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Another Dirty Water Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 20, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Another Dirty Water Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Better than no fish.

The water was dirty in the lagoons again this week, so we have another Dirty Water Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report for you.

Upcoming Events-

–MINWR Show and Tell Fishing Seminar. Oct. 27, 0830 AM. In this all-day seminar I SHOW you where to fish, and TELL you how to be successful. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

–Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar. Oct. 28. In this four hour seminar I take you out in my skiff and show you all my secrets. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Space still available for both events!

For Sale-
15 ft Sailboat for sale with trailer! Sails are 2 years old and always dried and rolled into their sailbags. Main and Jib. Great little boat for cruising or racing. Custom trailer.

Boat is clean and ready to go right now!

Visit this link for more information! http://www.spottedtail.com/15-sailboat-for-sale/

Sunday
Needless to say I was at the AFC Fundraiser, a wonderful event. A gentleman introduced himself to me and said he’d found out about the event from this newsletter! Hallelujah! Some folks actually read it!

Fishing!
Monday I went kayak scouting on the dirty waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, hoping to find some water clean enough to sight fish. If the water is more than about 12 inches deep you cannot see the bottom. Sight fishing is possible in select places, but is not easy even at those. I sure do love progress.

Hopefully a couple strong cold fronts will cause the water to clear up. My optimism is quite guarded.

Tuesday Chris Olson joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon kayak fishing. Chris got a couple slot trout on a plastic shad. I got a short red and a trout on a plastic shad too, and added a micro-snook on the fly rod for a mini-slam. I had three shots at tailing reds, which is how I got the one I got. It was a beautiful day. Afterwards we went to Kayaks by Bo to see the pretty, new boats!

Wednesday I drove to the Villages to talk to the Tri-County Fly Fishers  about winter fly fishing in the lagoons. The talk went well- they seem like a really nice group. This email came to me the next morning- “I enjoyed the talk. I’ve always been impressed with your observations and honesty.” Thank you, Russell!

Thursday I took the Mitzi to Port Canaveral hoping to catch some mullet. The parking lot had a few cars, which was encouraging. There were only a few mullet at the boat ramp, and none between there and the jetties.

The Mitzi cleared the north jetty. On the north side of it was a single school of mullet, way up in the surf. They quickly disappeared. The seas were at the design limits of the Mitzi’s capabilities. The forecast was for a strengthening east wind.

A Coast Guard zodiac came to tell me that a submarine was on its way in, and in a few minutes I should be somewhere else. After a moment’s consideration, I loaded the boat onto the trailer and drove to Mosquito Lagoon. Perhaps I could catch some mullet there. And I’ve never seen a submarine there, either.

inshore fishing report

I need to get a new model.

It turned out I could not catch mullet there. Using a DOA Deadly Combo  I did get a dozen or so trout, including several keepers, along a shoal. The first strike surprised me, but they came steadily until I left the spot. It was a pleasant surprise.

After watching the Red Sox Wednesday and Thursday nights I must have been sleep deprived, because Friday I did not wake up until after 0830- that never happens to me! Spent the day futzing with tackle, inventorying flies, that sort of thing. Gotta tie up some crayfish patterns.

And that is another Dirty Water Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

September 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

We checked out some widely spaced fishing spots this week. And the equinox is September 22! So we have an autumnal equinox mid-Florida fishing report.

For those of you who did not take my earth-space science class back when I was teaching, you can get a superior explanation of this important pagan holiday here…

Monday
Son Maxx was home from Connecticut and son Alex was home from Alaska. They wanted to go fishing, so we tied some plastic boats to the roof of my car and went to Spruce Creek. I would not say the fishing was red-hot, but there was definitely some fishing.

We got there on a low outgoing tide. Almost immediately Maxx got a flounder on a jig. It wasn’t very meaty so we released it. Then while Alex explored the islands and oyster bars near US 1, Maxx and I cruised around the margins of Strickland Bay to see what could be seen. There were some fish in the shallow water but we kept blowing them out. They were seeing us first.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

Maxx battles the beastie…

I finally spotted a redfish with its back out of the water while it was still 100 feet away. Maxx handled the fishing rod competently, and was rewarded with a nice red that took his shad bait. A short time later we found another one. Maxx hooked that one too, but it came unbuttoned on the way in.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

…and he successfully landed and released it!

