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Another Econlockhatchee Fishing Report

June 2, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Another Econlockhatchee Fishing Report

Thanks for reading another Econlockhatchee fishing report. We’re early this week because I’ll be on the road.

Not a dragonfly, a black swallowtail works pickerelweed blossoms.

Sunday morning found me at Orlando Wetlands Park to chase dragonflies with a camera. Although the website says they open at 0800, the sign on the gate says they open at sunrise. In case you want to get there for the morning light. Anyway, there were loads of dragonflies.

Needham’s skimmer, male.

 

Needham’s skimmer, female. Viva le difference!

 

Four-spotted pennant, male.

 

Last one, four spotted pennant, female.

Memorial Day I did what I usually do- stayed home and hid. The plan worked perfectly.

Tuesday morning Susan dropped me, a fly rod, a camera, and the kayak off at the Econ, a little after 0800. The gauge read 1.9 feet. I mostly just floated and enjoyed the day, doing lots of wading, catching a few bass (no big ones) on a mouse fly, and taking pictures, until 1300. Then, supposed to meet Susan at 1500, I paddled like I meant it, for two-and-a-half hours. I was a little late…

Ebony jeweling, female. Didn’t see any males.

Wednesday I dropped myself off at the Econ, same kit as the previous day. I only took a few pictures though, mostly spending my time fly fishing. I lost the mouse in a bush, lost another surface fly on a strike, had a popper body come off the hook (need to talk to my fly tyer about that), and tried a streamer for a while.

The disintegrating popper. Next fish blew it up.

The streamer was tied for the Ocala trip, was supposed to imitate a golden shiner. I don’t think it looked at all like a shiner. Neither did some of the bass I saw follow it without taking.

The “golden shiner” electric sushi streamer.

But quite a few bass (no big ones) did take it, and the redbellies loved it. You wouldn’t think a redbelly could get a size 1 hook in its mouth, but there ya go.

Amazing cypress tree, probably the most unusual one on the river.

 

Buttonbush blossom. Smells the roses!

Thursday (as I write this) I ran errands and packed. I’ll be off in the morning, going to chase some trout with Tammy. I’m not a good trout fisherman, but I am bringing some camera gear.

That’s the early another Econlockhatchee Fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Ride a bike! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , ,

The Econ was On Fire Report and Photo Essay

May 14, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

The Econ was On Fire Report

Thanks for reading this Econ was On Fire report.

Monday

Early morning I drove to Brevard Zoo for a 7:30 rendezvous with Hope Leonard, who runs the restoration program for Restore Our Shores. I was a volunteer. We were going clam monitoring!

Measuring distance, digging clams.

ROS has research clam beds in the Indian River Lagoon throughout Brevard county. We went to five different sites to see how the clams were doing. You’d think with all the algae in the water, filter feeders like clams would have it made. But, crown conchs and other predators make clam life more dangerous than a casual glance would make it seem. Hope says the clams have about a 25 percent survival rate to this point.

The clams are protected by a net.

It was wet work in water that, if we’re being honest, didn’t make you want to jump in. But I got to spend a day with three strong, intelligent, and lovely women, doing some basic science that the lagoon needs done. Didn’t care for the drive to the zoo, but I’ll do it again. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Hope.

Hope digs clams!

 

Wasn’t there a band called Counting Clams?

 

Tuesday

Had my eye surgery follow-up. Everything looks great- my eyes are 20/20 without glasses. When, as a 20-year old, I was at the rifle range at Fort Dix learning how to shoot, my buddies were hitting a Canadian bull target at 25 meters. I couldn’t see it. I’ve been wearing corrective lenses ever since, until two weeks ago. Now all I need are readers for close up. The adjustment should be easy!

Wednesday

We were under a small craft advisory. But the Econ river gauge was at 1.7, below my “threshold.”

Rod attached to bike.

 

The vehicle awaits.

