Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Gee, did the wind blow this week? Every day, most days around 20 mph. We have the Blown Out Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– 2/28-3/5 Wekiva Paint Out. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/

Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
No one has signed up yet!

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/ -One space left in the morning session.

State Forest Update-
Two weeks ago I wrote, “I wrote letters to the manager of the state forest and the commissioner of agriculture. We’ll see what they say.” I got an answer. It’s been scanned and can be seen at this link…http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/state-forest-letter/

Fishing!
The plan for Monday was to visit the Banana River Lagoon. Tom Van Horn went Sunday. His report of nasty, dirty water and hard-to-find fish saved me the trip.

Tuesday John and Sue Burns joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Yes, it was blowing. The sun kept peeking out from between the clouds. Fishing was not fabulous, and the nasty water moved into areas that had been clean last week. Damn algae.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Sue holds John’s trout. She’s a better model!

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Photographing the fishie.

John got a slot trout on a DOA Shrimp, and a nice four-pounder class fish on the RipTide Weedless Shrimp. We got several small fish on the Deadly Combo. Sue finally got a slot redfish on a DOA CAL Shad, three inch. And that was it for the day.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Sue wanted a red, and got this one.

Postponed Thursday’s trip to next week, the second time in two week’s that trip has been bounced.

Friday I got new tires for the trailer, then went to the St. Johns for some shad fishing. Bluebird sky, winds 10-15 from the north. Fly fishers, you’ll need a sinking line. The water is high, almost flooding the pastures. Two boats with fly fishers took six fish that I saw. I got three shad in four hours, using 1/16th ounce crappie jigs with one inch curly tails.

Saturday my bride brought me to the Florida Gourding Society’s Gourd Festival in Melbourne. It may sound worse than a trip to dentist, but actually it was quite fascinating, with lots of beautiful work. My shaky photos do not do it justice.

DSCN1427

Maybe I’m getting old, but it was a very worthwhile thing to do.

DSCN1428

Not a great week, but better than no cheese.

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 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Observing the heavens is one of my passions. I’ve known for years that it’s possible to see the planet Mercury with the naked eye. I could never find it- until this week. Now I’ve seen it three times. And such fishing as got done by me this week happened in the Mosquito Lagoon. Combine the two and you get the Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

For those of you who would like to observe this planet, get outside about 6-6:15 am. Look to the east and you will see a bright star above the horizon. It’s the planet Venus. Below Venus and a few degrees to the north is a much dimmer star- that’s Mercury. Check it out now while you’ve got Venus to point the way.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– 2/28-3/5 Wekiva Paint Out. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/
– Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/
– Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
– Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

State Forest Update-
Last week I wrote, “I wrote letters to the manager of the state forest and the commissioner of agriculture. We’ll see what they say.” Nothin’, yet.

Fishing!
Not fishing, but Sunday I brought my valentine to see the Big Bugs at Leu Gardens.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

BIG bugs.

Very cool exhibit in a very cool place. You’ve got a few more weeks before the bugs march off to a different venue.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

It’s a good real ants don’t get this big or we would never have made it as a species.

$10 admission per person. http://www.leugardens.org/category/events/

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Monday it blew like snot. I don’t even remember what I did.

Tuesday, a beautiful day, I spent the morning at the car dealership getting the wife’s chariot repaired. In the afternoon I did a little local exploring. Stop one was at Riverside Park in Oviedo. Several years ago son Maxx talked me into launching a canoe there (not a hard thing to do) and paddling down to SR 419. What an obstacle course. Anyway, that’s the only time I went to that park. Turns out it’s quite lovely and the Little Econ, although little more than a drainage ditch for east Orlando, actually looks quite nice coming through here. Further investigation required.

Stop two was a little pond off of Lockwood Road. Walked around it twice, the second time with a fishing rod with a plastic worm on the line. Did not get a bite. Did not see anything other than guppies.

Stop three was the Econ River Wilderness area, off Old Lockwood Road, a rather pretentious name for a 300 acre property that is certainly not a wilderness. It’s a nice enough place to go for a walk or go running though, a valuable patch of woods in an area of crowded housing developments.

