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Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

May 27, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

Please take a moment right now for a small prayer for all the men and women whose sacrifices we should be remembering this weekend.

This Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report details trips to the Mosquito Lagoon, St. Johns River, and Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday

Nile with one of the redfish he caught.

Matt and Niles Smith, father and son, joined me on Spotted Tail for a Mosquito Lagoon outing. Three tarpon rolled next to the boat as we idled through Haulover Canal, the first tarpon I’ve seen this year.

Not to be outdone, Matt got one, too.

We were happily fishing for trout when I spotted redfish tails. We got on them without attracting the attention of the many other boats around, getting five nice reds before they vacated the area. DOA CAL shad were the bait of choice. Oh yes, the trout fishing was pretty good, too.

Monday

Tammy shows off a mini-bass. It’s as big as they get that size!

Channel cat on fly!

Tammy Wilson led me on a St. Johns River excursion. The river is ankle-deep in many places. We did not get any big fish but got five different species of fish on mostly surface flies. We also found three dead cows. They stink is a most foul manner.

Got me sum bass, two!

The river valley has some exquisite places…

Tuesday

This silly fish ate an Alaskan fly.

John went back to the St. Johns River by himself in an attempt to capitalize on what he learned the previous day. He stuck to subsurface flies (a black egg-sucking bunny leech worked quite well) and got largemouth bass, bluegill and red-breasted sunfish, three channel cats (!), four bowfin, one spotted gar, and one tilapia. Didn’t get the crappie or Plecostomas.

The bowfin, a fish in need of some love.

A large, aggressive alligator get much too close for comfort. Something about that gar splashing attracted it. I left the area post-haste.

Bull bluegill on a purple bunny leech. I lost all of the egg-sucking leeches I had.

Speaking of gar, what they need is some good PR. From now on I’m referring to them as garlin in what might be a misguided attempt to make them more popular among anglers.

Mudfish need PR too. Anyone have a good, appealing, alternate name for the mighty bowfin??

Wednesday
Ray Rowe was my guest on Spotted Tail. Although it was windy the fish were biting well. We got a lot of slot seatrout, although the big ones eluded us.

Thursday
Ray Rowe was again my guest on Spotted Tail. It wasn’t as windy as Wednesday but it was colder. Fishing was tougher, but we still got about 20 trout, mostly slot fish. The best of the day measured 22 inches. Thank you again, Mr. DOA CAL shad. And of course Mr. Rowe, too.

Friday
Found John at the helm of Spotted Tail, searching the mighty Atlantic for denizens of the deep. In an ideal world he would have found gobs of big tarpon. As it was, eight hours of diligently searching turned up some northern sennet, a few bluefish, a couple ladyfish, the smallest little tunny I have ever seen, and to top off the day a mighty mongo jack crevalle. I tried to get one on the twelve-weight but they were not having that nonsense.

The jack crevalle, different from channel cats.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Memorial Day Orlando fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, port canaveral fishing report, seatrout fishing, St. Johns River

My Favorite Alaska Photo s- A Photo Essay

May 16, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Pink salmon fill the 108 Creek on Prince of Wales Island.

My Favorite Alaska Photos

This Alaska Photo Essay contains my favorite photos from the ten summers I’ve spent (so far) in Alaska.

“Count your blessings.” While actually doing just that, I realized how fortunate I was to have spent those ten summers working in Alaska. My debt of gratitude to Bob Stearns for recommending me and to Mike Gorton at the Goodnews River Lodge for hiring me back in 2007 is tremendous. I could never thank either of them enough.

For that matter I owe many thanks to Kevin Ryter at the Lodge at Whale Pass, where the last three summers were spent. Both places have filled me with awesome memories of people and places, landscapes and wildlife. I am a blessed individual!

In ten years lots of images were taken. Narrowing all of them down the three photos per year for a total of thirty that appear in this essay was difficult. The things I do for my readers!

Please take a moment to peruse. Feedback is welcome.

This waterlogged four-foot-long log put up an epic battle on Willie’s eight-weight. The fly pattern was not recorded, sadly.

