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Another Awesome Week- Banana River- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 13, 2012 by · 1 Comment

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 1.14.12

Upcoming Events Dept-

The Old Florida Outdoor Festival, February 10, 11, and 12th. I will be there at least part of the time in the Coastal Angler Magazine booth.
Merritt Island NWR Show and Tell Seminars- March 3 and 4
Details to follow…

Every year around the turn of the year I inventory my fly tying materials and order what I anticipate I will need for the following year. Natural materials vary a lot so you really need to inspect them. I buy these at fly fishing shows or fly shops. Synthetic materials have standard quality so I buy them where the price is best, usually from Cabela’s.

This year I shopped around. Hook and Hackle had better prices on some items than did Cabela’s. So I bought some of my stuff from Hook and Hackle. I will never make that error again.
The Estaz and flashabou packs from H&H were tiny, ridiculous. Cabela’s costs a few cents more but the portions are way better.

Cabela’s, sorry I wandered! Won’t happen again!

Where do you buy your fly tying materials? Why do you buy them there? Please use the comment box to let us know.

Fishing, ah yes-

Son Alex was supposed to accompany me to the no motor zone on Monday, but he wouldn’t get up. Tossed the Prowler on the chariot and went solo.

The day was gorgeous. We had a stretch of five days with no wind and hardly any clouds. I don’t ever remember that happening before.

Had to paddle a ways but I ran over a redfish at least three feet long. Immediately staked out the boat and went wading in those leaky boots (sent them back to Redington the other day). Was throwing to a pair of black drum went I looked over my shoulder. There were at least 50 big reds almost swimming into me.

One took the Merkin. I had it on five or ten minutes when the hook pulled. One reason I like a #2 hook for those big fish is because they don’t bend out the way the #4 hooks do (Mustad #3407). Perhaps I need a higher quality hook in those smaller sizes.

Anyway, after I bent the hook back the school had spooked off. I waded around looking for them and spotted a trio of black drum. They ignored me repeatedly. Finally, with the leader butt in the tip of the rod, they were all facing me, looking at the fly, just lying there. I watched them watch the fly, two rod lengths away. Everyone was motionless. Then I just ticked the fly and the center fish sucked it up. WHAM! Fish on!

That fish got way into my backing, a lovely sight. When I finally got him up close enough to leader I was tring to do just that and CRACK- there goes the rod (sent that back to Redington, too). Got the fish anyway.

It was a big fish and I wanted a photo, so holding on to the fish with one hand I got the camera out of the Simms bag , set it on self timer, put it on the front hatch of the kayak, and pressed the shutter button. Then I posed and got a single frame with the fish. I think it worked pretty well!

I took a picture of me holding a big, rod-breaking black drum.

I didn’t get any other photos but did get two redfish in the 20 pound range, and several 30 inch redfish, all on the Merkin. Quite the awesome day. Wish Alex had been there.

Tuesday young Trae Mays, a fly fisher from Dallas, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon redfishing. It was my favorite kind of day- we only fished one spot. It was loaded up, and the fish were eating well. The fly of choice was a rootbeer colored redfish worm.

The best one of many redfish that Trae caught while fly fishing.

Trae told me it was the best day of fly fishing he’d ever had, something this reporter truly loves hearing. We released eight or ten fish, and had numerous missed strikes and blown shots. Lots of fun was had by all! The boat was back on the trailer at 2:30.

Wednesday afternoon I had a half day with Tom and Tommy Novak, father/son from Cleveland. Need I say I went back to The Spot? But we had weather- wind, clouds, spitting rain. A front was coming in. The fish were gone. 🙁

Went to spot #2. Tommy got a rat redfish on a gold spoon. Then we ran over a couple. SInce the wind was now cranking at about 20, I skegged out the boat and tossed a couple of mullet chunks out. Four slot fish later the bite stopped, so we changed venues.

Tom Novak got this redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon. They don't come like this in Lake Erie.

At the last spot we got one more rat red and two beautiful catfish. The boat was on the trailer at 5.

And that is this week’s Banana River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work.

