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Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing Report

March 5, 2016 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Noodled Trout Orlando Fishing Report

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

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

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

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

That is a fine looking fly reel.

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

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

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

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

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

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

My noodled trout, boatkill.

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

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

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

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

Tammy having fun in the mud.

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

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

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

Dr. Ross with a bass.

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

Dr. Ross with a shad. He seems happy!

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

Bob with a fine bass.

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

Tom with one of his American shad.

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 27, 2016 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photographing the fishie.

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

Sue wanted a red, and got this one.

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

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

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

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

Not a great week, but better than no cheese.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: DOA Lures, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

December 18, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

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

Upcoming Events

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

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

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

The new word in solar energy is “hydricity.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

——————

Clean Water

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

—————–

Another Blogger

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

—————–

Fishing!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that is the Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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‘Hydricity’ concept uses solar energy to produce power round-the-clock

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Flies and Fly Tying, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Econlockhatchee River, fly fishing, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish

An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

November 15, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

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

Fishing!

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

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

The first redfish we got.

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

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

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, canoeing story, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish

Happy Halloween Orlando Fishing Report

October 31, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Happy Halloween Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Show and Tell Fishing Seminars
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar November 7 on the MINWR. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar November 8, in my Mitzi. Please see this link for more information- http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

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

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

Fishing!
Monday morning I launched the Bang-O-Craft at CS Lee Park and headed up the Econlockhatchee.

Keith Jones states in his excellent book Knowing Bass, “…fall bass can treat anglers to some of the most spectacular fishing of the year. …days of 50-plus bass per peron fishing crankbaits or soft plastics are not uncommon. …fall bass tend to congregate…in large packs as they prepare for migration.”

Dr. Jones was not with me on the Econ. I did not find any large packs of bass or anything else, coming up with one redbelly on a fly rod popper, one gar on a DOA CAL Shad, and hooking and losing one small bass on the same CAL Shad, in about five hours.

A large flock, nowadays.

I did find a large (for nowadays) flock of spoonbills and shot a few photos, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Fishing wasn’t very good though.

They take flight.

Thursday found me launching the Mitzi at Port Canaveral. The wind was from the west- how did that happen? I went out to sea looking for weeds and hopefully tripletail. There were very scattered weeds, and I saw about 20 tripletail, the largest of which was about seven inches long.

I was surrounded by this action.

Heading back in to the beach there were lots of diving birds. Breaking fish! I love those! Crevalle jacks in the three to four pound range were going crazy. Mixed in with them were a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Big sharks were ripping through the chaos.

The wire fly accounted for quite a few fish. Then I tried a Chug Bug, which was a no-brainer. Jacks are so aggressive on the popper. Then I tried a Floozy popper, good for only one fish. Then a Sting Silver got into the act.

File photo of jack crevalle.

By this point the novelty was wearing off, so I started heading back. Almost immediately the wind shifted and came out of the southeast, which would have shut everything down anyway.

Friday son Alex and his friend John Napolitano wanted to go jack fishing, so we went back to the Port. The wind was out of the north at about 15. We could not get near the jack spot, and by default ended up in Canaveral Bight. It was fairly slow but steady for jacks, bluefish, and ladyfish. Alex hooked a large blacktip shark, which lasted about two minutes before the shark bit off.

Then Alex got a pompano on a bucktail jig, which we will be eating tonight. Not much catch-and-release for pompano! The boat was back on the trailer at about 1:30, after a beautiful if breezy morning.

And that is this week’s Happy Halloween Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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International Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept. 19

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, Surfrider Foundation

Blown Off the Water Freshwater Orlando Fishing Report

October 23, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Blown Off the Water Freshwater Orlando Fishing Report

Some folks might think it’s been windy this week. Fifteen to 20 from the east-northeast, every day! And it’s supposed to continue into next week. This is the Blown Off the Water Orlando Fishing Report. It will have several parts!

Contest of Last Week-

What is it and what is it doing??

The first person who told me 1) what this is, and 2) what it’s doing, was Robert Ridgeway, who responded within 30 seconds of my sending last week’s fishing report out to my subscribers.

The critter was a big manta ray. There were three of them doing barrel rolls through a big school of glass minnows about three miles off the beach at Cape Canaveral, feeding on the minnows. I had never seen this behavior before but apparently it’s fairly common. There are you tube videos…

Do You Eat Gar?

