Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report

February 28, 2014 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report 3114

Upcoming Events-

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 15. Visit this link for more information or to register…

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 16. Visit this link for more information or to register…

Blog Posts this Week-

–A New Mobile Marine Service for Central Florida

The Mitzi is still for sale!

The azaleas are blooming. Pines drop prodigious amounts of pollen. Soon the oranges will blossom. Spring is coming to central Florida.

This week illustrated why Orlando area saltwater fishing is so great for anglers, why this is such an awesome time of year.

On Sunday Miamian Tim Wright joined me for some shad fishing on the St. Johns River. We tossed and trolled 1/16th ounce crappie jigs. We got a dozen or so shad, and two stripers (or hybrids) too. All in all a good day.

On Monday Scott Radloff and I went out of Port Canaveral hoping to fish a cobia or tripletail. We found some flotsam and there was a tripletail under it. I tossed a shrimp and a few minutes later he was mine. Then Scott got one. Then we each got another one.

We found some floating sargassum that was devoid of fish.

We idled up to a buoy. I didn’t see anything there. Scott cast a shrimp at it. A big cobia came around from the far side of the buoy and inhaled the shrimp, not ten feet from the boat. A melee ensued. It was near ending when I netted the fish, except I couldn’t lift it over the gunwale of the Mitzi. Scott helped and the beast came aboard. It flopped around a bit, but did not beat things up the way it would had I gaffed it. All in all a really good day.

Tuesday morning I met the Tamazon. She put a bag over my head and spun me around until I puked. I had to swear in blood on a Bible on my mother’s grave to never reveal where she was taking me.

When she took the bag off my head I was sitting in a kayak, on a flat, with a flyrod in my hand. There was nothing there in the way of fish.

Then Tammy took me through a portal into another dimension. In this dimension there were tarpon rolling like crazy. I thought maybe she’d brought me to Hell for a while, since every strike led to a miss. No, it was just incompetence, because I finally caught one, on a small gurgler. Then she hooked and broke one off. Then she got one. Then I got another one. Then she got another one. Of course in between there were lots more misses and jumped-off fish. And then, in the manner of tarpon everywhere, they shut down. But it had been an amazing hour.

When we re-entered this dimension we did some blind casting on the flat. She got two redfish. I got one. They were all small. Then two pinfish attacked my flies, hitting so hard they almost ripped the rod out of my hand. OK, that may be a fish tale. But I did get two pins on fly.

Then she put the bag back over my head and brought me back to our meeting spot.

Wednesday morning Scott Radloff and I went to the Indian River Lagoon for some scouting, hoping to find some redfish and/or trout. The loss of grass is continuing. I sure hope there’s not another algae bloom this summer. I’m not optimistic, since none of the causes have ben corrected.

We looked in several areas without seeing much. At the last spot there were actually some redfish tailing. We crossed a white hole out of which we spooked at least a dozen nice trout. I wonder if we would have spotted them had the sun been out. At any rate Scott got a red on a jerk bait, thus keeping the skunk of the Mitzi and the week’s streak alive.

When I got home I fired up the smoker and smoked a bunch of thick cobia chunks. Yum Mee!

Thursday found me at the fly tying desk, cranking them out.

Friday fly fisher Domenic Catanese and his friend Tai joined me for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. The day started cold and windy. It would stay cold and only got more windy, although the water temperature rose almost three degrees through the day. There were quite a few fish at the first place we looked. They got out of Dodge as soon as they realized we were there.

For the rest of the day we would see a fish here and three there, but never in time to make a decent presentation. We did not get a bite, or even get close to a bite. We did see two boats hooked up in the Haulover Canal on the way in. One guy pulled in a big black drum. That was our fishy entertainment for the day.

And that is this week’s Orlando area saltwater fishing report.

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 2014. All rights are reserved.

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A Review of The Old Town Penobscot 174

January 7, 2014 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

A Review of The Old Town Penobscot 174

We hear and see so much about kayaks and kayak fishing these days. Undeniably, kayaks have certain advantages- they’re small, they’re very portable, and when you’re in a solo kayak there is no compromise. You can do exactly what you want, whenever you want to do it.

Canoes seem to have been left behind in all this. This really is too bad, because canoes have some advantages, too. You can stand up sometimes, to rest your butt and get a better view of the water than if you were sitting. While a bit larger than a kayak, canoes are still very portable. And they have one huge advantage over a kayak when it comes to long trips- they have a much larger load capacity.

Another advantage of the canoe if you’re a shallow water fisherman is that you can stand and pole it. I spent quite a bit of time on the trip described below standing and poling the vessel with a ferruled two-piece 14 foot Moonlighter push pole. It works wonderfully well!

Five of us just made a 160-mile paddle along the full length of Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. Three of the participants were in canoes. Two were in kayaks. Before the trip started I wondered how the kayakers would carry all the gear they needed for a trip of that length.

It didn’t take me long to find out. They kayakers lived on freeze-dried food, ramen noodles, cookies, and cliff bars. The canoeists ate real food- apples and oranges, fresh vegetables, cookies (of course!), and cooked our real food on stoves, double burner Colemans. We shared our food with the kayakers, of course.

My friend Rodney Smith and I were in an Old Town Penobscot 174. We pushed it along with paddles made by Bending Branches. I expected to be lagging behind the other paddlers but was pleasantly surprised to discover we could out-paddle every other boat on the trip with the exception of Mim’s Epic kayak, a superbly designed little vessel built for speed.

Mim’s Epic is a fast little boat.

No way could Mim’s Epic carry a load like we had.

The Penobscot was, shall we say, heavily loaded. It’s rated for a 1500 pound capacity. I believe it would handle that load easily. Throughout our trip it paddled and handled like a dream.

We had too much stuff. We made it work.

Old Town builds this boat in a Royalex version and a polypropelene version. To the casual observer they are identical. The Royalex boat weighs 65 pounds, the poly vessel 83. There’s an $800 price difference, though- a hefty $50 a pound.

If frequent portages were a consideration, the extra money would be well spent.

Here in Florida I’d use the difference to get good paddles- the already mentioned Bending Branches. In the stern I used a Sunburst ST. I’ve been paddling a long time and have used a lot of different paddles. This is the best ever. In the bow Rodney used a vintage Bending Branches bent shaft paddle that he likewise said was the best one he had ever used.

The Bending Branches Sunburst ST taking a break along the Indian River Lagoon.

Both of us were extremely pleased with both the boat and the paddles. If we were to do it again, we would do it exactly the same way. The boat and the paddles are made for each other.

So ends a review of the Old Town Penobscot 174 and the Bending Branches Sunburst ST.

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Product News and Reviews, Fishing Tips, opinion · Tagged: bending branches paddles, Canoe, Indian River Lagoon, moonlighter pushpoles, old town penobscot, Paddle

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Epiblogue

December 24, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Epiblogue

The 2013 Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure is over. Before planning for the next one (!) starts, here are a few takaways that I see. I hope the other paddlers and support people will chime in with other constructive ideas.

-The paddlers and the folks who supported us were WONDERFUL. Caring, giving, concerned, funny, competent, well-educated- I could go on but my point is made. These folks are the best. My thanks to every one of them.

-Every paddler needs a navigational aid. At one point there were six of us out there paddling and I had the only chart. That was ridiculous. Every paddler needs a chart and compass or maybe one of those new-fangled GPS things with several spare batteries.

-Our collective voices are too fragmented. We spoke at the Marine Discovery Center, the Marine Resources Council, the Florida Oceanographic Institute, the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, and the Loxahatchee Environmental River Center in Jupiter. All these places do wonderful work, but they do not work together.

Big Sugar. Big Agriculture. Big Developers. Big Money. These forces are aligned with each other and their only goal is to make even more money, all other considerations be damned. If we can’t organize and match their political muscle the Lagoon is doomed.

Please sign the Clean Water Declaration now!

-There are not nearly enough campsites along the lagoon. When putting the preliminary float plan together I naively assumed we could camp on spoil islands the entire length of the lagoon. This turned out not to be the case. Rodney suggested a system of chickees similar to those in Everglades National Park. I don’t know how something like this can be done, but it needs to be done.
Many thanks to River Palms Cottages, Caribbean Shores, Jim and Kim Moir, and Jupiter Pointe Marina for filling in those gaps in our camping plan.

-There are too many lawns, seawalls, drainage ditches, and storm drains along the Lagoon. These things would be bad enough on a river that flushes itself. On this enclosed lagoon with little flow all the chemicals that wash into the Lagoon stay there. Retention ponds and strict fertilizer ordinances are badly needed.

-Lost seagrass acreage is the major ecological concern. With no grass between Port St. John and Vero Beach we have a long, barren stretch of Lagoon bottom. Seagrasses are the primary food producers in the Lagoons and their absence profoundly affects all the other organisms.
On the bright side, where they haven’t been cleared out the mangroves are doing beautifully. They seem to like the nutrient-enriched waters.

-Restoration of the filter feeders is needed desperately. Clams, oysters, and sponges filter Lagoon waters, as do finfish such as menhaden. All of these organisms need to be restored if the Lagoon is to function in any type of normal way.

-Cleanwaste’s Go Anywhere Portable Toilet (the “poop-a-seat”) received rave reviews from everyone on the trip and was perhaps the single best piece of equipment we carried other than boats and paddles. It was clean and convenient and kept our bodily wastes out of the local environment. Kudos to Cleanwaste for making such a great product, and thanks to Cleanwaste for donating it to the Paddle Adventure.

-The Old Town Penobscot is a heck of a boat, carrying Rodney and I and our too much stuff easily and swiftly.

We had too much stuff. We made it work.

-Bending Branches makes the best paddles I’ve ever used.

That’s all I have at this point. Let’s hear from some of the other participants of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure, please!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Padding!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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First IRL Paddle Adventure Report
Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report
Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report
Demand Clean Water Now
Paddlers heading out on 19 day Indian River Lagoon adventure
Deaths of Pelicans in Indian River Lagoon System Remain a Mystery

Filed Under: opinion, Paddle Fishing Florida, travel blog · Tagged: Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, Indian River Lagoon

Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report

December 22, 2013 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report

A Merry Christmas to All!!!

Blog Posts this Week:
Demand Clean Water Now!

In our last installment our Paddle Adventurers were at River Palms Cottages.

The remaining Paddle Adventurers ended up spending two nights at River Palms. The second day there we gave a talk at the Florida Oceanographic Institute on Hutchison Island. Ellie kindly gave us a $100 gift card for a local restaurant, so we got to eat once again.

Son Maxx and his darlin’ Sydney showed up to join the adventure that night. So did Nate Lemars, a friend of Rodney’s. Maxx came in a vehicle. Nate had been chasing us in a kayak for three days.

Stretching before paddling.

Sunrise was spectacular. A departing sportfisherman serenaded us for a while with Eminem at ear-shattering volume. Then we packed up and departed ourselves.

Mike Conneen watches as the sun rises at River Palms.

Eminem goes out to sea in this sportfisherman.

Our goal was modest- Long Island, near the St. Lucie Inlet. It was an easy paddle. Rodney and I spotted a couple of fish on Marcia’s flat. We stopped and fished it but nothing bit our offerings, so we continued to the island.

Long Island was one of the nicer spoil islands that we camped on, so much so that we spent two nights there (unused weather days). There was some seagrass on the ocean side of it where there were a few fish. Rodney got a seatrout, Nate got a legal-sized snook on the last day of the season. Most of us got a few jack crevalle, although they were all small.

The peas grew around out campsite.

The next morning Nate got a nice flounder. Then we had some visitors (other than the rats).

First were Marcia Foosaner and her friend Ros. They gave us presents including a pair of pompano jigs (never did catch a pompano, though) and a pompano. They couldn’t stay long and were too soon gone. Thanks to them for being so gracious.

Sydney with a sea star.

Jim Moir, Disney Conservationist of the Year, was next. He did not bring gifts but invited us to camp in his yard. As it turned out we did, too.

Rodney takes a turn at the stove.

Dinner that evening was a fish-lover’s extravaganza- pan-fried flounder and snook, baked trout and pompano. Delicious and bastante!

Dinner- delicious and plentiful.

Everyone was happy, feeding the beast.

After dinner we got the fire cranking. Mim and Sydney went to work with the palmetto fronds, making a fire visible from space. Yes, I’m exaggerating.

The ladies were pyromaniacs. Who knew?

In the morning Mark Nichols and Ed Zyak came in. They had coffee and doughnuts- how to be popular when visiting campers!

Coffee and doughnuts will make friends quick when offered to campers.

Mark invited me to go fishing with them, and I jumped at the offer. We stopped at a flat near the inlet and got out to wade. Almost immediately I spied a cruising fish and tossed a faux shrimp at it- BANG! A twenty-four inch snook was my reward. Other than a few small jacks it was all we got, but the wading was very pleasant and it’s always enjoyable being around Mark and Ed. Many thanks to both of them.

When I got back to camp everyone was gone to Jim Moir’s house but Rodney. The paddle was short and easy, an outgoing tide and north wind pushing us along. Then we got to the house. I had missed Maxx and Sydney, who had already left for home.

It’s on top of a cliff. Two telephone poles with a pulley system are used to move the boats up to the top. I wanted a photo of the operation but all able-bodied men were involved in moving boats and gear, so no time for photos.

The house was gorgeous. The fact it had hot showers and flush toilets made it that much more appealing. We shared our dinner with the Moirs and they shared theirs with us, quite lovely. Our most heartfelt thanks to them for their hospitality.

It was cold that night. For the first time on the trip I got inside of my sleeping bag.

An early start greeted us the next morning. We had a long paddle, a tide to beat, a program to give at the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, and had to find a place to camp. We slid the boats down the “ramp” with the help of the pulley, loaded up, and headed out.

We paddled south through the Narrows. Aptly named, in spots it was barely wide enough for the Old Town. I thought we should see fish and wildlife there but it was very sparse.

We came back out to the ICW. A north wind pushed us along nicely. We came to the Hobe Sound refuge and beached our craft. Mike volunteered to stay with the boats while we did our talk.

A dredging operation along the ICW.

In the middle of the talk a woman stuck her head into the room and said, “You guys have a place to stay tonight at the Jupiter Pointe Marina.” She came in a woman but left as an angel. What great news that was! As it turned out Mike was not only watching the boats, he was looking for a place for all of us to sleep.

A little after 3 PM we left the refuge, with three and a half miles to paddle to reach the Marina. We got there about 30 minutes before sunset. What a place! A beach for the boats, a big grassy area for us, a bar and restaurant, flush toilets, running water, picnic tables, firewood- they really did us right! All the Paddle Adventurers send Jupiter Pointe Marina their deepest appreciation.

Jupiter Pointe Marina by moonlight.

In the morning we took our time. It was our last day and we did not have far to go, so no need to hurry. That last paddle took us past some plush properties to the north of Jupiter Inlet, and Rodney even caught a crevalle jack. We came to Jupiter Light and the light keeper came down to yell at us- “You can’t stay there, you have to go on the other side of the fence!” What a jerk. We just left.

Jupiter Light was nice, the keeper, not so much.

We got to the River Center on the Loxahatchee River, at Burt Reynolds Park. It was kind of a weird feeling. We were done paddling! What an anticlimax! Jim, Mim’s friend, showed up with some sparkling cider and champagne for us and we all had a toast. We took a few photos. Rodney and I had a presentation to give at the River Center, so we headed off to do that.

Photos were taken.

When we were done our friends were still waiting for us so everyone could say goodbye. I don’t know if there were any tears but there were plenty of hugs. Then we all loaded our gear into vehicles and got in. That was that.

That wasn’t that, though. I have the most wonderful new friends, new brothers as Bones would say. I had been blown away all along the lagoon by the kindness and generosity of strangers. I have new hope that the people who had been so kind, so generous, so concerned, can all get organized and fight to preserve, to restore this fabulous place we call the Indian River Lagoon.

The core group. We grew on each other.

It would be a tragedy to do anything less. Demand Clean Water Now!

My most sincere thanks to everyone who paddled with us, especially the core paddlers- Nick, Mike, Bones, and Rodney.

That is this week’s exciting version of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report.

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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon

Demand Clean Water Now

December 20, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Demand Clean Water Now

Most of my readers are fishermen. For obvious reasons they need clean water. But all humans and most other organisms require clean water. Since our elected and appointed officials are in many cases taking liberties with that vital resource, it’s time all responsible citizens demand clean water now.

Should Florida’s citizens have to put up with this? Is it a sewer or a river?

On December 1 the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure kicked off. One of the reasons we made this paddle voyage is to highlight the plight of the most biologically diverse estuary in North America. What plight, you ask? Algae blooms have badly fouled lagoon waters the past two summers, caused by nutrient overload in the north half of the lagoon. Nutrient-laden fresh water discharges from Lake Okeechobee have wreaked havoc on the south half of the lagoon for years.

Coming soon to a faucet near you?

It’s got to stop.

There are similar problems going on in water bodies state-wide. Coral reefs in the Keys are dying. What happened to the bonefish??? Springs are losing flow. The Floridan Aquifer is becoming polluted. Click on this link to see the hot spots in your community (and there probably are some). Click this link to see photos of the nasty stuff. Is your favorite fishing hole here yet?

If we don’t take action the quality of life we so often take for granted will continue to spiral downward.

The Indian River Lagoon has gotten bad press for the past two years. “Toxic algae blooms”, “fish kills”, “dead dolphins and manatees”, “loss of seagrass”, “a dying lagoon.” It’s affected the economy of the region. Tourists don’t want to visit or go fishing on a dying lagoon.

No one needs to re-invent the wheel. There already exists a core of clean water activists. Help them by offering support in any way you can. You can volunteer at this link…

One easy way to offer support is by signing the Floridian’s Clean Water Declaration.

FLORIDIANS’ CLEAN WATER DECLARATION

In recognition that:

Clean water is essential for healthy people and a healthy economy. Florida water quality and quantity are inseparably linked.

Florida waters are held in public trust by the State of Florida for the benefit of its people and the maintenance of natural ecosystems.

We the undersigned hereby declare:

The people of Florida have an inalienable right to:

Clean drinking water whether that water is drawn from public sources or private wells.
Safe lakes, streams, springs, rivers, canals and coastal waters for swimming and fishing.
Protection from water pollution and its effects.
Know the sources of pollution that threaten Florida’s waters.
Protection from water privatization and its effects.
Abundant water for drinking, fishing and recreation.

The people of Florida, the state government, and the industries that benefit from Florida’s natural resources have the responsibility to:

Stop pollution at its source rather than allowing it to enter our waters.
Protect Florida’s waters, as well as the people who depend on them, fromoverconsumption and privatization.
Protect the natural environment which is critical to the health of Florida’s people,wildlife and economy.
Provide clean water for future generations.

By signing this declaration, we agree to its principles and resolve to work together in good faith to ensure that the future of our waters will be driven by the concepts contained within this FLORIDIANS’ CLEAN WATER DECLARATION.

If you agree with this statement and want to sign on, please visit this link NOW…

It only makes sense that we all demand clean water now.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Floridians Come Together for Clean Water
Updating the Clean Water Act for the 21st Century
Clean Water: The Great Transforming Substance
Thousands Get Clean Water Through the Clean Water Campaign
Senate’s Lake O plan tops $220 million
Delicate balance in the Everglades

Filed Under: Fishing News, opinion · Tagged: Algal bloom, Drinking water, eco-activism, Florida, Floridan Aquifer, Indian River Lagoon, Lake Okeechobee, water pollution

Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report

December 14, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report

Gray sky, howling wind. The whitecaps were breaking over the gunwales of the canoe. The shoreline was only inching closer. The “adventure” part of the IRL Paddle Adventure made its presence felt in an all-too-real way.

The IRL Paddle Adventurers left Samson’s Island after a pleasant two night stay. A pair of great horned owls serenaded us to sleep each evening while we were there. We observed that they were a mating pair. Apparently the actual act of mating occurs very quickly in great horned owls, taking approximately three seconds in this particular case.

These owls serenaded us.

I thought I might find owl pellets at the base of the tree they were in. What I found was an active beehive. I left the area as quickly as possible.

The Trip to Lagoon House was uneventful. There was not a lot of camping space there and several of us were literally at the water’s edge, But the Lagoon-Palooza was well attended and MRC garnered several new members. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank everyone who came out to see us.

On the next day’s paddle we stopped at Honest John’s Fish Camp and ate our lunch. Honest John’s represents the finest of what’s left of old Florida- funky, laid-back, gracious, a cool place. We chatted with Elliot, who worked there, and Barbara Arthur, a wonderful lady, one of the owners. She has several IGFA world record seatrout to her credit, quite the woman.

Honest John’s Fish Camp

Our next stop was Long Point Park, near Sebastian Inlet. The park graciously donated two campsites to us for our stay. It was sad getting there in a way because that’s where Dee Kaminsky was leaving us. Mike Conneen’s brother Matt came by with two pots of vegetarian chili with all the fixin’s and fed the lot of us, the sort of kindness that has made this trip so outstanding. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank Matt Conneen for his delicious contribution.

The storks hoped for handouts that never came.

On the bright side of this particular stop, Karen of Karen’s Kayaks joined us for the overnight and the next day’s paddle and Brian the kayak fisherman joined us for three days.

Brian brought a cheering section.

A half-dozen wood storks hung around waiting for handouts. Since we had hardly caught any fish (a recurring theme on this trip) we had nothing for them. Feeding the wildlife is never a good idea anyway.

We paddled through miles of stinky water the next day. The seagrass has been replaced by a red alga that collects in depressions on the bottom where it rots. The rotting algae stinks. It was like that for miles.

This stuff collects and rots, raising quite the stink.

We thought we would catch some fish in the vicinity of Sebastian Inlet but no one did. Nearing Wabasso Rodney managed to get a slam- redfish, two snook, seatrout, and a crevalle thrown in for good measure. All the fish combined maybe would weigh two pounds.

The larger of Rodney’s two snook.

Our best redfish of the trip- so far.

Evening found us at the Environmental Learning Center at Wabasso, the nicest of this type of facility that I’ve seen. They allowed us to camp there, take showers, and wash our nasty clothes. Then, Lou and Laurie of Chive in Vero Beach came out with a portable kitchen and cooked us an amazing dinner- steak, shrimp, three-beans and rice, condiments, sauces, truly amazing stuff. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank Lou and Laurie for their delicious contribution.

I got confused navigating the next morning and missed the route I wanted to take. Because of that error we got to meet Dr. Grant Gilmore, who had come out to see us. We stopped and conversed about IRL fisheries and their protection. Apparently the county wants to put in a boat ramp at the location of the best seatrout spawning habitat remaining in the south end of the Indian River Lagoon. Dr. Gilmore does not think this is a good idea, and I agree with him.

Dr. Grant Gilmore makes a point.

Just north of the north causeway in Vero Beach the most amazing thing happened- we began seeing seagrass again. With the seagrass came all kinds of bait, too. Crabs, no. Large fish, no. Rays, no. But there was still grass there, and we’ve seen it more or less all the way to Jensen Beach.

Rodney’s son James and two of his friends joined us on the south side of Vero beach. They camped with us that night on the best spoil island of the trip. There was a pocket of deep water on the north side of it and we caught jacks and ladyfish there, most of us catching at least a few. I even broke out the fly rod and caught a ladyfish.

James was happy to see us too.

Sunset was spectacular, a gorgeous, calm evening.

James photographs the sunset.

Dusk at Home Sweet Home.

Morning broke gray and windy, a solid 15 from the north. Mim, a kayaker from Sebastian, joined us for the duration of the trip.

Mim truly is epic.

Rodney and I tied our canoe to Nick’s and we put up sails. We made great time to Fort Pierce and without thinking it through too well kept right on going. We stopped at a speck of dirt south of the causeway. Suddenly the wind doubled in intensity, pushing up big, ugly whitecaps. We had to leave- our speck would be underwater at high tide. So we made for the nearest shore. It was a tense, scary ride but fortunately everyone made it safely.

But now we had to find a place to stop.

The entire shoreline there is mangroves behind which are mosquito impoundments. There is no place to stop, much less camp. We got to Little Mud Creek just before sundown and that’s where we spent the night, wind howling, surf crashing.

There were miles of mangrove shorelines south of Fort Pierce.

We got going as early as possible the next morning. Our destination was Jensen Beach.

Both Caribbean Shores and River Palms Cottages offered us donated lodging. We ended up at River Palms, from where I type this. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank both facilities for their generous donation. My only regret is we couldn’t manage to stay at both places.

Mim bought all the Paddle Adventurers dinner last night. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely her for her generous donation!

Speaking of donations, you can still sponsor a paddler and donate to the MRC Education fund at this link…

We are scheduled to give a presentation at the Florida Oceanographic Institute in an hour. Tomorrow we recommence our adventure.

Life is short- go fishing.

Life is great and I love my work!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure launches Dec. 1
Paddlers heading out on 19 day Indian River Lagoon adventure

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, fishing story, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

December 7, 2013 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

We had too much stuff. I looked at the mountain of gear and looked at the Old Town, wondering how it could all fit. Somehow it did. Looked ugly, load felt high, but we were off and headed to Jupiter. Like the sound of that, feels like we were off on a space exploration. In a way I suppose we were.

We had too much stuff. We made it work.

Thirteen boats launched from JB’s Fish camp that morning. Some were only with us for the day. Others were going to Titusville or beyond, or all the way to Jupiter.

We looked for redfish from JB’s to ICW Marker 13, didn’t see much. The weather was gray, misty. We couldn’t see the east shore of Mosquito Lagoon. But such breeze as there was pushed us along beautifully. It was an easy first day’s paddle, the way you’d plan it if you had control over such things as the wind speed or direction. Perfect.

A crown conch on black mangrove roots along the way.

Black mangrove seeds along a Mosquito Lagoon shoreline.

This is how hard we were looking for redfish.

The second night we camped on a spoil island west of Haulover Canal. Dee had gotten a redfish and Jay was cooking it up. One fish wouldn’t go far feeding ten. Jim Dyce was wading around the island casting a gold spoon. He said, “I have a big fish. I don’t know what it is.” It was another redfish. That fish was on people’s plates about 20 minutes later, hot and delicious.

Jim Dyce got lucky, and we got dinner.

The fillets on the fire.

Another wonderful paddle (we’ve been blessed with the weather so far) put us on the spoil island just north of Parrish Park. We had a party to go to at Dixie Crossroads, time to bathe! It’s amazing how stinky you can get in only three days.

Exploring a spoil pile along the Indian River Lagoon.

Capt. Mark Wright came out and picked us up, a very nice thing for him to do. He brought us to Parrish Park and also gave a ride to the restaurant. About 30 people were there to celebrate with us and feast on some of the seafood that Dixie Crossroads is famous for. Personally I concentrated on the oysters and shrimp, merely sampling the blue crabs and clams. After three days of paddling it was extremely delicious, and very kind of Lauralee to do for us. Thanks from all the paddlers to Dixie Crossroads for such a fantastic fete.

People are having fun. Mike, coneening around.

The kayakers expressed surprise at how fast Rodney and I travel. we can exceed the speed of any of them. We have an Old Town Penobscot, a well-designed canoe. We have Bending Branches paddles, a bent shaft model for the bow and a straight shaft for the stern. Rodney is like internal combustion in the bow. We get a good rythym and the miles fly by.

Nick is not making the speed Rodney and I are. With weather like this that’s not important.

Wednesday morning the mayor of Titusville came out to paddle with us for a while. While it was nice chatting, we had a long way to go. We decided to hit it while the weather was with us. As it turned out it was with us all the way, God smiling on fools and paddlers, apparently.

Mr. Mayor, out for a spin.

We found a school of black drum south of the NASA Causeway. The one we had for dinner took a smoke colored DOA Shrimp.

Pasta, pasta, pasta! Dinner while camping!

While paddling Thursday a flight of white pelicans flew over us. I had a brief glimpse of God. Take Him where you find Him…

The white pelicans are trying to earn a living on the lagoon.

Spoonbills roosting on a spoil island, Indian River Lagoon.

The water has been high the entire way. We have not seen a blade of seagrass south of Rinker Canal. Fish have been scarce. While we are paddling more than fishing, we’re certainly looking for fish all along the way. We have not seen many.

Fish have been scarce, but we have gotten a few puffers.

But we are having a marvelous time, partly because the weather has been perfect, partly because everyone in the group has been awesome. Bones Benton said this is the coolest thing he’s ever done. Mr. Benton has done some way cool things, too.

Nick paddles the stars and stripes along the Indian River Lagoon.

We haven’t needed so much as a band-aid, either.

A tree snail in a red mangrove tree.

We’d like to thank Vince and Jim and the Mayor and the Crabman and everyone else who has paddled with us. We’d like to also thank those folks who have said, “Hey, we read about you in the newspaper!” And of course Laurie needs a huge thank you for the incredible cookies!

This is the worst weather we’ve had to deal with- a single passing shower.

Saturday December 7 we’ll be at the Indian River Festival at Pelican Beach Park in Satellite Beach. Sunday we’ll be at Lagoon-Palooza at the Lagoon House in Melbourne. Please come out and see us.

That’s the First IRL Paddle Adventure Report. I will do the second as soon as I am able.

Life is short- go fishing.

Life is great and I love my work!

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel

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Paddlers heading out on 19 day Indian River Lagoon adventure
Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Fly Box

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Black drum, DOA Lures, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, Paddle, redfish

Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 15, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

The Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure kicks off on November 30. Paddle a section or the length of the lagoon with us!

My Mitzi Skiff 17 is for sale. For information, visit this link…

On Sunday Tammy and I went to the Indian River Lagoon for some rare Sunday fishing for me, and part of her ongoing birthday celebration. Hope it was a good birth month, Tammy! Anyway, we visited to power plant first to get a few ladyfish. In what proved to be a bad omen we did not get a bite there.
We crossed the lagoon and went on a search mission. We did not have to search very hard. There were lots of fish there- black drum, redfish, seatrout. In one of the most serious cases of fish lockjaw I have ever seen we did not get a single bite.
Tammy had been up most of the previous night fishing at Sebastian Inlet and was low on gas. The lack of cooperation from those lagoon fish pushed her right over the edge.

This is how great the fishing was.

We were off the water about 130 PM.

Monday morning found me launching the Mitzi (it’s for sale!) at River Breeze for my first look-around up there since getting back from Alaska. I did lots of fruitless searching. In the last spot I looked the fruit showed in the form of some tailing reds, and trout in potholes.

Nice trout on a DOA Shad Tail.

After getting a couple on a DOA Shad Tail I switched to fly and got a nice top-of-slot redfish. Some more investigation is warranted.

Aye! ‘Tis a handsome fish!

Wednesday my new sunglasses came! Smith Optics has awesome customer service.

I also put the almost-final-finishing-touches on the sailing rig for the Old Town.

Wednesday night Susan and I went to the University for Light Up UCF, a good thing to bring the kids to. There are a few rides, an ice skating rink, a saucer run, a showing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a light show, and faux snow. I couldn’t help but notice a few attractive co-eds, too …

Light Up UCF. Can you see the ghost of Christmas present?

You can ride the ferris wheel.

The Tornado is good if you enjoy regurgitation.

Thursday morning the weather forecast did not look promising. But it looked better than Friday’s. So I tossed the kayak on the roof of the van and drove to River Breeze.

The water was too high. It was windy. It was cloudy. There were hardly any cars in the parking lot. I launched the boat and went a-paddling.

No fish were visible. I blindly fished a hole which has produced while fishing blindly in the past. It did not produce today.

I went to a second hole and fished it blindly. It did not produce either.
While standing on the bank eating a tangerine two redfish swam by, giving me the fin as they passed. I could hear them laughing at me.

I fished a third hole. A bold, eight-inch redfish got between me and the skunk.

The day was awesome. Didn’t see another hominid the entire time I was out.

While paddling back I came up with a new mathematical equation which rivals e=mc² in simplicity and elegance. OK, I’m exaggerating. But here it is:

For the non-mathematically inclined-

Clouds plus wind plus rising water plus falling water temperature equals no fish.

Argonaut Publishing Company is having a big Christmas Sale on all of its fishing books by one Capt. John Kumiski. Visit this link to do some holiday shopping!

That is this week’s exciting version of the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: DOA Lures, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Mitzi, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

Rigging A Temporary Sail for a Canoe

November 13, 2013 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Rigging A Temporary Sail For a Canoe

Old Town Canoe is one of the sponsors of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure. They have graciously and generously supplied us with a Penobscot 174. Now came the task of rigging a temporary sail for a canoe.

Since the boat is brand new, nothing needed to be done to get it ready to paddle. But we’re traversing 160 miles of flat water. Wouldn’t it be nice if the wind helped us sometimes?

I used two pieces of scrap 2×6 lumber with four bolts to make a stay for a “mast,” the foot portion of my 14′ Moonlighter pushpole (a closet rod would work as well). This contraption clamps to the gunwales just aft of the front deck. I thought more reinforcement would be needed to hold the base of the “mast” but it seems to do fine without.

This scrap lumber “stay” just clamps on to the gunwales.

I needed a four foot square tarp for a “sail.” I found one on Amazon. A snap hook, a couple of snap carabiners, and a hose clamp hold the “sail” to the “mast.” A line at the top of the “sail” and another at its corner run to the stern paddler, who can hoist or lower it and somewhat control its angle to the wind.

This shows how the “sail” attaches to the top of the “mast.”

This shows how the “sail” is attached to the “mast” at the bottom.

This shows what the whole rig looks like from the stern of the boat.

We were bringing the pushpole anyway. So for the cost and weight of a little hardware, some scrap lumber, and a four foot tarp we can make a sail when we need it, and are able to completely get it out of the way when we don’t.

And that’s how I’ve been rigging a temporary sail for a canoe.

Let’s hope it works!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: Canoe, Indian River Lagoon, Sail

How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box

October 19, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box

The path of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure takes it the length of the most biologically diverse estuary in North America, the Indian River Lagoon system. This blog discusses How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box. The Fly Box will be covered in a separate blog.

We will find many species of fish. I want to keep track of how many different kinds we can catch. Redfish, snook, seatrout, snapper, moonfish, jacks, it’s a long list. Since it’s a paddle trip, you don’t have room to bring a ton of tackle. I hope the list below is an exercise in minimalism.

The spin rod I’m bringing will be a two piece, 6.5 foot light action rod with a Shimano Spheros 3000. On the reel will be Power Pro 10 or 15 pound braid. Most of the time there will be a section of twenty pound fluorocarbon on the business end.

A small box of lures is joining me. In the box are the following:

-three 1/8th ounce weedless jigheads and 10 matching soft plastic tails;

-three shallow running DOA Bait Busters;

-one dozen three inch DOA Shrimp, assorted colors;

-two Chug Bugs with single hooks;

-two five-inch Rebel jointed swimming plugs (couldn’t find a link for these) with single hooks*;

-two 1/4 ounce Johnson Minnows;

-about one dozen DOA CAL jigheads, 1/16th to 1/4 ounce;

-a 12-pack of Woodies Rattlers plastic worm rattles;

-a bag of 00 size split shots and a few DOA pinch weights.

*We drag a Rebel behind the boat as we paddle. If you stop paddling the plug floats instead of snagging on the bottom. I don’t know how it will work in the lagoon but it used to work well in the Everglades.

In a one gallon Ziplock bag are:

-one package each of 3/0 and 5/0 Daiichi D65Z hooks for jerk baits;

-a package of 5/0 Daiichi D84Z circle hooks just in case;

-a quart-size Ziplock with a handful of DOA CAL 5.5 inch jerkbaits;

-a quart-size Ziplock with a handful of DOA CAL AirHeads and the DOA longneck hook designed for these baits;

-a quart-size Ziplock with a handful of DOA CAL three inch shad tails;

-a quart-size Ziplock with a handful of DOA CAL four-inch jekbaits.

And we simply MUST accessorize, dahlink:

-a Dr. Slick line nipper on a cord around my neck;

-a pair of Dr. Slick bullet head pliers in a holster on my belt;

-an orange grabby glove (couldn’t find a link for these) for lipping tarpon;

-one each Seaguar fluorocarbon leader wheels in 20 and 30 pound test.

That’s my tackle kit, and I’m sticking to it.

And that is the end of Packing for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box blog.

As always please share any questions, comments, and suggestions.

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip
Bait and Tackle for St. Augustine Fishing
Meeting held over Indian River Lagoon restoratio
n

Filed Under: Fishing Product News and Reviews, Fishing Reports, Fishing Tips, opinion, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing

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A Review of The Old Town Penobscot 174

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Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Epiblogue

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Demand Clean Water Now

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Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Rigging A Temporary Sail for a Canoe

Rigging A Temporary Sail For a Canoe

How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box

How to Pack for a Florida Canoe Trip- The Tackle Box

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Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report 3114

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Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Epiblogue

Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report

Demand Clean Water Now

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First IRL Paddle Adventure Report

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Rigging A Temporary Sail For a Canoe

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