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

December 4, 2011 by ·

The Report from Spotted Tail 12/4/11

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was a spotty fish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bruce and his redfish, one of one.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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Mosquito Lagoon Redfishing Consistent This Week- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 25, 2011 by ·

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

The week was solid, if unspectacular.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seth convinced this redfish to strike a Johnson Minnow.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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

November 20, 2011 by ·

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Break out the kayaks! Paddle season is officially here.

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

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

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

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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

November 15, 2011 by ·

The Indian River-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 11/15/11

The gauge was at 1.5 all last week. I like it at 0.5 or lower, especially for paddle fishing. It has dropped the past couple days, though- good news!

Why paddle all week? I had a kayak charter on Friday. Scouting was needed. Besides, I really like paddling.

Wednesday found me at one of my favorite paddle spots on the Indian River Lagoon. Of course the water was too high. That’s been a recurring theme. The water was also very dark. I lost sight of the paddle blade about halfway down. And it was windy, out of the north. Then just to complete the picture, it got overcast.

In spite of all that there were fish blowing up along the shoreline.

I couldn’t see them, even when I tried wading. They kept spooking off of me. After changing flies five times I finally had one eat on a Mosquito Lagoon Special. I was so surprised I pooched it. That was the extent of my catching.

Thursday found me at a different spot on the IRL. The water was still high and dirty but the wind was less, and it was gloriously sunny. The bird life was rich and varied, and there were loads of mullet around. But in three hours of paddling I saw zero fish, although I ran over two. Didn’t even make a cast.

My trip Friday was an afternoon half day. A front came through Thursday night, dropping the water temperature to 67 from 71, not a good thing. The wind was blowing 20 out of the north. The water level dropped to 1.3, a little lower but still too high. At least the sun was out!

When I left the house I still didn’t know where we were going to fish. We (Patrick Gallagher, a fine Irish-American lad) ended up launching at Eddy Creek, fishing the north side. The water was very green and ridiculously high. I wondered after we got there if the wind hadn’t piled up the water at the south end of the lagoon. If so I certainly erred going there.

We rounded the point and fought the wind up into Galinipper Basin. We had a nice lee shoreline at the north end. Patrick was tossing a Johnson Minnow, mostly catching grass. We saw a minnow skip and he dropped the spoon there, I mean right now. A fish bit and he pulled in a nice flounder. It was the only fish (other than mullet) that we saw, and we were out until sunset.

Saturday I was part of a two boat trip with Capt. John Turcot. We picked up our anglers at 9AM at JB’s Fish Camp, giving the air a chance to warm first.

My anglers were Nadim and Terry. As their daughter says, “My dad is from Iraq and my mom’s from Arkansas!” Needless to say it was an interesting and entertaining day. They were a wonderful couple.

The weather was outstanding. We began searching shorelines and lo and behold- there were redfish working them. Our first was a little 12 inch rat, caught on a piece of mullet, as were all of our fish.

Shortly, Nadim hooked an in-the-slot red. Unfortunately for the fish, it never made it out of my boat alive.

Nadim the engineer with his redfish dinner on the fin.

Terry’s red came into the boat a while later. It joined Nadim’s fish in my cooler.

The second half of the redfish dinner, this one served up by Terry.

Once Terry realized that she couldn’t keep any more fish, she didn’t want to fish any more. I was able to use almost an hour of our time to scout for the next day’s trip.

When I cleaned the fish one of them had an empty stomach. The other had a fairly large (for the size of the fish that is) blue crab in it.

When I washed the boat I also washed the cooler. I forgot to put it back in the van and left it at the car wash. Dang!

John Turcot and his family could use some prayers for those of you who have some to spare.

Sunday morning I met Joseph Modrano, an angler from Seattle, at River Breeze. We mounted up on the Mitzi and went forth seeking the elusive red drum. Again, the weather was outstanding.

We fished about a half dozen spots over the course of the day. The water at the north end of the lagoon is way cleaner than at the south end, and actually looks just like it’s supposed to in many places. We found fish everywhere we looked except for one spot.

Joseph battles and photographs at the same time. And people say men can't multitask.

Again, all the fish we caught were in the slot, actually, towards the lower end. We’re not seeing six and eight pound fish. I don’t mind the smaller fish, heck, it’s way better than it had been! But I want to find some bigger fish too.

Joseph Modrano. Redfish. A good combination.

I was also encouraged to see quite a few seatrout. They took a severe beating in that winter freeze a couple years ago. It’s good to see some decent ones up on the flats.

Modrano used a Johnson Silver Minnow all day. He was pretty darn good with it, and he had never been sight fishing before. We pretty much had shots all day long, putting four or five fish in the boat. All managed to make it out alive.

Monday I had the pleasure of fishing Capt. Chris Myers, one of my favorite people to fish with. We launched at River Breeze and fished north of Georges Bar. Again the weather was superb. The water had dropped a few more inches, we found lots of clean water, and saw good numbers of fish all day long. We actually caught several redfish while using those dangfangled fly poles, Myers with a black Redfish Worm and me with a small (#4) tan crabby, shrimpy looking thing.

In the afternoon after the breeze kicked in Myers switched to a spin pole and proceeded to get a few more using a three inch DOA Shrimp. It was an outstanding day.

The week started kind of slow but picked up a good head of steam. The water is slowly dropping, clean water is available, and there are fish around. They are eating. It’s an encouraging trend. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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Mosquito Lagoon Redfishing- Returning to Normal?

November 8, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Redfishing Report from Spotted Tail 11/7/11

We needed to scout on Monday, having been away for two weeks. Rain poured down most of the day. We didn’t go.

Tuesday an east wind of 20-25 met me at the ramp. Still the sun was out, so off I went.

I actually found some fish. The water had dropped since my last visit and in a few places it showed signs of clearing up a bit. Redfish were working along a few shorelines. I tried fishing while simultaneously poling. Never easy to do, it’s even harder when the wind is howling. Still, tossing a Johnson Minnow, I got three bites and put a slot red in the boat (released it).

I was supposed to be scouting, not fishing, so I stopped fishing and continued looking. I didn’t see much anywhere else.

Wednesday Mike, Tom, and Gunther joined me looking for some redfish on spin action. The water had come up a couple inches, but the fish were still where I had left them- cruising the bank, crashing minnows, even saw a couple tailers.

Mike got the first red on a DOA CAL shad tail. The fish was almost under the bow of the boat when Mike stuck him. I haven’t had one bite so close to the boat in years. It was quite extraordinary. It wasn’t a big one, 22 inches or so, but it was a redfish and I was darned glad to see it come aboard. It posed for a photo and was released.

This apparently suicidal redfish took the lure right at the bow of the Mitzi skiff.

Mike had the hot hand, as a while later he made a beautiful cast in front of a cruising fish. The fish ate the CAL tail and a few minutes later 25 inches of redfish was being photographed. It was also released.

The DOA CAL shad tail, detailed to show rigging.

We had several other shots which were not converted and our half day ended much too quickly.

Thursday I cruised the wildlife refuge looking for gremlins that might booger up the show and tell. The main one was that all the dike roads except the Gator Creek- Peacock Pocket road are closed, even Biolab.

Friday Nick Colantonio and John Carnacchia (spelling probably wrong on that name), fly fishers from Tampa, joined me for some redfishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. The water was a foot higher (see the graph here) and two degrees cooler than it was on Tuesday. The wind was again fairly howling, this time from the west.

The fish were NOT cruising shorelines, and believe me we looked. After four hours we had seen four fish and only had a shot at one of them. We came to a small hole in the area where I had been seeing the fish on Wednesday. “Would you guys indulge me for 15 minutes?” I asked.

After staking out the boat I chucked two pieces of mullet containing circle hooks into the hole. I asked Nick to let me know when 15 minutes was up.

At six minutes one of the rods went off and John reeled in a slot red. We released it and set the baits again. Six minutes later one of the rods went off and Nick reeled in a slot red. We released it and set the baits out again. Fifteen minutes went by without another bite so we pulled the lines in and went fly fishing again.

We ran over a few fish but the water was too deep and dirty for us to see them until they blew out. Nick got one shot at the end of the day but the fish spooked off the fly. With that we wrapped up a tough day.

Saturday we had the show and tell and Sunday the on-the-water show and tell. Both went well. Wish you’d been there!

