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Winter Solstice Fishing Report

December 17, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Winter Solstice Fishing Report

Season’s Greetings! Thank you for reading this Winter Solstice Fishing Report. Pagans, your day is almost here! Christians, Merry Christmas! Regardless of who or what you worship, please enjoy your winter holidays safely!

Since Christmas is next Saturday, and New Year’s is the following Saturday, readers will not see another blog until about January 8. A little blogging vacation I will take!

Speaking of blogs, Patrick Young wrote an excellent guest blog for me about gifts for outdoorsmen (or women). Read it here…

Fishing, now there’s a story.

Monday I took Gary, who had a gift certificate to fish with me purchased before my retirement, fishing. I wanted to honor the certificate. We took a canoe and went to the Indian River Lagoon, where we saw exactly one redfish in six hours, and where I caught two trout that maybe I could have stretched to 15 inches. Unfortunately, Gary caught nothing. Good thing I no longer need referrals. In spite of the lack of fish it was truly beautiful out there.

It gets better.

Tuesday morning, I met Dave Caprera at Spruce Creek. I took the kayak off the car, and went to load it up. Right away I noticed that there were no paddles of any kind in the car. I’d taken out the kayak paddle Sunday while getting ready for Monday. I’d taken the canoe paddles out Monday while getting ready for Tuesday, but failed to re-insert the kayak paddle. What do they call that? Old-timer’s disease? Well, Duh…

I drove home, of course. Dave went anyway, and did not touch a fish.

Friday, I went bass fishing, by foot, with a spin rod, in the Econlockhatchee. Five fish between 12 and 14 inches on Culprit worms and 3″ Shad in five hours, with a bonus eight-inch fish thrown in too.

Exceptionally beautiful day- ya gotta love the weather this time of year. The river is still higher than I like, but it seems to be fishing ok.

As they say, that’s all she wrote. Thanks for reading!

Once again, the merriest of Christmases to all.

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

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

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

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

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Merry Christmas Fishing Report

December 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas Fishing Report

Best wishes to all my readers for a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years in this Merry Christmas fishing report!

A piece of good news came across my “desk” this week. The headline read, ‘Red Tide’ Lawsuit Launched After Feds Ignore Wildlife Harms of Lake Okeechobee Discharges. If you’re inclined to read about it, this is the link- https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/red-tide-12-19-2018.php

Fishing!

Right next to the boat ramp…

Monday I drove to Teneroc, kayak on roof. A cold front just came through. I had never been there. You know I don’t have a depth sounder. I fished two different lakes and got exactly one bite from a dink bass that jumped off.

The ramp in question.

The gentleman at the registration desk told me no one did well that day, but Tom Van Horn wanted to know how I got skunked in “the best fishing around,” as he put it. That’s fishin.

He got some bigger ones.

Tuesday Alex and I drove to Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area, two kayaks on the roof, where we met Mike Conneen, and the Queen of Farm 13, Dee Kaminski.

Long live the Queen!

The weather was awesome. The fish were biting. I got more on fly, but better average size with plastic worm. The tough decisions I have to make sometimes! That’s fishin.

There is some vegetation in the water.

 

Alex got into the act, too.

Wednesday Mr. Mitzi and I went to Mosquito Lagoon. It was good to see the old friend, even if the water still looks bad. There were redfish at the first spot I went, got one on a plastic shad. Switched to the fly rod and got one on a Seaducer and another on a slider. Went trout fishing and got many slot fish on the DOA Deadly Combo. Did not see many big trout, but that’s the worst I can say. It was a good day.

That’s the Merry Christmas 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Good East Central FLorida Fishing Report

November 11, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

A Good East Central FLorida Fishing Report

No news or announcements, so let’s get right to the Good East Central Florida fishing report!

Monday Tammy, the new Katmai Lodge fishing guide, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing aboard Spotted Tail. The weather was spectacular and we spotted tails almost immediately. Tammy made the most of the opportunty. The fly was a grizzly seaducer.

east central florida fishing report

Tailing redfish, Mosquito Lagoon

Subsequent shots did not go as well, and that was the only fish we got. We had quite a few more chances though.

east central florida fishing report

Tammy’s fly-caught redfish.

