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Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

March 5, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report

Three straight days of fishing in 20 mph plus winds, no surprise we have a blown away Orlando fishing report.

Bad news for all Lagoonatics– this year’s installment of the algae bloom has already started in the Banana River Lagoon. See this link for all the gruesome details-

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…
-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday- Rock Springs Run

Mr. Conneen rollin’ down the creek.

This painted turtle let me get surprisingly close.

Mike Conneen and I went a-paddlin’ on the Rock Springs Run, starting at King’s Landing and finishing at Wekiva Marina. At this central Florida gem, it’s more about the aesthetics than the size of the fish. You’ll find plenty of brilliantly colored fish here, but they tend to be small ones- stumpknockers, redbellies, even the bass run small.

Rock Springs Run stumpknocker. Yes, it’s small.

Mike, still rollin’.

Use ultralight tackle and small, weedless baits (I like the Beetle Spin or a three-weight fly rod)) and you will have fun racking up the numbers if not the poundage. A bruiser will surprise you on occasion.

One of many ibis we saw.

Mike got a dozen or so bass, the largest was (being generous) maybe two pounds. It’s an awesome trip- the scenery and the wildlife are so nice, who cares about fish size?

One of the larger fish we caught.

A stream-side blue flag iris.

Wednesday
Last week I said this about the shad- “I think they’re done for the season.” PDM, whose name will not be revealed, sent me an email complete with maps telling me he had his best day of the season the same day I caught exactly one. So following his very specific instructions (which I really appreciated- thank you!) I went there on Wednesday. It was not great. I had to work, but I got ten or twelve in a few hours. It was enough that I figured I could use it again of Friday if needed.

Thursday
Went scouting solo out of River Breeze. The places I had been finding fish were devoid of life. On my good friend the 3″ plastic shad I got two slot trout and a few dinks. The slotties were delicious, pan-fried in coconut oil.

Friday , Saturday, Sunday
I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Dan Carr, a fly fisher from Atlanta, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He warned me ahead of time that he brings bad weather.

If you were a kite flyer or a windsurfer the weather over the weekend was incredible. It was kind of windy for fly fishing, though.

Friday morning we started out of Haulover. By noon we had seen exactly five redfish with nary a shot. Dan had caught a rat red on a plastic shad, which was the extent of the action.

I pulled the boat and went to the St. Johns River. Shad were the goal.

In four hours plus Dan got one hickory shad and one small channel cat. I pulled the boat near sunset and went home to get ready for the next day, and lick my wounds. So much for the shad. They are done.

Saturday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

Dan with one of the many rat reds he caught. Note the breezy-looking water behind him!

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, both trout and redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good, enough so that he wanted a repeat the next day.

Sunday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

The fly of choice. Actually, he used several different patterns.

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, all redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good!

We got 15 or so redfish in three days and not one would have held batter. We did get a few legal trout, though. And a good time was had by all!

And that is the blown away 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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Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report

February 23, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Shad Run Swan Song Orlando Fishing Report

We fished the St. Johns River three days and the Mosquito Lagoon one day. Shad fishing had been really good, the best in several years. It fell off a cliff this week. Thus the shad run swan song Orlando fishing report.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon. It’s getting rave reviews! Please, check it out…

The Alaska fly-tying frenzy has started! I’m tying this…

An articulated king salmon streamer…

…while fantasizing about this!

…for a manatee-sized king salmon.

Should be an awesome summer!

For Sale–
Hotel del Rio, Ambergris Caye, Belize. At this eight cabana waterfront property you can put your feet in the sand- right out your front door. http://hoteldelriobelize.com. Call 407.977.5207 for more information.

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday
Chris Olson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. We got 15 or so in four hours on ultralight spin, but had to work hard for every one. Seemed like the run was winding down.

Thank you, Chris!

Tuesday
Ian Davidson joined me for a day of St. Johns River shad fly fishing. We launched at Mullet Lake Park. After a hitless hour I pulled the boat and went to CS Lee, where we had three more hitless hours around the mouth of the Econ. Ouch.

