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Valentine’s Day Post

February 13, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day Post

This means Valentines Day to the true fisherman!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post.

One year I procrastinated with the Valentine’s thing. The night before, I was at the card rack at Publix, with 18 other loser guys. All of us were looking for the perfect card in a completely picked-over selection. Lesson learned.

I hope you got what you needed before the mad rush started.

John Gilbert, engaged.

Tuesday found me in the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns River. John Gilbert was my guest. It took me about three minutes to get our first shad, so naturally I expected “great things”.

Taking a break…

We were there four hours, got seven or eight between us, definitely not “great things”. All on spin tackle. Could not buy a strike with the fly. Gilbert surprised me when he said the first one he got was the first one he ever got!

The happy man. Fish, not so much.

I thought the sunset would be killer so I went back out to photograph it. It was only OK. Yes, I am being so presumptuous as to grade the sunset. It was awesome, of course, but not what I had hoped for. I made the best of it.

Pretty killer for not so killer.

The rest of the week I ran a couple errands, worked on the wiring for the van (I should be finished by month’s end!), and spent time on Instagram. Not an exciting week!

Love the palm trees!

Except the Bucs won the Super Bowl!

Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

January 23, 2021 by · 4 Comments

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms Report. There may be a couple fishy mentions in here too!

Monday and Tuesday must have been pretty dull, for I don’t remember what was done. I did repair our clothes dryer in there. My brain must have blotted out that terrible memory! On the other hand, the dryer does get hot and dries our clothes now.

Wednesday afternoon found me in the Bang-O-Craft, launching at CS Lee Park. Target, shad! Went to the mouth of the Econ, where casting commenced. The weather was fantastic. There were some signs of life in the water, and before long I had a fat crappie. A while later I got another. Shortly after I got a little one. And finally, the first shad (for me) of 2021, a little buck, which took a pink crappie jig, right next to the boat. All fish were released.

The noble sabal palm photographs beautifully.

I had been wanting to photograph some palm trees against the setting sun. The sky was spectacular, the light was golden, and I had my cameras.

They’re so Florida!

I went to a stand of sabal palm (Sabal palmetto) trees. Out came the camera. I may have gotten carried away, even trying imitate a palm tree myself.

Silly John, you can’t photosynthesize!

Would life be easier for us if we could photosynthesize? Imagine if we were green and could stand in the sun and make sugar!

Palms at sunset.

You can eat the heart of the sabal palm tree. Only once, though, as removing it kills the tree. Sabal palms are also called cabbage palm because of this edible heart.

Reflections of palms. It’s an ode to cabbage palms!

The Bang-O-Craft lacks lights, so I left before I wanted to, but got some more shots of the sky as I made my way back to the boat ramp.

St. Johns sunset, fantastic.

 

SR 46

Thursday played out in similar fashion, except I went to Mosquito Lagoon, and the photos happened at Black Point Wildlife Drive.

Note the brown slider. Eyes are bead chain.

Two black drum ignored my flies, and a redfish did not. I’m still using the brown slider. The water was quite low, and dare I say it looked a little cleaner? Some green stuff, that exotic algae from the Pacific Ocean (I can’t find the name right now), is starting to grow on the bottom of the lagoon. When that gets established we can be sure we’ll never see manatee grass there again.

The Release!

Friday began the process of installing the solar electrical system in the Sienna, which is probably how much of next week will be spent. At the moment I’m trying to figure out where all the components will go, and how to best mount the solar panel on top of the van.

The spoonbills are still at the wildlife drive.

 

Telephoto sunset.

 

Wide angle sunset.

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms Report blog!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Photo Essays, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Visited Old Spots Fishing Report

June 13, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Visited Old Spots Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Visited Old Spots Fishing Report.

I moved to Florida in 1984. Was a fisherman when I got here. I fished and guided the Banana River Lagoon, the Indian River Lagoon, the Mosquito Lagoon, the near-coastal Atlantic from both Ponce Inlet and Port Canaveral, and the St. Johns river system as my local waters, and have travelled and fished all over the state. Since I got here, and particularly over the last five or six years, I have watched the water quality decline, and the quality fishing areas shrink, to the current pitiful state. There are many places I have fished where I’ve thought at the end of the day, “I don’t need to check here again for a long time.”

This week was dedicated to visiting some of those areas again.

