Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

March 19, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

An email led to my going paddleboard fishing in Mosquito Lagoon today.

My host, or I should say my gracious host, Tim Baker, is principal at East Coast Paddle. Before we went fishing Tim explained his company’s focus to me:

-first, they build the world’s highest quality paddleboards in Edgewater, supporting 15 families right here in central Florida;
-they build various types of paddleboards for fishing, surfing, and ecotouring;
-they are a paddleboard service company, providing guided fishing, guided ecotours, and rentals;
-they give paddleboarding instruction to everyone using their services.

Tim has a specially built pontoon boat he uses to transport paddleboards and paddleboarders to the destination at which their activity will take place. I stepped on and off we went.

Tim Baker with his paddleboard transport vessel.

As he was explaining the hows and whys of paddling a paddleboard, Tim took note of the fact that the wind (at 10 to 15 out of the south) was really a bit strong for paddleboard fishing. Having been forewarned, I hopped on the board.

I was a little shaky at first, for all of 30 seconds. Then it was fine.

Like any smart paddler, Tim went upwind first. He chugged right along. I got on my knees to lower my wind resistance.

Tim looking for fish from his paddleboard.

I saw a redfish tailing in a lee. On the approach I hit the board with the paddle. The fish stopped tailing. You still need to be quiet.

We paddled upwind a while. Tim told me ordinarily they drop the fishermen off with a guide, then move the big boat to a position downwind. That way the paddleboarders never have to fight against the wind.

It was windy, and we sailed. Always the sight fisher, I looked for fish to which I could cast. Tim opted to just cast into potholes. His strategy worked better, as he caught the only fish we got.

Tim got this trout from his paddleboard.

I could see the potential for stealthy fish stalking when weather conditions were favorable were enormous. A paddleboard is a quiet, maneuverable platform from which you can silently approach wary fish.

Tim said big tarpon from the board were his favorite target. I can only imagine how exciting that must be.

Tim has made a video about paddleboard fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon which you can find here http://youtu.be/Q7y5sUOfRYs .

After watching it I’m more than ready to go try paddleboard fishing in Mosquito Lagoon again.

For more information about East Coast Paddle, or to inquire about a paddleboard trip, call Tim at 407.406.0742, or visit the website at East Coast Paddle.

Loading the board after the trip.

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Product News and Reviews, Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips, opinion · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, orlando fishing, Outdoors, Paddleboarding, Recreation, redfish

the everglades- an excerpt

March 12, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

the everglades

First Trip

My first trip to the everglades was a five-day canoe trip in March 1980. A friend from Massachusetts and I drove down for spring break. We dropped the boat into Coot Bay Pond and paddled to Cape Sable, then back to Flamingo. I think we saw four other boats during that time. It was a wild, unforgiving place- hot, no fresh water, bad bugs, hellish sun. There was no one around. If you had a problem you were on your own.

I loved it.

The birds were incredible. We caught a chunky fish with a big spot near its tail. We didn’t know what it was but we ate it. It was good.

the birds were incredible

We left the Joe River chickee at dawn one morning. We had to catch the last of the tide to the Gulf. We got to the mouth of Little Shark River just after sunrise, at almost dead low tide. Tarpon rolled everywhere. I’d never seen one before. Each fish we saw just added to the magic and excitement of the moment.

Three hit my Rebel. Of course, all jumped right off. It was a watershed moment for me in my fishing career, simply a spectacular, unexpected, amazing event.

In spite of all the fish we had to keep going. There were many miles left.

When we got to middle Cape Sable there was a small aluminum skiff beached there. The lone fisherman walked the beach, casting. Not much was said at first.

The moon must have been at the right phase because the current ran so hard off the point that a whirlpool had formed. You didn’t need to be Joe Brooks to know that fish were there. I cast a jig over and over but did not get a bite.

Read the rest at http://johnkumiski.com/the-everglades/

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John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

Trip Planning
Protecting the Everglades
Park targets boater damage

Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Cape Sable, everglades, fishing, fishing everglades national park, fishing story, Florida, florida fishing

Life is Short

January 28, 2013 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Life is Short

My fishing reports end with the admonition, “Life is short- go fishing!”

I was talking to an old friend on the telephone this week. When I first moved to Florida this guy took me under his wing and taught me how to fly fish here. He introduced me to several of the old school Florida Keys guides- Tommy Busciglio, Lee Baker, Nat Ragland. We went fishing with Tommy off Duck Key one morning and jumped a couple big tarpon. We fished in the Everglades. We fished in the lagoons. He showed me how to tie flies that would fool redfish and tarpon. He is a friend and a mentor and I owe him a lot.