Tyler Williams looks over the Goodnews River valley from the peak of an extinct volcano called Tsuktulig.

A TransNorthern Airways DC-3 approaches the runway in Goodnews Bay.

Sea stars in a tidal pool on Indian Creek, Prince of Wales Island.

Rick Ross, a true personality in Goodnews Bay before his untimely death.

The technical weather window at Yute Airways world headquarters in Bethel.

South fork, Goodnews River.

Making an early morning baggage run on the Goodnews River.

Rodney Smith wanted me to take him to catch a rainbow trout. Mission accomplished!

Son Alex looks over the Goodnews River from Tsuktulig.

Ross looks over the south fork of the Goodness River.

Michaela Chloe on Tsuktulig.

Son Maxx on Lookout Mountain, looking over the Goodnews River valley.

Me, Judy Uhde, Ross.

M/V Thorne is dwarfed by the LeConte Glacier face.

Chuck holds a fat, fly-caught king salmon, Goodnews River.

Jim Vinalyk and a high flying silver salmon at the Swallows, Goodnews River.

Jacob’s ladder grows in the Goodnews River valley.

Humpback whales feeding in the Clarence Strait.

A glorious, fish-filled afternoon on the Goodnews River.

Jim Vinalyk fly casting on the Goodnews River.

Son Alex battles a silver salmon on the Goodnews River.

Notice the tiny speck of M/V Etolin, a 24 foot vessel with kayaks on the roof, in the lower right corner of this photo of the LeConte Glacier.

The Devil’s Thumb looms over fishing vessels near Petersburg, Alaska.

I taught Christian Ontaje how to tie a bunny leech. This king salmon is the first fish he caught on his first fly.

Brown bear eating a chum salmon, Goodnews River.

Paddling a kayak next to an iceberg near the LeConte Glacier.

Dr. Jenny on the bow of the M/V Blashke, near the LeConte Glacier.

Mr. Bill fights a jumping silver salmon on the middle fork of the Goodness River.

A float plane takes off near the mouth of the LeConte Fiord.

And that is my Alaska photo essay, ten summers in Alaska. Thank you for your time!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Alaska fishing, alaska photos, Goodnews River, Goodnews River Lodge, LeConte Glacier, lodge at whale pass, prince of wales island, salmon fishing, whale pass

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

May 13, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who have given birth. What a miracle, to be able to bring another being into the world, to nurture and teach it until adulthood! This is the Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Summer just may have started here. The afternoon light has that blasting everything quality to it. It was 94 degrees this afternoon (Wednesday). The water in the lagoon is quite low, surprisingly so for this time of year. It’s also still quite clean. I expect that to change with this summer’s installment of Algae Bloom. Let’s all pray that John is wrong on this one.

There are stupid numbers of manatees out there. Boater’s don’t seem to be paying any attention. I found a dead manatee today, a small one. I reported it by telephone to Officer Jane Whaley.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has apparently had enough of bank fishermen littering along the Haulover Canal, something that has been a big problem for years. This week these new signs were observed along the south side of the canal, in both English and Spanish:

SUNDAY
Fly fisher and New Yorker Anthony LaBarbera joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. It was hardly fish-slamming time. We got the first bite around 11 AM, a nice enough trout that took a streamer. The rest of the day yielded two more strikes and one more trout. We saw quite a few, but for a change it wasn’t windy. Of course the fish were spooky, a trend that continued for the rest of the week.

We worked hard for this baby!

MONDAY
Good friend Tammy Wilson and I went a-kayakin’ on the Indian River Lagoon. We ran over maybe a half-dozen fish before Tammy had a good shot at one, which she converted. You’re so professional, Howie! I later got one blind-casting a black bunny leech, a sure case of the blind pig finding an acorn. There were not a lot of fish around. But it’s always fun fishing with Tammy.

The woman, the fantasy…

TUESDAY
Brent Chapdelaine and his friend Tom joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friends the DOA CAL Shad and the RipTide Sardine we hit trout pretty steadily if not exactly rapid-fire.

