One Day on Banana River Lagoon

One Day on Banana River Lagoon

We had some crappy weather this week. We had a couple nice days, too. Caleb Vogl and I got out one day on the Banana River Lagoon. It was hardly gangbusters, but there were some encouraging signs.

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Caleb is a young guy, from Kansas City. He wants to be a fishing guide. Tom Doerr introduced us, asked me to help him. So I guess I’m in the role of mentor, or perhaps tormentor. At any rate, we went to the Banana River Lagoon on Wednesday. The water was moderately clear, and there was quite a bit of widgeon grass growing, which was good. Lots of Rhodophyta, too, not so good.

We paddled for well over an hour before seeing a fish. No shots were forthcoming. More paddling turned up a few tailers. Caleb hooked one on a DOA shrimp. It was quite entertaining, and he got this beast-

 

He carefully released it.

It did not start a trend. I only got a couple fly shots that did not work, and we each got one (more, in his case) slot-sized fish on spin tackle. When we got back to our vehicles, Caleb said, “Wow! We paddled a long way today!” Yes, we did. You’ll cover some ground fishing with me. Three fish between two of us in over eight hours. Good thing one was a career fish!

In other news, I’m doing a new build of my Sienna camper van. I hope to be finished next month (A-ha-ha-hahaha!). Here’s how the interior looks as of this writing-

The laminate floor is installed, the cabinet is in progress. The bed and sink vanity are still in planning stage.

Weather forecasts predict some pretty crappy weather this coming week, too.

Happy MLK Jr. Day Monday!

And that, folks, is a One Day on Banana River Lagoon Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Two Fine Days on Mosquito Lagoon

Two Fine Days on Mosquito Lagoon

It’s wintertime, which means even in central Florida, you have to pick your fishing days around the weather. I had two fine days on Mosquito Lagoon this week, both beautiful days. I went to different places. Although the water was remarkably clear in both places, the results (from a fish-catching perspective) were markedly different.

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One thing I noticed in both places was that wherever there was hard substrate (rocks and/or oyster shells) there were sponges growing. I don’t know what species they are, or if they are native or exotic. How many sponge experts are there??? When’s the last time you saw a field guide to sponges of the southeastern United States?

I do know sponges filter enormous quantities of water, and provide hiding places for small fish, shrimp, and crabs. So I was glad to see them, and am hoping they are not a sign of a coming apocalypse.

Best fish of the day!

Wednesday I fished around spoil islands. Nothing, nothing, nothing, then a load of fish on a small spot maybe 50 yards long. Seatrout and red drum, lots of little guys, but a couple decent ones, and no puffers were caught. I used one of those synthetic Clouser Minnows I tied last week- one fly all day. No collateral puffer damage, mission accomplished. Saw a few fish along the shoreline of the return trip, had one good shot using a bendback, got an eat, pooched it.

Same fish, different perspective!

Friday I went to River Breeze. Water looked great clarity-wise. Not much grass, lots of Rhodophyta. A saw maybe a dozen fish, some quick math, it came out to about one fish seen per paddled mile. Not gonna catch much with that density. Had one bite all day from a trout, watched it take the RipTide shad, and I missed it to complete the skunking. I went to several of my favorite winter spots up there, too. While I very much enjoyed the day and the paddling, I won’t be visiting again for a while…

And that, folks, is a Two Fine Days on Mosquito Lagoon Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Back from Safari

Back from Safari- A Photo Essay

I’m back from my safari to the most accessible wilderness in the eastern United States. On November 26 the chariot, filled with camping gear, supplies, fishing tackle, and topped with a kayak, took me to Flamingo, in Everglades National Park. I can’t give all the details of the next ten days, but if it wasn’t for biting insects it was well nigh perfect.

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Rather than try to write a narrative, I’ll caption the photos.

On the way to Flamingo.

 

Also on the way to Flamingo.

 

My favorite greeting in Flamingo was from an American crocodile.

 

Nice tree near the visitors center.

 

The white ibis was less threatening looking than the croc!

 

I got nothing in a day’s fishing on the outside, so headed into the back country.

 

My first fish of consequence. It crushed a gurgler.

 

There were other fish back there, too.

 

 

 

This one took a bendback.

