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A Quick Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

April 7, 2019 by · 1 Comment

A Quick Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Econlockhatchee River fishing report.

FANTASTIC OFFER
Three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website.
-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!

FISHING! Not much this week I’m afraid.

A pastoral scene on the St. Johns.

SUNday morning I took the official sister of Capt. John out to see alligators in the Bang-O-Craft. The water body was the St. Johns River. We went upriver from SR 50. The gators were thick, as I expected.

One of many.

We went as far as the powerlines, where we got out to stretch our legs. A trio of turkeys flew right over to us like they were expecting handouts.

Was never approached by turkeys before.

When we got back in the boat a problem developed.

Another of many.

The Bang-O-Craft is powered by an 8 HP Mercury, 2003 vintage, with a pull start. When I pulled, the pull cord got caught between the flywheel and the cord windup spring mechanism. I did not have any tools. [note to self- do not make that mistake again]

Third and last one for today.

There were six guys there trying to net Plecostamus (They eat them). They had a small johnboat with a Mariner 8- same motor! But they did not have the tools I needed either. So I did what any red-blooded American male would do. I called my wife and asked her to bring me my socket set. The road through Tosahatchee ends under the powerline, right where we were sitting.

Susan showed up a while later. I disassembled the top of the motor, used my mooring line to start the Merc, and we were on our way.

Monday was not a chamber of commerce day. One of the things I did was rewind the spring mechanism and put the Mercury back together.

Wednesday Susan had retirement meetings all day. I accompanied her.

Thursday morning I launched a kayak at Snow Hill Road on the Econlockhatchee. The gauge was at 2 feet. The river was running low and clear, just how I like it.

There was no one home.

My plan was to just fish for sunfish, knowing I’d pick up a few bass that would hit the sunfish bug. I was wrong.

Four hours of casting netted me four stumpknockers and one small redbelly. The river was as lifeless as I’ve ever seen it. I saw only two bass, four turtles, and zero alligators.

Ordinarily I would get sick of catching sunfish and put a larger bug on, hoping to cull them out while I concentrated on bass. This day I could hardly catch anything. Mind you, conditions were perfect.

Ordinarily you see lots of fish in the Econ- sunfish, bass, catfish sometimes, gar, Plecostamus, loads of fry minnows. This day I saw a few fish, but nothing like I should. No fry minnows! There’s some serious concern about the river at this end.

I used to catch fish like this almost every trip. Now it’s hard to get a stumpknocker!?

The kayak was already on the car roof so I was going to try to get out on Friday. Rain and lightning in the morning made me quickly change that plan!

That’s this week’s Econlockhatchee River 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: , , , ,

Meh Central Florida Fishing Report

March 30, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Meh Central Florida Fishing Report and Herbicide Rant

Thank you for reading this meh central Florida fishing report and herbicide rant.

A Deal For You-
Three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website.
-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!

T-Shirt of the Week-

 

FISHING!

Monday morning I had an appointment, so the start was quite late. The decision was to go somewhere “new,” to me at least. The destination was Fox Lake, in Titusville, the boat, the Bang-O-Craft.

The initial response was favorable. Quiet pond in a big park, lots of water lilies, nice ramp and dock, lovely. Fox Lake has a canal connecting it to South Lake. South Lake looked awesome, lots of vegetation, grackles working the lily pads. Lots of bullfrogs croaking, a sound associated with good bass fishing. I started casting a fly rod popper. Sunfish kept investigating.

In the distance I could hear an airboat, didn’t think much of it.

Casting doesn’t get the lake explored, so I went riding. I saw two airboats, spraying poison.

I shot this photo a few months ago on Rainbow River. We’re poisoning everywhere.

Disgusted, I went back to the boat ramp. Two pickups from Applied Aquatics Management were parked there. One of them had a bunch of boxes of diquat dibromide locked in a cage in the back.

In the lagoon system the algae is killing all the grass. We bemoan the fact. In the St. Johns River, South Lake, and other freshwater bodies around the state, we’re killing it on purpose. WTF??

