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Orlando Area Fishing Report

September 24, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Happy Birthday, Alex Kumiski!

 

After doing some telephone research, Monday morning found Scott Radloff and I launching the Mitzi at Kennedy Point Park in Titusville. The goal was to do some scouting and hopefully find some redfish and seatrout in the Indian River Lagoon.

We poled and ran quite a distance from the Rinker Canal to Parrish Park. Having been in Alaska all summer and having heard about the algae bloom in the lagoons I was not expecting much. This was a good thing. We didn’t find much.

The water clarity was better at the south end  of where we looked. It wasn’t very good anywhere. The closer we got to shore the dirtier the water got.

We did not see many fish. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. We got three reds between us, mine on a DOA Shrimp, Scott’s on a Gulp. The largest was 22 inches. I tossed a Chug Bug all morning and did not get a single response.

The boat ran well and it was wonderful to be on home waters again.

Tuesday Tammy Wilson and I tried a similar routine on the Banana River Lagoon, launching at Kelly Park. The water was at least as clean as the cleaner places we saw in the Indian River Lagoon. However, there was very little seagrass. Most of the bottom was bare.

I wanted to run down toward Pineda Causeway but the whitecaps made me re-think that strategy. We did not see many fish. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. I got one red on a mullet chunk from under a dock, a skinny 21 inch fish. We beat the rain back to the dock, pulling the boat at about 1:30.

Thursday I went up the road to the Econ, just to check it out. It is running quite high, higher than I would want to wade in.

With this as my background I had a fly charter on Friday with Jim Coraci. He had never caught a redfish before and desperately wanted to do so.

We launched at Parrish Park at 7 AM, running and poling as far south as the NASA Causeway. We only saw a few fish, and had zero shots. Plenty of boats, though!

We turned around and ran north of Parrish Park. We found a few reds working along a shoreline up there. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. However, Jim managed to get three bites on a Merkin crab, and landed two redfish. One was a beautiful fish with 12 spots. The other was tailing with a partner.

Lovely to see tailing fish, even if, again, they were only about 21 or 22 inches long. Better small fish than no fish!

I will be doing more exploration in the upcoming week. It’s the end of September- there ought to be mind-boggling numbers of mullet everywhere in those lagoons. There definitely were not, so I need to look along the beach.

That is this week’s Orlando area 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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Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

June 9, 2012 by · 2 Comments

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 6.9.12

On Sunday, friend and neighbor Karl Dienst joined me for a quick strike. We launched at Kennedy Point at 6 AM. We got to the fishing spot and no one else was there! Amazing.

The fish were not as thick as they were. We did not see a redfish. Karl got several nice trout on a white plastic worm, the kind you use for largemouth bass. I got a few on the Bait Buster. We also got a few nice ladyfish. Still looking for tarpon, still haven’t seen any.

Seatrout on DOA Bait Buster

The Bait Buster is a great lure for any mullet-eating fish.

The boat was on the trailer at 10AM.

Monday I went solo, launching at Marina Park. Got a couple trout and ladyfish on a Chug Bug, but it was slow. Saw one pod of redfish that would not let me near them. Switched to a Bait Buster and got a couple more trout.

I ran around much of Turnbull Basin and didn’t see much. On an ominous note, the nasty water we had last summer is showing itself again- found one large spot of dirty water on the west side south of the safety zone, and a big chunk of filthy water around Duckroost Cove.

After going to another spot I went wading, got four slot redfish on a black Clouser Minnow, quite satisfying.

Monday afternoon Sue and I brought son Alex to the airport, sending him off to Goodnews. It’s that time of year.

Tuesday morning Scott Radloff and I launched the Mitzi at Lee Wenner Park. It was overcast and windy, coming out of the west.

Scott got a small red on a Gulp on this third cast.

We got a nice trout on a DOA Shrimp in the next hour. It was too slow and visibility was not that great, so we put the boat on the trailer and went to Kelly Park, launching into the Banana River Lagoon.

I had gotten good reports about the BRL but we fished until 2 PM and got one trout that Scott convinced to take a Chug Bug. Not a lot of seagrass there any more.

Wednesday fly caster Darrin Prestangen met me at Marina Park. It was overcast and windy, terrible fly fishing conditions. Darrin, used to blind-casting in the streams of Colorado, blind-cast all morning. We did not get a fish. We did get rained on. We did see another boat pull in a 30 pound class redfish on the northwest side of the railroad trestle.