Tuesday Scott Radloff joined me for a Port Canaveral excursion.We went through $25 worth of jigs, getting cut off by fat Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

east central florida fishing report

These mackerel were going through #40 fluoro on the strike.

There were jacks and ladies, too. I pulled out a six-weight and did a litle damage with that, great fun. It was a pretty awesome day. So much so…

…that on Wednesday I returned with my two sons for a repeat performance. We found a school of eight pound jacks. Alex got one with the six-weight, using a gurgler. The whole day was pretty much a repeat of the previous one. LOTSA FISH!

east central florida fishing report

Alex used an UL spin rod…

 

east central florida fishing report

…to get this jack.

 

east central florida fishing report

Then he used the six-weight…

east central florida fishing report

 

east central florida fishing report

…to get this one.

 

east central florida fishing report

Maxx’s mackerel thrashed right onto my lens.

Thursday Shane Thomas joined me for an enhanced on-the-water Show-and-Tell seminar on Mosquito Lagoon. We enhanced it by taking an extra two hours and fishing. We did not see much other than manatees at the south end of the lagoon, but as we worked our way north tailing redfish started to show. He got one to bite a shad tail, but unfortunately missed it. We got a few short trout. Shane did claim to be on information overload by the end of the trip, something this instructor loves to hear.

That is A Good East Central FLorida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

October 13, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report

lagoons fishing report

The water was dirty in the lagoons this week, so we have a Dirty Water Central Florida Lagoons Fishing Report for you.

Upcoming Events-

-Last call for the Aloha Protect Our Waters Fundraiser! It should be called th FUN-raiser- Mai-tais, tropical cuisine, and live music highlight this event. There might be some well-known fishing personalities, too. All funds raised help support Anglers for Conservation’s youth fishing education programs. Oct 14, 3-6 PM. For more information visit www.anglersforconservation.org/pow . I hope to see you there!

-MINWR Show and Tell Fishing Seminar. Oct. 27, 830 AM. In this all-day seminar I SHOW you where to fish, and TELL you how to be successful. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar. Oct. 28. In this four hour seminar I take you out in my skiff and show you all my secrets. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

For Sale–

sailboat for sale
15 ft Sailboat for sale with trailer! Sails are 2 years old and always dried and rolled into their sailbags. Main and Jib. Great little boat for cruising or racing. Custom trailer.

Boat is ready to go right now!

Visit this link for more information! http://www.spottedtail.com/15-sailboat-for-sale/

Microadventures
Son Maxx showed me a wonderful website called The Art of Manliness. While learning how to get the savoir-faire of James Bond, I also learned of a concept called microadventures. Most folks work from 9-5. What do you do from 5-9? You could be outside, fishing, hiking, bicycling, or simply watching the sun set.

Most people’s lives could benefit from the 8 Week Microadventure Challenge. Read all about it here- https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/my-8-week-microadventure-challenge/. It could change your life for the better!

Fishing!
Monday the weatherman scared me into staying home. It was nice all day! I did learn about microadventures, though.

Tuesday, with microadventures fresh in my mind, I ignored the weatherman and went to the Econ. The gauge read just a bit under three feet, higher than I like it but lower than it’s been for the past month. With a hurricane about to blow by I figured it might go up again real fast, so I got out there.

Fly fishing with a popper netted me four species- bass, bluegill, stumpknocker, redbelly. A two-weight would have been more appropriate than the four-weight used, fish-size-wise. It was a beautiful day and the river looked great. Saw herons, ibis, kingfishers, hawks, vultures, painted turtles. Did not see snakes or alligators.

Thursday I took the Mitzi to Port Canaveral hoping to catch some mullet. The parking lot was nearly empty, never a good sign.

I could not get to the jetty because the seas were so rough.

A tour of the Port turned up zero mullet, or anything else. The Obsession and two other charter boats were trolling inside the port, though.