At one point my astonished eyes noted a school of redfish moving, with occasional busts and tailing happening. We moved to intercept. Brent made a perfect cast, and, as he should have been, was rewarded with a fine 26 inch red. He says it was the biggest fish he’s ever caught, and it certainly was the day’s most exciting moment.

WEDNESDAY
Ken Schanze and his friend Dennis joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friend the DOA CAL Shad we hit trout sporadically, getting six in the slot and one over. We saw very few redfish.

For weeks I whined about the wind. It has not been blowing this week and conditions have been gorgeous if somewhat warm. But the slick conditions combined with the low water have made the fish very, very flighty.

THURSDAY
Rick Busch and his friend Seng from Cambodia joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. Seng caught the largest fish of his life! Spotted Tail had that happen twice this week, awesome!

Rachel and a handsome trout.

FRIDAY
Matt Leonard and his lovely bride Rachel joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. They caught a few fairly nice trout. We did not see a redfish, did not see one yesterday, did not see one Wednesday. I’d love to know what happened to all of them.

Same woman, different fish.

SATURDAY
My least favorite day to fish, this one wasn’t too bad because of the weather forecast. Josh and Cody joined me. We looked briefly and unsuccessfully for redfish, then fell back on the unspectacular but steady trout. They caught a few good ones.

Josh. Trout. DOA CAL.

Ordinarily cloudy, windy days are killer trout days. This one was pretty much like the rest of the week.

Cody. Trout. DOA CAL.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, fly fishing orlando, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

Solo Chokoloskee Fishing Report- A Photo Essay

May 5, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Solo Chokoloskee Fishing Report

We could have called this report, “Last White Man Without a GPS Goes to the Everglades.” I have been to Chokoloskee before of course, but not for a long time. I took my skiff and a kayak, by myself. Thus the Solo Chokoloskee fishing report.

No GPS. These are my navigational aids.

Last Saturday I checked the calendar for the coming week. Holy cow! I have no work! What to do?

“Go to the Everglades,” said a voice in my head. My bride said, “You’re going by yourself?!” “I don’t know anyone who could just take off for four days on the spur of the moment,” I replied. Sunday I packed my stuff. Monday morning about 4:30 I was on the road.

The ranger at Everglades City was a cute redhead with lots of freckles. I should have gotten her picture.

Kenny Brown is still behind the counter at the Outdoor Resorts, probably in his third decade there. Talk about a rock of stability!

That Kumiski guy about to leave the dock at Outdoor Resort in Chokoloskee.

I had a magnificent campsite, waterfront with a view of the sunrise, on the Gulf of Mexico. While there were mosquitos, they weren’t anywhere close to what I thought they’d be. Minor problem.

This was an awesome campsite, but there wasn’t much in the way of shade.

The Mitzi and the OK wait patiently to go fishing.

This black skimmer was one of my neighbors…

…and the terns were in the high rent district.

All of my Everglades camping has been during the winter. A solar day in May lasts much longer than one in December. Just sayin’. And it was hot at the end of the day, which was a bigger problem than the bugs.

Unloading the skiff in my temporary home in Paradise.

Construction of the Taj Mahal…

Monday afternoon I tried fishing. The tide was high. The wind was out of the west, blowing like it was in a hurry to get somewhere. The water was dirty. I wasn’t quite sure of where I was (no GPS), and certainly had some self-doubt creeping into my consciousness. Fatigue and lack of cooperation from the fish did not help.

Casting in high water did not work for me.

I took some time to smell the bay beans…

Beat up from the travelling, fishing, and heat, getting horizontal in my hot Taj Mahal of a tent felt heavenly. An extended rain shower cooled things off. I still love the sound rain makes on my tent fly!

A good night’s sleep and a good cup of joe made the morning much brighter.

Tuesday morning, newly optimistic, I headed for Lostmans’s, hoping to work out the 12-weight. Halfway there the sea was getting rough. Discretion spoke up. “If it gets any worse…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I pulled in to the nearest shore line and started looking.