In the afternoon we went to where I had gotten the four reds a few days earlier. It was still very hard to see, but Darrin managed to sight-fish his first ever redfish (a small one) and a 20 inch seatrout, both on sliders.
The boat was on the trailer at 3 PM.

seatrout, indian river lagoon

Darrin's first saltwater fish was this nice trout.

Thursday I did honey-dos. The weather was awful. It was a good day to stay home.

Friday Darrin joined me again, his last hurrah for this trip. We launched at Parrish Park. It was overcast but the wind was light.

We saw one tailing fish at the first spot, at which we did not get a shot. It did not tail very long.

We found a small school of fish at the second spot. We found them by running them over. There was a stampede.

We ran over several singles too. There were fish there but between the clouds and the dark bottom we could not see them at all.

We went back to the place where Darrin had caught his two fish the previous trip.

In a stunning turn of events there were more fish there than the previous day. Darrin got two reds and a fine black mullet on the estaz crabby thing fly. The fly goes into commercial production tomorrow! The reds at this spot run small, but at least we could sight fish.

mullet on fly

Mullet, on fly!

 

mullet on fly close up

The fly goes on sale tomorrow!

 

We went to another, similar spot and there were even more reds. Again, they were small, about 20 inch fish, but he got four more on a Son of Clouser. There were many refusals and blown shots. In spite of the clouds fishing was actually quite good. If the fish had been bigger I would have said it was excellent. At any rate we had a great time.

redfish, son of clouser

This red (and several others) fell for the Son of Clouser.

redfish, indian river lagoon

Although the fish ran small, at least we could sight fish.

redfish tail featuring spots

The double spotted tail...

The boat was on the trailer at 3 PM.

And that is this week’s Indian River Lagoon 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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Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

June 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 6.2.12

You may have heard about the proposed Pebble Mine. If not, the idea is to have a huge open pit mine, the world’s biggest, in southwest Alaska. Great idea, unless you care about trout and salmon.
This link-  http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/262141/1a1f348b3c/1774503119/dd14000b65/
-contains other links and a call for action. With a pre-written letter you can express your opinion about the mine idea to the president, the head of the EPA, your Congressman and senators, etc.

south fork Goodnews River

Imagine this as a big open pit mine. Not much fishing would be going on any more.

Salmon used to be a common fish along both coasts of North America. Now all that’s left is a tiny remnant. Please help preserve that for posterity.

Fishing this week, ah yes. A lady named Beryl came to town early in the week and dumped on us for a couple of days. I was going to go fishing on Wednesday but a minor domestic problem prevented anything more than a trip to the Econ.

In last week’s report I asked about bass flies. While no responses came in, I have been doing some research and tied up a few flies based on that. I went to the Econ hoping to test them.

Beryl came to town. The Econ was up considerably, almost not fishable for a wading angler, especially one with a fly rod. But I found a couple of places where it was feasible.

I actually got two bites. On the second I watched the bass take the fly. I missed them both.

Two bites may not sound like much, but I’ve never gotten a bass to hit a fly there. So progress is being made. I know I’ll never figure it out, because it is fishing. But when I get a handle on it a full report will be filed. It may take a while- it’s rained some more.

Tom Van Horn picked me up at 5 AM Thursday morning. We loaded two kayaks into the bed of his truck and headed to the Banana River Lagoon. He had gotten some glowing reports and we were optimistic about our chances.

A light breeze from the southwest greeted us at the launch. The sun was just clearing the trees as we paddled to the first spot. I had tied on a Floozy popper, since the water there was up, and not terribly clean at that first place.

Second cast- Wham! Twenty-four inch trout. Good way to start the day. Fourth cast- Wham! Twenty-three inch trout. It tore the Floozy apart. Another was tied on, but it was the last one in the box.

I quickly lost track of how many casts were made or bites were had, but it was smoking hot for a while. Then it cooled down. It always does. Not to worry, we went somewhere else.

Seatrout-on-fly, banana river lagoon

The trout tore the Floozy apart.

Tom was tossing a surface plug and had three nice trout before I could get organized. The Floozy soon started popping though and the fish were all over it. They soon tore it apart.

seatrout, banana river lagoon

After Tom lost this plug he used a Bait Buster. The fish didn't care.