Today son Alex and I went redfishing together. Actually Alex fished and I poled. The water is even higher than it was on Friday and it is still rising. We had a couple half baked shots, the kind where you try to make a hurried nine foot cast. The water is too high and dirty for sightfishing. Hopefully it will drop some this week. We need a west wind to blow some water offshore!

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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Canoe Camping at Canaveral National Seashore

November 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving hurtles towards us. This holiday kicks off Florida’s finest camping season.

At the north end of the Mosquito Lagoon a labyrinth of islands, channels, and shallow ponds hosts loads of  wading birds, dolphins, redfish, and seatrout. Canaveral National Seashore administers a dozen National Park Service campsites here. Accessible only by water, these are “wilderness” sites. A few have a fire grate and a picnic table. The others have space for your tents, and that’s about it.

A spectacular sunrise over the Mosquito lagoon.

I’ve gone camping here by canoe and kayak many times over the years. While sometimes the fishing hasn’t been good, other times it has been outstanding. Either way, I always have an enjoyable time.

A Typical Trip
Obtain the necessary camping permit from Canaveral National Seashore, Turtle Mound station. Launch your boats at River Breeze Park in Oak Hill, or at Turtle Mound on the east side of the lagoon.

After dinner roast marshmallows and watch the sun set. After it gets dark you can stargaze for hours. During the winter months Orion (the easiest of all constellations to recognize), Gemini, Taurus, and Canis Major are all clearly visible. Sirius, in Canis Major, is the brightest star in the sky! If you’re lucky you’ll see satellites, or a meteor streaking across the heavens. You certainly don’t get to see meteors every day.

A lovely Mosquito Lagoon sunset, from a different vantage on a different day.

After breakfast go fishing. Fishing being fishing, sometimes it’s great and sometimes you’ll get skunked. But the wading birds will be thick. You will see pelicans, ospreys, and maybe a bald eagle, and dolphins are commonly encountered. If you don’t catch any fish, cook some hot dogs over a blazing campfire. When you roast a wiener on a stick over an open fire, they are as good as hot dogs can be!

A Warning
You can expect raccoons to visit your campsite while you’re here. Make sure to pack your food in raccoon proof containers. A hard plastic cooler with a rope tied around it works well. On one trip we left our s’mores fixings in a shopping bag, unattended on a table, for less than five minutes. A raccoon quickly found and tried to steal the bag. The chocolate and crackers fell out as he ran off, but he made a successful getaway with all of our marshmallows.

A Quick Look at the Fishing
The most common gamefish here are redfish and seatrout. A ten pound spinning outfit is appropriate. Effective lures include soft plastic jerkbaits, weedless gold spoons, and small popping plugs. The area is shallow with a lot of grass, so weedless lures are a must. Popular natural baits include shrimp and cut mullet. Small crabs can also be effective.

A younger Maxx casts to a redfish in the Mosquito Lagoon.

I kayak fish this area a lot, ordinarily using fly tackle. The preferred technique is to paddle along shorelines, searching for fish to which to cast the fly. Particularly during the cooler months (when camping is most enjoyable) fishing for both reds and seatrout can be excellent.

On the very first camping trip my boys and I made here we paddled over a school of at least 200 redfish. We continued on to our campsite and dropped off our gear, then went right back to where the fish were. Between us we got a dozen fish, many on fly tackle. If you spend some time hunting for fish here usually you will find some.

Redfish this size are quite typical of what you will find here.

Florida saltwater fishing laws apply here. If you choose to fish you will need a saltwater fishing license.

Nuts and Bolts
Canaveral National Seashore lies northeast of Orlando about one hour’s drive. To camp there you must obtain a permit (fee required) from their office at Turtle Mound, on Florida route A1A south of New Smyrna Beach. They accept reservations by telephone one week in advance, and especially during the busy spring season reservations are strongly recommended.

Their website URL is http://www.nps.gov/cana/. Click on the “Activities” button. Then click on the “camping” button to see their camping brochure. The phone number at the Turtle Mound station for more information about camping or reservations is 386-428-3384 Ext. 10.

The different campsites have varying capacities. Some sites, like the two on Orange Island, can fit three small tents maximum. Others, like the spoil island campsites, could hold 20 or more people. Remember, these are unimproved sites with no fresh water, electricity, or toilet facilities. If you don’t bring what you need you won’t have it out there.

Another point to keep in mind is that adjacent to Canaveral National Seashore is the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. No camping is allowed here at any time. So if you intend to camp on a spoil island in the Mosquito Lagoon, be sure to find the right one.

While this piece emphasizes paddling to the campsites, there are no restrictions on motor vessel use here. You can easily use a boat with a motor to gain access to any of the CNS campsites, or to go fishing. You will still need the national park service permit to camp, of course.

The Mosquito Lagoon wasn’t named on a whim. The bugs can be nasty when the weather is warm, so the best time to camp is from about Thanksgiving through about Easter. The prudent camper will bring bug spray at whatever time of year they camp, anywhere in Florida.

Remember to bring sunblock and plenty of water. Have fun, and enjoy your trip!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Water Still Dirty in Mosquito Lagoon- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 8, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 10/9/11

Upcoming Events- Show and Tell seminar on November 5 and 6. The 6th will be an on the water seminar. Details and the signup are now posted at this link- http://www.spottedtail.com/category/Schools-and-Seminars-13.

In the wee hours of Monday morning son Alex and I climbed into the chariot and drove to new Smyrna Beach. We launched the boat at about 2 AM. The tide was high, and slack.
Our plan was to visit lit docks and fish them. We didn’t have much success at first, but then the water started moving.

On one hand it seems strange that one dock will have fish boiling all around it when nearby docks have nothing, but that’s always how fishing is. So it was this night.

We hardly kicked fish butt. We got many undersized trout, many ladyfish. Alex got a rat red and I got a decent sized bluefish. We used DOA CAL jigs and 3″ DOA Glo Shrimp. Nothing photo-worthy came aboard. Everything was released.

After it got light we caught a few mullet and ran out of the inlet. It was too rough to ride around, so we just anchored near the tip of the north jetty. There were redfish there. Using mullet chunks we caught two decent ones in an hour and saw several other people catch some too.

If you want to soak bait there are quite a few fish like this at Ponce Inlet right now.

The mullet are supposed to be running. I’d like to know where they all are.

On Wednesday Luiz, Sergio, and Messias, all from Sao Paulo, joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We tried fishing with lures. We tried fishing with bait. We caught nothing other than three catfish. The water is still dreadfully dirty. You can’t see anything.

Finally I anchored at the jetty at Haulover Canal. Soaking mullet chunks there we got two redfish in about three hours, very slow fishing. At least we weren’t skunked!

Luiz got this nice redfish. You can see how dirty the water is.

They were fun guys to be around and I certainly needed to brush up on my Portugues.

On Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me. The forecast was for hard east winds. Holy cow, it was correct! We anchored at the west end of the Haulover Canal and soaked mullet chunks for four hours, chewing the fat the entire time.

There were lots of dolphins around. There were lots of manatees around. Apparently yacht season has started. Out of the wind it was a lovely morning.

We did not see many mullet. This time of year they should be everywhere you look. We did not catch anything other than one over-aggressive sting ray. We left at noon.

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

 

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On-Location Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Seminar Upcoming

October 4, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

My next Mosquito Lagoon/Indian River Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar is on November 5.

Show and Tell Seminars are all-day fishing seminars that take place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more and bigger fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons.

Learn how to catch reds like this bruiser in the Mosquito lagoon and Indian River Lagoon.

We traverse (in vehicles) the dike roads along the margins of the lagoon system. We stop repeatedly to discuss locations, tactics, and techniques for fishing for redfish, seatrout, and other species found in the lagoon system. We cover knots, rods, reels, lines, lures, and baits, as well as how to fish those lures and baits. We visit all the open boat ramps, canoe/kayak launches, and wading access points in the wildlife refuge. I show you where to fish, and tell you how to fish it!

Seatrout like this one are common catches in the Mosquito Lagoon if you know how.

You will learn more in one day during this popular seminar than you could in a year on your own!

