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Daylight Savings Orlando Fishing Report

March 12, 2016 by · Leave a Comment

Daylight Savings Orlando Fishing Report

Sunday March 13 we go back onto daylight savings time, thus the daylight savings Orlando fishing report. Don’t forget to put your clock ahead tonight!

calvin

News of the Week
This winter about to end next week was the warmest on record- http://www.iflscience.com/environment/its-been-warmest-winter-united-states-records-began

News Flash! Honeybees Are Adversely Affected by Pesticides! http://www.iflscience.com/environment/honey-bees-suffer-severe-learning-and-memory-problems-when-exposed-widely-used-pseticide

Fishing!
Sunday we ran two On-The-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminars on the Mosquito Lagoon, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. I would like to thank everyone who attended. It was very windy and wavy and everyone was very accepting of the situation, very gracious. Thank you all!

Rose Mary Berg sent me the following note-

“I wanted to take a minute to Thank You again for the seminar yesterday for Justin.  He thought you were just ‘awesome’ and filled with so much knowledge. I cannot Thank You enough for sharing your knowledge and afternoon with us.  It was a blessing.”

We checked both side of the lagoon, from Max Hoeck Creek to Tiger Shoal. There was no clean water anywhere.

Monday I took the Bang-O-Craft scouting on the St. Johns River, launching at SR 50. Fishing downstream of the bridge for three hours I got two shad on crappie jigs. I did not see another fisherman.

Tuesday I took the Bang-O-Craft scouting on the St. Johns River, launching at CS Lee Park. I had received a good report about shad in the Econ but did not get a bite there. I did get quite a few in the St. Johns on crappie jigs and on shad flies. I ran into Ron Rebeck and Jon Cave, man, it’s been a long time since I saw them! They look good, appear to be doing well, and it was good to see them.

Wednesday morning Curtis Duffield met me at CS Lee Park. We first went to where the stripers were biting last week. They are not there any more, unfortunately.

orlando fishing report

Curtis hooked up to Mr. Shad.

We responded by going fly fishing for shad. We fished two spots and probably got close to 20 in about eight hours, steady if slow fishing. I hadn’t seen Curtis in a couple years, and it was a good, long conversation with enough fish to make it interesting. The river is still high, and the shad are probably close to being done for this season. And Curtis got his first shad on the fly rod, a cause to celebrate!

orlando fishing report

Mr. Shad, resisting.

 

orlando fishing report

Resistance is futile.

Thursday I had some errands to run in Oviedo. I brought a fly rod. There’s a retention pond near downtown Oviedo I have been wanting to fish for a while. The water was dirty (but cleaner than Mosquito Lagoon) and the wind was blowing 20 (as it was all week), but I caught two bass on a chartreuse rattle rouser. One was small, but the other was pretty chunky. Retention ponds are an underutilized resource for fly fishers.

Friday, after running some errands, I launched the kayak at Snow Hill Road for some Econlockhatchee fishing. The water level is dropping (2.8 on the gauge that morning) and the temperature is rising. I had fairly high expectations. Unfortunately they were not met.

The river looked beautiful. The gum trees, red maples, and willows are all leafing out. The air plants gave the still-bare oaks some red color, too. But in three hours I only got one bass about a foot long, my first Econ bass of 2016, and a few aggressive sunfish popped my bass bug. Just did not see many fish.

What I did see were two or three tons of alligators. There are plenty of big reptiles on that stream.

orlando fishing report

A big Econ reptile…

Saturday I renewed my CPR/1st aid card, something everyone with sense should do.

And that is this week’s Daylight Savings Orlando Fishing Report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing Report

March 5, 2016 by · Leave a Comment

Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing Report

This is the Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing report, covering the Mosquito Lagoon and the St. Johns River.