I switched to a Hot Head. The trout like it just fine.

Hot Head flies

The Hot Heads worked well, too.

The strikes were jolting. The tippet was too light. Only two Hot Heads were in the fly bag and I lost both of them. I had one Electric Sushi and lost that too.

In the meantime Tom had lost his plug and had switched to a DOA Bait Buster. The fish didn’t seem to mind.

I stopped fishing and made up a 15 pound tippet. That stopped the bleeding.

The bite slowed as the sun climbed. Since the wind was light and visibility was excellent we went looking for big redfish. Sadly, we did not find any at all.

We did find some slot reds. Using a black Clouser Minnow I got five or six, as well as some more trout.

The boats were back in the truck at 2:30. It was a hell of a day.

In general, the trout bite in the lagoons right now is as good as I have ever seen it for a sustained period. It’s been smoking hot for several months and shows no sign of slowing. And the fish are running a large average size, 20 inches or so. Get out and enjoy it- it’s sure to slow down!

That is this week’s 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Mosquito Lagoon and Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

March 25, 2012 by · 4 Comments

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 3.25.12

Dad-Was-A-Bad-Influence Dept: son Alex passed his US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner’s exam today. He will soon be able to carry passengers for hire, just like the old man! Congratulations, son!

Tuesday the Brothers Klepacki joined me for some paddling and fly fishing in the no motor zone. I had been on such a good run. Tuesday crushed it. All the redfish that have been in the same spot for months left- zilch, zero, nada. We found some nice seatrout but I don’t do all that paddling for trout. On the other hand, a bunch of nice trout are way better than no redfish, which is how many reds we got.

Got a last minute cancellation on Wednesday. Stayed home.

Thursday Tim and Lynn Dennin joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Tim did something you shouldn’t do if you want to sightfish for redfish. He forgot his sunglasses. We got quite a few seatrout on the DOA Shrimp. Our redfishing went for naught though. Tim just couldn’t see them without the glasses.

spotted seatrout from mosquito lagoon

The Dennins with one of their many seatrout.

The weather was awesome. We had a real nice day.

Saturday David Garcia travelled all the way from Fairbanks Alaska to fish for redfish. We had quite a few clouds and it was pretty windy. David learned fast though, and when he saw a fish the Johnson Minnow landed there, pronto. Three nice reds were boated along with a missed strike. We also got a couple dozen trout to about 20 inches on DOA Shrimp. It was a pretty good day considering the weather.

redfish, mosquito lagoon

Mr. Garcia came a long way to catch his first redfish.

mosquito lagoon redfish

David also got this one and another as well.

mosquito lagoon seatrout

The trout were pretty cooperative. This was one of many trout we released.

Sydney Katz, official girlfriend of son Maxx, is taking a course in Marine Biology and needed photos of various estuarine life forms- flora and fauna both. Today we went out on the Indian River Lagoon to get them. Maxx and I each caught a redfish and several seatrout. We also caught mullet, minnows, shrimp, crabs, horseshoe crabs, comb jellies, various types of alga, and generally made a mess of my boat. It was fun and a relaxing way to spend most of a Sunday.

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

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The Wind Finally Stopped Blowing: the Mosquito Lagoon- Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

March 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 3.17.12

Last Sunday David Alan Roth, little known twin of the Van Halen lead man (I just made that up), and his friend Chad joined me for some flats fishing. It was a hard wind of 20+ coming out of the southeast, and it was solid overcast besides. Thank God fly poles weren’t involved.

I boldly ran down to the Whale Tail figuring there wouldn’t be anyone else there, and also if we soaked bait for 30 minutes maybe we’d be rewarded with a jumbo. Good idea that didn’t work. We did have the place to ourselves (no one else was so stupid as to go down there) and we did get two catfish out of the very muddy water.

Ran back up to the spoil islands for some lee shore action, tossing DOA Shrimp. A couple of dink trout were our reward until David got a handsome 22 inch trout. Persistence pays I guess!

Went through Haulover to fish lee shores in the Indian River. A few more dink trout followed. We did see some redfish, even a demented one that tailed a few times. Then Chad actually hooked one. Unfortunately the leader broke while he was playing it and the fish effected a getaway.

The highlight of the day for me was a tip consisting of venison. More anglers ought to tip their guides that way. Thank you David, it was very delicious.

 

Monday morning found me up around Oak Hill, part of a three boat charter with Chris Myers and Drew Cavanaugh. Joe, Javy, and Javy the Younger (nine years old) were in the Mitzi with me. It was still windy, although no more than about 15, and the sun was out.

It took me a couple hours to find some redfish, and then I couldn’t convince them to eat. Finally a dink took pity on me and impaled itself on a hook containing a mullet chunk, our first and as it turned out only redfish of the day. We got a few small trout on DOA Shrimp, then right at the end one that was about 20 inches long.

Myers found a school of fish and did pretty well, a half dozen or so. Way to make me look bad! It’s fishing, dude- misery loves comany.

 

Thursday Jim Scherer, Ph.D. and fly fisher, paddled with me into the no motor zone. We found a bunch of redfish tailing in some of the muddiest water I have ever fished in. If you showed them the fly they would eat, but they couldn’t see the fly. I finally figured out if I used a big streamer they would crush it. We ended up getting four or five, with the usual missed strikes thrown in.

redfish, banana river lagoon            Apparently the suicidal seatrout that were there have moved on. We tried for quite a while and only got one.

 

Saturday I finally got the Mosquito Lagoon On-The-Water Show and Tell Seminar done, with Matt and Caleb, fine young men. When we got out there the was NO WIND AT ALL! Because we weren’t fishing there were literally redfish in every single place we looked. We went from Haulover to Max Hoeck Creek to Georges Bar and back to Haulover, basically circumnavigating the south portion of the lagoon.  Fish everywhere.

The water at the south end of the lagoon, already at 76 degrees, is starting to color up again. That does not bode well for clean water come summer. But maybe the tarpon will come in and wallow in the hot, dirty water.

And that dear reader is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon- 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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When Canoes Roll- An Expensive Day at the Office

February 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Redfish, Banana River Lagoon

The redfish these folks caught were all like this one.

The following story is true. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Allow me to set the story, please.

Tom called me to book a fishing trip, on a Thursday. He was bringing his adult son, Joe. They wanted to fly fish. Normal enough.

Harry, friends of Tom and Joe, called me a week later, also to book a fishing trip. He wanted to fly fish as well, with Tom and Joe, on Friday, in the no motor zone of the Banana River Lagoon.

When Wednesday came around, Tom told me over the telephone, “We want to go where the fishing has been best.” That was in the no motor zone. Since we were going there on Friday anyway, that’s where I brought them on Thursday.

If you’ve ever tried wading in the Banana River Lagoon you may know how soft and sticky the bottom is in many places. It’s wadable, but not easy- for some people. For other people wading there is out of the question.

Tom is in his 70’s, carrying a few extra pounds. He did try wading. He fell down. Quite understandably he refused to try wading any more.

It was too windy to fly fish effectively from the canoe with me poling. It was too hard to control the boat that way. Tom was not able to see the fish, an absolute necessity for the fast response needed to get a bite. So I did what I usually do in these types of situations. I got out of the canoe and walked it around, standing right by my angler, telling them when and where to cast and how to work the fly.

We missed quite a few shots but I finally was able to talk Tom through a proper presentation to a big redfish. The fish took the crab imitation.

Tom knew what to do once the fish was on. It turned out to be the biggest redfish he’d ever caught, and he lives in prime redfish territory.

After we released the fish Tom said to me, “Now please help get one for Joe.” Yes sir, that’s what I’m here to do. “Will you be OK here in the canoe?” I asked him. He assured me he’d be fine.

Joe had paddled a kayak. He had no more problem wading than I. So we went wading after another red, leaving Tom behind in the canoe.

After a few minutes I spotted a pair of fish, and pointed them out to Joe. He could see one of them and made a beautiful cast. The fish took the fake crab and off it went, so vigorously that we had to chase it.

I wanted to get back to the canoe. My cameras were there, and we wanted to photograph the fish. We were backing toward it, since the fish had gone the other way. We heard a splash and a yell, and turn to look. I see the bottom of my canoe pointing skyward, and no trace of Tom. Shit!

I tell Joe to play the fish, I’ll be back. And I hustle over to help Tom, to assess the damage. Tom is fine physically. He’s only in knee deep water but he’s sputtering and swearing. He can’t get up. I tell him to relax and stay there. It’s a warm day and we have a fish on. The wind is blowing all my belongings away. There’s quite a trail of flotsam.

I retrieve the cameras first, then track down everything else. I pile it all on the kayak, since the canoe is full of water. By this time Joe’s fish is ready. I take out a camera, then leader the fish. Joe holds it, and we get some nice photos. It is the biggest redfish he’s ever caught, too. We release it and off it goes.

Except for the canoe tipping over we’re having quite the afternoon.

We put the rod and the camera on the kayak. We help Tom to his feet. We empty the canoe, and reload the gear. Things are wet. My fly rod is broken.

That night I have time to look through things. My cameras are both fine, thank you! My wallet is soaked. My phone has drowned. The waterproof bag containing my first aid supplies turns out to be not so waterproof. Everything inside is wet. Some of it needs to be discarded, the rest needs to be dried.

It was an expensive day between the rod and the phone.

The next morning finds Tom in my canoe again. Joe has ridden with Harry. That’s fine. I have a plan, to walk Tom around, to not leave him unattended.

I walk Tom around. He gurgles up a few nice trout. Then we get to the redfish spot.

There are clouds and it’s hard to see. But there’s no wind and the fish are tailing everywhere.

Tom gets two bites. He misses one, then straightens the hook on the next. Let it run when you first hook it!

Harry gets a fine red, his best ever on fly. We are getting lots of shots. Everyone is excited.

Tom, still in the canoe, gets a cramp in his leg. He wants to get out of the canoe. The bottom is muck, but we try, unsuccessfully. He asks if he can stand up. I tell him he knows the answer to that better than I. He tries.

He can’t.

When he comes crashing back down, at least it’s in the canoe. At least the boat doesn’t flip. At least he doesn’t get hurt. But the impact is more than the seat can take, and it gives out.

Now we have a broken seat. There’s no way to fix it out there. Tom is very upset, mostly with himself. I feel bad for him. We still have the seat to deal with, though.

I realize it’s not a big problem. He can get in the other canoe and Joe, considerably younger and in much better physical condition, can deal with the broken seat. So Harry and I exchange passengers. The rest of the day goes smoothly. More fish are caught. Nothing untoward happens.

When I get home the seat is repaired.

Or I thought it was repaired. When I next used the canoe we discovered that it wasn’t fixed at all.

The next day the original drilled holes, and the enlarged ones that Tom made, were filled with J-B Weld. It cured overnight. The following day new holes were drilled and everything put back together. Hopefully, that will be the end of the story.

If not, this story will have an addendum. As it is now, life is great and I still love my work.

Tom, it’s all OK. I really enjoyed the days we fished together. When you next come down we’ll use the skiff!

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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Windy Weather Hampers Fishing- Orlando Area Fishing Report

February 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 2.26.12

Upcoming Events Dept-
-Merritt Island NWR Show and Tell Seminars- March 3 and 4. Time is short, it’s this coming Saturday! Read More Here…

Monday’s trip was postponed due to high winds.

Tuesday afternoon I took the Mitzi out on the St. Johns River. Thought I might fly up a few shad. Strangely, there was only one boat at the mouth of the Econ, a kayaker. He said he’d only gotten one shad all day (he got there at 8 AM) and his friends in a motor boat had only gotten a couple of small crappie.

There was certainly not much surface activity. I fished for three hours with both fly and spin, got one small largemouth bass on a Muddler Minnow, the only bite I got. No shad were seen.
It was a lovely afternoon. I was glad I went.

Wednesday Scott Radloff and I went canoeing on the Banana River Lagoon. There was some wind and a lot of clouds, plus the water was up a few inches. All this conspired to make spotting fish difficult.

I found a tailer and managed to drop a black bunny leech in front of him. He took the fly and Scott got this picture of us:

redfish banana river lagoon

One of two reds I got, both on a black bunny leech.

I got another almost as big about an hour later, also on the leech, then hooked and lost one on a crab pattern.

Meanwhile Scott was wading around with a spin rod. He got three reds that were in the slot. He wanted a bigger one. We got in the canoe and went looking for one.

When we found one Scott cast a faux shrimp at it. The fish responded like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Unfortunately during the battle the hook pulled out.

We stopped and fished for trout as we headed back to the launch. I got a few on the Gurgler, and Scott made me look silly with the spin rod, catching fish after fish. Considering the weather we had quite a good day.

seatrout- headshot

spotted seatrout, caught with a Gurgler

I wanted to go scouting on Friday but the winds caused me to alter my plan.

Saturday’s trip was cancelled due to high winds. 🙁

And that, friends, is this week’s Orlando area fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing! when it’s not blowing 25…

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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Hot Fishing This Week- Mosquito Lagoon- Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

February 18, 2012 by · 2 Comments

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 2.19.12

Upcoming Events Dept-
-Merritt Island NWR Show and Tell Seminars- March 3 and 4. Read More Here… 

Four days were spent on the water this week.

On Monday Pat Macginn and Richard LongItalianName (no, I can’t do any better than that) joined me for some paddling on the Banana River Lagoon. Actually they mostly pumped their legs with the Hobie kayaks. We got to the first fishing spot and there was a big redfish.

Kayak charters can be difficult. If you lead the anglers so they know where to go you get all the first shots. If you have them go first they don’t know where they’re going. So- there was the big fish, right in front of me. I fired a black bunny leech out and it inhaled it.

Pat passed me and spotted four reds. He fired a jerk worm out and one of the fish inhaled it. It was by far the biggest red he’d ever caught. So we’ve been fishing for thirty minutes and have two pushing-twenty-pound reds photo’d and released already.

Big redfish, banana river lagoon, florida

Pat was real happy with this redfish!

I would like to report it stayed that way but that would be a large exagerration. However, at least a half dozen reds in the slot were caught, as well as a dozen or so trout that were mostly over the slot. The lures of choice were a 3 inch DOA Shrimp, and a Skitter Walk. All the fish were released.

It was an awesome day all in all.

Tuesday I spent hundreds of dollars at the auto repair shop. 🙁

Wednesday John Pusateri joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The weather was incredible. The fishing was not. I hadn’t been out there in 10 or 12 days and the fish have mostly moved. The first two spots did not show a single fish. Then we had some fly shots (a black bunny leech) at a big school of black drum. They just gave us the fin. We tried for almost an hour without a sniff and gave up.

At the last spot we tried John was tossing a 3 inch DOA Shrimp into sandy potholes and got a couple nice trout and a couple reds, salvaging an otherwise very slow day.

spotted seatrout, mosquito lagoon

This trout got the skunk off us.

I filleted one of the reds and did a stomach autopsy. It had three or four small blue crabs in there.

Thursday found me in the Banana River Lagoon again. In my canoe was Ed Redman, a fly fisher from North Carolina. In the kayak was Todd Redman, official son of Ed, likewise a fly fisher.
We gurgled up a few trout, then went on the hunt for redfish. It is not uncommon for anglers who attempt wading in the mucky lagoon mud to fall down. So it happened with Ed. I walked him around in the canoe and talked him into the biggest redfish of his life, which took a wool crab.

Big redfish from the banana river lagoon, florida

Big Ed got this redfish to take a faux crab.

Then it was Todd’s turn. Using the same fly he threw to a pair of reds. One swam off, one swam over and inhaled the fly. It was also the biggest red he’s ever caught.

big redfish from banana river lagoon, florida.

Todd fooled this fish with the same fly that his dad used.

We had shots more or less all afternoon but those were all the bites we had.

Friday Ed joined me in the canoe again. Todd was in Roger Cook’s canoe. Again, we gurgled up a few trout and then looked for redfish. Roger scored first. It was (are you ready for this?) the biggest red he’d ever taken on fly.

big redfish from banana river lagoon, florida.

Roger carefully releases his best fly-caught redfish ever.

Ed then hooked one on the crab fly. He got a little too impatient and straightened the hook. He soon had another bite but missed the strike.

spotted seatrout, banana river lagoon, florida

He missed the redfish but gurgled up some seatrout.

I saw what I thought was a huge herd of fish, and poled over their as fast as I could. If we’d had a lettuce fly we could have thrown to a half dozen manatees that were my “fish.” Not the first time that’s happened to me…

Todd and Ed switched boats. It took a while but Todd stuck a red that took a wool crab. I grabbed the leader but the fish wasn’t ready to be grabbed and I had to let go Then the fish came off, so no photo of that one.

Then Todd and I went gurgling again and got a half dozen trout before bagging it for the day.

spotted seatrout, banana river lagoon, florida

We ended our day by gurgling up a few more trout. They're not as exciting as the big reds!

Altogether a wonderful two days, lots of fish, real nice weather, awesome people. This is why 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, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Big Reds, Plentiful Trout- Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report

February 11, 2012 by · 3 Comments

The Banana River Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 2.12.12

Upcoming Events Dept-

-Merritt Island NWR Show and Tell Seminars- March 3 and 4. Read More Here…

I’d like to thank those of you who came by to talk to me at the Old Florida Fishing Show- TC Howard, TJ Bettis, Gary Kokaisel, Greg from Kel’s, Mark and Ginny Nichols, Shane, and a bunch more whose names have already slipped (sorry! Names have never been a strong suit). It was good to see you! The show went pretty well and I certainly got some flies tied up.

Fishing only took up two of my days this week.

On Monday I launched the kayak at the Banana River Lagoon no motor zone at almost 1 PM, hardly an early start. I did not follow my own advice- the wind was SSE. It was overcast. And I thought I might sightfish for redfish.

I hooked the first one I saw on an experimental fly. I lost it. I did not get another bite, although I did have two or three more shots.

On the way back I remembered why I never go there on a SE wind.

On Friday I returned with son Alex and outdoor writer Vic Attardo. We got a much earlier start. It was still overcast but the wind was out of the east, much easier to deal with.

We found some seatrout right away and got several on Gartside Gurglers. When the bite slowed we continued on our way, until we found some more trout. We got some more trout, same flies.

The spotted seatrout bite was going on.

The trend continued until we reached the redfish spot. Holy cow, there’s a tailer. I had done something I never do, which was to bring bait into the nmz. Hey, you got a writer, you need to produce. Vic had the wrong fly on and with the wind I couldn’t hold the canoe in position all that well so I flung a mullet head to it. He ate it. He weighed around 16 pounds.

Alex got another, bigger fish shortly after.

Bull Redfish

Alex was REAL happy with this big redfish.

I left the two of them and took off for a walk armed with a six-weight and a crab fly. I threw to six or eight fish and finally got an eater. It was a handsome fish although a third of his tail was missing and he had a large scar on his starboard side near the dorsal fin.

bull redfish on fly

Alex agreed to model with my fish.

We got more trout on the way back, and loaded up the boats around 430 pm. It had been a solid day fly fishing, even without the two cut mullet fish.

And that, friends, is this week’s Banana River Lagoon fishing report! Thank you for reading!

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: , , , , , , , , ,

A Full Week: Banana River-St. Johns River-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 5, 2012 by · 3 Comments

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 2.5.12

Quote of the Week Dept.  “The difference between a job and a career is the difference between 40 and 60 hours a week.” – Robert Frost

Upcoming Events Dept-

-The Old Florida Outdoor Festival, February 10, 11, and 12th. I will be there in the Coastal Angler Magazine booth, Saturday from 10-2, Sunday from 12-2. Please come visit! I’d love to see you!

-Merritt Island NWR Show and Tell Seminars- March 3 and 4. Read More Here… 

Non-Fishing Item Dept.- We live on an awesome planet, the nicest by far in this part of the galaxy. Our personal star makes that whole life thing go. In un-fishing related news, check out the amazing photos of our very own personal star here…

Fishing, ah yes!

It was a spectacular week, with plenty of fishing. On a windy Sunday (1/29) Scott Stroop and Joe Mercer, from Savannah, joined me for a day’s fishing. The Mosquito Lagoon was the venue. We went first to the spot where all the tailers had been a few days earlier. They weren’t there!

While poling, we ran over a school of redfish sitting in a white hole in the same vicinity. Scott got one on a spoon. Joe quickly follwed by nailing one on the fly rod, using a wool crab. This is good. We haven’t been out long and already have two fish.

The school had blown out though. We looked in a few other spots and saw nary a fin. Back to the first spot.

We saw a couple more fish but nothing targetable. My anglers had to drive back to Savannah (pretty athletic, down and back in one day) so we bailed a little early.

Monday fly fisher Josh Carleback, a resident of Brooklyn, met me at River Breeze. We launched the Mitzi and ran about two minutes. Five minutes later we were on a school of a couple hundred redfish.

We sat on them all day long, chasing them into the wind, which was blowing 15 out of the north. Eight hours of that wore my butt out, I’ll tell you that. But Josh got 10 or 12 slot reds on a wool crab, making all the effort worth it. He had a heck of a day.

Tuesday, in spite of the 15 mph east wind, I went to the no motor zone of the Banana River Lagoon. I thought I could find the big fish that have done such significant damage to my fly rod collection the last two trips.

I passed up a good number of slot reds, so determined was I to get to the big fish spot. Funny thing about big fish spots. They change. They move. They disappear. So I get to the big fish spot and I see exactly one black drum, while running it over with the kayak. I waded around for at least an hour hoping for a shot with no luck.

Our fish don’t like the wind. I know that.

Figured I’d go back to the slotties. On the way I ran over a few seatrout. They looked decent sized so I anchored and hopped out. Tied on an Electric Sushi. Second cast- THUMP. It felt like a real fish, and turned out to be a trout nearly two feet long.

Knowing it could be wishful thinking I changed the Sushi for a Gurgler. Thank you Jack Gartside! First cast, the toilet flushed, another beautiful trout.

Before I gave up I had gotten a dozen or so. The smallest was a solid 20 inches. It was a fun afternoon. And, I picked up two slot reds on the way back. Not bad for a windy day. Not every trip will to produce a 20 pound fish.

Thursday afternoon son Alex and I went to the St. Johns River. We took the Mitzi this time. It proved to be a good idea.

shad fishing St. Johns River

This handsome scene repeated itself many times.

The bite wasn’t real strong but it was steady. Alex had just visited Bitters’s Bait and Tackle, and bought a bunch of little crappie jigs. We started off tossing shad flies, but I wondered how a 1/32nd ounce crappie jig with a mini-twisty tail would work.

American Shad head shot

It's not a fly but the fish didn't care.

It was hard to throw on the four-weight but the fish seemed to like it. We both caught shad. Ended up with 10 or 12 between us. Alex got a chunky largemouth and a couple of crappie. I got a fat bull bluegill. It was quite a lovely afternoon.

largemouth bass ST. Johns River

It wasn't big, but it was obese.

Friday Dr. George Yarko and his brother John joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Conditions were yucky, cloudy and windy. I had some mullet but we stopped and picked up a coupls dozen shrimp, something I rarely do. It was a good call.

There were three boats where I wanted to start, so we went to the next spot. Didn’t see anything for a while. Then, we ran over a couple reds. I immediately staked out the boat. Into a white hole we cast a mullet chunk out on one line and a shrimp on the other. Less than 100 seconds passed when the shrimp line went off. Twenty seven inch red, right at the top of the slot.

redfish, Mosquito Lagoon

The Brothers Yarko with the first (and biggest) of quite a few reds.

It turned out that spot was finished. The next didn’t produce, either. But the last spot produced about eight more reds and a 16 inch (yummy) flounder.

Spotted (redfish) Tail

This fish had some serious spotting. The other side was similar. Spotted Tail!

I filleted three slot reds and that flounder. All three reds had shrimp in their stomachs. The big one also had one of those damn Gulp synthetic bait things. I don’t understand why people use those things, they are not good for the fish.

Last but not least, on Saturday I met Ken Muhbich, a fly fisher from North Carolina, at Parrish Park. I started the day by slamming two finger tips in the car door. WOW that hurt. My fingernail is all black. I bet I lose it.

Cruising down Haulover a fisherman was fighting a big fish. We stopped to watch. His red weighed at least 20 pounds.

big Mosquito Lagoon redfish haulover canal

Someone was having a real good morning.

At our first stop we only saw a few fish, had just one shot. Did not convert. Second spot had more fish but they were hard to see and we didn’t get a single good shot. Third spot had exactly three fish. Ken couldn’t see the easy one and I hardly saw the other two. No luck there.

I decided to visit the place where Josh had done such a good job kicking redfish butt on Monday. On the way there- WHAM! Ken and I went flying. Fortunately we both stayed in the boat.

crab trap wrapped around an outboard's lower unit.

What did I do to deserve this? We're lucky no one was hurt.

I had to get in the water and cut wire for 30 minutes before we could get going again.

We get to the spot and of course there are boats around. But none of them are in the right place. We sneak in there and to my disbelief and delight some of the school is still there. They were very spooky but Ken did manage to fool one with a Homer Rhodes Shrimp Fly, all grizzly. It turned out to be the only bite of the day.

Redfish on Fly

This cooperative redfish rid of us a skunk.

And that, friends, is this week’s Banana River Lagoon, St. Johns River, and Mosquito Lagoon fishing report! Thank you for reading!

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: Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,
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