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Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

December 18, 2015 by · 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.

orlando fishing report

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.

orlando fishing report

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

Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

October 19, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

Here in central Florida we find many species of fish- redfish, snook, seatrout, tarpon, snapper, moonfish, jacks, it’s a long list. Since you’re traveling, you don’t have room to bring a ton of tackle. I hope the list below reflects an exercise in minimalism for Florida saltwater flies.

The fish you’ll be encountering eat three things for the most part- smaller fish, shrimp, and crabs. The flies carried should reflect this. Additionally, some attractor-style flies like spoonflies and poppers should be carried, too.

Try to fit all the terminal tackle into a single Simms Dry Creek Waist Pack . In the pocket of the pack put the following items:

– a couple of finger guards

– a Dr. Slick hook file

– a stick of sunscreen for the lips.

Inside the pack put the following:

-fluorocarbon leader wheels in 12, 15, 20, and 30 pound test

– a package of Knot 2 Kinky leader wire . You never know when this might be needed

– a dehooker

– a Gerber Multitool  or equivalent

– a small bag with a half dozen small white shrimp flies for nighttime dock fishing. If you get a chance you will be ready.

– a one quart ziplock back containing a couple dozen synthetic minnow fly patterns, similar to Puglisi style flies, in sizes from #4 to #2/0, many with weedguards, some tied as bendbacks.

An example of a minnow fly. Lefty’s Deceiver will work, too.

 

A flock of faux fishies.

– a small Plano box jammed with flies, including-

*3 Dupre spoonflies

Jim Dupre's Spoonfly.

* a half dozen Merkin-style (or other) crabs, size #4, with weedguards

A gaggle of Merkins.

*several Clouser Minnows in various colors and sizes (#4-1), with weedguards

Clouser minnows of many color combos work well.

*several black bunny leeches, #2, with weedguards

The bunny leech or bunny booger, a deadly fly.

* several Borski-style Sliders, size #4 and 2, in various colors and weights, with weedguards;

My version of a slider.

* a few Trout Bites or other style bendback, size #4 and 2

The Trout Bite on top, and a synthetic minnow below.

* a few Rattle Rousers, size #4, great for dirty water

Rattle Rousers, weighted and not.

* a selection of poppers and gurglers. Baby tarpon love small gurglers!

My version of Gartside's Gurgler.

If you have space, a few fry minnow patterns will be great for freshwater fishing and baby tarpon.

A craft fur fry minnow.

With this kit, you could fish saltwater anywhere north of Key Largo and would be prepared for most of what you would encounter.

So we have discussed Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida. In your Florida fishing fantasy, what different stuff would you bring?

John Kumiski
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, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

How to Tie a Gurgler

September 5, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
orlando fishing report

The killer fly, a gurgler.

How to Tie a Gurgler

Gurglers, to the best of my knowledge, were invented by the late Jack Gartside. They are awesome, easy to tie flies that work of a wide variety of fish. Since I make them differently than Jack did, here are my instructions on how to tie a Gurgler.

First, you need to gather your materials. Use whatever color(s) you like.

how to tie a gurgler

Simple materials needed to make a Gurgler. Feel free to modify my list to suit your own needs.

-sheet of craft foam (available at any craft store)
-material for tail (in this case marabou, but it’s the tyer’s choice)
-tying thread (Danville flat waxed nylon for me) in Dr. Slick bobbin
-Estaz or similar product for body
-rubber hackle, sililegs, or what-have-you for legs if desired (for spider patterns or bass bugs)
-hook. For most of my saltwater flies I use a Mustad 34001 #2. For salmon I use a Mustad 36890, also #2. For freshwater applications it depends what the target specie is; i.e., for bass a stinger hook, #4 or #2, for sunfish an Aberdeen, #6 or 8, for trout and dollies a long-shanked, bronzed hook, #6 or 8, etc.

1. After placing the hook in the vise (I use a Regal), start the thread and wrap it back to the bend of the hook.

2. Using your Dr. Slick scissors, cut a strip of foam from the sheet of craft foam. Use the scissors to taper one end to a near-point.

how to tie a gurgler

Cut the strip of foam for the fly body. Wider ones float better but tend to rotate more. Taper one end to a near point.

 

To read the rest of these instruction, click here now…

 

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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How to Tie the Electric Sushi Fly

April 12, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

How to Tie the Electric Sushi Fly

One year I visited the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, New Jersey. There, Massachusetts fly tier Mike Martinek showed me how to tie the Electric Sushi fly. It’s a great seatrout pattern in any size, but I use it for a variety of fish species in both fresh- and saltwater. My favorite color combinations include chartreuse-and-white and chartreuse-and-pink. A double-prong, hard monofilament weed guard is helpful for fishing areas with obstructions. The Electric Sushi sinks fairly slowly. The chartreuse color is very bright, so it’s very easy to keep track of the fly’s position while you fish it.