Upcoming Events-
Saturday, March 12th Beach ‘N Boards Fest Paddle Board Catch & Release Tournament Ramp Road Park, Cocoa Beach, Florida. Registration and other event information at
https://racehubhq.com/races/BeachNBoardsFestSUPFishingTourney

What is the impact of Big Sugar in your life? Check out this new video on the sugar industry! http://www.sierraclub.org/florida/BigSugarVideo

Mystery Photographer
The Mystery Photographer sent me these photos of Nautilus Fly Reels. As you can see they are gorgeous reels…

orlando fishing report

That is a fine looking fly reel.

orlando fishing report

 

Fishing Story of the Week
It’s been way too long since we had a fishing story of the week. I am the principal in this one, too.

Sunday Tammy and I went kayak fishing out of River Breeze. The water is no longer clean up there. I went to a hole I know and started casting blindly. A couple of small reds were caught and released. Then I saw what I mistakenly thought was a crawler red up near the bank. I waded into range and made a few casts. The fish did not respond to the fly at all. Stranger still, it didn’t change its position.

Starting to think it was distressed I waded still closer. It turns out to be a really nice trout, six or seven pounds. Curiosity driving me, I got closer still. Now in range to simply strike like a blue heron, I reached down and grabbed the fish.

It wiggled and broke my grip, but could not swim away. I just picked it up again, while fumbled for the section of nylon cord I keep for such occasions.

I went noodling for trout in the Mosquito Lagoon! The fish I grabbed was boatkill!

The poor fish had been hit by a boat and had four prop cuts, starting on its head and moving down its port side. Somehow, it wasn’t yet dead. I cut its gill arches and carried it around on the string for the rest of the day.

orlando fishing report

My noodled trout, boatkill.

At the boat ramp as I was cleaning the fish I could hear some of the folks in other boats saying, “Wow, look at the size of that guy’s trout!” I didn’t have the heart to tell them I caught it with my fingers, hardly more difficult than picking up a squashed ‘possum off the side of the road. Tammy and I had a good laugh about it afterwards.

News of the Week
A Record 6,250 Manatees Counted Off Florida Coast
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/record-6250-manatees-counted-florida

I am so sorry I missed this news item- http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/watch-porn-and-help-save-whales-month . We live in a crazy world.

Fishing!
As already noted, on Sunday Tammy and I went kayak fishing out of River Breeze. So far as I could tell, all the clean water that had been in this part of the lagoon is gone. Now it looks as nasty as the rest of the lagoon.

orlando fishing report

Tammy having fun in the mud.

I got a handful of reds blindcasting a streamer. Three were short, two were low-end slot fish. One short trout took the same fly. Tammy got a redfish on a jerk bait, a fish she spotted and cast to. No one else we saw had anything. The day was absolutely perfect, the kind of weather you dream about, but fishing was slow. The water finally was at a winter level, though, nice and low. Now if the algae would just disappear…

Having three fishing charters scheduled for this week, Tuesday I used the Mitzi and went scouting out of River Breeze. I could not find any clean water, and ran aground twice. The water was very dirty, as the algae-laden water from the south lagoon drained north towards Ponce Inlet as the water level dropped. I saw exactly two fish and did not get a bite, and wondered how my fishing season can possibly work when the place I fish is apparently ruined, at least for the foreseeable future…

Wednesday’s charter was a fly caster who lives in Virginia, Dr. Ross Thomas. We launched at C.S. Lee Park on the St. Johns River. A strong bite of hybrid stripers kicked off our morning. Minnow imitating streamers tossed on sinking lines worked very well, as we were into double digits numbers-wise, fish that ran two to three pounds.

orlando fishing report

Dr. Ross with a bass.

When that action slowed we went shad fishing. By now the wind had come up, about 15 knots from the north, making fishing more challenging. Ross got a couple shad on a green shad fly. We went up the Econ to try for bass and bluegills but the water is still too high and we did not raise a fish. Still, we had a good day. As Ross wrote, “Good fishing, excellent conversation and a splendid time. Left ’em with some sore mouths too! Thanks and we will fish again!” Thank you, Ross!

orlando fishing report

Dr. Ross with a shad. He seems happy!

