You are here: Home / Home

Indian River Lagoon Report

June 2, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

Indian River Lagoon Report

Thanks for reading this Indian River Lagoon Report. Only one day this week was spent fishing, but I did paddle the Econ and get a walk in at the wetlands park.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

The Econ

Last week’s rains have raised the water level in the Econ. I paddled it Monday. The Snow Hill Road gauge read 5.5 feet. I didn’t bring a fishing rod, just a camera…

Buttonbush.

 

Wildflowers in a small meadow.

 

Seeds from a dandelion-like flower, waiting for the wind.

Indian River Lagoon

Last week’s rains have raised the water level in the lagoon, much higher than I like. I went kayaking in a spot that’s an old friend, one I hadn’t been to for a while. One red on fly, a couple trout, and no reason to rush back. The water is just too deep. You can’t see anything.

From there I went to another spot where I have been fishing lately, with some success. I tried wading. The water, formerly knee deep, now tickled the jewels. I got right back in the kayak. I did get a black drum on a 3″ plastic shad, to my surprise. Beautiful day, great paddling, tough fishing because of the water depth.

Orlando Wetlands Park

A walk in the wetlands park followed. Who cares about the water level? It was cloudy. I got some nice photos.

 

An old and beat-up four-spotted pennant.

 

A young and virile four-spotted pennant.

 

Great blue heron. Looks a little silly from this angle.

 

Needham’s skimmer, male.

 

Needham’s skimmer, female.

 

Tilapia.

 

Eastern pondhawk, male.

 

Doctor for me, doctor for the van, week over. Enjoy your weekend, see you next time.

That’s the Indian River Lagoon 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , ,

Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons Report

May 26, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons Report

Thank you for reading this Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons Report. There was rain and lightning every day this week, making fishing more interesting. Nothing like playing hide-and-seek with giant sparks to make fishing seem less important! In spite of that, a few fish were caught.

It’s Memorial Day weekend. Spend a moment or two silently, thinking about how lucky you are that thousands and thousands of Americans died fighting for your liberty. They deserve that much, at the very least.

The week started with a walk at the Orlando Wetlands Park. Wildlife doesn’t come any more accessible than at this artificial wetlands, where there is no admission fee.

Bullfrog.

 

Cooter turtle.

 

Night heron.

 

Great blue heron.

 

Roseate spoonbill.

 

Four-spotted pennant, ♀︎.

 

Sandhill crane.

Scott Radloff joined me for a paddle day on Mosquito Lagoon. I was hoping for great things. It was not to be. Scott got a couple trout. I stank like a skunk all afternoon. Lightning drove us off the water. We took the opportunity to cruise Biolab Road, the first time I’ve seen the south end of the lagoon for a long time. The water was fairly clear, but we did not see any fish, or fishermen.

 

I went solo to the Indian River Lagoon one day. Since I was greeted by a rainbow, you could guess what the weather was like. A red on fly, another on spin, and jumped a small tarpon with a fly. Off the water by noon, more than slightly damp.

 

 

Met some folks crabbing while checking out some old fishing spots. They were having good luck!

 

Passionflower, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.

 

Who can tell me what this is?

That’s the Mosquito and Indian River Lagoons 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.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports · Tagged: , , , ,

Indian River Lagoon and Econlockhatchee Report

May 19, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Short Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons Report

May 12, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

Short Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons Report

Only a single day on the water this week, split between two locations. Thus, a Short Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons Report.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, and everyone else, too. Mother’s Day and Earth Day have something in common- every day should be mother’s day, and every day should be earth day.

Subscribers- no photos? https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/

Got up early Tuesday. Launched the kayak behind the Education Center in the Wildlife Refuge, paddled out of Dummit Creek. Beautiful morning, but the water looked lifeless- no birds, hardly any bait. Once I cleared the creek the water cleared and looked good. Grass is starting to grow back there, too. But in two hours I did not see or touch a fish.

I loaded up and moved to Mosquito Lagoon.

It wasn’t exactly gangbusters there, either. I got one redfish and a nice trout on fly. Tiring of fighting the wind, I broke out the spin rod and got a handful of trout and – drum roll, please- a jack crevalle on the plastic shad. I suspected there were jacks around, as the mullet were showering sporadically. The only photo I took was of the jack, it’s become such an unusual catch in the lagoons. Maybe they’re making a comeback!

In an ongoing effort to provide entertainment to my valued readers, I’m including a bunch of paddling photos from years past. Enjoy!

Daryl “Bones” Benton, 2013 Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure. We should be  this happy every time we’re out!