Hook: Gamakatsu SC-15 or equivalent, sizes 4 to 3/0.
Thread: White Danville flat waxed nylon.
Belly: white Awesome Hair. If you can’t find Awesome Hair, I think Hedron’s Wing n Flash and Ice Wing Fiber are almost identical products. The world of synthetic fly tying materials can be confusing.
Back: pink Awesome Hair. Of course the colors are up to the tyer.
Markings (not shown): Black permanent marker.
Eyes: 3-D molded eyes.
Gills: Red permanent marker.

1. Place the hook in the vise and wrap the thread to the bend of the hook. This is what the material looks like as it comes from the bag.

IMG_3796

2. Pull enough material out of the bag to make a small ball of it.

IMG_3797

3. Tie that small ball in at the bend of the hook, right across its middle. Pull the material back and wrap it in front with three or four wraps. The truly erudite tier will hit those wraps with a bit of cement.

IMG_3798

 

4. Make another little ball of material and tie it in under the hook shank, above the point of the hook. Again, wrap it first in the middle, and then in front.

 

IMG_3799

5. If you’re going to use a second color, tie it in now. All remaining clumps of material will be tied on top of the hook shank, one in front of the previous one, with the same technique that we’ve already used. Be sure to leave enough room to finish the head and tie in a weed guard, if desired.

IMG_3800

6. In this photo the tying is finished, the weed guard tied in and the head whip finished. The fly does not yet resemble the finished product.

IMG_3802

7. Use a bodkin to begin “pulling out” the fibers, always working from front to back.

IMG_3803

 

IMG_3804

 

Material will break free. Keep it for the next fly. Don’t throw it away!

 

IMG_3805

Work the entire fly over, top, bottom, and sides. Get all the snarls out. Use your fingers, perhaps licking them to moisten occasionally, to shape the fly.

IMG_3806

8. Once the fly’s shape is to your liking, use Zap Goo to glue the eyes on. Use a red Sharpie to add the gill spot. If vermiculations are desired (not shown), use a Sharpie to add them. Don’t forget to cement the head!

IMG_3807

This Electric Sushi is ready to catch fish. And now you know how to tie the Electric Sushi fly!

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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See How Easily You Can Lighten Up For Black Bass

May 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Lighten Up For Black Bass

A short time researching “fly rods for black bass” on the internet will find recommendations for bass rods between six-weight and eight-weight. And for beginners these are good recommendations. However, if you’ve been fly fishing a while, if you’re a good caster, and if you understand how to use your rod to fight bigger fish efficiently, you can use smaller, lighter rods than this quite effectively in many situations. Let us discuss the places little rods are appropriate.

I live in central Florida, and fish rivers and shallow areas on lakes with the fly. These places are made-to-order for a little rod. My own favorite is an eight foot three-weight equipped with a weight-forward number four floating line. With this outfit unweighted streamers, small poppers, and gurglers up to size 2 are tossed at likely targets when the wind is less than about 12 knots. When the wind comes up, or if I want to throw a larger or a weighted fly, then I go up to a nine foot five-weight. Either way, the leader is nine or ten feet long, tapered to a 10 pound nylon tippet.

Lighten Up for Black bass

Flies like these can be thrown with a small rod.

Why should you Lighten Up For Black Bass? Several reasons present themselves.
– It forces you to become a better caster. At first casting your typical bass fly* with the little rod will be difficult. If you stick with it will get easier because you will get better.
– You will present your flies with less commotion. The words “delicacy” and “black bass” don’t often appear in the same sentence, but bass can be spooked just like any other fish. A five-weight line makes considerably less splash than an eight-weight line does.
– You can fish longer. That little rod causes less fatigue than a bigger one.
– Those little bass became more fun. A ten- or twelve-inch bass on an eight-weight isn’t very challenging. Put him on a four-weight though, and Boom!- he’s a real fish.
– Those bigger bass are suddenly angling trophies. The five-pounder on the eight-weight was a nice fish. On the four-weight though, you have some serious bragging rights.

orlando area fishing report

If you fish in thick weeds or timber you will lose a few fish. I submit you will catch more overall though, because you will spook fewer. You will enjoy the ones you catch a lot more, too.

Try to lighten up for black bass. If you don’t take to it you can always go back to using your more conventional fly gear.

*You may want to down-size your typical bass fly by a hook size or two.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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Selecting Successful Seatrout Flies

November 27, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Selecting Successful Seatrout Flies

selecting successful seatrout flies

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 1.9

More fishermen fish for seatrout than any other inshore gamefish along the coasts of the southeastern United States. You would think that reams of information would be available on selecting successful seatrout flies. Not so.