Wednesday Tom Van Horn (the fishing guide, not the comedian) met me at Haulover Canal so we could do a little Mosquito Lagoon scouting. The water south of Georges Bar looks TERRIBLE, brown and turbid. Even spots that were clean a couple weeks ago look awful now. We found nothing there.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Tom Van Horn, not the comedian one.

Up by Oak Hill we found some clean water and a few fish, and managed one redfish and one seatrout each, on (not surprisingly if you read this report very often) 3″ DOA CAL Shad. Not a great day by any means, but better than no cheese.

Thursday’s charter postponed until next week because of the wind.

Friday Mr. Ryan Houlihan, a fly fisher from Virginia, met me at River Breeze. It was a tough day, with lots of clouds and considerable wind, hard for a fly fisher. Ryan missed one bite at the first spot, but most of the fish we saw we had already run over and they ignored the fly.

He missed another bite at the second spot, this one from a trout (we could see the action). None of the other fish we saw there cooperated.

We checked a couple other spots with few visible fish. At this point the clouds were pretty solid and we just couldn’t see. In the places we could see there was nothing to see. It ended up Mr. Houlihan did not get another bite and we went fishless. I don’t like that but hey, that’s fishing, especially with the fly rod.

And that is the Mercury Rising Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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  • February 2016 guide to the 5 bright planets
  • Celestial show: View Saturn, Mars, Jupiter from Science Centre’s telescopes this Saturday
  • The Planets Are About to Align

Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Rodney Smith and I attended the Keep America Beautiful national conference in Orlando on Tuesday, so we have a Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Upcoming Events- Lots of ’em!
– Wekiva Paint Out, 2/28-3/5. Thirty nationally-renowned artists come here and paint our beautiful scenery for one week. They start painting on Monday, February 29th and continue through Saturday, March 5th.  The event culminates with a Gala at Wekiva Island, an event not to be missed! http://keepseminole.org/event/wekiva-paint-out/
– Ocala Outdoor Expo, 3/5 and 3/6. http://www.ocalaexpo.com/
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 5. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, March 6. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Parents Must Read This
Get a tissue because there will be tears of laughter. http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/family/25-hysterical-love-notes-from-kids-who-are-just-a-little-too-honest/ss-BBoUcIt

Fishing!
Sunday, a day I usually don’t like to fish, was a lovely day, calm and cloudy, and I did fish. My angler was Dr. Dave Harden of Orlando. We went spin fishing for trout and reds and did pretty well. My lures of choice were the DOA CAL shad and the DOA 3″ Shrimp. Dr. Dave used a 1/8th ounce jig with a 4″ shad tail. A half dozen reds and about 20 trout were boated, several slot fish of each. Sight fishing was difficult due to the clouds but we did sight cast to several fish and caught a few of them. Good day.

Monday Dr. Aubrey Thompson, a fly fisher from Jacksonville, came down for some Mosquito Lagoon fly fishing. It was mostly cloudy with almost no wind and we ran over fish all day, very frustrating. Aubrey got three fish altogether, a nice trout and a couple of rat reds, on a fly he calls the neutralizer http://www.danblanton.com/blog/red-meat-neutralizer-fly-tying-instructions-by-lee-haskin/. We saw quite a few fish but almost all of them were after we ran them over- nary a tailer did we see. Stupid, uncooperative fish! That’s fishin I guess.

Tuesday Rodney and I attended the Keep America Beautiful conference. I knew almost nothing about them but it’s an amazing, important organization. Read the blog I wrote about it here… http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/keep-america-beautiful/

Wednesday- honey-dos! ’nuff said.

Thursday Tammy and I tried to go bass fishing. I say tried to because the 20 mph winds interfered with our boat handling and casting. We gave up fishless after a couple of hours. Tammy said there are shad from the Mullet Lake all the way to SR 50.

Friday’s 20 mph winds and 60 degree high temperature discouraged me from fishing. I thought about shad fishing, but ended up going walking/running through the state forest, on the Florida Trail.

Welcome to the State Forest

Welcome to the State Forest.

 

This is what it looked like before.

This is what it looked like before.

 

This is what it looks like now.

This is what it looks like now.

 

Before.

Before.

 

Now. Note the Florida Trail blaze on one of the survivor trees.

Now. Note the Florida Trail blaze on one of the survivor trees.

 

Before.

Before.

 

Now.

Now. Am I being too sensitive here?

 

Or do you find this appalling too?

Or do you find this appalling too? Someone is not keeping America beautiful!!!

Someone has clearcut a sizeable section of the woods between Snow Hill Road and Brumley Road. You walk along these nice mud bridges through some lovely woods, right into an ugly wound, a clearcut. What is up with that?
I see some letters being generated, because I’m kind of upset. The Little Big Econ state forest is NOT keeping America beautiful.

And that is the Keep America Beautiful Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Seatrout Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Seatrout Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Seatrout like this are the main subject of this week’s Mosquito Lagoon Fishing report.

Upcoming Events
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

Unrelated to fishing but supercool, read about the entire universe captured in a single image here…

Universe1

Fishing!
My honey-dos, although not completely finished, temporarily wrapped up Thursday about noon. FINALLY! I hitched the trailer of the Bang-O-Craft to the van and drove to the Kennedy Point ramp, cautiously optimistic.

The water looked like s–t.

I rode around the Indian RIver Lagoon for two hours looking for some reasonably clean water, without success. Places that were crystal clear a few weeks ago were horribly dirty now. I did not even pick up a fishing rod, put the boat back on the trailer, and drove home.

Friday I went to the Mosquito Lagoon for some serious scouting. The water there is still pretty dirty but way better than the IRL. That water is still unseasonably high. I guess with the ice caps melting I should get used to the new normal.

I saw a few reds, even a couple tailers, did not get one. Saw another boat get a couple, though, just beating the shoreline blindly.

Using my fish finder, the DOA Deadly Combo, I found trout in several places. About one in six was a legal fish, although I released everything. It was encouraging to see a few reds and to catch quite a few trout.
To flush the motor I stopped at CS Lee Park on the way home. Reid Martin was there. He had gotten five shad in the St. Johns, up near Puzzle Lake, along with a four pound largemouth that took his shad fly. Good to see some shads showing up!

Saturday I went scouting again, using the Mitzi, bringing a childhood friend along, Mr. Kevin Linehan. Kevin was never much of a fisherman, so he just went for the ride and to get out. We had some good reminisces!

Blind casting with the 3″ DOA CAL Shad I got a few reds. I wouldn’t call it hot fishing but if you work it you might get a few. The trout on the Deadly Combo was a pretty sure thing, though. We kept one for Kevin’s dinner.

Saturday night my phone rang. Qi Guojung wanted me to take him and his friends fishing the next morning. Sure thing!

So Sunday, instead of watching playoff football I had a boat full of Chinese men out on Mosquito Lagoon. Due to a language barrier we didn’t converse much, although they certainly talked a lot. But I couldn’t understand them. They LOVED the Deadly Combo. They caught a lot of trout, and ended getting eleven legal fish, no big ones, 15-18 inch trout. They had a great time, and so did I. Xia xia!

And that is the Seatrout Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

Two Redfish Orlando Fishing Report

Yes, we did fish this week, three days. No, we did not catch a lot of fish. We got a total of two redfish, thus the Two Redfish Orlando Fishing report.

Upcoming Events

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

-Brevard County Oyster Restoration- the Brevard Oyster Restoration Project has an ongoing need for volunteers. If you care about the health of the Indian River Lagoon, this is a way to show it. Nothing we can do for water quality in the lagoon will be more valuable then restoring water filtration into this ecosystem. I’m signed up for January 15, and hope to see some of you there. http://brevardoystergardens.org/volunteer/?sheet_id=24

A GREAT Idea- You know about electricity, but what about ‘hydricity?’

The new word in solar energy is “hydricity.”

An international team of scientists has come up with a way that can make solar power a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week energy source: Combining the power of the sun with clean-burning hydrogen fuel.

Hydricity combines hydrogen production with a solar thermal power plant’s utility-scale electricity production. During the day excess electricity is used to produce hydrogen by running an electric current through water.

The hydrogen that is produced during the day would be used at night to produce electricity through highly efficient fuel cells that emit water vapor. The technology would be crucial for countries looking to increase reliance on solar energy in the wake of last week’s climate deal in Paris.

The scientists, from Purdue University and Switzerland’s Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, say the process they are pitching can produce hydrogen at an efficiency of 50 percent and electricity at an unprecedented 46 percent efficiency.

“The concept provides an exciting opportunity to envision and create a sustainable economy to meet all the human needs including food, chemicals, transportation, heating and electricity,” said Rakesh Agrawal from Purdue. “Traditionally, electricity production and hydrogen production have been studied in isolation, and what we have done is synergistically integrate these processes while also improving them.”

The group’s work has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I hope it works!

——————

Clean Water

It’s incredibly sad that I am the only fishing guide in Florida to have signed this letter…   Where are my colleagues on this???

—————–

Another Blogger

Not to be outdone by me, Mike Conneen has published a real nice blog about our trip to Louisiana, at this link…

—————–

Fishing!

In spite of the fact the gauge read 1.6 I tried kayak fishing again in Mosquito Lagoon on Tuesday. Within the first ten minutes I saw fin tips barely breaking the surface right against the shoreline. I dropped the fly (the same Bouncer Fly I was using last week) in front of him and twitched it once. The fish struck so hard it pulled the rod out of my hand, something that has never happened to me before.

orlando fishing report

The Bouncer Fly. Click on the image for more information!

I got it anyway! Never panic! It was a handsome redfish, seven or eight pounds. No photos- the world does not need more selfies of me with a redfish, at least not this week.

I got to the spot I wanted to check. The water was the color of butterscotch. It was a short check.

I went back where I got the first fish and explored around. I had three good shots. One fish spooked off the fly. One fish either didn’t see it or was completely disinterested, as there was no response whatsoever. The last one ate the fly and I got him too, a clone of the first one. Did not photograph him either. So I got two fine redfish on a Bouncer Fly, not bad for a cloudy, windy day with high, dirty water.

Wednesday about noon found me launching the kayak in the Econlockhatchee. Someone, probably the river itself, dropped a gum tree all the way across the river just downstream of the bridge. How inconvenient.

I tossed that Bouncer Fly for two hours without a touch. Nothing was moving. The whole place just looked dead. I thought about it a while, and decided to bag it. No sooner had I started back then I ran over a bass.

I cut the streamer off and tied on a gurgler. Five seperate fish made attempts to eat the counterfeit. This reporter missed all of them, although I believe four of them were sunfish. Since I had to cook dinner, the ‘yak was back on the chariot at 4 PM. The whole episode reeked skunkily, I say.

Thursday morning found me and Tammy launching the Mitzi at Mullet Lake Park, Tammy’s favorite early season shad spot. Whether we were too early or too late I don’t know, but there were no shad there. There was not much else that was biting either, although we saw quite a few big gar. In four hours we got one redbelly between us. Tammy got it on a white crappie jig. I was skunked again, second straight day. Ouch.

orlando fishing report

This noble fish kept the skunk off of Tammy. I, however, reeked again.

And that is the Two Redfish 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Two Bites Orlando Fishing Report

Two Bites Orlando Fishing Report

Kayak fishing two days this week I managed two bites, thus the Two Bites Orlando FIshing Report.

Those readers who do not subscribe and have wondered where I’ve been, my last two reports came from Louisiana and can be accessed here: –http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/venice-la-fishing-report-and-photo-essay/

http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/the-rest-of-the-kayaking-louisiana-fishing-report-a-photo-essay/

Lots of photos, not much text.