 

Ready to go at Nine Mile Pond. I also paddled the Noble Hammock trail. Never had been on either.

 

Moved to Long Pine Key. Many fewer biting bugs.

 

There was once a missile base inside the park.

 

Near the missile base was a great place to watch the sun set.

 

Moved to Monument Lake campground, in the Big Cypress.

 

Went for a 24-mile ride (in the van) on this loop road.

 

More dwarf cypress!

 

Spiders!

 

Great egrets!

 

Alligators!

 

Butterflies!

 

Tree snails!

 

Epiphytic ferns!

 

But, don’t run out of gas back there.

 

Treated myself at Joanie’s. Also stopped at Clyde Butcher’s Gallery– HIGHLY recommended!

 

My next move was to load up the kayak with gear and supplies at the Gulf Coast Ranger Station in Everglades City, and head out to the Gulf Islands.

 

The fish of the trip took a Clouser Minnow.

 

I met Mike Conneen and Matt Giles on Picnic Key.

 

Matt slings some fly line.

 

He got excited about this trout.

 

We’re all together on the Gulf.

 

Matt, hooked up to a bull shark.

 

White pelicans soaring.

 

I stopped for some photos.

 

 

 

I found this mollusk in my kayak!

 

Dawn on Picnic Key.

 

What my van looked like when I got home.

 

That’s the Back from Safari Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on a trip! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Ignored the Weatherman

Ignored the Weatherman

I ignored the weatherman Monday. The forecast, once again, was, “Showers likely in the morning, with scattered thunderstorms, increasing into the afternoon. Rain chance 70 percent.”
I went fishing anyway.

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There was a lightning show all the way to Mosquito Lagoon. At the St. Johns River I got out of the car to get a photo of an incredible sunrise. All the lightening looked far away from where I was, and my destination. I continued on my way.

This was worth the trip had I not seen a fish.

Launched the boat under mostly cloudy skies. Didn’t see much for an hour, hour-and-a-half. Got a few trout at a culvert on the spin rod. Then there was a redfish crawling along the bank. I pooched the shot. It would be a recurring theme.

Ha! Got one!

I got shots, too. There weren’t a lot of fish around, but enough that in spite of significant rust I finally caught one, a nice redfish. I soon hooked another, only to have it become unbuttoned. When I checked the fly, the hook had snapped.

It doesn’t matter how many bites you get- this fly is not a good fish-catching tool.

A dry spell followed. Then some drum tails started popping up.

Mosquito Lagoon black drum are actually pretty easy to catch with flies- if you can see everything. When the water is murky and the light is bad, then it’s all guess work. Guessing right doesn’t happen a lot. In spite of that, finally got one, after at least 20 shots.

Dr-r-r-rum.

A while later I was staked out, standing up, when I spotted a drum near the shoreline, an easy cast. It took three casts, but I put it on his nose and got the eat.

Finally, paddling back, I spotted a red pushing along the shore and got it to take the fly. Of the four fish I caught with the fly, three of them were hooked with the leader in the rod. Which was pretty awesome!

The water on Tiger Shoal is still pretty clear.

There was no rain, and no lightning. Glad I went!

There will not be a report the next two Saturdays. I will be doing research, and won’t be bringing the computer.

That’s the I ignored the weatherman report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Indian River Lagoon and Econlockhatchee Report

Indian River Lagoon and Econlockhatchee Report

Few things in life get a fly fisher more worked up than seeing tarpon rolling all over the place. Except hooking a couple, of course! Welcome to this week’s Indian River Lagoon and Econlockhatchee Report.

A walking, bank-fishing Econ trip with a spin rod started the week. I’d love to fish that stretch of river with a fly pole, but I lack that kind of skill. The fish were biting well, the song birds were singing, the Cooper’s hawks were shrieking, and I got some photos of otters. Fantastic day!

 

 

 

Next, Mike and River joined me for some Indian River Lagoon quality time. Redfish, black drum, and seatrout fell for our offerings. Water looked pretty good. That invasive exotic, grassy-looking stuff is taking over the bottom, though. We have a new exotic mussel, too. If they were larger, I’d eat them.