Here in Florida the average seatrout weighs between one and three pounds, so they’re not very big. They’re fairly easy to catch most of the time. They don’t fight very hard. And they’re usually hard to sight fish. So most serious fly fishers look for other species.

Challenging Targets

A seatrout over five or six pounds is a difficult fish to fool. They can be sight fished, best during the winter but also while they’re spawning. They are as spooky as any creature with fins. A seatrout over five pounds that is sight fished and caught on a fly rod is a great trophy.

The smaller ones are fun and will save the day when more appealing species aren’t biting. The larger ones present a formidable target in their own right.

Eyes Bigger Than Stomach?

A seatrout of any size is a glutton. A big seatrout will take a very large bait.

While poling one time I spotted what I thought was a dead fish lying on the bottom. I went over to investigate and was heartbroken to see it was quite a large seatrout, belly up. I poked it gently with the push pole and was surprised to see it wiggle weakly. I said to my fisherman, “It’s not dead! Reach down and pick it up.” He did, and we put it on a Boga Grip. It weighed a whopping nine pounds. Not many fly casters can say they’ve caught a nine pound seatrout with their bare hands!

I started examining the fish. It was pretty beat up. I looked down into its mouth. There was the tail of a one to two pound mullet sticking out of the fish’s throat. If a big seatrout will take a mullet this size they’ll also take a large fly.

Smaller seatrout seem to prefer shrimp. While larger fish will certainly eat them, they usually fill up by eating baitfish, principally by ambush feeding. Mullet, menhaden, pigfish, pinfish, pilchards, etc., all help big seatrout stay fat and healthy. So your best bet with seatrout flies, if you prefer the larger fish, is to stick with baitfish patterns.

Color, Flash, Sound

Bright colors and flash seem to attract the eye of big trout. Red and yellow, red and white, chartreuse and white, all seem to work well. Fluorescent and even luminescent colors are frequently outstanding. But I’ve also had good success with realistic color combinations, and drab colors like black, gray, brown, and grizzly, especially when sight fishing for them.

You can find trout in various depths of water. For shallow water fish (about fifteen inches deep or less), and these are almost always big ones, you need a fly that kisses the water when it touches down. The small “Plop!” of a lead eye spooks them badly in this situation.

For fish in deeper water, noise seems to be a great attractor. Flies that incorporate rattles can be extremely effective. Those luminescent materials can greatly add to the effectiveness of deep water patterns, too.

To read the rest of this article, visit this link…

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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Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Fly Box

October 24, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Aerial view of Indian River Lagoon

Aerial view of Indian River Lagoon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Fly Box

The path of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure takes it the length of the most biologically diverse estuary in North America, the Indian River Lagoon system. This blog discusses Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Fly Box. The conventional tackle box was covered in a separate blog.

We will find many species of fish. I want to keep track of how many different kinds we can catch. Redfish, snook, seatrout, snapper, moonfish, jacks, it’s a long list. Since it’s a paddle trip, you don’t have room to bring a ton of tackle. I hope the list below is an exercise in minimalism.

The fish we’ll be encountering eat three things for the most part- smaller fish, shrimp, and crabs. The flies carried should reflect this. Additionally, some attractor-style flies like spoonflies and poppers should be carried, too.

My rod will be a six-weight outfit with a floating line. It’s too small for big tarpon but I don’t anticipate many of those in December. It’s more than adequate for everything else we’re likely to run into.

The rest of my fly tackle all fits into a single Simms Dry Creek Waist Pack . In the pocket of the pack we find the following items:

– a couple of finger guards

– a Dr. Slick hook file 

– a stick of sunscreen for the lips.

Inside the pack will be the following:

-fluorocarbon leader wheels in 12, 15, 20, and 30 pound test

– a package of Knot 2 Kinky leader wire . You never know when this might be needed

– a dehooker

– a Gerber Multitool

– a small bag with a half dozen small white shrimp flies for nighttime dock fishing. I don’t know that we’ll do any dock fishing but if we get a chance I will be ready.

– a one quart ziplock back containg a couple dozen synthetic minnow fly patterns, similar to Puglisi style flies, in sizes from #4 to #2/0, many with weedguards, some tied as bendbacks.

redfish flies

On top a Deceiver. The other two are synthetic minnow patters.

 

There will be some Hotheads in there as well.

An assortment of Hot Head flies, tied by your intrepid blogger.

An assortment of Hot Head flies, tied by your intrepid blogger.

– a small Plano box jammed with flies, including-

*3 Dupre spoonflies

Jim Dupre's Spoonfly.

Jim Dupre’s Spoonfly.

* a half dozen Merkin crabs, size #4, with weedguards

A gaggle of Merkins.

A gaggle of Merkins.