Thursday’s charter was Mr. Tom Finger and Mr. Bob Trapp, both of whom live in central Florida. They had also booked me for lagoon fishing, but also agreed to try the St. Johns. The striper bite was not as hot as the previous day, but we still got ten or twelve on DOA CAL jigs on which were threaded 3″ DOA CAL shad.

orlando fishing report

Bob with a fine bass.

Again, when the striper action slowed we went shad fishing. Using 1/16th ounce crappie jigs with 1″ curly tails rigged in tandem they caught shad steadily for three hours or so. Tom got at least one double hookup on his line, and as a team they had several doubles, good, steady action. As Tom wrote, “Thanks for the pics and a GREAT day. We will be in touch.” Thank you, Tom and Bob!

orlando fishing report

Tom with one of his American shad.

Friday’s charter was set on fishing Mosquito Lagoon. My report and the weather forecast caused him to cancel the day. 🙁

Because no one signed up for the Show and Tell seminar, Thursday night I booked a charter for Saturday, Mr. Dave Phillips. We launched at Haulover Canal. The plan was to circumnavigate the lagoon, check it all out. We looked on both sides of the lagoon from Max Hoeck Creek to River Breeze. The water was low but very dirty. I managed to hit bottom numerous times because I could not see it. It was a beautiful if breezy day, but we didn’t see anything. We did manage to get a few trout on soft plastics, and one would have even held batter. Thank you, Dave!

And that is this week’s Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing report, covering the Mosquito Lagoon and the St. Johns River. Tight lines, everyone!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 27, 2016 by · Leave a Comment

Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Gee, did the wind blow this week? Every day, most days around 20 mph. We have the Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– 2/28-3/5 Wekiva Paint Out. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/

– Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/

– Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
No one has signed up yet!

– Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/ -One space left in the morning session.

State Forest Update-
Two weeks ago I wrote, “I wrote letters to the manager of the state forest and the commissioner of agriculture. We’ll see what they say.” I got an answer. It’s been scanned and can be seen at this link…http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/state-forest-letter/

Fishing!
The plan for Monday was to visit the Banana River Lagoon. Tom Van Horn went Sunday. His report of nasty, dirty water and hard-to-find fish saved me the trip.

Tuesday John and Sue Burns joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Yes, it was blowing. The sun kept peeking out from between the clouds. Fishing was not fabulous, and the nasty water moved into areas that had been clean last week. Damn algae.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Sue holds John’s trout. She’s a better model!

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Photographing the fishie.

John got a slot trout on a DOA Shrimp, and a nice four-pounder class fish on the RipTide Weedless Shrimp. We got several small fish on the Deadly Combo. Sue finally got a slot redfish on a DOA CAL Shad, three inch. And that was it for the day.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Sue wanted a red, and got this one.

Postponed Thursday’s trip to next week, the second time in two week’s that trip has been bounced.

Friday I got new tires for the trailer, then went to the St. Johns for some shad fishing. Bluebird sky, winds 10-15 from the north. Fly fishers, you’ll need a sinking line. The water is high, almost flooding the pastures. Two boats with fly fishers took six fish that I saw. I got three shad in four hours, using 1/16th ounce crappie jigs with one inch curly tails.

Saturday my bride brought me to the Florida Gourding Society’s Gourd Festival in Melbourne. It may sound worse than a trip to dentist, but actually it was quite fascinating, with lots of beautiful work. My shaky photos do not do it justice.

DSCN1427

Maybe I’m getting old, but it was a very worthwhile thing to do.

