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A Visit to Cedar Key- A Photo Essay

November 13, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

A Visit to Cedar Key- A Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this week’s post on our visit to Cedar Key. I did not wet a line this week. Monday was too windy, Tuesday I had things to do, and Wednesday Susan and I started our little trip. Of course, you could fish at Cedar Key of you had a mind to…
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For Sale- Orion 45 Cooler

See this link…
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Thanksgiving is less than two weeks off. For central Florida anglers, that means it’s time to break out the waders and get into the winter fishing pattern! See below…
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Cedar Key

Susan and I rolled out of Chuluota about 0915 Wednesday morning. Our first stop was the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park. I wanted to show her the fishbowl. I had no idea how many snook, and big ones, were over there. That tiny, larcenous part of my brain saw possibilities for paddling in with a fishing rod under the cover of darkness…

Big snook, in the fish bowl.

Leave the fish alone, John! (insert face slap here)

Looking down on a school of snapper.

 

Getting silly!

It was awesome, well worth the visit. And, they have a full-sized hippopotamus there, likely the only real one I’ll ever see, along with many native Florida animals. A visit to this park is highly recommended.

Lu the hippo.

 

She can be messy.

 

As close to a night heron as I’m likely to get.

We then stopped in Crystal River at the State Preserve and the State Archeological Park. The state preserve has a kayak launch (bring a dolly) on a canal that leads to the river, and many hiking trails. No compelling reason to visit here unless you’re a walker, though.

On a shell mound, archeological state park.

The archeological park has a path that snakes around several Indian mounds. The mounds variously hold discarded shells and pottery, or human remains, or who knows what? The small museum they have there was closed (COVID, still). People were living in Florida, without polluting it, for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived. This walk gives a little insight on how they existed.

Final stop was Cedar Cove Hotel on Cedar Key, room 209. Nice place, clean, with a good view of the Gulf. Walked about town, dinner at Steamer’s (good stuff here).

There’s some nice art around the island.

 

 

 

 

Thursday, got our coffee at the Daily Grind, then walked about town, checking out the shops and art galleries, had a bowl of world champion chowder at Tony’s. Did some reading and took a nap. Very relaxing day! Dinner at Steamer’s again, again good.

 

The manatees, sitting on the bottom.

Friday morning we checked out, stopped at the Daily Grind again, then headed to Crystal River to visit the national wildlife refuge’s Three Sisters Springs boardwalk. The springs are beautiful, but the manatees were cowering on the bottom. The photo might explain why.

The spring had throngs of people in and on it!

Then we drove home!
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Winter Fishing in the Lagoons- A Tiny Memoir

It ain’t the same as it used to be, but we’re not done yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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That is this week’s post on our visit to Cedar Key, and my short memoir on winter fishing in the lagoon. Thank you again for reading! Life is great and I love all my readers!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Saint George Island Fishing Report and Photo Essay

November 5, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Saint George Island Fishing Report and Photo Essay

Gulf sunrise, St. George Island

Thank you for reading this week’s Saint George Island Fishing Report. I left home at 0645 Sunday morning with a kayak on the van, got home 1500 or so Thursday, three and a half glorious days of little other than fishing. It was everything a fishing trip should be.

Fish around the oyster reefs.

I realized about two hours from home that I’d left all the food that needed some refrigeration in the refrigerator. I mostly lived on oranges, boiled eggs, and nuts and berries. It was good- no weight gain.

Home, sweet home.

The photos are a mix of new and file photos. Was more interested in fishing than photography this trip.

The island is losing to St. George Sound, and the saltwater is killing the pine trees.

Upon reaching the put-in, I found Mike Conneen and River Dog ready and waiting for me. Sorry, it takes time to get here- like six hours or so!

After sunrise on a windy morning.

We paddled to the campsite and set up. Let’s fish! In my exuberance I paddled quite a distance, wanting to visit last time’s hot spot. That spot was so eight or so months ago. I got some trout there, but not like it was then. What a surprise.

The water was almost crisp.

I had to call Mike on my way back. I didn’t know where camp was (big ERROR on my part), and it was nearly dark. He was kind enough to brave the bugs and shine a flashlight to give me an approximate location. In the meantime, redfish started tailing. I got two on a white slider, the second almost by starlight. It was so cool! And I managed to find camp.