Yes, the gar is a delicacy! And you can use the eggs to make your enemies ill! I’m not making this up, nor have I tried it. I just may try eating the fish (although they are kind of stinky), but will leave the eggs alone. Visit this link for more information… http://www.eattheweeds.com/gar-treasured-trash-fish/

Do You Eat Chowder?

At the upcoming Ocean Reef Beach Festival there will be a Chowder Cook-Off. The public (that’s us!) decides who has the best stew. It sounds like a great time.

Visit this link for more information, clammer! http://oceanreefbeachfestival.com/cook-off/

People Messing With Stuff

The Swiss Army Knife has gotten an upgrade! Can you believe people messed around with a classic outdoor icon? Actually, in this case it might be a good thing, because the re-designed knife looks awesome. Check it out at this link…

Show and Tell Seminars! Show and Tell Seminars!

For those who have enquired about the fishing seminars, first, thank you for your patience! This fall’s seminars are scheduled for November 7 for the Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar that takes place on the MINWR, and November 8 for the On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar that takes place on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, in my Mitzi. Please see this link for more information-http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-schools-and-seminars/

Fishing!

Sunday morning I launched the Bang-O-Craft at CS Lee Park. It had not been run in months. It ran well, and even started again after I turned it off! WOW!!! I guess using that new-fangled non-ethanol gasoline really works, Maw!

I took a few casts without result, did not see any signs of piscatorial life. Did not work it hard at all, barely worked, honestly. The wind was howling out of the northeast. The river is still quite high.

Tuesday- I brought the chariot in for its annual physical. Its rotator cuffs were shot. $1500 later they were as good as new. Wow, that hurt.

Wind still howling out of the northeast. Otherwise a beautiful day.

Wednesday- In spite of the forecast 15-20 mph winds I launched the kayak at my favorite bass pond. In deference to the wind I brought a ~~Devil’s Stick~~ spinning rod, instead of the usual fly rod. It wouldn’t have mattered.

I did not get blown away when I was here…

I flailed the water with a variety of lures for almost six hours, and netted three yearling bass. In that breeze, even with the spin rod, fishing was difficult. At least the wind blew me back to the launch point.

…or here. It’s like the vegetation held me in place or something.

Thursday- Although the gauge read 3.5, a good foot and a half higher than I like, I went to the Econ with two rods, one fly, one spin. Both were equally (in)effective.

The water may be higher than I like, but it was clean. I got several small bass and a few sunfish. I saw a large reptile, couldn’t tell if it was a monster alligator or Godzilla.

The beast was a solid 11.354 feet.

It was somewhat easier fishing the river than the pond the previous day, although that may have been entirely psychological. There were many places that required my paddling downstream to move that way- the wind was coming up the river hard enough to blow me upstream against the current.

Friday- tired of fighting wind, my mind drifted back to something I wrote last week- “I should have brought a fishing rod because there were a few fish popping. I’ll bet they don’t see many anglers up there either.” I went bicycle fishing at Hal Scott Park.

Tackle wired to bicycle and ready to go.

Catching was not fantastic. Fishing pretty much was. The Econ is tiny up there. I haven’t fished such a small stream in a long time. And although I could hear the wind tearing through the treetops, down at ground level there was no wind at all. The only footprints I saw belonged to a variety of non-hominids.

I got a couple small bass on a popping bug.

Nearly crapped my pants when my foot almost came down on a big, thick-bodied snake. Very cool.

The redbelly whacked a mini-crankbait. There were a few others.

It’s gorgeous up there, enough there will be occasional bicycle trips there again. And it was pretty nice not having to deal with a boat, especially in the wind.

Spotted sunfish, a.k.a. stumpknocker, a very aggressive little fishy!

And that is this week’s Blown Off the Water Freshwater 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.comhttps://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, kayak fishing, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, St. Johns River

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

October 16, 2015 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

This is the Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report. It will have several parts!

Contest of the Week-

To the first person who can tell me 1) what this is…

What is it and what is it doing??

and 2) what it’s doing, goes a free copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt! Judges decision final. Hint- I encountered this while out fishing this past week. Please use the Comments Form below.

How Will Global Warming Affect You???

The water level may well be different in 2100.

