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Tarpon Poem

April 28, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

This will hopefully be published every year at this time, in perpetuity.

an ideal world
hot sun, blue sky, clear, slick water
sweat
a graphite wand, a sliver of steel, a wisp of feathers

a flash of silver breaks the mirror
then another, and another
feathers land in water
magically, they come to life

line tightens
mirror smashed
display of power
water flies, gills flare, body shakes, shudders
again, and again, and again

the beast tires
arms ache
hand grasps jaw
feathers removed
great fish swims free once more

tarpon
God’s greatest gift to fly fishers

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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Filed Under: Fishing Stories · Tagged: , , ,

Fly Fishing for West Coast Tarpon

April 19, 2011 by · 3 Comments

Why– if you have to ask…

Where– I fish the Fort Myers area but from Everglades up to Appalachicola. Homosassa, Tampa Bay south to Fort Myers Beach, Naples, and Everglades, all produce a lot of fish.

When– peak May and June. Some fish remain in Everglades, Charlotte Harbor into October

How?

Boat– a necessity. Fly fishing friendly, equipped w/ trolling motor(s). Flats skiffs and bay boats both work- water usually at least 3 feet deep, usually more. An anchor with float necessary.

Tackle

Rods-12 wt, 9 ft standard

Reels- highest quality- Abel, Tibor, Islander, etc.- 300 yds 30 lb. Dacron backing plus line

Line- ideally three rods w/ floating, sink-tip, & intermediate

Leaders- three piece big game style, at least 12 feet long.
-Butt- 6′ of 40-50 lb nylon
-Tippet- 6′ of 20 lb nylon/fluorocarbon, tied big game style
-Bite tippet- 12-24″ 60 lb fluorocarbon. Anything more than 12″ NOT IGFA compliant.      Longer bite tippet eliminates need for tarpon box.

Flies- Lots work, every guide has strong opinions. 2/0, 3/0, highest quality J-            hooks, sticky sharp!

Traditional hackle tarpon streamers, EP style, bunny flies, crab imitations, toads, shrimp. Variety of colors, brown, black, orange, purple, chartreuse, green. Never underestimate the power of the Cockroach!

Setting the drag- drag should be set at 25% of the tippet breaking strength, in other words, 3-4 lbs. Use a scale to learn. It’s hard to pull line from a drag set this tight.

Techniques

Needs for both- clean water, clear skies, moderate winds. Lots of fish help. Best to avoid weekends, especially Memorial Day.

Two main styles- wait and ambush vs. hunt them down.

Wait and Ambush– find a spot where visibility is good and fish frequently pass. Anchor and wait for them to come to you.
Advantages-  fuel efficient, no motor noise, lots of shots when fish are moving
Disadvantages- no shots when fish aren’t moving. Popular spots fill up.

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Good light, light bottom, clear water, and a sizable tarpon school.

Hunt Them Down– Cruise w/ outboard, with electric, or on pushpole, hunting for fish at which to cast. When found, stalk fish w/ electric and/or pushpole to get into casting position.

Advantages- in some areas (Homosassa, others) fish don’t follow “paths”
-psychological feeling of being involved
-when fish aren’t moving it’s the only way to find some

Disadvantages-not fuel efficient. Motor noise, even trolling motor, spooks fish

You can use ambush style, then chase large groups of fish when they pass.

Tides and Fish

Simple explanation- Incoming tides generally push fish closer to shore. Falling tides cause fish to move farther out. In most places these are main tidal effects.

Complex explanation- Gulf has one tide days and two tide days. On one tide (“hill” tide) days Boca Grande Pass, Captiva Pass, and to a lesser extent other SW Florida passes have “crab hatches.” In afternoon big falling tide flushes pass crabs through passes. Pass crabs are tarpon candy. They rise to these like brown trout to mayfly duns. Fly fishing possible but crazy during crab hatch. Fairly easy to hook up sometimes, almost impossible to catch the fish. Current, depth, sharks, other boaters big problems.

Fish Behaviors

Backcountry fish- will lay up, fin out, and act in a generally relaxed way. Great to see. Relaxed fish will eat. Deep water rollers- hard to target with fly.

Beach fish are generally moving- cruisers.

Generally, you want fish high in the water column. When deep they’re hard to target with fly.

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Generally you want the fish coming at you and high in the water.

-Singles vs. schools- fish range in numbers from one to hundreds. All are legitimate shots. Singles eat. If the shot is there, take it!

-Flashing- fish rolls on side and flashes. Fish that do this generally relaxed.

-Rolling- fish come to surface and gulp air. Visible from a long way off, 200-300 yards.

-Daisy chain- fish get in circle and swim nose to tail, clockwise or counterclockwise. Both BC and beach fish will daisy chain. Great opp for fly caster. Always cast to fish coming at you.

Presenting the Fly

#1 Rule- Wait until you’re sure you can make the cast!

#2 Rule- wait for a good angle! Best angle- fish coming straight at you. Next- crossing shots. Fish moving away- no chance.

The higher in the water the fish is/are, the better your chance.

#3 Rule- lead the fish. Allow it to encounter the fly.

#4 Rule- strip just fast enough to keep the fly in front of the fish, or just keep contact with it, depending on presentation angle. Keep the fly in the strike zone as long as you can.

Strike zone with single fish is fairly small. With a big school it’s huge.

These fish live a long time and have seen it all. It is not easy to get a bite, even when you do everything perfectly.

The Bite

The moment a big tarpon takes your fly is the finest, most amazing moment in angling. Nothing else comes close.

When the fish turns, strip strike. And again! And again! Often he’ll only give you one chance though.

Job one- clear line to the reel.

Put rod butt against forearm. Circle thumb and forefinger on line hand and allow line to clear to reel. If a knot forms turn the rod guides up. The knot has a better chance to clear this way.

When the fish is to the reel, if he’s not jumping, use the rod and set the hook again, 3, 4, 5 times. It’s like driving a nail. Get that thing stuck!

Bow to the king! When he jumps lower the rod and point it at him. You need slack when he’s airborne or he’ll break the leader.

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Bow to the king when he jumps to put a little slack in the line. This helps prevent leader breakage.

His first rush often requires a chase with the boat. That’s why you need a float on the anchor. Don’t try to stop or slow him, and pray he jumps a lot. Fish that don’t jump will hurt you.

Once he slows down get the fly line on the reel and start pulling. How hard do you pull? As hard as you’re able to. This part isn’t so amazing, and is really hard work. Many wannabe tarpon fishers realize during this part of the fight that this isn’t something they want to repeat.

One of you is always taking line.

Change the angle of pull frequently. Pull in the direction opposite that of the fish. Use the “down and dirty,” especially when he tries to roll.

When the fish surges, back off. As soon as he slows go back to work.

If your drag is properly set, if you use good technique, and if the fish jumps at least a couple times you should have him boatside in 30 to 45 minutes. If you get past an hour you should just break him off before a shark eats him.

Use gloves to lip the fish. For his sake and yours, leave him in the water. Use your trolling motor to drag him to revive him. When he’s ready for release you won’t be able to hold him.

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Use gloves and grab the fish's jaw with your hands.

A good guide is your best tool if you’d like to try this.

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

All content in this blog, including text and photographs copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights reserved.

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Three Ways to NOT Catch Flats Fish

April 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Learn a few sins to use when you wish to scare off every fish on any flat.

Big Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

You'll never catch fish like this one if you're noisy.

Clothing
If you can see them, you should assume they can see you, too. Flats fish can see bright clothing, especially brightly colored shirts or hats, more easily than more subdued shades. My friend Barry Kent was disgusted with himself one day while we were fishing together, saying his white hat had spooked several fish. White, bright red, and bright yellow are definitely colors to avoid when chasing skinny water fish. Wear subdued earth tones to avoid becoming a neon DANGER sign to your quarry.

For the ultimate in flats camouflage, Aqua Design makes a line of technical clothing printed with computer enhanced images taken from underwater photographs looking through the water’s surface. If you make it harder for the fish to sense your presence you ought to get more good shots at fish.

Noise
Fish in shallow water respond negatively to noise, even the human voice. They hear everything you do with your feet. The following two examples illustrate this.

One recent morning three of us were stalking a school of about 200 redfish from my boat when my angler moved the Fly Lane Tamer, trying to get it into a better position for casting. The Tamer’s base bumped the lip that goes around the edge of my casting deck. The school, almost in casting range at that point, immediately stampeded and never slowed down as long as they remained in sight, pushing a receding wake for at least a quarter of a mile. A golden opportunity was lost because of one small bump.

On another picture perfect morning (the kind fishermen dream about) I was wading with a friend. We were surrounded by tailing redfish, literally hundreds of them, in water less than knee deep. My friend decided he needed to tell me something, even though he was 100 yards away. After he shouted over to me, every tail in the vicinity immediately disappeared.

If you want more shots at fish while on the flats conduct yourself as though you are stalking wary wild animals that are intent on surviving, because that’s exactly what you are doing.

Hesitation
An old proverb says that, “He who hesitates is lost.” Flats fishing proves this adage true over and over again. If you hesitate once the fish is in casting range, the fish either moves too close and sees you or else it moves too far away and you can’t reach it. It’s better to do anything, screw up, and learn from your mistake than stand there wondering what to do and let the opportunity disappear.

Fly fishermen often ask me, “How far will I need to cast?” In most flats fishing speed and accuracy of delivery will be more important than distance. Fifty feet, on target and right now, will usually do the trick.

There are more common sins. They will be the subject of upcoming blogs.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog including text and photos copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights reserved.

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A Week of Not Catching Redfish- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 10, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4/10/11

Upcoming Events-

On May 7 I’ll be giving free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying Clouser Minnows. Come out and see us, and walk out with some new flies!

From the Mailbag-

“We enjoyed our trip last Friday! Thanks! Photo attached.” -Paul Parker

mosquito lagoon redfish guide

Mike with his first redfish ever.

This week, the fishing was wonderful. Catching, on the other hand…

On Monday fly fishers Gifford Hampton and Alan McDonald joined me on the Mosquito Lagoon. The day started windy and got even more windy. I thought it was blowing 25 mph, coming out of the south. I was wrong, it only hit 23. We saw decent numbers of redfish but only had a couple shots, and did not score. In that wind it was very tough fishing.

Tuesday thunderstorms came through and I did not fish.

Wednesday fly fishers David Frost and Thomas Reay gave it a go. It was blowing between 15 and 20 out of the east and again it was a tough day. We found quite a few redfish but were not able to get so much as a bite.

On Thursday Herb and Pat Jones, brothers from Gainesville, joined me. The wind was not blowing hard, although there were some clouds. It was a pretty nice day all in all. The first school of redfish we found were deep and could not be effectively targeted. The second school already had two boats working it. We did not linger.

We finally found another school and worked them for close to an hour. They were very spooky, many times moving off before we got into casting range. Casting range with a jig and a Johnson Minnow is fairly far. Just showing a bait to these fish was difficult.  Herb got one hit on a Johnson Minnow. The fish came off. Herb got one dink trout and that was the total catch for the day, for the week.

Ouch.

After this week I think I’ll write a blog post on “The Top Three Things to do to Not Catch Redfish.”

On Saturday friend Karl Dienst returned my cleaned up, now running, Johnson 15 to me. The Bang-O-Craft may ride again this week! Thank you, Karl!

Also on Saturday I went to Mosquito Creek Outfitters to give fly tying lessons. There was no one to give lessons to, so I just tied myself some flies. The store is beautiful and well worth the visit, especially if you haven’t been there before.

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.

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

The Tarpon Box

March 24, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Although it’s mostly empty the tarpon box sits there eagerly, quivering with anticipation. It knows that very soon it will be filled, slowly, one at a time, with bright, new tarpon flies. Some will be tied with natural materials. Others will be fashioned with synthetics. All will be tied on strong, sharp, 3/0 hooks, and will be pre-rigged with leaders, 60 pound test fluorocarbon bite tippets and 20 pound monofilament class tippets.

It’s the job of the tarpon box to keep the two dozen flies safe from the elements and untangled from each other. It performs this job admirably.

The flies look jaunty inside the box, their leaders stretched out, their wings bright and colorful, and their big eyes open wide. Their job is first to entice a tarpon, a fish that could be seven feet long and could weigh 200 pounds, into eating them. Then they and their leaders are supposed to hold onto that fish long enough for the fisherman to get it to the boat, never an easy task.

The tarpon will make fantastic leaps and long, powerful runs, trying to dislodge the hook or break the leader. More often than not the fish succeeds, leaving the fisherman with nothing more than shaking hands, knocking knees, and a whale of a fish story.

Sometimes the fisherman does prevail though. Then the camera comes out, a few pictures are snapped, the tarpon is reverently revived, and the fisherman watches as it majestically swims away, none the worse for the experience. Then the fisherman looks for another tarpon, hoping to repeat the process again and again, as often as he can in the time allowed.

The tarpon run on Florida’s Gulf coast lasts but eight weeks, beginning around May Day and running until about Independence Day. During that time schools of tarpon frequent shallow waters from the Everglades up into the Panhandle waters, where tarpon fishermen search for them. Once the run is over the fishermen disperse, repairing and cleaning their tackle, tying new flies, telling stories about the big ones that got away, and laying plans for the following year.

It’s my favorite time of year. I’ve got to go now because although it’s mostly empty, my tarpon box sits there eagerly, quivering with anticipation.

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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Working the Fly

March 15, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Reader flyfishtom wrote, “I would like you to mention how to work the flies you tie. Might help us transplants catch a few more fish.”

OK. First of all, Lefty Kreh wrote an entire book about “Presenting the Fly.” In my book, “Redfish on the Fly” there’s an entire chapter about presenting the fly.

So Tom, there’s not a simple, or single, answer to what you want to know. Every cast is different.

To give the simplest answer I can, let’s assume you’re throwing at a redfish you can see. Your job is to anticipate where the fish is going and put the fly there. If you guessed right, don’t move the fly until you’re sure the fish is close enough to see it. Then just give it a gentle hop off the bottom.

If the fish sees it he’ll either flee in abject terror, come over, sniff, and swim off, or come over and eat it. Assuming he’s not aware of your presence, he will almost always respond to your offering. You’ll know if he saw it or not.

Thanks for the question. I hope that helps.

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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Orlando Kayak Fishing- Orlando area fishing report 1/30/11

January 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Report from Spotted Tail 1/30/11

Upcoming Events

On February 22 I’ll be speaking to the Florida Fly Fishing Association in Cocoa.

*******************************************

Sadly, the Mitzi sat in the yard all week. The Ocean Kayak lived on the roof of the van all week, though!

Monday we went to the Banana River Lagoon, launching at about 9 am. The water surface was like a sheet of glass, reflecting the low overcast in the sky. I paddled to the first spot, where not a sign of life showed itself.

The second spot was a large flat that had a few, widely scattered large redfish tailing on it. I got a decent shot at exactly one and he fled in terror when the fly (a black and green clouser minnow) moved.

The third spot beckoned.

Upon arriving there I again found widely scattered tailing reds. The first one I threw to spooked off the fly. The second was cruising in water so thin its back was showing. Even with the overcast I could see it plainly and managed to get the fly right in his face. He ate it.

He couldn’t get good purchase in the thin water so he didn’t fight very well. But he was fat, around the 20 pound mark. It was around noon and certainly nice to finally deskunkify, especially with a fish like that.

In the next hour a couple more shots followed. I convinced another tailer to eat. He was smaller, around 14 pounds, but fought harder in slightly deeper water.

By now the sun had come out and it was easy to see it was well into the afternoon. There was a long way to go so I turned the bow of the kayak south and started the return trip. I only had three unsuccessful shots the entire way and with some sore buns put the ‘yak on the roof of the van at about 430. No black drum and only a handful of trout were observed the entire day.

Friday again saw ‘yak and I at the Banana River Lagoon, launching at about 10 am. The sun was out, gloriously so. Not a single cloud marred the sky. The breeze was chilly and at the edge of practical kayak fly fishing, speed wise.

Found a tailing red within sight of the van, wasn’t ready. By the time I got so the fish had disappeared.

Shortly afterwards I found a big slob red tailing in about a foot of water. I waded to it and cast a bunny booger about a half a dozen times. Missed every one, and finally spooked the fish. It turned out to be by far the best shot of the day, and set the tone for the day too.

Hours later I found some black drum in dirty water, hard to see because they weren’t tailing. I finally got a bite from one and missed it. It was the only bite of the now rapidly aging day.

I saw a few tailing reds on the way back but did not get a shot. No trout were found. No humans were found, either. Altogether a glorious, if not fish-filled, day.

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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Tying the Bunny Booger

January 28, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Readers familiar with my writings frequently come across references to the Bunny Booger. Some readers write to me wanting to know what it is. Others want to know how to make one. This piece will answer those queries.

A bunny booger is an artificial fly. It’s evolved from a wooly booger, and uses only rabbit fur zonker strips, available at any fly shop or store that sells fly tying supplies. I’m sure other folks tie similar flies and have other names for them.

While here in Florida I mostly use black boogers for reds and black drum, in Alaska we use cerise colored ones for salmon. Exactly the same fly except for color.

I’m sure in brown it would be a more than passable crayfish imitation for bass fishermen.

Materials
– Mustad 3407 #2 or equivalent
-1/50th oz. lead dumbell eye
-bunny zonker strip, color your choice
-danville flat waxed nylon thread

1. Start the thread and tie on the lead eye behind the hook eye. If you intend to tie in a weed guard (recommended) put it back a little farther than you would otherwise.

2. Wind the thread to the bend of the hook. Take a 1″ long piece of bunny strip and tie it in as a tail, fur side down.

3. Take a 4-6″ long bunny strip and, right where you tied the tail in, tie it in like you’d tie in a pair of hackle you intended to Palmer. It should be at right angles to the hook shank, facing away from you, with the fur side up. Wrap the thread up to the lead eye, then Palmer the bunny strip up to the lead eye and tie it off.

4. At this point you either tie in a weed guard and then finish the fly, or just whip finish and cement it right now.

It’s PDS (pretty darned simple) and takes about 5 minutes.

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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