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One-Day Central Florida Fishing Report

July 8, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

One-Day Central Florida Fishing Report

Thanks for reading my one-day central Florida fishing report. Due to circumstances largely out of my control, I only got out once this week.

Monday

Independence Day! I crawl into my burrow and hide, because of people like this…

Man’s hand blown off in Florida fireworks accident

Tuesday

Susan was sick, so I was home tending her. I learned I need to tie up some pigeon flies by watching this video-

Wednesday

Good morning!!! Mosquito Lagoon.

Got up early and put the “Gone Fishin” sign on the door. Did not have any flies that imitated pigeons. A thunderhead greeted me, along with various types of annoying biting insects. Annoying bugs are part of the wilderness experience! I would like to thank that cloud for not zapping me. It was quite a spectacular morning.

A few fish were tailing. I caught two, with the fly pole! Handsome specimens they were, too. Flies ware unweighted slider types, one black, one white. Equal opportunity fly caster here.

 

And off it goes.

 

Quite an incredible day. Glad I noticed!

Thursday

The late Sam Behr.

New tires on the chariot. Had to leave the car at the shop, which pretty much anchored me at the house. “Tiahrs ain’t pretty, but everybody needs tiahrs!”

Friday

Susan and I went to Orlando to visit an Asian market. We have plenty of curry paste and fish sauce now! But I didn’t go fishing…

That’s the one day central Florida fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take 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, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

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Independence Day Central Florida Fishing Report

July 2, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Independence Day Central Florida Fishing Report

Thanks for reading my Independence Day central Florida fishing report. Independence Day- it makes me want to watch a Will Smith movie! I hope everyone celebrates safely…

Monday

Found me kayaking at Indian River Lagoon. Did a lot of wading along the shoreline, tossing a streamer at a place that, last time I visited, had quite a few snook. On Monday they were all gone. Five chances presented themselves to throw to redfish. In all five, the fish realized I was there before I began the cast. You know how that went.

I got one dinker red, the skunk-buster, blindcasting.

Who ya gonna call? Skunk buster!

Off the shoreline a ways I saw what I thought were jacks busting. Loved to see it- they’ve pretty much disappeared from the lagoon. After my shoreline jaunt ended, I found myself floating out there. The fish were still there!! I cast the shad into the melee- wham! Then a fish that looked like a tarpon came flying out of the water. It confused me! Tarpon just don’t bust bait the way jacks do.

It turned out to be a ladyfish about 30 inches long. And to prove it wasn’t a fluke, I got a second one. These were strong, handsome fish, jumping and ripping drag- good stuff. Hope they’re around all summer.

The last inning.

My last fish, also on the shad, was a solid trout of three pounds or so, also blindcasting with the shad. Wasn’t a great day, but I’ve certainly had worse.

Tuesday

I drove to Valrico to buy a new (for me) lens, which took most of the day. My family financed the purchase as a Father’s Day gift. Yes, I am so blessed.

Wednesday

Got up early and headed to the Wetlands Park to play with my new toy. The four-spotted pennants are taking over the place. The new toy works GREAT.

Thursday

Scott Radloff and I went crabbing, hoping for a repeat of the last crab trip’s success. We did not get it. Scott ended up buying me a half-dozen at Wild Ocean.

The male blue crab…

Friday

Clean-up on aisle 4! And I watched the Red Sox. They lost :-(.

That’s the independence day central Florida fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take 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, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

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My Summer Solstice Central Florida Fishing Report

June 24, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

My Summer Solstice Central Florida Fishing Report

Thanks for reading my summer solstice central Florida fishing report. Hopefully all you pagans partied down! Personally, I just went fishing. I think I enjoyed a single bottle of carbonated malt beverage this week, too…

I visited three old friends this week- the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River Lagoon, and the Indian River Lagoon. I also spent two days dealing with insurance and car shtuff, such fun!