First fish of the trip. Nice little fishy!

There’s a shark. Oh, there’s a snook! And another one! It’s a little pack of them! I managed to scare them all with a large hair bug. It got switched for a streamer that produced two strikes. The second fish was healthy and took the fly with him. A second streamer fooled several more snook. I was pleased with the start.

Streamers worked well.

Red mangroves, the unofficial plant of the Florida Everglades.

I ran to a spot closer to camp and started looking again. Pop! A snook hit some bait in really skinny water. “That’s why you brought the kayak, John.” I paddled over, saw the fish, and tossed a little foam popper at it. He had an argument with himself about whether or not he should hit it. Unfortunately I lost that debate.

I flushed at least two dozen snook in the half mile of shoreline I paddled, scraping bottom much of the time. I just could not see them first. But I knew where to fish the next day.

At one spot I stopped all I caught were some photos.

When the tide got right the next morning me and the fly pole went paddling again. The bite was good, producing several snook, a nice red, several missed strikes, and a couple of break-offs. Then the water got really skinny again, and the fish stopped biting.

Snook on a gurgler, always exciting!

This red was my first on a fly rod popper in several years.

Breaking down camp took minutes. On the way back to Chokoloskee I learned where to look for tarpon, for future reference. I felt my way through Rabbit Key Pass with a Top Spot chart, managing not to break anything, or even really hit the bottom. Slept in my own bed Wednesday night, after what was a really enjoyable, if somewhat short, trip.

The sun sets on my mini-vacation…

I enjoy fishing with that John Kumiski guy. He has a weird sense of humor, but he also has a good heart.

—————————————-
Last week I wrote, “One of Benjamin Ashworth’s birthday presents was a day with me (?!), fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. Girlfriend Chely was along too.”

I emailed Benjamin’s mom a thank you note. This was her response-

“They were so pleased with the fishing and had a wonderful time. They raved about you and how it was such a great fishing trip. As well as the bonus of seeing a good variety of wildlife! They felt you were a great and knowledgeable guide and would love to go fishing with you again. Thank you again for making it a special birthday gift for Benjamin and Chely.”

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week. John, thank you for fishing with me!

That is the Solo Chokoloskee fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, chokoloskee fishing report, everglades fishing report, florida fishing, fly fishing, fly fishing for snook, kayak fishing, redfish, snook fishing

A Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 22, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

A Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The wind just won’t quit. This is a mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

It still blew like snot most of the week, especially at the end of it.

Monday
Ian Clemens and his friend Rick joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Those guys worked it hard, tossing both DOA CAL Shad and RipTide Sardines. Rick also had his own supply of “flukes”, on which he got several fish. They got 30 or so trout to about 24 inches, although many were short. Ian also managed a single black drum. We saw very few redfish. Still, action was pretty steady.

Ian with his black drum, the biggest fish of the week.

Monday afternoon Terry Roe and his grandson Luke joined me for Round 2! By now the wind was up and the fish were not as cooperative. They managed a dozen fish, all trout, none particularly large, although most were in the slot.

Luke got his self a fish!

Tuesday
Newcastle England flycaster Dave Swan and his two lads, Ben and Matthew, joined me after detouring all around Florida because of smoke-closed roads. Amazingly there was hardly any wind! I didn’t know what to do!

Out of the gate we found a huge mass of redfish. Wasn’t I surprised! It was all for naught though. We could not get near them, did not get a shot, did not get a bite, and left them in a state of frustration.

Ben with the morning’s only fish.

We got a single trout all morning. The boys were wonderfully patient.

Running south there was a puff of smoke and a burst of flame from the Space Center. A rocket launch! I shut off the boat and we watched the launch. Talk about a day saver!

Matthew got a few, too. These boys were more patient than most adults, just great!

The afternoon wasn’t great but anything would be better than the morning. We ended up with a dozen trout or so, and a single lonely ladyfish.

Wednesday
Paul Berube, a fly fisher from Fort Kent, and his friend Al, found themselves in Spotted Tail. The wind was back and I figured the redfish might not be there. There were a few, and they let us a little closer to them than the previous morning, but it was early and they weren’t tailing. We ran over a few, they spooked the rest, and we had the same result as the previous day. Again, we got only a single trout all morning.

There was no launch to bail me out this time.

I found another school of redfish and chased them around for 30 minutes before losing them. Again we did not get a shot.

Al from Fort Kent worked hard all day for this one fish.

We fished hard all afternoon and came up with one more trout. Ouch. It was a really tough day.

Friday
Tammy met me at the Port. Every boat in central Florida appeared to be there- the parking lot was completely full! The forecast was wind SE at 5-10. The weatherman pranked us again.

We got out, made about a 1/2 mile loop, and went right back in again. Too rough already, and if it gets worse….

We went to Mosquito Lagoon. The wind did get much worse. We fished three spots, got four trout at the second, and that was it. The lagoon was covered in whitecaps when we left.

That is a mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

I’d like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, seatrout fishing

Small Craft Advisory Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 9, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

I dropped Taubin’s trout overboard, but we did get the pic of the drum.

Small Craft Advisory Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The wind was ridiculous all week. I only fished three days because of it. So we have a small craft advisory Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Monday found Alex Worden and his friend Taubin (spelling?) in Spotted Tail, hoping to do battle with some denizens of the shallows. Need I say the wind was blowing? And we had some clouds, too. Taubin, who had not caught a fish in about 40 years (his estimate) got the first fish, a nice trout that once unhooked flopped over the gunwale before I could get the camera.

We got blown out of a couple spots because the skiff was filling with water, but managed a black drum at one of them before giving up on the windy spots and hiding in lees. Several more trout came aboard, some of them quite nice, on shad tails. Nary a redfish was captured, however.

It was a nice enough day if you weren’t fishing. The surface of the lagoon looked like a washing machine a good part of the day, though.

Tuesday fly fishers Jon Lancto and his friend Evan joined me, again on Mosquito Lagoon. It started off with heavy overcast and high south winds and proceeded to get worse. My plan was simple- go to the pole-troll area and stay on lee shorelines as much as possible. A good enough plan it was, but unfortunately there were no fish on those shorelines.

We took advantage of ten minutes without wind to hit a couple trout.

A point in the day came where the wind laid down. We could see dark rain clouds and lightning flashing to the north, but took the brief (as it turned out) opportunity to hit a couple seatrout. Then the wind came up stronger than ever, 180 degrees opposite of where it had been coming from, with a ten degree temperature drop.

We raced the storm back to the boat ramp, only getting minorly wet along the way. We were off the water about 130 PM.

Wednesday the sun was out, so in spite of the fact the trees were rocking back and forth I loaded up the kayak and went to the Econ. The water is as low as I’ve ever seen it. I thought I would do well. HA!

In four hours I got four dink bass. Didn’t see much in the way of fish, nor did I see an alligator (???). Did see a couple pairs of eagles and a swallow-tailed kite, one of my favorite birds. It was a lovely day and paddle, even if the fishing was slow.

Thursday found me at Discount Water Supply where I purchased a whole new water system for my home. Friday and Saturday I ripped out the fifteen-year-old one and put in the new one. Now we have clean, sweet water again!

That is the small craft advisory Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Black drum, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, seatrout fishing

Week of the Black Drum Fishing Report

April 1, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Week of the Black Drum Fishing Report

We caught other kinds of fish this week, but black drum were the stars. Thus the black drum fishing report.

Thank You!
Many thanks to all those folks who responded to my question about eastern Tennessee. I got more information than I could handle in a busy week!

Alaska
Mike Adamson shared this link by email- https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/03/150-years-ago-today-the-us-bought-alaska-from-russia-for-72-million/521340/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-weekly-033117 . Definitely worth the few minutes it takes to check it out.

Manatees Delisted
In a move guaranteed to generate controversy, the US Department of the Interior has removed the West Indian manatee from the endangered species list. You can read the entire press release here- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/manatee-reclassified-from-endangered-to-threatened/Solo Skiff
Tom Mitzlaff posted a video that has gotten six million views! See it here- https://www.facebook.com/SoloSkiff/videos/1274846345945765/

Fishing!

Bass on RipTide.

Sunday I went to a pond in Oviedo and in the howling winds managed to spin fish my way to a handful of bass. The lure was the RipTide Sardine.

No trophies- the best fish of the afternoon.

Monday fly fisherman Jeff Leishman joined me for a fly fishing trip on the Banana River Lagoon. The weather was spectacular, a chamber-of-commerce kind of day.

Jeff with one of many black drum.

We weren’t out very long when we spotted a tail, and then another, and then the whole place was loaded with tailing fish. Jeff, tossing a crab imitation, did some serious work with those fish. We had five or six double hookups. If only every day were like that…

One of our doubles…

Tuesday’s kayak fishing trip happened out of River Breeze, with George White and his friend Mike. They were tossing those little shad tails I’m so fond of, and got a mix of seatrout and redfish. The fish made us work, though, no suicidal ones this day. There are long stretches of fishless water out there. And that water is beginning to rise again. It’s getting deeper.

Mike had never caught a redfish before.

Wednesday and Thursday I had the pleasure of hosting Jerry and Alex, a father-son team from the Chicago area, on the Mosquito Lagoon. Alex will be pitching for the Cubs in the World Series in another 15 years or so. But I digress…

Alex got this trout on a DOA Deadly Combo.

Wednesday the weather again was picture-perfect. The fish, however, were incredibly spooky. Redfish wouldn’t let us within two cast-lengths away. Since you can only cast one cast-length, we just couldn’t get a bite. We got a fair number of trout. All but one were short. We got one redfish, which may have been barely legal. We got a real nice puffer. We got to watch a herd of manatees in clear, shallow water. A beautiful day, kind of tough fishing-wise, though.

Thursday young Alex started us off with a fine 23 inch seatrout he got with a DOA Deadly Combo. BANG! Several more nice trout followed. Then we found a herd of black drum. Double!

More black drum doubles in a black drum fishing report week!

The fish let you know when they’ve had enough by swimming fast and not biting any more. We took the hint and tried a few other spots, getting another trout or two. We hardly saw any redfish. Yes, it was windy, but visibility was pretty good. I just couldn’t find any. We returned to the drum spot. They were still there and we got three more. At that point the wind was blowing close to 20 knots, so we called it a day.

That is the week of the black drum fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Bass fishing, Black drum, DOA Lures, fly fishing, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

Vernal Equinox Lagoons Fishing Report

March 26, 2017 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Vernal Equinox Lagoons Fishing Report

Monday was the vernal equinox. North of the equator length of day is now longer than length of darkness. It’s springtime, baby! So we have a Vernal Equinox Lagoons Fishing Report.

Ongoing Events-
The Save the St. Johns: Activate the River campaign aims to get people out on the water. Until April 2, 2017, boat tours, paddling trips, hikes and biking adventures are available from the headwaters of the St. Johns to the mouth. We are asking YOU to #GetYourFeetWet and explore the river somewhere new. Bring a friend, register today, and upload pictures using the #ActivatetheRiver to share your experiences! Visit www.savethestjohns.org for more information.

A Question for You
I have an assignment to write an article about fly fishing in eastern Tennessee, a place I’ve never been (but am making plans to visit). Does anyone have any information on this area that they could share? Use the “Leave a Comment” link above, or send an email to john(at)spottedtail(dot)com. Thanks in advance!

Fishing!
Between the small craft advisories and Susan being off this week I only got out two days.

Anthony got this red on a DOA CAL shad.

On the equinox Mr. Anthony Mason and his 83 year-old father, Mr. Rex Mason, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon kayak fishing, out of River Breeze Park. Although the weather was beautiful the fishing was a little slow. They managed three redfish and two very solid trout between them.

