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On the Road Narrative and Photo Essay

April 2, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

On the Road Narrative and Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this week’s on the road narrative.

At Gainesville’s Burrito Famous.

Last week I ended the post by saying we were ready to pack it up and go. We packed it up and went!

FLORIDA

Could Vanna do it better?

Our first night was spent at O’Leno State Park, in High Springs. The Sante Fe River disappears into a sinkhole here, after which it flows underground for three miles before popping to the surface again and continuing its way to the Suwannee River. I recommend a visit to O’Leno State Park– it’s nice!

Swamp azaleas along the trail at O’Leno Park.

 

On the O’Leno suspension bridge.

 

River Sink. The Santa Fe River disappears here.

From there we went to Florida Caverns State Park, in Marianna. We took a tour of the caverns, which was a great thing to do! The tour took an hour, during which time we were more than 60 feet below the surface, surrounded by fantastically sculpted line rock. Electric lights kept us from multiple toe jams, or head jams, depending which end would have struck. Fantastic place.

The tour guide does her thing.

 

Stalactites.

 

Colored lights add an eerie ambiance.

We spent that night and the next at Moonpie Farm, where we got a full dose of farm animals. Elizabeth, the owner, was super nice and except for the no showers part it was a great place to camp.

Elizabeth and Ivan, of Moonpie Farm.

 

Elizabeth makes several goat’s milk cheeses.

 

Unlike most geese, these were almost nice!

We also visited Falling Waters State Park, the location of Florida’s highest waterfall! It’s a lovely little falls, where the water drops deep into a sinkhole. It was cool to see, but, it was then, OK, what else ya got? We took a short hike around a lovely landscape, but short was the operative word.

Florida’s highest waterfall!

 

An unusual type of thistle along the trail.

ALABAMA

We drove to Spanish Fort, Alabama, the next morning, to camp at Meaher State Park. It’s little more than an RV park- I would not go there again. A cold front with accompanying rain and lightning spiced up our stay.

Approaching front at Meaher.

MISSISSIPPI

We had breakfast in downtown Mobile the following morning, totally forgettable. Then we crossed another state line, into Mississippi. As I write this we’re at the Davis Bayou Campground in Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Walter Anderson’s personal room, now at the museum.

We visited the Walter Anderson Museum in Ocean Springs. This guy, like so many artists, was simply amazing. He was compelled to create, working with watercolors, oil paints, wood, clay, found materials- the medium didn’t matter. He rowed a little dingy 12 miles out into the Gulf all the time to get inspired by nature on uninhabited Horn Island, a barrier island off the coast. He had some fantastic work on display, easily a trip highlight for us.

A section of an Anderson mural at the museum.

 

Same mural, different section.

That cold front I mentioned? It meant business. When I woke up this morning, the air temperature was 39 degrees. The Sienna doesn’t have an auxiliary heater. We were not in a hurry to roll out of bed.

Pitcher plant blossom at the wildlife refuge.

When we did, we visited the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Like all federal properties these days, the visitor center was closed. We took a lovely, too-short hike through a pine savannah filled with pitcher and sundew plants. The pitcher plants were blooming, large yellow flowers, lots of them.

Random shot in Ocean Springs. Maynard G. Krebs, prop.

Tomorrow another state line awaits, I gar-on-tee!

Thank you for reading this week’s On the Road narrative!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or take a trip!

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: , , , , , , , ,

Virtual Tour of Sienna Van Build

March 27, 2021 by · 2 Comments

Virtual Tour of Sienna Van Build

The beast.

Thank you for reading this week’s Virtual Tour of Sienna Van Build.

Anyone who reads these posts on a regular basis knows that I have been working on a camper van conversion since purchasing the Sienna. I’m finished! thank you for your patience!

The solar panel supplies the power.

As you peruse the photos, keep in mind that I don’t have any sort of shop. I do have a rickety folding table and a couple of c-clamps, as well as a skil-saw, an electric jig saw, and an electric sander. And an electric drill, that was real important.

The power feeds into a charge controller.

On the roof is mounted a 200 watt, 12 volt solar panel from Rich Solar. Wires feed the generated current into a Rich Solar charge controller. From there a steady 12V current feeds into a positive busbar, which routes the energy to whatever circuits might be active (lights, fans, refrigerator, 12V sockets) or charges the auxiliary battery, or both. Or it might go into a Renogy inverter and get changed from 12V DC to 120V AC, for charging computers and i-pads, running an electric shaver, or what-have-you.

The positive busbar feeds power to the battery and to the 12V circuits, including the Dometic refrigerator. The inverter is under the busbars, hidden from view by the fridge.

There’s also a cable from the battery to a Renogy DC to DC charger, so I can charge my auxiliary battery from the car’s alternator.

The electrical distribution panel, full of fuses and two circuit breakers. We’re under the bed here. The yellow plug is the shore power line. There is an LED strip under here, too!

Again, I used a wiring diagram I got from ExploristLife.com. The only difference is that Nate uses his panels to charge four auxiliary batteries. He’s got a beefier vehicle than I, however. My thoughts were, if he uses these gauges of wire for a 400 watt system, they are way more than adequate for mine.

The rear cabinet, passenger side. Light strip underneath.

I have lots of fuses and circuit breakers in that wiring. And a fire extinguisher in the van!

The rear cabinet, driver side. Light strip underneath.

Lights- I have seven separate light circuits. Five of them are LED strips, two are LED reading lamps.

Switches and 12V plug, driver side. Top switch for under cabinet light, middle switch for under bed light, bottom switch controls inverter.To the right of the switches find the battery gauge. Above that is the reading lamp base. Below the gauge is a power strip, but I took the photo before installing the strip.

12 Volt plugs. There are five separate circuits for 12V plugs. Two of them are dedicated to our fans. The other three are for charging devices with a USB adapter plug.

Battery monitor.

There’s a battery monitor, analogous to a fuel gauge on a vehicle.

Looking in from the rear.

Under the rear bumper is a plug for plugging into the grid. I carry an extension cord.

Looking back from the sliding door.

Mounted inside the vehicle at the back of the driver side sliding door is a power strip that either plugs into the grid power or the inverter, for using devices requiring 120 volt AC power.

A headboard makes use of formerly unusable space, with lots of hooks for hanging things. At each end are our fans, those black things. And another light strip.

There are four small cabinets. There are plenty of hooks for hanging things.

The water box, filled with odds and ends. The front end of the bed is folded up.

I built a wooden box, for carrying bottles of water. It holds four one-gallon bottles and a five-gallon jug.

Of course there’s the bed, but the mattress is not in the van in these photos.

There’s also a little port-a-potty for buggy night-time urges.

We’re ready to pack it up and go.

Thank you for reading this week’s Virtual Tour of Sienna Van Build!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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, Sienna Van conversion · Tagged: , , ,

Went to Cape Coral

March 19, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Went to Cape Coral

Thank you for reading this week’s Went to Cape Coral post.

Saturday found Susan and I in the Sienna, going to Cape Coral on a bit of a shake-down, and to visit Alex and Allison. We went to Cape Coral!

We arrived around supper time, and after dining on Susan’s chili, we watched Coming 2 America. As could be expected, it was silly. It was also well-done and pretty entertaining. I’m glad we watched it!

Went went to the Six-Mile Slough.

Sunday morning, Susan, Allison, and I went to the Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, someplace I had always wanted to visit. The boardwalk wanders through the slough for about a mile-and-a-half loop. We took it slow, barely strolling. There were only a few flowers, and not a lot of wildlife, but the walk is pleasant. It was a good thing to do.

The boardwalk…

 

…a blue flag iris…

 

…a reflection of an old cypress tree…

 

…the woods…

 

…and a white ibis. Good walk!

Afterwards we went to Cafe Brasil for lunch. We all split the muqueca- yum! There may have been a caipirinha involved as well…

Alex and Allison’s neighbors, the burrowing owls.

That evening I went and photographed the owls, little burrowers that live down the street from Alex and Allison.

Their eyes! Pretty amazing!

Monday Alex and I went kayak fishing off Bunche Beach. He used spin, I used fly. He got more trout than me, I got more fish then him. My take, all on Clouser Minnows, included 2 small gag grouper, five mangrove snapper, a dozen or so trout to about 24 inches, and more ladyfish than all three of those others, combined. I stayed pretty busy, and was glad I had a de-hooker! Nothing very exciting, but it sure was nice getting bite after bite.

Didn’t bother taking pictures of fish. This is what was left of the first two flies, mangulated by the fishies. Yes, I did make up that word.

Tuesday morning I went out and shot a few photos of a Plumeria tree.

Frangipangi!

Then we drove home. On the way we got hungry, and stopped in Winter Haven at a dive called Tacos My Friend. Oh, my, for eight bucks we had plenty of belly-filling deliciousness. I recommend the Gorditas!

Tacos, My Friend

 

The menu.

The rest of the week was spent cleaning the van and the house, and testing the electrical systems in the van. So far, so good. It’s almost ready!

Thank you for reading this week’s Went to Cape Coral post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail! or eat tacos!

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: central florida destinations, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Home This Week Post

March 13, 2021 by · 2 Comments

Home This Week Post

I stayed home this week. Thank you for reading this week’s Home This Week post! As the soothsayer said, Beware the Ides of March!

No Surprise There Department

This manatee probably wants a solid meal.

Received a press release from the Defenders of Wildlife-
“More than 400 Florida manatees have died since the start of 2021, fueling concern for the iconic and federally threatened species’ future. The 2021 mortalities are larger than the combined totals of the first two months of 2010, during a particularly cold and prolonged winter. While the current winter has not been as severe, scientists are examining the causes for the dramatic spike in deaths. So far, cold stress combined with the loss of large areas of seagrass—the manatees’ staple food—appear to be the primary causes of death in recent months for manatees along the central and south Atlantic coast of Florida.

“Due to a variety of factors, including water pollution and algal blooms exacerbated by urban and agricultural runoff, leaking septic systems and other culprits, significant areas of seagrass meadows that manatees depend on have been wiped out, causing many animals to become sick or starve.”

The Save the Manatee Club made a big newsy splash back around year 2000 by suing the state of Florida and the Federal Government for not doing enough to save manatees. The result of that was huge new slow speed zones for boaters. We must have been an easy target.

I’ve been wondering for five or six years now where the SMC was, since all the seagrass was dying and they haven’t made a peep about it. Hard to sue everyone who eats and poops.

I don’t the problem will be solved for a long time. Get used to dirty water and a lot fewer manatees. It’s sad.

Boat Class

Marker 24 Marina, a shiny new facility.

Wednesday mid-day found me at Marker 24 Marina on Merritt Island, where I joined Capt. Mike Berry for Boat Class, Intermediate BoatClass + Advanced Docking.

If you want to legally operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the United States, you must pass a written test that shows that you know what the rules are, and you must pass a road test that shows you can competently operate a motor vehicle. Here in Florida, if you want to operate a motor vessel, you just buy it, get in, and go.

Florida ranks No. 1 nationwide in both recreational boating accidents and deaths on the water, according to a United States Coast Guard report released this week. It’s an unwanted distinction that the state has earned every year since at least 2015. According to the Coast Guard’s 2019 Recreational Boating Statistics Report released Wednesday, there were 679 boat accidents in Florida that year. Of those, 55 were fatal, resulting in 62 deaths.

Might some boater education mitigate those grim statistics???

Capt. Mike teaches the three-hour class, on the water!

Brunswick Corporation has kicked off BoatClass, which I found to be very thorough. Three hours of on-the-water boat operation, led by an expert boater! The stress on safety was admirable. I don’t meet many people with more boating experience than mine, but Capt. Mike has a lot more, and taught me many things that I did not know. I recommend the class without reservation- it’s superb!

Get more information here- https://www.boatblurb.com/post/brunswick-corporation-launches-boatclass-on-water-training-program.

Fishing Friday
Friday the wind was down enough (you can understand why wind-pollinated plants like slash pines and live oaks drop their pollen this time of year) that I went kayak fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. There are plants growing on the bottom again in many places. They’re invasive, and are probably going to cause more problems. We’ll see.

I could tell it had been a while since I was out. There was rust! 🙁  I pooched a couple easy shots, not that there were lots of chances.

I showed the fly to four redfish. Two spooked off, two bit. I caught one, the other coming off after a few seconds. The day was beautiful, there was joy to be had just paddling around on a day like that. There are many fewer boats out there than there used to be. I guess that happens when the fishing goes to hell.

I’ll keep trying though. There is still the sun, and the water, and the birds, and an occasional fish…

Thank you for reading this week’s Home This Week post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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, opinion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , ,

Fly Fishing Austin and Central Texas- A Review

March 8, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Fly Fishing Austin and Central Texas- A Review

Fly Fishing Austin and Central Texas, by Aaron Reed. Imbrefex Books, Las Vegas, NV, 2020, paperback, 384 pages including index, $24.95.

My first impression upon handling Fly Fishing Austin was, “Wow, this book is stout.” The entire production oozes quality, from the paper stock, to the four-color reproduction, to the quality of the maps and images. The author and the publisher both did a great job producing a good-looking book.

That quality carries over into the text.

As you could expect in any fly-fishing guidebook, the first chapters tell you what to expect when you get there, what gear to bring, and what flies you need, including directions on how to tie them, or where to buy them if you choose not to tie. Unusual for a fishing guidebook, there are also playlists so you can get in that central Texas mood while you’re getting ready or travelling to the fishing spot.

A long chapter explains what you might find dangling from, or breaking, your leader. Did you know four species (or subspecies) of black bass call central Texas home? Or that North America’s only native cichlid is found here?

Three sections of the book divide central Texas into three fish-filled regions, with detailed instructions on how to find, access, and fish the waters found there. For example-

“This stretch of water can be fished before you get wet. The knee-to-thigh-deep pool between the bridges is littered with boulders, and the fish- sunfish and small bass, mostly- act like they’ve never been disturbed.

“About 1,000 feet upstream from this pool, above the old broken bridge, is the first really big pool. Formed behind a natural limestone ledge, the pool is 300 yards long and chest-deep at the tail. The ledges along the south bank hold fish, as does the vegetated shoreline on your right (river left). There are some big bass in here, as well as catfish. A wade in thigh-to-waist-deep water, right up the middle, beginning just above the bottom of the pool, will allow you to fish both banks.”

I found the details in the river descriptions borderline astonishing. A lot of on-the-water research went into the making of this book. At the end of each fishing spot description a page or two describes a local watering hole (or two!) where you might find some microbrew and barbeque. It’s a nice touch!

A chapter describes the joy you receive from taking children fly fishing.

Another chapter describes, in surprising detail, the flora and fauna you’ll encounter while tramping around central Texas waters. Pages describing colorful local history are sprinkled throughout the work.

Appendices include local fly shops, fly clubs, guides, and liveries, as well as stream access points by latitude and longitude. And the book is indexed, a feature I find very helpful. And there’s a few pages “For Further Reading,” although unless you’re a scholar I don’t know why you’d need that!

I have never considered central Texas as a fishing destination. After reading Fly Fishing Austin and Central Texas I want to go there. This is a great book, and a must-read for any fly-fisher considering making a trip to central Texas.

-John Kumiski

Filed Under: book reviews · Tagged: , , ,

Southwest Florida Travel Post

March 6, 2021 by · 1 Comment

Southwest Florida Travel Post and Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this week’s Southwest Florida Travel post.

Yours truly was a guest on the Fish Untamed podcast. I listened to it half expecting to be embarrassed and was pleasantly surprised that I came off as well-informed and perhaps even thoughtful.

Thanks for having me on the show, Katie!    https://fishuntamed.com

——————————————————-

Monday morning found me driving to Everglades City in the wee hours of the morning. I wanted to catch the outgoing tide all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, and low tide was at 11 AM. I mostly made it.

The kayak on the return trip, after eating and drinking for a couple days.

Paddlers need to know how to time the tides. Paddling against the current isn’t hard if the current doesn’t run fast. The moon phases where the highest volume of water moves are the new moon, closely followed by the full moon. Much less water is moving on quarter moons.

Another good thing to know is that 1/12th the total water volume moves during the first hour of the tide. One-sixth the volume moves during the second hour. During the third and fourth hours, half the total volume that’s moving does so. During the fifth hour the flow slows again, with 1/6th the total volume moving. And during the last hour, 1/12th, all that’s left, moves.

So if you must paddle against tidal flow, the best time to do it is on a quarter moon, near the top or bottom of the tide. If only the wind speed were so predictable.

I got out to Jewell Key near mid-day. Other campers were there, but there was plenty of room for me. After setting up camp I tried fishing. At my favorite spot the water was too deep to wade, and too rough to fish from the boat. So I tried other areas.

My favorite spot at low tide. These rocks usually hold fish. Not this time…

It was slow. I managed a couple each of jacks and ladyfish and one small snook, all on plastic shad.

Same area, same tide, different angle.

By the time sunset came around, I was ready to get horizontal. It had been a long day!

Sunset, into the Gulf.

Tuesday morning’s low tide found me in my favorite place. I worked it hard, both on foot and from the boat. The fish were not there. I managed four trout in four hours, and it’s not like they were big ones. I tried several other spots, and got nothing. By then it was high tide, when I typically don’t do well anyway. So I returned to camp and took a nap.

Did some stargazing and star photography.

That evening I stayed up and did some stargazing, always an enjoyable pastime. The wind was sufficient that the bugs were near non-existent.

Praise the Lord for a new day!

Wednesday the wind was blowing hard, and the sky looked like rain. After the previous day I figured fishing would be a wash. Bag it, John! Go see something new! I paddled back to Everglades City, then drove to Fakahatchee Strand, where I had never been.

Lots of clouds around for the sunrise.

The Big Cypress boardwalk was a tremendous one-mile walk. Most cypress in Florida are second-growth. But this place has massive, virgin cypress trees. My regret was the walk wasn’t longer.

The boardwalk.

 

Beautiful, big cypress trees.

 

The strangler fig killed this cypress.

 

Little blue? tri-color? heron along the trail.

From there I went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, another place I had long wanted to visit. I got there and the gate was chained. Oops!

I ended up in Cape Coral, camping in son Alex’s driveway.

Getting ready for the tour.

Thursday I took an three hour ecotour with Kayak-Excursions. It was fun and educational, and the mangrove tunnel at the end was one of the nicest I’ve seen, just awesome. I highly recommend their services, https://kayak-excursions.com.

Launching!

 

Paddling amongst the pelicans.

 

In the mangrove tunnel.

Friday? Clean-up on aisle 4. After that trip the van was trashed. Now it’s nice and clean, as is all my gear.

Thank you for reading this week’s Southwest Florida Travel post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or take a kayak ecotour!!

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, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish

February 27, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish Post

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish post. Spring is breaking in central Florida!

Monday I took care of honey-do’s, like repairing the clothes dryer (again!) and buying a new refrigerator. Ah, how I enjoy the minutia of day-to-day existence!

Except for the catching, everything about the day was fantastic.

Trying not to give up too easily, Tuesday I tried the Econlockhatchee again. I went to the most remote section of the river that I know how to access. The water was higher than I like, if I had a choice in such things as water levels. The wind was blowing, but where I was that mattered not.

The gum and maple trees are leafing out.

The day was spectacular.

Even the alligators seemed happy.

I worked it pretty hard. Got two smallish bass on a Culprit red shad worm. Got nothing on the 3″ plastic shad. Got some decent photos of the woods and river. Did not see another hominid.

HERE ARE THE LEAVES!

Catching might have been better, but I enjoyed the day, like totally, man!

Wednesday, after getting COVID shot #2, I finished up wiring the van.*

Thursday I dropped the auxiliary battery in, hooked it up, and turned on the power.

NO SMOKE! Hurray!

I tested all six 12V sockets. Power to all!

I tested the reading lights. Power to both!

I tested the five LED light strips, all which worked when tested before installation. Not one worked. I spent the rest of the day messing with one of those circuits. At day’s end, none of them worked. As I type this none of them work. Clearly, more work needs to be done there.

It looks ready to go to me!

Friday Tammy Wilson took me out on the Atlantic out of Port Canaveral, on an absolutely stunning day. She said (and I paraphrase), “Wanna go look for tarpon and cobia?” I asked, “What’s the water temperature?” “Sixty-three degrees.” “We won’t see a thing.”

I was wrong. We found a school of small bluefish. We saw three small tripletail. I took a picture of the rocket scheduled to go up Sunday night.

*I have not put the solar panel on the roof yet. The panel and carrying a kayak are mutually exclusive, so the panel will be installed as soon as I know I won’t be carrying a kayak for a while.

I’m going fishing next week. So I should have an actual fishing report.

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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, Sienna Van conversion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , ,

Wetlands Park Post

February 21, 2021 by · 4 Comments

Wetlands Park Post

Thank you for reading this week’s Wetlands Park post. Lots of pictures this week!

The Wetlands Park visit happened Monday. The winds, like today’s, made it too hard to fish. So I took a couple cameras and went for a walk, about two miles, and a little more.

It was Gatorama.

Surprise! There were lots of cars there when I got there- President’s Day. Didn’t bother the wildlife at all.

It was Gator-ama. And of course there were birds there. Saw a mudfish and some gar, no bass, although I’m sure they are there. Perfect place for them, protected from human predation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday afternoon, another blowy day, I visited the Econ on foot. Got one redbelly on a crappie jig. Then I lost that on some lumber. Tried the plastic shad and plastic worm, cast for about two hours, for a couple gar bites.

Friday afternoon I fished another section of the Econ, again it was blowy (it was blowy all week), and again I was on foot. Again tried the shad and the worm. Did not touch a fish.

So I put five hours or so into the Econ with a single redbelly to show for it. Not very good catching there.

Van update- wired the fans and the inside lights, and finished wiring the DC side of the distribution panel. Ran a wire from the battery to the DC-DC charger. The prediction, and goal, was to have the wiring completed by month’s end. It looks like that will happen. Hopefully nothing will catch fire when I flip the power switch to “ON”!

Thank you for reading this week’s Wetlands Park post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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: central florida destinations, Photo Essays · Tagged: , ,

Valentine’s Day Post

February 13, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day Post

This means Valentines Day to the true fisherman!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post.

One year I procrastinated with the Valentine’s thing. The night before, I was at the card rack at Publix, with 18 other loser guys. All of us were looking for the perfect card in a completely picked-over selection. Lesson learned.

I hope you got what you needed before the mad rush started.

John Gilbert, engaged.

Tuesday found me in the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns River. John Gilbert was my guest. It took me about three minutes to get our first shad, so naturally I expected “great things”.

Taking a break…

We were there four hours, got seven or eight between us, definitely not “great things”. All on spin tackle. Could not buy a strike with the fly. Gilbert surprised me when he said the first one he got was the first one he ever got!

The happy man. Fish, not so much.

I thought the sunset would be killer so I went back out to photograph it. It was only OK. Yes, I am being so presumptuous as to grade the sunset. It was awesome, of course, but not what I had hoped for. I made the best of it.

Pretty killer for not so killer.

The rest of the week I ran a couple errands, worked on the wiring for the van (I should be finished by month’s end!), and spent time on Instagram. Not an exciting week!

Love the palm trees!

Except the Bucs won the Super Bowl!

Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , ,

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

February 6, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

Thank you for reading this week’s post. It’s certainly not exciting from a fishing standpoint, but I am excited about progress on the van conversion. Gee, that sounded exactly like last week!

Had two other posts this week-

–What’s in Your Fishing First Aid Kit?, a guest blog courtesy of Justin Walker, and

–Free and Fearless: The Amazing Impact of One Precious Life– A Book Review. This was an inspiring book about love and loss. Check them out!

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Before we do anything else, a shout-out!

Sunday my phone rang, kind of unusual these days. Ed Wasicki called me. He subscribes to this blog, so he knows I’m working on a van conversion. During our conversation he offered to give some camping gear he no longer needed, which I thought rather generous of him.

Monday morning, we met at the SR 50 St. Johns River boat ramp, where he did his best to fill the van! Here’s a photo of the boo-tay:

Ed gave me a pile of good stuff!

So, I gotta shout out, THANK YOU SO MUCH, ED!

Ed also gave me the number of the VA COVID vaccination clinic, a place I’d already called without luck. I called while driving home, and got an appointment for Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I went and got the first shot. So, thanks again, Ed!

On Tuesday I worked on the van, doing wiring.

Thursday, while cool, had not much wind. I went kayak fishing on Mosquito Lagoon on a spectacular day. The fishing was not spectacular. It was pretty dreadful, for hours.

This was the weather I had to endure. Pretty easy!

I found a culvert with water flowing through it. Not expecting anything, I cast into the flow. BAM! After a second or two it came unbuttoned. He did get my attention, though. I continued casting to that same ten foot area for about 45 minutes, and released a half-dozen slot reds. It was shocking, although in a good way.

Yah yah, I caught da feesh!

I started with the- wait, what fly was it? That’s right! The brown slider! I had some short strikes so I took it off, for the first time in six or eight weeks, and put a smaller fly on that I tied by making dubbing from our cat’s fur (no I’m not making this up). It looks like a big nymph, the kind you would use for trout fishing. The fish seemed to like it!

That bite dried up, the way they always do, and that was it. I stopped at the Big Little Econ State Forest on the way home and photographed the sunset.

Cirrus clouds equal awesome sunsets, a simple equation.

Friday and Saturday I worked on wiring the van. Here’s a photo I took on Friday of what I’m doing.

Even though I’m a gomer, this looks fairly professional.

Here’s picture of my wiring diagram, courtesy of exploristlife.com.

Click on the diagram to see a bigger copy.

As long as I’m shouting out, Nate Yarborough, who I have never met, has, through his website and youtube channel, taught me how to do this job. Awesome information there, Nate, and thank you so much!

There’s a football game coming up, that Super Bowl thing you may have heard of. Go Bucs!

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post about the van conversion!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

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, Sienna Van conversion · Tagged: , ,
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