You can wade and sight fish with fly tackle here.

Shunning the known spots, we explored new territory the next day. We caught a few reds and trout, but had to work for every one. We had clouds a good part of the day, and the water was not as clear as on previous trips. It was hard to see all day.

Mike and River combined to get this redfish.

The seagrass there is still healthy. That in itself was enough reason to make the trip.

River failed to opine about the release.

Those clouds caused a stunning sunset. The redfish did not tail, though.

Stunning? Methinks so.

Mike had to leave on Tuesday. We slowly paddled together, fishing our way back to the put-in. Mike got a redfish and a nice trout, too.

Fishing around the oysters. Photo courtesy Mike Conneen.

After he left, I went wading around oyster bars. Fish, mostly reds, came through in little clumps. I was able to sight-fish them with a variety of flies. The best of a dozen or so was about ten pounds, again on the white slider.

Flounder will hit flies! Kind of hard to sight fish them, though.

Being able to wade, with a fly rod, in water that was clean enough for me to be able to see the fish take, was thrilling! I remember when where I used to fish all the time (Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons) was like that.

More dead pines…

Went looking for tailers after sunset. Did not see any. The water was still too deep, and low tide was now a couple hours after dark.

Looking for trailers at sunset.

Went wading near camp the next morning, somewhat sheltered from a stiff breeze. The water was startlingly clear (almost crisp), but I only threw to a single fish. He said no.

Sunrise over the Gulf. Different morning.

After breaking camp, I went back to the previous day’s spot, hoping for a repeat. The wind had caused waves, which stirred up the bottom. I could not see my feet. I cast a jig into the now-muddy water with the spin rod, hitting three fish in about that many hours.

Then the tide changed, the wind changed direction, and the water cleared. I fished through again. this time with a white Clouser minnow, blind-casting as I went. I only saw two fish, getting a shot at neither. But I got two reds and seven or eight nice trout on that fly, which was in tatters at the end of the day.

I did not look for tailers that evening, opting for a shower and some beach time.

My last morning, with an overcast sky.

Thursday morning, I again visited the beach under an overcast sky, where I watched someone else catch a nice bluefish. Almost as good as getting it myself! Then I hopped in the van and drove home, well satisfied!

In other news, the Braves won the World Series!

Not wanting to let the mushroom thing go, you can watch a fantastic program on them on netflix here… 

That is this week’s Saint George Island Fishing Report. Thank you again for reading! Life is great and I love all my readers!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Changing Seasons Fishing Report, and More!

October 30, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Changing Seasons Fishing Report, and More!

Thank you for reading this week’s Changing Seasons Fishing Report, and more! Got out twice this week, both times by myself.

Mushrooms

Last week I wrote about the mushroom grow kit from northspore.com. We ate mushrooms last week, and there’s another flush we’ll be eating today. How long will it keep producing? I don’t know, but I aim to find out. To learn more, go to https://northspore.com.

Flies, Again

Talking about the synthetic minnow, last week I wrote, “If anyone needs tying instructions, let me know and I will make a new webpage with them.” You know someone did. Here’s the link- https://www.spottedtail.com/free-florida-fishing-informatio/tying-the-synthetic-minnow/

Emails

By way of explanation- until recently I had three email accounts. Two were under spottedtail. One is gmail. I’ve had the spottedtail accounts a long time, and get massive amounts of spam. Last week I deleted one of the spottedtail accounts (and am considering deleting the other one). The spam was out of control.

The spottedtail accounts forward to the gmail account. The gmail spam filter is efficient. Unfortunately, several readers emailed me at the spottedtail account, which I check only weekly at most, and gmail treated their emails as spam.

If you have sent me an email and I did not respond, I did not see it. My most sincere apologies! I often think this technology stuff just serves to further separate us from each other. I will try to check the spottedtail account more often.

FISHING and other…

Tuesday
Went paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. Wind was out of the west for the first time in a long time. No bites, no bites, no bites. Most of the tarpon seem to be gone. Water is definitely colder.

Stood up and started paddling the shoreline. It was hard to see anything! All the snook seem to be gone too, and although there weren’t a lot, there were more redfish than I would have expected. I managed to get a slot red on the rubber shad, the only bite I got.