Not to be outdone, Rex got this one!

Rex was pretty inspirational- I sure hope I’m still kayak fishing at 83, if I’m not already pushing up daisies!

Nice trout, too!

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

On Friday, in spite of the forecast 20 knot east winds, I went scouting at the Banana River Lagoon. Gee, the forecast was correct. The lagoon looked like a washing machine.

Fishing was not fabulous, even though I opted for a six-weight. I did manage three reds on Steve Duckett’s bouncer shrimp fly, and had one fish who took the fly three times. Yes, I missed him all three. He finally realized something was wrong and vacated the area.

The bouncer fly certainly works.

The water was quite clean and there are even a few sparse tufts of manatee grass here and there, trying to mount a comeback. Finger mullet are starting to show up. Although conditions were less than optimal, I did not see a lot of fish, and had some pretty long stretches where I saw little or nothing. Maybe if the weather were better…

That is the vernal equinox lagoons fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, DOA Lures, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

March 18, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

We had a cold front come through on Tuesday and the temperatures were like those typically associated with January. By mid-March Florida standards, it was COLD, baby! And so we have a cold front Orlando Fishing report.

Upcoming Events-
Activate the River- The Save the St. Johns: Activate the River campaign aims to get people out on the water to save the river. From March 18 to April 2, 2017, boat tours, paddling trips, hikes and biking adventures are available from the headwaters of the St. Johns to the mouth. We are asking YOU to #GetYourFeetWet and explore the river somewhere new. Bring a friend, register today, and upload pictures using the #ActivatetheRiver to share your experiences! Visit www.savethestjohns.org for more information about the various events and opportunities for you to experience this magical yet imperiled waterway and show support for its protection.

Fishing!

Monday Canadian Ted Sinfield and his friend Darryl joined me on a cloudy, wind-swept Mosquito Lagoon. For the most part sight-fishing was impossible. We stuck to lee shorelines to stay out of the waves and muddy water.

Ted with one of the several nice trout he got.

By blindly casting DOA CAL shad the Ontario natives were fed a steady diet of spotted seatrout to four pounds or so, with a couple modest redfish thrown in for good measure. Fishing was decent by any standard.

Ted and Darryl with another nice fish.

Tuesday I went to the St. Johns River, and found myself on Lake Harney. In so many ways I was not prepared for what I found there. It looked like the ocean- wind, waves, diving birds, breaking fish. Johnny did not have enough clothes on- a foul weather yachting suit would have been appropriate.

I didn’t have enough clothes on. The bass didn’t seem to mind.

With chattering teeth I repeatedly cast a quarter-ounce jig was around the birds (as closely as possible). The bass responded as well as one could hope. The best fish was around four pounds. On the verge of hypothermia I left them and loaded the boat up. In spite of the cold, an awesome morning.

Thursday‘s forecast high was 60 degrees. In spite of that I launched a kayak at River Breeze at about 10 AM. The wind was a solid 15 MPH and it was cold.

The fly accounted for close to 20 fish before one busted it off at my feet.

The fish were where I hoped they would be. They were reluctant at first, but as the sun warmed the water they got positively stupid, very aggressively smacking the synthetic minnow pattern I offered. The only difficulty was casting the three-weight in that wind. Both trout and slot reds were in the mix, with the best fish honors a tie between a five pound trout and an eleven-spot redfish. Fishing was so good, I thought it was the old days!

Expecting cold on Friday we took it easy all morning. Much of this report got written then. Around noon I wired a fishing rod to the frame of my bicycle and went riding off to the Econ.

On the way I stopped at a neighbor’s loquat tree and had a delicious snack. Ripe loquats have this reporter’s highest recommendation.

Some of my neighbors have never been to Disney World…

A pickup truck towing a trailer full of cattle passed me. We can reasonably assume the cows were not headed to Walt Disney World.

A flash of insight while I was pedaling- it reminded me of how I used to go fishing before I had a driver’s license- pedal my bike to the local fishing spot! I might have been going to Wright’s Pond, or Upper Mystic Lake. I can almost hear Patti Cefalo yelling at me, “Why don’t you grow up, John!!” Some things really never do change.

