Mosquito Lagoon/Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Mosquito Lagoon/Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Mosquito Lagoon/Port Canaveral fishing report.

Checking my paperwork over last weekend I realized my fishing license had expired. A visit to the tax collector on Monday rectified the problem. But I was in for a pleasant surprise. “No charge,” the clerk said. Before asking why I realized there’s a good part to turning 65- no charge for fishing licenses now.

Where did the time go??

After the tax collector trip some visits to local bass venues was in order. Spot number one requires a ride on a bicycle. I ran over and close to minnows, frogs, baby alligators, and a garfish, but was unable to reach the lake. The water over the road is too deep.

Spot number two was completely overgrown with hydrilla.

Spot number three (my least favorite) was fishable. I got a single strike from a six inch bass. So ended Monday’s attempt at fishing.

Tuesday required scouting for Wednesday’s fishing trip, my first since returning from Alaska. I want it to be good! My first observation was that this poor guy had six vultures pecking at his much-nicer-than-mine truck-

I don’t understand the fascination vultures have for vehicles.

The sequence went something like this-
-find some clean water. Check.
-look for fish. Check. About ten redfish were observed, with two good shots resulting. Both were converted on a DOA CAL shad. I had a good shot at a nice trout, too, but missed the strike. I ran over a couple reds that should have been shots, just didn’t see them in time.

Redfish on CAL Shad. The pinfish keep biting the tails off.

After that I tried a few of trout spots with the Deadly Combo and found fish in two of them, easily getting into double digits. I hope the fish stay there overnight!

Wednesday came and I met my fishermen, Roberto and Martha Vasquez. We launched the Mitzi and ran to where I had found fish the previous day. We did not do well, a handful of dink trout to show for our efforts. Sometimes I wonder why I bother scouting. It so often changes so much from day to day.

Thursday one of the things I tried to do was fix my email. I was only marginally successful but managed to purge a lot of stuff I needed. If you’ve been trying to reach me and I haven’t responded I haven’t gotten it. Please try the gmail.com address, jkumiski. And thank you for your patience.

Friday Scott Radloff and I got out on the Atlantic. One throw of the castnet yieded over 100 finger mullet. Neither of us realized at theat moment that we had already peaked. In five hours Scott got a small sharpnose shark and a small crevalle. I got nothing. We saw very little. At least the water was pretty clean!

So fishing was not very good in this week’s Mosquito Lagoon/Port Canaveral fishing report! But thanks for reading!

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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando no fishing report

Orlando no fishing report

My fantasy of big tarpon off Cocoa Beach this week has not been realized. I spent most of the week getting ready for a (hopefully) quick fling with Irma.

I had four days booked next week- all have been cancelled. I hope to at least get out on my own, but am taking a wait-and-see to evaluate how much damage the storm causes to local infrastructure and my own property.

In the meantime I’ve put a photo essay together of Florida East Coast fishing this time of year, recorded in years past. Fishing along our beaches truly can be world class. That will have to do…

orlando no fishing report

The mullet will be running after the storm passes. Finding mullet may mean…

 

orlando no fishing report

…tarpon!!!

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

There will be sharks out there, too. Lots of them.orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando fishing report

There may be shrimp boats working out there.

 

orlando no fishing report

Balls of bay anchovies attract all kinds of attention.

 

orlando no fishing report

Finding little tunny working…

 

orlando no fishing report

…almost always leads to…

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

…some memorable catches!

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

Pompano on a Gotcha.

 

orlando no fishing report

Rodney uses a bluefish to make a point.

 

orlando no fishing report

Bluefish will get thick. These two wanted the same Gotcha.

 

orlando no fishing report

Other fish we run into this time of year include…

 

orlando no fishing report

…snook;

orlando no fishing report

 

orlando no fishing report

…Spanish mackerel, lots of them;

 

orlando no fishing report

…and redfish, usually big ones.

orlando no fishing report

That is this week’s Orlando no fishing report! Thanks for reading!

