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North Indian River Lagoon System Fishing Report

November 12, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

North Indian River Lagoon System Fishing Report

Lagoon sunrise.

Thank you for reading this North Indian River Lagoon System Fishing Report.

Got out three days last week, even worked on one of them. Fished in both the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon.

Saturday there was a book signing at Kayaks by Bo. I’d like to thank those people who came out for making time in their day.

For those who were unable to make it to the book signing, Fishing Florida by Paddle is available here- http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

I have a copy of the 1971 Professional Guide’s Manual written by George Leonard Herter for the North Star Guide Association. An excerpt is printed below-

Having done this numerous times, I suggest you use a forceps instead of fingers to hold the fly. That steam is hot!

Fishing!
Monday
Make hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes. The weather was nice so with a kayak on the roof I drove to the Indian River Lagoon, place I hadn’t fished in a long time. It wasn’t great. The water is high and not very clean. There were not a lot of fish around. I did manage to get a redfish (soft plastic shad, 3”) that I was able to sightfish (shoreline fish) and 15 or so trout to about 4 pounds on the same lure cast blindly. Got caught in the afternoon rain. Warm and gentle, the rain was surprisingly pleasant.

Wednesday
Was getting ready to go scout Mosquito Lagoon, and asked Susan if she wanted to go. She wasn’t out of bed yet so it was a surprise when she said yes.

We launched the Mitzi at Beacon 42 about 930. The color of the water caused a great deal of dismay. The trolling motor kept hitting the bottom- I could not see it.

I saw and got nothing at spot one. On the way to spot 2 she wanted to see the pelicans, so we got as close as legally allowed. While she watched the birds I threw a DOA Deadly Combo a few times and got a 20” trout. Into the livewell it went!

At spot 3 I got two more trout, both released, on the plastic shad. Then I cleaned the first trout and we went to Goodrich’s. https://www.goodrichseafoodandoysterhouse.com They cooked the fish for us and served it with slaw, hush puppies, and sweet potato fries. Yum-meeeeee! The boat sat noticeably lower in the water on the return trip to the boat ramp!

The water is high and horribly dirty. The Indian River doesn’t look great but it’s way better then Mosquito Lagoon.

orlando fishing charter

Thursday
Charlie and Crystal joined me for some IRL fishing. We started at Parrish Park at 7 AM. The first bite, a trout, took about 45 minutes. We got ten or so fish over the next hour or so, all on plastic shad, healthy trout with a rat red and a junior snook thrown in. Then it went d-e-d.

A couple location changes failed to improve our luck.

I didn’t want to run to a new spot late in the day but did anyway. There were trout there and we got a dozen or so before we were done. The boat was back on the trailer about 330.

And that is this week’s north Indian River Lagoon System Fishing Report. Thanks for reading!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

Purchase 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

November 2, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

North Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

Fished four days this week on the Indian River Lagoon. It was good! Fished one day on the Banana River Lagoon. It was a pleasant paddle.

Upcoming Events
On November 9 starting at noon, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville is having a “Meet the Author”/book signing with John Kumiski. His new book, Fishing Florida by Paddle, is now available!

For those unable to make it to the book signing, Fishing Florida by Paddle is available here- http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

Bugs- The Forgotten Food
I have a copy of the 1971 Professional Guide’s Manual written by George Leonard Herter for the North Star Guide Association. An excerpt is printed below-

Try an insect next time you’re hungry!

Fishing!
Monday
Itching to get out again, I tied a kayak to the roof of the chariot. My destination, picked more-or-less at random, was the Indian River Lagoon. Due to the water quality I have not fished there much in the past several years.

I got there just as the sun was appearing. The water’s surface was smooth and shiny. Barred owls hooted. Mosquitos bit me. To my complete surprise, jacks were going off all over the place. Haven’t seen that in the river in way too long. Got in the boat, started paddling, started casting a popper.

Got a jack of a pound or so. Got a trout, somewhat smaller. Ran over a pair of tailing reds. The jacks were not very interested in my popper, which was strange.

Changed flies to a small white streamer. Stood up and started looking. The water wasn’t clean, but it wasn’t algae nasty either. I could see the bottom as long as I stayed shallow. There were a lot of mullet around.

I started seeing trout. At first they were too close when I’d spot them, but as the sun got higher I was able to sight fish them.

Every good presentation got a fish. It was uncanny. The fish were all nice ones, 20-24 inches. Got a slot red for good measure. Off the water at noon, it was a heck of a morning.