I pulled the boat and drove to Titusville Marina where I launched the boat among the floating dead fish. A look-see north of the railroad trestle turned up exactly four redfish. I caught a small one while blind-casting a soft plastic shad. You could hardly see the bottom because the water was so dirty. I netted a few mullet up, too.

lagoons fishing report

Friday son Alex and I took the Mitzi to River Breeze to do some scouting. The water was dirtier than it was in the Indian River. You could not see the bottom at all. It’s high, too.

lagoons fishing report

It took us a while (maybe the sun had to get high in the sky) to get down to the main basin of the lagoon. There we found a few fish. Alex got a decent red on a jerk bait, then got a nice trout, too. Dad got three dink trout.

lagoons fishing report

So the water in the lagoons is high and dirty, and fishing could be better (and it could be worse too).

lagoons fishing report

That is the Dirty Water Central Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

September 29, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

We checked out some widely spaced fishing spots again this week, with some wild goose chases tossed in for good measure. So we have a Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report for you.

Upcoming Events–


–Aloha Protect Our Waters Fundraiser! It should be called th FUN-raiser- Mai-tais, tropical cuisine, and live music highlight this event. There might be some well-known fishing personalities, too. All funds raised help support Anglers for Conservation’s youth fishing education programs. Oct 14, 3-6 PM. For more information visit www.anglersforconservation.org/pow

–MINWR Show and Tell Fishing Seminar. Oct. 27, 830 AM. In this all-day seminar I SHOW you where to fish, and TELL you how to be succesful. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

–Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar. Oct. 28. In this four hour seminar I take you ut in my skiff and show you all my secrets. For more information visit http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

On to Fishing-natti!

Monday I took the kayak up to the Tomoka River, launching at River Bend Nature Park .

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

It’s a simple launch site…

The birds were beautiful but I was not impressed by the scenery. There was very little activity in the water, and most of the fishing was in people’s back yards. They were nice back yards, but still… One micro-snook and one mudfish graced my boat during my almost four-hour-long visit. A guy with a loud weed-whacker drove me out of there. Doubt that I’d go back.

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

This beautiful mudfish was my best catch.

Stopped at Spruce Creek on the way back for a three-hour tour. Got there after noon, tide was falling. Hit a flounder almost immediately. Should have quit right there- did not get another bite. All the fish were taken on a RipTide Sardine.

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

A Fabulous Flounder on the Sardine.

Tuesday I visited my old friend the Mosquito Lagoon for a solo paddle trip. The wind was from the east, the water was dirty. I expected nothing. The first thing I found was a dead manatee.

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

The vultures are happy about this.

Wasn’t I surprised when my first two fish were snook! They were small ones, but I don’t remember ever catching two in 20 minutes there before.

I found a single (?!) black drum tailing. Could not get a shot.

Got a trout about 18” by dragging the Sardine behind me while I paddled. It was almost a cheat. All fish were released hopefully unharmed.

I spent some time wading, sight fishing for redfish. The first one I saw hit the Sardine, but I missed it. Did not get shots at the other two because I almost stepped on them. It was hard to see!

Back in the boat, ran over several single reds. Got out to wade, and here came one down the shoreline, happy and stupid, its back out of the water. Switched rods, dropped the fly in front- BAM! Nice.

Paddle Fishing Central Florida Fishing Report

It was not huge, but it did take a fly!

I have a book called A Paddler’s Guide to the Sunshine State, by Sandy Huff. In it she describes a trip on Reedy Creek. I decided I wanted to go there.

Thursday we started late, “we” being Alex and I. We got stuck in a parking lot kind of traffic jam on 417 and could not make it to Reedy Creek. We hit several retention ponds in consolation, getting thrown out of one by local law enforcement and netting three bass to three pounds.

Friday morning I decided to try Reedy Creek as a solo. It’s down by Intercession City, so it’s a drive for me. I finally find the right spot, and all access to the creek is fenced off. Even though I’m 100 yards from the water, I can’t get there. Thoroughly disgusted at this point, I just drove home and wrote this report.

And that was how my fishing week ended. I may have an interesting report next week.

And that is the Paddle Fishing Central Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

September 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

We checked out some widely spaced fishing spots this week. And the equinox is September 22! So we have an autumnal equinox mid-Florida fishing report.