In the meantime Alex had some bites and caught a few small snook with his fly rod. Then he got a redfish too.

When we got back together the tide had turned and the flow had reversed. Alex got a redfish on an articulated trout (as in rainbow trout) streamer, fishing around an oyster bar. Maxx ended up getting another red, too. So all-in-all it was a good day, if not wildly productive. The boats were back on the roof about 2 PM.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

Redfish on an articulated fly. Why? WHY, I say?

Thursday
Wednesday while looking for new places to fish I learned of Bulow Creek, near Ormond Beach. I called Alex and recruited him to explore with me the next day.

We launched the kayaks off of the side of High Bridge Road and went exploring, casting as we went. Before 10 minutes had passed I had released a 16” trout and a 12” snook, both taken on a Clouser Minnow. Changing flies did not help my luck! My total for the day would include a mini mangrove snapper and two more diminutive snook.

Alex used both a DOA Deadly Combo and the fly rod. He got the fish of the day with a 5 pound snook. I didn’t get to see it as we were not in close proximity at the time. But he did get several other fish that I did see, including the snook in the photo and a trout that was the twin of the fish I got.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

The snook in the photo was larger than any I got.

I like the area and think it has great paddle fishing potential. It’s a long drive for us, though, so it’s not a place I would visit often. If you live up that way you might want to check it out.

Friday
I got a tip that there were tarpon around the bridges in Melbourne. Being a fool for tarpon, I planned to meet Tammy at the Front Street ramp at 0830. Surprisingly, she was a no-show.

So were the tarpon. I was not surprised at that, though.

The water didn’t look terrible and there was some bait, but I neither saw nor caught any fish. On the ride home I wanted to check the Port St. John and Kennedy Point boat ramps. Both were closed. Brevard county, you are failing your boating population by not getting these facilities open again!

And that was how my fishing week ended.

And that is the Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Early June East Central Florida Fishing Report

June 2, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Early June East Central Florida Fishing Report

June- tarpon time, and I go to Alaska soon, far from tarpon. This early June east central Florida fishing report covers the Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral.

It still rained a lot this week.

Tuesday Robert Ungvarsky and his two delightful daughters joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Our goal was simple- keep the girls catching fish. To that end we stopped at Anchor Hardware and bought 50 shrimp, small ones, to be tossed on ultralight spin tackle. Terminal tackle consisted of a #8 hook and a split shot. We broke each shrimp in half, effectively getting two baits out of each one. Even at that we used all but four.

As luck would have it one of the first fish we got was a 13 inch pompano. Lots of squealing from happy kids on that one! Trout, catfish (of course), pinfish, snapper, ladyfish, a couple of big whiting, a puffer, and a flounder rounded out the catch. The plan worked well, something that doesn’t always happen in fishing. Everyone was happy and we all had a great time. Robert, thank you and I hope you will join me again.

east central florida fishing report

Fred with one of many trout they caught.

Friday found the Finger twins, Tom and Fred, on Spotted Tail, on Mosquito Lagoon, hunting for fish. The hunt took about 30 minutes. Then we hit trout steadily for a couple of hours. Although many were just under slot, we got some to about three pounds. CAL jigs were the weapon of choice. Once that bite dried up we did not find much else, and trailered the boat about 2 PM.

Saturday I joined Tom Van Horn and Rodney Smith on Tom’s Hewes out of Port Canaveral. Someone was holding a tournament and the ramps were chaos. We managed to get out of there and went for a ride.

east central florida fishing report

Zzzz-ZZZzzzzz-ZZZZZZZZZ! Tunny are awesome!

I spotted some breaking fish and tossed a jig at them. BAM-ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! I love that sound! Little tunny, one of the ocean’s finer light tackle fish. They were good sized ones, 12 pounds or so. We got several, along with a single Spanish mackerel.

east central florida fishing report

We knew we might hook some larger fish when a 100 pound tarpon jumped after eating Rodney’s jig. We’re lucky it jumped off. That little spin rod was not designed for that work. We went close to the beach and netted some pogies.

east central florida fishing report

Two musketeers? Two stooges? Two hookups, definitely!

