You are here: Home / Archives for fly fishing

Two Skunks Fishing Report

October 2, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Two Skunks Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Two Skunks Fishing Report. Got out three days this week, two solo trips by kayak, once with Scott Radloff. In general fishing was more productive last week. Can we call it a downwards trend?? With the temperature trending downwards? Seems odd.
———————————————
I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
———————————————
For Sale– 20′ glass pushpole, $100. 14′ glass pushpole, $50.

Three anchors with chain attached, $25 each. Wang anchor (new bracket and mounting hardware, used pole) $25.

Call or email me.
———————————————

FEESHINK

Monday

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. I had good shots at three redfish. All responded to the fly- negatively. The weather was great, water high but what passes for clean these days. Fish just didn’t want to play with the toy I offered, the wooly redfish worm. One skunk.

Tuesday

Scott and I visited a different part of the Indian River Lagoon, paddling my canoe. Fishing wasn’t on fire, but Scott got a snooklet, and a fat 18 inch trout,  jumped three tarpon, and missed a couple bites. His preferred bait most of the day was a rootbeer colored shad with the chartreuse tail. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get a bite on anything, and even bummed one of his rootbeer shads from him. Didn’t matter. Total skunking, second day in a row. Two skunks!

Wednesday,

I tried yet another IRL spot that I haven’t seen in at least seven or eight months, by kayak. It took over an hour of casting, but I got a redfish while blind-casting with Scott’s shad, one of the smaller reds I’ve ever caught. But I wasn’t skunked! BOOM to you, skunk!

Tiny redfish, skunk-buster!

A few minutes later I got a real bite. Turned out to be the best snook I’ve hooked since getting home, a lovely fish of five or six pounds, made my day. Still casting the rootbeer shad.

Nice snook, day-maker.

Hours went by, finally got another snooklet. Same lure.

Threw to one redfish, spooked the crap out of it. Should have tried the fly rod. 🙁

Thursday, visited my dentist, went and got my COVID vaccine booster, and participated in a few other similar fun tasks.

Had to wait around for the appliance repairman on Friday. That’s some kind of fun, too. I cleaned and organized my fly tying bench and got ready to tie up some delicious offerings for fish.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Two Skunks Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

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

Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

September 24, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Got out four days this week- once to the beach, two solo trips by kayak, once with Tom Van Horn. In general fishing was more productive last week.
———————————————
I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
———————————————

Monday

The first fish of the day nailed an Electric Sushi streamer.

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. Early on I heard a fish bust along the bank. Got into position (so important) and flung a fly along the bank. Third cast the line came tight, a beautiful coppery top-of-the-slot redfish. Good start to the day.

The tarpon seemed to prefer the EP fiber minnow.

It wasn’t gangbusters though. After some time, I found some baby tarpon rolling. Through a few fly changes and a lot of casting I got a few bites, jumped and unhooked two. Tarpon of any size are the coolest of fish!!

The snook didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

A few more fish started busting along the bank. Turned out to be what Mark Nichols calls snooklets. Got a few on streamers.

An electric sushi did the red.

Last fish was another red, bottom of slot. It was by far the most productive day of the week.

Tuesday

Susan and I went to see the Orange County Public Schools Art Teachers exhibit at the City Arts gallery. If you’re in Orlando, it’s a worthwhile stop of an hour or so.

Wednesday-

the autumnal equinox, saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. It’s o-fish-illy fall! Determined to get some fish on fly, I made sure the leader was long enough (about 16 feet) that the line wouldn’t spook fish. It worked! Didn’t spook any! Of course, most of the reason for that was because there weren’t any fish to spook.

The only fly-caught fish of the excursion, took an electric sushi streamer.

Worked my butt off all morning blind-casting, got one small snook. I stood up and poledled (paddled and poled with the paddle) all along the shoreline heading back, saw nothing for a long way.