First fish of the day was a rather aggressive crappie.

I got to pedal, clamber, amble, ramble, scramble, scrabble, climb, walk, cast, see some alligators, watch an armadillo roll around on its back like a dog (who knew?), see some cowboys (on horseback, of course)- what an afternoon! Beautiful spot, awesome weather, a few fish, life sure is good!

I bet life is difficult for little gators like this. They’re like tootsie rolls for the larger lizards.

This bass was the best fish of the day, though.

Saturday found Brian and Lacey Rosedale in Spotted Tail, shivering in some too crisp weather as we motored up the St. Johns River in the fog. I thought it painfully cold. What was even more painful was the lack of breaking fish at the breaking fish spot. At least eight other boats were similarly disappointed.

Brian and the sunshine bass. Sounds like the name of a garage band.

We fished our way back to Mullet Lake Park, got exactly three bites along the way. Brian got a modest largemouth and a nice sunshine bass, both on a Culprit Fat Max worm. Lacey hooked and lost a fish on a DOA CAL shad. It turned into a gorgeous day but the fish weren’t happening for us.

That is the Cold Front Orlando fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, seatrout fishing, St. Johns River

Blowing Winds Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 4, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Blowing Winds Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

A small craft advisory was posted Thursday (for Brevard coastal waters) until at least Sunday. So we have a blowing winds Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Last week I asked, Did the storms and the rising water cause all the fish to move? As anyone might have guessed, the answer to that question was yes, and no. Such is fishing. Explanation below.

Sunday afternoon found me at the local bass pond again, this time with fly rod in hand. The shoreline vegetation (tall cat-o-nine tails) and blustery winds made fishing challenging. Two bites in four hours yielded two very modestly-sized largemouth bass, one on a small popper and one on a streamer. Maybe I need a new pond…

Tom’s best trout of the day.

Monday morning Tom Van Horn joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. I was looking for an answer to the question posed last week! All the fish were gone from the first spot.

Fish on!

They may have all moved to the second. We found a couple hundred redfish there. However, we did not get a bite. We did not work it very hard, though, since we were scouting.

This fish was tailing. Tom nailed the cast.

The third spot had some nice trout lying in sandy potholes. We found a tailing red and Tom, casting brilliantly in the now breezy conditions, convinced it to eat his DOA CAL jerkbait.

We tried two more spots, caught a few fish at both. So the fish moved from some spots, and stayed at others. Altogether a beautiful and productive day, spent with a fine human being!

Driving over the Max Brewer bridge in Titusville lately I have been saying to myself, “You haven’t been out on the Indian River Lagoon in a long time. You need to check it out.” Tuesday Kevin Linehan and I did just that. All the grass is gone. There were very few fish. I do not need to check it again, maybe ever. Heartbreaking.

Fish on!

Wednesday Capt. Paul Darby, fly fisher and raconteur, joined me for a day on Mosquito Lagoon. I would like to report that we caught fish all day long. That would be a rather large exaggeration, however. We saw fish more or less all day long. The wind was not our friend, and we only got a single redfish. Still, one is so many more than none!

Capt. Paul and his redfish.

While Paul makes spoon flies, he got this one on a Clouser Minnow.

Nice tail!

Mr. Darby makes (among lots of other things) spoon flies. They are very nice, and he says very durable. See photo…

I lost Thurday’s and Friday’s trips because of the wind. After getting home Friday I got on the bicycle and went to the Econlockhatchee. Wasn’t I surprised to see TJ Bettis and his friend Todd, who had also ridden bicycles to the river! And they were using fly rods in spite of the 25 mph wind. I hope they did better than my one small bass and one small spotted gar. At least I got out, and if you weren’t trying to fish the weather was gorgeous.

Apparently the wind will continue through Sunday. Last time I checked the small craft advisory lasts until then.

That is the blowing winds Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

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Fishing!

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