Moving back to deeper water we almost ran the tarpon over. Rodney and I both cast baits out, using actual tarpon gear. Getting his bite took about 20 seconds, mine about twice that long. So we had a tarpon double, both 100+ pound fish.

east central florida fishing report

happy Rodney

 

Getting close!

 

east central florida fishing report

A graceless ballet ensued aboard Tom’s vessel, punctuated by grunting and an occasional curse, and sounds of delight when the fish jumped. After about 40 minutes I had my fish near the boat when the hook pulled. Rodney’s took a little longer. He broke it off next to the boat. After that we messed around long enough for Tom to hook a five foot blacktip shark. After that it was all over except for the ride back to the boat ramp. We left early to beat the crowd!

east central florida fishing report

And that is the early June east central Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Memorial Day Central Florida Fishing Report

May 27, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Central Florida Fishing Report

It’s Memorial Day weekend. You know you need to spend a few moments considering how lucky you are that no one needs to remember your sacrifices on this day. But please consider those who sacrificed everything.

central florida fishing report

file photo of a bluefish

Tuesday Paul Glaser and his son joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. I picking them up at JB’s. “We just want to catch some fish,” they said. They tossed DOA Deadly Combos, getting five species- trout, ladyfish, bluefish, crevalle jacks, and gafftopsail catfish, staying pretty darned busy while doing so. We were out about six hours, and probably caught fifty fish or so. Entertaining, and quite novel these days. Thank you, gentlemen!

central florida fishing report

file photo of a crevalle jack

Thursday, expecting a repeat performance, I took longtime friend Kevin Linehan out for the same drill. When he caught a nice trout on the second cast I thought it actually would be a repeat. HA! It’s never the same. We had to work for every bite. At least we got some bites, and caught a few fish.

Kevin had to leave around noon. After dropping him off I went to an old favorite spot that had not been producing. There were some fish there for the first time in many months. By sight fishing with a plastic shad I caught an eight pound redfish and a seven pound trout, both beautiful fish, and enjoyed the sunshine until after 4 PM. Remember sunshine?

The following morning I picked up Al and Adam Winnicke at JBs. They wanted trout and reds so I took them to the spot from my previous afternoon. It’s never the same, but the trout were still there and they got several to four pounds on plastic shad and DOA Shrimp. Then clouds built up, thunder started rolling, and we called it a good day. The boat was on the trailer about 130 PM. Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

Saturday morning I drove to Satellite Beach, picked up Rodney Smith, then continued on to Sebastian River. Fishing was slow enough that Rodney took a nap in the canoe, not an easy thing to do. I jumped a tarpon on a DOA Shrimp, and caught three large gafftopsail catfish on the same bait. All that took about six hours, after which the canoe was returned to the roof of the car.

And that is the Memorial Day Central Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Destin Inshore Fishing Report and Photo Essay

April 8, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Destin Inshore Fishing Report

I’m writing this from an Air B&B room in Destin, while lightning flashes and rain pours, thus the Destin Inshore fishing report. The report covers a lot of water, from East Bay to Hogtown Bayou near Sant Rosa Beach. I even fished Basin Bayou today after the lightning stopped.

Monday
Jim Tedesco and I paddle fished on our own on East Bay. The water was too deep to see the bottom and we fished blindly, catching several trout that lacked a certain desirable size dimension. But this trip is about exploration and learning, and we did both under beautiful sunshiny skies.

destin inshore fishing report

The fish lacked a certain size dimension.

Tuesday
Tuesday Jim and I fished the south side of Santa Rosa Sound in Gulf Islands National Seashore, walking and wading along a half mile or so of stunning flats.

destin inshore fishing report

The flats were stunning.

We did not see, nor did we touch, a fish. I am sure they use this place sometimes, and a discussion with a local fisherman confirmed this. They just weren’t there when we decided to show up, as so often happens when one is fishing a new spot on a one-shot deal.

destin inshore fishing report

We did not touch a fish.

We tried fishing the spectacular beach, too. Other than one large, distressed fish that I could neither identify nor catch we did not see nor catch any fish there either.