Before I learned to drive, my bicycle was my transportation to my fishing spots- Mystic Lake, Wright’s Pond, the Malden Res, Brooks Pond, etc. I don’t often bicycle fish any more, but I did Wednesday, a mile-and-a-half each way, to go bass fishing in a place where the wind wouldn’t be a problem. The fish were biting! At the end of my line was a plastic Culprit worm on a 2/0 hook. I got five stumpknockers, big ones, on that rig, as well as a couple big redbellies. Bass to almost four pounds, and probably released 15 or so. And the missed strikes! I need to use that bike more often.

The river flowed through a beautiful cypress floodplain.

 

The Econ, kinda small.

 

Good fish, though!

 

Even the sunfish hit the worm.

Thursday

The kayak, perhaps a more “normal” way to access fishing spots, was used to access a different section of the river this day, even though we were still under the sc advisory. I figured with the low water, wading would be an option. I hate beating up the same place day after day, so to a different section I went.

One on fly…

The fishing was at least as good as the previous day, and I was able to use my fly rod, too. It worked better than the spin rod! Yeah, the Econ was on fire, just awesome.

…and one on plastic.

Friday

A bonus Banana River Lagoon report!

I launched at KARS. Within 10 minutes what certainly looked like a small school of fish, fifteen or so,  came down the shoreline towards me. I tossed a Clouser Minnow at them and got immediate gratification!

I got three of these in about two hours.

I followed that school for a couple miles and a couple hours, hooking three more reds and boating two- the other one bulled into the shoreline trees and cut me off.

After I lost them I just scouted, looking around for more fish (not many), checking out the water (astonishingly clean past the radar station- almost crisp!), noted the total lack of any green thing growing on the bottom, and then packed it in. Had the boat on the roof by 1130 hours. Darned good morning.

That’s the Econ was On Fire report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Ride a bike! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , ,

Lots of Fishing Report

February 26, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Lots of Fishing Report. And M-M-Manatees!

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the lots of fishing report. Got out Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (twice), and to the beach on Friday.

Sunday-

Sunday usually finds me home. The weather was nice and nothing pressing was going on, so I went shore fishing with a light spin rod along a mile-long stretch of the Econ. I worked it hard for about four hours, tossing plastic shad and plastic worms. I got three small bass. Did not see any kind of fish in the water other than a few guppies- no tilapia, no gar, no plecostamus, no sunfish, certainly no bass. Shore fishing the Econ is a full-body workout!

Monday-

The DOA Shrimp found this puppy redfish.

Not learning my lesson, because hope springs eternal in the heart of a fisherman, I tried another spot on the Indian River Lagoon. When I got there, the birds were singing like it’s spring or something! Blackbirds, grackles, coots, and other birds whose calls I don’t know. It was awesome! And, I didn’t get skunked! I saw a few redfish and two (yes, two) snook. I got shots at none of them. The water was discolored enough that I was on top of them before I saw them. Blind-casting, four or five dinker trout and one small red hit my spin lures. I hardly touched the fly rod. A beautiful if breezy day.

Tuesday-

I had a favorite spot on the St. Johns River. Thick with weeds, it was hard for motorboats to fish, and there were lots of fish there. Then the state started contracting folks to spray herbicides, thousands of gallons of it. Most of the turtles got a “virus” and died. The shad stopped coming. The fishing went completely to hell, including my favorite spot.

So much vegetation was killed off that the manatees in the St. Johns, which should at this point be the chubbiest in the state, have to be fed lettuce –https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/feb/22/florida-has-fed-manatees-25-tons-of-lettuce/ ,

https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/jan/21/officials-florida-manatees-eating-lettuce-in-pilot-program/ ,

https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/feb/01/manatees-in-florida-need-greater-protection-lawsuit-says/ ,

https://www.savethemanatee.org/how-to-help/take-action/floridas-algae-blooms/

-because they have no food. Nice work, Florida.

Orlando Sentinel photo.

Anyway, I went to the former favorite spot on Tuesday. There are still no weeds, other than water lilies and cattails. I worked it hard, getting a half-dozen sub-adult bass and three crappie.

Crappie on the 3″ shad.

The crappie hit, in order, 1) the 3″ shad, 2) a 7 1/2 inch Culprit worm (?!?!), and 3) a 3″ chartreuse soft plastic curly tail. If I were fishing for crappie, I certainly would never pick any of those lures, but there ya go.

Wednesday-

Trout! Gurgler! It’s a beautiful thing!

Tried another area in the Indian River Lagoon. I found a hole that had a few nice trout, and I actually got one on a fly rod gurgler. There was a redfish busting along the shoreline. Got him on a 3″ shad! WOW!! Got a couple more trout on the spin rod. It felt like a career day.

Redfish on the shad!

 

And another trout!

On the way home, I stopped at a new (to me) spot off SR 50, first time there. I started throwing a fly rod mouse. Got a bass on the second cast. Yes, it was small. I was there about 90 minutes and caught more fish than I had all day the previous day, with the best about three pounds. Nice find.

Thursday-

Susan asked me to stay home – she was having a chair delivered. After the delivery it was too late to fish. I went and picked up the jonboat – Cha-CHING! – and bought a new fuel tank for it. Hopefully it will stop getting me stuck now.

Friday-

Wanted to run the jonboat, but Susan asked me to go to the beach. It was a beautiful day! The water at Playalinda was kind of dirty. There were relatively few surf fishermen. I talked to one of them. She and her husband had gotten four small whiting and a catfish, using shrimp for bait. Did not see anything that compelled me to go back to the car and get my fishing rod.

That’s the lots of fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , ,

Another Central Florida Week Report

February 18, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Another Central Florida Week Report

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the Another Central Florida week report. I fished, I hiked, I paddled- nice week!

Guest blogger Patrick Young has another post this week, about buying gifts for campers. Some good tips in there!

I am selling off many of my lures. The ones that I have put up for sale first can be seen at this link…

On to the report-

Monday-

Valentine’s Day! Spent some time with my valentine!

Last week, talking about the Bang-O-Craft motor, I wrote, “Stupid motor. It needs professional help, I’m afraid.” I brought it to Ahoy Marine in Sanford. I’m tired of getting stranded. Other errands most of the day.

Tuesday-

More errands in the morning. In the afternoon I walked a stretch of the FT from Barr Street in Oviedo to Lockwood Boulevard.

I met a couple, through hikers who had come from Pensacola. Yes, from Pensacola, walking the whole way. They had met 20 years earlier at an AA meeting. Didn’t work for him- he was drinking vodka from the bottle when I encountered them. He was a piece of work. He said he knew everything, and was never wrong. He had also, earlier that day, almost been arrested by the Oviedo police for driving a motorized shopping cart from the Publix store at the corner of Lockwood Blvd. to the trail head. There’s more, but you get the idea, I hope. I got away from them as fast as I could.

Florida waterfall along the FT.

 

On a bluff overlooking the Econlockhatchee.

Wednesday-

Took a kayak to the Indian River Lagoon in spite of the small craft advisory. I figured I could wade, just using the boat for conveyance. The plan worked great, except there were hardly any fish. I saw six in five hours. Had two good shots, both of which should have worked. Neither did- the fish spooked off the shad (first shot) and fly (second shot). The water was pretty clean! Found a dead manatee, went to the FWC office there at the causeway to report it. The dispatcher told me, “Yeah, they’re everyplace.” “They” being dead manatees. That’s sad. No grass, no manatees.

Thursday-

That’s a small bass!

Took a kayak down the Econ, starting at 419. Brought a fly and a spin rod. Got one small bass on fly. Got several bass on the spin rod, along with a couple redbellies. Got a picture of one of the several mammoth gators I saw, too. Met Ben, the chef at Mission Barbeque. Beautiful day, not long enough!

A little larger…

 

They got bigger as the day went on. I lost the best one, of course.

 

And Godzilla!

Friday-

Boring stuff, including writing this. Hopefully I’ll at least get a walk in this afternoon.

That’s my Another Central Florida Week report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , ,

Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

January 14, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report; Rods for Sale

Hi everyone, thanks for reading this Econlockhatchee River fishing report, and my attempt to sell some more fishing rods. Like last week, subscribers get first shot at these rods, both spin and casting models.

First, a call to action!

The Tongass National Forest, of Southeast Alaska, is America’s Salmon Forest, one of the last few places on earth where wild salmon, steelhead and trout still thrive. Join us in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s to reinstate roadless protections on the Tongass.  www.americansalmonforest.org/takeaction   #AmericanSalmonForest   #TongassNationalForest   #Tongass77   #AKroadlessrule

Son Alex with a coastal cutthroat trout in the Tongass.

These roadless areas are the underpinnings of Southeast Alaska’s robust fishing and tourism industries, important recreation and subsistence lands, and are essential to the local way of life. This year, the U.S. Forest Service has announced they have a new vision for Southeast Alaska, and that includes putting an end to industrial scale old growth logging. To begin this effort, the USDA Forest Service has launched a 60-day public comment period to reinstate the Roadless Rule on Alaska. The last day to submit comments is January 24, 2022.

Susan with a silver salmon, also in the Tongass.

Take action NOW, please! http://www.americansalmonforest.org/takeaction.html

This is how thick the salmon get in the Tongass! Please take action to help keep it this way!

Now, the week including fishing.

Monday was an exciting day at Autonation Toyota Winter Park. Rocinante needed maintenance!

Tuesday was even more exciting search for tile, orchestrated by Susan!

Wednesday, I put the kayak in the river and started casting a new (for me) floating snakey-looking-foam-and-bunny-strip fly, in spite of the cool temperatures. Many casts were made where the thought was, “That one should get a bite.”

Over an hour went by- no bites. Saw a big alligator. Saw an otter- we had a bit of a staring contest, most extraordinary. But no fish. It was time to change the fly. Went for an ugly hackle fly that had been collecting dust in the box for years.

The ugly fly quickly caught this fish.

Of course, it quickly caught a fish, a nice little bass. Then a redbelly hit it. Then I got a big tilapia! Then, another bass! And then, because it sinks, it got caught on a submerged branch and was lost.

Tilapia on a fly.

It was the only one of those I had, but the box had quite a few wooly buggers. A black one was tied on. Several more redbellies, and a truly dinker bass. Time to paddle back.

On the way back, an enormous alligator slid off the bank as I approached. Some of these Econ gators must be pushing 1000 pounds.

Yes, it was very stanky.

Then I noticed a dead and decayed alligator carcass hanging from the branches of a blown-down tree. Macabre. Took a pic to share. Not a beautiful photo by any means.

Thursday, more car maintenance. Couldn’t afford to have it all done at AutoNation. And there’s still another job to do.

Friday, took a short before-lunch hike on the Florida Trail.

Glorious FT morning!

 

Love the mud bridges!

Then I took an after lunch paddle on the Little Econlockhatchee, where I found an abandoned golf club. You really have to love winter in Florida. I lost two flies to snags, did not see or touch any fish other than guppies.

That’s my Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report. Rods are below! Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Fishing Rods for Sale!

All rods have been used- many were my guide rods. Priced to sell!

Spin Rods

Daiwa Sealine Graphite SG624, 7.5′ Medium Heavy Saltwater, Lure 1-3 oz., Line 12-30 lb.
I have two. Great rods for big tarpon, big jacks, sharks, etc. $50 for the pair.

Daiwa Sealine Graphite SG623, 7′ Medium Heavy Saltwater, Lure 1-3 oz., Line 12-30 lb.
Great rod for big tarpon, big jacks, sharks, etc. $25.

Daiwa Sealine Graphite SG213H, 7′ Medium Saltwater, Lure 3/4-2 1/2 oz., Line 15-25 lb.
Sporty rod for big tarpon, big jacks, sharks, etc. $25

Striker Graphite SPR704, 7′ Light saltwater, Lure 3/8- 3/4 oz., Line 8-17 lb. Redfish, trout, snook, largemouth bass, etc. $25

Daiwa Power Mesh Procaster PR213, 7′ Medium Light Saltwater, Lure 1/2- 1 oz., Line 6-17 lb. Redfish, trout, snook, largemouth bass, etc. $25

Shimano Stimula SI-070PMB, 7′ Light Saltwater, Lure 1/8-1/2 oz., Line 8-17 lb. Redfish, trout, snook, largemouth bass, etc. $25

Shimano Compre CPS70M, 7′ Light Saltwater, Lure 3/16-1/2 oz., Line 8-17 lb. Redfish, trout, snook, largemouth bass, etc. $25

The El Rod Custom-Built Spinning Rod, 7′ Light Saltwater, Lure 3/16- 1/2 oz., Line 8-17 lb. Redfish, trout, snook, largemouth bass, etc. $25

Casting Rods

Daiwa Power Mesh Procaster PR52-T5, 6 1/2′ Extra Heavy, Lure 3/4- 1 1/2 oz., Line 14-40 lb. $25

Browning Gold Medallion Graphite MC-56M, 6 1/2′ Medium, Lure 1/4- 3/4 oz., Line 8-17 lb. $25

Lew’s Laser TXS, 6’10” Medium Heavy Freshwater, Lure 3/8- 5/8 oz., Line 10-20 lb. This baby almost glows in the dark! Shows signs of wear. $10

Rhino Titanium RHTC 602M, 6′, two-piece, Medium, Lure 1/4- 3/4 oz., Line 8-17 lb. $10

Thanks for looking!

Filed Under: central florida destinations, central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Happy New Year Fishing Report

December 31, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Happy New Year Fishing Report

Happy New Year Pie, by Cheryl Kumiski

Happy New Year! Thank you for reading this Happy New Year Fishing Report. I wasn’t going to write one this week, but weirdly enough, I missed it. I miss my readers, my friends!

Since it’s January first, we all need to start hoping for a strong shad run. The advance scouts should already be here.

The weather has been incredibly nice! I lost track of the days!

We gotta back up. The Sunday before Christmas I drove to Hillsborough River State Park, an unpleasant drive of about three hours, no matter how I go. The park is almost worth it, though. I was supposed to meet Nick Colantonio, famous the world over as the Comatose Angler, a real treat for me. I beat him there, though, so decided to scout the river.

I paddled upstream until I came to a fallen tree that blocked further (easy) access. I rigged my fly pole (4-wt), tying a mouse fly on the end of the leader, and began floating downstream.

It took all of four casts to hook a bass. They came pretty steadily, and a few of those aggressive little stumpknockers managed to impale themselves on that hook, too. The day’s best fish jumped off, of course. All in all, a splendid afternoon.

Nick and I repeated the process the next morning. The fish weren’t as bitey, and the ones I caught were smaller. After the previous day it was all house money anyway. Beautiful day on a beautiful river with great company, and I didn’t need the 1st aid kit! Any fish were a bonus!

A few days later I went paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. I saw three redfish all day, only got one shot, and the fish spooked off the fly. Good thing the birds and weather were both incredible. Pepe Le Pew came home with me.

Christmas came. It was less festive around here with our boys (men, now) in California. We muddled through!

A few days later I went paddling on Mosquito Lagoon. For hours without seeing anything. I stood up to rest my bum, and there was a redfish up ahead of me, rooting around. I sat again, dropped the fly, and bam! Got him! So rare to convert that first fish of the day. I made sure it didn’t happen again…

I took my jonboat up the Econlockhatchee from the St. Johns, past the cabin, and fished my way part-way back down. Got two dink bass on plastic worms, which beats no cheese. The river looked lifeless. It’s still too high for my tastes.

I took my kayak down the Econlockhatchee from SR 419. No fishing tackle involved. There are some freaking DINOSAUR-sized alligators in that stretch, very impressive creatures. Small ones slide into the water as you approach. The big ones just eyeball you as you float by because they don’t see you as a threat. I had to wonder if they saw me as a snack. Other than the reptiles, the river still looked lifeless.

Thursday, went to a different spot on the IRL. Saw a redfish on the shoreline right away. My weighted fly plopped too close to him. I changed the fly, to a Seaducer. A few minutes later, something blew up some mullet. I dropped the fly on the spot, and Bam! Snook, to my surprise, about 22 inches and very feisty!

It was the 30th of December, and I saw at least two dozen tarpon roll, altogether amazing. It’s not like we’re in the Keys or the Everglades. Although none bit my flies or lures, I did get a decent trout while throwing to the rolling tarpon, on a DOA Shrimp. Saw a few more reds too, but did not get another shot, mostly runovers. Fishing wasn’t great, but the day was.

I found this boat abandoned in the marsh, if anyone needs a reclamation project for 2022. The paint is nice.

That’s all I have. Thanks for reading!

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida fishing report, Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Winter Solstice Fishing Report

December 17, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Winter Solstice Fishing Report

Season’s Greetings! Thank you for reading this Winter Solstice Fishing Report. Pagans, your day is almost here! Christians, Merry Christmas! Regardless of who or what you worship, please enjoy your winter holidays safely!

Since Christmas is next Saturday, and New Year’s is the following Saturday, readers will not see another blog until about January 8. A little blogging vacation I will take!

Speaking of blogs, Patrick Young wrote an excellent guest blog for me about gifts for outdoorsmen (or women). Read it here…

Fishing, now there’s a story.

Monday I took Gary, who had a gift certificate to fish with me purchased before my retirement, fishing. I wanted to honor the certificate. We took a canoe and went to the Indian River Lagoon, where we saw exactly one redfish in six hours, and where I caught two trout that maybe I could have stretched to 15 inches. Unfortunately, Gary caught nothing. Good thing I no longer need referrals. In spite of the lack of fish it was truly beautiful out there.

It gets better.

Tuesday morning, I met Dave Caprera at Spruce Creek. I took the kayak off the car, and went to load it up. Right away I noticed that there were no paddles of any kind in the car. I’d taken out the kayak paddle Sunday while getting ready for Monday. I’d taken the canoe paddles out Monday while getting ready for Tuesday, but failed to re-insert the kayak paddle. What do they call that? Old-timer’s disease? Well, Duh…

I drove home, of course. Dave went anyway, and did not touch a fish.

Friday, I went bass fishing, by foot, with a spin rod, in the Econlockhatchee. Five fish between 12 and 14 inches on Culprit worms and 3″ Shad in five hours, with a bonus eight-inch fish thrown in too.

Exceptionally beautiful day- ya gotta love the weather this time of year. The river is still higher than I like, but it seems to be fishing ok.

As they say, that’s all she wrote. Thanks for reading!

Once again, the merriest of Christmases to all.

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish

February 27, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish Post

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish post. Spring is breaking in central Florida!

Monday I took care of honey-do’s, like repairing the clothes dryer (again!) and buying a new refrigerator. Ah, how I enjoy the minutia of day-to-day existence!

Except for the catching, everything about the day was fantastic.

Trying not to give up too easily, Tuesday I tried the Econlockhatchee again. I went to the most remote section of the river that I know how to access. The water was higher than I like, if I had a choice in such things as water levels. The wind was blowing, but where I was that mattered not.

The gum and maple trees are leafing out.

The day was spectacular.

Even the alligators seemed happy.

I worked it pretty hard. Got two smallish bass on a Culprit red shad worm. Got nothing on the 3″ plastic shad. Got some decent photos of the woods and river. Did not see another hominid.

HERE ARE THE LEAVES!

Catching might have been better, but I enjoyed the day, like totally, man!

Wednesday, after getting COVID shot #2, I finished up wiring the van.*

Thursday I dropped the auxiliary battery in, hooked it up, and turned on the power.

NO SMOKE! Hurray!

I tested all six 12V sockets. Power to all!

I tested the reading lights. Power to both!

I tested the five LED light strips, all which worked when tested before installation. Not one worked. I spent the rest of the day messing with one of those circuits. At day’s end, none of them worked. As I type this none of them work. Clearly, more work needs to be done there.

It looks ready to go to me!

Friday Tammy Wilson took me out on the Atlantic out of Port Canaveral, on an absolutely stunning day. She said (and I paraphrase), “Wanna go look for tarpon and cobia?” I asked, “What’s the water temperature?” “Sixty-three degrees.” “We won’t see a thing.”

I was wrong. We found a school of small bluefish. We saw three small tripletail. I took a picture of the rocket scheduled to go up Sunday night.

*I have not put the solar panel on the roof yet. The panel and carrying a kayak are mutually exclusive, so the panel will be installed as soon as I know I won’t be carrying a kayak for a while.

I’m going fishing next week. So I should have an actual fishing report.

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Photo Essays, Sienna Van conversion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , ,

Valentine’s Day Post

February 13, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day Post

This means Valentines Day to the true fisherman!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post.

One year I procrastinated with the Valentine’s thing. The night before, I was at the card rack at Publix, with 18 other loser guys. All of us were looking for the perfect card in a completely picked-over selection. Lesson learned.

I hope you got what you needed before the mad rush started.

John Gilbert, engaged.

Tuesday found me in the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns River. John Gilbert was my guest. It took me about three minutes to get our first shad, so naturally I expected “great things”.

Taking a break…

We were there four hours, got seven or eight between us, definitely not “great things”. All on spin tackle. Could not buy a strike with the fly. Gilbert surprised me when he said the first one he got was the first one he ever got!

The happy man. Fish, not so much.

I thought the sunset would be killer so I went back out to photograph it. It was only OK. Yes, I am being so presumptuous as to grade the sunset. It was awesome, of course, but not what I had hoped for. I made the best of it.

Pretty killer for not so killer.

The rest of the week I ran a couple errands, worked on the wiring for the van (I should be finished by month’s end!), and spent time on Instagram. Not an exciting week!

Love the palm trees!

Except the Bucs won the Super Bowl!

Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

January 23, 2021 by · 4 Comments

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms Report. There may be a couple fishy mentions in here too!

Monday and Tuesday must have been pretty dull, for I don’t remember what was done. I did repair our clothes dryer in there. My brain must have blotted out that terrible memory! On the other hand, the dryer does get hot and dries our clothes now.

Wednesday afternoon found me in the Bang-O-Craft, launching at CS Lee Park. Target, shad! Went to the mouth of the Econ, where casting commenced. The weather was fantastic. There were some signs of life in the water, and before long I had a fat crappie. A while later I got another. Shortly after I got a little one. And finally, the first shad (for me) of 2021, a little buck, which took a pink crappie jig, right next to the boat. All fish were released.

The noble sabal palm photographs beautifully.

I had been wanting to photograph some palm trees against the setting sun. The sky was spectacular, the light was golden, and I had my cameras.

They’re so Florida!

I went to a stand of sabal palm (Sabal palmetto) trees. Out came the camera. I may have gotten carried away, even trying imitate a palm tree myself.

Silly John, you can’t photosynthesize!

Would life be easier for us if we could photosynthesize? Imagine if we were green and could stand in the sun and make sugar!

Palms at sunset.

You can eat the heart of the sabal palm tree. Only once, though, as removing it kills the tree. Sabal palms are also called cabbage palm because of this edible heart.

Reflections of palms. It’s an ode to cabbage palms!

The Bang-O-Craft lacks lights, so I left before I wanted to, but got some more shots of the sky as I made my way back to the boat ramp.

St. Johns sunset, fantastic.

 

SR 46

Thursday played out in similar fashion, except I went to Mosquito Lagoon, and the photos happened at Black Point Wildlife Drive.

Note the brown slider. Eyes are bead chain.

Two black drum ignored my flies, and a redfish did not. I’m still using the brown slider. The water was quite low, and dare I say it looked a little cleaner? Some green stuff, that exotic algae from the Pacific Ocean (I can’t find the name right now), is starting to grow on the bottom of the lagoon. When that gets established we can be sure we’ll never see manatee grass there again.

The Release!

Friday began the process of installing the solar electrical system in the Sienna, which is probably how much of next week will be spent. At the moment I’m trying to figure out where all the components will go, and how to best mount the solar panel on top of the van.

The spoonbills are still at the wildlife drive.

 

Telephoto sunset.

 

Wide angle sunset.

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms Report blog!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Photo Essays, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,
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