Thank you, Ian!

I pulled the boat out and said goodbye to Ian. Then I started getting the boat road-ready. When I went to trim up the motor, I almost stuck my hand right in this guy’s mouth.

He was sitting on the trim motor. What???

By the cloudy look of his eyes, he’s getting ready to molt.

I wrapped a towel around him, carried him back to the river, and released him unharmed. Snakes are so awesome!

Live long and prosper!

Wednesday
I had the pleasure of hosting Rick Callahan and his brother-in-law Bruce on Spotted Tail, which we launched at River Breeze. We had several bites at the first spot, all on plastic shad. A few rat reds were caught, but Bruce got one that could have held batter.

Bruce and his redfish.

He released it. He also got some shorty trout, and one decent one that would also have held batter. He released that one too.

Bruce and his seatrout.

I told some dumb jokes and we traded stories, laughing a lot. The weather was awesome, and we all called it good.

Thank you Rick and Bruce!

Thursday
The chariot went to the repair shop- tied me up all day.

Friday
My thought was that if the shad were past Mullet Lake and the Econ, maybe they were near SR 50. I drove over with the Bang-O-Craft to test the idea. Two hours produced two shad. If they weighed 100 pounds apiece (and wouldn’t THAT be awesome!), that would be acceptable. Coming in at a couple pounds each, I want more action that that.

I think they’re done for the season.

And that is the shad run swan song 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, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Econlockhatchee River, fly tying, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Basic Central Florida Fishing Report

February 17, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Basic Central Florida Fishing Report

We fished the St. Johns River two days and the Mosquito Lagoon two days, decent days all. So it’s just a basic central Florida fishing report.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

For Sale–

Hotel del Rio, Ambergris Caye, Belize. At this eight cabana waterfront property you can put your feet in the sand- right out your front door. http://hoteldelriobelize.com. Call 407.977.5207 for more information.

Upcoming Events–

-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.

-Mosquito Lagoon On-the_Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…

-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM.

Monday

Tom Campbell and his cousin Norm joined me in the Mitzi for a day of St. Johns River shad fishing. I felt bad for Norm- Tom just kept reeling them in, often two at a time. Norm could not get the deed done. Tom even caught a painted turtle, hooking it on the right back leg (we dehooked it). A couple crappie were caught. A small channel cat was caught. I don’t know how many fish we got but it was, as the Natives would have said, many.

Tuesday

I got my 1st Aid/CPR/AED card renewed by CPR Associates of America. You should have been there!!!

Wednesday

Jim Seale joined me for some fly fishing for shad on the St. Johns River. The shad were pretty cooperative early on. Jim even got a channel cat about three pounds on a shad fly (?). Then the fishing slowed down. Then the wind came up. Then we switched to ultralight spin tackle. Then the bites started again. Then we were almost out of time. Then Jim got a heck of a strike. He played the fish for about ten minutes before I could even try to grab it, which took several tries. The lure of choice for this beast, and it was a beast, was an Al’s Goldfish.

Now THAT is a hybrid striper. Jim Seale with an ultralight rod, awesome job!

Thursday

I went scouting on the Mosquito Lagoon, got four small reds and a few trout in four hours on soft plastic shad lures. I enjoyed the fog.

Who is that masked man???

Friday

John is loving this!

Chris Olson joined me for a day of Mosquito Lagoon fishing. There were a lot of boaters out there. Some of them were incredibly rude. Other than that the days was fantastic.

Chris with a nice trout, one of several he got. Note the bait…

We did not catch a lot of fish, but the five or six we got (except mine) were all handsome, both reds and trout. A four inch shad was the lure of choice.

This red was not about to be outdone by those trout!

And that is the basic central 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Another Story Orlando Fishing Report

February 3, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Another Story Orlando Fishing Report

The shad are still strong. The Mosquto Lagoon, well that’s another story, for another story Orlando fishing report.