The spin rod was out, with a DOA Shrimp, when I spotted a slot trout. A cast, and the fish hit violently. As I played it, a dolphin appeared out of nowhere- I thought he’d take the fish off the line! He hung around waiting for me to let it go. I kept it in the boat, not wanting dolphins to associate fishing boats with food (although this one clearly already did). The fish, about 17 inches long, died while waiting for me to release it. That’s how long the darn dolphin hung around.

I love dolphins. They are magnificent animals. But they can outswim anything else in the water and certainly don’t need humans to catch fish for them. Please do not feed caught fish to dolphins!

Thursday

was the official son Alex’s birthday. Happy birthday, Alex! He’s currently in California, so not much special went on there. Except I went fishing with Ton Van Horn, in the Indian River Lagoon.

We saw exactly two redfish (no shot at either) and three or four tarpon roll. If not for the generosity of a pair of six-inch trout, we would have been completely skunked.

Friday

Susan and I went to Playalinda Beach. I tossed a jig and did not touch a fish. One hundred yards away, three guys were surf fishing conventionally, using cut mullet for bait. They caught bluefish steadily.

I thought this bird wanted me to pet it. It hung out right next to us until Susan mentioned having boiled eggs for lunch, at which point it bolted. Poor bird!

Soon enough the mullet should start their annual parade down the beach. Then my jigs will work as well as anything else.

After leaving the beach, we went looking for spoonbills on the Black Point Wildlife Drive. There were none there, and precious few birds of any kind. So that’s not in season yet, either, but should be soon!

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

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

A Fishing-y Post

September 18, 2021 by · 2 Comments

A Fishing-y Post

Thank you for reading this week’s A Fishing-y post. Got out four days this week, once to the beach, the others solo trips by kayak. Most of the photos this week are file photos, only have one new one, of the redfish.

———————————————
I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
———————————————

The weather all week, although warm and humid, was outstanding. Rain every afternoon, though.

Monday saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. This time I brought both a spin and a fly rod. Got nothing on fly. On spin, with the three-inch shad, I got a slot red and a crevalle jack. On a DOA Shrimp I got a trout. There is no grass, and the water is kind of high.

Wednesday I was going to go to the Indian River Lagoon. I could not access the launch point because of the Space-X launch, so I went to the Indian River Lagoon instead. Good thing that lagoon is so big! Only a fly rod this day! Found a few baby tarpon rolling, and managed to get one on an ugly little streamer.

Saw some fish busting along the bank. The water was too brown to see anything, so I just blind-cast, beating the bank, with a streamer. Got two small snook.

Thursday was the official wife’s official birthday. We went to the beach! I brought a spin rod. On one of the first casts, something toothy took my jig. I tied on a new one, of course, but did not get another bite. There were two bait fishermen near me. Neither got a fish that I saw.

There were a few mullet in the surf. I saw a small blacktip shark cruising right in the wash. The water temperature is still in the mid-eighties. It needs to cool more before the mullet start moving hard, I think.

Friday I went to the Indian River Lagoon. After much searching I found a pair of tailing fish, swimming right at me for an easy shot. The cast was true and I got one of them, on a fuzzy redfish worm.

Saw a few baby tarpon rolling, could not get an eat.

That’s all I got this week. Thank you again for reading the a fishing-y post. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

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

Trying to Get Back to Normal

September 10, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Trying to Get Back to Normal

Thank you for reading this week’s post, Trying to Get Back to Normal. Whatever normal means!

I post this on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which almost 3000 people were killed, triggering nearly unanimous and well-deserved outrage from the American people.

Over 600,000 Americans have died as a result of COVID, and we still have cretins not wearing masks or getting vaccinated. I don’t understand it…
———————————————

Readers may know I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see some of those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
———————————————

Traveling Epilogue, by the numbers

On our trip around the USA, which lasted 153 days (give or take one or two), Susan and I traveled a total of 15,783 miles in our Sienna van. The van used 702.5 gallons of gasoline to do that, which cost me $2271.91. The fuel economy for the entire trip came out to 22.5 miles per gallon. The miles per dollar amount was just under seven miles per dollar.

