he was playing his fish, a large fish came up and took my fly. I said, “I have a realer one.” Then my fish jumped, and we almost forgot about Alex’s (which turned out to a 16-inch whatever).

The water in the Madison wastes no time trying to get to the ocean. The current is fast. Justin couldn’t effectively slow the boat while in mid-stream- he had to row it to the bank to get anchored. But he did that, me all the while playing the fish, Justin all the while telling me not to lose it. He got it netted and measured. It was 25 inches long, and fat. He said it was the biggest fish in his boat this season. I did not touch the beast, or get a photo of it that I was happy with, although Alex was able to. Then the fish was back in the water, and away it swam.

My fishy, held by Justin.

A while later, Alex had the biggest brown trout he’d ever gotten take the nymph on his rig, a lovely fish of almost four pounds. We got other fish before pulling the boat, but after those two big ones, who cared?

Fish on!

 

Alex’s brown.

Maxx and Catalina (for whom this was all a very new experience) got a half-dozen or so fish too, although none were particularly large. All in all a good day, though!

Not particularly large!

Maxx and Catalina left after the float trip, heading back to California. It would be just Alex and I the next couple of days.

We again fished the Gallatin the next day. It was slow. I got four rises on a BWO, missed all four, and ended up blanked. Alex got a couple small ones, then the fish of the day, a beautiful brown fooled by a Copper John fished under a Chubby Chernobyl.

 

 

Alex with another fine brown trout.

We ended his fishing trip with an excursion to the Ruby River, a small stream about an hour’s drive from Ennis. I fished a BWO, a foam caddis #14, and a Purple Haze dry, also #14, and caught fish on all of them. Small stream, small fish. I hooked one good one, got one run out of it before the hook pulled. Alex had similar results. We were pretty content as we headed back to Bozeman.

Alex’s plane just left, taking him back to California. I’ve got some errands to run around town today, then I head east, hopefully fly fishing a few more days before leaving Montana.

That’s my Fly Fishing Montana Report, Part 1. Thanks for reading it! I hope it was worth the wait!

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, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , ,

One Day Mosquito Lagoon Report

June 28, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

One Day Mosquito Lagoon Report

Thank you for reading this One Day Mosquito Lagoon Report. Caleb and I got out on Tuesday, and a stunning morning it was.

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

Tuesday morning at 6 am Caleb and I met at the ramp. The mosquitos and no-see-ums were glad we were there, and shared their pleasure with us by trying to suck us dry. In the meantime, the sun was trying to break through some clouds over the eastern shore. Not your classic gorgeous sunrise, but it was still lovely, as was the entire morning. The water was clear and full of bait.

Before too long Caleb got a red on a soft plastic bait.

 

 

I didn’t get any bites, but I wasn’t fishing much, either. Just taking it all in- the mullet, the dolphins, the birds, the manatees, even saw a hog up on the bank. I finally got a skunk-chaser, a needlefish on a soft plastic shad. I don’t know how it got stuck on the hook. When I lifted it out of the water to unhook it, it fell off the hook into the water in the bottom of my kayak. I got to pick it up and let it go.

We got split up. When we re-joined Caleb said he’d gotten two more reds, and the smallest snook he’d ever seen. Just before pulling the boat (midday) I got a snook, 22 inches or so. The bugs were still bad at the ramp.

Fishing wasn’t especially good, but we got a few, and enjoyed a beautiful morning.

That’s the One Day Mosquito Lagoon Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a bike ride! 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: , ,

Father’s Day No Fishing Report

June 15, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

The Father’s Day No Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Father’s Day No Fishing Report. Today is our 44th wedding anniversary, and tomorrow is father’s day! What a weekend! Happy father’s day to all the dads out there!

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

Monday Susan and I launched the Bang-O-Craft at River Breeze, motored over to JB’s, and had a delightful lunch with Dave and Annie Caprera. Except for the fish in our sandwiches, no animals were hurt during this excursion!

Monday evening we had some of that tropical rain you may have heard about. Tuesday morning I came out, and my boat shed looked like a giant bathtub. After cutting a hole in the roof to let the water drain, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a new shed. I also took the Bang-O-Craft to the St. Johns to wash out the salt. Yes, I did hit the bottom.

Wednesday I disassembled the old shed, and put it out for the trash man.

Thursday’s fasting lab at the doctor’s kind of wrecked the day for any meaningful work. It’s hard to motivate for outside work when it’s already in the 90s (temperature AND relative humidity) when you’re about to start.

Friday and Saturday (anniversary day) I put the shed up. And sweated a lot.

The Bang-O-Craft’s new dog house.

So no fishing happened. It rained every day, sometimes heavily, and there were electrical overtones to some of the storms. See the screen shot of the Econlockhatchee River gauge-

Enough rain fell that the river went up over three feet.

Probably didn’t miss much besides skin damage by not fishing this week.

That’s the Father’s Day No fishing report. 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: , ,

The Meh Fishing Report

June 9, 2024 by · Leave a Comment

The Meh Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Meh Fishing Report. I’m sorry it’s not exciting. Summer is setting in, I can’t tarpon fish without a boat, and the fish have not been as bitey as when it was cooler. Hopefully that will change. Or maybe a horde of big tarpon will show up where I can paddle to them. Ha!

I did not carry a camera either day. The photos are from my files.

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

Tuesday

I went to the Econ. The gauge read 0.8 feet, so I launched at Snow Hill Road. There was still get-out-and-drag over some spots. I threw a gurgler for over an hour, with a single, modest bass to show for it. So, like last time there, I switched to spin tackle.

It was still work getting bites. In many spots I could see the fish, and they were just giving me the fin (the middle one, of course). The catch ended up being eight or ten bass, with one solid one. Beautiful river, beautiful if warm day- I’ll take it. As if there was a choice.

Friday

morning saw me paddling Mosquito Lagoon. Fish were hard to find. Blind-casting while wading, wondering if I’d get anything, the line came tight. Surprise! And it was a real nice fish! I really was surprised!

Turned out to be a red that was pushing 20 pounds, which, had I gotten nothing else, would have made the day. The fly was a black Redfish Worm. It would be nice to write that the fish kicked off a wild couple of hours, but a pinfish and a puffer followed. Again, tiring of casting practice, I picked up the spin pole with a weedless jig, which produced a nice trout in the 3-4 pound range, a modest jack crevalle, and another puffer.

Nice day, water looked great, and I got a couple fish. I’ll take it!

That’s the Meh fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go for a bike ride! 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 fishing report, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , ,
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