Wednesday
Went to Playalinda to take advantage of that west wind. What a sunrise!

 

 

There were enormous numbers of fish. Sadly, they were all beyond the breakers. I would have needed a bazooka to reach them. After an hour of frustration, and a single, small ladyfish, I gave up the beach and went paddling on the Indian River Lagoon.

The few redfish I saw either fled from my cast, spooked off the fly, or got ran over by the kayak. Did not get a bite.

Thursday
The first cold front of the season blew through! Rain, lightning, wind- it was glorious! Thus the changing season fishing report!

That’s it for this week. Thank you again for reading this Changing Season Fishing Report and More. Life is great and I love all my readers!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and More!

October 23, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and More!

Thank you for reading this week’s Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and more! Got out twice this week, once by myself and once with son Alex. I also grew some mushrooms, and had that tooth pulled…

Mushrooms

Five days after I started spritzing, I had this!

I got a mushroom grow kit from northspore.com. It was fun, easy, and delicious. I was eating the tastiest fresh mushrooms only five days after opening the kit! You can read my blog about it at this link, or go directly to https://northspore.com.

Flies

A few people asked about the “new fly” I wrote about last week. If you’ve been following me a while, you’ve seen similar flies tied with different materials. But I took a picture of it.

If anyone needs tying instructions, let me know and I will make a new webpage with them.

FISHING and other…

Weather was fantastic. Water, not so much.

Tuesday
Went paddling on the Mosquito Lagoon. Weather was fantastic, water was decidedly not. High and dirty, really hard to see. I ran a few fish over, then spotted a wake coming right at me. Dropped the fly (a redfish worm) almost on his nose. He crushed it.

The fish crushed it.

 

The redfish worm, such a good fly!

 

Double spotter.

 

Releasing it back into the nasty water.

Played hide and seek with a manatee. I swear it was following me around.

Wednesday
The dentist removed part of the dental bridge I had, then Alex and I went to Mosquito Lagoon again, paddling a canoe. Lots of looking, not much catching. He did get a fine redfish while blindcasting the rubber shad, the only fish of the day.

Alex and friend.

Thursday
Dr. Campbell yanked a molar out of my lower jaw with a pair of fancy stainless steel pliers. I recommend him if you need this done, but take care of your choppers and avoid it if at all possible.

After that was not in any condition for anything else.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading this Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and More. Life is great and I love all my readers!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , ,

Spread the Spore!

October 21, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Spread the Spore!

When the Spread the Spore mushroom grow kit from northspore.com arrived, I let it sit. Didn’t quite know what to do with it. After a few days me sister said to me, “The stuff in that kit is alive. You really need to get it started.”

The next day I read the instructions and watched the video. Pretty simple, John! Remove the perforated paperboard from the front of the box, cut an “X” in the plastic, spray it with water (sprayer supplied), and let it sit on the counter near the sink. OK, I can do that.

Five days after I started spritzing, I had this!

In only a few days, baby mushrooms appeared! Like magic! I kept spritzing it twice a day, and five days after I cut the plastic, I was harvesting the pink oyster mushrooms.

After harvesting your mushrooms look like this.

 

I separated them all before cooking.

 

After cooking a few minutes…

Following the recipe included with the kit, I sautéed the ‘shrooms, then used them to make one of the better omelets I’ve ever had. Eaten alone, the mushrooms were outstanding!

Mmmm, mushroom omelet!

The directions say the kit may produce several rounds of mushrooms. After harvesting the mushrooms, I put the box back on the counter and spritzed it again. Hopefully there will be more in a few more days!

Susan grooves on the mushrooms!

The mushroom grow kit was easy, fun, and delicious. Get more information at www.northspore.com.

Like northspore says, spread the spore!

 

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: opinion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , ,

Great Weather IRL Fishing Report

October 15, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Great Weather IRL Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Great Weather IRL Fishing Report. Got out four days this week, all solo trips by kayak. I need a fishing buddy who has a sense of discretion…

Last week I had a question, if anyone had seen mullet working down the beach. NO ONE responded. Either you folks need to get out more, or there are no mullet on the beach.

FISHING (and other) Report

The high water is killing me! The Haulover Canal gauge has hovered around 1.5 feet all week.