Tuesday
Weather holding, went to a different area on the IRL, launching the kayak around 1030. The water was dirty. Kept paddling until it cleared up, then started looking.

There were more redfish and fewer trout at this place. There was more wind, too, which made fishing harder. I tried wading but couldn’t see anything.

I had five good shots at slot reds. Only one ate, a fly without a name.

I saw a fish and dropped a grizzly seaducer on it. It took, I struck and missed. It swam right under the kayak and sat there. I dropped the fly back in its face. I was fairly shocked when it ate again. I released it a few minutes later. It was a big trout, every bit of 26 inches.

Ended up doing well again, another great day.

Wednesday
Tammy and I were there at first light. The jacks were not there but the mosquitoes and no-see-ums were. They tore us up.

Forecast called for wind and clouds so I brought a spin and fly rod. Never touched the fly pole.

Tammy tossed a 5.5” jerk bait. I tossed a DOA Shrimp. I caught more fish, she got better quality. I did not get a red, but she got two. I got a pompano, a flounder, and a sea robin in addition to numerous trout to about 22 inches. Among other things, she got a trout about 28 inches.

Another awesome day.

Thursday


Tom Van Horn and I launched the Mitzi for some serious IRL scouting. We covered miles of shoreline, finding trout, black drum, and redfish, and hooking two snook. We could not get the drum to bite any of our soft plastics; however, the trout and reds were reasonably compliant. In most places the water was reasonably clean. Some green stuff, not seagrass, has started growing on the bottom in some places.

Fishing was never hot, but it was pretty steady all day. We did pretty well.

Saturday
Last time I went to the Banana River Lagoon I said to myself, “It will be a long time before I come back here.” I tried it today. The water is better than it was but you really can’t see the bottom. Of course the water is still pretty high. Other than a few mullet I saw no fish, got no bites. Did see one dolphin and one manatee. You know it’s a bad sign when you show up on a Saturday with nice weather and no one else is there.

And that is this week’s north Indian River Lagoon 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Around Central Florida Fishing Report

September 13, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Around Central Florida Fishing Report

I fished in three different places early in the week, giving me an around central Florida fishing report.

Sunrise was spectacular.

Sunday morning I hauled meself out of bed and drove to Playalinda, watching lightning play between the clouds as I drove. Armed with a stripping basket and an eight-weight fly rod loaded with an intermediate line, my first thought on seeing the surf in the dawn’s gloaming was, “I can’t fly fish in that.” It turns out I was wrong.

“I can’t fly fish in that!”

Observation- that 50 foot cast that looks so great on a stream or pond looks terribly short in the ocean.

Sunrise was spectacular. But there was no bait. No birds were working. I parked at lot 1 and worked most of the way to the fence, tossing a 3/0 electric sushi. Not a tap did I get.

He had just as much success as I did.

Near the boardwalk a guy was bait fishing. He had just as much success as I did, at least while I was there. That wasn’t very long. I was home before church got out.

*****

Monday Scott Radloff joined me for a Mitzi trip out of Port Canaveral. We launched the boat before 8 AM, heading south to see what we could see. The water was dirty. A few pelicans circled lazily, diving every now and then.

For about a mile north of CB pier the surf was loaded with mullet. We saw a few busts in there. I netted some of the lisa. We impaled a couple on hooks and tossed them out, freelining and dragging them behind us while using the trolling motor. This lasted 40 minutes or so, when I ran out of patience.

We ran most of the way to the CB steeple, saw nothing. I turned left and headed out a couple miles. The sea was flotsam free. We saw nothing in the way of fish.

I turned left and headed for the cape shoals. We saw nothing. The water did get a lot cleaner north of the buoy line.

The water along the beach on the way back to the port had a few schools of finger mullet. We saw a couple small busts in one that I suspect were ladyfish. We did not get a bite.

We saw a small manta ray within a stone’s throw of the beach. He was lonely.

We saw a barracuda within a stone’s throw of the beach. He ignored our offerings.

Back at the ramp I saw and talked to Fred Cisnero. He had not gotten a bite either.

*****

Tuesday morning I drove up to Spruce Creek, launched the kayak about 8 AM. It was a slack high tide, pretty much the worst tide possible for fishing there. The odd mullet jumped happily. Other than that the water surface was almost a mirror.

I started with the six-weight. On my leader was a size one electric chicken colored synthetic minnow, EP-style. About an hour in I found some baby tarpon rolling, quite a few of them. I got only two responses to my casts, both negative.

I changed to a black and purple version of the same pattern. That got no response at all.

Since I had a spin rod, I tried a plastic shad. Nothing.

Near noon some busting fish attracted my attention. A Chug Bug elicited strikes but no hookups. I switched to a Deadly Combo. That resulted in a rat red, a snooklet, and a crevalle of about one pound, all within a 10-minute span. Hey, yay, the skunk was off!

Shortly after this I loaded up the boat and drove home, stopping at River Breeze and Beacon 42 on the way. The water is high and looks dirty. Perhaps I will venture out there next week, if the new storm misses us.

Errands and weather kept me off the water the rest of the week. Humberto, go away!!!

I have a new book coming out! Please tell your friends! It’s a guide book to fishing Florida by paddle craft. Click this link for more information!

That’s this week’s Around 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Father’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

June 16, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Father’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Father’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report! And to all you dads, Happy Father’s Day! I just spent my morning cutting grass.

FISHING

Tuesday
The skiff was not available while the trailer was being repaired. So early Tuesday morning I met Bob Reed at Snow Hill road for some Econlockhatchee fly fishing.

It’s been raining a lot. The river was blown out. So we just went home.

Once home I checked the gauge – it was over 5 and still rising. The river won’t fish for a while.

Friday
Ed Wasicki joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. We did not stay anywhere long. There were several places to check before the storms started. But I got a slot red, and Ed lost one. Ed also got a couple nice trout, one well over 20 inches. And there were a few dinker trout too. We were off the water a little after noon. The skies opened up shortly afterwards.

Saturday
Sebastian Fasanello, a fly fisher from Buffalo, joined me on Mosquito Lagoon. We went to a spot, fished tailing redfish all morning (!), and then left at 11 AM.

Hadn’t seen this in quite a while!

Sebastian boated three slot fish and missed a couple strikes. The fly of choice was a black and purple streamer. It was a pretty awesome morning!

Sebastian was happy with his redfish!

I have a lot of non-fishing things to do this week. There may not be a report next week.

That’s this week’s Father’s Day Mosquito Lagoon 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

A Short East Central Florida Freshwater Fishing Report

May 4, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

A Short East Central Florida Freshwater Fishing Report

Only got out two days this week. Thank you for reading this short East Central Florida freshwater Fishing Report!

FANTASTIC OFFER
We are still running the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
-Flyrodding Florida Salt
-How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
-Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks until June 15. Act now!

MONday
Launched the kayak at Buck Lake on a stunning morning. I miss all the weeds that supposedly did not get sprayed. Fly fished for a couple hours without success, so switched to a Culprit worm. It wasn’t great, but it did take six or seven bass to about three pounds. Was done by noon.

Another kayaker told me he got about a dozen fish to over four pounds on soft plastics. Good morning if he was being honest.

Tuesday
Beautiful weather again! With the gauge reading 0.9 I launched the kayak on the Econ. Three hours of fly casting with a Krebs popper netted a single bass of maybe 10 inches, one small spotted gar, and two stumpknockers. Again I switched to a plastic worm. After noon it started working pretty well, and although I saw a couple fish in the four-to-five pound range my best was only about 14 inches.

On the paddle back I saw a bunch of bedding redbellies and switched the fly to a foam spider. I got only one nice one.

Since May Day was this week, I have started gathering my belongings for this summer’s trip to Alaska. I need to buy a gold pan and some hot pink chenille.

Great fly for hot silvers…

That’s this week’s East Central Florida Saltwater 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

April 27, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report

With the nice weather this week we got out several times and fished around. Thank you for reading this East Central Florida Saltwater Fishing Report!

FANTASTIC OFFER
We are still running the book offer- three of my book titles are now available for five cents each, only from my website. Thanks to all of you who have already taken advantage!
-Flyrodding Florida Salt
-How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System
-Fishing Florida’s Space Coast
Shipping is still $5.95 each. The mailers cost money, the post office wants a cut, and the mail boy has to bring the package to the post office. But you can have each of these titles delivered to your door for six bucks until June 15. Act now!

My current reading material is Basin and Range, by John McPhee (If it’s by McPhee you know it will be good!), a book about the geology of the southern Rocky Mountains. For a while I’ve been upset about rampant development and the loss of fisheries habitats. This book put everything in its proper perspective though.

Geologically speaking, in less than the blink of an eye we and all our works will be a part of the fossil record. Plastic lasts 500 years in the environment. What’s that to the earth? A little lava here, and little magma there, some erosion, some deposition, and all that stuff will be gone. REALLY gone.

The ocean will clean up the Indian River Lagoon, and the Everglades, and everything else, and some new specie will be running things. So everything’s good, unless you are a Homo sapiens. Because of their behavior as a species, their outlook is pretty bleak. They are nowhere near as smart as they think they are.

FISHING!

Sunday-
Carey and Joey Cordell, father and son, joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. The weather was amazing. We tossed soft plastics all day. The fish came in fitfully, and they were all small- four reds and maybe a dozen trout. We had a few shots at sight-fished, uncooperative reds, getting only one in spite of some ace casting by Joey.

The reds were small, but not this small.

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen!

MONday
Launched the Mitzi at Port Canaveral- love the new construction there by the boat ramp!- and went up into the Bight. Again the weather was amazing. There were loads of fish along the beach- five-pound crevalle swimming near the surface in big schools, some bluefish, and quite a few Spanish mackerel. Got the fly rod and did some jack damage with a popper, great fun. Got some macs on streamers.

I love jacks! Jack damage via a Krebs popper.

After getting my fill of the smaller fish I went looking for cobia, tripletail, etc. Zero success with that, though.

Macs on streamers, too.

Tuesday
Beautiful weather again! Took Shawn Healy out after telling him how great it was Monday. Of course it was not at all great on Tuesday. We worked it hard for four hours with spin tackle, to the tune of three mackerel, two jacks, and one ladyfish. Slow fishing but better than no cheese.

Thursday
Took a kayak and a fly rod out on the Indian River with low expectations. They were met! Found a small clump of black drum. They would not play, even with a crab fly. Saw two redfish, did not get a shot. Got a skunk-busting ladyfish, blind-casting with a streamer. Was loaded up by noon.

That’s this week’s East Central Florida Saltwater 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Tax Day Central FLorida Fishing Report

April 14, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Tax Day Central FLorida Fishing Report

Happy Tax Day to everyone, especially the CPAs. Thank you for reading this Tax Day Central FLorida fishing report.

Cartoon of the Week-

 

FISHING!

MONday Tired of not getting bites, decided to try something different. Loaded the bicycle and a spin rod into the car. Drove to a park. Unloaded the bicycle and fishing rod, wired the rod to the bike. Put hooks and purple plastic worms into my pocket and rode into the woods to a spot I’d been to only once before. Did not carry a camera.

Found the stream, surrounded by second growth cypress. The woods glowed a lovely spring green. Was not encouraged by the appearance of the stream- small, shallow, overgrown, hardly any current. Tossed a worm into a little hole. BAM! Two pound bass.

Under the trees the woods were dark, and other than the songs of birds, quiet. The air smelled sweetly. Lizard’s tail (https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/saururus-cernuus/) was blooming. I found some old footprints but did not see anyone else. Only three pieces of trash were noted.

Lizard’s Tail, Saururus cernuus

The bass attacked that worm like they were starving. At one spot got three two-pounders on three casts without moving my feet. Don’t recall that ever happening anywhere with bass. I didn’t get any bigger than about two and a half pounds, but didn’t get any smaller than one pound. Got 25 or 30, enough to wear most of the skin off my left thumb. The fish were beautiful, healthy, fat. Almost black they were so dark. Even got a mudfish, a personal favorite. In a way the tiny creek reminded me of brook trout fishing in my youth.

Had a pair of otters swim almost right up to me. We observed each other for a couple minutes. I asked them how they were doing. They responded by swimming around and away. They looked like they were enjoying themselves too.

To illustrate just how good it was, after I loaded up the car and started driving home, it started to rain. Perfect timing, too! God smiled on me on Monday.

Would love to go back. Tiny spots like that are delicate, though. It will be quite a while before I return.

Thursday loaded up the expedition kayak (Prowler 15) and went to Spruce Creek, which is not much of an expedition. The boat handled beautifully. Fishing was slow. Got a decent trout (18”?), a smallish crevalle, and a flounder. Hooked and lost a beefier jack. That was it. Didn’t see much other than fishermen. Quite a few of those.

Friday Tom Van Horn joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon flats fishing. The wind was stiff from the south. We could not find any clean water, saw exactly two redfish. Did not get a shot, did not hit a fish blind casting the plastic shad. A juvenile blue crab pinched my line and was brought into the boat, our only animate catch. Does that chase the skunk away??

That’s this week’s Tax Day 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Slow Fishing Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 16, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Slow Fishing Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this slow fishing Mosquito Lagoon fishing report. There’s a little Econlockhatchee River tossed in, too.

Blog Posts This Week– http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/an-anglers-journal-a-review/

Upcoming-
–Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar, March 23. An all-day fishing seminar that takes place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

–On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 24. Fun, educational four-hour fishing seminar that takes place in my Mitzi on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

For Sale- Canoe Creek truck racks, fit any pickup truck (except Dodge RAM with toolbox). https://orlando.craigslist.org/pts/d/oviedo-tuff-truck-rack-by-spring-creek/6791721077.html

———————————

Monday I went to see my doctor at the VA. She told me for my cough I should tape onion slices or garlic cloves to the soles of my feet before going to bed. What???

Tuesday I went to Mosquito Lagoon to go scouting, Beacon 42. I looked at the whitecaps and decided to go to River Breeze. I could just have gone home again. In five hours I got two bites on a plastic shad, catching a dink trout and a barely legal redfish. Under the clouds you couldn’t see much. Don’t think there was much around.

Wednesday fly caster Bill Rulen joined me for a day’s “fishing” on Mosquito Lagoon. I poled for miles, mostly trying to stay out of the wind while searching for fish that just never materialized. I saw maybe a dozen fish all day. Bill did not get a shot. Ouch.

After Wednesday’s spanking wasn’t too eager to go out on Thursday. I ran errands and did some research.

Friday there was a world-wide climate strike. I should have been there.

Friday garnered the highlight of my week. There’s a water body in Mims called Freshwater Lake. On google maps it looked hard to get to. Generally sweat equity = better fishing. I put the bicycle and a spin rod in the car and drove to the trailhead, where I wired the rod to the bicycle crossbar.

Then I went for a ride, quite a lovely one. Irises were blooming hard. I treed a raccoon. There was no road noise. I had the place to myself. The ride was awesome!

You can see a sliver of water, the lake it was.

 

What the “trail” looks like.

I found the lake but was unwilling to fight through the brush in an attempt to make a cast. Something about ticks and chiggers. Rode to the observation tower on Buck Lake, where I took my lunch.

The tower at Buck Lake.

Not too long ago Buck Lake was fantastic. Thick with aquatic vegetation, it supported lots of panfish and bass. When you visited you’d see lots of wading birds and alligators. Bullfrogs would be croaking, fish would be busting.

View from the top.

All the aquatic vegetation is gone. There are still cattails and water lilies but nothing else. From the observation tower I could see tilapia and gar, but no sunfish, wading birds, or alligators. I heard one lonely bullfrog. SJRWMD denies using herbicides there but something catastrophic has clearly occurred. I did not try casting. After lunch I returned to my car.

In the afternoon I tried shore fishing at the Econ, using plastic worms. I got hung four times in an hour or so, losing all my hooks. Got two dink bass, at least there was no skunk involved.

That’s this week’s slow fishing Mosquito Lagoon 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Mostly Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 9, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Mostly Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this mostly Mosquito Lagoon fishing report. There’s a littls Spruce Creek tossed in, too.

Blog Posts This Week– An Angler’s Journal- A Review

Upcoming-
–Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar, March 23. An all-day fishing seminar that takes place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

–On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 24. Fun, educational four-hour fishing seminar that takes place in my Mitzi on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

For Sale– Canoe Creek racks, fit any pickup truck (except Dodge RAM with toolbox). https://orlando.craigslist.org/pts/d/oviedo-tuff-truck-rack-by-spring-creek/6791721077.html

————————————————————

I got an email from Rick Meeks this week, who is doing fine in North Carolina. In it he said, “it has been 25 years since I left central Florida and moved to North Carolina. I have not made it back to fish the Space Coast in many years. I hear that the grass beds in the Lagoon and no motor zone have been decimated. Is that true? Is fishing still good?”

Well Rick, in the Banana River Lagoon there’s no seagrass. You can’t see the bottom. I don’t bother going there any more.

In the Indian River Lagoon there’s no seagrass. You usually can’t see the bottom. I seldom bother going there any more.

The Mosquito Lagoon has lost about 75 percent of its grass. When the water is “clean,” you can see the bottom, but it’s hard to spot what fish are there. It ain’t like it used to be.

The seagrass had several functions. It anchored the sediments in place. Now when it gets windy, the wave action stirs up the bottom and the lagoon gets all muddy.