We’ve known the following about diquat dibromide since at least 1993 (information from http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/diquat-ext.html):

Diquat dibromide is an herbicide and plant growth regulator. It is a quick-acting contact herbicide, causing injury only to the parts of the plant to which it is applied. It is nonselective, meaning that it does not spare ‘nontarget’ plants from its herbicidal effects.

Diquat dibromide is a moderately toxic chemical. It may be fatal to humans if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Concentrated solutions may cause severe irritation of the mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach followed by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe drying out of bodily tissues, gastrointestinal discomfort, chest pain, diarrhea, kidney failure, and toxic liver damage. Very large doses of the herbicide can result in convulsions and tremors.

Diquat dibromide is acutely toxic when it is absorbed through the skin and the possibility for poisoning increases with repeated exposure. Cows appear to be particularly sensitive to this herbicide.

Diquat dibromide also causes eye irritation.

EPA has required more testing on the capability of this herbicide to cause mutations, since available information is contradictory.

Diquat dibromide is slightly toxic to fish. Its toxicity to fish, and food organisms on which fish survive, has been reported in many studies.

Traces, or residues, of diquat have been found to persist in soil for many years with very little degradation. Field and laboratory tests show that diquat usually remains in the top inch of soil for long periods of time after it is applied. Groundwater quality can be affected if soil adsorption sites become totally saturated because water moving down through the soil can carry any non adsorbed herbicide into the groundwater. Diquat has been found in the bottom soil of pools and ponds four years after application.

The EPA requires a 14-day interval between treatment of water with diquat dibromide and use of treated waters for domestic, livestock, or irrigation purposes. Swimming, fishing and watering of domestic animals should not be allowed for at least 14 days after application of the herbicide to water.

Diquat contains small amounts of a highly toxic chemical impurity, ethylene dibromide (EDB).

Diquat is only one of 17 herbicides (https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/manage/control-methods/chemical-control/details-about-the-aquatic-herbicides-used-in-florida/ ) the state of Florida uses to control aquatic “weeds.” FWC in in charge of permitting the use of these chemicals. Thanks, FWC. “Control” and “elimination” are not the same thing. Why are we poisoning our fish?

Several people, including me, were out fishing while they were spraying. The St. Johns River gets huge doses of these chemicals daily. Someone is making some serious money, and we’re paying for it, in more ways than one.

Americans sure do love poison. There are aisles with nothing but in the home improvement store. We put it in our homes, our yards, our food, our water. We eat it, drink it, rub it on ourselves, smoke it. We use it to power our machines. They then give off poison exhaust. We put a LOT of poison into the environment. Is it any wonder so many of us get cancer? The surprising thing is that we all don’t get it.

Tuesday I took a kayak to the Mosquito Lagoon, spending seven glorious, sunshine-filled hours paddling, walking, and casting a plastic shad. Every once in a while a fish of some sort interrupted my daydreaming. I found some clear water, if not a lot of fish.

I got two fish on flies, even. One was a trout that may have been legal, blind casting with a Clouser Minnow. One was a slot red, one of a pair of tailers, that I got on a Homer Rhodes Shrimp Fly. The leader was in the rod when the fish took- up close and personal!

Homer Rhodes developed this fly in the 1930s. His, and the one I used, did not have lead eyes.

It wasn’t epic by any means, but I would do it again.

Wednesday, clouds, rain, wind, and lightning kept me off the water.

Thursday clouds and wind kept me off the water. Went for a bike ride with my camera.

Bronson State Forest

 

 

The trees there are awesome!

Friday the Bang-O-Craft got launched at the St. Johns River at State Road 50. I was curious to see if I could run it upstream to the Beeline. Google maps made me think I couldn’t. I made it past the powerlines at Tosahatchee. There the river braids a lot. The braid I took got too shallow, and I was forced to abandon the endeavor.

Red-winged blackbird. If someone can tell me what flower it’s sitting in I’ll gladly send you a book!

 

A “controlled burn” was going on.

 

Seven Palms shelter.

If alligators were a good indicator of environmental health the place looks really healthy. There were hundreds of them. The water, however, looked like the Banana River Lagoon looks. In other words, the water looks like s—.