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 2017. All rights are reserved.

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

Please take a moment right now for a small prayer for all the men and women whose sacrifices we should be remembering this weekend.

This Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report details trips to the Mosquito Lagoon, St. Johns River, and Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday

orlando fishing report

Nile with one of the redfish he caught.

Matt and Niles Smith, father and son, joined me on Spotted Tail for a Mosquito Lagoon outing. Three tarpon rolled next to the boat as we idled through Haulover Canal, the first tarpon I’ve seen this year.

orlando fishing report

Not to be outdone, Matt got one, too.

We were happily fishing for trout when I spotted redfish tails. We got on them without attracting the attention of the many other boats around, getting five nice reds before they vacated the area. DOA CAL shad were the bait of choice. Oh yes, the trout fishing was pretty good, too.

Monday

orlando fishing report

Tammy shows off a mini-bass. It’s as big as they get that size!

 

orlando fishing report

Channel cat on fly!

Tammy Wilson led me on a St. Johns River excursion. The river is ankle-deep in many places. We did not get any big fish but got five different species of fish on mostly surface flies. We also found three dead cows. They stink is a most foul manner.

orlando fishing report

Got me sum bass, two!

 

orlando fishing report

The river valley has some exquisite places…

Tuesday

orlando fishing report

This silly fish ate an Alaskan fly.

John went back to the St. Johns River by himself in an attempt to capitalize on what he learned the previous day. He stuck to subsurface flies (a black egg-sucking bunny leech worked quite well) and got largemouth bass, bluegill and red-breasted sunfish, three channel cats (!), four bowfin, one spotted gar, and one tilapia. Didn’t get the crappie or Plecostomas.

orlando fishing report

The bowfin, a fish in need of some love.

A large, aggressive alligator get much too close for comfort. Something about that gar splashing attracted it. I left the area post-haste.

orlando fishing report

Bull bluegill on a purple bunny leech. I lost all of the egg-sucking leeches I had.

Speaking of gar, what they need is some good PR. From now on I’m referring to them as garlin in what might be a misguided attempt to make them more popular among anglers.

Mudfish need PR too. Anyone have a good, appealing, alternate name for the mighty bowfin??

Wednesday
Ray Rowe was my guest on Spotted Tail. Although it was windy the fish were biting well. We got a lot of slot seatrout, although the big ones eluded us.

Thursday
Ray Rowe was again my guest on Spotted Tail. It wasn’t as windy as Wednesday but it was colder. Fishing was tougher, but we still got about 20 trout, mostly slot fish. The best of the day measured 22 inches. Thank you again, Mr. DOA CAL shad. And of course Mr. Rowe, too.

Friday
Found John at the helm of Spotted Tail, searching the mighty Atlantic for denizens of the deep. In an ideal world he would have found gobs of big tarpon. As it was, eight hours of diligently searching turned up some northern sennet, a few bluefish, a couple ladyfish, the smallest little tunny I have ever seen, and to top off the day a mighty mongo jack crevalle. I tried to get one on the twelve-weight but they were not having that nonsense.

orlando fishing report

The jack crevalle, different from channel cats.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Memorial Day 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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A Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

A Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The wind just won’t quit. This is a mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

It still blew like snot most of the week, especially at the end of it.

Monday
Ian Clemens and his friend Rick joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Those guys worked it hard, tossing both DOA CAL Shad and RipTide Sardines. Rick also had his own supply of “flukes”, on which he got several fish. They got 30 or so trout to about 24 inches, although many were short. Ian also managed a single black drum. We saw very few redfish. Still, action was pretty steady.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Ian with his black drum, the biggest fish of the week.

Monday afternoon Terry Roe and his grandson Luke joined me for Round 2! By now the wind was up and the fish were not as cooperative. They managed a dozen fish, all trout, none particularly large, although most were in the slot.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Luke got his self a fish!