Now he has neuropathy. His feet are dead and he can’t fish any more.

It’s all too easy to assume your health will last forever. It won’t. Age, disease, or a stupid accident is all it takes for your precious health to be lost forever. It can happen in a blink.

Take the time to do what you enjoy, today. Take some kids outdoors, if not fishing, then hiking, or paddling, or camping. They don’t often get the opportunity. Everyone now is too hooked on their devices.

Be spontaneous! Have fun! Enjoy yourself!

“The future’s uncertain and the end is always near.” -Jim Morrison

Life is short. Go fishing.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, opinion ·

Wire Leaders for Toothy Fish

December 13, 2012 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Wire Leaders for Toothy Fish

Regardless of how you fish or what you fish for, at some point you will need to use Wire Leaders for Toothy Fish. Bluefish, mackerel, barracuda, and sharks all require wire leader use. Or, you could donate lots of hooks, lures, or flies to the fish in question.

For a long time, leader wire came in two flavors, single strand and plastic coated cable. Single strand users used a haywire twist to attach the terminal tackle to the wire leader. At the other end they had a choice of again using a haywire twist to attach a swivel, or using an Albright special to attach the fishing line, usually monofilament.

Single strand’s advantages are that it’s inexpensive and relatively thin. It kinks though, and breaks where those kinks form. If, like me, you don’t use it very often, making a decent haywire twist is slow and hard to do. Making those twists well takes practice.

Cable doesn’t kink. But it needs sleeves and a crimping tool in order to make the connections. This type of leader lacks elegance.

Additionally, cable is more visible than monofilament or single strand wire, fish teeth or abrasion can shred the nylon coating, and saltwater can get inside the nylon coating and cause corrosion over a period of time. Cable is still the choice for most big game fishing, though.

A few years back a new type of plastic coated wire leader cable appeared on the market, sold under the names of Surflon and Tyger Wire. They were the first stainless steel knottable wire leaders for toothy fish. You can tie this stuff using the same knots you use with nylon or fluorocarbon. It’s a wonderful product for someone who doesn’t need wire very often. Needless to say, it was more expensive than other products available at the time it was introduced.

I carried Tyger Wire around for years without using it. On a recent trip to the Florida Keys we went fishing for cero mackerel. My having that wire was the only reason we caught any fish.

The teeth on this critter demand the use of wire.

Recently, a new wire leader product has appeared, made from titanium alloy. This new leader wire stretches and recovers to set hooks and prevent bite-offs. You can tie titanium wire to hooks and line using the Clinch and Albright Knots. Two manufacturers of this product are knot2kinky and American Fishing Wire. It sounds great! Of course it costs more. I haven’t used this product yet, but I am looking forward to doing so.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips · Tagged: fishing, fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips

Spotted Seatrout- A Pictorial

November 30, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Spotted Seatrout

My favorite time for Spotted Seatrout fishing happens when the water gets cold and the big trout sun themselves over white potholes in the grassy bottom. Wait, that’s right now, man!

You can sight fish spotted seatrout now. The flies that work best are unweighted streamers. My favorite flies though, are surface flies- gurglers and poppers.

You will have by far the best results if you get in the water and wade. You will need waders- the water is cold, remember?

Although a big one will pull line off the reel, generally Seatrout do not pull very hard. They jump only rarely. Frankly, they’re not terribly exciting to catch, unless you get a real big one or you get them on a top-water lure. That visual strike is usually the best part of the fight.

Below are some of my favorite images of spotted seatrout. I hope you all get a chance to catch some nice ones of your own this winter. Please carefully release those big ones, too!

Son Maxx with a trout he caught many years ago in Everglades National Park. The fish took a DOA Bait Buster.

A few years later Maxx and Mike Brown got this seatrout double in the Indian River Lagoon. DOA Shrimp did the trick this time.

Mr. DOA himself, Mark Nichols, with a handsome Indian River Lagoon seatrout.

An unweighted streamer fooled this big Mosquito Lagoon seatrout.

Vic Attardo and son Alex with a Banana River Lagoon seatrout double.

Capt. Chris Myers with a handsome seatrout from Mosquito Lagoon.

This seatrout nailed a gurgler.