Afterwards we visited the Quayside Art Gallery in Pensacola. It’s a fine gallery- if you’re in Pensacola it’s well worth your time.

Wednesday

destin inshore fishing report

A historic pelican?

Wednesday was Pensacola museum and travel day to Destin. Pensacola has an historic district with some interesting museums, and we spent close to three hours exploring them before driving to Destin and our Air B&B. And my friend Jim headed back to North Carolina.

destin inshore fishing report

A historic door?

 

destin inshore fishing report

I enjoyed the street art.

destin inshore fishing report

Thursday
Chris Gatz and friends were kind enough to show me their fishing spot out of Fort Walton Beach. Thank you, Chris!

destin inshore fishing report

Chris and Dean deal with a fish.

 

destin inshore fishing report

Joe in action.

There were fair numbers of trout and reds around, although they behaved like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. In spite of that I managed a nice red on a plastic shad. Other members of the party got some fish, too.

destin inshore fishing report

I managed to get one.

One thing I’m discovering up here is that there is certainly no lack of fishing pressure. The behavior of the fish reflects that.

destin inshore fishing report

Spotted on the road in Fort Walton Beach. He means business.

Friday
I drove to Santa Rosa Beach and launched the kayak in Hogtown Bayou. I was by myself and knew nothing whatsoever about it. In spite of that I found both trout and reds, although the one trout I got was shall we say modest in size. The water was fairly clean, the seagrass looked good. A local fly fisher at the dock told me I had gone to the most heavily fished area, where catching fish was always tough. Go figure.

destin inshore fishing report

This guy was just fine until I showed up/

Saturday
In the morning lightning and heavy rain convinced me to not go fishing. I instead visited the Destin Fishing Museum. It was interesting, but lots of pictures of large dead fish are not for me.

destin inshore fishing report

A helm at the museum.

 

destin inshore fishing report

An old tackle box, full of old tackle.

 

destin inshore fishing report

Insert caption here.

 

destin inshore fishing report

I thought of Bob Stearns immediately. I don’t think he was writing for them then.

Once the rain stopped I went to Basin Bayou and fished for a few hours. Actually I probably spent as much time with the camera as with the rod. What a lovely body of water!

destin inshore fishing report

Lovely indeed.

Water’s clear, bottom’s covered with Vallisnaria, I caught a bass and missed a couple strikes, and just had a grand time. Wish I had more time to explore the place.

destin inshore fishing report

More loveliness. I tried not to get carried away.

 

destin inshore fishing report

And fish too! Never said it was a big bass 🙂

And that is the Destin inshore 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Improving (?) Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 9, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Improving (?) Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

mosquito lagoon fishing report

A vintage file photo of Rich Surprise releasing a Mosquito Lagoon red.

I am really hoping this is an improving Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

This one is short and sweet- going out of town in the morning. May not have a report next week- oh the humanity!

Monday Brian and Robin were out with me on the lagoon. The water was dirty, all the fish were small. It was a gorgeous day and they were pretty happy, but I was not pleased with the catching. Maybe I’m spoiled?

Wednesday Canadian George joined me for some fishing and some Mosquito Lagoon instruction. We circumnavigated the lagoon, from Haulover down to Max Hoeck Creek, up to Georges Bar, and back to Haulover. There was a lot of clean water. There were LOTS of manatees.

There were not lots of fish (other than dinker trout), or much seagrass, but the fact the water is clearing is great. It must have cooled off enough to kill the stuff growing in it. All the bare bottom is heartbreaking, though.

Friday Chris Olsen and his buddy joined me for the same kind of day I’d had on Wednesday. We did more fishing, less running. The first place we went was a spot I hadn’t visited in a while. Exposed to the east wind, it wasn’t a place to visit during the months of easterlies.

There was seagrass there.

Using DOA CAL shad the fishermen caught and released five redfish, all slot fish, in a little over an hour. There were fish tailing!!! We saw some jumbo trout!!!

We did not see much anywhere else, one here, one there, a few dinker trout, but the thing is, we could see in many of the places we looked. So the water clarity is definitely improving. I have a wait-and see attitude to see if the fishing gets better, but this trip was the most encouraging one since September. Good stuff.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Another file photo, this one of Steve Baker, also on Mosquito Lagoon.