Tuesday
Newcastle England flycaster Dave Swan and his two lads, Ben and Matthew, joined me after detouring all around Florida because of smoke-closed roads. Amazingly there was hardly any wind! I didn’t know what to do!

Out of the gate we found a huge mass of redfish. Wasn’t I surprised! It was all for naught though. We could not get near them, did not get a shot, did not get a bite, and left them in a state of frustration.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Ben with the morning’s only fish.

We got a single trout all morning. The boys were wonderfully patient.

Running south there was a puff of smoke and a burst of flame from the Space Center. A rocket launch! I shut off the boat and we watched the launch. Talk about a day saver!

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Matthew got a few, too. These boys were more patient than most adults, just great!

The afternoon wasn’t great but anything would be better than the morning. We ended up with a dozen trout or so, and a single lonely ladyfish.

Wednesday
Paul Berube, a fly fisher from Fort Kent, and his friend Al, found themselves in Spotted Tail. The wind was back and I figured the redfish might not be there. There were a few, and they let us a little closer to them than the previous morning, but it was early and they weren’t tailing. We ran over a few, they spooked the rest, and we had the same result as the previous day. Again, we got only a single trout all morning.

There was no launch to bail me out this time.

I found another school of redfish and chased them around for 30 minutes before losing them. Again we did not get a shot.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Al from Fort Kent worked hard all day for this one fish.

We fished hard all afternoon and came up with one more trout. Ouch. It was a really tough day.

Friday
Tammy met me at the Port. Every boat in central Florida appeared to be there- the parking lot was completely full! The forecast was wind SE at 5-10. The weatherman pranked us again.

We got out, made about a 1/2 mile loop, and went right back in again. Too rough already, and if it gets worse….

We went to Mosquito Lagoon. The wind did get much worse. We fished three spots, got four trout at the second, and that was it. The lagoon was covered in whitecaps when we left.

That is a mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

I’d like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Dirty Water Orlando Fishing Report

Dirty Water Orlando Fishing Report

This is a Dirty Water Orlando Fishing Report, December 17, 2016. Best wishes to all for a holiday season full of joy, and a happy and healthy new year full of fishing adventures!

On a glorious Tuesday morning I met Tom Finger and we went searching the Atlantic out of Port Canaveral for some denizens of the deep. The water along the beach was very dirty. Places that were full of fish last week had none. We turned the bow of the boat east and headed out to sea.

We found a few scattered weeds out about three miles, and slowly searched them for a while. We saw exactly one very short tripletail. Speeding up the process, we went looking for thicker weeds, breaking fish, other signs of life. We found none.

By this time we were south of the Cocoa Beach pier. We again came in close to the beach. We found an area with scattered menhaden splatting, but did not get a bite there.

Finally, late in the afternoon, we anchored by the north jetty where we got a couple bluefish and a couple small sharks. Although it was a beautiful day, fishing was tough. I ran into Scott Lum at the dock. He had gotten a single tripletail. It wasn’t just me.

Wednesday morning Rodney Smith met me at the Port. Again, the weather was amazing. We ran straight down to the end of the buoy line, then kept going another mile or two. You know, the Mitzi starts looking real small out there. We found some weeds and started hunting. Lots of shorty tripletail. Then we found a small clump of weed with a decent fish under it. We had to invest some time, but Rodney finally got it to take a jig.

orlando fishing report

Rodney was very happy with this tripletail.

 

orlando fishing report

However, the fish beat him so badly he had to rest :-).

We kept looking and found another, slightly larger. Rodney got it to bite but missed it, and we never saw it again. Or any others, other than dinks.

A moderate wind started out of the southeast and not trusting it to stay moderate I headed in towards the beach. There was still nothing there, until I fired a DOA Deadly Combo out. It must have landed right on top of the beast because immediately a hefty shark came up and ate the jig. It was the only bite we got there, and after the inevitable cut-off we headed back to the dock.