For those of you who did not take my earth-space science class back when I was teaching, you can get a superior explanation of this important pagan holiday here…

Monday
Son Maxx was home from Connecticut and son Alex was home from Alaska. They wanted to go fishing, so we tied some plastic boats to the roof of my car and went to Spruce Creek. I would not say the fishing was red-hot, but there was definitely some fishing.

We got there on a low outgoing tide. Almost immediately Maxx got a flounder on a jig. It wasn’t very meaty so we released it. Then while Alex explored the islands and oyster bars near US 1, Maxx and I cruised around the margins of Strickland Bay to see what could be seen. There were some fish in the shallow water but we kept blowing them out. They were seeing us first.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

Maxx battles the beastie…

I finally spotted a redfish with its back out of the water while it was still 100 feet away. Maxx handled the fishing rod competently, and was rewarded with a nice red that took his shad bait. A short time later we found another one. Maxx hooked that one too, but it came unbuttoned on the way in.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

…and he successfully landed and released it!

In the meantime Alex had some bites and caught a few small snook with his fly rod. Then he got a redfish too.

When we got back together the tide had turned and the flow had reversed. Alex got a redfish on an articulated trout (as in rainbow trout) streamer, fishing around an oyster bar. Maxx ended up getting another red, too. So all-in-all it was a good day, if not wildly productive. The boats were back on the roof about 2 PM.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

Redfish on an articulated fly. Why? WHY, I say?

Thursday
Wednesday while looking for new places to fish I learned of Bulow Creek, near Ormond Beach. I called Alex and recruited him to explore with me the next day.

We launched the kayaks off of the side of High Bridge Road and went exploring, casting as we went. Before 10 minutes had passed I had released a 16” trout and a 12” snook, both taken on a Clouser Minnow. Changing flies did not help my luck! My total for the day would include a mini mangrove snapper and two more diminutive snook.

Alex used both a DOA Deadly Combo and the fly rod. He got the fish of the day with a 5 pound snook. I didn’t get to see it as we were not in close proximity at the time. But he did get several other fish that I did see, including the snook in the photo and a trout that was the twin of the fish I got.

Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida Fishing Report

The snook in the photo was larger than any I got.

I like the area and think it has great paddle fishing potential. It’s a long drive for us, though, so it’s not a place I would visit often. If you live up that way you might want to check it out.

Friday
I got a tip that there were tarpon around the bridges in Melbourne. Being a fool for tarpon, I planned to meet Tammy at the Front Street ramp at 0830. Surprisingly, she was a no-show.

So were the tarpon. I was not surprised at that, though.

The water didn’t look terrible and there was some bait, but I neither saw nor caught any fish. On the ride home I wanted to check the Port St. John and Kennedy Point boat ramps. Both were closed. Brevard county, you are failing your boating population by not getting these facilities open again!

And that was how my fishing week ended.

And that is the Autumnal Equinox Mid-Florida 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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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

 Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report

June 8, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report

This is a nearshore Port Canaveral fishing report, my last Florida fishing report until September. I write this on an Alaska Air Big Bird, headed to Alaska’s Katmai Lodge on the Alagnak River.

port canaveral fishing report

Tunny will shake. Tunny will bleed.

Monday Mike Conneen joined me on Spotted Tail for some spin fishing. We headed out of the Port and went off down the beach. Near the fishing grounds I threw the net once, got all the bait we might need. It’s nice when that happens!

Tunny were breaking all over the place, as were Spanish mackerel. We got a few Spanish for my aunt, then went a-tunnying.

port canaveral fishing report

Mike got this kingfish without using wire.

It was borderline ridiculous, fish breaking everywhere. We used white CAL jigs and Sting Silvers. I broke out the seven-weight and got a couple on a Bouncer streamer.

port canaveral fishing report

This was as much jump as I got.

Mike wanted a tarpon, so once our appetite for tunny was sated we went searching. We found a place with scattered rollers, and so deployed the baits, what I believe were scaled sardines. Big tunny loved them. Crevalle jacks loved them. Blacktip sharks loved them. King mackerel really loved them, cutting us off repeatedly. Mike hooked a 20 pounder on the back of the head and so landed it. I put on a stinger rig and got one about half that size.

port canaveral fishing report

Mike has the beast near the boat.

We got a lot of bites. Finally I jumped a big tarpon. One jump and it was off. I was not sorry.

By this point I was ready to head back, but Mike really wanted that tarpon, so I made one more drift. A dinosaur-sized tarpon took his bait. Let the games begin!

port canaveral fishing report

It was a BIG fish.

I did not time the length of that fight, but it was a big fish and not jumpy at all. All thoughts of heading back were gone. I stood by with the cameras, waiting for jumps that never came.

Mike finally got the fish close to the boat. I leadered it six times, the last one getting the hook back. I could not hold onto that fish though, and the photo Mike wanted so badly did not get taken.

port canaveral fishing report

Breaking fish, fly rod. Life is good.

Tuesday Tammy joined me, same time, same station. Similar action, minus the tarpon. Tammy and I were both more interested in fly fishing, and whacked more than a few Spanish macks and tunny. When the surface action slowed we deployed scaled sardines. Tunny and jacks, with sharks and king macks taking turns cutting us off.

port canaveral fishing report

Lift that fish!

We would have liked a tarpon, but there were fewer rolling and we did not jump one. It was still another ridiculously good day though.

port canaveral fishing report

Tunny will shimmy. Tunny will vomit.

 

port canaveral fishing report

This one was better behaved.

 

port canaveral fishing report

This one was well behaved, too!

Wednesday Tom Finger joined me. We ran down the beach, got the bait, went looking for breaking fish. Nothing. I had called him telling him how great it was, and now had a major sinking feeling. The bazillions of fish that had been there the previous two days were all gone.

port canaveral fishing report

Tom’s tunny. All his buddies were gone 🙁

We went out to deeper water looking for jacks, tunny, and king macks. Not much there, either. Tom got a tunny on a sardine. We missed several strikes.

Heading back north we found a sizable area of breaking Spanish macks. We each got one before they disappeared. Then lightning started flashing and we headed back to the ramp at all possible speed.

Thanks to Mike, Tammy, and Tom for sharing these days with me!

And that is my Nearshore Port Canaveral Fishing Report! Next report will be from Alaska- trout and salmon!

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, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Orlando Area Fishing Report

May 5, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

A pretty mellow week this week because I had no work :-(. This is an Orlando Area fishing report.

Monday I got a late start. How late was it? It was so late, lunch had happened first. The kayak went to the Econlockhatchee. In an unusual occurrence, it brought a spin rod. Four bass and a stumpknocker fell for a Riptide Sardine. Then the fly rod came out, which accounted for a couple more bass. All fish were modestly sized.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Stan, who could be a professional fish model, his Fenwick, and his bass.

On the way back I ran into a fly fisher named Stan Mercer. He was using an old Fenwick fiberglass rod, and almost on cue caught a bass for me to photograph.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

The redfish bit a Riptide Sardine.

Wednesday I went paddling in a place on the Indian River Lagoon I had never paddled before. To my surprise I found some clean water with sparse grass growing. There were a few redfish around (I saw ten or so), I had a few shots, and got one to bite the Sardine. O, successo! I got the fly pole out and walked 1/2 mile or so looking for a fish, but no dice.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Econlockhatchee paddler.

Thursday was Tom Van Horn’s birthday. We celebrated by floating the Econ, casting our fly poles. Tom is in Alaska training mode. The fish were not suicidal but came steadily- bass, bluegills, redbellies, stumpknockers. Tom was using a foam mouse, I a small popper. They seemed to work equally well.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Econlockhatchee fly fisher.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

The ferocious stumpknocker. If these things hit ten pounds, nothing near the water would be safe.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Tom’s birthday present.

Friday Scott Radloff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon exploration from the Mitzi. We found some small patches of clean water and some redfish, and Scott caught one. We found some spots that had nothing, and other spots where the fish were sparse. We saw a few tailing fish. All things considered, I saw more fish this day than the entire year prior combined, very encouraging.

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Radloff hooked up. You can actually see the bottom.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

About to boat the beast.

 

Orlando Area Fishing Report

O, successo!

And that is the Orlando area 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, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hail Yes Florida Fishing Report

March 25, 2018 by · 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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Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

January 20, 2018 by · 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!

orlando fishing report

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: , , , , , , ,
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