And that, dear reader, is the improving (?) Mosquito Lagoon fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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

Belated Space Coast and Forgotten Coast Fishing Report

December 2, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Belated Space Coast and Forgotten Coast Fishing Report

This is a belated space coast and forgotten coast fishing report.

Once again, the observant among you probably noticed I skipped the report last week. Bad John! In my defense, I packed Friday, worked and finished packing Saturday, and went out of town Sunday morning (see below). A weak and puny mortal, I need sleep. Otherwise, I could have gotten last week’s report done.

Bumper Sticker of the Week-

forgotten coast fishing report

Last Week, on Monday I worked a two canoe charter in the Banana River Lagoon with Tom Vanhorn. Our fishermen, father and son, were Mike and Mike!

The water is borderline gross but we caught quite a few solid trout. Mike got the fish of the day on a jig, a lovely snook of seven or eight pounds, on a jig. Go, baby!

forgotten coast fishing report

Mike the son with a beautiful snook.

Tuesday Tom and I had Mike and Mike again, out of River Breeze. We searched a lot of water and did not see much, catching a total of two redfish and one trout, a tough day. And, we got dumped on bigtime when a front came through. Mike got the fish of the day with a fine redfish that took a plastic shad imitation.

forgotten coast fishing report

Mike the dad with a handsome redfish!

A word about the shad imitations- for years I used the three inch CAL shad made by DOA. Last spring Damon Albers at RipTide sent me his shad, the three inch RipTide Sardine. I have been using them interchangeably, and love both of them. They are some fish-catching lures! So I don’t confuse myself I will just write “shad” whenever using either of them.

Wednesday Mike Briola and I went out into Mosquito Lagoon looking for a Thanksgiving redfish. He had one on, but it came unbuttoned. So we had to settle for a turkey and barbecued pork shoulder for Thanksgiving dinner. Poor us!

Saturday long-time friend Dr. Todd Preuss and I went searching Mosquito Lagoon for some fish suicidal enough to take a fly. A couple trout is all we found! We saw a few redfish and a few black drum, but they just laughed at us.

Sunday morning at 0-dark-thirty Mike Conneen showed up in his black truck. We loaded my kayak on top of his, tossed my baggage in, and off we went to St. Joseph State Park.

forgotten coast fishing report

A St. Joe bay bluefish, fooled with a shad.

I had not fished St. Joe Bay in about 20 years. Remarkably, it was just like I remembered it- crystal clear water, thick, lush grass, and fish you can (and cannot) see. Sight-fishing flounders is difficult unless you’re spotlighting them at night!

forgotten coast fishing report

This fatty flattie nailed a DOA Shrimp.

In two days of fishing the bay we caught trout, redfish, flounder, lizardfish, bluefish, and ladyfish. It was so nice fishing in such clear water, so full of life!

forgotten coast fishing report

A battling redfish, St. Joe Bay.

 

forgotten coast fishing report

The red lost the fight, but was released anyway. We released every fish we caught.

In spite of that, after two nights at St. Joe we went to St. George Island State Park.  We fished in St. George Sound for three days. The water was slightly less clear, and loaded with oyster beds.

forgotten coast fishing report

St. George Sound was loaded with oyster beds. The pinfish were a bonus…

 

forgotten coast fishing report

…as were the lizardfish. On fly, though!

I got six species of fish on fly (Clouser minnow exclusively). Surprising to me, I could not get a bluefish, even though I was getting them on the spin rod (with the shad, some on just a hook, some on a jig head). The trout fishing was almost too easy.

forgotten coast fishing report

The trout fishing was outstanding.

 

forgotten coast fishing report

Redfish were involved.

 

forgotten coast fishing report

The fly worked well, sight fishing. Awesome stuff.

 

forgotten coast fishing report

A Clouser Minnow was all I used.

Both parks were beautiful, although the RVs are a bit much to my taste. We ate out one night at the Pesky Pelican https://www.facebook.com/Peskypelicanep/, and although pelicans aren’t on the menu there, both the oysters and the grouper sandwich were excellent. The brownies were too!

forgotten coast fishing report

The Clouser Minow fooled flounder…

 

forgotten coast fishing report

…seatrout…

 

forgotten coast fishing report

…and snagged a few oysters!

We lucked into awesome weather and very solid fishing. I always enjoy the time I spend with Mike Conneen. Not only is he an outstanding angler, he is an outstanding human being. I had, and I hope he had, a fantastic trip.

forgotten coast fishing report

Mike paddles along a St. George Island shoreline.

And that, dear reader, is the belated Space Coast and forgotten coast fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Back to Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 28, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Back to Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this back to Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Monday
No one would fish with me. Something about 20 knot winds and rain. I didn’t go either.

Tuesday
I did a short solo trip out of Port Canaveral. The water was dirty. I was surprised how little bait there was, how dead the sea looked. I caught a single ladyfish near the Cape.

Wednesday
Mark Wright joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting, which we tried to do in spite of the 20 knot north winds. We launched at Beacon 42, got to the channel, turned north, and immediately took two LARGE waves over the bow, coming within a hair of sinking the Mitzi. YIKES!!! We made it out of the waves and back to the boat ramp, put the boat on the trailer, and that was that.

Thursday
Not scared off by the previous day, Mark Wright again joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. It was a day-after-the-front-comes-through kind of day, and the fishing reflected that. We got a handful of dink trout. Mark got a solid slot redfish on a white plastic shad. We saw a handful of fish. The boat was on the trailer about 2 PM.

On the way back to the ramp we came across the largest manatee herd I’ve ever seen. They heard the boat coming and all exploded, throwing water and big wakes everywhere, fortunately giving me plenty of warning that they were there. There may have been a couple dozen of them. It would have been a good time to have a GoPro.

Friday
The three Swedes met me at River Breeze at 0730. Johan, Stafan, and Robert were very pleasant fellows, excited to be fishing in the United States! The water was lower, not a lot lower, but certainly noticeable.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

This how the Haulover Gauge read on the morning of 10/28.

Like the previous day with Mark, we worked it hard, tossing DOA CAL shad mostly, covering quite a bit of water in the process. The fishies did not respond particularly well. We got maybe 15 trout, mostly small with a few decent ones, and two redfish, one in the slot, one short. We soaked mullet chunks long enough to get two catfish. That was enough of that!

mosquito lagoon fishing report

This redfish made Johan’s day.

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Its left eye looked very strange.

The water temperature must have dropped significantly. We did not see a single manatee all day. Thanks to Johan, Stafan, and Robert for their good humor and for fishing with me.

And that, dear reader, is the back to Mosquito Lagoon fishing report. I wish the fishing was better. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

September 23, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

Finally, a more-or-less full week of fishing. Our travels this week brought us to the Mosquito Lagoon (twice), the Indian Rver Lagoon (twice), the Banana River Lagoon, the Econlockhatchee River (no fishing though) and a brief stop at Port Canaveral. So we have a three lagoons fishing report.

three lagoons fishing report

The boats wait for us to finish the shuttle.

Sunday I joined Tammy and Mike Conneen for a kayak trip down the still-flooded Econ. It had peaked earlier at 18 feet and on Sunday was at 12 feet (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/uv/?site_no=02233500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060), still mostly over its banks. The weather was awesome and everything was going fine until I took a “shortcut”, followed by everyone else.

three lagoons fishing report

Mike Conneen, navigator extraordinaire.

 

three lagoons fishing report

Off we go into the woods.

 

three lagoons fishing report

Don’t trespass!

Before long there was no current to follow and we were darn confused, paddling around in the woods. Mike got the phone out (GPS app). We followed him back to the river, losing about an hour in the process.

three lagoons fishing report

We’re definitely in the woods.

 

three lagoons fishing report

Still in the woods.

 

three lagoons fishing report

Tammy doesn’t care. She always enjoys herself.

When we got to the St. Johns there was no river, only a very large lake. It’s still lapping the sides of SR 46 and the CS Lee boat ramp is still closed.

three lagoons fishing report

Cheryl on the lake that once was the St. Johns River, near SR 46.

 

three lagoons fishing report

Remember to run at idle speed!

Monday Tammy and I went scouting on the IRL, launching at Parrish Park. The water is high (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02248380) and dirty in most places. We fished around some culverts and Tammy got snook, redfish, and ladyfish. She foul-hooked a trophy black mullet. She wanted a seatrout but we could not find one. The mullet may have weighed more than all the other fish combined.

three lagoons fishing report

We converted one redfish on a DOA CAL shad.

Tuesday Scott Radloff and I did a Mosquito Lagoon survey. This lagoon has by far the cleanest water of the three lagoons, and quite a few mullet too. We actually saw a handful of redfish, getting shots at two and converting one on a DOA CAL shad. I got six snooklets on a #6 Clouser minnow, beautiful little fish that would have looked great in an aquarium. We also got a half-dozen slot trout, one on a jig and the rest on a DOA Deadly Combo.

three lagoons fishing report

Scott got a trout on a jig.

Wednesday Miss Chellie Gentry joined me for a fly fishing charter on the IRL. In the morning we hit maybe ten culvert pipes. None of them had fish. She finally got her first saltwater fish, a tarpon, on a gurgler. It was a wonderful moment- I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo.

three lagoons fishing report

The magic pipe produced a couple dozen ladyfish…

Then we hit the pipe I had been looking for all day. The ladyfish were going crazy, and she got three redfish too. They were not very big but they were all on fly. We called the outing a success! Chellie, thanks for fishing with me!

three lagoons fishing report

…and several redfish!

Thursday Mike Conneen and I met to check out the Banana River Lagoon, the third lagoon in the three lagoons fishing report. The water was a soupy olive green. Nowhere could you see the bottom. There was a dearth of baitfish. Mike actually caught a slot trout by blind casting with a Vudu Shrimp. We had the kayaks back on our cars in a little less than three hours.

three lagoons fishing report

Mike battles a trout…

 

three lagoons fishing report

…which was actually a solid fish.

While in the neighborhood it seemed appropriate to check the ramp at Port Canaveral. They are operational, and in spite of the big seas there were several trailers in the lot. I didn’t see any mullet and asked a fisherman who had come in to the ramp if he had seen any. He said, “I fish here regularly. It was dead out there. I used mud minnows for bait all morning and did not get a bite. And no, there weren’t any mullet.”

The obvious question is, where are they? It’s certainly mullet time.

Friday found me back on Mosquito Lagoon with son Alex and his friend John. We fished a couple bars and caught a few trout on spin tackle, then went looking for redfish. We actually found a few (and a few black drum too) but did not convert, and did not get one. About noontime threatening weather caused us to race the storms back to River Breeze. We got the boat on the trailer just as the storms hit us, some darn close timing when lightning is involved.

That is this week’s three lagoons fishing report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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

June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

June 3, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

During my morning trips to the petrol station the June bugs have been thick. So we have a June bug Orlando fishing report, covering the Mosquito Lagoon and St. Johns River.

Tuesday

Spotted Tail was host to the Warings- Chris (grandpa), David (dad) and Alexander (son). The trout bite in Mosquito Lagoon continued strong, and a redfish managed to crash the party. There were a couple ladyfish, too. As one might expect by this point, the baits were soft plastic minnow imitations, the DOA CAL shad and the Riptide Sardine.

orlando fishing report

The Warings caught some fish.

Wednesday

Rodney Smith and I went to the St. Johns River to fly fish before the summer rains kick in too strong and raise the water level. Rodney had the channel cats’ number, getting three and a tilapia too, all on an egg-sucking bunny leech. John did not do as well, and overall he thought the bite had slowed from previous visits.

Thursday

Scott Radloff and I tried to fish out of Port Canaveral. Pass the jetties, turn around, return to the boat ramp. We got to Mosquito Lagoon at almost 10 AM. The fish punished us for the late start- one dink trout and one 19 inch redfish was all we could muster in three hours. Weather forced us to leave.

Friday

orlando fishing report

George convinced this drum to strike a fraud.

George Allen joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The trout bite was better than the previous day’s non-bite, but it had slowed compared to from Tuesday. We spotted what I thought were redfish. They were black drum. George got one on a DOA CAL shad, nice fish it was, too. Weather forced us to leave.

The summer rains are kicking into gear.

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

That is the Orlando fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,
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