On another nearly perfect day (I love Florida’s winter weather!) on Friday Tom Van Horn joined me for a scout trip on Mosquito Lagoon, the first time I’d been there in weeks. The water still looks like crap. The grass is still dying back.

We Deadly Combo’d up a bunch of trout, although all but two were short. Then we went looking for redfish. I checked four or five spots before even seeing one, but we ended up seeing a few and Tom even managed to get one.

orlando fishing report

Capt. Tom with a redfish.

Friend and paddle fanatic Mike Conneen made a 5 minute video on our Big Bend trip, worth the time to check-

And that is the Dirty Water Orlando Fishing Report for this week!

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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Short Orlando Fishing Report

Short Orlando Fishing Report

Regular readers know I was on a trip last week, which ended Sunday night. Monday and Tuesday were spent unpacking and cleaning. Only two days of fishing happened after that, so we have a short Orlando fishing report.

Innova Swing EX review

The Innova Swing EX

Innova sent me an inflatable kayak to test. Part of that test happened on the Econlockhatchee on Wednesday (read the boat review here- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/innova-swing-ex-inflatable-kayak-review/). The gauge was at 2.0- YES! On a beautiful sunny day I got two bass on a purple Culprit worm in about two hours.

Innova Swing EX review

I caught this bass from the Swing EX.

Thursday the forecast looked good, but Friday a front was coming. If I was going to fish it better be quick! I drove to the port to look around, hoping to find some Sargassum.

There was no weed, but plenty of the smaller fishies were along the beach- ladies, blues, jacks, even a few trout. I did not get any Spanish mackerel but met someone who did. I hooked three big sharks on jigs?!?!? Lost them all on cutoffs. Went through a lot of jigheads/tails. It was nice out there- glad I went.

orlando fishing report

There were eight or nine shrimp boats off the port, killing bycatch. No fish were working them as far as I could tell.

Friday the front blew through with rain and wind. Air temperature dropped about 15 degrees. No fishing this weekend for me!

For Sale
Would like to sell my old trailer, still on Craiglist at a lowered price. https://post.craigslist.org/manage/5912258792/5sdpd

And that is the Short 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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Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Port Canaveral Fishing Report

This is a Port Canaveral Fishing Report, 11/19/16.

Two days of fishing this week, one of which was in a retention pond. The other, on Monday, was out of Port Canaveral.

Scott Radloff and I went. At the ramp Fred Cisneros told us there were Sargassum weeds with tripletail on them. We found some weeds pretty quick, but did not see any fish. We later realized we were not out far enough, but it would be hours before that realization occurred. We ended up not getting a shot at the ‘tails.

port canaveral fishing report

Searching the weeds.

What we did do was go off of the Cape. Fish were busting, one here, one there. At first I was tossing a DOA CAL jig. A couple decent seatrout and a couple of nice Spanish mackerel came aboard. I wanted the macs with an eye to smoked fish dip. So into the cooler they went.

A toothy fish relieved me of the jig. My other rod was rigged with a Deadly Combo. I’d never used it for Spanish, but it seemed like a good idea. Oh Yes, it certainly was. We caught mackerel and bluefish steadily until we had enough, then went back toward the weeds.

Fish were blowing up in the weeds. Perhaps foolishly I grabbed a six-weight and tossed a bouncer bucktail out there. WHAM.

port canaveral fishing report

The fish is trying to teach me a lesson.

The tunny were solid, over ten pounds. It took me 15 or 20 minutes to get that beast in. In the meantime Scott had hooked, boated and released one on a Sting Silver.

port canaveral fishing report

A fat tunny on fly!

By this time it was well into the afternoon. We were discussing whan we should leave when we spotted an incoming submarine. Immediately the motor got cranked and we headed back to the dock. Don’t want to deal with the security for one of those!

port canaveral fishing report

The fly was nothing special, but the fish certainly was!

