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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report, Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

September 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report, Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

What a week! A Harvest moon and the autumnal equinox, too! Both have an effect on the fishing.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

A moon like this affects the fishing for better or worse.

Upcoming Events-

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 26

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, October 27

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure starts December 1. Paddle the length of the lagoon!

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report– On Tuesday son Alex and I went to the Mosquito Lagoon, getting a late start because I had to see the hygienist first. While it was a beautiful day (the weather has been awesome) as far as catching fish went we might as well have stayed home. We saw maybe ten redfish, all a rod’s length away, and did not get a shot.

Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report– Thursday Scott Radloff and I went to the Indian River Lagoon. After a short boat ride we saw diving birds. Breaking fish, one of fall’s pleasures. Ladyfish, bluefish, and gafftopsail catfish were in the mix. Nothing too thrilling there but it was certainly a fun way to kick off the day.

The new power station in Port St. John is up and running now. There are lots of ladyfish there. Didn’t see anything else.

Went for a ride and ended up poling miles of shoreline. There were enough slot reds to keep it interesting. The fish were spooky and it was a long time before we convinced one to bite. We ended up getting four on DOA CAL shad tails rigged weedless on a worm hook. One was a gorgeous thirteen spot fish.

Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report– Friday I went to the Banana River Lagoon, breaking out the kayak to do so. I hadn’t been in a kayak in months and it was great to be paddling again. I learned (again!) that stupid stuff can happen to you at any time.

Two hours or so of paddling were under my belt before I saw anything other than lots of mullet. Excited for having seen a redfish, I anchored the boat and got out to wade. The wind was blowing a little too hard to fish effectively from the boat.

The fish were not thick, but they were good sized. I had several poor shots and two good ones. None of the fish took the fly, which got changed a few times.

Working my way back to the kayak, I tied the painter to myself and kept wading, towing the boat behind me. Shots at fish continued coming sporadically, and I finally fooled one with a small grizzly Seaducer. I photographed myself with the fish. I should have noticed at that point that my paddle was gone but it did not register.

Banana RIver Lagoon fishing report

The lone biter of the entire affair.

After wading another hour or so without any more bites the clouds got thick enough I couldn’t see any more. The atmosphere was telling me it was time to bag it. I ate lunch, reeled in the fly line, and went to paddle back. Now I noticed the paddle was gone.

Crap. I had three or four miles to go. At least the wind was out of the north-northeast.

Human hands make lousy kayak paddles.

The wind blew the boat along at about one mile an hour, putting me back at the chariot about 4 PM. Fortunately the weather was still beautiful, and other than losing a nice Aqua Bound paddle it had been a wonderful day with a nice redfish on fly as a bonus.

Indian River Lagoon fishing report

I think I will tether my paddle while wading from now on, though.

Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report, Again– Saturday fly fisher DJ Montigny joined me for a 3/4 day. He had never caught a fish in saltwater before, so we went to the power plant and knocked that right out. Two regrets- the ladyfish were dinks, and there were no tarpon there.

After 30 minutes DJ had had enough of the little ladyfish. We went looking for redfish. It took us most of an hour but we found big ones, enough to keep us entertained for the rest of the day.

We couldn’t find a fly they would bite.

They were exhibiting strange behavior, swimming quite rapidly most of the time, but circling through the same area repeatedly. We found and lost a sizeable school. Other than that they were in small groups, from pairs to a half dozen. We saw a lot of fish in the 20-30 pound range.

DJ had some great shots and by all rights should have had three or four bites. We also saw a big school of crevalle and in an almost-unheard-of situation did not get a bite from them either.

If it hadn’t been for those dink ladies we would have gone fishless.

I think the full moon boogered up the fish this week. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

That is this week’s exciting version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report, and Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

June 1, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report 61

The orlando saltwater report this week is not too exciting. Just telling it like it is.

I had a fly charter booked for Thursday. The winds were forecast to, and in fact did, blow hard out of the east all week at 15-25 mph. The water in the Mosquito Lagoon is full of microscopic algae and is a yucky brown color. My fisherman had expressed interest in the Banana River Lagoon’s no motor zone. So Wednesday I took the kayak over there to scout.