We used roads in 29 different states. Additionally, I flew to Alaska.

We did not count how many state and national parks we visited. It was quite a few!

The trip, a huge learning experience for both of us, was an epic adventure from any standpoint! We hope to do more trips in the future, so stay tuned…

——————————————————-
Responses to the Rant

Last week’s post generated the biggest response of any post I’ve made over 11 years. Need I say, not all were positive? I had numerous unsubscribes. Seeee ya!

Positive responses, on the other hand, were more numerous than the negatives. I would like to thank first all of you who did not unsubscribe, and then especially those of you who wrote comments of encouragement. Thank you!

Some of those comments-

“Your rant is very much on target. Kudos to you for speaking up on your website. The selfishness and stupidity out there is incredible. And the fact that people in high political office are promoting this is unforgivable. I had to let you know you are not alone in your beliefs.”

“Amen, amen. Keep on ranting—sadly, though, it seems to change the minds of fewer than 5% of my Alaskan friends. Some of the worst are the ‘personal liberty’ proponents who don’t seem to realize that they give up personal liberty for the common good ten times a day when they stop at a traffic light.”

“I agree with all you said in your rant. Having troubles these days praising Florida as my home state.”

“Appreciate the rant. I’m pretty sure my politics are to the right of yours (I’m a hopeless conservative.) But I am stumped by the stubborn, callous leadership of a governor who is charged with helping the people of his state flourish and by the decisions (and information sources) of some of my friends for whom I have great respect. Vaccines and social mitigation techniques have proven effective. Full ICU capacity populated by unvaccinated patients should be enough motivation for all. We’ve lost our minds.”

“The ‘we’re free to do whatever the hell we want’ argument is also flawed. No one has the right to walk around with a gun pulling the trigger while they point it at people all around them, thinking it’s unloaded. Essentially that’s what they’re doing if they’re unvaccinated. COVID can be lethal and the unvaccinated are playing Russian roulette with other people’s lives.”

“that was one of the best stated cases for being vaccinated that I have seen, well done and I pray it hits home with some of your friends and followers.”

“I also enjoyed the rant. All I can say is ‘Amen’. I live in Lake County and I think we are regressing instead of progressing. I have two grandchildren in public school and a great granddaughter in preschool. I want them safe and a mask is such a simple thing to wear.”

I’ll let it go now. Hopefully all my readers and their loved ones will stay COVID-free.

FISHING-

Labor Day weekend- I never fish, or even venture outside much. I hibernate until the craziness is done, then cautiously venture back out again.

Dawn Patrol

Tuesday– Mike Conneen and I had a dawn patrol trip (it’s still summer in Florida) on the Banana River Lagoon. Mike did OK with the spin rod, tossing his favorite lure, the Vudu shrimp. Trout, snook, and a redfish fell to the bait. He mostly cast around schools of rain minnows.

I mostly watched him, catching only two small trout and one smaller ladyfish on a redfish worm fly until Divine Intervention happened in the form of a pair of tailing reds. The cast was true, the fish responded like one hopes, and a short time later I released a fish near the top of the slot. Made my day.

Mike and River the Wonder Dog

It still gets real hot here under that sun come midday.

Wednesday– went to the beach on a dawn patrol trip, hoping for some action. I got it too- in the form of big rollers. Apparently there was a hurricane off the coast. The surfers were having a field day. It’s a fantastic time of day to be on the beach!

I, however, only hooked and lost three small bluefish on a jig. After an hour and a half of fighting waves fruitlessly, I went to the Indian River Lagoon, where Divine Intervention happened again, in the form of a tailing redfish. Again the redfish worm did the job, and I got a photo of this one.

A colorful redfish on a drab black fly.

Thursday‘s weather forecast kept me home, and Friday was an errands and maintenance day. Hope to do more fishing next week!

That’s the report for this week. Thank you again for reading the post, Trying to Get Back to Normal. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

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

Visiting in Wisconsin

August 21, 2021 by · 2 Comments

Visiting in Wisconsin

Thank you for reading this week’s post, Visiting in Wisconsin. I got to do some fishing this week!
———————————————
Readers may know I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see some of those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
———————————————

The Mississippi River, from Great River Bluff.

After a long drive through Iowa and Minnesota, we got a campsite at Minnesota’s Great River Bluffs State Park. There were views of the Mississippi River valley from the park. The river here was already large enough to have wing dams and significant barge traffic, as well as advisories against eating the fish. I did not fish here. The campground lacked privacy, so we left after one night.

The Mississippi River, from Great River Bluff.

 

Fall is on the way- the goldenrods are blooming.

From there we went to Wildcat Mountain State Park in Ontario, Wisconsin. This park had bluffs overlooking the Kickapoo River valley. Although the Kickapoo is a trout stream, I did not fish here, either. We did take a three-hour paddle trip, renting a boat from Drifty’s Canoe Rental.

The Kickapoo Valley from Wildcat Mountain.

 

Cliffs along the Kickapoo.

The river, although muddy from rains, was lovely. Fish were rising steadily during the first half of the trip. I wished I had my rod…

We paddled the ‘poo!

After two nights there, we drove to West Bend, where long-time friends Dave and Beth Olsen live. We had not seen them in a long time, and it was so good to pick up right where we’d left off! We were visiting in Wisconsin!

Beth and Dave have beautiful gardens.

I bought a Wisconsin fishing license, and went wade fishing in the Milwaukee River. Had the fish been big I would have rated it a ten. The fish were mostly small though, so even though I caught bass after bass (smallmouth), I can only give it a six. I tried a variety of flies- wooly bugger, bunny leech, Son of Clouser- and caught fish on all of them. I did not get a bite on a surface fly. A small pike relieved me of the bunny leech. It was a pleasant day fishing a nice stream. I wish a couple three- or four-pounders had been in the mix.

Best smallie I got. Unfortunately the camera focused on the river.

Dave took me fishing in a friend’s farm pond the next day. Jim, the owner, was so gracious that he rowed out to where we were fishing to deliver a couple cold brewskis. I don’t get that kind of surface very often!

Dave Olsen, bass master.

 

Before he began fishing, Jim brought us some beer!

I was fly fishing, Dave used a spin rod. I got some fat bluegills and some largemouth bass- bunny leech, odd bass streamers, and finally a gurgler mouse. Dave used spinner baits, buzz baits, and a weedless bass frog, and caught bass after bass, all largemouth. The fish ran a pound and a half, two pounds, all cookie-cutter fish. A solid day of fishing, though.

The pond had large bluegills!

Dave brought me to Little Cedar Lake next. We got there at the crack of 10 AM, already hot and sunny. Water skiers and jet skis were zooming around on a lake surrounded by homes. In the lake are bluegills, crappie, perch, walleyes, bass, and pike. We got two small and one decent bass between us. As the heat and the boat traffic increased, I could see our chances of fish decreasing. We bagged it about two o’clock.

The traveling couple.

And that’s the report for this week. Thank you again for reading the post, Visiting in Wisconsin. Life is great and I love exploring the USA!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

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

A Visit to Alaska’s Goodnews River- A Photo Essay

July 17, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

A Visit to Alaska’s Goodnews River- A Photo Essay

View from the airplane, on the way to Goodnews.

Thank you for reading this week’s post on A Visit to Alaska’s Goodnews River. Couldn’t post last week because there’s no internet service at Goodnews!

The wildflowers are fantastic. These are irises…

 

…and these are lupines. There are lots of other kinds!

We (Maxx and I) left here (San Francisco) Tuesday, got to Goodnews Wednesday at 5 PM the next day. Alex and the rest of the Goodnews crew met us and transported us to the Goodnews River Lodge, too late to fish. We put it off until Thursday, then fished every day through Tuesday. We fished for king salmon, sockeye salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly varden, and Arctic grayling.

The first fish we caught were king salmon.

 

The source of the power!

 

Maxx being silly.

 

Revival, in cold water.

 

We got some slobs on fly.

Expressing how wonderful it was to fish in Alaska with my two sons is next to impossible. It was fantastic! And we caught fish every day!

We spent time gurgling and got Dollies, grayling, and rainbow trout.

 

We had some incredible scenery.

 

Maxx battles a grayling.

 

 

Alex’s girlfriend Allison joined us for some fun!

 

Even I caught some.

 

The Goodnews valley, truly God’s country.

 

We got some Dollies!

 

Everyone loves a nice rainbow trout.

 

 

We had some fun!

 

 

Thank you again for reading this week’s post on A Visit to Alaska’s Goodnews River. Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Take a trip! Do SOMETHING!

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

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

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

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Goodnews River- Alaska Fishing Report, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Went to Cape Coral

March 19, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Went to Cape Coral

Thank you for reading this week’s Went to Cape Coral post.

Saturday found Susan and I in the Sienna, going to Cape Coral on a bit of a shake-down, and to visit Alex and Allison. We went to Cape Coral!

We arrived around supper time, and after dining on Susan’s chili, we watched Coming 2 America. As could be expected, it was silly. It was also well-done and pretty entertaining. I’m glad we watched it!

Went went to the Six-Mile Slough.

Sunday morning, Susan, Allison, and I went to the Six-Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, someplace I had always wanted to visit. The boardwalk wanders through the slough for about a mile-and-a-half loop. We took it slow, barely strolling. There were only a few flowers, and not a lot of wildlife, but the walk is pleasant. It was a good thing to do.

The boardwalk…

 

…a blue flag iris…

 

…a reflection of an old cypress tree…

 

…the woods…

 

…and a white ibis. Good walk!

Afterwards we went to Cafe Brasil for lunch. We all split the muqueca- yum! There may have been a caipirinha involved as well…

Alex and Allison’s neighbors, the burrowing owls.

That evening I went and photographed the owls, little burrowers that live down the street from Alex and Allison.

Their eyes! Pretty amazing!

Monday Alex and I went kayak fishing off Bunche Beach. He used spin, I used fly. He got more trout than me, I got more fish then him. My take, all on Clouser Minnows, included 2 small gag grouper, five mangrove snapper, a dozen or so trout to about 24 inches, and more ladyfish than all three of those others, combined. I stayed pretty busy, and was glad I had a de-hooker! Nothing very exciting, but it sure was nice getting bite after bite.

Didn’t bother taking pictures of fish. This is what was left of the first two flies, mangulated by the fishies. Yes, I did make up that word.

Tuesday morning I went out and shot a few photos of a Plumeria tree.

Frangipangi!

Then we drove home. On the way we got hungry, and stopped in Winter Haven at a dive called Tacos My Friend. Oh, my, for eight bucks we had plenty of belly-filling deliciousness. I recommend the Gorditas!

Tacos, My Friend

 

The menu.

The rest of the week was spent cleaning the van and the house, and testing the electrical systems in the van. So far, so good. It’s almost ready!

Thank you for reading this week’s Went to Cape Coral post!

Life is great and I love life!

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

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

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

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

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report

December 12, 2020 by · 4 Comments

Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report

At a Florida Trail head…

Thank you for reading this Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report.

If you want the fishing report, please scroll down past the hiking.

Tuesday– Regular readers of this blog know that my Mitzi Skiff was up for sale. It sold on Tuesday. While I still have a jonboat and three paddle vessels, I am now skiffless. I am out of the fishing guide business!

Mills Creek was full of water.