All in all fishing was pretty darn good. If I hadn’t been so busy I would have called Aubrey.

The fish got smoked the next day, two batches, an all afternoon undertaking. They came out quite deliciously. I hope my Thanksgiving guests enjoy them!

Wednesday afternoon after finishing errands the chariot took me to a pond in Oviedo. A couple hours yielded seven bass, mostly small ones. The best is shown below.

port canaveral fishing report

A lovely little bass, perfect for an autumn afternoon.

—————————————————-
FOR SALE
Still trying to find a good home for my old EZ Loader Trailer- http://orlando.craigslist.org/bpo/5764303987.html
—————————————————-

And that is the Port Canaveral 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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Small Craft Advisory Orlando Fishing Report

Small Craft Advisory Orlando Fishing Report

Since Hurricane Matthew passed us we have been under a small craft advisory for an entire week, with constant 20 knot winds out of the east-northeast. So we have the Small Craft Advisory Orlando Fishing Report.

BLOG POST THIS WEEK-
Kayak Fly Fishing Mosquito Lagoon Redfish- The New Reality http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/kayak-fly-fishing-mosquito-lagoon-redfish-new-reality/

FOR SALE
Still trying to find a good home for my old EZ Loader Trailer- http://orlando.craigslist.org/bpo/5764303987.html

I certainly don’t want to drag this blog into the quagmire of election politics, but this makes an excellent Bumper Sticker of the Week:

orlando fishing report

===============================

I’m looking for a publisher for my latest book. Much of Monday was spent working on that. I am also making an attempt to join the 21st century social-media-wise. Yes, I am kicking and screaming. But Tuesday morning found me working on that. After being in the house since last Wednesday cabin fever was building.

Tuesday afternoon two retention ponds in Oviedo helped dispel the urge, helped scratch the itch. Eight largemouthed black bass were caught on DOA CAL bass worms and Culprit worms from those two ponds, along with a single missed strike. Not exactly fly fishing in the wilderness, but it was fishing, and fish (although not particularly large fish) participated. Life is good.

orlando fishing report

BASS on CAL

 

Orlando Fishing Report

BASS on Culprit

The storm knocked some trees down in my neighborhood. Wednesday morning I collected some of that newly available firewood. After that I visited a ditch that drains into the St. Johns River. In ten minutes those same plastic worms that worked so well the previous day fooled five bass to three pounds who were hiding in that ditch! A brief spurt of hot fishing, indeed!

Orlando Fishing Report

BASS with some old guy

Continuing on to the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, I discovered that:
-the water is very high, although it’s been higher;
-all the boat ramps appear to be operational;
-the dike roads are all closed; and
-I must postpone my show and tell seminar because the dike roads are all closed.
There were some trees down but all in all it could have been much worse.

With the intent of netting some mullet for future bait use I took the Mitzi to Port Canaveral on Thursday, knowing we were still under a small craft advisory. One thing I was forced to notice right away is that the storm has deposited tar balls along the beaches and in the port. I unknowingly stepped on one and tracked tar all over the deck of the Mitzi before noticing it. A rag dipped into my fuel tank and used to scrub all of the offensive areas removed it.

Before I reached the end of the jetty waves were coming over the bow. The boat nosed back into the port, which we circumnavigated.

Other than canvas awnings, hurricane damage seemed minimal. I am reluctant to say the mullet run is over, but I don’t think I saw two dozen in the port. The net never came out of the bucket. Rodney Smith thinks we’ll get another wave of bait coming through.

Friday I went to see Rodney. He, I, and Mike Conneen visited the Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Melbourne. On the way home I stopped and cast a line into a couple of pieces of open water. It would be great to report I found killer fishing in some new spots, but I did not get a bite.

And that is the Small Craft Advisory 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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Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

The mullets are pretty thick along the beaches right now, thus the mullet run Orlando Fishing Report.

Because they spend so much time in the sun, fishermen are at greater-than-normal risk for skin cancer. Visit this link for tips on avoiding this dangerous but preventable illness: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/pdf/skincancer_family.pdf

Here in central Florida, the beautyberries are ripe. While you can find tastier berries, beautyberries certainly are edible. It’s so nice of nature to leave these out where we can gather and enjoy them, at no charge other than a few moments of our time!

orlando fishing report

The aptly named beautyberry.

BLOG POSTS THIS WEEK
What A Fish Knows- A Review. http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/what-a-fish-knows-a-review/ A great book, of interest to anyone who cares about fish!

orlando fishing report

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 15, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 16, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

FOR SALE
EZ Loader Trailer- http://orlando.craigslist.org/bpo/5764303987.html
Wurlitzer Piano- http://orlando.craigslist.org/msg/5764347708.html

——————————
Sunday an email came in from Chris Myers. Paraphrased, it said he’d found a bunch of tarpon in the Mosquito Lagoon from 5-30 pounds, and they were eating. Did I want to fish on Monday?

I met him a 0545 and off we went. The fish were not where they had been. Still, he looked around and found a different bunch of tarpon. They were less than five pounds, and way less than 30. Still, they were tarpon. I missed a bunch and boated two on a small minnow pattern.

orlando fishing report

This is a small example of the greatest fish that swims.

When that stopped working we went looking for redfish. We found an area where there were quite a few, with enough tailing that you could see where they were. I would like to report that we got several, but we didn’t get any, on either fly or spin tackle. It was good to see them, though.

My bait freezer was as bare as old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, and something needed to be done about that, so Tuesday son Alex and I went to Port Canaveral. We caught a few mullet at the boat ramp, then pointed the bow of the Mitzi at Satellite Beach, hoping to find something scintillating along the way.

There were menhaden just north of the Cocoa Beach pier. Nothing other than a few pelicans was working them. We kept going.

We found a big pod of feeding Spanish mackerel before we got to Patrick AFB, and got six or eight on fly (in my case the same one I got the tarpon on the previous day). Then we continued looking. I wanted big tarpon.

We got to Satellite Beach without seeing anything else, so I turned the boat towards Spain and went out a couple of miles. There was nothing out there either.

We ended up back at the pogie pods north of the pier. Alex caught a small blacktip shark there.

orlando fishing report

File photo of Alex fighting a black tip shark.

We went north of the north jetty. Aha! That’s where all the mullet were hiding! Using mullet for bait we got several fish, including a small lemon shark, bluefish, jacks, and Spanish mackerel. I got some mullet for my freezer. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

Wednesday Scott Radloff joined me for another go at Port Canaveral. Not having seen much when running south the previous day, this time we headed north. There was a large pod of pogies in Canaveral Bight. We netted some, then used them for bait. We hooked several sharks of various sizes. We did not see or get bites from anything else. Not wanting sharks, we continued our quest.

North of Cape Canaveral the water turned a lovely emerald green color. There were fair numbers of mullet in the surf. We got some jacks and bluefish when we fished. We did not see any tarpon, or catch any other species of fish.

The sea breeze came up so we headed back down to the jetty and tried fishing among the commercial mullet netters. Man, they do some damage. Jacks, blues, Spanish macs, and sharks was what we got. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

Thursday the craziest thing happened. Someone called me, wanting me to take them fishing on Friday. Thank you, thank you, I thought no one loved me any more! Dear readers, we are open for business and this report works better when people go fishing. There are still fish out there, so let’s call John and make some plans, OK? 407 977 5207. Thank you for your consideration!

Friday Scott Bryant and his son Greg joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon spin fishing. Were the redfish where they were Monday? Of course not.

We looked in shallow areas (the Mitzi kept hitting bottom) and saw a fish here, a fish there. Greg got a small slot fish on a gold Johnson Minnow. A while later Scott got one a little larger on an identical bait. We had shots at several tailers, none of which converted.

orlando fishing report

Greg with a spoon-fed red.