Monday

Found me kayaking at Mosquito Lagoon. Hadn’t been there in a while. Water is kind of gross, but in spite of that saw a few redfish. Had shots at four, two fled in terror. I caught the other two. Why can’t I always be that good??? See the photos for the fly patterns.

 

The water was kind of gross.

Took some time for wildlife observation, and to smell the ironweed, too. Always good ideas, both.

 

Tuesday

I tried the Banana River Lagoon. I go there so seldom any more that every trip is a search mission, even more so than everywhere else I fish.

The fish of the day.

I stood up and worked down the shoreline. In five minutes I’d seen a snook, a redfish, and two tarpon. I got out of the boat, tied the painter around my waist, and started wading, casting a rubber shad. In five minutes I had the fish of the day, a snook of maybe 20 inches. An hour later I got its twin. Kinda slow.

I tried the fly pole for a while. I got more bites from much smaller fish, eight or so snook and a redfish. Taken all together they would have made a decent sandwich-and-a-half.

Off the shoreline the water is dazzlingly clear. The bottom is covered with green stuff, an exotic plant whose name I can’t recall and am too lazy at this moment to look up. I hope it supports native invertebrates, but I’d be real surprised if it does.

Thursday

OK, a story here. A few years ago, I accompanied son Maxx on his move from Connecticut to California. We drove across the country, stopping at particularly interesting places along the way. One of them was the Meteor Crater in Arizona. Kind of pricey, but totally amazing.

Anyway, while there I was talking to a woman who travels and blogs about it (What a great thing to do!). I told her I lived in Florida. She said, “You should move out here! Isn’t this better than Florida?” Mind you, you could see forever, and it was all dry, brown desert. I said, “I’m a fisherman, lady, so no, it’s not!”

View from the Meteor Crater’s edge. Not a fish in sight.

Thursday I fished a place in the Indian River Lagoon where I had never fished before. I have been fishing here since 1984, and if I work at it, I can still find places I’ve never been. For fishermen, Florida is way better than Arizona!

Shoo that skunk!

That having been said, I hardly saw anything, and did not get a shot. I did catch a black drum blind-casting the rubber shad, a skunk-shooer for sure! We ate it for supper. Thank you, fish!

That’s My Summer Solstice Central Florida fishing report. Thanks for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

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Another Econlockhatchee Fishing Report

June 2, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Another Econlockhatchee Fishing Report

Thanks for reading another Econlockhatchee fishing report. We’re early this week because I’ll be on the road.

Not a dragonfly, a black swallowtail works pickerelweed blossoms.

Sunday morning found me at Orlando Wetlands Park to chase dragonflies with a camera. Although the website says they open at 0800, the sign on the gate says they open at sunrise. In case you want to get there for the morning light. Anyway, there were loads of dragonflies.

Needham’s skimmer, male.

 

Needham’s skimmer, female. Viva le difference!

 

Four-spotted pennant, male.

 

Last one, four spotted pennant, female.

Memorial Day I did what I usually do- stayed home and hid. The plan worked perfectly.

Tuesday morning Susan dropped me, a fly rod, a camera, and the kayak off at the Econ, a little after 0800. The gauge read 1.9 feet. I mostly just floated and enjoyed the day, doing lots of wading, catching a few bass (no big ones) on a mouse fly, and taking pictures, until 1300. Then, supposed to meet Susan at 1500, I paddled like I meant it, for two-and-a-half hours. I was a little late…

Ebony jeweling, female. Didn’t see any males.

Wednesday I dropped myself off at the Econ, same kit as the previous day. I only took a few pictures though, mostly spending my time fly fishing. I lost the mouse in a bush, lost another surface fly on a strike, had a popper body come off the hook (need to talk to my fly tyer about that), and tried a streamer for a while.

The disintegrating popper. Next fish blew it up.

The streamer was tied for the Ocala trip, was supposed to imitate a golden shiner. I don’t think it looked at all like a shiner. Neither did some of the bass I saw follow it without taking.