This trout nailed a foam popper, and chewed it to pieces.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Photo Essays · Tagged: Cynoscion nebulosus, DOA Lures, fishing photography, fishing tips, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, orlando fishing, seatrout fishing

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

November 27, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

Reader Steve Horgan kindly sent me the following email:

“I don’t know if you fish for largemouth bass at all but in case you do I want to make you aware of a great fly for them. It’s called the Swimmin’ Jimmy. In September of 2009 Brian Flechsig, owner of Mad River Outfitters in Columbus, Ohio, gave a talk at our local fly fishing club about warm water species. For about 10 years Brian had an arrangement with The Wilds near Zanesville,OH whereby he guided for largemouth on their lakes. He caught many big bass up to 12 lbs. on the Swimmin’ Jimmy. During his talk he said the Swimmin’ Jimmy was the world’s greatest fly. So I started using it (purchased from Mad River Outfitters) and 3 weeks later I caught a 26 inch largemouth on it, a real dandy for Ohio waters. Here is a link where you can see how to tie it:

http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/ultimatefly/desc/swimminjimmy.pdf

“Please pass it on to your bass fishing friends. It may not be the world’s greatest fly but it is very effective. The strip, strip pause retrieve works very well in clear water. When you retrieve after the pause it is common to find the fish has eaten the fly (sucked it in) while it was sitting still and you weren’t even aware of it. It’s a nice surprise.”

Further correspondence led to this follow-up from Steve:

“One more bass fly for you. This one is the best top water fly I have ever fished for bass. They just suck it off the top. It’s beautiful to see. I have never had one strike it on top. I don’t know if leopard rainbows will eat it. I’ll find that out in July on the Goodnews River or one of its tributaries. It’s an extremely easy tie for a mouse pattern:

http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/ultimatefly/desc/gurglingmouse.pdf ”

I don’t fish for bass very often but am sure both these patterns would work for them as well as for rainbow trout in Alaska.

If any other readers try them please let us know how they work for you. Thanks!

And thanks to Steve Horgan for sharing these instructions for Hot Largemouth Bass Flies!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying · Tagged: Bass fishing, fly fishing, Largemouth bass

Black Drum Images- A Pictorial

November 21, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Black Drum.

Thanksgiving blessings to all. The holiday lies a few hours off. To central Florida fly fishers that should mean black drum begin appearing on shallow flats of the Banana River Lagoon.

We sight fish for these brutes, using seven-weight (some folks like more rod) fly rods with such flies as black Clouser Minnows, black bunny leeches, or Merkin crabs in brown. My preference is for size two hooks. a 1/5oth ounce lead eye. Weed guards are essential.

First you search for the fish. There are no guarantees you will find them. Sometimes it’s a long day, lots of water covered, nothing to show for it.

Searching for black drum in the Banana River Lagoon.

Sometimes, though, you hit the jackpot.

John Thompson with a big black drum.

The best days for them are warm and sunny with little or no wind.

The first time Barry Kent fished with me he got this black drum.

The water is cold though. You need waders unless you’re tough.

Greg Ritland fights a black drum.

Many moons ago I brought one of my students, a seventh grader, fishing there. He had a brand new fly rod. This is the first fish he caught with it.

Matt Van Pelt broke in his new fly rod with this fish. He’s in his thirties now.

No one will mistake these fish for a bonefish or a rainbow trout. But they are probably the largest tailing fish in North America, reaching sizes over 100 pounds.

It’s a face only a fisherman could love,

My good friend Rodney Smith and I had a banner day on drum one time.

Rodney Smith, when he had time to go fishing.

Another good friend, Rick DePaiva, has had more luck there than anyone else I know.

Ricky D with one of the many big black drum he’s taken there.

This was the first fish we saw this particular morning.

We photographed the daylights out of this fish, taking advantage of a good fish and great light.

We took several more fish this day, but this was the best one.

Black drum should be on the flats until about Easter time. Make some time to get out there and pursue these unusual fish.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River Lagoon, Black drum, Florida, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, orlando fishing, outdoor photography tips

Sight Fishing for Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon

November 15, 2012 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Sight Fishing for Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon

Guest Blog by David Caprera

The sport has long been called sight fishing but I have only recently come to understand its intentions. I had naively assumed that the term meant you cast to sighted fish with the intent to hook and capture them. But I have come to believe I have been guilty of “overthinking”, that the term means exactly what it says it means, nothing more nor less, and I am actually becoming damn good at it.

Tonight is our last night of our current trip to Florida, the primary purpose of which was to play bridge (some good, some bad), but I was able to spend several mornings kayaking in Mosquito Lagoon. I caught one redflish on fly but saw many.