Monday I visited what used to be a favorite St. Johns River system lake. It was full of vegetation- milfoil, eelgrass, dollarweed, bulrushes, others. The bass fishing was fantastic. A couple years ago, when the FWC declared herbicide war on all aquatic vegetation, I visited this lake with Tom Van Horn. The vegetation was all dead or dying. The bullfrogs were silent. There were no alligators, and no fish. I don’t need to check here again for a long time.

Best fish of the day.

Monday’s visit was nostalgic. The marsh is beautiful. Bullfrogs sang loudly, and so did the blackbirds. Tilapia chased each other around. I snuck up on a four-point buck, in velvet, that was feeding at the water’s edge. I fished hard for six hours, came up with four dink bass. There is still no vegetation, and not many fish. I still don’t need to check here again for a long time.

Wednesday I launched the Mitzi at Kelly Park and ran it down to Pineda Causeway. Was hoping to see tarpon, and the weather was perfect for it. No tarpon, though.

Used the electric motor to work my way most of the way to Georgiana Island. Found one small school of large redfish. I didn’t think they existed anymore! One slurped up my bunny leech in plain view and I caught it, the largest red I’ve gotten on fly in 10 years. That was way cool! Truly, God smiled on me. The entire episode was so unlikely.

I could not lift this fish into the boat.

Other than that, there were small scattered trout. Ran north of 528 and checked from the Barge Canal to KARS Park. Saw a few reds, a handful of five pound black drum, and two small snook. Got one dink trout, did not touch another fish. I don’t need to check here again for a long time.

One dink trout.

Back at the ramp two guys had an open fisherman on a trailer. One of them came over to me. “You got a screwdriver?” he asked. “Of course, I have a screwdriver,” I said. “He doesn’t,” the man said, pointing to his buddy. “Then why did you go out with him?” I said. Seriously, if you have a boat, you need some basic tools. It doesn’t get more basic than a screwdriver.

Friday On a perfect morning Scott Radloff and I went kayak fishing on the Indian River lagoon. Our boats hit the water at sunrise, and we were out until mid-day. Not a fish did we see. I hardly made any casts. Beautiful morning, lovely birds, I don’t need to check here again for a long time.

All other things being equal, the experiment will continue next week.

Non-exclusionary by its nature, fishing embraces all creeds and colors, all manner and kind of man and woman, gay or straight, whole or broken in body or spirit; every seeker, every pilgrim, every hopeful traveler who believes that in the art and sport of angling something purposeful, meaningful, traditional, wonderful, fun, and spiritual can be found. – Paul Quinnett

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2020. All rights are reserved.

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

Vernal Equinox Central Florida Fishing Report

March 21, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Vernal Equinox Central Florida Fishing Report

In spite of the craziness caused by COVID-19 I was able to get out and fish this week. A wonderful thing about fishing as practiced by me- you’re not likely to run across any virus-carrying humans.

The equinox was this week- celebrate a little!

Upcoming Events

I had intended to run the Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar on March 28. Given that I’m in a high-risk demographic in the event I’d contract the virus, I have decided to cancel this event. Maybe in the fall…

Fishing

Saturday I launched the Bang-O-Craft at River Breeze Park, intending to do some scouting for an upcoming charter (since cancelled). Every time I do something like this I’m reminded of why I avoid fishing on weekends. I had to park most of the way back to Burch Road, the lot was full to overflowing.

My plan was to scout north of the park. I went up to the Blue Hole and started working my way back. In five hours I saw a half-dozen redfish and had one bite from a decent trout. In some of my formerly favorite places the water was almost opaque or the bottom looked diseased. It was not a great outing. I won’t be visiting that area for a while.

Monday Susan joined me for some more Mosquito Lagoon scouting. I launched the Mitzi in the wind and mist at Beacon 42.

Got two of these on a DOA Shrimp. Photo by Susan Surprise.

In the first spot we got two slot redfish, a bunch of dinker trout, and hooked and lost a nice trout.

Susan with a nice trout, released right after the shutter clicked.

 

Floundah! Photo by Susan Surprise.

In the second we got a nice trout, a flounder, and a few dinker trout. I wanted more spots but Sue was done, so we loaded up and drove home.

Monday night the trip I was scouting for was cancelled.

Tuesday I was on the way to do some Indian River Lagoon kayak fishing when I passed a breakdown. There was a child standing there and dad was lying under the truck. I stopped. “You under control?” “I don’t know where the jack is.” He had a gheenoe on a trailer. The trailer tire was shredded.

I was like a knight in shining armour. Because I have trailers, I have tools. I had him back on the road in 20 minutes.