Here’s what attendees at past seminars had to say:

“I just wanted to write and thank you again for the seminar on Saturday. It would have taken me at least a year of scouting to learn what we did in nine hours from you, and that’s just the information on when and where to catch fish. The instruction on techniques and tackle would take years of experimentation to learn on my own!” -Steve Crowder

“I want to thank you for a very interesting seminar! I learned a great deal about our resident redfish, and can’t wait to apply what you’ve taught me.” -Jeff Graybeal

” I really enjoyed your seminar yesterday. I am a fly fisherman from the rivers of the Pacific Northwest, so I learned a ton about shallow salt water fishing. It will be invaluable to me as I begin to explore the Space Coast.” – Mark Mielbrecht

“A couple of friends attended your Show and Tell yesterday. Rave reviews. Mark was effusive in his email about the whole experience. He can’t wait to get back out. Every time I send someone your way they come back a satisfied customer. Nice job!” -Mike Adamson

“I really enjoyed Saturday. You made it really hard to go back to work instead of fish!” -Greg Rhodes

The next Show and Tell is scheduled for November 5, 2011. Visit this link for more information or to sign up!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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No Tarpon, but Several Big Redfish- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

June 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 6//11/11

Yard ornament of the week department:

I’m taking a month-long hiatus from reporting. My next report will hopefully be lengthy, posted on July 17. Baker, when you don’t get a report it’s not your connection!

I spent three days in the boat this week. The first was mostly spent off LaCosta Island. I launched the boat at Pineland and ran through Captiva Pass, then headed south, looking for rolling tarpon. The water was dirty. No tarpon were seen.

Reversing field I headed north. The water cleaned up some, but I still didn’t see any fish. Anchoring off Murdoch Point I resolved to wait them out. Ha-ha. The laugh was on me. I sat there about six hours and saw about six fish, none of which presented a shot.

On the way back to Pineland I stopped in Boca Grande Pass. There weren’t many boats there (for Boca Grande) and there were lots of tarpon rolling. One boat was hooked up.

I had dinner with good friend Rick DePaiva. In spite of all that’s happened to him this year he looks good and was in good spirits, glad to be flying again. It was good to see him.

Ricky D with a nice redfish.

Rick suggested that I fish near Sarasota the next day. I followed his advice and found myself there at about 10 AM on Tuesday. The water was clean. I had shots at fish off and on until I left at 6 PM. I had a few fish look at a black bunny leech, but no takers. Window shoppers! I tried several different flies, all with the same result, and did not get a bite. I was happy to get some shots, though. It was wonderful seeing those fish.

If only all tarpon were this easy to see.

There were several other boats around. I didn’t see anyone else hook up, either.

Friday Dr. George Yarko and his son Shawn joined me for some redfishing on Mosquito lagoon. Like last week we got just three bites. Unlike last week we put all three fish in the boat, though, all above the slot fish with the largest being over 20 pounds.

Sean battles a Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

That's Sean hooked up again.

This was redfish #1, the best of the day.

And both Yarkos with a redfish double header.

The boat was back on the trailer just after noon. It was a good morning.

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

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Big Redfish in Mosquito Lagoon- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

June 4, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 6/4/11

Upcoming Events-
-June 11, free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, starting at noon. The Clouser Minnow is the fly of choice this time.

Bumper Sticker of the week department:

On Memorial Day my family drove to the Villages to spend the day with more family. It was Uncle Don’s 75th birthday! My two boys were the only adult males there who weren’t veterans. A moment of silence please, for all those who did not come home.

Party Day at Uncle Donald's. It didn't get real crazy.

Tuesday I went walking/running on the Florida Trail. Couldn’t help but notice numerous redbellies spawning in the Econ River.

Thursday Rick Roberts and I went out on the Mosquito Lagoon. He got a red on a Johnson Minnow. We got numerous trout on DOA Shrimp. All were small. I got a nice flounder on a DOA Shrimp and lost another one right at the boat.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. We hooked three redfish by using mullet chunks. Only one was boated, but it was a pig, about 30 pounds.

Dr. George battles a big redfish on Mosquito Lagoon

Mission accomplished!

The water in the Mosquito Lagoon is still very low and it’s getting kind of dirty- not as bad as the Indian River but not like winter time. Between the clouds and the murky water it’s getting hard to sight fish.

Embrace simplicity.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- go fishing!

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

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

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