 

I returned to the scene of the crime a couple days later, hoping to cash in on what I’d learned from the day with Mike. That’s when I found the tarpon rolling! I hooked two, one on a streamer that jumped off, one on a gurgler that I unhooked and released. I got five other species (seatrout, jack crevalle, ladyfish, black drum, and redfish) for a total of six altogether. What was weird is, I got only one of each! All but the red were caught on fly.

 

Some serious jacks were showering mullet. It looked like the good old days! I love the jacks, I hope they stay around until after the mullet run.

Our governor and legislature keep passing one horrible, hateful, hurtful, and un-Christ-like law after another. It’s making me sick.

That’s the Indian River Lagoon and Econlockhatchee Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Fishing and Paddling Around Central Florida Report and Photo Essay

Fishing and Paddling Around Central Florida Report and Photo Essay

Fortunately, I got out paddling and walking this week. The weather, so unpredictable last week, was splendid every day. And it’s officially tarpon season, not that I’ll be going. No boat 🙁

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Monday and Tuesday I went paddle fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. I could be verbose, but will let the photos do the work. The water was clean and the seagrass was thick!!!

Swarms of minnows, clean water, and seagrass. Have we turned a corner?

 

There were snook in places like this.

 

Aggressive little snapper. I got two.

 

The dark patches are seagrass.

 

 

 

A manatee vertebra?

 

One of several.

 

One of many.

Wednesday afternoon saw me walking at Orlando Wetlands Park, camera in hand-

Great blue heron.

 

Roseate spoonbills.

 

Alligator mississippiensis.

 

Alligator mississippiensis.

Friday Jorge Hidalgo accompanied me down the Econlockhatchee-

The vessel.

 

Hooked up.

 

The fish.

 

The release.

Saturday found me paddling the Juniper Springs Run with a group from the Central Florida Freethought Community

 

 

 

 

 

It was a very cool week! That’s the Fishing and Paddling Around Central Florida report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Stormy Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday, etc)

Stormy Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday, etc)

Wow, have we had some weather this week. Talk about stormy Monday!

Because of the weather, I did not fish much. But Wednesday saw me driving to Melbourne, canoe on the roof, to visit Rodney. Rodney loved the canoe, as much of it as he could see, and then we hung out a while for a chat. During the chat, a storm passed.

I didn’t realize what a close call I had.

When I left to go home, I got on 192 west. Traffic was awful. There were downed limbs and leaves all over the ground. The traffic lights were out. As all the vehicles crawled towards I-95, the ground started steaming. There was all this white stuff. What the heck is that?

It was hailstones, piled almost a foot thick in places. It was only a couple miles from where I’d parked. Realizing I’d dodged a bullet, I hoped all the storms were past.

They weren’t. One hit while I was on Taylor Creek Road, complete with hail. I was concerned for the canoe, but it was fine.

Red-breasted sunfish.

I know because I used it Thursday on the Econ. A bald eagle flew over, several times. Red-cockaded woodpeckers were seen and heard. The egrets, both great and snowy, were in their breeding plumage.

Spotted sunfish, a.k.a stumpknocker. A very aggressive creature.

The bass were biting, both worms (spin rod) and gurglers. I got two spotted gar on gurglers. Also fooled were spotted and red-breasted sunfish. My best fish was about five pounds, altogether an awesome morning. And, I broke off a bigger one trying to keep it out of the lumber! I made a conscious decision to not bring a camera, so all pictures are from the file.

You can see this photo in the current Florida Sportsman issue.

The surprising thing is that the river is still low. If the rain keeps up, that won’t last.

There are some amazingly large alligators living in that river.

It’s supposed to rain today and tomorrow.

And that’s the Stormy Monday report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

The Canoe is Finished

The Canoe is Finished

The canoe is finished. Except for minor tweaks. And I took it out and caught some fish from it!

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The weather at the beginning of the week didn’t make anyone want to go fishing. I went to Publix and got a copy of this year’s “Kayak Fishing Fun.” There was an article in there by John Kumiski about a dog who goes fishing. Cute.

The boat before coating with polyurethane.

I worked on the canoe, enough that I could water-test it and then go fishing. That was after I spent a couple hours casting flies at my local retention pond, catching several big bluegills and small bass.

The water test.

I water-tested the canoe in the same place, with both single-blade and double-blade paddles. It’s tippier than my kayaks, but oh, so much easier to carry when it’s out of the water! It paddles very nicely, and is faster than the kayaks, too. And it looks fantastic.

I took it out on the Econ Thursday afternoon. I had a bass within five minutes. Several bass (no big ones) and stumpknockers were fooled by my bugs. The new canoe performed well- I think I’ll keep it!

The first fish from the new boat! You can see the frame reflected in my sunglasses.

I’ll be using it some more over the next few days.

Friday Dean Altenhofen came by. We spent the afternoon in kayaks on the Indian River Lagoon, where this snook met up with a black-and-purple streamer:

A man and his snook.

Dean had never caught a largemouth bass before (they are not common nor desirable in Oregon, apparently) so we paddled (and dragged) the Econ on Saturday. It was not a hot bite.

The new boat, ready for its first real test.

We saw fish the whole way but had a heck of a time getting any bites. Dean, however did get the bass.

Hooked up.

 

Not huge, but respectable.

As I type this, Dean is winging his way home. Bon voyage, Dean, and thanks for coming!

The canoe got stuck on submerged stumps, and had other misadventures. If you examined it now, you would never know it. To say I’m pleased with the way it came out would be a massive understatement.

And that’s the canoe is finished report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Fished a Day, Again, Report

Fished a Day, Again, Report

Regular readers of this blog know I have been working on building a canoe. But now that the frame is done, there’s not much for me to do on it until the skin gets here next week.

Regular readers of this blog also know I have a Sienna van, adapted to camping. The van has almost 120,000 miles on it. I wanted new shocks. The only way to access the shock top is through panels on the van’s interior. So all that camping build needed to be removed, which took most of the day on Monday. It looks like a cave inside the vehicle now.

Minor construction around the house took most of Tuesday. There’s more to come.

FISHING DAY Wednesday I dropped my kayak into the Indian River Lagoon’s brown water which was loaded with Rhodophyta and a filamentous green alga. Yuk.

I did not see a dolphin or a manatee. I did see what was for me a new organism. There were small mussels, quite a lot of them, growing on the stems and roots of the black mangroves. Some research followed. There are a couple native mussel species in the lagoon. There are also a couple invasive species. I have no mussel expertise, but I did contact Dr. Walters at UCF, who does. I will keep you informed.

I did see a few fish. Fishing was tough- it was windier than I expected it to be. I hardly touched the fly rod. When it’s windy it’s nearly impossible to control the boat and fly fish at the same time. I got six bites using spin tackle, and caught them all- two trout, two reds, and two snook. Got a bad picture of the best red, which I sight-fished.

It was swimming down the bank. I cast ahead of it while the kayak drifted, not moving the lure until I thought the fish would see it. When I twitched the bait, he crushed it. It was quite gratifying, best fish of the day.

Thursday, fun with cars. Put those new shocks in. It’s something I do infrequently, so a 30- or 40-minute job takes all morning. But they’re in. After I get the camper build back in there, I need to do the struts on the front end…

And there’s always the house construction, and the exotic ferns to keep me off the water. The joys of home ownership. It seems to come in waves, that sort of thing.

And that’s the Fished a Day again report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Building a Canoe, Phase 1

Building a Canoe, Phase 1

Been paddling since I was a boy. Owned quite a few paddle craft, both canoes and kayaks. Have three right now- all rotomolded. Never wanted boats with wood- too much maintenance. Even read McPhee’s Survival of the Birch Bark Canoe. Loved the book, but it didn’t change my attitude.

This birchbark canoe is a piece of art.

Then, during the summer of 2022, I visited the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario. Hundreds of hand-crafted vessels, way past beautiful. Powerfully organic. You could feel the ghosts of the boat builders in that building. As if I’d been struck by lightning, I now wanted to build a canoe.

After I got home, research ensued. Trips to the library, to bookstores, time on the web. Saw many different designs, all attractive. Then I came across the Cape Falcon Kayak website, watched the videos. Correspondence with Brian followed. In October I bought the plans for the 66 canoe.