I keep saying it- life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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Fly Fishing with Lefty

January 13, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Lefty Kreh, the current great godfather of American fly fishing, has been on the scene for more than 50 years. Since his birthday falls right around now, it’s time for a couple Fishing with Lefty stories. Both are as true as my memory will allow.

About 20 years ago the Backcountry Flyfishing Association was having Lefty come for a weekend seminar. At the time I didn’t know it, but Lefty would fly in to town on Friday night, give the seminar on Saturday and Sunday, then leave late Monday afternoon. That way he would have time to fish on Monday morning.
Mel Schubert called me to tell me, “I’m taking Lefty fishing on Monday. Would you like to come with us?”
Did I want to go? I would have missed the birth of my children for that. Heck, I would have missed my own birth for that.

A few weeks later I found myself in the boat with God, incarnated as Lefty Kreh.

I was intimidated. My plan for the day was simple- keep my mouth shut, my ears open, and don’t do anything stupid. It was a simple enough plan, and should have been easy to carry out.

Mel poled. Lefty fished. I sat there, thrilled, following my plan, taking everything in like a hawk. The bite was stinky but it was a beautiful day.

Around 10 o’clock or so Lefty stopped to rest. It was then I made my mistake. At the time Lefty worked for Sage fly rods, and he was using one of their products. “How do you like that rod, Lefty?” I asked.
“It’s a great piece of equipment,” he said. “Pick it up and try it.”

You didn’t follow the plan, John.

“No. I don’t want to embarrass myself,” I said.

Lefty said, “Sage pays me to put that rod in people’s hands. Pick it up and try it.”

Reluctantly, I picked it up. Before I did anything I looked at the leader. There was a wind knot in it. I said nothing, and cast the rod a few times. It really was a great piece of equipment. Then I handed it back to the maestro.

He looked at the leader and said, “Johnny, you put a wind knot in my leader.”

I said, “That was there when I picked up the rod.”

He gave me a hard look and said, “I don’t know if I should believe you or not.”

I said, “Lefty, you can believe what you want but I’m telling you, that was there when I picked up the rod.”

Even God gets wind knots sometimes. I’ve never concerned myself with them overly since then, figuring if Lefty gets them everybody will. I just check the leader periodically and if there’s a knot in there I take it out or replace the section. It was a valuable learning experience.

Several years pass, and the fly fishing club books Lefty again. Now I know the drill, so I call him and ask if he wants to fish with me on Monday. He did. We booked the day.
My son Maxx, then eight years old, attended the seminar with me. I got the idea he should come with us, and asked the maestro if that was OK. It was.
Monday morning Lefty, Maxx, and I launched the boat. There was a school of big redfish in the Indian River Lagoon at the time. Lefty still had the eight-weight Sage. I went looking for those fish, without success. All morning.

Noon came and went and we still hadn’t found the fish. Giving up, I cranked the motor and started to run. By divine intervention the school surfaced 100 yards ahead of me. It was an incredible spectacle, hundreds of 20 to 30 pound reds slamming a big school of big mullet. I poled Lefty into casting range. “I’ve never seen this before,” he said.

He had a little bendback tied on, maybe a size 2. The fish, intent on the big mullet, completely ignored it. I said to him, “Lefty, your fly is too small.” He said, “I didn’t bring any big flies.” “I have some,” I said.

I got off the tower, dug out my big fly box, and handed it to him. He pulled out a white Deceiver, half a chicken on a 3/0 hook. His hands were shaking as he tied it on.

Ready again, I poled back to the fish. You know, if you go from a little #2 fly to a big, wind-resistant 3/0 fly, your casting stroke will have to slow down. In his excitement Mr. Kreh forgot this. His backcast was hitting the water and he was swearing at himself. “I can’t cast this fly with this rod. This is a ten-weight fly!”

I thought to myself, “I could cast that fly with that rod. This is Lefty Kreh. Oh my God, Lefty has buck fever!”

I was dumbfounded.

He got over it quickly. The fly soon shot out into the fish and one nailed it immediately. I eventually pulled it into the boat. Lefty was thrilled. At 28 pounds it was the biggest he’d ever gotten on fly!

This was also a valuable learning experience for me. I’m a fishing guide. If Lefty Kreh gets buck fever, there’s a good chance anyone else I ever have in my boat might get buck fever too.

This is why we go fishing. If you didn’t get that rush of adrenaline you’d be better off bowling or playing golf.

Lefty has taught LOTS of people LOTS about fly fishing. The two most valuable lessons he taught me was when I was out with him, fly fishing with Lefty.

Thank you, Lefty! Happy birthday!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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American Shad Time on Florida’s St. Johns River

January 12, 2012 by · 2 Comments
English: A depiction of a shad fish, as taken ...

Image via Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every year by the end of January, a silvery fish ranging from one to four pounds in size visits the St. Johns River until about the end of March. The fish is the American Shad, and they swim up the St. Johns with love on their minds. This year Charlie McCullough has already caught some.

Some years there are zillions of them. Some years back Rodney Smith took his son Jake, I took my son Maxx, and we met Tammy Wilson at Hatbill Park for some fly fishing for shad. The fish were thick, so much so the boys got tired of catching them on fly and began catching them by hand.

Some years there are hardly any. Why they vary in number from year to year is somewhat of a mystery, but probably has to do with reproductive success of various year classes and the amount of predation they’ve been subject to.

While many anglers enjoy slow trolling for them with light spinning tackle, they are a superb fly rod fish. You’ll need a five- or six-weight outfit with a sinking line, a three to four foot, 10 pound test leader, and an assortment of small, brightly colored, weighted shad flies. If you don’t catch a mussel from time to time you’re probably not fishing deep enough.

Cast your line quartering upstream, using just enough retrieve to maintain contact with the fly. When your line is pointing directly downstream, strip the line in until you can lift it out of the water and repeat the process.

Where are the fish? That varies from year to year. Hatbill Park, Marina Isle, Lemon Bluff, Puzzle Lake, Mullet Lake, they might be in all, any, or none of those spots. One year we had excellent fishing from the banks of the river at the Morgan Alderman Ranch, just upstream of Lake Harney. The Fly Fisherman in Titusville (321.267.0348), Orlando Outfitters (407.896.8220), and Mosquito Creek Outdoors (407.464.2000) can all point you in the right direction. Or, you could ask me!

Shad fight hard, with frequent jumps. Most people catch and release them.

Do you like fishing for shad? Let us nw where and how you fish for them!

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

 

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New Year’s Fishing Roars In- Banana River- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 9, 2012 by · 1 Comment

The Orlando Area-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 1.8.12

The new year brought a blast of cold air with it.

Tuesday the wind blew about 25 miles an hour. The high was in the 50s. The temperature Tuesday night got close to freezing.

Wednesday morning, in the most relaxed way, I put one of the kayaks on the roof and drove to River Breeze to paddle fish the Mosquito Lagoon. It was still only in the 50s when I got there about 11 AM.

Last time I paddle fished I whined about the water being too high and too dirty. Someone pulled the plug, because the water was all gone. I had to walk a good part of the way to my intended fishing spot.

Ha-ha. There was no water there. Literally. The parts of the pond that still had water were only a few inches deep. I found nine seatrout in the 5-7 pound range floating, dead.
Quite sad.

I found a small, deep (three feet or so) hole in an otherwise shallow canal. Redfish were stacked up in there. I didn’t count but I was well into double digits before I took pity on them and stopped. Most were small but half a dozen or so were in the slot. The fly was a brown redfish worm. I think an acorn would have worked.

I wanted to check other spots but couldn’t go anyplace else. There wasn’t enough water to float the kayak. I walked it most of the way back and loaded it up around 4:30.

Thursday morning there was frost everywhere. Chris Myers and I took the Reflection 17 to the no motor area of the Banana River Lagoon. It is amazing how fast that water cleared up once the cold weather finally got here.

The day was cool, chilly, a tad breezy, but sunny and spectacular!

The fishing was ridiculous. We both caught redfish, black drum, and seatrout all day long, mostly on a black redfish worm. The trout averaged about 20 inches long, solid fish all. Chris got a couple reds on a green crab pattern.