 

While waiting for the transaction to take place, I went for a stroll on the Florida Trail. Not too worried about ticks and chiggers when the temperature is in the 40s! Walked from Curryville Road to Brumley Road. Hawk, sandhill crane, and songbird calls filled the air. I saw, but was not able to photograph, a flock of about 15 turkeys. At least three had beards.

A designated FT campsite.

 

The trail was in good shape. Clearly a crew had been working recently. While the weather is cool and the bugs are knocked down, get out for a walk! It’ll do you good!

Unlike other seasons, there were not many flowers- a few purple asters, a few goldenrod. Most of the flowers had gone to seed.

 

I love the way the light plays through the cabbage palm leaves.

 

Wednesday– I visited the Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Baldwin to see the optometrist. Always a good time! Yeah, I still need glasses. And it only took three hours or so.

Thursday– My mantra for winter fishing has always been, the best day is when the wind stops blowing after a cold front. This was the day! Would the water be clean?

The water is not close to clean.

The water, while fairly low, was not clean. At all. But I still managed to find a few happy fish, and even caught a couple. The fly was an old slider with rusty bead chain eyes. The fish didn’t seem to mind the rust.

Still got one on fly. Note the awesome beanie! Off the Trail Apparel.

Friday– another day filled with great weather. I went paddle fishing at Mosquito Lagoon again at a different spot. I had several hours of searching before finding anything, but managed to again catch a redfish on the same beater fly from yesterday. I should have taken a photo of it.

Today’s fish.

Thank you for reading this Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report blog!

Life is great and I love life!

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

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , ,

Part Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Part Information

November 28, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Part Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Part Information

Thank you for reading this part Mosquito Lagoon fishing report, part information. I did not intend to post a blog this week, but surprised myself with my industriousness.

FISHING

Sunday I took my bride for lunch (Sunrise Bread Company) and a drive on Biolab Road. There were quite a few truck fishermen soaking shrimp there. They were all catching fish, black drum, trout, catfish. So there’s that. Not my cup of java, but if it works for you there are fish there.

Alfred Hitchcock would love this.

Tuesday I went kayak fishing with a fly rod in Mosquito Lagoon, in spite of high, dirty water and a fairly stiff wind. I figured it would be tough fishing. It was cool enough that I wore my chest waders, quite a delightful day actually.

Nice tail.

In six hours of hunting I saw a handful of fish. Managed two bites, both on the redfish worm, the last coming right before I left. I caught, photographed, and released that fish, and went home happy.

The release.

Information

Florida butterflies are in danger. The fluttering species that inspire wonder, pique curiosity and support our natural environment need protection. More than any other state on the east coast, Florida is home to 178 different species of native butterflies. Sadly, many of these species are imperiled, with some already now gone.

You can help! Click this link for more information on how!

The US Department of the Interior, which has crapped all over the country the last four years, has loosened up some money for Florida finally. Read about it here…

Have you ever seen an exploding whale? This is laugh-out-loud…

——————————————————————————-

OK, it’s black Friday weekend. Books make wonderful gifts! Here are a few suggestions!

Fishing Florida by Paddle– Sprinkling colorful history throughout, author John Kumiski highlights the state’s best paddle fishing destinations, both freshwater and saltwater, including the bass of Farm 13, the redfish and trout along the Big Bend Paddling Trail and the snook and tarpon of the Everglades. Learn the locales and what to do when you get there, including launch points, shuttles, rentals, tackle, techniques and more.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles- On December 1, 2013, five intrepid paddlers launched their vessels at JB’s Fish Camp in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Their destination? Jupiter, Florida, 160 miles distant. During their nineteen-day voyage of discovery they travel the length of the Indian River Lagoon, meeting birds, snails, manatees, and mangroves, dolphins, scientists, restaurateurs, and seagrasses, other paddlers, the ghost of Henry Flagler, and much more.