While web surfing I came across a website that predicts the water levels on planet earth in the year 2100. You type in your zip code, and you get two maps- one in 2100 with pollution drastically curbed, and one in 2100 with things continuing the way they’re going now. It ain’t pretty. It will take an extraordinary run of luck for me to make it to 2100, and even if I make it and I’m in the same house I will still not have beach front property.

According to this prediction, the Indian River Lagoon will not exist anymore, the barrier islands all being submerged. It’s an interesting and sobering exercise. Check it out at http://choices.climatecentral.org/#12/28.7254/-81.0920?compare=scenarios&carbon-end-yr=2100&scenario-a=unchecked&scenario-b=extreme-cuts

Tips for Surf Fishermen

Rodney Smith has posted some great tips for surf fishermen. Read them here… http://rodneysmithmedia.com/ten-surf-fishing-fun-facts-2/

Show and Tell Seminars

For those who have enquired about the seminars, first, thank you! I have been working on it. The MINWR requires more paperwork than ever before, can you believe it? Hopefully they won’t make me raise the price to out of reality.

I wanted to run the seminars this month. At this point it looks like November at the earliest.

Orlando Fishing Report!

Sunday I layed around and watched the NFL all day. A complete waste of time, and yet glorious.

Monday– Boat Day! Minor repairs, cleaning, organizing, etc.

Tuesday– Scott Radloff and I ran out of the Port. The redfish were gone! 🙁 We found a few tarpon rolling, and Scott had a nice one on for 10 minutes or so, four or five jumps, the highlight of the day.

Can’t argue about its highlightness!

We did a lot of running and didn’t find too much. We did find a big ball of jacks near the beach. Evidently the jacks were being herded by numerous large sharks, because as soon as I hooked one all kinds of hell broke loose. The sharks appeared out of nowhere, all lit up. My jack ran right at the boat and six feet of determined shark ate it right along the gunwale, nearly smacking into the boat, and tossing water all over us.

Scott had one eat his mullet and fought it up to the boat The beast was easily six feet long. I wish I had gotten a picture of it.

For the day we ended up hooking a nice tarpon, eight or nine sharks, one juvenile snook, a dozen jacks, a couple Spanish mackerel, and a couple bluefish. The weather was spectacular. It certainly beat a sharp stick in the eye.

Wednesday– Looking at the weather forecast, Wednesday was supposed to be the last day with west winds, with them shifting to the northeast and increasing in velocity as the weekend approached. So if I wanted to fish along the beach, this might be the last chance this week. I took it, launching at Port Canaveral.

The redfish are definitely gone. There was not much else there either. I ran north up the beach, hoping to find breaking fish, or a school of fish, or predators pounding mullet, or rolling tarpon. Something! I had two fly rods and wanted to use them.

It was a good thing I had a cast net and caught some mullet, or I would not have gotten a fish. As it was all I got were six bluefish, decent ones for east coast Florida, but nothing else. The fly rods were both exercised, but only by casting. Nary a bite came to my flies.

The numbers of mullet appear to be thinning somewhat compared to last week. It’s mid-October, and the numbers of mullet last week were the best in years, so that’s not surprising. I hope I can get out there a few more times before it ends entirely.

Thursday– searched for the mythical source of the Econlockhatchee. Private land surrounds Lake Conlin in Osceola County, not accessible. There’s a bridge crossing at Wewahootie Road in Orange County, also on private property. Went to Hal Scott Park, pulled the bike out of the van, and went looking for the river.

Tools of exploration.

I found it, not the source but as close to it as I’m likely to get. I should have brought a fishing rod because there were a few fish popping. I’ll bet they don’t see many anglers up there either.The bike ride was a good thing- it had been too long.

Econlockhatchee Bridge in Hal Scott Park.

Friday– wasn’t going to go out but Alex asked me to take him and his babe. Forecast NE at 15, we went to the Indian River Lagoon. Not much has changed there since last week. The alligator that follows you is still there.

The alligator that follows you.

There were ladyfish at the power station. Alex hooked a nice trout on a jerkbait but it came unglued. There were not a lot of mullet, not like it should be now.

The Babes fishing.

And that is this week’s Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, tarpon fishing

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

September 20, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

We had several days of nasty weather this week, thus the nasty weather Orlando fishing report.

People tell me, “I miss the change of seasons.” Geez, folks! Open your eyes!

The beauty berries are ripe now, gorgeous purple clusters of berries surrounding the stalk. Beauty berries are edible, but certainly not delicious. Goldenrods are blooming all over the place. I haven’t seen any purple asters yet but they ought to be around. Orion is high in the sky before first light. He’ll be in the eastern sky right after dark in a few months. And the autumnal equinox is this coming week- the quality of the light will be noticeably different from that of say, July. Finally, there are some serious mullet running along the beach, always a harbinger of autumn.

The beauty berries are ripe now, a sign of approaching fall weather.

Monday found me in the canoe on my favorite bass pond. Fishing was real slow. In five hours three small bass, one bluegill, and one spotted gar came to hand. For a change of pace, most fish took a bassquid streamer. That’s two slow trips in a row there. I guess I’ll give it a few weeks before returning.

This was the fish of the day…

…and the fly that did the job.

Tuesday found Alexandre Pinto, a fly fisher from Sao Paulo, in the Spotted Tail. He wanted to add redfish to his life list. Based on the forecast I thought it would be a tough day. On the Indian River Lagoon, we had clouds and wind, and high, dirty water, not a good combination for finding redfish you can see and cast to. First spot- nothing. Second spot- nothing. Next spot- a few spooky fish and zero shots. Next spot, a few spooky fish and zero shots. Now desperate, I just picked a piece of shoreline at random and started poling along, watching the clouds get ever higher, wondering when the lightning would start…

Senhor Pinto got his first-ever redfish with lightning flashing in the background.

There were a few fish there. Alex had a few shots and got an eat. Oh, no, he missed it! He had a few more shots and got another eat. He stuck this one, and good thing, too- the storm was about a mile off and coming our way. The fly was the redfish worm, the fish was about two feet long, and after releasing it we raced the storm back to the ramp, barely staying ahead of it. Once the boat was on the trailer all hell broke loose. Made it!

Release technique, all important!

Wednesday saw atrocious weather. Several honey-dos got done.

Thursday saw more atrocious weather. Since unlike most of you I am aging, and because my wife asked me to, I read Social Security for Dummies. Not exactly compelling reading, but it did tell me several things I certainly need to know. If you’ve hit the magic six-oh, you should probably get a copy and spend an afternoon perusing it.

So after that chore, some fishing needed to get done. I grabbed a four-weight and a couple flies and went to a retention pond not too far from Mud Hole tackle. In forty minutes I got exactly one chunky little bass on a popping bug, a very satisfying fish from a spot I had never fished before.

Friday the weather was supposed to be bad again. I couldn’t stand being home again so tossed the kayak on the roof of the van and drove to KARS park. The park is closed for repairs. 🙁

I went to Banana River Drive, launched the kayak, and started looking for fish. To my pleasant surprise the water, although high, was fairly clear in most places. The grass looked great, both the manatee and widgeon grass. And I found a spot that had a few fish. To my surprise, a redfish took my Gurgler, the first red I’ve gotten on a surface fly in years. To show it wasn’t a fluke I would get another later. In between a little snooklet and a baby tarpon took a popper as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Social-Security-Dummies-Jonathan-Peterson/dp/1118205731

This fish took a popper, surprisingly delicately. Then it jumped six times!

To finish the day a school of reds came by and one took a bucktail streamer. So I got a hat trick on the reds with a snook and a tarpon thrown in. How do you spell S-L-A-M?

The last red of the day was fooled by a simple bucktail streamer.

Not only that, but I got to watch an alligator eat a horseshoe crab. It seems like an odd thing for a gator to eat, but they can eat whatever they want I guess.

Tammy battles a lady

On a rare Saturday fishing trip, Tammy met me at the Port just before seven am. We went into the bight, hoping to fly fish for breaking fish. There were a load there, all ladyfish, nice big ones. We got six or eight each on streamers, then went looking for other types of fish. That was not happening. We found acres of menhaden and absolutely nothing was feeding on them that we could see, other than pelicans.

The wire leader and the wire bodied fly meant we got every fish on the same fly. What a time-saver!

And that is this week’s Nasty Weather 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.comhttps://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

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

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Rare ‘Super-Harvest Blood Moon’ To Shine On September 27, 2015 | Video

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Bass fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, tarpon fishing

Back in Central Florida Fishing Report

September 4, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Back in Central Florida Fishing Report

Two weeks ago in my last fishing report I wrote, “I am taking a bye week next week. No fishing will happen because of travel, unpacking, reunion with family and friends, and sorting through all the business that I’ve ignored for the past three months. See you in two weeks!”