DSCN1428

Not a great week, but better than no cheese.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 20, 2016 by · Leave a Comment

Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Observing the heavens is one of my passions. I’ve known for years that it’s possible to see the planet Mercury with the naked eye. I could never find it- until this week. Now I’ve seen it three times. And such fishing as got done by me this week happened in the Mosquito Lagoon. Combine the two and you get the Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

For those of you who would like to observe this planet, get outside about 6-6:15 am. Look to the east and you will see a bright star above the horizon. It’s the planet Venus. Below Venus and a few degrees to the north is a much dimmer star- that’s Mercury. Check it out now while you’ve got Venus to point the way.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– 2/28-3/5 Wekiva Paint Out. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/
– Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/
– Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
– Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

State Forest Update-
Last week I wrote, “I wrote letters to the manager of the state forest and the commissioner of agriculture. We’ll see what they say.” Nothin’, yet.

Fishing!
Not fishing, but Sunday I brought my valentine to see the Big Bugs at Leu Gardens.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

BIG bugs.

Very cool exhibit in a very cool place. You’ve got a few more weeks before the bugs march off to a different venue.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

It’s a good real ants don’t get this big or we would never have made it as a species.

$10 admission per person. http://www.leugardens.org/category/events/

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Monday it blew like snot. I don’t even remember what I did.

Tuesday, a beautiful day, I spent the morning at the car dealership getting the wife’s chariot repaired. In the afternoon I did a little local exploring. Stop one was at Riverside Park in Oviedo. Several years ago son Maxx talked me into launching a canoe there (not a hard thing to do) and paddling down to SR 419. What an obstacle course. Anyway, that’s the only time I went to that park. Turns out it’s quite lovely and the Little Econ, although little more than a drainage ditch for east Orlando, actually looks quite nice coming through here. Further investigation required.

Stop two was a little pond off of Lockwood Road. Walked around it twice, the second time with a fishing rod with a plastic worm on the line. Did not get a bite. Did not see anything other than guppies.

Stop three was the Econ River Wilderness area, off Old Lockwood Road, a rather pretentious name for a 300 acre property that is certainly not a wilderness. It’s a nice enough place to go for a walk or go running though, a valuable patch of woods in an area of crowded housing developments.

Wednesday Tom Van Horn (the fishing guide, not the comedian) met me at Haulover Canal so we could do a little Mosquito Lagoon scouting. The water south of Georges Bar looks TERRIBLE, brown and turbid. Even spots that were clean a couple weeks ago look awful now. We found nothing there.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Tom Van Horn, not the comedian one.

Up by Oak Hill we found some clean water and a few fish, and managed one redfish and one seatrout each, on (not surprisingly if you read this report very often) 3″ DOA CAL Shad. Not a great day by any means, but better than no cheese.

Thursday’s charter postponed until next week because of the wind.

Friday Mr. Ryan Houlihan, a fly fisher from Virginia, met me at River Breeze. It was a tough day, with lots of clouds and considerable wind, hard for a fly fisher. Ryan missed one bite at the first spot, but most of the fish we saw we had already run over and they ignored the fly.

He missed another bite at the second spot, this one from a trout (we could see the action). None of the other fish we saw there cooperated.

We checked a couple other spots with few visible fish. At this point the clouds were pretty solid and we just couldn’t see. In the places we could see there was nothing to see. It ended up Mr. Houlihan did not get another bite and we went fishless. I don’t like that but hey, that’s fishing, especially with the fly rod.

And that is the Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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

Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 6, 2016 by · Leave a Comment

Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Rodney Smith and I attended the Keep America Beautiful national conference in Orlando on Tuesday, so we have a Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– Wekiva Paint Out, 2/28-3/5. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/
– Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/
– Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
– Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Parents Must Read This
Get a tissue because there will be tears of laughter. http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/family/25-hysterical-love-notes-from-kids-who-are-just-a-little-too-honest/ss-BBoUcIt

Fishing!
Sunday, a day I usually don’t like to fish, was a lovely day, calm and cloudy, and I did fish. My angler was Dr. Dave Harden of Orlando. We went spin fishing for trout and reds and did pretty well. My lures of choice were the DOA CAL shad and the DOA 3″ Shrimp. Dr. Dave used a 1/8th ounce jig with a 4″ shad tail. A half dozen reds and about 20 trout were boated, several slot fish of each. Sight fishing was difficult due to the clouds but we did sight cast to several fish and caught a few of them. Good day.