 

Dee Kaminsky, 2013 Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure.

 

Peter Camuso and your reporter, Westfield River, Massachusetts, 1980.

 

Low tide on the Gulf. Photo courtesy of Mike Conneen.

 

Jim Tedesco, East Bay.

 

Your reporter, on the Gulf. Photo Courtesy Mike Conneen.

 

Jim Tedesco and your reporter, Machias River, Maine, circa 1976.

 

Nick Colantonio, 2013 Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure.

 

Maxx Kumiski, Indian River Lagoon.

 

I got this snook in a tiny Everglades creek. The next one I hooked broke my rod, then my line.

 

Brian Jaye and Maxx Kumiski, Nantahala River.

 

Mike Conneen, on the Gulf.

 

Don Causey, Everglades National Park.

 

Alex Kumiski, Everglades National Park.

 

Maxx Kumiski, Chattahootchee River.

 

Maxx tosses a nice loop, Mosquito Lagoon.

 

Contrasting styles, Manatee River.

 

Tammy Wilson, Econlockhatchee River.

 

Mike Conneen, Banana River Lagoon.

 

Mike in a jack melee, Manatee River.

 

Your reporter amongst the crocodiles, Everglades National Park. Photo courtesy Mike Conneen.

 

Jack Hutson, Nantahala River.

 

Backcountry paddle, Everglades National Park.

 

Fish on, Everglades National Park. Photo courtesy of Mike Conneen.

That’s the Short Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , ,

Fishing and Paddling Around Central Florida Report and Photo Essay

May 7, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

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 🙁

Subscribers- no photos? https://www.spottedtail.com/blog . Please bookmark the page!!!

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.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Stormy Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday, etc)

April 29, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , ,

The Canoe is Finished

April 21, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

The Canoe is Finished

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

Subscribers- if the photos don’t load, please visit https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/. And please, bookmark the page!!!

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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , ,

No Fishing This Week, but…

April 15, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

No Fishing This Week, but…

For me, there was no fishing this week. The wind machine cranked through mid-week, with small craft advisories until Wednesday night. I could have gone Friday, but…

Regular readers of this blog know I have been working on building a canoe. I started skinning it on Friday.

Sewing on the skin, which is a ballistic nylon.

 

Skin tacked on, ready for permanent attachment.

Regular readers of this blog also know I have a Sienna van, adapted to camping. After replacing the shocks, all that build needed a re-build. Along with house repairs, that’s what occupied me the rest of the week. Now we can go camping again!

Since most folks look to this blog for fishing, I dug up some April-y kinds of photos from years past, all taken on the Atlantic.

My first cobia, my best on fly, taken off Cocoa Beach a long time ago while out with Rodney Smith.

 

Son Alex with a tripletail, taken off Cocoa Beach.

 

Son Maxx with a cobia, taken off Cocoa Beach.

 

Rodney Smith with a tripletail, taken off Cocoa Beach.

 

Tammy Wilson, cobia, off Cape Canaveral.

 

Mike Conneen, king mackerel, off Cape Canaveral.

 

 

I don’t remember this guy’s name. He was on a charter with Tom Van Horn, off Cape Canaveral. He had a heck of a day! I tagged along to get pictures.

And that’s the no fishing this week 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Sienna Van conversion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , ,

Fished a Day, Again, Report

April 7, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Paddle Fishing Florida, Sienna Van conversion · Tagged: , , , ,

Fished a Day Report

April 1, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

Fished a Day Report

Regular readers of this blog know I have been working on building a canoe. I took Monday off from canoe building and used it to go fishing. I fished a day! So we have a fished a day report.

And what a day it was! Spectacular weather, the river to myself, and fish that were pretty cooperative. I started with spin tackle (the fish don’t seem to want to come up until the day warms) and finished strong with a fly rod popper. I lost my well-used fly rod mouse to a monster gar that somehow got hooked when he ate it, then proceeded to show me his impressive dimensions, then proceeded to pop my leader like sewing thread.

First fish of the day.

Got a few sunfish, too. No line-breakers there.

Wildlife observed included wading birds, turtles, alligators, swallow-tailed kites (a favorite), and this guy, who I believe thought he was hiding:

The rest of the week I worked on the canoe, except for the day this went on:

A new drain field for our septic system, in progress.

For interested parties, you can see the details of the canoe-building here:
https://builds.capefalconkayaks.com/2023/04/jks-central-florida-canoe-build-chapter-4-completing-the-frame/

Here a photo of your blogger with his finished canoe frame-

Skinning the boat will happen towards the end of nest week, I suspect.

And that’s the Fished a Day 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.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »