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Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

February 3, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

We fished for shad (three days) and redfish this week, so we have an Orlando shad and redfish fishing report.

Monday the weather was too cold and windy (for me!) for fishing.

Tuesday I took the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns and up the Econ looking for shad. Six were caught, along with a single crappie, in six hours, all on crappie jigs. Mr. Creel Survey, at the dock, told me shad had been electroshocked in the Econ. Interesting indeed.

Wednesday the weather was awful, cold, gray, windy. I drove to the Snow Hill Road bridge and fished under it for about 45 minutes, releasing four shad and hooking and losing another. Mission accomplished!

orlando fishing report

The shad love the Al’s Goldfish.

Thursday I had a shad charter with Bob Gilbane and his brother-in-law, Dennis. We went straight up the Econ. Got only two in the first spot, three in the second. The third spot was a keeper though. We spent about four hours there, getting at least 20 fish, even a couple doubles. And TWO, count them TWO, red breasted sunfish as well! It was cold and windy but we were protected by the trees and it waren’t bad ay-tall.

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen! I had a great time!

Friday saw the kayak raised to the roof of the car, which then drove to River Breeze Park. Surprised and delighted to see genuinely clean water, like I thought I would never see here again. There was not a lot of grass except in really shallow spots. I paddled at least ten miles over shallow flats and through canals, and saw exactly one redfish. But in the three holes I fished there were fish. I was using a six-weight with a faux slider (Borski’s is awesome but I’m not tying anything that’s that much trouble.).

The first hole yielded two dink trout. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

The second hole gave up a mix of dink reds and trout, about a dozen fish.

Slider redfish!

The third hole reminded me of the old days. There were at least 40 slot reds in there, as well as a couple giant trout. The trout eluded me but I released four nice reds (one had seven spots, just lovely), and missed a half-dozen strikes. I saw every take, just awesome. No, I was not on top of my game. Yes, I may just go back next week.

That’s this week’s Orlando Shad and Redfish 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Happy Thanksgiving Central FLorida Fishing Report

November 17, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving Central FLorida Fishing Report

A peaceful and blessed Thanksgiving to everyone. Here is a short Happy Thanksgiving Central FLorida Fishing Report

Sunday and Monday I got to prep for and receive one of the wonderful parts of the adventure called aging, the colonoscopy. System performing within normal parameters, thank you.

Tuesday I took son Maxx and friend Catalina out on Mosquito Lagoon. Let’s just say it was really slow and leave it at that. The water was high and very dirty. We did not get skunked.

Thursday was an Econlockhatchee River trip. Two new flies needed to be tested. One was a crayfish pattern that failed miserably. Perhaps modifications are needed! The other was the Krebs popper (see how to tie here…), which I cannot say enough great things about. It accounted for numerous redbellies, stumpknockers, largemouth bass, and a single chain pickerel, something I have never caught in the Econ before. I did not put legs or paint mine. No photos were taken.

The rest of the week was spent getting ready for Thanksgiving. Again, best wishes for yours to be wonderful!

That is the Happy Thanksgiving Central 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: Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , ,

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

October 13, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

lagoons fishing report

The water was dirty in the lagoons this week, so we have a Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report for you.

Upcoming Events-

-Last call for the Aloha Protect Our Waters Fundraiser! It should be called th FUN-raiser- Mai-tais, tropical cuisine, and live music highlight this event. There might be some well-known fishing personalities, too. All funds raised help support Anglers for Conservation’s youth fishing education programs. Oct 14, 3-6 PM. For more information visit www.anglersforconservation.org/pow . I hope to see you there!

-MINWR Show and Tell Fishing Seminar. Oct. 27, 830 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/

For Sale–

sailboat 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 ready to go right now!

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

Microadventures
Son Maxx showed me a wonderful website called The Art of Manliness. While learning how to get the savoir-faire of James Bond, I also learned of a concept called microadventures. Most folks work from 9-5. What do you do from 5-9? You could be outside, fishing, hiking, bicycling, or simply watching the sun set.

Most people’s lives could benefit from the 8 Week Microadventure Challenge. Read all about it here- https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/my-8-week-microadventure-challenge/. It could change your life for the better!

Fishing!
Monday the weatherman scared me into staying home. It was nice all day! I did learn about microadventures, though.

Tuesday, with microadventures fresh in my mind, I ignored the weatherman and went to the Econ. The gauge read just a bit under three feet, higher than I like it but lower than it’s been for the past month. With a hurricane about to blow by I figured it might go up again real fast, so I got out there.

Fly fishing with a popper netted me four species- bass, bluegill, stumpknocker, redbelly. A two-weight would have been more appropriate than the four-weight used, fish-size-wise. It was a beautiful day and the river looked great. Saw herons, ibis, kingfishers, hawks, vultures, painted turtles. Did not see snakes or alligators.

Thursday I took the Mitzi to Port Canaveral hoping to catch some mullet. The parking lot was nearly empty, never a good sign.

I could not get to the jetty because the seas were so rough.

A tour of the Port turned up zero mullet, or anything else. The Obsession and two other charter boats were trolling inside the port, though.

I pulled the boat and drove to Titusville Marina where I launched the boat among the floating dead fish. A look-see north of the railroad trestle turned up exactly four redfish. I caught a small one while blind-casting a soft plastic shad. You could hardly see the bottom because the water was so dirty. I netted a few mullet up, too.

lagoons fishing report

Friday son Alex and I took the Mitzi to River Breeze to do some scouting. The water was dirtier than it was in the Indian River. You could not see the bottom at all. It’s high, too.

lagoons fishing report

It took us a while (maybe the sun had to get high in the sky) to get down to the main basin of the lagoon. There we found a few fish. Alex got a decent red on a jerk bait, then got a nice trout, too. Dad got three dink trout.

lagoons fishing report

So the water in the lagoons is high and dirty, and fishing could be better (and it could be worse too).

lagoons fishing report

That is the Dirty Water Central Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Orlando Area Fishing Report

May 5, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

A pretty mellow week this week because I had no work :-(. This is an Orlando Area fishing report.

Monday I got a late start. How late was it? It was so late, lunch had happened first. The kayak went to the Econlockhatchee. In an unusual occurrence, it brought a spin rod. Four bass and a stumpknocker fell for a Riptide Sardine. Then the fly rod came out, which accounted for a couple more bass. All fish were modestly sized.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Stan, who could be a professional fish model, his Fenwick, and his bass.

On the way back I ran into a fly fisher named Stan Mercer. He was using an old Fenwick fiberglass rod, and almost on cue caught a bass for me to photograph.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

The redfish bit a Riptide Sardine.

Wednesday I went paddling in a place on the Indian River Lagoon I had never paddled before. To my surprise I found some clean water with sparse grass growing. There were a few redfish around (I saw ten or so), I had a few shots, and got one to bite the Sardine. O, successo! I got the fly pole out and walked 1/2 mile or so looking for a fish, but no dice.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Econlockhatchee paddler.

Thursday was Tom Van Horn’s birthday. We celebrated by floating the Econ, casting our fly poles. Tom is in Alaska training mode. The fish were not suicidal but came steadily- bass, bluegills, redbellies, stumpknockers. Tom was using a foam mouse, I a small popper. They seemed to work equally well.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Econlockhatchee fly fisher.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

The ferocious stumpknocker. If these things hit ten pounds, nothing near the water would be safe.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Tom’s birthday present.

Friday Scott Radloff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon exploration from the Mitzi. We found some small patches of clean water and some redfish, and Scott caught one. We found some spots that had nothing, and other spots where the fish were sparse. We saw a few tailing fish. All things considered, I saw more fish this day than the entire year prior combined, very encouraging.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Radloff hooked up. You can actually see the bottom.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

About to boat the beast.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

O, successo!

And that is the Orlando area 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, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

March 25, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

Because of our hailstorm on Tuesday, and because we are in Florida, this is the hail yes Florida fishing report. We only got out twice this week, not hitting it hard either time. Weather was definitely at play here!

What A Guest Should Not Do
While sleeping one night this week I had a dream about fishing (not unusual). In the dream I’m in a boat with a guide(?) and my sister (?). The fish are not biting. The guide takes us to his favorite fishing spot. There are fish there feeding on fry minnows. We use fry minnows for bait but still don’t get a bite.

The guide takes us to his house, on the water nearby. In the house is a large, elaborate saltwater aquarium. I use my fry minnow (on a #8 Daichii X510 hook, amazing how detailed some things in dreams are) in the aquarium to try to catch a crab when the guide’s favorite pet fish, a two foot long translucent sort of cross between a tarpon and a snook but not really either zooms up and takes the minnow.

When I set the hook the fish jumps out of the aquarium up towards the ceiling, falling to the floor and its death. I try to revive the fish but we can see the insides just look like Jello now, having exploded when the creature hit the floor.

I woke up at this point, furious and upset with myself for being so stupid. How could I have done such a thing??

Finally I told myself, “Let it go John, it was a dream.” Still not comfortable with the entire tableau I fell back to sleep to have other bizarre dreams which won’t be detailed here.

Monday
I saw Tammy’s FB post about how low the Econ was. The gauge read 1.0. In the afternoon, in spitting rain, I launched the kayak to see how fishing was.

That’s an aggressive little fish.

It was not great. My gurglers accounted for a stumpknocker, a couple redbellies, and one 12″ bass. I switched to a purple Bouncer eelworm, which accounted for a couple more redbellies (how do the get the hook in their mouth?) and two more bass.

Bass on the gurgler.

Great and little blue herons, kingfishers, sandhill cranes, vultures, and a bald eagle were observed, as was a couple painted turtles. The river was full of fry minnows. Didn’t see an alligator.

Bass on the eelworm, front…

 

…and side views.

 

Another redbelly for good measure.

I was home in time for supper.

Tuesday was exciting weather-wise- wind, rain, lightning, thunder, hail. I watched most of it from my desk.

Wednesday and Thursday’s weather was not as exciting, but the wind just did not let up. I again stayed home for the most part.

Friday I got to take a drug test. Afterwards I drove to Satellite Beach, picked up Rodney, and drove to Donald McDonald Park in Sebastian, where we camped for two nights at the Indian River Paddle Adventure reunion campout. Nick Colantonio, Bones Benton, and Mike Conneen were there, and we had a visit from Mim Duncan too. It was great to see all of them, and I probably gained five pounds from Nick’s cooking. Thanks, Nick!

The original IRLPA crew.

I fished for five hours or so on the Sebastian River on Saturday, watching people who may have been crazy jumping out of perfectly good airplanes the entire time. The water was reasonably clear, and there was a lot of bait, but I did not see a tarpon or a snook, only getting two modest crevalle and a surprising bluefish.

Thought I had a snook at first, but this bluefish was the fish of the day for me.

We did see three alligators, an unidentified shark-like creature, several dolphins and manatees, a bald eagle and lots of other birds, and enjoyed by far the week’s best weather.

Great weather for searching for fish, but I didn’t see much.

And that is the hail yes 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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Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report 

February 23, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report 

We fished the St. Johns River three days and the Mosquito Lagoon one day. Shad fishing had been really good, the best in several years. It fell off a cliff this week. Thus the shad run swan song Orlando fishing report.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon. It’s getting rave reviews! Please, check it out…

The Alaska fly-tying frenzy has started! I’m tying this…

An articulated king salmon streamer…

…while fantasizing about this!

…for a manatee-sized king salmon.

Should be an awesome summer!

For Sale–
Hotel del Rio, Ambergris Caye, Belize. At this eight cabana waterfront property you can put your feet in the sand- right out your front door. http://hoteldelriobelize.com. Call 407.977.5207 for more information.

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday
Chris Olson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. We got 15 or so in four hours on ultralight spin, but had to work hard for every one. Seemed like the run was winding down.

Thank you, Chris!

Tuesday
Ian Davidson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fly fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. After a hitless hour I pulled the boat and went to CS Lee, where we had three more hitless hours around the mouth of the Econ. Ouch.

Thank you, Ian!

I pulled the boat out and said goodbye to Ian. Then I started getting the boat road-ready. When I went to trim up the motor, I almost stuck my hand right in this guy’s mouth.

orlando fishing report

He was sitting on the trim motor. What???

By the cloudy look of his eyes, he’s getting ready to molt.

orlando fishing report

I wrapped a towel around him, carried him back to the river, and released him unharmed. Snakes are so awesome!

orlando fishing reportLive long and prosper!

Wednesday
I had the pleasure of hosting Rick Callahan and his brother-in-law Bruce on Spotted Tail, which we launched at River Breeze. We had several bites at the first spot, all on plastic shad. A few rat reds were caught, but Bruce got one that could have held batter.

orlando fishing report

Bruce and his redfish.

He released it. He also got some shorty trout, and one decent one that would also have held batter. He released that one too.

orlando fishing report

Bruce and his seatrout.

I told some dumb jokes and we traded stories, laughing a lot. The weather was awesome, and we all called it good.

Thank you Rick and Bruce!

Thursday
The chariot went to the repair shop- tied me up all day.

Friday
My thought was that if the shad were past Mullet Lake and the Econ, maybe they were near SR 50. I drove over with the Bang-O-Craft to test the idea. Two hours produced two shad. If they weighed 100 pounds apiece (and wouldn’t THAT be awesome!), that would be acceptable. Coming in at a couple pounds each, I want more action that that.

I think they’re done for the season.

And that is the shad run swan song 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 2018. 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: , , , , , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Another (mostly) Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 29, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Another (mostly) Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The wind still won’t quit. This is another (mostly) mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

It still blew like snot most of the week.

Monday
Kevin Linehan joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. My mission was to figure out where the fish went. The wind and clouds made that mission much more difficult. We saw some nice fish, but did not catch any, getting maybe a dozen trout to 16 inches on shad baits.

seatrout on DOA CAL mosquito lagoon fishing report

The DOA CAL shad is still producing fish for me.

Tuesday

mosquito lagoon fishing report

I worked it hard with meagre results.

I rode to the Econ, figuring the low water would aid my fly fishing efforts. I tried unweighted streamers, weighted streamers, and surface flies. Four hours of casting netted me two small bass, one big warmouth (big for a warmouth, that is) and one spotted gar. All fish were taken on a popper, for whatever that’s worth.

warmth mosquito lagoon fishing report

The warmouth, so aggressive we’re lucky they don’t get very big. If they did they would try to eat us.

The red-tailed hawks were doing lots of screeching. A large alligator was growling, hopefully not at me. It was really a pleasant outing, fishing notwithstanding.

Wednesday
The Stefansky brothers, Jerry and Paul, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The wind wasn’t howling! (at first)

We found fair numbers of redfish at the first spot. They could not have been less cooperative without not being there at all. We did not get a bite, although Paul got a nice trout on a Riptide Sardine.

seatrout on riptide sardine mosquito lagoon fishing report

The Riptide Sardine is also producing fish for me.

There were four boats working the next spot. We declined joining them. The alternate did not produce a fish.

The third spot was the hot spot of the day, producing about a dozen trout to 20 inches or so, most of them in the slot. Jerry did most of the damage with a DOA CAL Shad.

At this point the wind came up and the fishing mostly shut down. We got three or four more trout before trailering the boat.

Friday
One of Benjamin Ashworth’s birthday presents was a day with me (?!), fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. Girlfriend Chely was along too. Amazingly, the wind was blowing but not too hard (at first).

No one was home at spot #1.

Some seatrout, hovering around the 15 inch mark, were caught at spot #2. We are still using the three inch shad tails with good result.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Benjamin and Chely seemed happy with this fish!

Spots 3 and 4 produced several nice trout in the 20 inch range, as well as three redfish. We also encountered a school of black drum, but they wanted nothing to do with the juicy frozen shrimp we offered. About this time Mr. Wind decided to join the party, and a sea of whitecaps was the result.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Chely was REAL happy with this seatrout!

Spot 5 produced several more trout- one nice one and a bunch of shorties. And at the final spot we did not hit a fish. It was by far the most productive day all week.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week. You folks are awesome!

That is another mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon 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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Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

March 18, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

We had a cold front come through on Tuesday and the temperatures were like those typically associated with January. By mid-March Florida standards, it was COLD, baby! And so we have a cold front Orlando Fishing report.

Upcoming Events- 
Activate the River- The Save the St. Johns: Activate the River campaign aims to get people out on the water to save the river. From March 18 to April 2, 2017, boat tours, paddling trips, hikes and biking adventures are available from the headwaters of the St. Johns to the mouth. We are asking YOU to #GetYourFeetWet and explore the river somewhere new. Bring a friend, register today, and upload pictures using the #ActivatetheRiver to share your experiences! Visit www.savethestjohns.org for more information about the various events and opportunities for you to experience this magical yet imperiled waterway and show support for its protection.

Fishing!

Monday Canadian Ted Sinfield and his friend Darryl joined me on a cloudy, wind-swept Mosquito Lagoon. For the most part sight-fishing was impossible. We stuck to lee shorelines to stay out of the waves and muddy water.

orlando fishing report

Ted with one of the several nice trout he got.

By blindly casting DOA CAL shad the Ontario natives were fed a steady diet of spotted seatrout to four pounds or so, with a couple modest redfish thrown in for good measure. Fishing was decent by any standard.

orlando fishing report

Ted and Darryl with another nice fish.

Tuesday I went to the St. Johns River, and found myself on Lake Harney. In so many ways I was not prepared for what I found there. It looked like the ocean- wind, waves, diving birds, breaking fish. Johnny did not have enough clothes on- a foul weather yachting suit would have been appropriate.

orlando fishing report

I didn’t have enough clothes on. The bass didn’t seem to mind.

With chattering teeth I repeatedly cast a quarter-ounce jig was around the birds (as closely as possible). The bass responded as well as one could hope. The best fish was around four pounds. On the verge of hypothermia I left them and loaded the boat up. In spite of the cold, an awesome morning.

Thursday‘s forecast high was 60 degrees. In spite of that I launched a kayak at River Breeze at about 10 AM. The wind was a solid 15 MPH and it was cold.

orlando fishing report

The fly accounted for close to 20 fish before one busted it off at my feet.

The fish were where I hoped they would be. They were reluctant at first, but as the sun warmed the water they got positively stupid, very aggressively smacking the synthetic minnow pattern I offered. The only difficulty was casting the three-weight in that wind. Both trout and slot reds were in the mix, with the best fish honors a tie between a five pound trout and an eleven-spot redfish. Fishing was so good, I thought it was the old days!

Expecting cold on Friday we took it easy all morning. Much of this report got written then. Around noon I wired a fishing rod to the frame of my bicycle and went riding off to the Econ.

neighborhood walk

On the way I stopped at a neighbor’s loquat tree and had a delicious snack. Ripe loquats have this reporter’s highest recommendation.

Some of my neighbors have never been to Disney World…

A pickup truck towing a trailer full of cattle passed me. We can reasonably assume the cows were not headed to Walt Disney World.

A flash of insight while I was pedaling- it reminded me of how I used to go fishing before I had a driver’s license- pedal my bike to the local fishing spot! I might have been going to Wright’s Pond, or Upper Mystic Lake. I can almost hear Patti Cefalo yelling at me, “Why don’t you grow up, John!!” Some things really never do change.

orlando fishing report

First fish of the day was a rather aggressive crappie.

I got to pedal, clamber, amble, ramble, scramble, scrabble, climb, walk, cast, see some alligators, watch an armadillo roll around on its back like a dog (who knew?), see some cowboys (on horseback, of course)- what an afternoon! Beautiful spot, awesome weather, a few fish, life sure is good!

orlando fishing report

I bet life is difficult for little gators like this. They’re like tootsie rolls for the larger lizards.

 

orlando fishing report

This bass was the best fish of the day, though.

Saturday found Brian and Lacey Rosedale in Spotted Tail, shivering in some too crisp weather as we motored up the St. Johns River in the fog. I thought it painfully cold. What was even more painful was the lack of breaking fish at the breaking fish spot. At least eight other boats were similarly disappointed.

orlando fishing report

Brian and the sunshine bass. Sounds like the name of a garage band.

