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Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report

April 3, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report

A blessed Easter to all the Christians out there.

Although it’s not saying much, we found way more fish this week than last.

It started on Monday, when on a solo trip the kayak was launched on the Banana River Lagoon. The wind was light and there were no clouds. In some clean water, holy cow, there was an honest-to-God school of redfish, at least 100. They were small ones, about 24 inches, but I got four- two on a pink Electric Sushi and two on a brown slider. Then they made themselves scarce.

Orlando Fishing report

For those wondering what Electric Sushi is, here’s a real bad picture of one.

Orlando Fishing report

Sushi would not be my first choice in redfish flies. This red did not know that.

Orlando Fishing report

Another red, on the more traditional Slider.

In the meantime I had seen some nice seatrout lying sunning themselves. The next several hours were spent sight-casting to fish that were averaging about 25 inches long. Four different flies were tried, all unweighted minnow imitations- Electric Sushi, Polar Fibre Minnow, EP Streamer, and SexyFly. All worked. It was an awesome day that came to an end too quickly.

Orlando Fishing report

Speaking of bad pictures, here’s one of a fly-caught seatrout.

Orlando Fishing report

The fish splashed water all over the camera, but you can see the Electric Sushi fly.

Tuesday the now retired Dr. George Allen joined me for a Port Canaveral excursion. The weather was awesome, light winds, hardly any clouds. A couple of weeks ago I had found a big school of black drum out there. I went back to the place because that’s what you do. It’s not like I expected the fish to be there weeks later. But to my surprise and joy they were. George got one, a brontosaurus-sized beast, on a jig.

Orlando Fishing report

George and the brontofishsaurus.

We went along the beach looking for surface activity. Spinner sharks kept jumping out of the water. We saw a ray swimming. I got one cast off before the ray dove. That cast did not get a bite. Did not see much else.

After a few hours of looking without success, we tried blindly casting towards the surf. Bam! Bam! Ladyfish, bluefish, jack crevalle, all on bucktail jigs, steadily. No big fish, but some solid action. I kept four bluefish for the smoker.

Finally we reversed course, moving farther out off the beach. I spotted a ray and moved to intercept. It dove. George spotted a ray and we moved to intercept. It dove. They were very spooky. We couldn’t get close enough to cast at them. I spotted a ray and moved to intercept. It maintained its course, and a well-placed cast resulted in a nice cobia coming up and eating the jig, plainly visible to us, a beautiful thing to see. George fought the fish up to the boat where I netted it and bingo- we finally got cobia, the first of the year, a nice fish of 30 pounds or so!

Orlando Fishing report

Coe-Bee-Ahhhh!

Wednesday the Brinkman was busy, as I sat there and fed it charcoal and wood chips for four hours while the fish smoked. Yum-mee! We’ll be eating smoked cobia and smoked fish dip around here for a little while, at least.

Thursday the Reverend Jay Bergstresser and his brother Hank the Mercenary joined me for a half-day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We were taking it easy, just fishing for seatrout. We used DOA Deadly Combos in some of my favorite spots. The bite was not on. We caught quite a few fish, but all but one were undersized. Still, the weather was nice and the company was good, and we enjoyed ourselves. Hank got de-stressed, an important consideration. And of course we all got closer to God, a real important consideration.

On Friday the USGS gauge on the Econlockhatchee at Snow Hill Road read just over two feet. Time to go fishing!

While the river was low and clear and the weather was awesome, the bass bite was relatively slow. Although I missed a couple strikes, I got three bass in five hours. I also got a sunfish slam, and a spotted gar, all on a white foam popping bug. The river is so beautiful…

Orlando Fishing report

You have to love how aggressive the stumpknockers are.

Orlando Fishing report

The best bass of the day.

Those of us who like to fish are lucky we have such a wide variety of fishing we can do in central Florida. Even with the continuing onslaught of progress there’s still lots of incredible fishing here.

And that is this week’s Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

March 20, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

Pagans everywhere! Celebrate the Equinox!!!

For disturbing news you won’t get on TV (like we need any more disturbing news), this summer’s algae bloom is already in full swing in the Indian River Lagoon system around Titusville. Two reports came in that it’s bad from Max Brewer Causeway south past NASA Causeway. On Sunday’s On-the-Water Show and Tell I circled Mosquito Lagoon twice. Water that was crystal clear last week is muddy brown now. The south end is just plain brown. This is not a good harbinger for summer fishing, or future fishing for that matter, in the lagoons. I hope to check the Banana River Lagoon this week coming.

Speaking of the show and tell, I got a little feedback-
-“I enjoyed them both very much and I think I learned a great deal.”
-“Thanks for the seminar, John. It was informative and enjoyable. I had been wanting to go on one for years.”
The next one is in October. Don’t miss it!

Casey Borland, who I fished last week, made a short GoPro video of our trip. It’s good. It made me laugh!

Fishing report, oh yes! Sunday, no fishing, the show and tell happened.

Monday I fished the brothers Gardner, Kevin and Joe, from Tallahassee, Florida. We went out of the Port with hopes of finding and catching tripletail and cobia. We ran south almost to Patrick AFB and then idled north a couple miles past Cape Canaveral. We did not see any fish other than a few hand-sized tripletail- not at all what we had in mind. The weather was awesome, the seas a little sloppy for the Mitzi.

They had to drive back to Tallahassee, so we started heading back to Port around 2:30. On the way back we ran into a large school of large black drum, hooked a half-dozen, and boated two. Not what we expected but I never look a gift horse in the mouth while fishing.

saltwater orlando fishing report

Joe got this drum on a swimbait.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

I don’t like the Boga Grip but it’s the only way Kevin could hold the beast.

Toosday I had a doctor appointment. Afterwards I met Michael Parks and his son Landon, from Atlanta. We used paddle vessels to go fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. We found a few tailing fish and Landon hooked and caught a very nice one, one of two reds he got.

saltwater Orlando fishing report

Landon does battle from the Dagger.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

It was his biggest fish to date.

Wednesday Michael and Landon joined me again. This time we used the Mitzi and fished in Mosquito Lagoon. The water looks bad. Lots of Rhodophyta floating around and covering the bottom. We saw five redfish, no dice as far as catching them goes. They did get a few trout on the DOA Deadly Combo, though. They had to drive back to Atlanta so we were off the water at 3 PM.

Thursday and Friday I got ready for the celebration of the equinox. Maybe I’m part Druid…

And that is this week’s Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

March 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

Sunday, a lovely day, found Chip, Casey, and Robert in the Mitzi skiff as we searched for hungry fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found lots of fish. They were not hungry. At the first spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but did not get a bite. At the second spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but only got one bite. It was missed. At the third spot we cast to fish for a couple hours. Chip got a decent trout and two rat reds on a DOA CAL shad tail. Robert missed a strike on a Johnson Minnow. Other things we tried included DOA Shrimp, jerk baits, and live shrimp. It was a beautiful day, but frustrating from a fishing standpoint.

Monday, likewise lovely, found Chip, Casey, and I in kayaks on the Banana River Lagoon. We did some fairly serious paddling. We found a school of black drum. Casey had a bite but lost the fish, then they would not bite any more.

We went looking for other fish.

I found another school of black drum. My fishermen were not nearby, so in order to get their attention I hooked a fish, using a black Bunny Leech. Chip and Casey came over PDQ. 

Orlando Fishing Report

Casey battles a fish.

 

orlando fishing report

It was the first black drum he’d ever caught.

 

orlando fishing report

It took a DOA Shrimp.

 

orlando fishing report

Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech, tied by Steve Baker.

 

orlando fishing report

Aye, ’tis a handsome fish!

Casey got one on a DOA Shrimp. Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech tied by Steve Baker. Then Casey got another on a DOA Shrimp. Then the fish would not bite any more.

We had a chance to cast to some tailing manatess. We did not take it.

We had more shots at fish before we left but did not get any more bites.

Still working the run of awesome weather, Rodney Smith and I went out of Port Canaveral on Tuesday on a cobia mission. The waves were running three to five feet, but it wasn’t very windy. The Mitzi handled it beautifully.

orlando fishing report

Rodney works a tripletail in close.

 

orlando fishing report

We saw more turtles than cobia.

The first fish we saw was a tripletail, sitting under a small clump of sargassum. Rodney threw a shrimp over and the fish gobbled it. We ended up seeing quite a few tripletail and hooked five or six, boating four legal fish ranging between five and ten pounds. I found myself wishing I had brought a fly rod because catching a ‘tail on fly would have been pretty straightforward. We did not, however, see a single cobia. 

orlando fishing report

Some delicious eating on display. The fish. I mean the fish.

Back at the Port we ran into Fred Cisneros. He had also been searching for cobia and had seen only one. I guess they are not here in force yet.

The Kumiskis had tripletail fillets sauteed in coconut oil for dinner Tuesday. Very delicious it was!

Thursday I water-tested my new boat, a Sevylor inflatable kayak (read the review here…). This is not a terribly seaworthy little boat. Its main function for me will be small pond fishing for bass and sunfish. It passed that test admirably, as I got five bass on surface flies.

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

The Sevylor Kwik Pak K-1, ready for launch.

 

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

This was the best trip of the morning’s feasibility study. This boat will help me find a bigger one.

So in four day’s fishing this week I handled seatrout, redfish, black drum, puffers, tripletail, and black bass. I wish I had gotten a couple of sunfish, too! And that is this week’s Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

March 6, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar March 14

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar March 15

Only one week until the show and tell seminars, but there is still room both days!

 

My preference is to fish during the week rather than on weekends, but Sunday I had an itch to fish. To scratch it I took a bag of Culprit worms and a spin rod and checked out some retention ponds in Oviedo. You may be familiar with this type of pond. As you drive by you ask yourself, “I wonder if there are any fish in there?” Then you tell yourself, “I need to check that out.” Sunday was the day. I checked out two ponds in three hours and got three bass, the largest (not pictured) which was about 14 inches long. It sure beat watching men’s figure skating on TV. Can’t wait for baseball to start!

orlando fishing report

Lots of bass like this can be found in a retention pond near you.

            Yes, there are fish in that pond.

The beneficiary of a good weather forecast on Monday, I took the kayak to the Banana River Lagoon. When I pulled up to unload my stuff a cock cardinal landed on my rearview mirror and proceeded to do battle with his reflection. Most extraordinary. Beautiful, silly little bird!

The cardinal landed on my mirror...

The cardinal landed on my mirror…

 

...and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

…and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

 

cardinal3

            The fog was thick and I found the spot with some good luck. I couldn’t see anything until a tidal-wave sized wake started moving away from me. After staking out the boat I went blind casting with a black bunny leech. The fish pictured below took the fly on the second cast. It was a nice fish- the photo does not do it justice.

orlando fishing report

Definitely not a bad start to the day.

            After releasing it I went blind casting again and hooked a significantly larger fish. It took me deep into my backing and then broke off. A piece of my heart may have broken off a second later.

            I could not find the fish again, and so moved along.

            There was nothing at the next place. In the meantime the fog cleared and the sun appeared in a cloudless sky, making for excellent sight fishing conditions.

            At the next spot I saw nothing for a while. Then I almost ran over a bunch of drum. After staking out the boat I went searching for them, now armed with a black and green Clouser minnow. A single was spotted. The cast was decent, and the fish obliged.

orlando fishing report

No one accuses black drum of being beautiful.

            That was the only black drum that cooperated, although several more shots were taken.

            Through the day two more redfish bit. One broke off on the strike (perhaps we need a beefier tippet), the other was about ten pounds, also on a black bunny leech.

            All in all a very enjoyable day.

Tuesday Mr. Joe Nourigat joined for a day’s paddle fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Although calm in the morning we again had fog. When it blew away there were clouds up there so we never got any good sight fishing light.

            The fish were not very active. For every one we had a cast to, we ran over a half dozen others. Joe had a limited number of shots at tailing fish, only got a single eat, and as so often happens when your luck is running that way we missed it.

            We tried blind casting, which yielded exactly nothing.

            We did have a wonderful, day-long conversation about books, and music, and a smattering of other topics. But when the boat was back on the car we had not caught a fish. It’s a good thing the birds were awesome. Joe was pretty cool, too.

Wednesday Fernado Fonseca, Mr. Orlando Mobile Marine, visited me to do an annual service on the Yamaha. The job is done, the money is in his bank, and see ya next year!

Fernando doing his thang.

Fernando, doing his thang.

Thursday afternoon I dusted off the cobia tackle. The water temperature is hitting the right spot. If the wind ever dies and the sea ever calms down I am going out there. Hopefully that will be next week.

Friday I needed to scout, so in spite of the clouds and wind the Bang-O-Craft and I went fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. No kidding, I caught a trout on the first cast. Often that’s the kiss of death. Not this day. The trout bite was steady by using the DOA Deadly Combo.

orlando fishing report

The Deadly Combo was, well, deadly.

As often happens there were quite a few little ones but I got six or eight in the slot. Some more trout and a couple junior league redfish also fell for a DOA CAL Shad tail. In four hours at least 20 fish were released, certainly entertaining if not spectacular.

orlando fishing report

The little bitty reds were out on Friday.

 

orlando fishing report

The trout were smacking the shad tail, too.

And that is this week’s Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 31, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
mosquito lagoon fishing report

Who is that masked man, and what is he doing with that fish?

Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Monday morning I climbed in the chariot, hit I-95, and drove to Pinehurst to visit Steve and Bonnie Baker. It had been years. Steve walks with a cane now, but seems fine otherwise. Bonnie looks great. It was fantastic seeing them both again. I’d like to thank them both for their hospitality.

Wednesday I had errands-uh.

Thursday I strapped the kayak to the roof and went to River Breeze. I stopped to use the bathroom. Afterwards the car wouldn’t start, and then the alarm started firing. O meu Deus. Next thing the van is on a tow truck. We went to Myron’s Auto Repair in Edgewater. The problem was minor, a $50 repair.

I got the boat in the water about noon, paddled to the first spot. Ran over a few fish, so I got out and started wading, blind-casting. Got a redfish the first cast, and another on the third, using a brown sparkle crab. Ended up getting a dozen or so, all short but one 24 incher. Checked a couple other spots but did not see anything else. All in all, even with the car problem, a lovely day.

Friday George Allen joined me for some skiff fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. There were schools of fish in the first place we went. They were not very bitey, but George got a black drum on a mullet head?! What’s that about? We were in fish most of the day, had two bites on a DOA Shrimp, hooked and lost one nice trout and caught another. It’s the most fish I’ve seen in one day for a while, but they were not eating very well.

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

January 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Can’t get enough of this sticker…

Things seem to be looking up in the fishing world. We didn’t catch a lot of fish this week, but finding them became a lot easier.

On Monday Rob Boman and David Cline joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We saw two schools of redfish right away. They were spooky enough that we could not get a cast to either. We continued on our way.

Spot number two yielded nothing. We did not see a fish there.

At the third spot we kept blowing out fish. Dave got a redfish on a RipTide Weedless Shrimp. Went through again. No bites. Staked out the boat and tossed a couple mullet chunks out. Rob got a 16 inch trout, released it.

Tried another spot. There were a lot of fish there, both trout and reds. They did not want to eat our offerings, and we did not get a bite. Yes, we were changing lures. No, it did not seem to matter. On the way out I spotted a school of reds lying at the edge of the flat. We had several good casts to them and Dave had one nail the weedless shrimp. It was a n-n-n-nice fish, 28 inches of glorious copper-colored Scianops. We released it.

Have you ever heard that saying, “Don’t leave fish to find fish”? These fish weren’t biting so I went to another spot where I had seen fish last week. There were hardly any there. Given time to think about it, and getting close to the end of the day, I went back to the previous spot. They still weren’t biting very well, but Rob got a 20 inch red on a four inch DOA CAL jerkbait. So, it had been a slow, tough day, but we saw quite a few fish. I thought things were finally looking better as I loaded the boat.

Dave was kind enough to send me this email- “Thank you for the great day fishing.  You put us on all kinds of fish and that is all a person can ever ask for.  I like that you bypass all the latest doo dads and fishing gadgets/gimmicks and concentrate on hardcore fishing.   I think we did pretty well considering the lockjaw that seemed to be so prevalent.  Robbie and I learned a lot too.”

Thank you Dave, for the kind words.

 

Tuesday Patrick Phillips joined me for some fly fishing, also on Mosquito Lagoon. We brought waders with us. I parked the boat and we got out and waded for a while. I can’t say fishing was hot but we got three trout and a red between us, on a gurgler and a streamer.

The wading was not fun because the bottom was gooshy. We got back in the boat and fished from it the rest of the day. Patrick had a lot of shots from both trout and reds. They sneered at everything we tried. The last fly he tried was a crab pattern. The final cast of the day was into a school of reds. They blew out.

So once again, the fish were there, but getting a bite was a tough proposition. But we were in fish the entire time.

black drum

A gratuitous black drum photo.

Wednesday I went kayaking on the Banana River Lagoon, all by my lonesome. I do some of my best work when I’m alone. Not this day. I found several schools of huge black drum. I only tried two flies, the wool crab and the black bunny leech. I easily had 100 great shots, but got only one bite, on a brown and olive green wool crab.

I hooked the fish solidly. I could not break it out of the school. My line went slack and I pulled the now fly-less leader in. It was broken cleanly, not at a knot, a mystery break. I speculate another fish swam into it, but really don’t know what happened.

All I know is I only saw a few trout, a couple dink reds, and excepting two puffers did not get another bite. The day was magnificent, the water clean. The fish caused some frustration, but it was an awesome paddle.

Should have gone fishing Thursday, didn’t.

Friday and Saturday I had no work and the weather wasn’t nice, didn’t fish.

The St. Johns River is still very high. Saturday’s rain won’t help it drop. Reports of scattered shad catches are coming in, but I’ve heard this year we have a shad walk, not a shad run.

And that is this week’s Saltwater Orlando fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Skipped a Week Orlando Fishing Report

December 20, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Skipped a Week Orlando Fishing Report

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers. Thank you all for your support this year!

Last week’s skip was not intentional. I fished Thursday and Friday, had a yard sale Saturday, and fished Sunday. The report just didn’t happen.

Thursday’s fishing was a solo scouting trip to Mosquito Lagoon. Starting late, the Mitzi didn’t hit the water until after 11. I checked six spots and found fish in four of them, catching two slot reds and a flounder, all on a DOA Shrimp.

Friday I went with Tom Van Horn. We checked some different spots and didn’t find much until we went to one of my fishy spots from the previous day. Tom got a couple reds and a beautiful 25 inch trout, again all on a DOA Shrimp.

The yard sale was a success. I sold $100 worth of stuff I didn’t use any more, met some of the neighbors, and tied a couple dozen flies.

Sunday Michael Edwards and his friend Mitch joined me for a day’s fly fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. It was cold on that first boat ride but generally the weather was spectacular. Those fish I found Thursday? Mostly MIA. Michael got a low-end slot red in the first spot we tried. Mitch had a bite late in the afternoon that he unfortunately popped off on the strike. In between we either saw very spooky big trout (LOTS of them) that would not bite, or hardly anything at all. I for one was very disappointed.

Orlando Fishing Report

Here’s my water chariot, complete with surrounding litter.

Tuesday the weather looked awesome, as did the water level and the water temperature. Although it’s still got a ways to go, the water level is finally starting to get to get near normal winter levels!

The water levels at the Hauler Canal this week.

The water levels at the Haulover Canal this week.

I took a solo kayak trip to the Banana River Lagoon. It took me quite a while to find some fish. Once I did it was pretty hot with the nice trout and the slot reds for a couple of hours, mostly on a black redfish worm.

Orlando fishing report

One of several nice trout that took the redfish worm.

 

Orlando Fishing Report

Forgot to mention I got this little feller. There were lots of them around.

Thursday I made another trip, intending to look for big fish. Again there was a lengthy search mission, but I found a school of black drum and released five between fifteen and thirty pounds. They were eating pretty good. All of the took a black bunny leech. On the way back to the car I got four slot reds, too. Awesome day. The sunset was arguably the most spectacular of the year, but hard to photograph while driving at 70 MPH.

Orlando Fishing Report

It’s hard to photograph these when you’re by yourself.

That, my friends, is the Skipped a Week 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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report and Photo Essay

March 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report 32214

The Mitzi is still for sale! It’s just had an annual service, and at that time the hours were 984.

My contact at the Circle K store in Christmas told me last week he caught a seatrout so big its photo weighed 32 pounds.

Bumper sticker of the week-

fcat sticker

On Sunday Mr. Derek Wensky, from San Francisco, found himself riding over the surface of the Indian River Lagoon in the Mitzi. He had never fished in Florida before. I can’t claim fishing was fabulous, or even hot, but he did catch a few. First came a redfish, a modest fellow that made the error of biting Derek’s DOA CAL Shad tail. After him quite a few fish laughed at our attempts. While we were eating lunch I soaked a piece of mullet. A handsome seatrout ate it. Lastly, we found a clump of black drum. Derek switched from the shad to a clear DOA Shrimp and one of those drum was fooled. Most of the fish we saw had too much sense to bite though.

indian river lagoon fishing report

Derek had never heard of black drum before this.

 

indian river lagoon fishing report

DOA Shrimp- deadly on anything.

Monday’s trip was blown out.

Tuesday’s trip was blown out.

Wednesday found me in a room at the Orlando VAMC with Dr. Tran. She said to come back next year. Can’t say the exam was anything more than cursory.

Thursday was the first day of spring! Brasileiro Kelven Lopes, a fly fishing fisheries biologist who lives in Brasilia, found himself riding over the surface of the Indian River Lagoon in the Mitzi. He was a real good angler and got a couple reds on my redfish bitters fly right out of the gate.

indian river lagoon fishing report

They don’t have redfish in Brasil. This was Kelven’s first.

Things slowed down then. We changed spots and he got a nice trout on a big black wooly bugger.

indian river lagoon fishing report

They don’t have seatrout in Brasil, either. Kelven prepares to release this one.

We found another clump of black drum that did not take anything we tried. But he got another redfish, the best of the day, on an ugly fly with a rubber hackle tail, a brown estaz body, and a rubber hackle wing.

indian river lagoon fishing report

Best fish of the day.

We went to another spot but there was nothing there so we returned to a place we had already fished. The fish were still laughing at us as we left, although we should not forget about nor discount the four quality puffers my flies cleverly fooled!

indian river lagoon fishing report

Recording the puffer for posterity.

I hadn’t used my Portuguese in a long time but it was better than his English so that’s how we communicated. Misquecindo todos todos todos!

On Friday Scott Townsend and his friend Brandon joined me for a day on the Indian River Lagoon. We were snakebit. Brandon got a redfish right away on a DOA CAL Shad. He then missed three strikes in a row, at which point the fish in that spot shut down.

indian river lagoon fishing report

A happy Brandon. Things went downhill from here.

 

indian river lagoon fishing report

The DOA CAL Shad gets yet another redfish.

We went trout fishing for a while, getting a lot of little ones on fly and on DOA Shrimp. When that got old we went looking for redfish again. We spooked several while Scott and Brandon got the hang of sight fishing. Then a big one showed up. Brandon made a perfect cast and hooked the fish, at least 20 pounds. I gave chase with the boat. I was getting ready to grab the fish when it dove under the boat, breaking the line in the process. Damn.

indian river lagoon fishing report

Brandon has a big fish on and he’s happy. Sadly it did not last.

We looked in three other spots. No fish in one, no bites in the next, one bite and a breakoff for Scott in the last, which is how our day ended.

Tip of the week- when a fly rod and a pushpole joust the fly rod always loses.

indian river lagoon fishing report

And the winner, by a landslide, is….

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
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report 12514

January 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Floridians for Clean Water Rally in Tallahassee, February 18
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 15. Visit this link  for more information or to register…
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 16. Visit this link  for more information or to register…

Monday Capt. Tom Van Horn and I took the Mirage out for a test drive, launching at Haulover Canal and exploring the Mosquito Lagoon. The water temperature at launch time was a brisk 54 degrees. We did not catch a fish at either of the first two spots we checked. The third, however, produced a lovely red for Tom, an out-of-the-slot fish that tried to wolf down a DOA CAL shad.

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Capt. Tom in battle.

 

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Tom was victorious, although the fish was released.

Once the water temperature started to climb fishing steadily improved, enough that we even got a double.

orlando area saltwater fishing report

Tom has his hands full…

Not everyplace we looked had fish but enough did that we ended up with about a half dozen apiece of reds and trout. The water temperature when we loaded the boat was 58 degrees. It was a good way to break in the new boat.

Speaking of which, the Mitzi is still for sale. Visit this link  for more information…

Wednesday found me at the Floridians for Clean Water Rally in Orlando. If you want to sign the Clean Water Declaration, and if you’re a fisherman you should, visit this link http://www.wewantcleanwater.com .  There will be a rally in Tallahassee on February 18. I hope to attend and hope you will too! More information to come!

Thursday found the kayak strapped to the roof of the chariot. Speed laws may have been broken as we zoomed to KARS Park on the Banana River Lagoon. It was cold when I got there and remained so all day. The forecast high was 61 (my sympathies to all living in the near-arctic zones up north)- I do not think we got there. The wind was 10-12 out of the nnw and bone-chilling. But the sun was out and I found decent numbers of fish. In spite of my shivering I even managed to get a few, some on a crab pattern, some on a redfish worm, a mix of redfish and black drum. I saw a few of the school bus-sized fish I was looking for but did not manage to connect.

This drum took a redfish worm.

This drum took a redfish worm.

This one, the best fish of the day, fell for a merkin.

This one, the best fish of the day, fell for a merkin.

Of greater concern was the lack of seagrass up there- the bottom is almost denuded of vegetation, although the Rhodophyta algae sure is plentiful.

This red algae is growing like crazy now that the grass is all gone.

This red algae is growing like crazy now that the grass is all gone.

 

And what fly caster could fail to be thrilled by a trophy puffer fish like this one???

And what fly caster could fail to be thrilled by a trophy puffer fish like this one???

My guide schedule is much too empty- if you want to get out of the frozen wasteland and do some fishing please call or email me! I need the work!!!

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
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

December 7, 2013 by · 1 Comment

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

We had too much stuff. I looked at the mountain of gear and looked at the Old Town, wondering how it could all fit. Somehow it did. Looked ugly, load felt high, but we were off and headed to Jupiter. Like the sound of that, feels like we were off on a space exploration. In a way I suppose we were.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

We had too much stuff. We made it work.

Thirteen boats launched from JB’s Fish camp that morning. Some were only with us for the day. Others were going to Titusville or beyond, or all the way to Jupiter.

We looked for redfish from JB’s to ICW Marker 13, didn’t see much. The weather was gray, misty. We couldn’t see the east shore of Mosquito Lagoon. But such breeze as there was pushed us along beautifully. It was an easy first day’s paddle, the way you’d plan it if you had control over such things as the wind speed or direction. Perfect.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

A crown conch on black mangrove roots along the way.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Black mangrove seeds along a Mosquito Lagoon shoreline.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

This is how hard we were looking for redfish.

The second night we camped on a spoil island west of Haulover Canal. Dee had gotten a redfish and Jay was cooking it up. One fish wouldn’t go far feeding ten. Jim Dyce was wading around the island casting a gold spoon. He said, “I have a big fish. I don’t know what it is.” It was another redfish. That fish was on people’s plates about 20 minutes later, hot and delicious.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Jim Dyce got lucky, and we got dinner.

 

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

The fillets on the fire.

Another wonderful paddle (we’ve been blessed with the weather so far) put us on the spoil island just north of Parrish Park. We had a party to go to at Dixie Crossroads, time to bathe! It’s amazing how stinky you can get in only three days.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Exploring a spoil pile along the Indian River Lagoon.

Capt. Mark Wright came out and picked us up, a very nice thing for him to do. He brought us to Parrish Park and also gave a ride to the restaurant. About 30 people were there to celebrate with us and feast on some of the seafood that Dixie Crossroads is famous for. Personally I concentrated on the oysters and shrimp, merely sampling the blue crabs and clams. After three days of paddling it was extremely delicious, and very kind of Lauralee to do for us. Thanks from all the paddlers to Dixie Crossroads for such a fantastic fete.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

People are having fun. Mike, coneening around.

The kayakers expressed surprise at how fast Rodney and I travel. we can exceed the speed of any of them. We have an Old Town Penobscot, a well-designed canoe. We have Bending Branches paddles, a bent shaft model for the bow and a straight shaft for the stern. Rodney is like internal combustion in the bow. We get a good rythym and the miles fly by.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Nick is not making the speed Rodney and I are. With weather like this that’s not important.

Wednesday morning the mayor of Titusville came out to paddle with us for a while. While it was nice chatting, we had a long way to go. We decided to hit it while the weather was with us. As it turned out it was with us all the way, God smiling on fools and paddlers, apparently.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Mr. Mayor, out for a spin.

We found a school of black drum south of the NASA Causeway. The one we had for dinner took a smoke colored DOA Shrimp.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Pasta, pasta, pasta! Dinner while camping!

While paddling Thursday a flight of white pelicans flew over us. I had a brief glimpse of God. Take Him where you find Him…

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

The white pelicans are trying to earn a living on the lagoon.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Spoonbills roosting on a spoil island, Indian River Lagoon.

 

The water has been high the entire way. We have not seen a blade of seagrass south of Rinker Canal. Fish have been scarce. While we are paddling more than fishing, we’re certainly looking for fish all along the way. We have not seen many.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Fish have been scarce, but we have gotten a few puffers.

But we are having a marvelous time, partly because the weather has been perfect, partly because everyone in the group has been awesome. Bones Benton said this is the coolest thing he’s ever done. Mr. Benton has done some way cool things, too.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

Nick paddles the stars and stripes along the Indian River Lagoon.

We haven’t needed so much as a band-aid, either.

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

A tree snail in a red mangrove tree.

We’d like to thank Vince and Jim and the Mayor and the Crabman and everyone else who has paddled with us. We’d like to also thank those folks who have said, “Hey, we read about you in the newspaper!” And of course Laurie needs a huge thank you for the incredible cookies!

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure

This is the worst weather we’ve had to deal with- a single passing shower.

Saturday December 7 we’ll be at the Indian River Festival at Pelican Beach Park in Satellite Beach. Sunday we’ll be at Lagoon-Palooza at the Lagoon House in Melbourne. Please come out and see us.

That’s the First IRL Paddle Adventure Report. I will do the second as soon as I am able.

Life is short- go fishing.

Life is great and I love my work!

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel


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