To my surprise and delight the water was clean. I could fish against the shoreline. There were not many fish and the few I saw I ran over- it was overcast on Wednesday. I did not get a shot at any of the fish I saw. But it seemed fishable.

Thursday Mr. Nick Colantonio, fly fisher extraordinaire from Tampa, and I went out in the canoe and looked for fish in the same place. Nick cast a popper for a while, had two sniffs and a solid strike from a seatrout. The hook did not stick.

We looked for redfish once the sun got up. The light wasn’t good. There were lots of clouds, and of course the wind swirled crazily. We saw 12 or 15 reds all day, did not get a good shot at any of them. We were off the water at 3 PM.

So I only got out two days and did not catch a fish either day.

That is this week’s not-so-exciting version of the Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

 

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

March 9, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events–
Not in the Immediate Future Dept.- Rodney Smith and I are planning on paddling an Old Town canoe through the Indian River Lagoon from New Smyrna Beach to Jupiter (the city, not the planet, although THAT would be a heck of a trip), beginning December 2. More details will be forthcoming in future posts. We’re looking for individuals or groups who’d like to partner with us. Contact him or me for more information.

Orlando Area fishing report

Yes, we’ll get all that gear into a canoe.

—–

Son Maxx is on Spring Break from school. Monday he was able to squeeze enough time that we could go fishing. We took the Old Town out of River Breeze. It was cold, with significant breeze. The water was low and clear. The fish were plentiful but very spooky. There were reasonable numbers of tailers, lovely to see.

mosquito lagoon redfish

Maxx, preparing to release a nice redfish.

We managed six redfish, all in the slot, all on slider flies. Maxx couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a redfish on fly. It was an awesome day with my son.

mosquito lagoon redfish

This fish took a slider.

Tuesday I went riding my bicycle in the Big Little Econ State Forest. Fortunately there were no crashes. I love doing that, it’s great exercise and great fun.

 

Wednesday son Alex and I got up early and drove to Jensen Beach. We met Marcia Foosaner and Mark Nichols a little after 9 AM, just as a cold front came through.

We did not catch any fish at the first or second spots, although I did lose much of my lure to a blowfish. Fortunately Mark had some more.

We again all went wading at the third spot. I got a few slot trout and a couple dozen small crevalle, using DOA Shrimp and CAL jigs. Mark did best, getting what I got but also getting three nice pompano.

It was wonderful getting out and fishing with both my son and old friends. Thanks to everyone involved.

 

Thursday Simms Outdoor Products held the first High Tide Guide Gathering at River Palms. Great event. Alex and I met a bunch of new people. I saw a lot of old friends. We spent some money, learned new things, and had a fine time. Thanks to Simms, Costa, Yeti, and Hell’s Bay for putting it all together.

 

Friday Tammy Wilson joined me for some scouting on the Indian River Lagoon. It was hugely disappointing.

The VAB flat across from Titusville used to have lush grass growth. It wouldn’t always hold fish, but you always knew they’d be back. Now it’s all bare sand, with blobs of algae rolling around here and there.

There’s nothing there to hold fish.

Grass feeds and shelters crabs, shrimp, worms, minnows, those things that redfish and seatrout eat. Without grass, no food. Without food, no fish. Those of us who fish around the Space Center should all be very, very concerned.

There’s no grass in the Banana River Lagoon. There’s no grass in much of the Indian River Lagoon. Is Mosquito Lagoon next?

I took Tammy to a spot usually good for a couple fish and we got three between us, two reds on a slider and a small trout on a spoonfly.

I won’t be going back to that section of the Indian River any time soon.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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

Orlando Area Fishing Report

January 26, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog Posts this Week-
–UV Skinz- A Review

Tuesday’s out-of-the-box thinking led to some excellent fishing.

I left the house at close to three o’clock in the afternoon, heading to River Breeze, armed with a kayak and a three-weight. After paddling to the fishing spot I was happily surprised to see redfish tailing all over the place. It was cold and windy- I was not expecting this.

tailing redfish mosquito lagoon, orlando area fishing report

The first two clumps of tailers refused the fly, which led to a change. Three fish were boated and released before sunset, an outstanding evening’s outing.