Chris Myers got the nicest trout of the day.

Most of the trout we got were like this or a little bigger.

We threw at some big reds but the biggest we got, and Chris got all three, were about 32 inches. Chris complained that the “little” 32 inch reds beat the big ones to the fly. I like days where that’s the biggest problem. They are much too rare.

Capt. Chris got three reds like this, as well as several smaller ones. And a black drum!

Friday Dr. George Yarko and I were at Haulover Canal at the relatively brisk time of 8:30 AM. The day was perfect, magnificent. There were no clouds, hardly any wind. The temperature rose into the low 70s.

There should have been fish everywhere.

We went as far north as JBs Fish Camp. Anyone who fishes the Mosquito Lagoon will tell you that’s a fair ride. We maybe saw two dozen fish all day.

George had one bite, a trout, on a DOA Shrimp. As luck goes, the fish came off. Several other guides went fishless too, so I know it waren’t just me!

Back in the day I would have been upset. Now I wonder why they weren’t there, and appreciate the day for the finest example of Florida weather.

We were off the water before 4 PM.

On Saturday Iowa City fly fisher Mark Hale joined me for some fly fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Again, the weather was spectacular. After the beatdown of the previous day I had some concern about our chances of success. And the first three places I looked held nothing.

Then I got lucky, and found a school of about 150 fish.

Mark had never caught a redfish before but he crushed the jinx by nailing five to 25 inches, using a rootbeer colored redfish worm. We were two happy boys.

Mark Hale got his first, second, third, etc redfish on Saturday, courtesy of the Mosquito Lagoon.

Sunday Jonathan Evans, a fly fisher from Virginia, joined me for some fly fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Again, the weather was spectacular.

We saw a few fish in the first spot- no bite. We saw a few fish in the second spot- no bite. The third spot had quite a few redfish, and we had shots at at least a dozen tailing fish. No bite. We got pushed off that spot by some yahoos. The fourth spot was barren.

Somewhere in there Jonathan caught a ten inch seatrout on a blind cast. It would turn out to be the only fish boated.

The next spot had some big (20 pound class) reds in deep, dirty water. We’d get a glimse and Jonathan would fire a cast. This happened a dozen times at least- no bite.

The last spot had the most fish of anywhere we’d been. We spent an hour there. Jonathan had one bite but the hook didn’t stick. Finally it was three o’clock and time to roll out. I hated to leave without the elusive fish but we’d had dozens of shots, changed flies a half dozen times, and still hadn’t had any success.

Some days it just don’t work.

Life is great and I love my work.

I keep saying it- life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Two Glorious Days- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 31, 2011 by · 1 Comment

 

The Report from Spotted Tail 12/31/11

Happy New Year to everyone! This is the last post of 2011. I hope everyone has their resolutions, and maybe their hangover cures, ready. Thank goodness I won’t need that last thing.

Seatrout season opens tomorrow. R U ready?

Are you ready for some seatrout?

If you read the blog post Frontal Assault, you know my feelings about fishing after cold fronts. The best days of the winter to fish are as soon as the weather stabilizes after a front.

Tuesday night a nasty front came through. The air temperature dropped over 20 degrees and the water temperature and level likewise dropped.

I met David Juth, a fly fisherman from Virginia, at Parrish Park at noon on Wednesday for a late half day. We were both wondering how the drop in water temperature would affect the fish. Frankly I wasn’t expecting much.

We got out on the Mosquito Lagoon. It was a little chilly, in the low 60s. The day was spectacular- clear blue sky, bright, warm sunshine, no clouds at all, and best of all, no wind. We found several redfish at the first place we looked, although the water was still dirty so they were hard to see. We even found a tailing fish.

After working that shoreline, we tried another. We saw fish here and there, and then found tailer’s heaven. Redfish were tailing all around us. David couldn’t believe it. He’d never fished in saltwater before and he almost thought he was dreaming.

Using my favorite little black fly, the redfish worm, he managed to get four bites, hooking three fish and boating one. Had the water been cleaner I’m sure he would have done much better.

I still have concerns that the algae will take the winter’s worst cold and still not clear up. Perhaps that’s just pessimism on my part.

Anyway, we both counted the afternoon as a rousing success and you couldn’t have asked for a nicer day.

I was back in the same area the following day with son Alex. He got a new Ross CLA #4 (a really nice reel) for Christmas and we wanted to give it some exercise. The weather again was outstanding, although there were a few scattered clouds. The water had dropped two or three inches overnight and I almost had to get out and push a couple of times when the boat got stuck on shallow spots.

The fish had changed locations, and were certainly not tailing like the previous day.

In spite of that Alex had several shots at fish and caught one slot redfish that took an olive-colored slider.

The company and the day were both outstanding. The fish was just a bonus.

The blog will soon get a new look. I’m installing a new theme. Expect some changes, hopefully for the better.

Life is great, and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

Best wishes for a fantastibulistical new year!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Mosquito Lagoon, Florida Fly Fishing Tip: Little Black Flies

December 16, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Redfish Worm, top; Clouser Minnow, bottom. Both are simple, effective flies for sight fishing redfish and black drum.

You need two flavors of little black flies for use for reds and black drum in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon system. They’re small (#4), and lightly weighted (1/80th ounce lead dumbbells).

One is a simple black Clouser Minnow. The wing is simply black bucktail, and some sparse flash. I usually use Flashabou Accent on these smaller sized flies, sometimes gold, sometimes copper, but if Fire Fly in purple comes to hand I use that. I haven’t noticed much discrimination on the part of the fish in regards to the color of the flash.

The other fly I call a Redfish Worm. It has the 1/80th ounce lead eye, a tail of either a short piece of zonker strip or Arctic Fox tail dyed black, and a body of large black Cactus Chenille (or similar product). That’s it. It’s simple, but looks good when wet.

Both flies are tied with a double mono prong weedguard, and both are simple, five minute ties even with the ‘guard. There’s no sense complicating one’s life needlessly.

Of course the way they’re fished is as important as anything else. Use them when shallow water (less than 12 inches) fishing in the Indian River Lagoon or the Mosquito Lagoon, from a kayak or while wading, looking for redfish and black drum. The reds will almost always be slot fish, since you’re in less than a foot of water. Most of the fish I see while doing this are singles, and I seldom see more than four or five together.

Once I see the fish, I want to be close enough that after I cast I know, make that KNOW, exactly where the fly is in relation to the fish. That means I am close enough to them to see everything. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized.

Reds and blacks require somewhat different presentations. Reds tend to be both more aggressive in their approach to a fly and more spooky than blacks.

For the reds try to anticipate where the fish will go and put the fly there, about two to three feet in front of it. That fly sits in that spot until the fish is either close enough to see it when it’s twitched, or until it’s obvious that the fish is not going where you hoped it was. If the fish sees the fly most of the time they’ll crush it, but sometimes they ignore it or spook off. If the fish doesn’t go where you thought they would, or if the cast misses, or if the time is available, try again. Keep trying until the fish eats, spooks, or is out of range.

For the blacks try to drop the fly mere inches in front of them to attract their attention right away, or place it such that you can drag it right into or by their face. Blacks tend to be pretty myopic, and very lackadaisical in their approach to a fly. The fly has no olfactory stimulus for them, so the visual stimulus needs to be real strong. Even then many times they ignore it or spook from it. But if you get enough shots you will find plenty of takers.

Could you have success with other flies in these types of situations? Probably. But if the sexy, simple, little black flies are working, why would you want to use anything else?

I hope you found this Mosquito Lagoon Florida fishing tip useful!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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Florida Fishing Tip: Fluorocarbon versus Nylon Monofilament Fishing Leaders- Which Works Better?

December 6, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

In a side-by-side taste test, fish preferred fluoro to nylon at least four-to-one.

This week’s Florida fishing tip is about leader material.

Fluorocarbon leader material hit the market about 15 years ago. Frankly I thought it was a scam. Looks just like nylon monofilament leader. Costs 10 times more. Couldn’t be worth the price difference. Or so I thought.

Through my writing some fluorocarbon leader material found its free sample way into my hands. My friend Rick DePaiva and I guided for false albacore in North Carolina that fall, out of Capt. Joe Shute’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Beach. We’d sometimes use frozen glass minnows to chum the tunny up around the boat. I got the idea to do some testing.

When I had two anglers in the boat I would rig one with a 12 pound nylon leader material tippet. I’d rig the other with a 12 pound fluorocarbon leader material tippet. They’d both be using the same fly pattern.

The fluoro guy would outfish the nylon guy four or five to one.

I would switch the nylon guy’s tippet to a fluoro tippet. The strikes would immediately even out.

I conducted this side-by-side test five or six times and got the same results each time. At that point the experiment ended. It was obvious that although the fluoro and nylon looked the same to me, it was clearly different to the fishies.

I’ve used fluorocarbon for my leader material, both fly and spin, ever since.

I’ve tried various brands. Some are terrible. My current favorites are Seaguar and TripleFish. I carry leader wheels in pound test ranging from 10 pound to 80 pound, which pretty much covers any situation in which I may find myself in saltwater.

All the knots are pretty much the same. Fluoro is a little stiffer, and I think more abrasion resistant than nylon.

If you’re using nylon and think you should be getting more strikes, give fluorocarbon a try. I hope you found this Florida fishing tip useful!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Mosquito Lagoon Redfish Demanding a Full Day’s Work- Banana River-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 4, 2011 by ·

The Report from Spotted Tail 12/4/11

Upcoming Events- Shad and Crappie Fishing Seminar, Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Thursday December 8 @ 6:30pm.
Come on out and see us, and learn how to catch the elusive shad!

Something incredible happened this week! I read some truly good news! One of my favorite columns to read on the web isn’t about fishing, it’s about football. Tuesday Morning Quarterback comes out every Tuesday during football season on ESPN.com, p.2. One of the many things I like about this column is that it’s esoteric. Yes, it’s about football, but it wanders about the web universe to whatever the author (Gregg Easterbrook) finds interesting. And this week he had not one but TWO truly good news items.

Here is the first, a direct quote:
“Bad News Makes Page 1; Good News Is Ignored: Many major news organizations did not even report that last month the final B53 city-buster nuclear bomb was disassembled. A vestige of the darkest days of the Cold War, the B53 was a nine-megaton death device, the most powerful U.S. weapon ever built. Its blast yield was about 750 times greater than that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Horrible as the Hiroshima bomb was, many citizens of Hiroshima survived; the B53 was designed to incinerate an entire large city such as Moscow, leaving no one alive. Once the United States had more than 300 of these monstrosities; now all are gone. The equivalent Russian very large nuclear bombs have been disassembled, too.

Someday when historians look back on our era, they may not pay a huge amount of attention to Lady Gaga or Ryan Seacrest but will be amazed that we paid so little attention to the end of the doomsday threat to civilization.”

To read the rest of this item, or item number 2, see his column for this week here.

I got this email from Reid Martin:
“Help me stop a massive dredging project on Florida’s Nature Coast, that would disturb, forever, the largest intact coastal ecosystem in the State of Florida. The seagrasses in question are a nursery for our most important fisheries, a home for endangered species and support a distinctive way of life. I just took action to stop it, and you can too.

“Follow the links below to take action and spread the word!

“To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
http://grn.convio.net/site/Advocacy?s_oo=UnHg9HNOP9AWNcz_RP4hHQ&id=317 ”

A gentleman called me from North Carolina, interested in a trip to the no motor zone of the Banana River Lagoon. I told him last time I was there the water was high and really dirty, with no fish, but I would go again and check its progress. On Tuesday Dr. Mike Sweeney and I went to check. It’s not as high, but still really dirty. And like last time, the only fish I saw were mullet. It will be weeks before I bother to check again. It was pretty nasty.

Wednesday Ken Moser, a fly fisherman from Maryland, and his friend Matt joined me for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. Speaking of dirty water…

The temperature was in the low fifties when I launched the boat, and the ride to the first no-fish-there spot was damn cold. And there were no fish there. I looked from the poll/troll area all the way past JB’s Fish Camp. We saw perhaps a dozen redfish and no trout. Ken had a good shot at one fish the entire day, a fish that took the fly (Yank’s Redfish Assassin). Unfortunately the hook did not stick.

Matt got a lovely, multi-spot slot red on a Johnson Minnow, and another slot red on that ate a mullet chunk while we took our lunch.

Matt's a chef, but this red swam away after this photo was shot.

It was a spotty fish.

I was feeling a little snake bit so I talked to two other guides on the way home. They did worse than I did. Misery does love company when it comes to fishing. The water dropped some but it’s still ridiculously dirty in a lot of places.

On the bright side although chilly and a little breezy it was a beautiful, cloud free day.

On Thursday son Alex and his friend John Napolitano joined me for a little redfish action on the Indian River Lagoon. We didn’t hurry to start, launching the boat at almost 10 AM. It was cold and blowing about 15 out of the north, with broken clouds. I had gotten a hot tip at the boat ramp from someone I had never met and wanted to check it out (!). I can’t believe it either, must’ve been desperate.

Anyway, the spot was in the wind and hard to fish. I was surprised when I spotted a redfish, but there ya go. We staked out the boat and chunked with mullet for a while, getting one red in the slot and another out of it. Then some rain clouds came, so we beat feet.

This redfish was John's first ever- a nice reward for fishing on a chilly day.

At the boat ramp I was stopped by an FWC officer, a beautiful young woman, by far the best looking law enforcement officer I have ever seen. I’m looking forward to getting stopped again! Almost makes me want to break the law, in hope of another encounter.

Friday Ed Redman and Roger Cooke, fly fishers from North Carolina and the gentlemen who wanted the NMZ trip, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing action. Yes, it was windy and cool, but really. We had about five decent opportunities all day. The fish were very scarce. Roger got one on a brown fly he tied, the only fish of the day. It was almost sunset when I trailered the boat, too.

Roger's redfish. It wasn't Roger's first rodeo.

On Saturday Bruce Reuben, a fly fisher from Tallahassee, joined me for some more of that hot Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing action. On the bright side there were more fish around than the previous day. Bruce had a half dozen decent shots, got three bites, and put on redfish in the boat, fooled by a slider. We saw a few trout, which was good. There still aren’t many fish around. We looked in several places where there was nothing, and poled long stretches of shoreline where we saw only one or two fish.

Bruce and his redfish, one of one.

The water level has fallen almost to good kayak fishing levels, and it slowly appears to be clearing in some areas, especially around Oak Hill.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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Mosquito Lagoon Redfishing Consistent This Week- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 25, 2011 by ·

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 11/26/11

The week was solid, if unspectacular.

Monday morning found me launching my kayak at River Breeze, none too early I might add. At the boat ramp the water looked too deep for successful kayak fishing as practiced by me.

At a spot where I seldom see fish I heard one crash along the bank. I had shots at three of the six redfish I saw there, getting the third on a #4 Estaz Crab. Getting out of the boat so I could see exactly what was going on was the key here.

I paddled quite a few miles, searching shorelines. The water was too deep and there were intermittent clouds all day. It was hard to see. I ran over a few, and found a few working the shoreline. Of these shoreline fish I had a shot at one, and again the Estaz Crab turned the trick. I like that fly.

Tuesday sons Maxx and Alex joined me, again launching at River Breeze, although we used the Mitzi this time. We were on a simultaneous scouting and meat fishing mission. We needed a fish for Thanksgiving dinner. The first place we looked, which had been full of fish just a few days earlier, had none. We moved.

The second place we looked, which had been full of fish a week earlier, had only one as far as we could tell. Maxx spotted it and dropped a DOA Shrimp (clear with gold glitter) right in its face. The fish obliged, unfortunately for him. One mission accomplished.

The DOA Shrimp works wonderfully well for sight fishing for redfish.

We checked another spot. The fish were lying in white holes, and in spite of casting over the holes with the DOA and a Johnson Minnow we kept running them over and blowing them out. They were there but we didn’t get one.

At another spot we found six separate, single redfish cruising along the bank. Alex got fish number four to take the spoon.

At this point, well into the afternoon and with both missions accomplished, we headed back to the boat ramp.

The redfish had the well digested remains of a crab in its stomach, nothing else.

Wednesday Dennis and Charlie Knight, father and son, and Seth Spielman, in-law, joined me for a day’s redfishing on Mosquito Lagoon. All three of these fine gentlemen were Ph.D.s, something I had never had happen on my boat before. We had an interesting day conversationally!

There was some wind but it was manageable. We had solid clouds all day long. Sight fishing was impossible except for the solitary tailing fish we found late in the afternoon, a fish we did not catch.

They rotated among two spin rods, tossing Johnson Minnows (one gold, one silver) all day long. In doing so they managed to get one dink trout, the ice breaker, and six fat slot reds. They released all but number six.

Seth convinced this redfish to strike a Johnson Minnow.

They took it home entire, so I do not know what it had been eating.

Thursday close to forty guests visited Casa Kumiski. All of us ate too much. It was delicious, and wonderful. One of the things I’m thankful for is Thanksgiving!

On a windy Friday morning Bob from St. Louis and his two sons Ben and Erin joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishin’. Kids on board, any fish will do!

The first chunking spot quickly produced a small flounder and a slot red. The kids were excited! It was the biggest fish they had ever seen!

These boys had never seen a fish this big before. It's as big as they get that size!

The bite stopped so we went and tossed the DOA Deadly combo for trout for a while. We only got one bite, but it was a solid fish, about 20 inches. Trout season is closed, so fishie was released.

Ben used a DOA Deadly Combo to fool this nice trout.

Further mullet chunking didn’t produce a lot. We got another small red, a hardhead catfish, and missed a couple of bites. We were having fun though. Before you knew it we were out of time. On the way in we watched some dolphins and manatees.

When I cleaned the redfish its stomach held six small mud minnows.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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Kayak Redfishing Again This Week- Indian River-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 20, 2011 by ·

The Indian River-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 11/20/11

I’m smoking some salmon as I write this. Good eating, coming right up!

Best wishes to everyone for a blessed Thanksgiving. Try making a list of all you’re thankful for. My own short list would be my wife, my boys, my health, my friends, the fact I was born American, and the wonderful way I get to earn such living as I make. Life is indeed  great!

The lagoon water level gauge dropped as low as 0.4 this past week, although it’s going up again. A significant event (to me) occurred this week- I got my first redfish from the kayak since coming back from Alaska.

I wrote last week, “Wednesday found me at one of my favorite paddle spots on the Indian River Lagoon. Of course the water was too high. That’s been a recurring theme. The water was also very dark. I lost sight of the paddle blade about halfway down… there were fish blowing up along the shoreline.”

I was back to that spot on Thursday. The water, although still dark in places, was cleaner, lower, and dropping. The wind was out of the west but fairly mild. But it was still overcast, as a front was moving in.

There was a flowing culvert with fish blowing up around it. Using a Mosquito Lagoon Special I got a slot red and a nice trout. Then I threw the fly into a tree and lost it.
I switched to a redfish worm and got another slot red, missing yet another. I changed flies hoping to entice the missed fish into another mistake, but no dice.

Getting back into the kayak I went looking for fish. One tailed a short distance ahead of me. I stopped and waited for it to show itself again.

The tiny ripples the tips of its fins made on the surface were barely visible. When it took the Estaz crab the leader was in the tip of the rod. Yahoo! A fish from the kayak, again! It felt good, I’ll tell you. The paddle season is officially here.

Break out the kayaks! Paddle season is officially here.

Friday Dr. George Yarko and I launched at River Breeze. The wind was howling out of the northeast at 20-25. The cold front had come through, dropping the water level about six inches and the water temperature almost four degrees. I reasoned that the fish would have dropped into holes and sloughs. We fished five spots, just chunking mullet. In one spot we got two out-of-the-slot reds, and one 24 inch fish. In the rest of the spots we got nothing.

When I cleaned that 24 inch fish it had the remains of a small fish, probably a pinfish, in its stomach.

Yesterday and today are honey-do days as we prepare for our guests on Thursday. And I have to monitor the smoker, so, see ya! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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