On the ferryboat to Ketchkan: Jess, Jonathan, Nuttapong, and yours truly.

Sunset at the Seattle airport.

Those two weeks are up and here we are again! And it is good to be home!

After returning home, some time was spent unpacking. One of the things that had to be unpacked was a cooler full of frozen fish, both salmon and halibut. I smoked some salmon, and made a side of gravlax. Both turned out deliciously!

The boats had to be cleaned up and re-stocked, made ready to fish. That job was finished on Monday for the Mitzi.

Tuesday morning found me launching the boat on the Indian River Lagoon. The first order of business was to see if any big tarpon were around. There were none that I could find. I did find some little ones and got a bite on a DOA CAL shad tail, which was missed. I don’t know if he missed or I did, but at any rate there was no hookup.

That same shad tail also accounted for four redfish (all low-end slot fish) and one seatrout. There were reasonable numbers of fish, although they were very spooky. It was nice to pick right up again after being gone for three months, though.

Wednesday morning found the Mitzi being launched at Port Canaveral. If the parking lot was any indication there was not much going on. I ran south down the beach. The weather was awesome but the water was very dirty. Some mullet were in the surf south of the pier. There were a few big tarpon busting them at one place but it was scattered and quickly ended.

I went out to sea a bit and headed north. One quick school of tunny busted about a mile of the beach, a flurry that only lasted two or three seconds. All the way to Cape Canaveral that was all I saw.

Along the beach at the Cape the mullet were quite thick, enough so that I got the net out and caught some bait for future reference. There was nothing eating them other than pelicans that I could see.

The boat was back on the trailer at about 2 PM. I hadn’t seen many fish and certainly didn’t touch one.

Thursday was errand day.

Friday the Old Town went bass fishing on the St. Johns. It was slow, but I did get this fish on a popper:

If this fish was all I caught it would have been worth the trip.

These big mayflies must have hatched yesterday. The nymphal shucks were everywhere.

Dragonflies have been hatching too, apparently.

Otherwise a half dozen yearlings was all I had to show for about five hours of searching and casting.

I try never to go off my property on Labor Day weekend, but I certainly hope you enjoy the time off, no matter what you choose to do.

And that is the Back in Central Florida Fishing Report from 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, St. Johns River

Outta Town Orlando Fishing Report

June 13, 2015 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Outta Town Orlando Fishing Report

Let’s go straight to the Orlando Fishing Report-

Sunday Paul and Garrett Santini joined me for a day’s fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. I somehow got the idea they were fly fishers. They were not. Thank God I brought a spin rod backup. Garrett, who attends Lehigh University, had once had a fly fishing lesson. I augmented it enough that he could fish with the fly rod while dad used the spinner. We missed a few strikes but it was tough fishing, windy, cloudy, and dodging rain. Paul got a single redfish with a RipTide weedless jig/DOA CAL jerkbait combination at the end of the trip and that was it for the day.

We dodged rainstorms all morning.

Tuesday Capt. Bruce Eaton again joined me for some IRL fishing, this time with his son Val. Last week I wrote the Capt. Bruce flew a 737. CORRECTION- he flies a 747. We had continuous clouds and wind and basically it was impossible to sight fish. Bruce did not get a shot. Val, using a spin rod and the same RipTide weedless jig/DOA CAL jerkbait combination, got two redfish, smallish ones, and two trophy puffers. We wrapped it up around 1130.

Val’s first redfish was not gigantic, but he did get some.

Tuesday I took the kayak down the Econ for some last minute bass fishing. It was a decent bite, with bass, redbellies, stumpknockers, and especially gar. They seemed especially aggressive. The biggest bass I got was maybe two pounds, no big ones. The water was a little higher than last week, and a bit dirtier, too.

Wednesday morning Susan and I caught a 737 out of OIA and spent most of the day travelling. On Thursday we went to a musem where I took this photo. The first person who can tell me the artist and/or the town gets a copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt.

Who’s the artist? Where is the art?

We did some very non-fishy things on Friday and are travelling again on Saturday and Sunday.

And that is this week’s Outta Town Orlando Fishing Report from 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: Bass fishing, fishing indian river lagoon, flyfishing for bass, Indian River Lagoon, redfish fishing, seatrout fishing

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