The “golden shiner” electric sushi streamer.

But quite a few bass (no big ones) did take it, and the redbellies loved it. You wouldn’t think a redbelly could get a size 1 hook in its mouth, but there ya go.

Amazing cypress tree, probably the most unusual one on the river.

 

Buttonbush blossom. Smells the roses!

Thursday (as I write this) I ran errands and packed. I’ll be off in the morning, going to chase some trout with Tammy. I’m not a good trout fisherman, but I am bringing some camera gear.

That’s the early another Econlockhatchee Fishing report. Thanks for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , ,

Indian River Lagoon Slams Fishing Report

May 27, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Indian River Lagoon Slams Fishing Report

Thanks for reading this Indian River Lagoon slams fishing report. There’s also an ode to odonata in here.

And while you’re out enjoying yourself this Memorial Day weekend, be safe, and spend some time thinking about all the people who have made so many sacrifices so that we can enjoy our way of life. The beaches at Normandy on June 6, 1944 jump to mind…

Odonata are one of 28 orders of insects.* Included in this order are the dragonflies and damselflies. You’ll find (if you’re looking) six families of dragonflies and three families of damselflies in Florida, over 100 colorful, insect-eating species all told.

Female four-spotted pennant.

These insects eat other insects, especially insects humans find annoying- gnats, no-see-ums, mosquitos. They do so energetically and colorfully- odonates are beautiful creatures and dragonflies are amazing fliers! Everyone who spends time in the outdoors should be thankful for the work the odonates do for us.

Male blue dasher.

I would like to be able to identify all the Florida species. Right now I can identify three or four. I am what is called a work in progress!

Don’t know the family, never mind genus and species. Anyone know?

* The taxa go Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus species.

Sunday

Found me at Orlando Wetlands Park, looking for dragonflies (and other stuff) to photograph. It’s a great way to get out and observe nature without having to compete for limited weekend fishing spots.

Needham’s skimmer, female.

Monday

Honey-dos. Move along folks, nothing to see here!

Monday evening found me looking at google maps, looking for new fishing spots, something I probably spend too much time doing. That having been said, I noticed something I never had before.

Tuesday

Found me in my kayak with a camera, a fly rod and a spin rod. First I tried to get dragonfly photos, which was somewhat frustrating. When the wind blows, the dragonfly’s perch waves around- very hard to focus. The frogs were a little easier!

Then it was time for checking out my “new” discovery. After only a few minutes I got a small snook with the spin rod. It was the only snook caught, although several handsome specimens were observed. The fly rod accounted for two redfish and a tarpon, all by casting blindly. Best of all, the place was reasonably easy to fish, even with a 15-knot wind. I’ll be back.

The water in the IRL isn’t crystal clear, but it’s not filled with algae either. Sight fishing is still possible if there’s good light.

It may be small, but it’s a snook!

 

The black-and-purple was the ticket this week!

Wednesday

Met Mike Conneen and River at 0615, different place on the IRL. It was not hot fishing by any means, but it was fairly steady. There was a fly rod in my kayak, which never got touched. WHOOOOOSSHHHHHH said the wind! We both got slams of trout, reds, and snook. Most of the fish were small, but there were a couple decent ones.

Odd observation- when we first got out onto the water, a string of pelicans flew over, 14 or 15 birds. The pelican in the middle of the string looked odd. Because it was in fact a spoonbill. Never noticed that before!

Thursday

Went to the IRL, different spot. It was blowey again, so my plan was to use the kayak to access the area I wanted to fly fish, and then wade.

Plans often get modified, but I did walk in the water for a couple of miles. For the sake of symmetry, I’d like to say that I brought a spin rod and it never got touched, but it got used. There goes the symmetry.

I fly fished for about three hours. The first fish was a dinker snook. At least it only took an hour of casting to get! Then a fat, picture-worthy trout nailed the streamer. Two species! A redfish laughed at my fly- I thought the presentation was spot on. I changed the fly. A red in the slot nailed the streamer on a blind cast. Three species!

It’s hard to be stealthy when tied to a kayak that the waves are slapping off of. Several fish were spooked this way. I picked up the spin rod.

Two more reds, one only a few months old, and a very fat trout hit the shad. After about six hours of wading, I loaded the boat onto the car roof, calling it a day well lived.

Friday

Errands and planning. Got to get ready for the weekend!

Three different species were caught every day I (and Mike) fished this week. It ain’t the old days, but there is some fishing out there, at least at the moment. That’s the Indian River Lagoon Slams Fishing report. Thanks for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The MINWR Fishing Report

May 20, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

The MINWR Fishing Report

Sea turtle tracks on Playalinda.

Thanks for reading this MINWR Fishing report. Disclosure- Some of the action happened at CNS.

Monday

My first choice of fishing spots on the Indian River Lagoon turned out not to be an option- the road was closed. So, on the fly, I chose an alternate site.

The morning was beautiful- birds, bugs (dragonflies, not the biting kind), and a few redfish showing.

Fly casting only, I scared every fish I threw to, setting new records for incompetence. To be honest, the fish weren’t doing much to help me out. That’s not their job, I suppose. Didn’t get a bite, and drove home reeking of skunk.

Tuesday

Tried a different spot on the Indian River Lagoon. The water was clear, and the wind was light. There were some mullet around. But it was quiet- no fish showing. A search mission was in order.

There was some blind casting with the spin rod, unproductive except for a dinker snook. Spots that had been good to me in the past were visited, no results.

Worth the trip right there.

Finally, a bust along the shoreline. I paddled over and tossed the plastic shad. A strike! It turned out to be a nice snook, instantly making the trip worth it. We weren’t done, though.

While standing in the kayak, working along the shore, I moved a few fish. I staked out and started blind-casting the shad. Bang! Nice trout, in the slot. Next cast, Bang. Pulling drag, a real fish! It was a large, slimy, gafftopsail catfish. It pulled hard, but I’m not a fan.

Sailcat, everyone’s favorite catch.

A few minutes later, moving again, another strike on the shad. Big, beautiful trout! Again, worth the trip right there.

A few minutes later some tarpon rolled, small ones. A small streamer was tied on the fly leader, and tossed out for an opinion. Bang! Fish in the air! He jumped off, though. Moments later, Bang! Fish in the air! He jumped off, too. Third time was the charm, also the smallest of the three. But I got a (bad) picture of it before releasing it. Worth the trip right there.

First tarpon of the year for me.

It turns out my catching was done, even though over an hour more was spent fishing. When I finally accepted reality, time was spent trying to photograph birds and dragonflies and frogs, with limited success. It was a spectacular day, though- I wasn’t ready to go home quite yet.

A reddish egret chases minnows.

 

Blue dasher dragonfly. Probably.

 

Another blue dasher.

 

Another dragonfly, this one not a blue dasher!

 

Bullfrog, acting coyly.

Wednesday

The plan was to meet Rodney et. al. at parking lot 13 at Playalinda at around 6 AM, then walk north up the beach a mile or two. NASA did not get the memo.

I got near the gate into Playalinda to find traffic stopped. The gate was locked. No surprise, they open it at six. Six came and went, and we sat there. Folks got out of their cars and were milling around. The police were there. NASA employees trying to get to work couldn’t- all the Playalinda-bound vehicles were blocking the road. It was a mess.

The tiny speck to the left of the sign is a rocket going up.

Finally, at 7 AM, a rocket was launched. A few minutes later the gate was opened and we finally got to the beach. Rodney’s friend (and maybe my new one) David brought a big cooler and didn’t want to make the walk, so we fished among the nude sunbathers.

Tom and whiting.

Rodney got a few bluefish. Tom Rastican got a couple whiting and ladyfish. David got a Spanish mackerel. I got a broken rod- twice. Another skunking for me. No big deal, it was awesome seeing Rodney and Tom and meeting David, a great morning on the beach.

Rodney gets into his work.

 

He gets his reward!

Thursday

Honey-dos. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Friday

Susan and I visited friends.

That’s the MINWR Fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take 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, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

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The Econ was On Fire Report and Photo Essay

May 14, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

The Econ was On Fire Report

Thanks for reading this Econ was On Fire report.

Monday

Early morning I drove to Brevard Zoo for a 7:30 rendezvous with Hope Leonard, who runs the restoration program for Restore Our Shores. I was a volunteer. We were going clam monitoring!

Measuring distance, digging clams.

ROS has research clam beds in the Indian River Lagoon throughout Brevard county. We went to five different sites to see how the clams were doing. You’d think with all the algae in the water, filter feeders like clams would have it made. But, crown conchs and other predators make clam life more dangerous than a casual glance would make it seem. Hope says the clams have about a 25 percent survival rate to this point.

The clams are protected by a net.

It was wet work in water that, if we’re being honest, didn’t make you want to jump in. But I got to spend a day with three strong, intelligent, and lovely women, doing some basic science that the lagoon needs done. Didn’t care for the drive to the zoo, but I’ll do it again. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Hope.

Hope digs clams!

 

Wasn’t there a band called Counting Clams?

 

Tuesday

Had my eye surgery follow-up. Everything looks great- my eyes are 20/20 without glasses. When, as a 20-year old, I was at the rifle range at Fort Dix learning how to shoot, my buddies were hitting a Canadian bull target at 25 meters. I couldn’t see it. I’ve been wearing corrective lenses ever since, until two weeks ago. Now all I need are readers for close up. The adjustment should be easy!

Wednesday

We were under a small craft advisory. But the Econ river gauge was at 1.7, below my “threshold.”

Rod attached to bike.

 

The vehicle awaits.

Before I learned to drive, my bicycle was my transportation to my fishing spots- Mystic Lake, Wright’s Pond, the Malden Res, Brooks Pond, etc. I don’t often bicycle fish any more, but I did Wednesday, a mile-and-a-half each way, to go bass fishing in a place where the wind wouldn’t be a problem. The fish were biting! At the end of my line was a plastic Culprit worm on a 2/0 hook. I got five stumpknockers, big ones, on that rig, as well as a couple big redbellies. Bass to almost four pounds, and probably released 15 or so. And the missed strikes! I need to use that bike more often.

The river flowed through a beautiful cypress floodplain.

 

The Econ, kinda small.

 

Good fish, though!

 

Even the sunfish hit the worm.

Thursday

The kayak, perhaps a more “normal” way to access fishing spots, was used to access a different section of the river this day, even though we were still under the sc advisory. I figured with the low water, wading would be an option. I hate beating up the same place day after day, so to a different section I went.

One on fly…

The fishing was at least as good as the previous day, and I was able to use my fly rod, too. It worked better than the spin rod! Yeah, the Econ was on fire, just awesome.

…and one on plastic.

Friday

A bonus Banana River Lagoon report!

I launched at KARS. Within 10 minutes what certainly looked like a small school of fish, fifteen or so,  came down the shoreline towards me. I tossed a Clouser Minnow at them and got immediate gratification!

I got three of these in about two hours.

I followed that school for a couple miles and a couple hours, hooking three more reds and boating two- the other one bulled into the shoreline trees and cut me off.

After I lost them I just scouted, looking around for more fish (not many), checking out the water (astonishingly clean past the radar station- almost crisp!), noted the total lack of any green thing growing on the bottom, and then packed it in. Had the boat on the roof by 1130 hours. Darned good morning.

That’s the Econ was On Fire report. Thanks for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , ,

Guests All Week Report

March 12, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Guests All Week Report

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the guests all week report. Been busy!

Saturday

Youngest son Alex married the fabulous Allison Bowman in a lovely outdoor ceremony, followed by one of the nicest parties I’ve been to in a long time. Congratulations to the happy couple! My wish is that you will be as happy as Susan and I have been…

Elder son Maxx and his bride Catalina stayed here while attending the wedding festivities.

Monday

Alex, Maxx, and I all went fishing in the Christmas pond. It wasn’t great, but everyone caught at least one bass, even if they were all small. Alex got bragging rights with a whopping 14-incher.

Maxx, Cat, Alex, and Allison all flew out Tuesday evening. However, Dave and Beth Olson arrived from Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon. We have had house guests for over a week now. It’s been a little hectic!

Wednesday

Dave and I took a canoe to the Indian River Lagoon. In about six hours, Dave got a single trout on a twisty-tail. I did not get a bite. Ouch.

Thursday

in spite of the rain, we launched the canoe at River Breeze. We went to lots of my favorite spots. In about six hours, we caught a few trout and one redfish on the twisty-tail and the three-inch shad. All were undersized. Ouch.

Friday

We tried a different area on the Indian River Lagoon. We had fair trout fishing, with several slot fish boated, on three-inch shad, three-inch twisty-tails, and the DOA Deadly Combo. We took some home and ate them.

Dave and Beth just left, on Saturday morning, so the house is quiet, strangely so. I’m sure we’ll adjust quickly!

That’s the guests all week report. Thanks for reading!

 

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take 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, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports · Tagged: , , , ,

Lots of Fishing Report

February 26, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Lots of Fishing Report. And M-M-Manatees!

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the lots of fishing report. Got out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (twice), and to the beach on Friday.

Sunday-

Sunday usually finds me home. The weather was nice and nothing pressing was going on, so I went shore fishing with a light spin rod along a mile-long stretch of the Econ. I worked it hard for about four hours, tossing plastic shad and plastic worms. I got three small bass. Did not see any kind of fish in the water other than a few guppies- no tilapia, no gar, no plecostamus, no sunfish, certainly no bass. Shore fishing the Econ is a full-body workout!

Monday-

The DOA Shrimp found this puppy redfish.

Not learning my lesson, because hope springs eternal in the heart of a fisherman, I tried another spot on the Indian River Lagoon. When I got there, the birds were singing like it’s spring or something! Blackbirds, grackles, coots, and other birds whose calls I don’t know. It was awesome! And, I didn’t get skunked! I saw a few redfish and two (yes, two) snook. I got shots at none of them. The water was discolored enough that I was on top of them before I saw them. Blind-casting, four or five dinker trout and one small red hit my spin lures. I hardly touched the fly rod. A beautiful if breezy day.

Tuesday-

I had a favorite spot on the St. Johns River. Thick with weeds, it was hard for motorboats to fish, and there were lots of fish there. Then the state started contracting folks to spray herbicides, thousands of gallons of it. Most of the turtles got a “virus” and died. The shad stopped coming. The fishing went completely to hell, including my favorite spot.

So much vegetation was killed off that the manatees in the St. Johns, which should at this point be the chubbiest in the state, have to be fed lettuce –https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/feb/22/florida-has-fed-manatees-25-tons-of-lettuce/ ,

https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/jan/21/officials-florida-manatees-eating-lettuce-in-pilot-program/ ,

https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/feb/01/manatees-in-florida-need-greater-protection-lawsuit-says/ ,

https://www.savethemanatee.org/how-to-help/take-action/floridas-algae-blooms/

-because they have no food. Nice work, Florida.

Orlando Sentinel photo.

Anyway, I went to the former favorite spot on Tuesday. There are still no weeds, other than water lilies and cattails. I worked it hard, getting a half-dozen sub-adult bass and three crappie.

Crappie on the 3″ shad.

The crappie hit, in order, 1) the 3″ shad, 2) a 7 1/2 inch Culprit worm (?!?!), and 3) a 3″ chartreuse soft plastic curly tail. If I were fishing for crappie, I certainly would never pick any of those lures, but there ya go.

Wednesday-

Trout! Gurgler! It’s a beautiful thing!

Tried another area in the Indian River Lagoon. I found a hole that had a few nice trout, and I actually got one on a fly rod gurgler. There was a redfish busting along the shoreline. Got him on a 3″ shad! WOW!! Got a couple more trout on the spin rod. It felt like a career day.

Redfish on the shad!

 

And another trout!

On the way home, I stopped at a new (to me) spot off SR 50, first time there. I started throwing a fly rod mouse. Got a bass on the second cast. Yes, it was small. I was there about 90 minutes and caught more fish than I had all day the previous day, with the best about three pounds. Nice find.

Thursday-

Susan asked me to stay home – she was having a chair delivered. After the delivery it was too late to fish. I went and picked up the jonboat – Cha-CHING! – and bought a new fuel tank for it. Hopefully it will stop getting me stuck now.

Friday-

Wanted to run the jonboat, but Susan asked me to go to the beach. It was a beautiful day! The water at Playalinda was kind of dirty. There were relatively few surf fishermen. I talked to one of them. She and her husband had gotten four small whiting and a catfish, using shrimp for bait. Did not see anything that compelled me to go back to the car and get my fishing rod.

That’s the lots of fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take 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, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , ,

Another Central Florida Week Report

February 18, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Another Central Florida Week Report

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the Another Central Florida week report. I fished, I hiked, I paddled- nice week!

Guest blogger Patrick Young has another post this week, about buying gifts for campers. Some good tips in there!

I am selling off many of my lures. The ones that I have put up for sale first can be seen at this link…

On to the report-

Monday-

Valentine’s Day! Spent some time with my valentine!

Last week, talking about the Bang-O-Craft motor, I wrote, “Stupid motor. It needs professional help, I’m afraid.” I brought it to Ahoy Marine in Sanford. I’m tired of getting stranded. Other errands most of the day.

Tuesday-

More errands in the morning. In the afternoon I walked a stretch of the FT from Barr Street in Oviedo to Lockwood Boulevard.

I met a couple, through hikers who had come from Pensacola. Yes, from Pensacola, walking the whole way. They had met 20 years earlier at an AA meeting. Didn’t work for him- he was drinking vodka from the bottle when I encountered them. He was a piece of work. He said he knew everything, and was never wrong. He had also, earlier that day, almost been arrested by the Oviedo police for driving a motorized shopping cart from the Publix store at the corner of Lockwood Blvd. to the trail head. There’s more, but you get the idea, I hope. I got away from them as fast as I could.

Florida waterfall along the FT.

 

On a bluff overlooking the Econlockhatchee.

Wednesday-

Took a kayak to the Indian River Lagoon in spite of the small craft advisory. I figured I could wade, just using the boat for conveyance. The plan worked great, except there were hardly any fish. I saw six in five hours. Had two good shots, both of which should have worked. Neither did- the fish spooked off the shad (first shot) and fly (second shot). The water was pretty clean! Found a dead manatee, went to the FWC office there at the causeway to report it. The dispatcher told me, “Yeah, they’re everyplace.” “They” being dead manatees. That’s sad. No grass, no manatees.

Thursday-

That’s a small bass!

Took a kayak down the Econ, starting at 419. Brought a fly and a spin rod. Got one small bass on fly. Got several bass on the spin rod, along with a couple redbellies. Got a picture of one of the several mammoth gators I saw, too. Met Ben, the chef at Mission Barbeque. Beautiful day, not long enough!

A little larger…

 

They got bigger as the day went on. I lost the best one, of course.

 

And Godzilla!

Friday-

Boring stuff, including writing this. Hopefully I’ll at least get a walk in this afternoon.

That’s my Another Central Florida Week report. Thanks for reading!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , ,
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