Alligator, file photo

I didn’t fish much but picked up a whopper five inch bass on a small jig. Nothing I saw made me want to fish, or indicated that there might actually be fish. No aquatic plants hindered my running the boat, though.

If the wind stops blowing (not supposed to), the reports will soon be coming from near-shore Atlantic waters.

That’s this week’s Meh Central Florida 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , ,

Central Florida Fishing Report

February 10, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Central Florida Fishing Report

This is a central Florida fishing report covering the Indian River Lagoon, the Mosquito Lagoon, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Econlockhatchee River. Yeah, we got around this week.

Upcoming-
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar, March 23. An all-day fishing seminars that take place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

-On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 24. Fun, educational four hour fishing seminar that takes place in my Mitzi on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish. For More information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Monday found me paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. It was pretty windy. I found a few redfish tailing but could not get near them. The waves made the kayak slap, and the fish all disappeared before I could get into fly casting range. Three dink trout managed to get impaled on the point of the fly’s hook, though.

Tuesday I took the Mitzi out of River Breeze to see how far south the clean water went. And, as long as there was clean water, I could do a little sight fishing, too. Find some fish for the upcoming trips, maybe. Such an idea!

I looked in a half-dozen spots, working as far south as Tiger Shoal. The water was still clean there. Fish were scarce, though. While I did see a few black drum and redfish I didn’t get a shot at them. Blind casting with the shad imitation netted me a few dink trout.

Working my way back north I fished a flat which has been a fish producer in the past. There were some redfish and decent sized trout there. I got a nice slot red and a solid 20” trout, and pooched a couple of strikes. It was a nice way to end the day.

orlando fishing charter

The best trout of the week, on a plastic shad.

Wednesday found me back at the lagoon, still scouting. At the first spot I released four slot reds. NICE! There were more there but not wanting to beat them up I left them and looked elsewhere.

A couple elsewhere spots had nothing. But then I found another batch of fish and got a half dozen or so reds and trout, all slots. Again, I left them so as not to beat them up.

orlando fishing charter

Not the biggest redfish of the day, but the spots!

At the next spot an hour plus was invested. A few dink trout were caught, and four redfish were spotted too late. Then three more slot reds came in quick succession. Then it was time to quit. It had been a very solid day, even though the fly rod was not touched. And, clean water almost everywhere I went.

Thursday Mike Conneen joined me for some near-shore Atlantic exploration. Off Cape Canaveral we got a few dink bluefish and a couple of the smallest pompano I’ve ever caught. We spent hours looking for tripletail, ending up near the steeple in Cocoa Beach. We saw thousands and thousands of cannonball jellyfish, but only one tripletail. He did not eat our offering.

orlando fishing charter

The cannonballs aren’t very sporty.

Saturday Marisol and Cheryl joined me for a shad outing on the Econlockhatchee River. Two awesome ladies who love to fish, it’s a wonderful thing! The shad were cooperative enough that we got two doubles and lots of singles, releasing a couple dozen, all on little crappie jigs.

orlando fishing charter

Cheryl got the first fish, a tiny crappie.

Great day, and thank you for fishing with me, Cheryl and Marisol!

orlando fishing charter

Marisol with one of many shad they got.

I have not heard from the publisher about my latest book. While the suspense is killing me, not hearing is usually a good thing. If you hear right away it’s because the work ain’t up to snuff. I will try to continue being patient.

That’s this week’s Central Florida 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

February 3, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

We fished for shad (three days) and redfish this week, so we have an Orlando shad and redfish fishing report.

Monday the weather was too cold and windy (for me!) for fishing.

Tuesday I took the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns and up the Econ looking for shad. Six were caught, along with a single crappie, in six hours, all on crappie jigs. Mr. Creel Survey, at the dock, told me shad had been electroshocked in the Econ. Interesting indeed.

Wednesday the weather was awful, cold, gray, windy. I drove to the Snow Hill Road bridge and fished under it for about 45 minutes, releasing four shad and hooking and losing another. Mission accomplished!

orlando fishing report

The shad love the Al’s Goldfish.

Thursday I had a shad charter with Bob Gilbane and his brother-in-law, Dennis. We went straight up the Econ. Got only two in the first spot, three in the second. The third spot was a keeper though. We spent about four hours there, getting at least 20 fish, even a couple doubles. And TWO, count them TWO, red breasted sunfish as well! It was cold and windy but we were protected by the trees and it waren’t bad ay-tall.

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen! I had a great time!

Friday saw the kayak raised to the roof of the car, which then drove to River Breeze Park. Surprised and delighted to see genuinely clean water, like I thought I would never see here again. There was not a lot of grass except in really shallow spots. I paddled at least ten miles over shallow flats and through canals, and saw exactly one redfish. But in the three holes I fished there were fish. I was using a six-weight with a faux slider (Borski’s is awesome but I’m not tying anything that’s that much trouble.).

The first hole yielded two dink trout. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

The second hole gave up a mix of dink reds and trout, about a dozen fish.

Slider redfish!

The third hole reminded me of the old days. There were at least 40 slot reds in there, as well as a couple giant trout. The trout eluded me but I released four nice reds (one had seven spots, just lovely), and missed a half-dozen strikes. I saw every take, just awesome. No, I was not on top of my game. Yes, I may just go back next week.

That’s this week’s Orlando Shad and Redfish 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

January 19, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

The Shad, on a little jig.

This is a St. Johns River shad fishing report, covering the St. Johns River and the Econlockhatchee River.

Choosing Effective Fishing Lures (and baits!) for Florida
When you’re choosing effective fishing lures and baits for Florida, you don’t need a lot of different lures. Sixty years of fishing has taught me lots of different baits aren’t needed.

I prefer lures that only have one hook. It makes it easier to release the fish.

Saltwater Lures
My go to for trout, redfish, snook, and tarpon is a 3 inch plastic shad. I use ones made by DOA (3” CAL Shad) and Riptide (Riptide Sardine) on a 3/0 Owner 5132W-013 hook. If that doesn’t get them I’ll put the shad on a weedless jig head, 1/8th ounce, and bounce it along the bottom.

To read the rest of this piece (and see the photos!), visit http://www.spottedtail.com/free-florida-fishing-informatio/choosing-effective-fishing-lures-and-baits-for-florida/

FISHING!

Monday
In the afternoon I launched the Band-O-Craft at CS Lee Park and went shad fishing in the St. Johns River, with both spin and fly. It didn’t matter which I used- there were no fish and I did not get a bite.

I went up the Econ a short distance (to the shelter) and caught a few shad. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

Tuesday
Kevin’s Tree Service https://www.kevinstreeservices.com sent a crew to my house, where they cut down three trees threatening said house. They earned my stamp (or is it stump?) of approval!

Wednesday
Tom Van Horn joined me for some more St. Johns/Econ scouting. We took the Bang-O-Craft up the Econ to the cabin. The water is pretty low and we hit several stumps and the bottom. We got a couple small bass and stumpknockers, and Tom got a single shad on a jig. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

Thursday
I stayed home and cleaned my yard, and ripped the deck off the Bang-O-Craft. Time for an upgrade.

Friday
Launched the Mitzi at CS Lee Park at 8 AM. Joining me was fly fisher Jon Klarenbeek of Victoria. He wanted bass and shad, and while he got both the fish did not make it easy. At the first Econ stop we got two shad. Unfortunately I got both of them. We spent almost an hour there.

We went up the river and Jon started tossing a pop-n-drop, with a Krebs Popper and fry fly dropper. Jon’s first bass was a whopping 5 inch fish. Then he got a couple stumpknockers. All these came on the dropper. Then a bass took the popper. It maybe would hit eight inches. Then we had a long spell with no bites at all.

We went back to the place I got the shad and spent another hour. Jon got three shad this time, and I got none. Fine with me! All this time I’d been thinking about Mullet Lake Park. About 2 PM we pulled the boat and drove over there.

The FWC creel survey man was at the CS Lee boat ramp when we were staging for the road. He said more shad were being caught at Mullet Lake than at CS Lee, although there weren’t a lot of fish at either place. He also said only one sunshine bass was being caught per day, so that’s not a going concern yet.

We fished from the boat ramp at Mullet Lake Park to Lemon Bluff, spending three hours. We each had one bite. I got a shad. Jon hooked and lost his fish. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

This year’s shad run is looking to be pretty poor. The river is low and has very little current, and there just aren’t many fish.

That’s this week’s St. Johns River Shad 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, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , ,

Around Orlando Fishing Report

January 12, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Around Orlando Fishing Report

This is an around Orlando fishing report, covering the St. Johns River, the Mosquito Lagoon, and Farm 13, a rather long ride from Orlando.

While web surfing this week I chanced upon an article about the evolution of beauty by a writer named Ferris Jabr. It was brilliantly written. I give you it’s conclusion-

“If there is a universal truth about beauty — some concise and elegant concept that encompasses every variety of charm and grace in existence — we do not yet understand enough about nature to articulate it. What we call beauty is not simply one thing or another, neither wholly purposeful nor entirely random, neither merely a property nor a feeling. Beauty is a dialogue between perceiver and perceived. Beauty is the world’s answer to the audacity of a flower. It is the way a bee spills across the lip of a yawning buttercup; it is the care with which a satin bowerbird selects a hibiscus bloom; it is the impulse to recreate water lilies with oil and canvas; it is the need to place roses on a grave.”

– Ferris Jabr

If you enjoy reading the English language used well do a search on his name. His website will come up.

FISHING!

Monday
Having heard about shad in the St. Johns the Bang-O-Craft came out of seclusion and transported me to the mouth of the Econ. There were no shad. That’s not just my conclusion. There were four other boats there- no one got one. This reporter got two crappie and two bluegills in three hours.

Tuesday

orlando fishing report

Best fish of the day (of the week, actually), took a Culprit worm.

Drove to Farm 13 hoping to get some bass, and just maybe- a Lunker! You could not ask for a nicer day in January, that’s for sure. My first and biggest (no lunkers though) came on plastic worms, but I got a dozen or so, and one bluegill, on Krebs poppers tossed with a 5-weight. That’s an awesome place, but it’s too far from my house.

Wednesday
Towed the Mitzi to Beacon 42 ramp for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. Got there late, around 10. There were two trailers in the lot. I knew then catching would not be good, but launched the boat into the VERY dirty water anyway.

Checked several favorite winter spots. All were barren with the exception of a single tailing redfish to which I did not get a cast. On the bright side I pretty much had the whole place to myself.

I kept hitting the bottom with the MinnKota. Why? I could not see the bottom. To those hoping the water would clear up when winter came, sorry, it ain’t happening.

At the last spot (why does it usually work that way?) I got a dozen or so trout and three reds. One trout was in the slot. Everything else was short. The plastic shad fights off the skunk again!

Thursday
It was cold. I stayed home and cleaned the garage. Good thing it was trash day. https://orlando.craigslist.org/pts/d/oviedo-tuff-truck-rack-by-spring-creek/6791721077.html

Friday

orlando fishing report

Shad hit the silly jigs, but not the flies.

Launched the Bang-O-Craft at Mullet Lake Park circa 10 am. By 1230 I had gotten one shad on a crappie jig. Some kind of sea monster hit one of the jigs and straightened the hook before revealing itself. Those were the only two bites.

orlando fishing report

Got a nice crappie on the jig, too.

In spite of Monday I pulled the boat and went to CS Lee Park. On my first cast I hooked a shad double, although one broke off. It was one of three doubles I would get on the spin rod. Try as I might, no shad came to the fly today. Got a crappie. Got a bluegill. But no shad. Fifteen or so shad fell for those silly jigs though.

That’s this week’s Around Orlando 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Merry Christmas Fishing Report

December 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas Fishing Report

Best wishes to all my readers for a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years in this Merry Christmas fishing report!

A piece of good news came across my “desk” this week. The headline read, ‘Red Tide’ Lawsuit Launched After Feds Ignore Wildlife Harms of Lake Okeechobee Discharges. If you’re inclined to read about it, this is the link- https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/red-tide-12-19-2018.php

Fishing!

Right next to the boat ramp…

Monday I drove to Teneroc, kayak on roof. A cold front just came through. I had never been there. You know I don’t have a depth sounder. I fished two different lakes and got exactly one bite from a dink bass that jumped off.

The ramp in question.

The gentleman at the registration desk told me no one did well that day, but Tom Van Horn wanted to know how I got skunked in “the best fishing around,” as he put it. That’s fishin.

He got some bigger ones.

Tuesday Alex and I drove to Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area, two kayaks on the roof, where we met Mike Conneen, and the Queen of Farm 13, Dee Kaminski.

Long live the Queen!

The weather was awesome. The fish were biting. I got more on fly, but better average size with plastic worm. The tough decisions I have to make sometimes! That’s fishin.

There is some vegetation in the water.

 

Alex got into the act, too.

Wednesday Mr. Mitzi and I went to Mosquito Lagoon. It was good to see the old friend, even if the water still looks bad. There were redfish at the first spot I went, got one on a plastic shad. Switched to the fly rod and got one on a Seaducer and another on a slider. Went trout fishing and got many slot fish on the DOA Deadly Combo. Did not see many big trout, but that’s the worst I can say. It was a good day.

That’s the Merry Christmas 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Another Orlando Area Fishing Report

May 12, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Another Orlando Area Fishing Report

This is another Orlando Area fishing report.

Monday Anthony LaBarbera, a fly fisher from New York, joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. I’d had a great scout day on Friday and was cautiously optimistic. The fish utterly crushed that optimism- he did not get a single shot. Ouch.

Tom in a serious moment.

Tuesday I joined Tom VanHorn for a different kind of scouting, based on a report from Chris Myers. We bought 50 shrimp for ten dollars, and using ultralight tackle went fishing out of River Breeze.

Maybe not the fish of the day- the spectacular sea robin.

I caught eight species- snapper, ladyfish, seatrout, bluefish, flounder, catfish (of course), a puffer, and even a sea robin.

Doubles on the snapper. Yes, they were small ones.

Using two hooks I got doubles on snapper, ladyfish, bluefish, and catfish. WOW! Technical fishing it wasn’t, but getting steady bites was a novelty.

And a cute little flounder, too!

Wednesday Tom joined me for some kayak fly fishing on the St. Johns River. With the exception of water lilies and cattails, all the vegetation was gone. We did not see a bass or a sunfish, nor did we get a single bite. I sure am glad the state is having all that herbicide sprayed out there.

Tom fly fishes.

I would like to thank Tom for being in every photo this week!

Tom paddles.

Friday I went solo kayak fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Unlike my friend Anthony I had three excellent shots, all three of which I thought should have converted. The fish all spooked off the fly. I did not get a fish.

And that is another Orlando area 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

March 5, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

Three straight days of fishing in 20 mph plus winds, no surprise we have a blown away Orlando fishing report.

Bad news for all Lagoonatics– this year’s installment of the algae bloom has already started in the Banana River Lagoon. See this link for all the gruesome details-

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…
-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday- Rock Springs Run

orlando fishing report

Mr. Conneen rollin’ down the creek.

 

orlando fishing report

This painted turtle let me get surprisingly close.

Mike Conneen and I went a-paddlin’ on the Rock Springs Run, starting at King’s Landing and finishing at Wekiva Marina. At this central Florida gem, it’s more about the aesthetics than the size of the fish. You’ll find plenty of brilliantly colored fish here, but they tend to be small ones- stumpknockers, redbellies, even the bass run small.

orlando fishing report

Rock Springs Run stumpknocker. Yes, it’s small.

 

orlando fishing report

Mike, still rollin’.

Use ultralight tackle and small, weedless baits (I like the Beetle Spin or a three-weight fly rod)) and you will have fun racking up the numbers if not the poundage. A bruiser will surprise you on occasion.

orlando fishing report

One of many ibis we saw.

Mike got a dozen or so bass, the largest was (being generous) maybe two pounds. It’s an awesome trip- the scenery and the wildlife are so nice, who cares about fish size?

orlando fishing report

One of the larger fish we caught.

 

orlando fishing report

A stream-side blue flag iris.