We fished our way back to Mullet Lake Park, got exactly three bites along the way. Brian got a modest largemouth and a nice sunshine bass, both on a Culprit Fat Max worm. Lacey hooked and lost a fish on a DOA CAL shad. It turned into a gorgeous day but the fish weren’t happening for us.

That is the Cold Front 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: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Again Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 11, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Hot Again Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

An interesting and busy week, with some very good fishing. So it’s the hot again Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Monday was a late half day with Daniel and his father (maybe Pete?), on Mosquito Lagoon. Anyway, it was blowing hard, around 20, out of the SSE. Realistically all we could do was soak bait on lee shorelines. It was not fabulous. We got a bunch of catfish including two catfish doubles, and got two stingrays, but also managed two nice redfish, and had some interesting conversation. Certainly not great, but we have all had worse days.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Daniel and his redfish, which had a big scar.

Tuesday was a morning half day with Jeff Limato and Pastor Ed Hlad, Jersey boys both. Fishing Mosquito Lagoon we tossed DOA CAL shad and Riptide Sardines and did some damage on seatrout that averaged three pounds or so, very solid fish and fishing. And they got four slot reds, too. Most of this was blind casting, as it was quite cloudy most of the morning. All the fish were released.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Jeff got this red and several other fish too.

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

The magic lure of late has been soft plastic minnows like this Riptide Sardine in a variety of colors.

Wednesday Rick Callahan and I paddled the Econlockhatchee. I knew we would see a load of fish because we did not bring tackle. And the water was low and clear, so of course we did see a lot of fish. Species we observed included:
-American shad
-bluegills
-chain pickerel
-channel catfish
-largemouth bass
-mullet
-redbreasted sunfish
-spotted gar
-spotted sunfish
-tilapia
-various minnows, guppies, chubs, etc

Mr. Calahan doing that paddle thang!

We also observed quite a few turtles, and some very large alligators. It was an awesome paddle that I need to do again with a fishing rod.

orlando fishing report

Just a reminder that Godzilla lives at the Econ.

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Ray was deadly on trout like this, with a DOA CAL shad this time.

Thursday Ray joined me, back on Mosquito Lagoon. Again we tossed DOA CAL shad and Riptide Sardines and again did some damage on seatrout that averaged three pounds or so. There were quite a few reds around, schooled up, tailing, and most important, EATING. I thought it was the old days! We did really well all day, fishing just a short stretch of shoreline the entire time. It was really productive, just great. All the fish were released.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

He waren’t too shabby on the reds, either.

Friday found me doing a double half day. The morning trip was with Joe Bonato and his wife Sonia. Fishing a number of spots and using both cut mullet and the shad tails we got four redfish and two trout, not bad at all (I thought) considering how crowded the water was. There were boats everywhere.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Sonia, with a redfish and a dazzling smile!

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

The lady got some trout, too!

The afternoon trip was with Lee Nguyen and Angel Mercado, from South Carolina. The wind had come up pretty hard out of the west-northwest. I brought them back to the hot spot from the previous day, tossing the same lures- NOT HOT! Lee got one redfish where the day before we had caught and released at least 20 fish. I got in a lee and soaked mullet chunks long enough to get two catfish, quickly ending that little experiment.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Lee and Angel were very happy with their redfish.

We went to a spot I hadn’t fished in a long time, and to my surprise and delight there were some fish there. We got three or four reds and a couple of nice trout using the shad tails, not as good as I would have liked but certainly better than nothing. All the fish were released.

Saturday I got to run last week’s postponed On-the-Water Show and Tell seminar. It gave me the chance to run most of the way around the southern basin of the Mosquito Lagoon, down the west shoreline from Haulover to behind Pelican Island, around the Whale Tail, back up the eastern side to the north entrance to the pole-troll area, and finally back down the ICW to Haulover.

The water is clean everywhere.

A shocking amount of seagrass is gone.

If we get another algae bloom this summer (and this reporter feels it’s inevitable) I fear that will be it for the remaining seagrass. My estimate is that 2/3rds of it has already been lost- better than the Banana River Lagoon, better than the Indian River Lagoon, but still tragic. The seagrass directly drives the productivity of those waters. Stay tuned for future developments…

That is the hot again Mosquito Lagoon 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 · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,
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