Monday Dr. Aubrey Thompson, a fly fisher from Jacksonville, came down for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing. It was mostly cloudy with almost no wind and we ran over fish all day, very frustrating. Aubrey got three fish altogether, a nice trout and a couple of rat reds, on a fly he calls the neutralizer http://www.danblanton.com/blog/red-meat-neutralizer-fly-tying-instructions-by-lee-haskin/. We saw quite a few fish but almost all of them were after we ran them over- nary a tailer did we see. Stupid, uncooperative fish! That’s fishin I guess.

Tuesday Rodney and I attended the Keep America Beautiful conference. I knew almost nothing about them but it’s an amazing, important organization. Read the blog I wrote about it here… http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/keep-america-beautiful/

Wednesday- honey-dos! ’nuff said.

Thursday Tammy and I tried to go bass fishing. I say tried to because the 20 mph winds interfered with our boat handling and casting. We gave up fishless after a couple of hours. Tammy said there are shad from the Mullet Lake all the way to SR 50.

Friday’s 20 mph winds and 60 degree high temperature discouraged me from fishing. I thought about shad fishing, but ended up going walking/running through the state forest, on the Florida Trail.

Welcome to the State Forest

Welcome to the State Forest.

 

This is what it looked like before.

This is what it looked like before.

 

This is what it looks like now.

This is what it looks like now.

 

Before.

Before.

 

Now. Note the Florida Trail blaze on one of the survivor trees.

Now. Note the Florida Trail blaze on one of the survivor trees.

 

Before.

Before.

 

Now.

Now. Am I being too sensitive here?

 

Or do you find this appalling too?

Or do you find this appalling too? Someone is not keeping America beautiful!!!

Someone has clearcut a sizeable section of the woods between Snow Hill Road and Brumley Road. You walk along these nice mud bridges through some lovely woods, right into an ugly wound, a clearcut. What is up with that?
I see some letters being generated, because I’m kind of upset. The Little Big Econ state forest is NOT keeping America beautiful.

And that is the Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

December 18, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

Yes, we did fish this week, three days. No, we did not catch a lot of fish. We got a total of two redfish, thus the Two Redfish Orlando Fishing report.

Upcoming Events

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

-Brevard County Oyster Restoration- the Brevard Oyster Restoration Project has an ongoing need for volunteers. If you care about the health of the Indian River Lagoon, this is a way to show it. Nothing we can do for water quality in the lagoon will be more valuable then restoring water filtration into this ecosystem. I’m signed up for January 15, and hope to see some of you there. http://brevardoystergardens.org/volunteer/?sheet_id=24

A GREAT Idea- You know about electricity, but what about ‘hydricity?’

The new word in solar energy is “hydricity.”

An international team of scientists has come up with a way that can make solar power a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week energy source: Combining the power of the sun with clean-burning hydrogen fuel.

Hydricity combines hydrogen production with a solar thermal power plant’s utility-scale electricity production. During the day excess electricity is used to produce hydrogen by running an electric current through water.

The hydrogen that is produced during the day would be used at night to produce electricity through highly efficient fuel cells that emit water vapor. The technology would be crucial for countries looking to increase reliance on solar energy in the wake of last week’s climate deal in Paris.

The scientists, from Purdue University and Switzerland’s Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, say the process they are pitching can produce hydrogen at an efficiency of 50 percent and electricity at an unprecedented 46 percent efficiency.