How many, you ask? Well, enough to consider myself to be a successful sight fisherman. I made some very good sightings. Admittedly, when a three foot long bronze back projects itself out of six inches of water and shines in the morning sun like a brand new penny, I may not be alone in my ability to sight it. But sight it I did. Many times.

This idea of casting near, but not too near, the fish, hooking and landing it is vastly overrated. It totally overlooks the “banging the paddle on the kayak floor trick”, the “fly imbedded in your thumb trick”, or the “the amazing flying crab fly” where one casts the fly well over a mangrove limb and proceeds to lower the fly from overhead to the unsuspecting redfish who when confronted with a crab from the sky has not since been seen in Volusia County. Add to that the usual bad flies, bad casts, bad knots and hooking your hat, and you should begin to understand what I am talking about.

So a sight fisherman I remain.

Dave Caprera is a tax attorney and fly fisherman now splitting his time between New Smyrna Beach and Denver.

Filed Under: Fishing Stories, Fishing Tips, Guest Blogs, opinion · Tagged: fly fishing, kayak fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, redfish

Fishing and Other Odds and Ends

October 30, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Fishing and Other Random Stuff That Popped Up This Week

We postponed the fishing trip scheduled for yesterday. I went around the entire Mosquito Lagoon during Sunday’s On The Water Show and Tell and did not see a single fish. Thank goodness that’s a pretty rare event.

With the temperature dropping into the 40s, can this action be far off??

Here’s a link to a blog that found me. It’s not about fishing but it is honest. There’s lots of conservation in there, and nice photography- http://pejorativejinx.blogspot.com

I chose today to go vote. It was not a good day to go commando. I froze while waiting in line. I couldn’t believe how many people were there.

The emotional response I had to voting almost overwhelmed me. We are so very, very lucky to live here.

Please take the time to research the candidates and to vote. Democracy works best with an informed, responsible citizenry.

With our suddenly chilly weather, it seems like a good time to re-visit this article on my website- http://www.spottedtail.com/free-fishing-article-flats-fishing-after-a-cold-front/

As always, thanks for reading.

John Kumiski
http:www.spottedtail.com

Filed Under: Fishing Tips, opinion · Tagged: Black drum, fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, orlando fishing

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters

October 10, 2012 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters

A selection of effective flies for fishing the east central Florida lagoons.

It occurred to me while working on my Goodnews River fly series that one needed to be done for the local Florida waters. This is it!

Which flies work best when fishing the Mosquito Lagoon? What day are we talking about? Accept the fact that the fish have moods. Some days they’ll eat anything. Other days they’ll eat nothing. You need to cover the water column, and you need to think about what your target species eats. For fishing in this lagoon, flies need to have weedguards or they will not work.

Redfish eat crabs, small fish (generally two inches or less) and shrimp. They have an inferior mouth, and prefer to feed down. Seatrout eat small fish, shrimp, and occasionally crabs. They have a superior mouth and prefer to feed up. They will take a much larger baitfish than reds typically do.

A small Merkin will take reds when nothing else will work. Black drum like it, too.

For reds I like flies on #4 and #2 hooks, lightly weighted, and equipped with weedguards. Patterns include Clouser Minnows, my version of Borski’s sliders, Merkins, bunny leeches, and similar types of flies. I always have some unweighted bendbacks (same sizes) for when the plop of a weighted fly landing spooks them.

Sliders work on many different species. This one uses synthetic “hackle”, but an actual hackle feather works well, too. Note the obvious two-pronged weed guard.

For seatrout I like minnow-type flies, similar to the popular Puglisi patterns, in sizes 2, 1, and 1/0. Small gurglers, poppers, or sliders are also good to carry. There’s quite a bit of crossover between the two species in terms of what flies they’ll take.

Big trout eat smaller fish. This one took a bendback. A minnow pattern is a necessity.

Colors are more important to fishermen that fish most of the time. That having been said, my redfish flies are typically black, brown, tan, gray, green, or purple. My trout flies imitate the natural coloration of small fish, or are hot pink and chartreuse.

Lastly, for days when blind casting is needed, I like the Dupre Spoonfly and the Rattle Rouser in addition to a few popping bugs.

If you carry a selection of the types of flies mentioned you’ll be ready for almost any situation you’re likely to encounter here.

Please feel free to comment and let all of us know what your favorites are. You might even consider writing a guest blog about it!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion · Tagged: Banana River, Black drum, fishing tips, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, john kumiski, Mosquito Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, redfish, seatrout fishing