Monday

Spruce Creek, still beautiful.

Went paddling at Spruce Creek. Hadn’t been there in a year, did not know what to expect. It’s still beautiful! Did not see jacks raising hell, or ladyfish either. Did see a few tarpon rolling. Did see a few fish bust along the shoreline.

Got several snooklets and jumped one tarpon on fly. The hook must have hit the bony part of the tarpon’s mouth- it jumped right off, and bent the Gamakatsu hook besides.

As the tide got high, I just blind-cast the rubber shad, and got surprised by a redfish pushing 30 inches. I unhooked it without removing it from the water, a growing trend. Nice way to finish the trip!

Tuesday

Went paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. Weather was fantastic, but my optimism was fairly crushed early. Ate lunch without having seen anything other than mullet.

Showed two different flies to two different redfish in the afternoon. Both turned and fled. I just blind-cast the rubber shad, and got surprised by a seatrout pushing 26 inches, my nicest trout in a long while. I unhooked it without removing it from the water…

Wednesday

A consulting visit to the oral surgeon. Move along folks, nothing to see here…

Thursday

Went to the Indian River Lagoon, different place. Weather was extraordinary- even had light rain for a while, very pleasant. Saw exactly one redfish as I ran it over. Did not get a shot with the fly rod all day. Got a few marginal trout by blindly pitching the rubber shad. Did thrill to a pair of eagles flying together.

Trout on rubber shad.

It’s so easy to enjoy these days, watching the kingfishers and the ibis, watching the clouds grow and shrink as they travel through the sky, listening to and watching the dragonflies of all different sizes and colors. I watched a dragonfly catch a mosquito I had shooed off me one morning. That was awesome!

Friday

Went to the Indian River Lagoon, a different different place. Weather was again extraordinary- what a run we’ve had! Wind from the east for weeks, but whatever.

Snoook on the new fly.

 

Black drum, actually hooked in the chin.

Got a snoook on my third cast- guess that new fly works! The fish tore it, and its partner, apart. Guess I need to armor plate them! Ended up with five snook, two ladyfish, one each of redfish and black drum, and hooked a tarpon that I got three jumps out of. There were no IGFA world records here, folks. But all were on fly, and I’m not complaining!

Yeah, I need to beef these flies up. Never saw one fall apart in quite this way.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading this Great Weather IRL Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Fishing News, Fishing Report

October 9, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Fishing News, Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Fishing Report. Got out three days this week, all solo trips by kayak. Tried to find new places to fish. Hard to do- I’ve been at it a long time!
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Fly Tying

Last week I wrote, “I … got ready to tie up some delicious offerings for fish.” The results of that little tying spurt are shown below.

A deliciousness of electric sushi.

The pattern, originated by the late Mike Martinek, is called Electric Sushi. I am a huge fan! You can see the tying directions at this link- http://www.spottedtail.com/tying-the-electric-sushi-fly/

Reds like sushi.

 

Trout do, too.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve been writing recently about the redfish worm and the fuzzy or wooly redfish worm. It’s a great fly! I haven’t shown a photo in a long time. Picture below, wooly on top, plain on bottom. Not a lot of difference.

hook- mustad 3407 #4
eye- small or micro lead dumbell, or bead chain, or plastic, depending on desired sink rate.
tail- I prefer arctic fox but will use marabou or a bunny strip. I prefer black, but use whatever.
body- medium ice chenille or cactus chenille. again, I prefer black.
hackle (if desired)- grizzly neck hackle, tied Palmer.

The redfish worm is one of my favorite drum flies, too.

Buena suerte! Boa sorte!
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Fishing News- Haulover Canal Gauge

For years this blog has related water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon to the USGS Gauge at the Haulover Canal. The URL, and the gauge format on the webpage, for that gauge is changing. The new URL is https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02248380/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D

As I write this, the gauge reads well over 1.0. Every whole number equals a foot of water. I like for the gauge to read at 0.5 or below. I’ve seen it above 3.0 (after a hurricane) and below 0.0 (bars exposed everywhere). That webpage is an extremely useful tool for planning fishing trips in those lagoons!
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The MULLET RUN

Anyone have any news???

Will we ever see this again?