Wednesday
Last week I said this about the shad- “I think they’re done for the season.” PDM, whose name will not be revealed, sent me an email complete with maps telling me he had his best day of the season the same day I caught exactly one. So following his very specific instructions (which I really appreciated- thank you!) I went there on Wednesday. It was not great. I had to work, but I got ten or twelve in a few hours. It was enough that I figured I could use it again of Friday if needed.

Thursday
Went scouting solo out of River Breeze. The places I had been finding fish were devoid of life. On my good friend the 3″ plastic shad I got two slot trout and a few dinks. The slotties were delicious, pan-fried in coconut oil.

Friday , Saturday, Sunday
I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Dan Carr, a fly fisher from Atlanta, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He warned me ahead of time that he brings bad weather.

If you were a kite flyer or a windsurfer the weather over the weekend was incredible. It was kind of windy for fly fishing, though.

Friday morning we started out of Haulover. By noon we had seen exactly five redfish with nary a shot. Dan had caught a rat red on a plastic shad, which was the extent of the action.

I pulled the boat and went to the St. Johns River. Shad were the goal.

In four hours plus Dan got one hickory shad and one small channel cat. I pulled the boat near sunset and went home to get ready for the next day, and lick my wounds. So much for the shad. They are done.

Saturday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

orlando fishing report

Dan with one of the many rat reds he caught. Note the breezy-looking water behind him!

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, both trout and redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good, enough so that he wanted a repeat the next day.

orlando fishing report

Sunday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

orlando fishing report

The fly of choice. Actually, he used several different patterns.

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, all redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good!

orlando fishing report

We got 15 or so redfish in three days and not one would have held batter. We did get a few legal trout, though. And a good time was had by all!

And that is the blown away 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report 

February 23, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report 

We fished the St. Johns River three days and the Mosquito Lagoon one day. Shad fishing had been really good, the best in several years. It fell off a cliff this week. Thus the shad run swan song Orlando fishing report.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon. It’s getting rave reviews! Please, check it out…

The Alaska fly-tying frenzy has started! I’m tying this…

An articulated king salmon streamer…

…while fantasizing about this!

…for a manatee-sized king salmon.

Should be an awesome summer!

For Sale–
Hotel del Rio, Ambergris Caye, Belize. At this eight cabana waterfront property you can put your feet in the sand- right out your front door. http://hoteldelriobelize.com. Call 407.977.5207 for more information.

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday
Chris Olson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. We got 15 or so in four hours on ultralight spin, but had to work hard for every one. Seemed like the run was winding down.

Thank you, Chris!

Tuesday
Ian Davidson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fly fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. After a hitless hour I pulled the boat and went to CS Lee, where we had three more hitless hours around the mouth of the Econ. Ouch.

Thank you, Ian!

I pulled the boat out and said goodbye to Ian. Then I started getting the boat road-ready. When I went to trim up the motor, I almost stuck my hand right in this guy’s mouth.

orlando fishing report

He was sitting on the trim motor. What???

By the cloudy look of his eyes, he’s getting ready to molt.

orlando fishing report

I wrapped a towel around him, carried him back to the river, and released him unharmed. Snakes are so awesome!

orlando fishing reportLive long and prosper!

Wednesday
I had the pleasure of hosting Rick Callahan and his brother-in-law Bruce on Spotted Tail, which we launched at River Breeze. We had several bites at the first spot, all on plastic shad. A few rat reds were caught, but Bruce got one that could have held batter.

orlando fishing report

Bruce and his redfish.

He released it. He also got some shorty trout, and one decent one that would also have held batter. He released that one too.

orlando fishing report

Bruce and his seatrout.

I told some dumb jokes and we traded stories, laughing a lot. The weather was awesome, and we all called it good.

Thank you Rick and Bruce!

Thursday
The chariot went to the repair shop- tied me up all day.

Friday
My thought was that if the shad were past Mullet Lake and the Econ, maybe they were near SR 50. I drove over with the Bang-O-Craft to test the idea. Two hours produced two shad. If they weighed 100 pounds apiece (and wouldn’t THAT be awesome!), that would be acceptable. Coming in at a couple pounds each, I want more action that that.

I think they’re done for the season.

And that is the shad run swan song 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 2018. 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: , , , , , , , , , ,
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