Upcoming Events

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

Fishing!

Mike Conneen and I got back from Louisiana Sunday night. Unpacking etc. took place Monday. Photo work and thank yous took place Tuesday. Errands happened Wednesday. There were more errandy things to do Thursday, but it was so nice out I tossed a kayak on the roof of the van and went to the Indian River Lagoon.

Fishing was not hot. I saw a handful of fish. Incredibly, one was tailing and rooting around. Using advanced hoping-for-the-best skills, I tossed a black bendback out where I guessed the fish would be. It was quite a surprise when the line came tight!

A bigger surprise was the size of the fish. It was pushing 20 pounds, a real nice fish. Welcome home!

orlando fishing report

A nice result for one cast.

After a couple photos the fish swam off.

I made one cast, and got one fish. A good afternoon’s work!

After more errands on Friday I decided to try fishing out of River Breeze on Saturday. The water is still a foot higher than I like it, and it’s still real dirty. Expectations were low.

A total of seven redfish were seen, most close enough to be touched by the paddle. I got one shot and hooked and caught the fish. The fly was a Bouncer Fly, shown to me last summer in Alaska by the developer, Steve Duckett. This red was much more modest size-wise than Thursday’s fish but almost as satisfying emotionally. Again, a couple photos and off it went.

orlando fishing report

Battling the beast.

I made one cast, and got one fish. A good afternoon’s work!

orlando fishing report

The Bouncer Fly, a great idea I did not think of.

And that is the Two Bites 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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  • Fish Pop in Ocean Drop 50% from 1970

Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

This is the Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report. Winds in excess of 20 mph were a persistent weather feature this week.

Best wishes to all for a fantastic Thanksgiving. In spite of all the craziness in the world, we all have so much to be thankful for. Make some time to think about it. You’ll feel better afterwards.

Upcoming Events

-Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival- the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States! January 20-25 at Eastern Florida State College – Titusville campus, 1311 North US 1, Titusville. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

The Contest from Two Weeks Ago

Two weeks ago I asked what a Button Trout was. Because no one responded I forgot to address it last week. I got this information

orlando fishing report

A solid trout at 26 inches. It could be a button trout!

from a Mosquito Beaters book at the Florida Historical Society:  In 1951 Field and Stream magazine offered as a prize a lapel button which was a replica of a spotted sea trout. To get one you had to land a trout in excess of six pounds and have it weighed at an official weigh station, which in Cocoa was Gary Bennett’s Bait and Tackle. So many of the “button” trout were caught here that Cocoa became known as  “Saltwater Trout Capital of the World.”

So the Button Trout is any in excess of six pounds. I get a free copy of my book!

The Weatherman Strikes Again-

A section of the Pacific Ocean has recorded its highest temperatures ever, raising fears of prolonged droughts and flooding as a result of what may be the strongest El Niño in 15 years.

A band of water in the central Pacific registered at 85.5°F (29.7°C) over the course of one week — over 5 degrees warmer than usual and higher than ever previously recorded, USA Today reported on Tuesday.

Temperature readings suggest this year’s El Niño — a weather phenomenon caused by unusually warm water in the Pacific and that results in extreme weather patterns across the tropics and sub-tropics — could become among the strongest in recorded history. The phenomenon is expected to strengthen through to the end of the year and could have devastating consequences around the world.

Fishing!

On Monday Koji and Hiro, fly fishers from Japan, joined me for some fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. They told me the previous day they had gone wading out of Parking Lot 5 at the New Smyrna end of Canaveral National Seashore and had caught several seatrout and redfish, blind casting in the dirty water.

I should have gone there.

An east wind in the 15 mph range pretty much kept us pinned to the east shoreline. The first few spots we went to had very dirty water. Places that last week had been moderately clean were dirty enough now you couldn’t see the bottom. We did, however, see the alligator that follows you around, and a lot of manatees. But any fish we saw we had almost run over and they were already on their way out of Dodge.

Across from Port St. John the water looks beautiful, the way it should look. Sadly there are very few fish there.

We only had a handful of shots all day, none of which converted. Koji got two redfish by blindcasting. Placed end-to-end, they may have made one legal fish. That was it for the day.

The condition of that lagoon breaks my heart. It’s such a fantastic place and we are just destroying it.

Tuesday it was blowing 20+.

Wednesday it was blowing 20+.

Thursday it was blowing 20+.

I did not fish those days, but did do quite a bit of research and writing. I need to go fishing soon!

Friday I had an appointment at the (drum roll, please) offices of the Social Security Administration in Longwood. Typically depressing government office and waiting room. I won’t be retiring any time soon, if ever.

Did more writing and research in the afternoon.

I’ll spend the weekend getting ready for Turkey Day.

And that is this week’s Blown Out Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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  • Are You Ready for El Nino? Prepare Your House and Save

An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

An Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

Fishing!

This is a very Undistinguished Orlando Fishing Report. I fished three days this week. I’m in the middle of a writing project that’s taking some time.

Some friends went fishing on the Econ Saturday last week and did well, so I tried it on Monday. It was a beautiful day on the river. My friends were throwing plastic worms. I was using a fly rod. A popper garnered two strikes in two hours, so I switched to a matuka streamer. The sunfish loved it, but it kept hanging up and ended up losing it. I tried another, larger streamer and it also kept hanging up. Frustrated, I went back to the popper and got three bass (small ones) in 20 minutes, then nothing else.

orlando fishing report

The first redfish we got.

Tuesday Tom Van Horn and I went out of Port Canaveral in the Mitzi. We fished in the Bight for a while without success, then found a school of pogies and fished under them with live mullet on a slip-sinker rig. We killed six bluefish and released at least that many redfish. Fishing was pretty hot there for a few hours.

orlando fishing report

The first redfish Tom got. There were enough around that we had a couple doubles. Show that fish some love!

Wednesday I smoked the bluefish. Smoked fish dip, coming right up!

Friday’s plan was to take son Alex fishing. Alex would not and did not get out of bed. I wrote for a while, then drove to Orlando. A friend had a canoe at his condo, against the HOA rules, and wanted it out of there. I got it, an OT Sport 14. We went to the Econ for a test drive. The boat is fat, heavy, slow, and stable (a good thing), although apparently it has an attractive price point. Two bass and a stumpknocker fell for my fly rod popper in about two hours.

And that is this week’s Undistinguished 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Eau Gallie River muck dreding project public meeting Nov. 12- The St. Johns River Water Management District will host a public meeting on Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. to provide an update on the status of the Eau Gallie River dredging project. The meeting location is Melbourne City Hall, 900 E. Strawbridge Ave.

IRL Paddle Adventure 2015 – Paddle A Portion, November 14. Paddle a portion of the Indian River Lagoon!   http://www.irl-paddle-adventure.com

Ocean Reef Beach Festival- December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

Fishing!

This is a North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report. Only fished two days this week. I’m in the middle of a writing project and had the seminars on the weekend, so…

Wednesday found me on Capt. Chris Myers’s boat. He very kindly poled me around on the Indian River Lagoon for about seven hours. In that time we saw quite a few fish. They were not particularly bitey. Using DOA CAL Shad we got a few slot reds and trout. I was able to get a red of about 25 inches of a shrimp pattern with the fly rod, and followed that up with a 20″ trout on the same fly. The sea grass is disappearing again.

orlando fishing report

The Universe treated Chris and I to this.

Thursday I visited the Florida Historical Society in Cocoa to do some research. I found this image, a seatrout catch from the Banana River Lagoon. The rods look like they might be fiberglass, which means this was probably taken during the 1950s. Them there’s some Button Trout!

orlando fishing report

I was born too late!

Contest of the Week- First person to correctly tell me what a Button Trout is gets a free copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt. PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM BELOW.

Friday I thought I would try the no motor zone. The water had dropped a little bit. Maybe I could see some fish.