FISHING (and other) Report

Monday
Went paddling on high, murky water Mosquito Lagoon. Found a flowing culvert, where two trout, a snook, and a redfish fell for my flies. That was a good find! Ran over a couple fish, but it was very hard to see anything, in spite of the extraordinary weather. The water will most likely be high into December, maybe January. I doubt that I’ll ever see it clean again.

Culvert trout on Clouser minnow.

 

And the redfish! Note how murky the water is.

Tuesday
Susan and I visited the Orlando Museum of Art to see an exhibit of Clyde Butcher’s work. Highly recommended!!! One of my favorite Butcher photos is of the beach at Cayo Costa. I learned on Tuesday he waited there for a month to get the light he wanted. Waugh!

An example of the master’s work…

Wednesday
Dentist. News could have been better. Losing a tooth. 🙁

Visited Dr. David Demetree, chiropractor. Always feel a lot better when I leave there!

Visited the new digs of Mud Hole Tackle.

Put a new heating element in our clothes dryer.

Not a very exciting day.

Thursday
Went paddling on the high and murky Indian River Lagoon, place I had not visited in quite a long time. Looked for new nooks and crannies, got a trout and a little snook on fly.

Friday
Went paddling on the high and murky Indian River Lagoon. Again looked for new nooks and crannies. Relearned something I already knew from hard experience- first boat through a narrow spot gets all the spider webs. Got a couple trout and a small black drum on the rubber shad. Lightening chased me off.

No one likes getting one of these in the face.

Don’t know that I found new spots but had fun looking!

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading this Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Flies and Fly Tying, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two Skunks Fishing Report

October 2, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Two Skunks Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Two Skunks Fishing Report. Got out three days this week, two solo trips by kayak, once with Scott Radloff. In general fishing was more productive last week. Can we call it a downwards trend?? With the temperature trending downwards? Seems odd.
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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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For Sale– 20′ glass pushpole, $100. 14′ glass pushpole, $50.

Three anchors with chain attached, $25 each. Wang anchor (new bracket and mounting hardware, used pole) $25.

Call or email me.
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FEESHINK

Monday

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. I had good shots at three redfish. All responded to the fly- negatively. The weather was great, water high but what passes for clean these days. Fish just didn’t want to play with the toy I offered, the wooly redfish worm. One skunk.

Tuesday

Scott and I visited a different part of the Indian River Lagoon, paddling my canoe. Fishing wasn’t on fire, but Scott got a snooklet, and a fat 18 inch trout,  jumped three tarpon, and missed a couple bites. His preferred bait most of the day was a rootbeer colored shad with the chartreuse tail. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get a bite on anything, and even bummed one of his rootbeer shads from him. Didn’t matter. Total skunking, second day in a row. Two skunks!

Wednesday,

I tried yet another IRL spot that I haven’t seen in at least seven or eight months, by kayak. It took over an hour of casting, but I got a redfish while blind-casting with Scott’s shad, one of the smaller reds I’ve ever caught. But I wasn’t skunked! BOOM to you, skunk!

Tiny redfish, skunk-buster!

A few minutes later I got a real bite. Turned out to be the best snook I’ve hooked since getting home, a lovely fish of five or six pounds, made my day. Still casting the rootbeer shad.

Nice snook, day-maker.

Hours went by, finally got another snooklet. Same lure.

Threw to one redfish, spooked the crap out of it. Should have tried the fly rod. 🙁

Thursday, visited my dentist, went and got my COVID vaccine booster, and participated in a few other similar fun tasks.

Had to wait around for the appliance repairman on Friday. That’s some kind of fun, too. I cleaned and organized my fly tying bench and got ready to tie up some delicious offerings for fish.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Two Skunks Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

September 24, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Got out four days this week- once to the beach, two solo trips by kayak, once with Tom Van Horn. In general fishing was more productive last week.
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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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Monday

The first fish of the day nailed an Electric Sushi streamer.

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. Early on I heard a fish bust along the bank. Got into position (so important) and flung a fly along the bank. Third cast the line came tight, a beautiful coppery top-of-the-slot redfish. Good start to the day.

The tarpon seemed to prefer the EP fiber minnow.

It wasn’t gangbusters though. After some time, I found some baby tarpon rolling. Through a few fly changes and a lot of casting I got a few bites, jumped and unhooked two. Tarpon of any size are the coolest of fish!!

The snook didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

A few more fish started busting along the bank. Turned out to be what Mark Nichols calls snooklets. Got a few on streamers.

An electric sushi did the red.

Last fish was another red, bottom of slot. It was by far the most productive day of the week.

Tuesday

Susan and I went to see the Orange County Public Schools Art Teachers exhibit at the City Arts gallery. If you’re in Orlando, it’s a worthwhile stop of an hour or so.

Wednesday-

the autumnal equinox, saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. It’s o-fish-illy fall! Determined to get some fish on fly, I made sure the leader was long enough (about 16 feet) that the line wouldn’t spook fish. It worked! Didn’t spook any! Of course, most of the reason for that was because there weren’t any fish to spook.

The only fly-caught fish of the excursion, took an electric sushi streamer.

Worked my butt off all morning blind-casting, got one small snook. I stood up and poledled (paddled and poled with the paddle) all along the shoreline heading back, saw nothing for a long way.

The spin rod was out, with a DOA Shrimp, when I spotted a slot trout. A cast, and the fish hit violently. As I played it, a dolphin appeared out of nowhere- I thought he’d take the fish off the line! He hung around waiting for me to let it go. I kept it in the boat, not wanting dolphins to associate fishing boats with food (although this one clearly already did). The fish, about 17 inches long, died while waiting for me to release it. That’s how long the darn dolphin hung around.

I love dolphins. They are magnificent animals. But they can outswim anything else in the water and certainly don’t need humans to catch fish for them. Please do not feed caught fish to dolphins!

Thursday

was the official son Alex’s birthday. Happy birthday, Alex! He’s currently in California, so not much special went on there. Except I went fishing with Ton Van Horn, in the Indian River Lagoon.

We saw exactly two redfish (no shot at either) and three or four tarpon roll. If not for the generosity of a pair of six-inch trout, we would have been completely skunked.

Friday

Susan and I went to Playalinda Beach. I tossed a jig and did not touch a fish. One hundred yards away, three guys were surf fishing conventionally, using cut mullet for bait. They caught bluefish steadily.

I thought this bird wanted me to pet it. It hung out right next to us until Susan mentioned having boiled eggs for lunch, at which point it bolted. Poor bird!

Soon enough the mullet should start their annual parade down the beach. Then my jigs will work as well as anything else.

After leaving the beach, we went looking for spoonbills on the Black Point Wildlife Drive. There were none there, and precious few birds of any kind. So that’s not in season yet, either, but should be soon!

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

A Fishing-y Post

September 18, 2021 by · 2 Comments

A Fishing-y Post

Thank you for reading this week’s A Fishing-y post. Got out four days this week, once to the beach, the others solo trips by kayak. Most of the photos this week are file photos, only have one new one, of the redfish.

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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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The weather all week, although warm and humid, was outstanding. Rain every afternoon, though.

Monday saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. This time I brought both a spin and a fly rod. Got nothing on fly. On spin, with the three-inch shad, I got a slot red and a crevalle jack. On a DOA Shrimp I got a trout. There is no grass, and the water is kind of high.

Wednesday I was going to go to the Indian River Lagoon. I could not access the launch point because of the Space-X launch, so I went to the Indian River Lagoon instead. Good thing that lagoon is so big! Only a fly rod this day! Found a few baby tarpon rolling, and managed to get one on an ugly little streamer.

Saw some fish busting along the bank. The water was too brown to see anything, so I just blind-cast, beating the bank, with a streamer. Got two small snook.

Thursday was the official wife’s official birthday. We went to the beach! I brought a spin rod. On one of the first casts, something toothy took my jig. I tied on a new one, of course, but did not get another bite. There were two bait fishermen near me. Neither got a fish that I saw.

There were a few mullet in the surf. I saw a small blacktip shark cruising right in the wash. The water temperature is still in the mid-eighties. It needs to cool more before the mullet start moving hard, I think.

Friday I went to the Indian River Lagoon. After much searching I found a pair of tailing fish, swimming right at me for an easy shot. The cast was true and I got one of them, on a fuzzy redfish worm.

Saw a few baby tarpon rolling, could not get an eat.

That’s all I got this week. Thank you again for reading the a fishing-y post. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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