*several Clouser Minnows in various colors and sizes (#4-1), with weedguards

packing for a florida canoe trip

A Clouser Minnow selection.

*several black bunny leeches, #2, with weedguards

The bunny leech or bunny booger, a deadly fly.

The bunny leech or bunny booger, a deadly fly.

*several of each Son of Clouser and Mosquito Lagoon Specials, size #4

the Mosquito Lagoon Special

the Mosquito Lagoon Special

* several Borski-style Sliders, size #4, in various colors and weights, with weedguards

port canaveral and mosquito lagoon fishing report

A Slider as tied by me.

* a few Trout Bites (a hot pink and chartreuse bucktail bendback), size #4

The Trout Bite on top, and a synthetic minnow below.

The Trout Bite on top, and a synthetic minnow below.

* a few Rattle Rousers, size #4

Rattle Rousers, weighted and not.

Rattle Rousers, weighted and not.

* a selection of poppers and gurglers

My version of Gartside's Gurgler.

My version of Gartside’s Gurgler.

With this kit, even if we were paddling to Key West (don’t get any ideas, Rodney) I would be prepared for most of what we would encounter.

So we have discussed Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Fly Box. If you were coming along, what would you bring?

John Kumiski
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 Product News and Reviews, Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion, Paddle Fishing Florida ·

Port Canaveral and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 19, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Port Canaveral and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 26

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, October 27

First Coast Fly Fishers meeting, November 4

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure starts December 1. Paddle the length of the lagoon with us!

The Show and Tell Seminars are next week! The goal of the all-day fishing seminar that takes place on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is to help you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. We discuss locations, tactics, and techniques for fishing for redfish and seatrout in the lagoon system. We cover knots, rods, reels, lines, lures, and baits, as well as how to fish those lures and baits. We visit all the open boat ramps, canoe/kayak launches, and wading access points in the wildlife refuge.

During the on-the-water seminar we use my Mitzi Skiff to circumnavigate the Mosquito Lagoon, stopping periodically to discuss locations, tactics, and techniques for fishing for redfish and seatrout in the lagoon. I encourage participants to bring a notepad and a GPS.

Take advantage of Capt. John Kumiski’s 20-plus years of experience on these waters by attending this unique learning experience. You will learn more in one day during this popular seminar than you could in a year on your own! Visit this link for more information, or to register.

Blog Posts This Week:

–How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip

–How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box

In not-directly-related to fishing news, a new Hobby Lobby opened up on the corner of Tuskawilla and Red Bug. There is all kinds of stuff in there for fly tyers. Last night’s trip yielded an incredible piece of variegated craft fur, perfect for making sliders and small synthetic minnow patterns, as well as a string of small pink beads that will make killer eyes on shrimp patterns.

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Some of the goodies you’ll find at Hobby Lobby.

 

port canaveral and mosquito lagoon fishing report

You can use those goodies to make these.

 

port canaveral and mosquito lagoon fishing report

You can use the flies to catch these.

 

OK, fishing! Because of the slowly building crescendo to the IRL Paddle Adventure and other demands, I only got out twice this week, with zero fly fishing unfortunately.

Last week I asked, “Is the mullet run over already??” Thursday Anton Faith and Ashley Mandeville joined me for a day’s fishing along Cape Canaveral. The seas were lovely, and there were a lot of mullet coming down the beach. The water was not as dirty as last week, although we never left Canaveral Bight to check other areas.

The bluefish were reasonably thick. By using finger mullet for bait they caught a lot of them, along with a single short snook. Ashley hooked something large that needed to be chased. After a 10 or 15 minute battle the hook pulled without us ever getting so much as a glimpse of it. It was a beautiful day and we had an awesome time. And the mullet run is definitely not over yet.

On Friday Jay Herrington (Fish on Fire) and I took the Mitzi to Mosquito Lagoon. Last time I was there was several weeks ago and the water was high and dirty. It still is.

Tossing a variety of soft plastic baits we got a few fish in the pole/troll area, both trout and reds. Jay broke off a big flounder and another fish that we never saw. We checked out a few other spots and saw fish in all of them. Mind you, we could not see them until we were right on top of them, but we did see them. We ended up with a few trout, a few reds.

We stopped at Sunrise Bread Company in Titusville on the way home. If you haven’t visited this shop before you should make a point to- they have wonderful breads and other baked goods.

All-in-all it was an excellent day. I am looking forward to fishing with Jay again.

That is this week’s exciting version of the Port Canaveral and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

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 Reports, Flies and Fly Tying, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Largemouth Bass Flies

November 27, 2012 by · 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: , ,

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters

October 10, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters 

Redfish Flies

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.

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

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.

Indian River Seatrout

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.

Mosquito Lagoon Seatrout

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: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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