The water was horribly dirty. Moby Dick could have swum by and I couldn’t have seen him. It wasn’t good sight fishing weather but it would not have mattered. You could not see the bottom in eight inches of water. Heartbreaking, really, really sad. I got some pictures of the weather…

orlando fishing report

Clouds, rain, and dirty water. At least there was a rainbow (or two).

 

Same rainbow, different lens.

Same rainbow, different lens.

Saturday was the Show and Tell Seminar on the Merritt Island NWR. Four people attended. We spent the day driving around the refuge, discussing where to fish and how to get them to bite. Thanks to all the attendees! We talked to some kayak fishermen who had gotten a few redfish in spite of the dirty water.

Sunday was the Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Seminar. Dave Lair was the only attendee, and again, thanks for coming, Dave! The water in the Mosquito Lagoon looks horrible, at least as bad as the no motor zone. We watched a gentleman catch a black drum in the Haulover Canal. He already had three on a stringer.

And that is this week’s North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Happy Halloween Orlando Fishing Report

Happy Halloween Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Show and Tell Fishing Seminars
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar November 7 on the MINWR. http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar November 8, in my Mitzi. Please see this link for more information- http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

IRL Paddle Adventure 2015 – Paddle A Portion, November 14. Paddle a portion of the Indian River Lagoon! http://www.irl-paddle-adventure.com

Ocean Reef Beach Festival– December 5. The ORB returns to Pelican Beach Park, Satellite Beach. Celebrate the ocean lifestyle with exciting conservation and recreation displays, activities and hands on learning!  Food trucks, local ocean artists, live music and more! The event is free and will be held from 10am-5pm. Proceeds to benefit Surfrider Foundation and Anglers For Conservation.

Fishing!
Monday morning I launched the Bang-O-Craft at CS Lee Park and headed up the Econlockhatchee.

Keith Jones states in his excellent book Knowing Bass, “…fall bass can treat anglers to some of the most spectacular fishing of the year. …days of 50-plus bass per peron fishing crankbaits or soft plastics are not uncommon. …fall bass tend to congregate…in large packs as they prepare for migration.”

Dr. Jones was not with me on the Econ. I did not find any large packs of bass or anything else, coming up with one redbelly on a fly rod popper, one gar on a DOA CAL Shad, and hooking and losing one small bass on the same CAL Shad, in about five hours.

orlando fishing report

A large flock, nowadays.

I did find a large (for nowadays) flock of spoonbills and shot a few photos, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Fishing wasn’t very good though.

orlando fishing report

They take flight.

Thursday found me launching the Mitzi at Port Canaveral. The wind was from the west- how did that happen? I went out to sea looking for weeds and hopefully tripletail. There were very scattered weeds, and I saw about 20 tripletail, the largest of which was about seven inches long.

orlando fishing report

I was surrounded by this action.

Heading back in to the beach there were lots of diving birds. Breaking fish! I love those! Crevalle jacks in the three to four pound range were going crazy. Mixed in with them were a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Big sharks were ripping through the chaos.

orlando fishing report

The wire fly accounted for quite a few fish. Then I tried a Chug Bug, which was a no-brainer. Jacks are so aggressive on the popper. Then I tried a Floozy popper, good for only one fish. Then a Sting Silver got into the act.

orlando fishing report

File photo of jack crevalle.

By this point the novelty was wearing off, so I started heading back. Almost immediately the wind shifted and came out of the southeast, which would have shut everything down anyway.

Friday son Alex and his friend John Napolitano wanted to go jack fishing, so we went back to the Port. The wind was out of the north at about 15. We could not get near the jack spot, and by default ended up in Canaveral Bight. It was fairly slow but steady for jacks, bluefish, and ladyfish. Alex hooked a large blacktip shark, which lasted about two minutes before the shark bit off.

Then Alex got a pompano on a bucktail jig, which we will be eating tonight. Not much catch-and-release for pompano! The boat was back on the trailer at about 1:30, after a beautiful if breezy morning.

And that is this week’s Happy Halloween 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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  • International Coastal Cleanup Day is Sept. 19