Mind you, I’m not a woodworker, and don’t have a planer, or a table saw, or any expertise. I had to find a friend with the equipment who would give me instruction and let me use the stuff. The plan was, I’d trade him drum lessons for tool lessons. I still had quite a few hand tools and all the materials to buy. And I had a paddle trip and Christmas coming up.

Tool purchasing started. I built some sawhorses, and capture forms, and a steam box. New year’s passed, and I started looking for the wood I’d need.

I thought finding the wood would be easy. HA! I’m in Florida. White oak doesn’t grow here. Neither does western cedar. After calling or visiting every wood dealer in central Florida, I found a source for western cedar, the Ole General Store in Geneva. Only $140 a board (1x6x14), plus shipping. Times two. Ouch. And one of those expensive boards had four knots.

As it turned out, with the knots and the loss of material from sawing, I needed another board. Rather than go through the time and expense of ordering another western cedar board, I bought a piece of local cypress from the Ole General Store, 14 feet long, four-quarter, four inches wide, $45. I’ll use one piece in each gunwale, a piece for the keel, and my rub rails. It will make the finished boat a pound or two heavier. I can live with that.

I used Brian’s recommendation for the best place to get the oak, Swan’s in Wisconsin. He had what I needed, still in a log. But everything is frozen in January in Wisconsin, so I had to wait until a thaw before he could cut it.

The plot thickened. My friend with the tools got long COVID. I thought I’d practice my power tool skills on pieces of pine I had. No, you won’t. No practice for you!

Finally, in early March, the bending wood came. My poor friend is still sick. Somewhat frustrated, I looked for another option.

Another friend, Mike, who has a saw and a planer (both portable), used to be a finish carpenter and a commercial building contractor. He visited me- we got all the cutting and planing done in one day. I have finally started my build!

Brian Schultz at Cape Falcon Kayak recommends using Gorilla Glue to laminate the gunwales together. In my naivete, I bought Gorilla Wood Glue while purchasing supplies, way back last year. Not the same stuff. I watched the lamination video again before starting my laminating, and realized that, unlike Tom Wolff, I had The Wrong Stuff. Another trip to the hardware store ensued. And hey! Buy a couple more clamps while you’re at it!

I’ve already admitted to not being a woodworker. Many of the tools needed for this project were off my radar. One of them was a device called a “plunge router.” Brian showed what it was in his video. Now I have to buy one. No used ones on Craigslist. I read lots of reviews, and went with the Chicago Electric. Yes, I know it’s probably a POS. I’m not buying a $500 router to build a single canoe, sor-ree. Hopefully it will make the 50 holes I need.

Another device was a wallpaper steamer. This was actually hard to find, and I’m not talking Craigslist here. Neither Ace Hardware nor Home Depot had one unless purchased online. No, I don’t want it next week. I’m an American, of course I want it now. The local Lowe’s had one, I picked it up yesterday. The ribs are already cut. I want to get them bent and into the boat as quickly as possible.

Armed with a flat board, a zillion clamps of various configurations, three blocks, 24 ounces of the real Gorilla Glue, and the very important surgical gloves, I watched Brian’s video one more time, then commenced to gunwale glueing. The process went as close to Brian’s video as a goober who’d never done this could do. The spring clamps were hard to put on- these 70-year-old hands kept needed rests, kept cramping up. Aging is an adventure unlike any other.

I probably used too much glue, ’cause a lot of chisel scraping was needed afterwards to remove the excess. I left the clamps on overnight.

While the glue cured, I sanded my stringers, something I’d started the day before. Brian recommends rounding the stringers with a tool called a “Slickplane.” I almost bought one. Then I figured I would just sand them down. I already owned a sander.

This project started with 100 grit sandpaper. The first stringer took about 40 minutes. The switch was then quickly made to 60 grit sandpaper. The remaining stringers took 15-20 minutes each. If I intended to build more canoes, I would certainly buy the Slickplane. As it is, the stringers are sanded, with round edges, and that task is completed.

Friday, I visited my friend Mike Conneen, the table saw guy, to cut my gunwales. He does such amazing work- I’m lucky to have a friend like him. The gunwales came out beautifully. I picked up the router and the steamer on the way home. With any luck I’ll have a mostly framed canoe by Tuesday morning.

I’m building a canoe!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.