Into the tale of their journey is woven the forgotten history of the people who lived along the lagoon’s banks- Indians, soldiers, settlers, agriculturalists, fishermen, treasure hunters, entrepreneurs, dredgers and many others.

What They’re Saying About This Book-
“Found a copy of the Indian River chronicles…couldn’t put it down, well done sir…thank you!” -Steve Betts

“Wow! really enjoyed the read. You did a fantastic job of catching the spirit and adventure of the trip. I especially enjoyed the historical notes along the way. At the end I had tears in my eyes…” – Darryl “Bones” Benton

Pura Agua, by Rodney Smith- Smith’s passion for clean water, for a healthy planet, shines on every page, as does his love of surfing.

Proceeds from the book go to the Marine Resources Council of Central Florida and to Anglers for Conservation, making a purchase of Pura Agua a donation to two important, water-centric charities.

If you’re aware of your surroundings and you’ve been in Florida more than 10 years, you don’t need Pura Agua to tell you there are water quality problems here. For those who have been here five years or less, though, Pura Agua should be required reading.

Get a copy of Pura Agua. It just may change your life.

NOTE TO READER- I could not find a way to order this title today. When I get that information I will include it an another post.

————————————————-

In my last post I asked that readers follow me on Instagram. I’m @spottedtailflyfish and would still appreciate it if you would follow me.

————————————————–

As soon as this is posted I’m leaving for a week-long paddle-fly-fishing trip to Everglades National Park. Even with a cold front coming through, there should be a decent report next week.

I hope everyone had a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Thank you for reading this Part Fishing Report, Part information blog!

Life is great and I love life!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

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

Another E.C. FL Fishing Report

September 5, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Another E.C. FL Fishing Report

Thank you for reading my E.C. FL Fishing Report.

Monday– NOAA predicted 1-2 foot seas with an 11 second period. A bathtub! Reality proved the NOAA prediction incorrect, although the Mitzi was up to it. Launched at the port at 7 am. Right outside the port birds were everywhere, screaming and dipping. I did not see any fish, so I headed to the cape.

There were some small fish breaking there. I tossed a Krebs popper a few times and came up with a Florida-sized bluefish.

The wind was southwest so I stayed close to the beach. The water was dirty. There were big balls of glass minnows, and the only things bothering them were sharks and birds. Weird.

Casting a tan Clouser minnow around one of the balls, I got a small jack and then a nice pompano. Surprise!

This fish was a pleasant surprise.

Did not see any tunny or mackerel.

On the way back there was a school of menhaden in the bight. No fish that I could see. That was it for the day. The boat was on the trailer at noon. The skies opened up shortly after that.

Tuesday- non-fishing day to say the least. Had an early MRI, love those.

Afterwards I brought the chariot in for service. Sue and I have been talking about getting a minivan, the idea being we would turn it into a camper, then drive to San Francisco to visit Maxx and Catalina. My thought was I would see what they (AutoNation Toyota, Winter Park) had on the lot while I waited for my car to be serviced. Just checking out the scene.

They had a 2014 Sienna with 67,000 miles on it.

My car needed $1700 worth of work, but was worth $3000 as a trade-in.

I, to my own great surprise, drove the Sienna home. This is close to what we want to do with it-

Thursday I took the back seats out of the van, then had U-Haul install a trailer hitch and wiring.

Friday– went kayak fly fishing on the grossly dirty Mosquito Lagoon. Ran into Ed Wisecki at the boat ramp- Hi, Ed!

Found a rare trio of redfish, tails barely breaking the surface as they cruised. Doubt I could have seen them otherwise. Dropped a black Clouser Minnow in front of them- Score! Did not see much else. It was hot but otherwise quite lovely, at least until the skies opened.

I feel blessed to have found a fish like this in the soupy waters of Mosquito Lagoon.

There are many good fishermen and some great ones, but there is only one you. – Ernest Hemingway

Life is great and I love my apparent retirement!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »