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Pensacola Fishing Report

April 1, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Pensacola Fishing Report

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter.

I’m writing this from a motel room in Pensacola, thus the Pensacola fishing report. I did fish at home two days before travelling.

Ode to a Great One
I learned this week that Lefty Kreh passed away a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure like everyone else he had trials, tribulations, and frustrations, but from the outside looking in what a great life he had! What a great person he was! Everyone who fishes, especially fly fishers, owes the man a tremendous debt of gratitude.

I hope his last days were peaceful. I doubt if he had any regrets.

Monday

Not a monster!

Son Alex was home for a visit and we got to fish together on Mosquito Lagoon for a few hours. Neither the weather nor the fishing were particularly good, but spending time together certainly was!

But better than no fish.

Tuesday
The long awaited Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting presentation was finally realized. They wanted Redfish on the Fly. I hope they were happy with what they got!

Wednesday
Jodi and Tanner Smith, a mother/son combination, joined me in Spotted Tail for a half-day on Mosquito Lagoon. The weather was beautiful, the fishing less than great. We got a bunch of short fish and laughed quite a bit. They were both awesome. I hope I see them again. Jodi and Tanner, thanks for fishing with me!

Jodi and her redfish.

Thursday

Ready for the road!

The chariot took me all the way to Gulf Islands National Seashore‘s Fort Pickens campsite, where I camped two nights. Spring break = romper room at the campground! The kids were having loads of fun. All their noises were happy ones. It warmed this reporter’s heart to see them playing outside without e-devices.

The Blue Angels put on an airshow that I stumbled onto. The precision with which they fly is breathtaking.

Blue Angels, on the go.

The children and their parents were at Fort Pickens too, watching just like I was.

Blue Angels fans, at Fort Pickens.

I fished fairly aimlessly in Santa Rosa Sound on three separate occasions in three different spots over Friday and Saturday, finally finding some trout and redfish I could not get to strike.

Sunday

The sun has risen.

Jim Tedesco and I watched the sun rise through pine trees from our kayaks on East Bay, guided by kayak guide extraordinaire Nick Lytle. My primary aim was photos, although I carried a six-weight and did stick and lose two redfish. Nick did the heavy lifting for me so I got some pictures. Nick, thanks for an awesome morning!

Jim through a frame.

Nick did the heavy lifting.

Heart-shaped spot, by Nirvana.

And that is the Pensacola fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, kayak fishing, pensacola fishing, redfish, redfish fishing florida

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

March 25, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That’s an aggressive little fish.

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

Bass on the gurgler.

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

Bass on the eelworm, front…

…and side views.

Another redbelly for good measure.

I was home in time for supper.

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

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

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

The original IRLPA crew.

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

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

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

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

And that is the hail yes Florida fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, kayak fishing, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report

Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

January 27, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

The shad bite this week was really good. We have a shad attack Orlando fishing report.

Nothing to do with fishing–

We can’t just confine our litter to the planet, we have to litter space too. This video about satellites in orbit was fascinating stuff- https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wonder/how-many-satellites-are-currently-orbiting-earth/vi-AAv8uZz

Upcoming Events

Paddle Fishing Seminar at Kayaks by Bo in Titusville on January 27 from 5-7 PM. Please make a reservation if you plan on attending- 321-474-9365.

Monday

Tammy and I went paddle fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. She nailed a trout almost immediately. I wasn’t expecting much and was caught by surprise when I spotted a pair of tails. The water was too dirty to see the fish themselves. I pooched the shot.

Tammy took the next shot at a small group of tails. I wanted to capture the whole episode on film (pixels, actually) but she pooched the shot.

I spotted a cruising fish, and made a cast. I misjudged its trajectory, and stripped like crazy hoping to get the fly in front of it. The leader was in the rod when I did, and the fish just crushed that fly, a Homer Rhodes Shrimp Fly.

Tammy had a chance to redeem herself and of course she did, getting a nice red on a Copper Liz. So we ended up getting three fish between us, and were off the water at 1 PM.

Tammy and redfish- good combination!

Before we got off the water a guy in a Carolina Skiff came running near where we were paddling. I expected him to get stuck. The water was low and quite shallow where we were. He started hollering at us, and with motor trimmed up, throwing mud all over, he idled over towards us. It seems he was lost, and wanted directions to the Biolab ramp. Really??? We pointed him the right way. Get a map.