“The concept provides an exciting opportunity to envision and create a sustainable economy to meet all the human needs including food, chemicals, transportation, heating and electricity,” said Rakesh Agrawal from Purdue. “Traditionally, electricity production and hydrogen production have been studied in isolation, and what we have done is synergistically integrate these processes while also improving them.”

The group’s work has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I hope it works!

——————

Clean Water

It’s incredibly sad that I am the only fishing guide in Florida to have signed this letter…   Where are my colleagues on this???

—————–

Another Blogger

Not to be outdone by me, Mike Conneen has published a real nice blog about our trip to Louisiana, at this link…

—————–

Fishing!

In spite of the fact the gauge read 1.6 I tried kayak fishing again in Mosquito Lagoon on Tuesday. Within the first ten minutes I saw fin tips barely breaking the surface right against the shoreline. I dropped the fly (the same Bouncer Fly I was using last week) in front of him and twitched it once. The fish struck so hard it pulled the rod out of my hand, something that has never happened to me before.

orlando fishing report

The Bouncer Fly. Click on the image for more information!

I got it anyway! Never panic! It was a handsome redfish, seven or eight pounds. No photos- the world does not need more selfies of me with a redfish, at least not this week.

I got to the spot I wanted to check. The water was the color of butterscotch. It was a short check.

I went back where I got the first fish and explored around. I had three good shots. One fish spooked off the fly. One fish either didn’t see it or was completely disinterested, as there was no response whatsoever. The last one ate the fly and I got him too, a clone of the first one. Did not photograph him either. So I got two fine redfish on a Bouncer Fly, not bad for a cloudy, windy day with high, dirty water.

Wednesday about noon found me launching the kayak in the Econlockhatchee. Someone, probably the river itself, dropped a gum tree all the way across the river just downstream of the bridge. How inconvenient.

I tossed that Bouncer Fly for two hours without a touch. Nothing was moving. The whole place just looked dead. I thought about it a while, and decided to bag it. No sooner had I started back then I ran over a bass.

I cut the streamer off and tied on a gurgler. Five seperate fish made attempts to eat the counterfeit. This reporter missed all of them, although I believe four of them were sunfish. Since I had to cook dinner, the ‘yak was back on the chariot at 4 PM. The whole episode reeked skunkily, I say.

Thursday morning found me and Tammy launching the Mitzi at Mullet Lake Park, Tammy’s favorite early season shad spot. Whether we were too early or too late I don’t know, but there were no shad there. There was not much else that was biting either, although we saw quite a few big gar. In four hours we got one redbelly between us. Tammy got it on a white crappie jig. I was skunked again, second straight day. Ouch.

orlando fishing report

This noble fish kept the skunk off of Tammy. I, however, reeked again.

And that is the Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Two Bites Orlando Fishing Report

December 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Two Bites Orlando Fishing Report

Kayak fishing two days this week I managed two bites, thus the Two Bites Orlando FIshing Report.

Those readers who do not subscribe and have wondered where I’ve been, my last two reports came from Louisiana and can be accessed here: –http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/venice-la-fishing-report-and-photo-essay/

–http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/the-rest-of-the-kayaking-louisiana-fishing-report-a-photo-essay/

Lots of photos, not much text.

Upcoming Events

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

Fishing!

Mike Conneen and I got back from Louisiana Sunday night. Unpacking etc. took place Monday. Photo work and thank yous took place Tuesday. Errands happened Wednesday. There were more errandy things to do Thursday, but it was so nice out I tossed a kayak on the roof of the van and went to the Indian River Lagoon.

Fishing was not hot. I saw a handful of fish. Incredibly, one was tailing and rooting around. Using advanced hoping-for-the-best skills, I tossed a black bendback out where I guessed the fish would be. It was quite a surprise when the line came tight!

A bigger surprise was the size of the fish. It was pushing 20 pounds, a real nice fish. Welcome home!

orlando fishing report

A nice result for one cast.

After a couple photos the fish swam off.

I made one cast, and got one fish. A good afternoon’s work!

After more errands on Friday I decided to try fishing out of River Breeze on Saturday. The water is still a foot higher than I like it, and it’s still real dirty. Expectations were low.

A total of seven redfish were seen, most close enough to be touched by the paddle. I got one shot and hooked and caught the fish. The fly was a Bouncer Fly, shown to me last summer in Alaska by the developer, Steve Duckett. This red was much more modest size-wise than Thursday’s fish but almost as satisfying emotionally. Again, a couple photos and off it went.

orlando fishing report

Battling the beast.

I made one cast, and got one fish. A good afternoon’s work!

orlando fishing report

The Bouncer Fly, a great idea I did not think of.

And that is the Two Bites Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

November 21, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

This is the Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report. Winds in excess of 20 mph were a persistent weather feature this week.

Best wishes to all for a fantastic Thanksgiving. In spite of all the craziness in the world, we all have so much to be thankful for. Make some time to think about it. You’ll feel better afterwards.

Upcoming Events

-Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

The Contest from Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago I asked what a Button Trout was. Because no one responded I forgot to address it last week. I got this information

orlando fishing report

A solid trout at 26 inches. It could be a button trout!

from a Mosquito Beaters book at the Florida Historical Society:  In 1951 Field and Stream magazine offered as a prize a lapel button which was a replica of a spotted sea trout. To get one you had to land a trout in excess of six pounds and have it weighed at an official weigh station, which in Cocoa was Gary Bennett’s Bait and Tackle. So many of the “button” trout were caught here that Cocoa became known as  “Saltwater Trout Capital of the World.”

So the Button Trout is any in excess of six pounds. I get a free copy of my book!

The Weatherman Strikes Again-

A section of the Pacific Ocean has recorded its highest temperatures ever, raising fears of prolonged droughts and flooding as a result of what may be the strongest El Niño in 15 years.

A band of water in the central Pacific registered at 85.5°F (29.7°C) over the course of one week — over 5 degrees warmer than usual and higher than ever previously recorded, USA Today reported on Tuesday.

Temperature readings suggest this year’s El Niño — a weather phenomenon caused by unusually warm water in the Pacific and that results in extreme weather patterns across the tropics and sub-tropics — could become among the strongest in recorded history. The phenomenon is expected to strengthen through to the end of the year and could have devastating consequences around the world.

Fishing!

On Monday Koji and Hiro, fly fishers from Japan, joined me for some fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. They told me the previous day they had gone wading out of Parking Lot 5 at the New Smyrna end of Canaveral National Seashore and had caught several seatrout and redfish, blind casting in the dirty water.

I should have gone there.

An east wind in the 15 mph range pretty much kept us pinned to the east shoreline. The first few spots we went to had very dirty water. Places that last week had been moderately clean were dirty enough now you couldn’t see the bottom. We did, however, see the alligator that follows you around, and a lot of manatees. But any fish we saw we had almost run over and they were already on their way out of Dodge.

Across from Port St. John the water looks beautiful, the way it should look. Sadly there are very few fish there.

We only had a handful of shots all day, none of which converted. Koji got two redfish by blindcasting. Placed end-to-end, they may have made one legal fish. That was it for the day.

The condition of that lagoon breaks my heart. It’s such a fantastic place and we are just destroying it.

Tuesday it was blowing 20+.

Wednesday it was blowing 20+.

Thursday it was blowing 20+.

I did not fish those days, but did do quite a bit of research and writing. I need to go fishing soon!

Friday I had an appointment at the (drum roll, please) offices of the Social Security Administration in Longwood. Typically depressing government office and waiting room. I won’t be retiring any time soon, if ever.

Did more writing and research in the afternoon.

I’ll spend the weekend getting ready for Turkey Day.

And that is this week’s Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

November 15, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

Fishing!

This is a very Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report. I fished three days this week. I’m in the middle of a writing project that’s taking some time.