One thing which is easily noticed this time of year- there are hardly any finger mullet in the lagoon. There aren’t enough on the beach to make one think that they all chose that route. Where are they???

All in all it was a slow day, with only a couple of fish for which we worked quite hard. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

And that is this week’s Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report, courtesy of Spotted Tail.

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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Manatee Hatch Orlando Fishing Report

Manatee Hatch Orlando Fishing Report

Thursday found me kayak fishing in Mosquito Lagoon, where there were way more visible manatees than visible redfish. So we have the manatee hatch Orlando fishing report.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 15
Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 16

FOR SALE
EZ Loader Trailer- http://orlando.craigslist.org/bpo/5795050795.html
Wurlitzer Piano- http://orlando.craigslist.org/msg/5764347708.html

CHECK IT OUT
Captains for Clean Water, http://captainsforcleanwater.org
Sign the Declaration, and maybe give a donation.

————————————-

One of my Aunt Huguette’s last wishes was that I spread her ashes at sea. Monday morning I wanted to discharge that responsibility. Friend Tammy Wilson joined me for a Port Canaveral trip in the Mitzi.

orlando fishing report

All that was left of the corporeal Huguette was in this biodegradable box.

The weather was outstanding. There were lots of mullet along the beaches, at least in the morning. We brought Huguette’s remains out off Cape Canaveral and gently released them, saying a short prayer as we did so. I had to wonder, were the molecules in the box some of the same ones that were in Huguette the last time I saw her, hugged her? It was a sobering moment.

orlando fishing report

Soaking the box so it would sink.

 

orlando fishing report

And off goes my aunt into the depths.

We went looking for fish. We found a few blasting the mullet, ladyfish (small ones) and crevalle jacks (likewise small). We fooled a few with jigs. There was some Sargassum weed near the beach, so hoping we’d find some weed lines farther out we went out there looking, going out three miles. Nary a weed, nor anything else, did we see.

Coming back along the beach we ran it for miles. The mullet had mostly disappeared, and we didn’t see much. Each of us spotted a single tarpon, widely separated in time and space. We spent more time running than fishing, and did not catch anything else.

Wednesday morning found me wading a flat next to Long Island, near the St. Lucie Inlet, with Marcia Foosaner and Dapper Dan. I chose a spin rod based on the reports I got from Marcia, which was to say dirty water and scarce fish. Blind casting with a fly rod gets old too quick for me these days if there are no bites. Fishing is frequently more enjoyable when some fish participate…

There were a few fish popping mullet. I hooked and lost what we thought was a big snook, followed by three solid strikes from crevalle, all smaller sized ones. Then I got a bite from something whose fight I did not recognize. I had to actually see the fish before recognizing it as a Belizean-sized bonefish. All my casting was done with a DOA CAL Shad, three inch version.

orlando fishing report

Bonefish in the Indian River Lagoon, some good news methinks.

A very enjoyable morning Marcia and Dan, thanks to both of you.

Thursday found the Ocean Kayak searching for Mosquito Lagoon redfish. On my leader was the same redfish worm that’s been on there for three weeks now. It still works!

The first cast, a ten footer to the first fish I saw, resulted in a take. Into the backing, you gotta love those! The largest red I’ve seen since returning from Alaska.

orlando fishing report

The same old fly has caught at least a dozen fish now.

As mentioned at the top, there were a lot more manatees than redfish. The manatees were so shallow I could touch some of them with my fishing rod.

orlando fishing report

MAN-A-TEES!

I managed to catch two more reds, with the last one very symmetrically coming on the last cast, about 100 yards from where the first one was caught. All three fish were caught on very short casts. The dirty water means they can’t see you either.

Got my wires crossed with Tom Van Horn on Friday and ended up doing a variety of chores.

And that is the Manatee Hatch Orlando Fishing Report, 92416.

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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