Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

February 16, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

MINWR Launch Complex Update– rather than clutter up this report with all the correspondence flying back and forth, please visit this link for the latest updates. At the link I have a letter you can copy.

Florida has some fishery problems, but nothing like this:

Kentucky will unleash a full-court press against invasive carp during a tournament being held in March.

The Carp Madness Tournament will get teams of commercial anglers competing in a contest to corral the growing population of Asian carp in two of the state’s largest and most popular fishing lakes. Five teams that bring back the highest poundage of fish will split $20,000, with the top prize being $10,000.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is putting together this unique event for March 12-13 at Kentucky and Barkley lakes in the western end of the state.

A sighting by a commercial angler on Kentucky Lake last fall is giving officials a greater sense of urgency to tackle the problem. “Right about dusk, he saw a huge school of carp just underneath the surface,” Brooks said. “He reported there were fish from bank to bank, and as far up the lake and down the lake as he could see. That’s why this tournament is so important.”

Read the entire piece here…

Fishing!

This has nothing to do with fishing, but Sunday we went to a skeet range. I still can’t hit a clay, but I got a photo I never expected to- my bride holding a shotgun.

Monday I effected repairs to the aging chariot- no fishing.

Tuesday I had the pleasure of a visit from Rick DePaiva. We fished for about six hours in the Mosquito Lagoon. It was fairly windy with lots of clouds, which made sight fishing difficult. In spite of that Rick got a half dozen slot reds on the new DOA Airhead. We wanted a big trout too, and saw quite a few, but that prize eluded us. Perhaps next time. Thank you, Rick!

Ricky D. with a nice one.

Wednesday and Thursday I had no work. The weather was windy and rainy, so I worked around the castle. No fishing.

Thursday night I spoke to the Backcountry Flyfishing Association of Orlando about fly fishing and BFA history. I really enjoyed it, and apparently the club did too. Here’s what Tom Dyll emailed to me: “Great talk. Probably the best I have seen in the 3 or 4 years I have been with the club. Great mix of content and entertainment.” Thank you, gentlemen, I hope we can do it again sometime.

Friday I got a late start, leaving home near 11 AM. Went kayak fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Hadn’t done that for a while. Should have been. Got a half dozen reds on a sparkle crab, and blew some shots too. All but one were cruising when I spotted them, the odd one being a tailer. All were in the slot. A very enjoyable afternoon.

More repairs to the chariot on today’s agenda.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the 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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

February 2, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

If the state of Florida has its way the Merritt Island NWR cleanup may be completely unneccessary.

ENVIRONMENTAL ALERT!!!! DANGER! DANGER!

Reader Michael Adornetto writes, “I was wondering if you could make mention of the proposed Shiloh launch complex in your next fishing report. I fear that this launch complex will keep us from protecting the refuge and our beloved fishery of the Mosquito and north Indian River Lagoons. We need to get the word out to make people aware.

“Space Florida and Lieutenant Governor Carroll are trying to get NASA to give the State control of 150 acres where the Shiloh citrus area is north of Haulover on the west side of State Road 3 by north Indian River Lagoon. They want to build a commercial launch site outside of NASA so they don’t have the red tape and regulations of working with NASA.”

If you bird, fish, hunt, or paddle the lagoons I probably don’t need to explain the negative impact this would have on your recreation.

Links for more information:

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130130/SPACE/130130024/Space-Florida-continues-push-land-state-run-launch-complex-KSC

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130102/NEWS01/301020021/Florida-pursues-studies-new-commercial-launch-complex

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/09/24/space-florida-seeks-to-run-shuttle-landing-facility-build-commercial-launch-complex/

Obviously, a massive publicity and letter writing campaign needs to start immediately so we can keep this complex on either the NASA property or Canaveral Air Force Station.

If you think a new space complex on what is now national wildlife refuge property is a bad idea, send a short email to let your state senator and state representative know. You can find them at these links:

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov

Next week I will have a letter you can copy.

Blog Post this week: Life is Short

Fishing!

Monday Father Rick Voor and his friend Scott joined me for some kayak fishing out of River Breeze. My last trip there had been good so I was optimistic. The fish quickly crushed that optimism by not being there. We worked hard for over five hours. We got two rat reds and a micro-flounder between us.

Near the end of the trip we spotted what I at first thought was a couple of tailing fish. Casting to “them” proved fruitless. And, they started not looking like fish.

Investigation revealed a small sea turtle in distress. How much distress? Enough we could pick it up by hand. I called Layne Hamilton, Rob Leonard, and Jane Whaley to get advice as how to proceed. I didn’t get any of them. Rick and Scott tried a few calls too. We left the turtle there, probably to die, very sad.

Father Rick’s turtle. The first person to correctly identify the species will win a free copy of Rodney Smith’s book Enjoying Life on the Indian River Lagoon.

Wednesday I went bike riding in Little Big Econ State Forest. Yeah, that’s a kick! Great thing to do when it’s too windy to fish.

Friday afternoon Alex and I went to the St. Johns for some shad action. It was a beautiful day and the fish were biting good enough that we had a couple of doubles, ending up with a dozen or so shad in less than three hours. Strangely, no other species of fish were caught.

One of many shad we caught.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the 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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, NASA, orlando fishing report

Orlando Area Fishing Report

January 26, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog Posts this Week-
–UV Skinz- A Review

Tuesday’s out-of-the-box thinking led to some excellent fishing.

I left the house at close to three o’clock in the afternoon, heading to River Breeze, armed with a kayak and a three-weight. After paddling to the fishing spot I was happily surprised to see redfish tailing all over the place. It was cold and windy- I was not expecting this.

The first two clumps of tailers refused the fly, which led to a change. Three fish were boated and released before sunset, an outstanding evening’s outing.

Wednesday morning found me in the same spot with the same tackle. The tailers were gone. At a different spot a trout chased several mullet to the surface. Some blind casting with a minnow imitation led to two missed strikes, and the capture of two nice trout. The bigger of the two was at least two feet long. A redfish fell for the fake, too.

On the way back to River Breeze I found some more tailing redfish, and managed a nice one on a little shrimpy looking fly. It was a beautiful if chilly morning. The fish were just icing on the cake.

Thursday I launched at KARS Park as the sun came up. It was a gorgeous morning. There was no one else there, which made me think I wouldn’t find any fish. I paddled quite a distance, and loaded the kayak back onto the chariot at 1 PM, not having seen a single fish. Won’t be going back there for a while.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We went to where all those fish were last week, didn’t see any. When I started up again the steering cable went. We drifted most of the way back to Haulover, casting DOA Shrimp. We got a load of trout, mostly shorts. I cleaned two fish for Mary Jo, who was glad to get them.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the 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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: Banana River, DOA Lures, kayak fishing, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mosquito Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing report, Orlando Florida, redfish

Orlando Area Fishing Report

January 19, 2013 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

–Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

We did some fishing this week, folks.

On Monday Tom and Joyce Moore, Green Mountain state folks, joined me for a day’s fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. Tom got a nice redfish on a jerkbait right out of the gate. Then we had to work, as the fish seemingly disappeared. We got several trout and another redfish on DOA Shrimp.

Tom Moore got this fish on his second or third cast.

Fish Story of the Week:

Tom was using a DOA Deadly Combo when he had a powerful strike. The fish took off and the leader parted. We could see the bright orange float as the fish swam off with it. Inexplicably, the fish turned around and came back towards us.

Tom tried to hook the line between the fish and the float, but the DOA Shrimp was a poor choice of baits for that particular task. I climbed down off the poling tower and tied on a Sting Silver and snagged the rig on the second cast. Joyce reeled the fish in, a beautiful 26 inch seatrout. We got our Deadly Combo rig back, photographed and released the fish.

The star of our fish story of the week, displayed by Joyce Moore.

On Tuesday Cincinattian Steve Horgan joined me for the first of four days of fly fishing. Steve describes himself as a “multi-species fisherman”, which means he is interested in catching as many different species on fly as he possible can. So that was our goal for the week.

Tuesday found us on the Mosquito Lagoon. In the morning the weather was perfect, very few clouds, very little wind. The redfish were thick, lots of schools, but very spooky. There were quite a few boats about. We stalked schools of both tailing and cruising redfish for about five hours. We did not get one. Steve had only one bite during that time. A three or four pound black drum took the crab fly. Steve had his first specie of his trip.

Mr. Horgan’s first ever black drum.

Early in the afternoon it got windy and cloudy. We fished in several spots trying to get a redfish and/or a seatrout. We failed to do so. It was a frustrating day, after seeing so many hundreds of fish.

Wednesday morning Steve and I drove down to Sebastian River and launched the boat. Tarpon were rolling 100 yards from the boat ramp. Like Sebastian River tarpon usually do, they laughed at everything we tried. We gave up.

I idled down to the ICW and ran through Sebastian Inlet, hoping it would be calm enough for us to look around out there. It was definitely not. We tried floating the flats inside the inlet. There was no grass, no bait, and no activity. We saw nothing and did not get any bites so we headed back into Sebastian River.

I poled while Steve banged the shoreline with a streamer. He ended up with seven snook, three mangrove snapper, and a couple of ladyfish, all new species for him. We went back to where the tarpon were and tried various things for another hour plus but did not get a bite. I was hoping we’d get a crevalle and maybe a redfish, but neither of those happened, either.

Seven snook sounds great. At least they weren’t all quite this small, although they were all lovely.

It was nice being there, but in my opinion not worth the drive as far as catching fish went.

Thursday we went to Mosquito Lagoon. We found a school of redfish. They were not showing themselves very well. We played cat and mouse with them for a couple of hours. Steve had some good shots but the fish didn’t bite. As the wind got harder I lost the fish, so went and looked in a couple other places. I saw very little.

We pulled the boat and went to the Indian River. By now it was blowing about 20 mph. There were no groups of fish and Steve had trouble seeing the singles I found. We’d blow right past them without a shot. We ended up completely skunked, wet from the rain and wind. It was a really tough day.

Friday found us at the St. Johns River. The temperature was in the high 40s when I launched the boat, with a 15 mph wind, which increased in force as the day went on. Fishing was s-l-o-w. Steve did get a nice shad on a bucktail streamer.

Mr. Horgan’s shad, another first.

I got a couple little ones on a wooly booger. He got a few bluegills. I got a small crappie and a small channel cat. It rained intermittently. We worked hard all week and really didn’t have a lot to show for it.

Steve did get five new species, but we failed to get either a trout or a redfish for him. Thank you for your patience, Steve- it was wonderful fishing with you.

My fisherman for Saturday postponed his trip because of the wind and clouds.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area 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: Black drum, DOA Lures, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, Sebastian Inlet, tarpon fishing

Orlando Fishing Report

January 6, 2013 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013
-Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog posts this week: Seven Must Have Lures for Winter Fishing in Florida’s Lagoons

New Website Department- http://johnkumiski.com -photography and a more literary writing sampler than I typically post here, even a few poems! Please check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks!

The coffee this morning is especially delicious.

On Tuesday Dr. Ken Unger, from Calgary, did some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing with me from the Mitzi. Although the sky was overcast for much of the day, until about 1 PM the lagoon was slick calm. There were a lot of fish around, just lying around. I would have expected tailing everywhere but no, they wouldn’t do that. We ran over a lot of fish.

Ken did get a few reds on a crab pattern. We tried for trout. They had moved from some spots and were protected by copious amounts of floating grass in others. He got a few good strikes but none were converted.

Dr. Ken with a decent red.

It was a little frustrating but we had a good time and we did get some fish. Here’s what Ken said: “Wanted to thank you for the good day yesterday. Enjoyed the company. Learned a little which is something I always want to do in a new area. Caught some fish. A good start to the new year. I will be back. Thanks again.”

On Thursday morning I braved the fog, launching the kayak at KARS at about 730. I dared not get more than 150 feet from shore. There was no wind. I didn’t have a compass, or for you modern types, a GPS either. The sun hid behind the clouds. If I couldn’t see shore I would be utterly lost. It was very cool but very spooky at the same time.

Paddling steadily north I ran over the occasional trout. The object was to find big reds or black drum. Stopping at one place I cast a streamer for trout for a while but did not get bit. The quest continued.

The fog burned off around noon.

I went most of the way to the NASA causeway.

I did not find what I was looking for.

On the way back I saw a tail, as it turns out the only one found. I stalked the fish. It was a big black drum. It ignored my fly and swam off. I would not see another.

The final score was one shot, no bites, four fish seen- pretty disappointing. More searching needs to be done. It’s the right time of year.

Speaking of the right time of year, shad are being caught in the St. Johns River. I do not have any details. I wanted to go Friday but that 60 degrees and raining put me off. Too much like Alaska.

There are some shad in the St. Johns River!

Yesterday son Maxx and I went running along the Florida Trail, most of the way to Orlando Wetlands Park. Beautiful day, nice woods. Hamstring is kind of tight today, though.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the 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 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: Banana River, Black drum, florida fishing, Florida Trail, fly fishing, kayak fishing, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 24, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Merry Christmas to All, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to Everyone!

Upcoming Events-

–Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

My bride had knee surgery. I spent most of this week taking care of her, as she can’t get around very well. She’s doing fine, thanks, and we expect a complete recovery.

Only three days were spent on the water this week but many other things got done.
-My website got hacked and crashed. It needed a complete re-build. That took some time.
-As long as I was at it I built a new website for my sister, the glass artist. See it at http://www.cherylkumiski.com

Blog Posts this week:

-A Christmas Gift to You

On Wednesday Tammy Wilson met me at Parrish Park. We spent four hours looking around the Mosquito Lagoon for fish. We did not see many, perhaps because we started late.

Tammy got a trout and a redfish, both out of the slot, while blind-casting with an olive colored bunny leech.

I got two smallish trout blind-casting with a DOA Shrimp.

A cold front came through Thursday night. The water level dropped six or seven inches, and the water temperature dropped by 10 degrees, between sunset Thursday and sunrise on Saturday. At that point I met Jason and Jonathan Brege, my fishermen for the next two days.

It was 38 degrees at the boat ramp and the flag was almost straight out. The Indian River Lagoon was covered with whitecaps. They wanted to go anyway so we launched the boat at Titusville Marina. That first boat ride was almost like the brain freeze you get when you eat ice cream too fast.

We fished in every dredge hole and canal I know. We came up with a grand total of three trout to 23 inches, all caught on jigs. Late in the day we found a bunch of fish, mostly trout but a few reds too, up on a flat. We could not get them to eat anything and didn’t get a bite there.

Sunday dawned much more placidly. With the winds forecast to be light and variable we went to Mosquito Lagoon with the intent of fly fishing. The first spot, which had been holding fish, was nearly barren. Playing a hunch I went to the spoil islands. Good call.

Both Jason and Jonathan got their first ever seatrout and redfish on fly. An imitation crab and a minnow pattern did the damage. They took turns fly fishing, so the “off” guy tossed a jerkbait, which also accounted for several trout.

The trout were running large…
Jonathan with a fine trout.

The trout were running large, between 20 and 25 inches. The best redfish was 26. We got enough of each that I lost track (three or four is enough for that to happen, though).

Brother Jason with trout on fly.

The weather was spectacular, the fish were cooperative, my fishermen were great guys, it was a fantastic weekend. Happy Christmas to me!

The brothers with a fat Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, Space Coast

Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 8, 2012 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Orlando Area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events– Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

Monday, quite a beautiful day, found me paddling the Ocean Kayak on the Banana River Lagoon in the no motor zone, hoping to find big redfish and black drum. Six hours of paddling later I had found none. There was no seagrass at all. It was hard finding the spots- without the grass there was no frame of reference.

I saw three or four redfish and maybe thirty trout in two schools. Tossing a gurgler around where the trout were seen netted two strikes, both of which were missed.

There is no reason for me to go back there for a while.

The launch at the nmz. The “dock” is real wobbly. If you fall into that muck they’ll never find you. That’s where all the grass is- dead and stinky along the shoreline!

Thursday Tammy Wilson and I went out on the Mosquito Lagoon in the Mitzi. The weather was really nice, very little wind. Lots of clouds at first gave way to mostly sunny skies.
At the first spot there were quite a few redfish. They were quite nervous and didn’t want us near them. Tammy cast a streamer fly at some of them and got two nice fish, both seatrout. They apparently were swimming with the reds.

The fish did not hang around very long, so we went looking in some other places. As could be expected, some were barren and some were fairly fishy. We did not get another fish, though.

We were off the water by 3:00 PM.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We started off boating by Braille, using the compass to find the spot in the fog, glasses all wet, unable to see. We did find it. There were fish there. We could only see them when they moved, pushing up a wake. They would not let us into casting range.

While poling out of there a redfish tailed in front of the boat. It was one of many fish that were there. Dr. George got one on a DOA CAL jerkbait, nice work on his part.

We couldn’t find any more fish at that spot so went to one other. It was good. George got four out-of-slot redfish and a 26 inch seatrout using cut bait, a solid hour of catching there.

When I went to load the pictures of the previous two days fishing into my computer I opened the camera to remove the memory card and it wasn’t in there. It was still in the card reader from the previous use. Well DUH! No photos.

A file photo of Dr. Yarko with a nice red.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: Banana River, Black drum, DOA Lures, florida fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, Space Coast

Spotted Seatrout- A Pictorial

November 30, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Spotted Seatrout

My favorite time for Spotted Seatrout fishing happens when the water gets cold and the big trout sun themselves over white potholes in the grassy bottom. Wait, that’s right now, man!

You can sight fish spotted seatrout now. The flies that work best are unweighted streamers. My favorite flies though, are surface flies- gurglers and poppers.

You will have by far the best results if you get in the water and wade. You will need waders- the water is cold, remember?

Although a big one will pull line off the reel, generally Seatrout do not pull very hard. They jump only rarely. Frankly, they’re not terribly exciting to catch, unless you get a real big one or you get them on a top-water lure. That visual strike is usually the best part of the fight.

Below are some of my favorite images of spotted seatrout. I hope you all get a chance to catch some nice ones of your own this winter. Please carefully release those big ones, too!

Son Maxx with a trout he caught many years ago in Everglades National Park. The fish took a DOA Bait Buster.

A few years later Maxx and Mike Brown got this seatrout double in the Indian River Lagoon. DOA Shrimp did the trick this time.

Mr. DOA himself, Mark Nichols, with a handsome Indian River Lagoon seatrout.

An unweighted streamer fooled this big Mosquito Lagoon seatrout.

Vic Attardo and son Alex with a Banana River Lagoon seatrout double.

Capt. Chris Myers with a handsome seatrout from Mosquito Lagoon.

This seatrout nailed a gurgler.

This trout nailed a foam popper, and chewed it to pieces.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Photo Essays · Tagged: Cynoscion nebulosus, DOA Lures, fishing photography, fishing tips, Indian River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon, orlando fishing, seatrout fishing

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 25, 2012 by john kumiski · 2 Comments

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events- Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

In this version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, the water level in the lagoons is still unseasonably high. That, combined with the low angle of sun in the wintering sky, is making sight fishing in the lagoons difficult.

That having been said, on Tuesday Cheryl, the official sister of the Spotted Tail and famous stained glass artist, joined me for a redfish-for-Thanksgiving-dinner mission. The wind was screaming out of the north. The first spot we went I was tossing a Johnson Minnow. I didn’t get a bite but I did poke a redfish with my fishing rod. He bolted, as could be expected.

We anchored up on the lee side of an island and put two mullet chunk lines out. In 20 minutes I had gotten three reds to 32 inches, with one being a fine 25 inch dinner fish. Mission accomplished, we put the boat on the trailer.

Cheryl with the best fish of the day.

The fish, stuffed with a crabmeat and rice stuffing and grilled over an oak fire, was delicious.

On Wednesday fly fishers Andrew Peterson and his friend Terry joined me for a day’s fly fishing. Since the wind was again screaming out of the north my guess was any fish we got would be by the grace of God. He didn’t smile on us. In spite of working our butts off all day we got exactly one bite which was not converted. It was a beautiful day if you weren’t trying to fly fish, but next to impossible for a fly caster.

Thursday was a lovely day and the Kumiskis had 30-odd guests for a wonderful celebration. I hope all of you had a blessed day.

Friday long-time client Todd Preuss Ph.D. came down from Atlanta for some fly fishing. The wind was out of the north but uncharacteristically was only blowing about 10-12 mph. Using a slider Todd got two nice reds in the slot and a fat little killifish, more commonly called a mud minnow here in Florida. Never saw one taken with a fly before.

Late in the afternoon we found a bunch of seatrout on a sheltered shoreline and Todd got two on a Hot Head fly. All in all it was a real nice day.

Saturday Rob Ghini and Tammy Wilson joined me for another Mosquito Lagoon trip. The wind was still there, 10-12 out of the northwest. The slight direction change moved the fish.

We went to where the fish were on Thursday, first the redfish, then the seatrout. Neither were still there. So it was search mission time.

Rob got the first red on a Johnson Minnow while blind casting. Then I got one on a chartreuse DOA Shrimp. A while later Tammy got a trout on the DOA Shrimp.

While sight fishing across a large flat tammy spotted a small group of reds and Rob got the best fish of the day on a piece of mullet.

Tammy spotted it, Rob caught it, a true team effort. It was released.

We got a few more trout on jigs and DOA Shrimp.

It was a beautiful day but the fish were scarce. We had to work hard but we did get a few, and enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Thanks to all my fishermen this week- you were all awesome.

I sure hope the water level drops soon.

And that is this week’s 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

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

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 17, 2012 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Orlando area and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events- Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

Last week I was off on a rant about pretentious marketing for beer. A forum reader responded-
“You mention the beer label being pretentious and say it would be so even if it was on a bottle of wine. Well dear sir, beer is MUCH more complicated than wine, both in production methods and in complexity of flavor. Beer takes on a much broader spectrum of flavor and craft beer is only now beginning to be appreciated like fine wine here. Look for the price of select beers to go up up up over the next several years.

“You are right in saying marketing has taken a turn for the worse, with many beers being overpriced and severely overhyped. In some cases you can go to a limited release and buy a bottle for $20, then turn around and sell it to some ebay collector for $100+, I’ve seen some local cigar city beers go for $350 per bottle. Keep in mind most wines are incredibly easy to make and materials cost is less than beer, but they sell for much more due to the stigma of being a high brow beverage.”

And there you have it. I appreciate the response, sir.

Fishing, oh yes. For a lot of folks fishing and beer go together. But on to the Mosquito Lagoon fishing report…

On a windy Sunday fly fisher JB Walker joined me for a day on Mosquito Lagoon. We had sun a good part of the day and saw reasonable numbers of redfish, including a 20 pound class fish and a school of about 50 or 60 fish. Neither hung around very long. The fish were not bitey at all, very spooky actually.

JB got one small one which we both worked very hard to get. It was a tough day.

Alex and I joined birthday girl Tammy Wilson (now 29) for some kayak fishing on Tuesday. Overcast made it tough to see, except for the rolling tarpon. I got two bites (they weren’t very bitey, either) and caught one.

This tarpon fell victim to a small polar fibre minnow.

Alex fooled three, hooked one, landed none. Tammy got one (in her words) “pecker trout.” I imagine that means it was monstrous.

We watched an eagle harass a flock of hundreds of coots. They were fleeing for their lives and the volume of the sound they made flapping was remarkable. The eagle left them alone after a while. The whole thing was very cool, unless you were one of the coots.

Overcast again on Wednesday morning. I went running along the Florida Trail. There was a new sign that said “panorama parking .4 mi.” Not having seen too many panoramas along there I went to check it out. There were eleven turkeys in the field when I got to its edge. They saw me and left in a hurry, but again, very cool.

Several whitetails were also spooked by my passing.

Birthday girl Tammy (she’s birthday girl for the week) met me for a Banana River Lagoon kayak expedition on Thursday morning. It was solid overcast all day, with a wind from the northwest at 10 mph or so.

We paddled a long way without seeing anything.

One redfish actually tailed near me at one point. I tried but failed to catch it. But blind casting in that area quickly netted two other redfish (black bunny leech, #2).

Tammy bummed a leech from me and she started catching fish too. We ended up with around ten reds to about 27 inches, three snook, a half dozen trout, and a single black drum, all casting blindly with fly rods. Pretty amazing for central Florida. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me.

One of many fish fooled by a black bunny leech.

After catching a bunch of fish I pulled out and devoured my secret good luck charm.

On the way back we met kayak fishing guide Dee Kaminski. Quite a lovely woman, and a fishing guide to boot.

Friday Dr. George Yarko launched the Mitzi at River Breeze. The sun was out but the wind was honkin at about 15 out of the north. The water is too high (check the gauge here). We only saw one fish all day. George got an out of the slot red on a DOA Shrimp. I missed one strike on a Johnson Minnow. That was it for five hours of effort.

Saturday JB Walker joined me again for some fly fishing. While it was not as windy as Friday, the wind made fishing more difficult. The water is too high. We saw a marginal number of redfish but many of them weren’t spotted until we were almost on top of them. You just can’t see them in the depth of water currently there. We had a few shots but did nor get a bite.

I sure hope the water level drops soon.

Three pictures of me in one report. How scary is that? Halloween is over, John!

That is this week’s Orlando area 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 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Black drum, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, Mosquito Lagoon, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing report, redfish, tarpon, tarpon fishing