Wednesday morning found me in the same spot with the same tackle. The tailers were gone. At a different spot a trout chased several mullet to the surface. Some blind casting with a minnow imitation led to two missed strikes, and the capture of two nice trout. The bigger of the two was at least two feet long. A redfish fell for the fake, too.

mosquito lagoon seatrout, orlando area fishing report

On the way back to River Breeze I found some more tailing redfish, and managed a nice one on a little shrimpy looking fly. It was a beautiful if chilly morning. The fish were just icing on the cake.

Thursday I launched at KARS Park as the sun came up. It was a gorgeous morning. There was no one else there, which made me think I wouldn’t find any fish. I paddled quite a distance, and loaded the kayak back onto the chariot at 1 PM, not having seen a single fish. Won’t be going back there for a while.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We went to where all those fish were last week, didn’t see any. When I started up again the steering cable went. We drifted most of the way back to Haulover, casting DOA Shrimp. We got a load of trout, mostly shorts. I cleaned two fish for Mary Jo, who was glad to get them.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Fishing Report

January 6, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013
-Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog posts this week: Seven Must Have Lures for Winter Fishing in Florida’s Lagoons

New Website Department- http://johnkumiski.com -photography and a more literary writing sampler than I typically post here, even a few poems! Please check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks!

The coffee this morning is especially delicious.

On Tuesday Dr. Ken Unger, from Calgary, did some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing with me from the Mitzi. Although the sky was overcast for much of the day, until about 1 PM the lagoon was slick calm. There were a lot of fish around, just lying around. I would have expected tailing everywhere but no, they wouldn’t do that. We ran over a lot of fish.

Ken did get a few reds on a crab pattern. We tried for trout. They had moved from some spots and were protected by copious amounts of floating grass in others. He got a few good strikes but none were converted.

 

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Dr. Ken with a decent red.

It was a little frustrating but we had a good time and we did get some fish. Here’s what Ken said: “Wanted to thank you for the good day yesterday. Enjoyed the company. Learned a little which is something I always want to do in a new area. Caught some fish. A good start to the new year. I will be back. Thanks again.”

On Thursday morning I braved the fog, launching the kayak at KARS at about 730. I dared not get more than 150 feet from shore. There was no wind. I didn’t have a compass, or for you modern types, a GPS either. The sun hid behind the clouds. If I couldn’t see shore I would be utterly lost. It was very cool but very spooky at the same time.

Paddling steadily north I ran over the occasional trout. The object was to find big reds or black drum. Stopping at one place I cast a streamer for trout for a while but did not get bit. The quest continued.

The fog burned off around noon.

I went most of the way to the NASA causeway.

I did not find what I was looking for.

On the way back I saw a tail, as it turns out the only one found. I stalked the fish. It was a big black drum. It ignored my fly and swam off. I would not see another.

The final score was one shot, no bites, four fish seen- pretty disappointing. More searching needs to be done. It’s the right time of year.

Speaking of the right time of year, shad are being caught in the St. Johns River. I do not have any details. I wanted to go Friday but that 60 degrees and raining put me off. Too much like Alaska.

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report

There are some shad in the St. Johns River!

Yesterday son Maxx and I went running along the Florida Trail, most of the way to Orlando Wetlands Park. Beautiful day, nice woods. Hamstring is kind of tight today, though.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 8, 2012 by · 1 Comment

Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events– Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

Monday, quite a beautiful day, found me paddling the Ocean Kayak on the Banana River Lagoon in the no motor zone, hoping to find big redfish and black drum. Six hours of paddling later I had found none. There was no seagrass at all. It was hard finding the spots- without the grass there was no frame of reference.

I saw three or four redfish and maybe thirty trout in two schools. Tossing a gurgler around where the trout were seen netted two strikes, both of which were missed.

There is no reason for me to go back there for a while.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

The launch at the nmz. The “dock” is real wobbly. If you fall into that muck they’ll never find you. That’s where all the grass is- dead and stinky along the shoreline!

Thursday Tammy Wilson and I went out on the Mosquito Lagoon in the Mitzi. The weather was really nice, very little wind. Lots of clouds at first gave way to mostly sunny skies.
At the first spot there were quite a few redfish. They were quite nervous and didn’t want us near them. Tammy cast a streamer fly at some of them and got two nice fish, both seatrout. They apparently were swimming with the reds.

The fish did not hang around very long, so we went looking in some other places. As could be expected, some were barren and some were fairly fishy. We did not get another fish, though.

We were off the water by 3:00 PM.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We started off boating by Braille, using the compass to find the spot in the fog, glasses all wet, unable to see. We did find it. There were fish there. We could only see them when they moved, pushing up a wake. They would not let us into casting range.

While poling out of there a redfish tailed in front of the boat. It was one of many fish that were there. Dr. George got one on a DOA CAL jerkbait, nice work on his part.

We couldn’t find any more fish at that spot so went to one other. It was good. George got four out-of-slot redfish and a 26 inch seatrout using cut bait, a solid hour of catching there.

When I went to load the pictures of the previous two days fishing into my computer I opened the camera to remove the memory card and it wasn’t in there. It was still in the card reader from the previous use. Well DUH! No photos.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

A file photo of Dr. Yarko with a nice red.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events- Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

Last week I was off on a rant about pretentious marketing for beer. A forum reader responded-
“You mention the beer label being pretentious and say it would be so even if it was on a bottle of wine. Well dear sir, beer is MUCH more complicated than wine, both in production methods and in complexity of flavor. Beer takes on a much broader spectrum of flavor and craft beer is only now beginning to be appreciated like fine wine here. Look for the price of select beers to go up up up over the next several years.

“You are right in saying marketing has taken a turn for the worse, with many beers being overpriced and severely overhyped. In some cases you can go to a limited release and buy a bottle for $20, then turn around and sell it to some ebay collector for $100+, I’ve seen some local cigar city beers go for $350 per bottle. Keep in mind most wines are incredibly easy to make and materials cost is less than beer, but they sell for much more due to the stigma of being a high brow beverage.”

And there you have it. I appreciate the response, sir.

Fishing, oh yes. For a lot of folks fishing and beer go together. But on to the Mosquito Lagoon fishing report…

On a windy Sunday fly fisher JB Walker joined me for a day on Mosquito Lagoon. We had sun a good part of the day and saw reasonable numbers of redfish, including a 20 pound class fish and a school of about 50 or 60 fish. Neither hung around very long. The fish were not bitey at all, very spooky actually.

JB got one small one which we both worked very hard to get. It was a tough day.

Alex and I joined birthday girl Tammy Wilson (now 29) for some kayak fishing on Tuesday. Overcast made it tough to see, except for the rolling tarpon. I got two bites (they weren’t very bitey, either) and caught one.

Mosquito Lagoon fishing report

This tarpon fell victim to a small polar fibre minnow.

Alex fooled three, hooked one, landed none. Tammy got one (in her words) “pecker trout.” I imagine that means it was monstrous.

We watched an eagle harass a flock of hundreds of coots. They were fleeing for their lives and the volume of the sound they made flapping was remarkable. The eagle left them alone after a while. The whole thing was very cool, unless you were one of the coots.

Overcast again on Wednesday morning. I went running along the Florida Trail. There was a new sign that said “panorama parking .4 mi.” Not having seen too many panoramas along there I went to check it out. There were eleven turkeys in the field when I got to its edge. They saw me and left in a hurry, but again, very cool.

Several whitetails were also spooked by my passing.

Birthday girl Tammy (she’s birthday girl for the week) met me for a Banana River Lagoon kayak expedition on Thursday morning. It was solid overcast all day, with a wind from the northwest at 10 mph or so.

We paddled a long way without seeing anything.

One redfish actually tailed near me at one point. I tried but failed to catch it. But blind casting in that area quickly netted two other redfish (black bunny leech, #2).

Tammy bummed a leech from me and she started catching fish too. We ended up with around ten reds to about 27 inches, three snook, a half dozen trout, and a single black drum, all casting blindly with fly rods. Pretty amazing for central Florida. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

One of many fish fooled by a black bunny leech.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

After catching a bunch of fish I pulled out and devoured my secret good luck charm.

On the way back we met kayak fishing guide Dee Kaminski. Quite a lovely woman, and a fishing guide to boot.

 

Friday Dr. George Yarko launched the Mitzi at River Breeze. The sun was out but the wind was honkin at about 15 out of the north. The water is too high (check the gauge here). We only saw one fish all day. George got an out of the slot red on a DOA Shrimp. I missed one strike on a Johnson Minnow. That was it for five hours of effort.

Saturday JB Walker joined me again for some fly fishing. While it was not as windy as Friday, the wind made fishing more difficult. The water is too high. We saw a marginal number of redfish but many of them weren’t spotted until we were almost on top of them. You just can’t see them in the depth of water currently there. We had a few shots but did nor get a bite.

I sure hope the water level drops soon.

Three pictures of me in one report. How scary is that? Halloween is over, John!

That is this week’s Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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

Redfish Photo Essay

October 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Redfish- A Photo Essay

Chasing redfish has occupied a lot of my time since 1985. Good fortune has allowed me to search for them all over Florida and in every state where you can reasonably expect to find one, except Virginia.

Below is a selection of my own favorite redfish photos from the digital age.

cruising redfish

Hungry redfish search for food in a North Carolina salt marsh.

 

shrimp jumps for life

A small shrimp makes a desperate, acrobatic leap to escape a hungry redfish.

 

redfish pushing a wake

Several cruising redfish, pushing a distinct wake.

 

redfish busting shrimp

Tiny shrimp scatter through the air in all directions as a hungry redfish explodes on them.

 

egret w redfish school

An egret follows a redfish school hoping for some free lunch. Many kinds of birds do this.

 

texas redfish

Ken Shannon on the fly rod, Chuck Naiser on the push pole, Aransas National WIldlife Refuge, Texas.

 

louisiana redfish

Ken Shannon with a redfish on the fly rod, Kevin Carter with a pair in his hands. Plaquemines Parrish, Louisiana

 

kevin's redfish

Five year old Kevin was trading this redfish for a trip to Disney’s Haunted Castle. No wonder he’s happy! Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

 

makoto's redfish

This was Makoto’s first redfish. As he held it for the photo, it was squirting milt all over his leg. Indian River Lagoon, Florida

 

Redfishermen all love to find tailing fish…

tailing redfish

Tailing redfish, Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

 

tailing redfish

Tailing redfish in a Georgia salt marsh.

 

stalking a tailing redfish

Stalking a tailing red in a Georgia salt marsh.

 

He’s on! A black bunny leech did the trick.

 

Aye, ’tis a handsome redfish!

 

UGLY redfish

This is the ugliest redfish I’ve ever seen. I caught it in the Mosquito Lagoon.

 

Kayaking is a favorite way to hunt for redfish. Here my son Maxx is surrounded by them. Indian River Lagoon, Florida

 

redfish portrait

A beautiful redfish on a spectacular afternoon. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

redfish head shot

This fish was pushing 20 pounds. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

big redfish

My son Alex with a handsome redfish. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

Winter ordinarily provides outstanding opportunities to sight fish for redfish here in central Florida. I look forward to another great season!

That is the end of the redfish photo essay.

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters

October 10, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters 

Redfish Flies

A selection of effective flies for fishing the east central Florida lagoons.

It occurred to me while working on my Goodnews River fly series that one needed to be done for the local Florida waters. This is it!

Which flies work best when fishing the Mosquito Lagoon? What day are we talking about? Accept the fact that the fish have moods. Some days they’ll eat anything. Other days they’ll eat nothing. You need to cover the water column, and you need to think about what your target species eats. For fishing in this lagoon, flies need to have weedguards or they will not work.

Redfish eat crabs, small fish (generally two inches or less) and shrimp. They have an inferior mouth, and prefer to feed down. Seatrout eat small fish, shrimp, and occasionally crabs. They have a superior mouth and prefer to feed up. They will take a much larger baitfish than reds typically do.

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

A small Merkin will take reds when nothing else will work. Black drum like it, too.

For reds I like flies on #4 and #2 hooks, lightly weighted, and equipped with weedguards. Patterns include Clouser Minnows, my version of Borski’s sliders, Merkins, bunny leeches, and similar types of flies. I always have some unweighted bendbacks (same sizes) for when the plop of a weighted fly landing spooks them.

Indian River Seatrout

Sliders work on many different species. This one uses synthetic “hackle”, but an actual hackle feather works well, too. Note the obvious two-pronged weed guard.

For seatrout I like minnow-type flies, similar to the popular Puglisi patterns, in sizes 2, 1, and 1/0. Small gurglers, poppers, or sliders are also good to carry. There’s quite a bit of crossover between the two species in terms of what flies they’ll take.

Mosquito Lagoon Seatrout

Big trout eat smaller fish. This one took a bendback. A minnow pattern is a necessity.

Colors are more important to fishermen that fish most of the time. That having been said, my redfish flies are typically black, brown, tan, gray, green, or purple. My trout flies imitate the natural coloration of small fish, or are hot pink and chartreuse.

Lastly, for days when blind casting is needed, I like the Dupre Spoonfly and the Rattle Rouser in addition to a few popping bugs.

If you carry a selection of the types of flies mentioned you’ll be ready for almost any situation you’re likely to encounter here.

Please feel free to comment and let all of us know what your favorites are. You might even consider writing a guest blog about it!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report

September 29, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Upcoming Events
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 27
Mosquito Lagoon On-The-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 28

There is a problem with my Word Press application- it will not accept photos for upload. As soon as this gets resolved I will be posting information-type blogs in addition to the weekly fishing reports. Thanks to all for your patience.

Son Alex’s photo is featured in the September issue of Florida Sportsman in my article on saltwater leaders. Check it out!

Fishing-
Monday found the Mitzi and I out along the beach in Canaveral Bight. There was a north wind and some wave action. The boat took a breaker over the bow which was the most exciting thing that happened.
Quite a few mullet were there, not much eating them. A crevalle, a ladyfish, several small bluefish, and a few missed strikes, all on live mullet, is all I got. Did not see much activity, and the main target, tarpon, was not observed. In spite of the slow fishing it was great being out there.

Tuesday Tammy Wilson and I took the Old Town up into the no motor zone. The water looked pretty good but there is very little grass. Tammy had one strike on a Seaducer. She popped it off, losing the fly.
I watched a small redfish eat my Electric Sushi, and pulled the fly out of its mouth. Those were the only two bites we had. We saw maybe a dozen reds all day, did not get many good shots obviously.
There were dozens of manatees up there. I wonder what they’re eating?

Wednesday son Alex, his friend John Napolitano, and I went to the Mosquito Lagoon, my first trip there since returning from Alaska. I was expecting the worst and was pleasantly surprised that it was much better than I had heard, not much different than how it usually is this time of year.
We did not explore the entire lagoon. Where we went the water looked OK and the grass looked very healthy. There is always a grass die-off at this time of year and that certainly is under way.
We spent the entire day looking for redfish. We found a few, even found a school of them, from which I pulled a nice one that ate a synthetic minnow fly. Alex got a small red on a piece of mullet. All poor John got was a catfish.
It was good to be out there and to find some fish.

Friday Dr. George Yarko and I went to Mosquito Lagoon. We did not find as many redfish as we had on Wednesday, hooking four and boating two 20 inch fish, all on DOA CAL jerkbaits.
We spent a little time using the DOA Deadly Combo looking for seatrout and had some small success, boating four or five. All were at the low end of the slot.

I have some concern for the heath of the fishery in the lagoons for the next few years. The seagrass is gone or dying back in a lot of places. Since the grass supports the rest of the food chain its loss has to lower the productivity of the entire ecosystem.

I am also surprised at the lack of finger mullet in the lagoons. There ought to be huge schools of them everywhere right now and they are definitely not there. Where are they?

And that is this week’s Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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