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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

Back to Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 28, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Back to Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this back to Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Monday
No one would fish with me. Something about 20 knot winds and rain. I didn’t go either.

Tuesday
I did a short solo trip out of Port Canaveral. The water was dirty. I was surprised how little bait there was, how dead the sea looked. I caught a single ladyfish near the Cape.

Wednesday
Mark Wright joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting, which we tried to do in spite of the 20 knot north winds. We launched at Beacon 42, got to the channel, turned north, and immediately took two LARGE waves over the bow, coming within a hair of sinking the Mitzi. YIKES!!! We made it out of the waves and back to the boat ramp, put the boat on the trailer, and that was that.

Thursday
Not scared off by the previous day, Mark Wright again joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. It was a day-after-the-front-comes-through kind of day, and the fishing reflected that. We got a handful of dink trout. Mark got a solid slot redfish on a white plastic shad. We saw a handful of fish. The boat was on the trailer about 2 PM.

On the way back to the ramp we came across the largest manatee herd I’ve ever seen. They heard the boat coming and all exploded, throwing water and big wakes everywhere, fortunately giving me plenty of warning that they were there. There may have been a couple dozen of them. It would have been a good time to have a GoPro.

Friday
The three Swedes met me at River Breeze at 0730. Johan, Stafan, and Robert were very pleasant fellows, excited to be fishing in the United States! The water was lower, not a lot lower, but certainly noticeable.

This how the Haulover Gauge read on the morning of 10/28.

Like the previous day with Mark, we worked it hard, tossing DOA CAL shad mostly, covering quite a bit of water in the process. The fishies did not respond particularly well. We got maybe 15 trout, mostly small with a few decent ones, and two redfish, one in the slot, one short. We soaked mullet chunks long enough to get two catfish. That was enough of that!

This redfish made Johan’s day.

Its left eye looked very strange.

The water temperature must have dropped significantly. We did not see a single manatee all day. Thanks to Johan, Stafan, and Robert for their good humor and for fishing with me.

And that, dear reader, is the back to Mosquito Lagoon fishing report. I wish the fishing was better. 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 · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing report

Explorations Fishing Report

October 21, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Explorations Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Explorations fishing report.

Happy Thoughts– apparently bored for a few minutes, I googled “happy thoughts”. This awesome page came up- http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/here-are-the-things-that-are-proven-to-make-y/

Monday- Wednesday

It was get the old car ready to sell (yes, the Sienna van that has served us so long and well is for sale. See the details here- https://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/d/for-sale-1999-toyota-sienna/6347466695.html) and get the new car (Susan’s old RAV4) ready for towing.

Lying on my back, trying to get it into position, I dropped the new trailer hitch for the RAV4 on my right elbow, mashing it between the hitch and the concrete. YOUCHIE!!!! Although bruised it seems OK. And now the RAV4 has a trailer hitch and it will pull the Mitzi. So everything is good.

FISHING! As reported last week, this writer has had a hard time of it in Mosquito Lagoon lately. It was time to do some exploration.

At the kayak ramp in Spruce Creek Park.

Thursday found me travelling to New Smyrna Beach to Spruce Creek Park, where an Ocean Kayak was launched. I used to fish Spruce Creek literally a generation ago, but hadn’t been in about 20 years. My preference for fishing there was a low outgoing tide, so of course I found high incoming water. That water was brown but clear. But there was so much of it- the entire marsh was flooded.

I think they want you to be careful…

Was that fish breaking? I cast a jig to where I saw what I assumed were mullet, and was rewarded with a solid strike. Ladyfish. There were quite a few of them. Getting action was a novelty and I enjoyed it until it stopped.

Splash! I missed the jump.

I floated with wind (plenty of that) and tide, catching the odd ladyfish, to the railroad bridge. I went ashore under the bridge for a leg stretch and some casting. Before long a freight train came.

I captured this one cartwheeling in the Spartina.

I don’t know that I have ever been that close to a speeding train. Superman I am not. The ground shook, the noise level was at jet engine afterburner loud. I was quietly terrified. And, I did not get a bite there. So I got back in the kayak and started heading back the way I had come.

It was small, but it’s still a redfish.

Someone in Volusia County promotes an event called Biketoberfest. Out on the water the noise from the Harleys riding up and down US 1 was almost as loud as the train. No offense to bikers, but it’s like a Biblical plague of motorcycle noise there.

One of the fishies I captured. I put him back.

After the tide turned I had steady action on the jig the whole way back- more ladyfish, including a couple in the 24 inch range, a nice crevalle jack, a half dozen trout to 16 inches, and a couple lovely if diminutive redfish. Considering what last week’s fishing was like, and due to incessant east winds I can’t get out on the Atlantic, it was entertaining if unspectacular fishing.

At the Tomoka State Park ramp.

Friday, encouraged by Thursday’s modest success, I tried launching at Tomoka State Park. Like Spruce Creek, the tide was high and still coming in, and the water was very brown. Also like Spruce Creek, the hum of Harleys filled the air. Unlike Spruce Creek I did not get a bite. I did see a couple baby tarpon roll and a few mullet jump. That was it.

The water was brown, but you can get an ice cream when you’re done…

Tomoka is bigger water than Spruce Creek. When I go back I will use internal combustion.

Show and Tell Seminar October 21

In spite of the small craft advisory, Mark Frank, my only attendee, and I toured the Mosquito Lagoon in my Mitzi. We started at Haulover, went as far south as the Biolab boat ramp. It was WAVY on the west side!

We crossed the lagoon and went north, all the way to River Breeze. The cleaner water is up north. Most of the boats were south of Haulover, fishing in the muddy water.

It was a challenging day for a boat tour. The manatees are still thick, like mines in the water. Be careful when boating out there.

I’m wondering if the east wind will ever stop.

And that, dear reader, is the Exploration 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, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: adventure fishing, florida fishing, kayak fishing, orlando fishing report

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
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 · 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.

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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

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

May 27, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

Please take a moment right now for a small prayer for all the men and women whose sacrifices we should be remembering this weekend.

This Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report details trips to the Mosquito Lagoon, St. Johns River, and Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday

Nile with one of the redfish he caught.

Matt and Niles Smith, father and son, joined me on Spotted Tail for a Mosquito Lagoon outing. Three tarpon rolled next to the boat as we idled through Haulover Canal, the first tarpon I’ve seen this year.

Not to be outdone, Matt got one, too.

We were happily fishing for trout when I spotted redfish tails. We got on them without attracting the attention of the many other boats around, getting five nice reds before they vacated the area. DOA CAL shad were the bait of choice. Oh yes, the trout fishing was pretty good, too.

Monday

Tammy shows off a mini-bass. It’s as big as they get that size!

Channel cat on fly!

Tammy Wilson led me on a St. Johns River excursion. The river is ankle-deep in many places. We did not get any big fish but got five different species of fish on mostly surface flies. We also found three dead cows. They stink is a most foul manner.

Got me sum bass, two!

The river valley has some exquisite places…

Tuesday

This silly fish ate an Alaskan fly.

John went back to the St. Johns River by himself in an attempt to capitalize on what he learned the previous day. He stuck to subsurface flies (a black egg-sucking bunny leech worked quite well) and got largemouth bass, bluegill and red-breasted sunfish, three channel cats (!), four bowfin, one spotted gar, and one tilapia. Didn’t get the crappie or Plecostomas.

The bowfin, a fish in need of some love.

A large, aggressive alligator get much too close for comfort. Something about that gar splashing attracted it. I left the area post-haste.

Bull bluegill on a purple bunny leech. I lost all of the egg-sucking leeches I had.

Speaking of gar, what they need is some good PR. From now on I’m referring to them as garlin in what might be a misguided attempt to make them more popular among anglers.

Mudfish need PR too. Anyone have a good, appealing, alternate name for the mighty bowfin??

Wednesday
Ray Rowe was my guest on Spotted Tail. Although it was windy the fish were biting well. We got a lot of slot seatrout, although the big ones eluded us.

Thursday
Ray Rowe was again my guest on Spotted Tail. It wasn’t as windy as Wednesday but it was colder. Fishing was tougher, but we still got about 20 trout, mostly slot fish. The best of the day measured 22 inches. Thank you again, Mr. DOA CAL shad. And of course Mr. Rowe, too.

Friday
Found John at the helm of Spotted Tail, searching the mighty Atlantic for denizens of the deep. In an ideal world he would have found gobs of big tarpon. As it was, eight hours of diligently searching turned up some northern sennet, a few bluefish, a couple ladyfish, the smallest little tunny I have ever seen, and to top off the day a mighty mongo jack crevalle. I tried to get one on the twelve-weight but they were not having that nonsense.

The jack crevalle, different from channel cats.

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

That is the Memorial Day 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.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Bass fishing, DOA Lures, florida fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, Mosquito Lagoon redfish, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, port canaveral fishing report, seatrout fishing, St. Johns River

Spotted Seatrout Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

May 19, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Spotted Seatrout Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Our featured fish this week is the Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus. Because it’s pretty much all we caught this week, and we only fished the Mosquito Lagoon, we have the spotted seatrout Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

The following information on seatrout comes from Wikipedia-

Contrary to its name, the spotted seatrout is not a member of the trout family (Salmonidae), but of the drum family (Sciaenidae). Adults reach 19-32 inches in length and 3-15 pounds in weight. This fish is closely related to the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis.

The average size of spotted seatrout is 1-2 pounds, but in most areas fish up to 5 pounds are fairly common. Fish weighing 8-10 pounds are rare. The world record is 17 pounds 7 ounces.

Small trout eat large amounts of shrimp and other crustaceans. As they grow larger, their diets shift toward fish, the larger, the better. Studies in Texas and Mississippi show that really big trout strongly prefer to feed on mullet; a large trout will find the largest mullet it can handle and try to swallow it. Often the mullet is half or two-thirds as large as the trout.

Spotted seatrout have a long spawning season from spring through summer. It takes between one and two years for seatrout to reach 12 inches, and between two and three years to reach 16 inches. The maximum age of spotted seatrout that have been caught is estimated to be 12 years old, though that is rare, and the oldest fish caught on a regular basis are closer to four or five years old.

By the end of the first year, spotted seatrout are about 10 inches long and about half of them are mature enough to reproduce. They reproduce in shallow, grassy areas of estuaries.

******************************************

Blog post this week-

My Favorite Alaska Photo s- A Photo Essay

Tammy and her smaller trout. I did not get a photo of the better one, silly me.

Monday the incomparable Tammy Wilson was my fishing partner. First we went scouting for my Tuesday and Wednesday trips. Tammy caught a solid trout on a fluke. Then we went fly fishing. Tammy caught a very nice trout, five pounds or so. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of that fish.

Tuesday Paul Glaser and his friend Trey joined me. We launched at River Breeze, and in six hours only fished two spots, catching slot trout regularly of DOA CAL shad. We saw some big ones but could not make a sale!

Wednesday Tom Finger was my guest on Spotted Tail. Although it was pretty windy the fish were still biting well. Again we got a lot of slot fish, and again the big ones eluded us.

Tom with one of the dozens of trout he caught.

One nice thing about the lack of redfish right now is it’s cutting the number of boats out there way down. A ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak situation.

Thursday son Alex and his buddy Drew joined me. You know what happened- lots of slot seatrout. I got one on fly that was pushing four pounds. Drew hooked something we never saw that pulled a good amount of line out and then came unbuttoned. That was it.

The fish, the fly. My best of the day.

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

That is the spotted 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

May 13, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Happy Mother’s Day to all those who have given birth. What a miracle, to be able to bring another being into the world, to nurture and teach it until adulthood! This is the Mother’s Day Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Summer just may have started here. The afternoon light has that blasting everything quality to it. It was 94 degrees this afternoon (Wednesday). The water in the lagoon is quite low, surprisingly so for this time of year. It’s also still quite clean. I expect that to change with this summer’s installment of Algae Bloom. Let’s all pray that John is wrong on this one.

There are stupid numbers of manatees out there. Boater’s don’t seem to be paying any attention. I found a dead manatee today, a small one. I reported it by telephone to Officer Jane Whaley.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has apparently had enough of bank fishermen littering along the Haulover Canal, something that has been a big problem for years. This week these new signs were observed along the south side of the canal, in both English and Spanish:

SUNDAY
Fly fisher and New Yorker Anthony LaBarbera joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. It was hardly fish-slamming time. We got the first bite around 11 AM, a nice enough trout that took a streamer. The rest of the day yielded two more strikes and one more trout. We saw quite a few, but for a change it wasn’t windy. Of course the fish were spooky, a trend that continued for the rest of the week.

We worked hard for this baby!

MONDAY
Good friend Tammy Wilson and I went a-kayakin’ on the Indian River Lagoon. We ran over maybe a half-dozen fish before Tammy had a good shot at one, which she converted. You’re so professional, Howie! I later got one blind-casting a black bunny leech, a sure case of the blind pig finding an acorn. There were not a lot of fish around. But it’s always fun fishing with Tammy.

The woman, the fantasy…

TUESDAY
Brent Chapdelaine and his friend Tom joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friends the DOA CAL Shad and the RipTide Sardine we hit trout pretty steadily if not exactly rapid-fire.

At one point my astonished eyes noted a school of redfish moving, with occasional busts and tailing happening. We moved to intercept. Brent made a perfect cast, and, as he should have been, was rewarded with a fine 26 inch red. He says it was the biggest fish he’s ever caught, and it certainly was the day’s most exciting moment.

WEDNESDAY
Ken Schanze and his friend Dennis joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Throwing our old friend the DOA CAL Shad we hit trout sporadically, getting six in the slot and one over. We saw very few redfish.

For weeks I whined about the wind. It has not been blowing this week and conditions have been gorgeous if somewhat warm. But the slick conditions combined with the low water have made the fish very, very flighty.

THURSDAY
Rick Busch and his friend Seng from Cambodia joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. Seng caught the largest fish of his life! Spotted Tail had that happen twice this week, awesome!

Rachel and a handsome trout.

FRIDAY
Matt Leonard and his lovely bride Rachel joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We had a light northeast wind. The trout bite was steady if not spectacular, all on DOA CAL Shad. They caught a few fairly nice trout. We did not see a redfish, did not see one yesterday, did not see one Wednesday. I’d love to know what happened to all of them.

Same woman, different fish.

SATURDAY
My least favorite day to fish, this one wasn’t too bad because of the weather forecast. Josh and Cody joined me. We looked briefly and unsuccessfully for redfish, then fell back on the unspectacular but steady trout. They caught a few good ones.

Josh. Trout. DOA CAL.

Ordinarily cloudy, windy days are killer trout days. This one was pretty much like the rest of the week.

Cody. Trout. DOA CAL.

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

That is the Mother’s Day 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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

Another (mostly) Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 29, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Another (mostly) Mediocre Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The wind still won’t quit. This is another (mostly) mediocre week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

It still blew like snot most of the week.

Monday
Kevin Linehan joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. My mission was to figure out where the fish went. The wind and clouds made that mission much more difficult. We saw some nice fish, but did not catch any, getting maybe a dozen trout to 16 inches on shad baits.

seatrout on DOA CAL mosquito lagoon fishing report

The DOA CAL shad is still producing fish for me.

Tuesday

I worked it hard with meagre results.

I rode to the Econ, figuring the low water would aid my fly fishing efforts. I tried unweighted streamers, weighted streamers, and surface flies. Four hours of casting netted me two small bass, one big warmouth (big for a warmouth, that is) and one spotted gar. All fish were taken on a popper, for whatever that’s worth.

The warmouth, so aggressive we’re lucky they don’t get very big. If they did they would try to eat us.

The red-tailed hawks were doing lots of screeching. A large alligator was growling, hopefully not at me. It was really a pleasant outing, fishing notwithstanding.

Wednesday
The Stefansky brothers, Jerry and Paul, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The wind wasn’t howling! (at first)

We found fair numbers of redfish at the first spot. They could not have been less cooperative without not being there at all. We did not get a bite, although Paul got a nice trout on a Riptide Sardine.

seatrout on riptide sardine mosquito lagoon fishing report

The Riptide Sardine is also producing fish for me.

There were four boats working the next spot. We declined joining them. The alternate did not produce a fish.

The third spot was the hot spot of the day, producing about a dozen trout to 20 inches or so, most of them in the slot. Jerry did most of the damage with a DOA CAL Shad.

At this point the wind came up and the fishing mostly shut down. We got three or four more trout before trailering the boat.

Friday
One of Benjamin Ashworth’s birthday presents was a day with me (?!), fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. Girlfriend Chely was along too. Amazingly, the wind was blowing but not too hard (at first).

No one was home at spot #1.

Some seatrout, hovering around the 15 inch mark, were caught at spot #2. We are still using the three inch shad tails with good result.

Benjamin and Chely seemed happy with this fish!

Spots 3 and 4 produced several nice trout in the 20 inch range, as well as three redfish. We also encountered a school of black drum, but they wanted nothing to do with the juicy frozen shrimp we offered. About this time Mr. Wind decided to join the party, and a sea of whitecaps was the result.

Chely was REAL happy with this seatrout!

Spot 5 produced several more trout- one nice one and a bunch of shorties. And at the final spot we did not hit a fish. It was by far the most productive day all week.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week. You folks are awesome!

That is another mediocre week 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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

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