Some friends went fishing on the Econ Saturday last week and did well, so I tried it on Monday. It was a beautiful day on the river. My friends were throwing plastic worms. I was using a fly rod. A popper garnered two strikes in two hours, so I switched to a matuka streamer. The sunfish loved it, but it kept hanging up and ended up losing it. I tried another, larger streamer and it also kept hanging up. Frustrated, I went back to the popper and got three bass (small ones) in 20 minutes, then nothing else.

orlando fishing report

The first redfish we got.

Tuesday Tom Van Horn and I went out of Port Canaveral in the Mitzi. We fished in the Bight for a while without success, then found a school of pogies and fished under them with live mullet on a slip-sinker rig. We killed six bluefish and released at least that many redfish. Fishing was pretty hot there for a few hours.

orlando fishing report

The first redfish Tom got. There were enough around that we had a couple doubles. Show that fish some love!

Wednesday I smoked the bluefish. Smoked fish dip, coming right up!

Friday’s plan was to take son Alex fishing. Alex would not and did not get out of bed. I wrote for a while, then drove to Orlando. A friend had a canoe at his condo, against the HOA rules, and wanted it out of there. I got it, an OT Sport 14. We went to the Econ for a test drive. The boat is fat, heavy, slow, and stable (a good thing), although apparently it has an attractive price point. Two bass and a stumpknocker fell for my fly rod popper in about two hours.

And that is this week’s Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

November 8, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Eau Gallie River muck dreding project public meeting Nov. 12- The St. Johns River Water Management District will host a public meeting on Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. to provide an update on the status of the Eau Gallie River dredging project. The meeting location is Melbourne City Hall, 900 E. Strawbridge Ave.

IRL Paddle Adventure 2015 – Paddle A Portion, November 14. Paddle a portion of the Indian River Lagoon!   http://www.irl-paddle-adventure.com

Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

Fishing!

This is a North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report. Only fished two days this week. I’m in the middle of a writing project and had the seminars on the weekend, so…

Wednesday found me on Capt. Chris Myers’s boat. He very kindly poled me around on the Indian River Lagoon for about seven hours. In that time we saw quite a few fish. They were not particularly bitey. Using DOA CAL Shad we got a few slot reds and trout. I was able to get a red of about 25 inches of a shrimp pattern with the fly rod, and followed that up with a 20″ trout on the same fly. The sea grass is disappearing again.

orlando fishing report

The Universe treated Chris and I to this.

Thursday I visited the Florida Historical Society in Cocoa to do some research. I found this image, a seatrout catch from the Banana River Lagoon. The rods look like they might be fiberglass, which means this was probably taken during the 1950s. Them there’s some Button Trout!

orlando fishing report

I was born too late!

Contest of the Week- First person to correctly tell me what a Button Trout is gets a free copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt. PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM BELOW.

Friday I thought I would try the no motor zone. The water had dropped a little bit. Maybe I could see some fish.

The water was horribly dirty. Moby Dick could have swum by and I couldn’t have seen him. It wasn’t good sight fishing weather but it would not have mattered. You could not see the bottom in eight inches of water. Heartbreaking, really, really sad. I got some pictures of the weather…

orlando fishing report

Clouds, rain, and dirty water. At least there was a rainbow (or two).

 

Same rainbow, different lens.

Same rainbow, different lens.

Saturday was the Show and Tell Seminar on the Merritt Island NWR. Four people attended. We spent the day driving around the refuge, discussing where to fish and how to get them to bite. Thanks to all the attendees! We talked to some kayak fishermen who had gotten a few redfish in spite of the dirty water.

Sunday was the Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Seminar. Dave Lair was the only attendee, and again, thanks for coming, Dave! The water in the Mosquito Lagoon looks horrible, at least as bad as the no motor zone. We watched a gentleman catch a black drum in the Haulover Canal. He already had three on a stringer.

And that is this week’s North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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