I launched the kayak a few minutes later. The water looked OK, but there were no minnows, no mullet, no birds. I thought, “If I get a fish it will be a miracle.”

I paddled to the end of the spot, stood up, and began looking as I started back.

I saw three fish. I put the kayak in shallow water, staked it out, and waded back to the area, peppering it with casts. Just before I was to give up a fish struck. It was a lovely trout, about 20 inches.

I did not see another fish, nor was another bite forthcoming. The weather was spectacular though, and I had a great time.

Thursday Susan joined me. We went to CS Lee Park and launched the Bang-O-Craft. At the mouth of the Econ I had a solid strike on a 1” Sassy Shad. To my surprise it was a large tilapia. I was about to call my Aunt Rochelle when the hook pulled out. One does not get many tilapia bites.

I did get a pair of stumpknockers there, though. No thoughts of keeping them!

The mighty mudfish gets no respect. Photo by Susan Surprise.

We went up the Econ a way and I stopped to cast. I had another solid strike and a fish came cartwheeling out of the water. It turned out to be a bowfin, mudfish here in Florida. Got a crappie there, too. We went further up the very low river, dragging bottom in places and hitting lumber in others. It was very dead up there except for the gar.

This little guy followed the Chug Bug right to the boat. Photo by Susan Surprise.

I tied on a small Chug Bug and worked it for a while. Got a bite (it surprised me) and caught a seven-inch bass, the final fish of the day.

Friday sister Cheryl and I went kayaking in the Indian River Lagoon looking for birds. I brought a fishing rod but never picked it up- did not see a fish other than some mullet. We did see some eagles, spoonbills, coots, ducks, etc. etc. Nice paddle on a nice day.

And that’s my central Florida fishing report for this week. Thanks for reading it!

“Fishing is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it.” -Harry Middleton

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2020. All rights are reserved.

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

Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report

February 11, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report. The more includes the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon. Since I’m typing this on Tuesday, and I won’t be fishing tomorrow, next week will be a bye week. No sense in posting a two-day fishing report.

Long-time angler and friend Todd Preuss sent me the following-

Thought I should share. BTW, I do have a will.

FISHING

Monday
Old friend Walt Jennings joined me for some shad fishing on the St. Johns River. I told him to meet me CS Lee Park at 1000. I got there at 0830 and Walt was already there. Talk about prompt!

We spent five hours looking for shad, from the outlet of Lake Harney to up near Puzzle Lake. We also went up the Econlockhatchee. We got five shad in five hours, plus a few small crappie. Shad fishing was pretty crappy. It’s been that way all season.

Tuesday
Old friend Tom Mitzlaff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. We met at River Breeze. Tom was not an hour and a half early!

We looked in a lot of different places, and saw very little. We could have seen them, too- the water was pretty clean. We got a handful of dinky trout and a single dink redfish, but it was not looking good for my charter the next day.

We actually found a few sprigs of seagrass trying to photosynthesize. I wish them the best of luck!

Wednesday

Bob opened things up by landing this beautiful sea trout.

Matthew Pineda and his friend Bob joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Tuesday showed me where not to go. We got some fish at our first stop. Bob’s first fish, a handsome seatrout, turned out to be the fish of the day. We got more trout, although most were small. All in all it was a pleasant day, with a decent number of bites.

Matthew got this fish a few minutes later.

Thursday and Friday

Did not fish due to high winds.

Saturday
I try not to fish on Saturdays and Saturday’s Mosquito Lagoon scout trip reminded me why. There was a redfish tournament going on and the place was a zoo. I really dislike fishing tournaments.

I launched at Eddy Creek. Thought I should check the south end of the lagoon, since I hadn’t been there in a long time. It was a waste of time- the water was opaque brown. No need to go back there for a while!

I ran around a lot, even going through Haulover Canal in to the Indian River Lagoon. I did not see much and got one bite all day, a dink redfish on the spin rod.

A word of caution- trying to pull the boat out at the Eddy Creek ramp with my two-wheel drive RAV4 dug a nice hole in the sand under my front tire. If a couple of muscular young guys hadn’t come along and pushed me out I would still be there.

Sunday
Chris Kent joined me for some fly fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. We mostly had the place to ourselves, surprisingly. We found a flat that had quite a few redfish on it, which surprised me in a good way. We worked it on five separate passes and did not get a bite, changing flies, angles, everything I could think of. Yes it was frustrating. I thought he should have hooked at least two and perhaps more, fish that responded to the fly but said no.

We found a spot with some nice trout. His line would hit the water and big mud poofs would come up. Those fish wanted no part of us, either.

The only fish we got were some small trout from a deeper spot, blind-casting with a Clouser Minnow. We saw 50 or more reds over the course of the day and couldn’t make a deal.

Monday
Johnny went kayak fishing in the Indian River Lagoon, all by hisself. He paddled to where he intended to start, and spent the rest of the time wading. He missed his first strike, but got the second, and nice trout of 22 inches or so. The fish took a black Clouser Minnow. There was a long time between bites, so he switched to a spin rod with a DOA Shrimp tied to the line. He was rewarded with two redfish (small ones) on back-to-back casts.

A word about spin tackle- I am transitioning to ultralight spin tackle- 1000 series reels, 5.5 and 6 foot rods. A few years ago this would have been unthinkable. Now the average size of the fish has dropped so much it seems to make good sense. Even the small fish seem sporty on tiny tackle. Sooner or later I’m gonna hit a real one and get my clock cleaned I bet…

Anyway, I ended up with a half-dozen nice trout, all in the slot or above, plus those two rat reds. It was not hot fishing by any means, but I’ve certainly had worse days.

And that’s my Mosquito Lagoon and more fishing report. Thanks for reading it!

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2020. All rights are reserved.

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

Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report

February 1, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report. I got out every day this week, and managed at least a few fish every day.

NEWS UPDATE
Today, February 1, the rules for taking seatrout change statewide. Here in east central Florida the slot changes from 15-20 inches to 15-19 inches. The bag limit per angler changes from four to two. Formerly, one fish of the bag limit could exceed the slot, per person. Now one fish may exceed the slot, per boat. For more info click this link- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/271263f

FISHING
Monday was to be a scout day. I got to the Indian River and the boat battery was dead. I brought the boat home and put the battery on the charger. Then I hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and went to the St. Johns River. Four hours of casting turned up a half-dozen shad and a half-dozen crappie.

Shad boatside.

At the ramp when I got back was an FWC Creel Survey man. I like talking to those guys, you get some good information from them. He told me my six shad were the best report he’d gotten all week. Ouch.

Tuesday I launched at Beacon 42 for some scouting. It was blowing 10-15 and the water was full of mud. I got a few small trout and a floundah! Saw seven or eight decent reds, had shots at two. Both blew out when the lure hit the water. In general pickings were pretty slim.

This picture is for Tammy’s fans.

Wednesday Tammy Wilson (who has fans!) joined me for that Indian River Lagoon scout. We went to three spots, did not see anything living. I pulled the boat and went to River Breeze. We got a couple redfish and a few smallish trout. In general pickings were pretty slim.

Thursday Tom Campbell and Jack Florio joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. It was overcast, with a forecast of 10-20 out of the north, awesome weather for flats fishing. We launched at River Breeze and had a go of it.

We got five species of small fish- trout, flounder, catfish, puffer, and pinfish. When it started raining we packed it in. Pickings were really slim.

Friday Tom and Jack joined me again. We launched at Beacon 42 this time. The wind was not blowing, although it was still overcast.

Jack with the best fish we got in two days.

We found a lot of trout. With two or three exceptions they were all small. We found a few redfish. They were all small too. Everyplace we looked for larger fish looked like a virtual biological desert. There is no grass, we saw no bait.

Tom with his best trout. It would have held batter!

Tom and Jack, thank you for fishing with me again, and good luck in the Keys!

And that’s my Central Florida Smorgasbord fishing report. Thanks for reading it!

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2020. All rights are reserved.

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

Central Florida Fishing Report

December 13, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Central Florida Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this central Florida fishing report!

NEWS!
Changes are coming to recreational seatrout harvesting rules. Here in east central Florida, the bag limit changes from four to two, and the slot changes from 15-20 inches to 15-19 inches. There’s more. The new rule goes into effect on February 1. For more info click this link- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/271263f

Monday
Having done all of all the chores I could stand by noon, I took lunch, then hooked up the trailer of the Bang-O-Craft. Having CS Lee Park ten miles from my front door is a beautiful thing!

In the St. Johns small fish were crushing tiny fry minnows. I used small tackle and caught a bunch of them- largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegills, and redbreast sunfish. No striper hybrids. Got several doubles, even mixed species doubles. Love those tiny swimbaits, and my little fry minnow flies. Enjoyed the afternoon right to sunset.

Tuesday
Ricky waited patiently at the boat ramp. Having driven right past the exit I was a few minutes late, even though our start time was 930 AM (!).

We launched his boat and were off to chase the wily pompano. You won’t mistake a pompano for a tarpon on the end of your line. You won’t mistake one for tarpon on your dinner plate, either. And for such a small fish they sure do fight hard.

Ricky poled while I manned the bow. He wanted to sight fish them. I actually had a few shots and had a couple fish show interest in the jig, but no eats.

When we anchored up by a deeper cut our luck changed. Casting jigs into the deeper water brought bites from pompano, and crevalle, and ladyfish. I got a croaker and Rick got a bluefish.

Rick’s favorite jig worked well!

I tried the fly rod and got a pompano almost immediately. Got ladyfish, jacks, and a blue runner too.

I caught a pompano on fly!

Basically we caught fish all day long, often enough to keep our interest up. When we got back to the boat ramp (after sunset) Rick put the seven pompano we had kept into my cooler, and off I drove into the darkness.

Detail of the fly in question.

Wednesday
Got up early and drove to CS Lee with a bucket, a knife, some bags, and a cutting board. Filleting fish first thing in the morning is not something I do often (thank goodness) but I kept thinking how delicious they would be. I gave one to my aunt and a couple to neighbors.

There were a lot of trailers in the lot. Something good is going on.

The trolling motor on the Mitzi was old and ugly. I took it off and started the installation of a brand new one.

We had grilled pompano for dinner. Nothing should taste that good. Thank you, Rick!

Thursday
Finished the trolling motor job. If anyone wants the old one (free to good home) contact me before Thursday.

Put a canoe and a kayak up for sale on Craigslist, among other things.
https://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/d/oviedo-for-sale-old-town-canoe/7037280422.html
https://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/d/oviedo-for-sale-ocean-kayak-prowler-13/7037273150.html

Friday
Had to test the trolling motor of course, so I towed the Mitzi to Titusville. After launching in the Indian River Lagoon I put the motor through its paces. I am happy to say it seems to be quite an upgrade over the old one!

They were all nice but this was the best.

Part of the program was to see how the fish react to it. They can hear it, of course, but that did not keep me from catching several seatrout to about four pounds. The lure was a RipTide Sardine. Quite a lovely morning it was.

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste them- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

St. Johns/Econlockhatchee Rivers Fishing Report

November 23, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

St. Johns/Econlockhatchee Rivers Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this St. Johns/Econlockhatchee Rivers Fishing Report. In a rare event, only fished in freshwater this week. Didn’t carry a camera, all photos are from the files.

Fishing!
Monday
On an overcast and windy day, I fished the Econ on foot. It’s a bit higher than I like but is fishing anyway, not that it was great. I got two bass in almost three hours, one on a plastic shad, one on a Culprit worm. In their defense they were both decent fish. Quite a pleasant outing.

Tuesday
Launched the Bang-O-Craft at Mullet Lake Park. Goals were to check out some new (to me) areas and hopefully find some breaking fish. First goal was accomplished easily, even got kind of confused at one point.

I trolled quite a bit with a Shad Rap and crappie jigs, and cast quite a bit too. I got one stumpknocker on the plug while trolling, the only touch I got.

It was a nice day if a bit breezy. There was only one truck in the parking lot when I got there- I figured it would be slow.

Wednesday
Had Susan drop me off with the kayak at the 419 bridge crossing over the Econ, about 9 am. Wasn’t out of earshot of the road before I had my first bass, on a Culprit worm. It was a spectacular day and I hardly paddled, just letting the current push me along. Fish didn’t come frequently, but it was pretty steady. I got a dozen or so to maybe three pounds, losing a bigger one.

I tried fly casting a little bit but didn’t touch a fish.

Wore my waders for the first time this season, and was glad I did. The air was chilly in the morning, and the water was chilly all day.

Godzilla was there.

I didn’t see another soul on the water, which was nice. In the morning I had the river to myself. In the afternoon there was a reptile at every river bend. They came in two sizes- large and gargantuan. I saw a half-dozen 1000 pound gators. Usually when an alligator realizes you’re there they slide into the water, but a couple of the biggest didn’t move from the bar as I passed. They just watched me. Were they salivating???

I don’t know what those Econ gators are eating, but they’re eating plenty of it- they are all fat and healthy.

At 1 pm I still had a long way to go. I put the fishing rod away and started paddling like I meant it, arriving at Snow Hill Road about 430.

Friday
About noon I launched the Bang-O-Craft at CS Lee Park. My idea was to run up the Econ and float back down. I never made it past the confluence.

Crappie on the fry minnow.

There were breaking fish there. Using both fly and spin rods I got at least 30 fish- three crappie, three striper hybrids (I love those!), a dozen or so bass, and a lot of bluegills and redbellies.

This is the largest hybrid I’ve seen in the St. Johns, caught on an Al’s Goldfish.

For flies the fry minnow worked well. On the spinner I got a few fish on an Al’s Goldfish, but most came on a Creme Spoiler Shad.

Bluegill on the Creme Spoiler Shad.

One weird thing was that fishing was best at mid-day and got slower and slower as the afternoon progressed. You would have expected that to be reversed.

And that is this week’s St. Johns/Econlockhatchee Rivers Fishing Report. Thanks again for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , ,

East Central Florida Fishing Report

November 16, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

East Central Florida Fishing Report

I’ve been cleaning the garage. Susan has retired, and talk of moving has started, so why wait?

I have a lot of old plugs. Being treble-hook averse, I never use them. Researching ways to sell them I came across a unique Christmas gift for fishermen on Etsy…

In that “sell things” vein, I have the following brand-new-in-the-package High Roller lures for sale for $15 each including shipping-
-Florida Special, two

Florida Special

-Rip Roller, two

Rip Roller

-High Roller, two

High Roller

-Chug Roller, two

Chug Roller

Will sell the lot for $100.

Speaking of Christmas gifts, Fishing Florida by Paddle is sure to please that paddling fisherman on your gift list!

Fishing!
Sunday and Monday

Chris was happy to get this trout!

Chris Kent, a fly caster from the DC area, joined me for some sight fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Wasn’t the joke on us? The water was even higher than it had been, and sight fishing with the wind and clouds was close to impossible. Everything that makes sight fishing hard was in play. Chris had a handful of decent shots over the two days, got one nice trout, hooked and lost a redfish, and got laughed at by all the other fishies. Tough, tough fishing.

He’s hooked up to a redfish. The joy did not last.

Thank you for fishing with me, Chris!

Tuesday
Wasn’t planning to fish, but the morning was so pretty that I loaded up the kayak, launching it on the IRL at the crack of noon at the place Tammy and I fished the previous week. The water was higher, dirtier, and almost all the bait and fish were gone. Blind casting for three hours netter me one dink trout and one low-slot redfish.

The afternoon was spectacular, with diving pelicans and cruising dolphins. Was glad I went.

Wednesday
In spite of the gale force winds and heavy overcast, son Alex and I launched the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns and ran up the Econlockhatchee. I figured we wouldn’t get a bite, but we got some small fish- a crappie, a bluegill, a couple small bass, and several redbellies. The birds on the St. Johns were thick, beautiful. It beat staying home.

And that is this week’s north Indian River Lagoon System Fishing Report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

Purchase 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

A Short East Central Florida Freshwater Fishing Report

May 4, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

A Short East Central Florida Freshwater Fishing Report

Only got out two days this week. Thank you for reading this short East Central Florida freshwater Fishing Report!

FANTASTIC OFFER
We are still running the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
-Flyrodding Florida Salt
-How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
-Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks until June 15. Act now!

MONday
Launched the kayak at Buck Lake on a stunning morning. I miss all the weeds that supposedly did not get sprayed. Fly fished for a couple hours without success, so switched to a Culprit worm. It wasn’t great, but it did take six or seven bass to about three pounds. Was done by noon.

Another kayaker told me he got about a dozen fish to over four pounds on soft plastics. Good morning if he was being honest.

Tuesday
Beautiful weather again! With the gauge reading 0.9 I launched the kayak on the Econ. Three hours of fly casting with a Krebs popper netted a single bass of maybe 10 inches, one small spotted gar, and two stumpknockers. Again I switched to a plastic worm. After noon it started working pretty well, and although I saw a couple fish in the four-to-five pound range my best was only about 14 inches.

On the paddle back I saw a bunch of bedding redbellies and switched the fly to a foam spider. I got only one nice one.

Since May Day was this week, I have started gathering my belongings for this summer’s trip to Alaska. I need to buy a gold pan and some hot pink chenille.

Great fly for hot silvers…

That’s this week’s East Central Florida Saltwater 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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