The grass was the primary food producer in the lagoons, using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water to carbohydrates that kept all the invertebrates happy. The fish ate the invertebrates. There’s a lot less food, and many fewer fish now. Additionally, most of those big reds are gone.

The grass served as a nursery for baby trout, redfish, etc. No grass, no place for them to hide. My feeling is that recruitment has fallen way off. You don’t see nearly as many fish as you used to. We have lost so much…

So, “Is fishing still good?” You can still catch fish. But the expectations of getting eight or ten pound trout or 20 or 30 pound reds is no longer there.

Fishing et al–

Monday Scott Radloff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting from the Mitzi. Scott was tossing a plastic shad and had a pretty good day with it in spite of the wind- three slot reds and ten or so trout to about five pounds. My catch was much more modest.

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The best fish of the day, caught and released by Scott.

Tuesday it was cold and windy. I went for a long walk at Orlando Wetlands Park.

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The irising are blooming at the park.

 

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This stream was loaded with fish. No, you can’t fish there.

Wednesday was colder and windier. I went for a walk on the Florida Trail.

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This is the yard of a neighbor. Because nothing says “I love you” like a T-rex skeleton??

 

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The fiddleheads have unfurled.

 

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This guy was sunning himself until I showed up.

 

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The remains of last season’s flowers.

Thursday I had the pleasure of fishing with Dr. Robert Fuller and Dr. Rebecca Fuller, both Ph.Ds, on Mosquito Lagoon. It was still cold and windy, although warmer than the previous two days. The water was cleaner than on Monday and we found some fish. They were not real cooperative. Rob got two bites which he turned into two slot reds. Other than good bird-watching, that was it for the day. Thank you for fishing with me, Rob and Rebecca!

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Rob and his first redfish ever.

Friday Scott Radloff and I took a canoe ride on Spruce Creek. There were fishing rods involved. We got five bites. I got a 12 inch bluefish, as did Scott. Scott also got two slot reds and lost another. Although I hate writing this, Scott was using a Gulp! shrimp.

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Scott and his redfish.

That’s this week’s mostly Mosquito Lagoon 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

February 17, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

This fishing report covers the Mosquito Lagoon and the Econlockhatchee River.

Picture of the Week, from my friend Kevin Linehan-

Link of the Week– A woman by the name of Laarni Tadeo sent me this link on packing for fly fishing trips- https://mightygoods.com/flyfishers-packing/
Good stuff!

Monday Tom Campbell and his friend Jack joined me for a day’s fishing from the Mitzi on Mosquito Lagoon. Jack started the day with a trout and a redfish within minutes at the first spot we stopped. Then Tom and Jack doubled up on slot reds! I’m looking at an epic day, maybe.

No, we pretty much had shot our load already. We caught plenty more fish, mostly undersized trout and a couple dink reds. But an epic day it was not, and as so often happens, all my scouted spots were dry this day. So goes life.

Tom looks happy with one of many shad he caught.

Tuesday Tom Campbell and his friend Jack joined me for a day’s shad fishing from the Mitzi on the Econlockhatchee. We got shad at the first place we stopped, and at every other spot as well. We’d fish a spot until the bite slowed, then go to another. I tandem rig the jigs. We had six or seven double hookups during the day, and probably got 30 or so shad, as well as bass, sunfish, even a crappie. Good day. Thanks for fishing with me, Tom and Jack!

Wednesday we did not fish for a couple reasons, one of which was the cold rain that fell all morning.

Thursday Tom Finger joined me for what began as Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We got there and it was all whitecaps. We reversed our field and went to CS Lee Park to fish for shad. The shad fishing had fallen off a cliff. We worked it most of the day in both the Econ and the St. Johns and only got six or seven. The best fish of the day was a big crappie from the Econ. Thanks for fishing with me, Tom!

On the way home I stopped at the Snow Hill Road bridge over the Econ and fished ten minutes. Got three shad for the best fishing of the day. ARRgghhhh.

Friday I went kayak scouting out of River Breeze. There is a lot of fishless water around there. But if you look in the right places there are trout and reds. Quite a few fish were caught, including a season’s best trout of seven or eight pounds. No photo, don’t want to hurt those girls.

Saturday Steve and Brad Myott, father and son,  joined me for some paddle fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We paddled quite a bit. I thought the fishing better on Friday, but Steve got his personal best redfish and Brad got his personal best trout. They kept a couple slot trout for dinner, too. Beautiful day, great people. Thanks for fishing with me, gentlemen!

Steve’s redfish…

That’s this week’s Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River 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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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