The Paddle Fishing Seminar at Kayaks by Bo on January 27th was a resounding success. The place was packed and I was my usual effervescent self. Tom wants to do some more fishing seminars, perhaps monthly.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book!

Monday

Tammy and I went shad fishing out of Mullet Lake Park. For all of you who were wondering what an Al’s Goldfish was, I got a photo. We laughed a lot and caught a lot. It was good.

The shad love the Al’s Goldfish.

Wednesday

Rodney and I went shad fishing out of CS Lee Park. We laughed a lot and caught a lot. It was good.

Rodney and shad.

JK, shad double!

I have often heard and read that like salmon, shad don’t eat while on their spawning run. Not true! I have often seen them aggressively chasing minnows, and on Wednesday we had shad spit up wads of mosquitofish into my boat. I got a photo of one of the minnows, quite small they are…

http://www.alsgoldfish.com/Al_s_Goldfish_Great_Lure_for_all_Fish_1_4_oz_p/g200-n.htm

shad food

Thursday

Since I had a charter of Friday I used Thursday to scout the Mosquito Lagoon. I launched at Biolab, ran south, then went up the east shoreline checking most of the bars and holes, all the way to Georges Bar. I did not see a trout. I did not see a redfish. I hardly saw any seagrass. I did see a single, small (10-12 fish) school of large black drum.

On the way back south I checked several spots along the west side of the lagoon. They were equally barren. At the last spot I checked I saw four small seatrout, the first I’d seen all day. My optimism for the following day was pretty low. I stank like a skunk all the way home.

Friday

Vic and Dan Gulla, Wisconsinites (?), met me at River Breeze. We found schools of redfish at the first place we went. Unfortunately there were four other boats there. The fish were in a panic. The other boats, tossing live shrimp, managed two while we were there, which was not very long.

Vic answered with a solid redfish.

Photographing the rat.

It may be small, but it’s a redfish on fly!

We saw scattered fish all morning, missing one strike during that time. Finally, about 1100, Dan got a decent trout on a plastic shad. A while later Vic answered with a solid redfish on the same type of lure. Fish, mostly small ones, came steadily for the rest of the day, with several caught on fly.

It was a lot better than I thought it would be.

And that is the another story 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, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: florida fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

January 27, 2018 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

The shad bite this week was really good. We have a shad attack Orlando fishing report.

Nothing to do with fishing–

We can’t just confine our litter to the planet, we have to litter space too. This video about satellites in orbit was fascinating stuff- https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wonder/how-many-satellites-are-currently-orbiting-earth/vi-AAv8uZz

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.

Monday

Tammy and I went paddle fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. She nailed a trout almost immediately. I wasn’t expecting much and was caught by surprise when I spotted a pair of tails. The water was too dirty to see the fish themselves. I pooched the shot.

Tammy took the next shot at a small group of tails. I wanted to capture the whole episode on film (pixels, actually) but she pooched the shot.

I spotted a cruising fish, and made a cast. I misjudged its trajectory, and stripped like crazy hoping to get the fly in front of it. The leader was in the rod when I did, and the fish just crushed that fly, a Homer Rhodes Shrimp Fly.

Tammy had a chance to redeem herself and of course she did, getting a nice red on a Copper Liz. So we ended up getting three fish between us, and were off the water at 1 PM.

Tammy and redfish- good combination!

Before we got off the water a guy in a Carolina Skiff came running near where we were paddling. I expected him to get stuck. The water was low and quite shallow where we were. He started hollering at us, and with motor trimmed up, throwing mud all over, he idled over towards us. It seems he was lost, and wanted directions to the Biolab ramp. Really??? We pointed him the right way. Get a map.

Tuesday

The weather seemed quite lovely, so I hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and headed to the St. Johns River.

When I was a child my Dad and I used a lure called an Al’s Goldfish. They are back in production as of a few years ago (https://www.alsgoldfish.com) and I had bought a dozen. On a whim I tied one on, a 1/4 ounce silver one.

The shad LOVED it.

I tried fly fishing, working it pretty hard. I got three bites. Two were missed, one was a fat redbelly.

I tried small crappie jigs. I got three buck shad.

The Al’s Goldfish produced at least a dozen shad of all sizes, including a hickory, and several hooked and lost fish. That’s the hottest tip this week!

Wednesday

I went scouting on the Indian River Lagoon. Maybe there are some fish left there but I certainly did not find them. I saw exactly two seatrout and caught one on a Riptide Sardine that generously was eight inches long (the fish, not the lure). It will be a while before I go look there again.

Thursday

I worked on the Indian River Lagoon Chronicles most of the day, and got the ebook republished on Smashwords and Amazon. I also ordered the proof for the print version. And did some boat maintenance!

Friday

My fisherman for Friday was Tom Campbell, from Maryland. The original plan was to fish the lagoon. The “east at 20” forecast caused a change in plan. We went to CS Lee Park and went shad fishing, starting at 8 am.

Mr. Shad, meet Mr. Campbell.

By 11 we’d gotten 15 or so on jigs and spoons. I pulled the boat and we went to Mullet Lake Park for a change of scenery. I learned there are many fewer airboats there, but many more bass boats going 50-60 mph. I mean, must you really go that fast? There might be other folks out there… Anyway, the shad bite was pretty strong. We got both Americans and hickories, several doubles, and I got a needlefish for the weird catch of the day.

And that is the Shad Attack! 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, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, american shad fishing, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish, seatrout fishing, shad fishing, St. Johns River

Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

January 20, 2018 by john kumiski · 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!

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: kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, redfish, seatrout fishing, St. Johns River

Improving (?) Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

December 9, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Improving (?) Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

A vintage file photo of Rich Surprise releasing a Mosquito Lagoon red.

I am really hoping this is an improving Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

This one is short and sweet- going out of town in the morning. May not have a report next week- oh the humanity!

Monday Brian and Robin were out with me on the lagoon. The water was dirty, all the fish were small. It was a gorgeous day and they were pretty happy, but I was not pleased with the catching. Maybe I’m spoiled?

Wednesday Canadian George joined me for some fishing and some Mosquito Lagoon instruction. We circumnavigated the lagoon, from Haulover down to Max Hoeck Creek, up to Georges Bar, and back to Haulover. There was a lot of clean water. There were LOTS of manatees.

There were not lots of fish (other than dinker trout), or much seagrass, but the fact the water is clearing is great. It must have cooled off enough to kill the stuff growing in it. All the bare bottom is heartbreaking, though.

Friday Chris Olsen and his buddy joined me for the same kind of day I’d had on Wednesday. We did more fishing, less running. The first place we went was a spot I hadn’t visited in a while. Exposed to the east wind, it wasn’t a place to visit during the months of easterlies.

There was seagrass there.

Using DOA CAL shad the fishermen caught and released five redfish, all slot fish, in a little over an hour. There were fish tailing!!! We saw some jumbo trout!!!

We did not see much anywhere else, one here, one there, a few dinker trout, but the thing is, we could see in many of the places we looked. So the water clarity is definitely improving. I have a wait-and see attitude to see if the fishing gets better, but this trip was the most encouraging one since September. Good stuff.

Another file photo, this one of Steve Baker, also on Mosquito Lagoon.

And that, dear reader, is the improving (?) 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, redfish fishing, tailing redfish

Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 14, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this tough week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Show and Tell Seminar October 21

Hurricane Irma badly damaged many of the dike roads in Merritt Island NWR. The standard show and tell seminar can’t be held. We’re offering the On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar on October 21. For more information or to register, visit this link: http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Save the Menhaden! Right NOW! PLEASE!!!

Menhaden (pogies, bunker, and many other local names) convert plant matter into animal matter by filtering the water (cleaning that water in the process). They are a vitally important baitfish for a large number of fish that anglers like to catch.

I attended the menhaden hearing in Melbourne on October 10. It was surprisingly well attended. Almost everyone there wanted a very conservative approach to menhaden harvesting. Leave the fish in the water!

The deadline for written comments was extended to October 24, 5pm EST. I have written a letter to Florida’s ASMFC commissioners and to Megan Ware, the Fisheries Management Plan coordinator, expressing my thoughts about how this resource should be managed. I posted it here- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/menhaden-letter/. Please feel free to copy and send it yourself, or use it as a jump-off point for composing your own letter.

Omega Protein harvests over 100 million pounds of menhaden a year for the reduction fishery. They had 150-200 allies at the hearing in Virginia, have lots of political power, and could easily take the day when it the ASMFC comes to final action November 13-14.

If you don’t write today, don’t complain tomorrow.

Please write and send a letter right now! This is important! Protect your fishing future!

——————————————————-

FISHING! (finally)

Monday was adventure Monday for Tammy and I. The original plan was to fish the ditches along Biolab Road. Couldn’t happen- the road is closed. So she took me to a drainage ditch through a neighborhood, somewhere on Merritt Island.

Almost immediately I caught a ciclid on a small pink Clouser minnow. I did not know they had gotten this far north.

Cichlids on Merritt Island.

We launched kayaks and floated down the ditch. Baby tarpon rolled. I cast a tiny gurgler, got a couple bites, and stuck one.

Tiny gurgler, tiny tarpon.

We ended up getting six tarpon between us and were finished at noon. Quite a lovely morning, and always a good time with Tammy.

Tammy’s tiny tarpon.

Wednesday morning found Scott Radloff and I launching the Mitzi at Haulover. The water in Mosquito Lagoon, like everywhere else in central Florida, is high and in most places dirty. We found some clean water though, and actually saw a few fish. I cast a DOA CAL shad at one and was rewarded with the only bite we got, resulting in a 20 inch redfish. That fish was the only thing that stood between us and the dreaded skunk.

Thank you, little redfish.

Friday morning we met Bob and Andrew Dowgialo, a father-son team, at River Breeze. In addition to the 15-20 mph breeze, clouds dropped rain on us now and again. A long, tough day resulted in exactly one butt-hooked pinfish. Ouch.

Saturday morning we tried again. The rain was gone. The wind was not. A long, tough day resulted in one dink trout and one ladyfish. Double ouch.

In two days we saw maybe a dozen redfish, a handful of trout, a black drum, and three snook. Both Bob and Andrew worked very hard and did not complain, for which I was very grateful.

This reporter will be very happy when the water level drops.

And that, dear reader, is the tough week 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
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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, mosquito lagoon fishing report, mosquito lagoon fishing seminar, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, tarpon fishing

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

September 23, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

Finally, a more-or-less full week of fishing. Our travels this week brought us to the Mosquito Lagoon (twice), the Indian Rver Lagoon (twice), the Banana River Lagoon, the Econlockhatchee River (no fishing though) and a brief stop at Port Canaveral. So we have a three lagoons fishing report.

The boats wait for us to finish the shuttle.

Sunday I joined Tammy and Mike Conneen for a kayak trip down the still-flooded Econ. It had peaked earlier at 18 feet and on Sunday was at 12 feet (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/uv/?site_no=02233500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060), still mostly over its banks. The weather was awesome and everything was going fine until I took a “shortcut”, followed by everyone else.

Mike Conneen, navigator extraordinaire.

Off we go into the woods.

Don’t trespass!

Before long there was no current to follow and we were darn confused, paddling around in the woods. Mike got the phone out (GPS app). We followed him back to the river, losing about an hour in the process.

We’re definitely in the woods.

Still in the woods.

Tammy doesn’t care. She always enjoys herself.

When we got to the St. Johns there was no river, only a very large lake. It’s still lapping the sides of SR 46 and the CS Lee boat ramp is still closed.

Cheryl on the lake that once was the St. Johns River, near SR 46.

Remember to run at idle speed!

Monday Tammy and I went scouting on the IRL, launching at Parrish Park. The water is high (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02248380) and dirty in most places. We fished around some culverts and Tammy got snook, redfish, and ladyfish. She foul-hooked a trophy black mullet. She wanted a seatrout but we could not find one. The mullet may have weighed more than all the other fish combined.

We converted one redfish on a DOA CAL shad.

Tuesday Scott Radloff and I did a Mosquito Lagoon survey. This lagoon has by far the cleanest water of the three lagoons, and quite a few mullet too. We actually saw a handful of redfish, getting shots at two and converting one on a DOA CAL shad. I got six snooklets on a #6 Clouser minnow, beautiful little fish that would have looked great in an aquarium. We also got a half-dozen slot trout, one on a jig and the rest on a DOA Deadly Combo.

Scott got a trout on a jig.

Wednesday Miss Chellie Gentry joined me for a fly fishing charter on the IRL. In the morning we hit maybe ten culvert pipes. None of them had fish. She finally got her first saltwater fish, a tarpon, on a gurgler. It was a wonderful moment- I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo.

The magic pipe produced a couple dozen ladyfish…

Then we hit the pipe I had been looking for all day. The ladyfish were going crazy, and she got three redfish too. They were not very big but they were all on fly. We called the outing a success! Chellie, thanks for fishing with me!

…and several redfish!

Thursday Mike Conneen and I met to check out the Banana River Lagoon, the third lagoon in the three lagoons fishing report. The water was a soupy olive green. Nowhere could you see the bottom. There was a dearth of baitfish. Mike actually caught a slot trout by blind casting with a Vudu Shrimp. We had the kayaks back on our cars in a little less than three hours.

Mike battles a trout…

…which was actually a solid fish.

While in the neighborhood it seemed appropriate to check the ramp at Port Canaveral. They are operational, and in spite of the big seas there were several trailers in the lot. I didn’t see any mullet and asked a fisherman who had come in to the ramp if he had seen any. He said, “I fish here regularly. It was dead out there. I used mud minnows for bait all morning and did not get a bite. And no, there weren’t any mullet.”

The obvious question is, where are they? It’s certainly mullet time.

Friday found me back on Mosquito Lagoon with son Alex and his friend John. We fished a couple bars and caught a few trout on spin tackle, then went looking for redfish. We actually found a few (and a few black drum too) but did not convert, and did not get one. About noontime threatening weather caused us to race the storms back to River Breeze. We got the boat on the trailer just as the storms hit us, some darn close timing when lightning is involved.

That is this week’s three 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, seatrout fishing, tarpon fishing

June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

June 3, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

During my morning trips to the petrol station the June bugs have been thick. So we have a June bug Orlando fishing report, covering the Mosquito Lagoon and St. Johns River.

Tuesday

Spotted Tail was host to the Warings- Chris (grandpa), David (dad) and Alexander (son). The trout bite in Mosquito Lagoon continued strong, and a redfish managed to crash the party. There were a couple ladyfish, too. As one might expect by this point, the baits were soft plastic minnow imitations, the DOA CAL shad and the Riptide Sardine.

The Warings caught some fish.

Wednesday

Rodney Smith and I went to the St. Johns River to fly fish before the summer rains kick in too strong and raise the water level. Rodney had the channel cats’ number, getting three and a tilapia too, all on an egg-sucking bunny leech. John did not do as well, and overall he thought the bite had slowed from previous visits.

Thursday

Scott Radloff and I tried to fish out of Port Canaveral. Pass the jetties, turn around, return to the boat ramp. We got to Mosquito Lagoon at almost 10 AM. The fish punished us for the late start- one dink trout and one 19 inch redfish was all we could muster in three hours. Weather forced us to leave.

Friday

George convinced this drum to strike a fraud.

George Allen joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The trout bite was better than the previous day’s non-bite, but it had slowed compared to from Tuesday. We spotted what I thought were redfish. They were black drum. George got one on a DOA CAL shad, nice fish it was, too. Weather forced us to leave.

The summer rains are kicking into gear.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

Share
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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, St. Johns River

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