Tuesday

The weather seemed quite lovely, so I hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and headed to the St. Johns River.

When I was a child my Dad and I used a lure called an Al’s Goldfish. They are back in production as of a few years ago (https://www.alsgoldfish.com) and I had bought a dozen. On a whim I tied one on, a 1/4 ounce silver one.

The shad LOVED it.

I tried fly fishing, working it pretty hard. I got three bites. Two were missed, one was a fat redbelly.

I tried small crappie jigs. I got three buck shad.

The Al’s Goldfish produced at least a dozen shad of all sizes, including a hickory, and several hooked and lost fish. That’s the hottest tip this week!

Wednesday

I went scouting on the Indian River Lagoon. Maybe there are some fish left there but I certainly did not find them. I saw exactly two seatrout and caught one on a Riptide Sardine that generously was eight inches long (the fish, not the lure). It will be a while before I go look there again.

Thursday

I worked on the Indian River Lagoon Chronicles most of the day, and got the ebook republished on Smashwords and Amazon. I also ordered the proof for the print version. And did some boat maintenance!

Friday

My fisherman for Friday was Tom Campbell, from Maryland. The original plan was to fish the lagoon. The “east at 20” forecast caused a change in plan. We went to CS Lee Park and went shad fishing, starting at 8 am.

Mr. Shad, meet Mr. Campbell.

By 11 we’d gotten 15 or so on jigs and spoons. I pulled the boat and we went to Mullet Lake Park for a change of scenery. I learned there are many fewer airboats there, but many more bass boats going 50-60 mph. I mean, must you really go that fast? There might be other folks out there… Anyway, the shad bite was pretty strong. We got both Americans and hickories, several doubles, and I got a needlefish for the weird catch of the day.

And that is the Shad Attack! Orlando fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, american shad fishing, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

January 20, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

We had frost this week, so yeah, we have a chilly week Orlando fishing report. Fishing could have been better. Of course it could have been worse, too.

Upcoming Events
Paddle Fishing Seminar at Kayaks by Bo in Titusville on January 27 from 5-7 PM. Please make a reservation if you plan on attending- 321-474-9365.

Tuesday Tom Finger joined me for a Mosquito Lagoon fishing trip. The first boat ride brought tears to our eyes. Yeah, it was brisk, and windy. We worked it hard for six hours and got two marginal trout to show for it. Ouch. At least we didn’t have to worry about hitting a manatee.

There were about 50 dead snook floating at the Haulover Canal boat ramp, lots of real nice ones. Cold victims all.

Wednesday afternoon I went to run the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns, see if I could pick up a shad or two. While I was staging the boat a fly fisherman next to the boat ramp hooked a fish. It was Brian Eastman! He had a striper hybrid, a nice one!

The Beastman with his striper hybrid!

I hooked four shad, caught two, all on spin tackle with crappie jigs, and got a crappie and a giant bluegill on a chartreuse shad fly. The hybrid stripers eluded me. Yes, the boat ran great.

The Shad, on a little jig.

The Crappie, on a shad fly.

Thursday I visited the North Brevard Historical Museum in Titusville. Never knew it was there. I don’t mean to be mean, but it was kind of like Titusville itself- a few really nice things and a lot of junky stuff. The people there were really nice.

I also visited the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science in Cocoa. They have some awesome stuff there:
-an articulated giant ground sloth skeleton;
-an articulated mammoth skeleton;
-an excellent display of the Windover archaeological site;
and several other displays as well. Nine bucks, worth every cent, check it out when you can. The people there were really nice, too.

Friday I went to the Banana River Lagoon. I was hoping the cold weather had caused the water to clear up. When I got there the water was the color of puke. It was nasty. I drove to River Breeze and went fishing there. At least the water was clean. Three rat reds were my reward. I had a skiff guide pole in on me. Gray East Cape Vantage. There’s lots of water out there, don’t need to do that.

And that is the chilly week Orlando fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2018. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, redfish, seatrout fishing, St. Johns River

Belated Space Coast and Forgotten Coast Fishing Report

December 2, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Belated Space Coast and Forgotten Coast Fishing Report

This is a belated space coast and forgotten coast fishing report.

Once again, the observant among you probably noticed I skipped the report last week. Bad John! In my defense, I packed Friday, worked and finished packing Saturday, and went out of town Sunday morning (see below). A weak and puny mortal, I need sleep. Otherwise, I could have gotten last week’s report done.

Bumper Sticker of the Week-

Last Week, on Monday I worked a two canoe charter in the Banana River Lagoon with Tom Vanhorn. Our fishermen, father and son, were Mike and Mike!

The water is borderline gross but we caught quite a few solid trout. Mike got the fish of the day on a jig, a lovely snook of seven or eight pounds, on a jig. Go, baby!

Mike the son with a beautiful snook.

Tuesday Tom and I had Mike and Mike again, out of River Breeze. We searched a lot of water and did not see much, catching a total of two redfish and one trout, a tough day. And, we got dumped on bigtime when a front came through. Mike got the fish of the day with a fine redfish that took a plastic shad imitation.

Mike the dad with a handsome redfish!

A word about the shad imitations- for years I used the three inch CAL shad made by DOA. Last spring Damon Albers at RipTide sent me his shad, the three inch RipTide Sardine. I have been using them interchangeably, and love both of them. They are some fish-catching lures! So I don’t confuse myself I will just write “shad” whenever using either of them.

Wednesday Mike Briola and I went out into Mosquito Lagoon looking for a Thanksgiving redfish. He had one on, but it came unbuttoned. So we had to settle for a turkey and barbecued pork shoulder for Thanksgiving dinner. Poor us!

Saturday long-time friend Dr. Todd Preuss and I went searching Mosquito Lagoon for some fish suicidal enough to take a fly. A couple trout is all we found! We saw a few redfish and a few black drum, but they just laughed at us.

Sunday morning at 0-dark-thirty Mike Conneen showed up in his black truck. We loaded my kayak on top of his, tossed my baggage in, and off we went to St. Joseph State Park.

A St. Joe bay bluefish, fooled with a shad.

I had not fished St. Joe Bay in about 20 years. Remarkably, it was just like I remembered it- crystal clear water, thick, lush grass, and fish you can (and cannot) see. Sight-fishing flounders is difficult unless you’re spotlighting them at night!

This fatty flattie nailed a DOA Shrimp.

In two days of fishing the bay we caught trout, redfish, flounder, lizardfish, bluefish, and ladyfish. It was so nice fishing in such clear water, so full of life!

A battling redfish, St. Joe Bay.

The red lost the fight, but was released anyway. We released every fish we caught.

In spite of that, after two nights at St. Joe we went to St. George Island State Park. We fished in St. George Sound for three days. The water was slightly less clear, and loaded with oyster beds.

St. George Sound was loaded with oyster beds. The pinfish were a bonus…

…as were the lizardfish. On fly, though!

I got six species of fish on fly (Clouser minnow exclusively). Surprising to me, I could not get a bluefish, even though I was getting them on the spin rod (with the shad, some on just a hook, some on a jig head). The trout fishing was almost too easy.

The trout fishing was outstanding.

Redfish were involved.

The fly worked well, sight fishing. Awesome stuff.

A Clouser Minnow was all I used.

Both parks were beautiful, although the RVs are a bit much to my taste. We ate out one night at the Pesky Pelican https://www.facebook.com/Peskypelicanep/, and although pelicans aren’t on the menu there, both the oysters and the grouper sandwich were excellent. The brownies were too!

The Clouser Minow fooled flounder…

…seatrout…

…and snagged a few oysters!

We lucked into awesome weather and very solid fishing. I always enjoy the time I spend with Mike Conneen. Not only is he an outstanding angler, he is an outstanding human being. I had, and I hope he had, a fantastic trip.

Mike paddles along a St. George Island shoreline.

And that, dear reader, is the belated Space Coast and forgotten coast fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, canoeing story, DOA Lures, florida fishing, flounder fishing, fly fishing, kayak fishing, mike conneen, Pesky Pelican Eastpoint, redfish, RipTide Lures, seatrout fishing, St. George Island, St. George Sound, St. Joe Bay

Happy Thanksgiving Space Coast Fishing Report

November 18, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Happy Thanksgiving Space Coast Fishing Report

I hope all of you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving, and I thank you for reading this Space Coast fishing report.

The observant among you probably noticed I skipped last week. Really, there was nothing to report.

Non Fishing-
I have not used their services, but Elevate Destinations claims that when you book a trip with them, you make possible travel for those less advantaged. It seems a great idea. Check out their website here- http://elevatedestinations.com

Monday
Tammy, Mike and I were supposed to go fishing. Something about the 20 knot winds in the forecast scared off some of the participants. I went alone to the north end of the Indian RIver Lagoon, and enjoyed the birds and wind.

Thursday
Mike Conneen and I went to Spruce Creek to do some paddling. My first fish was a fat flounder. Have you ever noticed you never hear the words “catch-and-release” and “flounder” in the same sentence?

Happy and surprised by this fish, I invited it home for dinner.

In addition I got five redfish and two snook, all on jigs. With the exception of a 22 inch red, everything was decidedly below the slot.

This was my second-best fish.

Mike got some fish too!

Mike lost the big one 🙁

Friday
Tom VanHorn took me into the Banana River Lagoon. You still can’t see the bottom. While I brought a fly rod I really didn’t expect to use it.

My first fish was a monster sail cat, the biggest I’ve ever gotten. I cleaned a large chunk of slimy goo off my leader afterwards.

That’s a fistful of slimy fish, now!

We began hitting seatrout, fairly nice ones.

We hit several limits of trout like this.

We came to a spot where the trout action on jigs was hot enough that I broke out the six-weight. I can’t say I did great but I missed a few strikes and got a couple trout to about three pounds.

Even got some with the fly pole!

All-in-all it was the best fishing I’ve had since Irma passed by, which is certainly encouraging.

And that, dear reader, is the Space Coast fishing report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River Lagoon, florida fishing, flounder fishing, kayak fishing, redfish, spruce creek

Explorations Fishing Report

October 21, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Explorations Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Explorations fishing report.

Happy Thoughts– apparently bored for a few minutes, I googled “happy thoughts”. This awesome page came up- http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/

Monday- Wednesday

It was get the old car ready to sell (yes, the Sienna van that has served us so long and well is for sale. See the details here- https://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/d/for-sale-1999-toyota-sienna/6347466695.html) and get the new car (Susan’s old RAV4) ready for towing.

Lying on my back, trying to get it into position, I dropped the new trailer hitch for the RAV4 on my right elbow, mashing it between the hitch and the concrete. YOUCHIE!!!! Although bruised it seems OK. And now the RAV4 has a trailer hitch and it will pull the Mitzi. So everything is good.

FISHING! As reported last week, this writer has had a hard time of it in Mosquito Lagoon lately. It was time to do some exploration.

At the kayak ramp in Spruce Creek Park.

Thursday found me travelling to New Smyrna Beach to Spruce Creek Park, where an Ocean Kayak was launched. I used to fish Spruce Creek literally a generation ago, but hadn’t been in about 20 years. My preference for fishing there was a low outgoing tide, so of course I found high incoming water. That water was brown but clear. But there was so much of it- the entire marsh was flooded.

I think they want you to be careful…

Was that fish breaking? I cast a jig to where I saw what I assumed were mullet, and was rewarded with a solid strike. Ladyfish. There were quite a few of them. Getting action was a novelty and I enjoyed it until it stopped.

Splash! I missed the jump.

I floated with wind (plenty of that) and tide, catching the odd ladyfish, to the railroad bridge. I went ashore under the bridge for a leg stretch and some casting. Before long a freight train came.

I captured this one cartwheeling in the Spartina.

I don’t know that I have ever been that close to a speeding train. Superman I am not. The ground shook, the noise level was at jet engine afterburner loud. I was quietly terrified. And, I did not get a bite there. So I got back in the kayak and started heading back the way I had come.

It was small, but it’s still a redfish.

Someone in Volusia County promotes an event called Biketoberfest. Out on the water the noise from the Harleys riding up and down US 1 was almost as loud as the train. No offense to bikers, but it’s like a Biblical plague of motorcycle noise there.

One of the fishies I captured. I put him back.

After the tide turned I had steady action on the jig the whole way back- more ladyfish, including a couple in the 24 inch range, a nice crevalle jack, a half dozen trout to 16 inches, and a couple lovely if diminutive redfish. Considering what last week’s fishing was like, and due to incessant east winds I can’t get out on the Atlantic, it was entertaining if unspectacular fishing.

At the Tomoka State Park ramp.

Friday, encouraged by Thursday’s modest success, I tried launching at Tomoka State Park. Like Spruce Creek, the tide was high and still coming in, and the water was very brown. Also like Spruce Creek, the hum of Harleys filled the air. Unlike Spruce Creek I did not get a bite. I did see a couple baby tarpon roll and a few mullet jump. That was it.

The water was brown, but you can get an ice cream when you’re done…

Tomoka is bigger water than Spruce Creek. When I go back I will use internal combustion.

Show and Tell Seminar October 21

In spite of the small craft advisory, Mark Frank, my only attendee, and I toured the Mosquito Lagoon in my Mitzi. We started at Haulover, went as far south as the Biolab boat ramp. It was WAVY on the west side!

We crossed the lagoon and went north, all the way to River Breeze. The cleaner water is up north. Most of the boats were south of Haulover, fishing in the muddy water.

It was a challenging day for a boat tour. The manatees are still thick, like mines in the water. Be careful when boating out there.

I’m wondering if the east wind will ever stop.

And that, dear reader, is the Exploration fishing report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, kayak fishing, orlando fishing report

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

September 23, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

Finally, a more-or-less full week of fishing. Our travels this week brought us to the Mosquito Lagoon (twice), the Indian Rver Lagoon (twice), the Banana River Lagoon, the Econlockhatchee River (no fishing though) and a brief stop at Port Canaveral. So we have a three lagoons fishing report.

The boats wait for us to finish the shuttle.

Sunday I joined Tammy and Mike Conneen for a kayak trip down the still-flooded Econ. It had peaked earlier at 18 feet and on Sunday was at 12 feet (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/uv/?site_no=02233500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060), still mostly over its banks. The weather was awesome and everything was going fine until I took a “shortcut”, followed by everyone else.

Mike Conneen, navigator extraordinaire.

Off we go into the woods.

Don’t trespass!

Before long there was no current to follow and we were darn confused, paddling around in the woods. Mike got the phone out (GPS app). We followed him back to the river, losing about an hour in the process.

We’re definitely in the woods.

Still in the woods.

Tammy doesn’t care. She always enjoys herself.

When we got to the St. Johns there was no river, only a very large lake. It’s still lapping the sides of SR 46 and the CS Lee boat ramp is still closed.

Cheryl on the lake that once was the St. Johns River, near SR 46.

Remember to run at idle speed!

Monday Tammy and I went scouting on the IRL, launching at Parrish Park. The water is high (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02248380) and dirty in most places. We fished around some culverts and Tammy got snook, redfish, and ladyfish. She foul-hooked a trophy black mullet. She wanted a seatrout but we could not find one. The mullet may have weighed more than all the other fish combined.

We converted one redfish on a DOA CAL shad.

Tuesday Scott Radloff and I did a Mosquito Lagoon survey. This lagoon has by far the cleanest water of the three lagoons, and quite a few mullet too. We actually saw a handful of redfish, getting shots at two and converting one on a DOA CAL shad. I got six snooklets on a #6 Clouser minnow, beautiful little fish that would have looked great in an aquarium. We also got a half-dozen slot trout, one on a jig and the rest on a DOA Deadly Combo.

Scott got a trout on a jig.

Wednesday Miss Chellie Gentry joined me for a fly fishing charter on the IRL. In the morning we hit maybe ten culvert pipes. None of them had fish. She finally got her first saltwater fish, a tarpon, on a gurgler. It was a wonderful moment- I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo.

The magic pipe produced a couple dozen ladyfish…

Then we hit the pipe I had been looking for all day. The ladyfish were going crazy, and she got three redfish too. They were not very big but they were all on fly. We called the outing a success! Chellie, thanks for fishing with me!

…and several redfish!

Thursday Mike Conneen and I met to check out the Banana River Lagoon, the third lagoon in the three lagoons fishing report. The water was a soupy olive green. Nowhere could you see the bottom. There was a dearth of baitfish. Mike actually caught a slot trout by blind casting with a Vudu Shrimp. We had the kayaks back on our cars in a little less than three hours.

Mike battles a trout…

…which was actually a solid fish.

While in the neighborhood it seemed appropriate to check the ramp at Port Canaveral. They are operational, and in spite of the big seas there were several trailers in the lot. I didn’t see any mullet and asked a fisherman who had come in to the ramp if he had seen any. He said, “I fish here regularly. It was dead out there. I used mud minnows for bait all morning and did not get a bite. And no, there weren’t any mullet.”

The obvious question is, where are they? It’s certainly mullet time.

Friday found me back on Mosquito Lagoon with son Alex and his friend John. We fished a couple bars and caught a few trout on spin tackle, then went looking for redfish. We actually found a few (and a few black drum too) but did not convert, and did not get one. About noontime threatening weather caused us to race the storms back to River Breeze. We got the boat on the trailer just as the storms hit us, some darn close timing when lightning is involved.

That is this week’s three lagoons fishing report! Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, seatrout fishing, tarpon fishing

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

May 13, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who have given birth. What a miracle, to be able to bring another being into the world, to nurture and teach it until adulthood! This is the Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Summer just may have started here. The afternoon light has that blasting everything quality to it. It was 94 degrees this afternoon (Wednesday). The water in the lagoon is quite low, surprisingly so for this time of year. It’s also still quite clean. I expect that to change with this summer’s installment of Algae Bloom. Let’s all pray that John is wrong on this one.

There are stupid numbers of manatees out there. Boater’s don’t seem to be paying any attention. I found a dead manatee today, a small one. I reported it by telephone to Officer Jane Whaley.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has apparently had enough of bank fishermen littering along the Haulover Canal, something that has been a big problem for years. This week these new signs were observed along the south side of the canal, in both English and Spanish:

SUNDAY
Fly fisher and New Yorker Anthony LaBarbera joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. It was hardly fish-slamming time. We got the first bite around 11 AM, a nice enough trout that took a streamer. The rest of the day yielded two more strikes and one more trout. We saw quite a few, but for a change it wasn’t windy. Of course the fish were spooky, a trend that continued for the rest of the week.

We worked hard for this baby!

MONDAY
Good friend Tammy Wilson and I went a-kayakin’ on the Indian River Lagoon. We ran over maybe a half-dozen fish before Tammy had a good shot at one, which she converted. You’re so professional, Howie! I later got one blind-casting a black bunny leech, a sure case of the blind pig finding an acorn. There were not a lot of fish around. But it’s always fun fishing with Tammy.

The woman, the fantasy…

TUESDAY
Brent Chapdelaine and his friend Tom joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friends the DOA CAL Shad and the RipTide Sardine we hit trout pretty steadily if not exactly rapid-fire.

At one point my astonished eyes noted a school of redfish moving, with occasional busts and tailing happening. We moved to intercept. Brent made a perfect cast, and, as he should have been, was rewarded with a fine 26 inch red. He says it was the biggest fish he’s ever caught, and it certainly was the day’s most exciting moment.

WEDNESDAY
Ken Schanze and his friend Dennis joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friend the DOA CAL Shad we hit trout sporadically, getting six in the slot and one over. We saw very few redfish.

For weeks I whined about the wind. It has not been blowing this week and conditions have been gorgeous if somewhat warm. But the slick conditions combined with the low water have made the fish very, very flighty.

THURSDAY
Rick Busch and his friend Seng from Cambodia joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. Seng caught the largest fish of his life! Spotted Tail had that happen twice this week, awesome!

Rachel and a handsome trout.

FRIDAY
Matt Leonard and his lovely bride Rachel joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. They caught a few fairly nice trout. We did not see a redfish, did not see one yesterday, did not see one Wednesday. I’d love to know what happened to all of them.

Same woman, different fish.

SATURDAY
My least favorite day to fish, this one wasn’t too bad because of the weather forecast. Josh and Cody joined me. We looked briefly and unsuccessfully for redfish, then fell back on the unspectacular but steady trout. They caught a few good ones.

Josh. Trout. DOA CAL.

Ordinarily cloudy, windy days are killer trout days. This one was pretty much like the rest of the week.

Cody. Trout. DOA CAL.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, fly fishing orlando, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing

Solo Chokoloskee Fishing Report- A Photo Essay

May 5, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Solo Chokoloskee Fishing Report

We could have called this report, “Last White Man Without a GPS Goes to the Everglades.” I have been to Chokoloskee before of course, but not for a long time. I took my skiff and a kayak, by myself. Thus the Solo Chokoloskee fishing report.

No GPS. These are my navigational aids.

Last Saturday I checked the calendar for the coming week. Holy cow! I have no work! What to do?

“Go to the Everglades,” said a voice in my head. My bride said, “You’re going by yourself?!” “I don’t know anyone who could just take off for four days on the spur of the moment,” I replied. Sunday I packed my stuff. Monday morning about 4:30 I was on the road.

The ranger at Everglades City was a cute redhead with lots of freckles. I should have gotten her picture.

Kenny Brown is still behind the counter at the Outdoor Resorts, probably in his third decade there. Talk about a rock of stability!

That Kumiski guy about to leave the dock at Outdoor Resort in Chokoloskee.

I had a magnificent campsite, waterfront with a view of the sunrise, on the Gulf of Mexico. While there were mosquitos, they weren’t anywhere close to what I thought they’d be. Minor problem.

This was an awesome campsite, but there wasn’t much in the way of shade.

The Mitzi and the OK wait patiently to go fishing.

This black skimmer was one of my neighbors…

…and the terns were in the high rent district.

All of my Everglades camping has been during the winter. A solar day in May lasts much longer than one in December. Just sayin’. And it was hot at the end of the day, which was a bigger problem than the bugs.

Unloading the skiff in my temporary home in Paradise.

Construction of the Taj Mahal…

Monday afternoon I tried fishing. The tide was high. The wind was out of the west, blowing like it was in a hurry to get somewhere. The water was dirty. I wasn’t quite sure of where I was (no GPS), and certainly had some self-doubt creeping into my consciousness. Fatigue and lack of cooperation from the fish did not help.

Casting in high water did not work for me.

I took some time to smell the bay beans…

Beat up from the travelling, fishing, and heat, getting horizontal in my hot Taj Mahal of a tent felt heavenly. An extended rain shower cooled things off. I still love the sound rain makes on my tent fly!

A good night’s sleep and a good cup of joe made the morning much brighter.

Tuesday morning, newly optimistic, I headed for Lostmans’s, hoping to work out the 12-weight. Halfway there the sea was getting rough. Discretion spoke up. “If it gets any worse…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I pulled in to the nearest shore line and started looking.

First fish of the trip. Nice little fishy!

There’s a shark. Oh, there’s a snook! And another one! It’s a little pack of them! I managed to scare them all with a large hair bug. It got switched for a streamer that produced two strikes. The second fish was healthy and took the fly with him. A second streamer fooled several more snook. I was pleased with the start.

Streamers worked well.

Red mangroves, the unofficial plant of the Florida Everglades.

I ran to a spot closer to camp and started looking again. Pop! A snook hit some bait in really skinny water. “That’s why you brought the kayak, John.” I paddled over, saw the fish, and tossed a little foam popper at it. He had an argument with himself about whether or not he should hit it. Unfortunately I lost that debate.

I flushed at least two dozen snook in the half mile of shoreline I paddled, scraping bottom much of the time. I just could not see them first. But I knew where to fish the next day.

At one spot I stopped all I caught were some photos.

When the tide got right the next morning me and the fly pole went paddling again. The bite was good, producing several snook, a nice red, several missed strikes, and a couple of break-offs. Then the water got really skinny again, and the fish stopped biting.

Snook on a gurgler, always exciting!

This red was my first on a fly rod popper in several years.

Breaking down camp took minutes. On the way back to Chokoloskee I learned where to look for tarpon, for future reference. I felt my way through Rabbit Key Pass with a Top Spot chart, managing not to break anything, or even really hit the bottom. Slept in my own bed Wednesday night, after what was a really enjoyable, if somewhat short, trip.

The sun sets on my mini-vacation…

I enjoy fishing with that John Kumiski guy. He has a weird sense of humor, but he also has a good heart.

—————————————-
Last week I wrote, “One of Benjamin Ashworth’s birthday presents was a day with me (?!), fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. Girlfriend Chely was along too.”

I emailed Benjamin’s mom a thank you note. This was her response-

“They were so pleased with the fishing and had a wonderful time. They raved about you and how it was such a great fishing trip. As well as the bonus of seeing a good variety of wildlife! They felt you were a great and knowledgeable guide and would love to go fishing with you again. Thank you again for making it a special birthday gift for Benjamin and Chely.”

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week. John, thank you for fishing with me!

That is the Solo Chokoloskee fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Photo Essays, travel blog · Tagged: adventure fishing, chokoloskee fishing report, everglades fishing report, florida fishing, fly fishing, fly fishing for snook, kayak fishing, redfish, snook fishing

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