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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

March 23, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Blog Posts This Week:

–Paddleboard Fishing Mosquito Lagoon
–Celebrate World Water Day
–Solo Skiff Review

It was an interesting week in a number of ways. The weather was unsettled, to say the least.

Monday Tim Baker of East Coast Paddle took me paddleboard fishing for three hours on Mosquito Lagoon. I had never been on a paddleboard before. They are very cool. Read the blog here.
The wind was running between 10 and 15 mph though- not good for paddleboarding. Tim got a trout on a jerk bait. I saw six or eight fish as I whizzed by. I should have worn either shorts or waders. Live and learn.

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Tim got this trout from his paddleboard.

Tuesday was very exciting with trips to both David Maus Toyota and the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Orlando. Arch criminals stole my arches (that’s a joke, folks). There are podiatrists in my future.

Wednesday I got caught in the rain while running on the FT. It was fun.

Thursday was errand and other minutia of life day.

Friday Tom Mitzlaff took me for a spin on his new Solo Skiff boat. It’s an awesome little boat. Read the blog here.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

We found quite a few redfish, very spooky ones. They were the kind that you lead six feet with a small, non-descript fly, and when you twitch it when they get close they spaz out and flee at a high rate of speed. Both of us had several shots and all of them ended in identical fashion.

We wanted tailers. We got nervous wrecks.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

March 19, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

An email led to my going paddleboard fishing in Mosquito Lagoon today.

My host, or I should say my gracious host, Tim Baker, is principal at East Coast Paddle. Before we went fishing Tim explained his company’s focus to me:

-first, they build the world’s highest quality paddleboards in Edgewater, supporting 15 families right here in central Florida;
-they build various types of paddleboards for fishing, surfing, and ecotouring;
-they are a paddleboard service company, providing guided fishing, guided ecotours, and rentals;
-they give paddleboarding instruction to everyone using their services.

Tim has a specially built pontoon boat he uses to transport paddleboards and paddleboarders to the destination at which their activity will take place. I stepped on and off we went.

paddleboard fishing in mosquito lagoon

Tim Baker with his paddleboard transport vessel.

As he was explaining the hows and whys of paddling a paddleboard, Tim took note of the fact that the wind (at 10 to 15 out of the south) was really a bit strong for paddleboard fishing. Having been forewarned, I hopped on the board.

I was a little shaky at first, for all of 30 seconds. Then it was fine.

Like any smart paddler, Tim went upwind first. He chugged right along. I got on my knees to lower my wind resistance.

Tim looking for fish from his paddleboard.

Tim looking for fish from his paddleboard.

I saw a redfish tailing in a lee. On the approach I hit the board with the paddle. The fish stopped tailing. You still need to be quiet.

We paddled upwind a while. Tim told me ordinarily they drop the fishermen off with a guide, then move the big boat to a position downwind. That way the paddleboarders never have to fight against the wind.

It was windy, and we sailed. Always the sight fisher, I looked for fish to which I could cast. Tim opted to just cast into potholes. His strategy worked better, as he caught the only fish we got.

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Tim got this trout from his paddleboard.

I could see the potential for stealthy fish stalking when weather conditions were favorable were enormous. A paddleboard is a quiet, maneuverable platform from which you can silently approach wary fish.

Tim said big tarpon from the board were his favorite target. I can only imagine how exciting that must be.

Tim has made a video about paddleboard fishing for redfish in Mosquito Lagoon which you can find here http://youtu.be/Q7y5sUOfRYs .

After watching it I’m more than ready to go try paddleboard fishing  in Mosquito Lagoon again.

For more information about East Coast Paddle, or to inquire about a paddleboard trip, call Tim at 407.406.0742, or visit the website at East Coast Paddle.

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Loading the board after the trip.

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

January 26, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov
-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Blog Posts this Week-
–UV Skinz- A Review

Tuesday’s out-of-the-box thinking led to some excellent fishing.

I left the house at close to three o’clock in the afternoon, heading to River Breeze, armed with a kayak and a three-weight. After paddling to the fishing spot I was happily surprised to see redfish tailing all over the place. It was cold and windy- I was not expecting this.

tailing redfish mosquito lagoon, orlando area fishing report

The first two clumps of tailers refused the fly, which led to a change. Three fish were boated and released before sunset, an outstanding evening’s outing.

Wednesday morning found me in the same spot with the same tackle. The tailers were gone. At a different spot a trout chased several mullet to the surface. Some blind casting with a minnow imitation led to two missed strikes, and the capture of two nice trout. The bigger of the two was at least two feet long. A redfish fell for the fake, too.

mosquito lagoon seatrout, orlando area fishing report

On the way back to River Breeze I found some more tailing redfish, and managed a nice one on a little shrimpy looking fly. It was a beautiful if chilly morning. The fish were just icing on the cake.

Thursday I launched at KARS Park as the sun came up. It was a gorgeous morning. There was no one else there, which made me think I wouldn’t find any fish. I paddled quite a distance, and loaded the kayak back onto the chariot at 1 PM, not having seen a single fish. Won’t be going back there for a while.

Friday Dr. George Yarko joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We went to where all those fish were last week, didn’t see any. When I started up again the steering cable went. We drifted most of the way back to Haulover, casting DOA Shrimp. We got a load of trout, mostly shorts. I cleaned two fish for Mary Jo, who was glad to get them.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area Saltwater Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Spotted Seatrout- A Pictorial

November 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Spotted Seatrout

My favorite time for Spotted Seatrout fishing happens when the water gets cold and the big trout sun themselves over white potholes in the grassy bottom. Wait, that’s right now, man!

You can sight fish spotted seatrout now. The flies that work best are unweighted streamers. My favorite flies though, are surface flies- gurglers and poppers.

You will have by far the best results if you get in the water and wade. You will need waders- the water is cold, remember?

Although a big one will pull line off the reel, generally Seatrout do not pull very hard. They jump only rarely. Frankly, they’re not terribly exciting to catch, unless you get a real big one or you get them on a top-water lure. That visual strike is usually the best part of the fight.

Below are some of my favorite images of spotted seatrout. I hope you all get a chance to catch some nice ones of your own this winter. Please carefully release those big ones, too!

spotted seatrout

Son Maxx with a trout he caught many years ago in Everglades National Park. The fish took a DOA Bait Buster.

 

spotted seatrout

A few years later Maxx and Mike Brown got this seatrout double in the Indian River Lagoon. DOA Shrimp did the trick this time.

 

spotted seatrout

Mr. DOA himself, Mark Nichols, with a handsome Indian River Lagoon seatrout.

 

spotted seatrout

An unweighted streamer fooled this big Mosquito Lagoon seatrout.

 

spotted seatrout

Vic Attardo and son Alex with a Banana River Lagoon seatrout double.

 

spotted seatrout

Capt. Chris Myers with a handsome seatrout from Mosquito Lagoon.

 

spotted seatrout

This seatrout nailed a gurgler.

 

spotted seatrout

This trout nailed a foam popper, and chewed it to pieces.

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

November 25, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events- Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 23-28, 2013

In this version of the Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, the water level in the lagoons is still unseasonably high. That, combined with the low angle of sun in the wintering sky, is making sight fishing in the lagoons difficult.

That having been said, on Tuesday Cheryl, the official sister of the Spotted Tail and famous stained glass artist, joined me for a redfish-for-Thanksgiving-dinner mission. The wind was screaming out of the north. The first spot we went I was tossing a Johnson Minnow. I didn’t get a bite but I did poke a redfish with my fishing rod. He bolted, as could be expected.

We anchored up on the lee side of an island and put two mullet chunk lines out. In 20 minutes I had gotten three reds to 32 inches, with one being a fine 25 inch dinner fish. Mission accomplished, we put the boat on the trailer.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Cheryl with the best fish of the day.

The fish, stuffed with a crabmeat and rice stuffing and grilled over an oak fire, was delicious.

On Wednesday fly fishers Andrew Peterson and his friend Terry joined me for a day’s fly fishing. Since the wind was again screaming out of the north my guess was any fish we got would be by the grace of God. He didn’t smile on us. In spite of working our butts off all day we got exactly one bite which was not converted. It was a beautiful day if you weren’t trying to fly fish, but next to impossible for a fly caster.

Thursday was a lovely day and the Kumiskis had 30-odd guests for a wonderful celebration. I hope all of you had a blessed day.

Friday long-time client Todd Preuss Ph.D. came down from Atlanta for some fly fishing. The wind was out of the north but uncharacteristically was only blowing about 10-12 mph. Using a slider Todd got two nice reds in the slot and a fat little killifish, more commonly called a mud minnow here in Florida. Never saw one taken with a fly before.

Late in the afternoon we found a bunch of seatrout on a sheltered shoreline and Todd got two on a Hot Head fly. All in all it was a real nice day.

Saturday Rob Ghini and Tammy Wilson joined me for another Mosquito Lagoon trip. The wind was still there, 10-12 out of the northwest. The slight direction change moved the fish.

We went to where the fish were on Thursday, first the redfish, then the seatrout. Neither were still there. So it was search mission time.

Rob got the first red on a Johnson Minnow while blind casting. Then I got one on a chartreuse DOA Shrimp. A while later Tammy got a trout on the DOA Shrimp.

While sight fishing across a large flat tammy spotted a small group of reds and Rob got the best fish of the day on a piece of mullet.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Tammy spotted it, Rob caught it, a true team effort. It was released.

We got a few more trout on jigs and DOA Shrimp.

It was a beautiful day but the fish were scarce. We had to work hard but we did get a few, and enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

Thanks to all my fishermen this week- you were all awesome.

I sure hope the water level drops soon.

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Black Drum Images- A Pictorial

November 21, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Black Drum.

Thanksgiving blessings to all. The holiday lies a few hours off. To central Florida fly fishers that should mean black drum begin appearing on shallow flats of the Banana River Lagoon.

We sight fish for these brutes, using seven-weight (some folks like more rod) fly rods with such flies as black Clouser Minnows, black bunny leeches, or Merkin crabs in brown. My preference is for size two hooks. a 1/5oth ounce lead eye. Weed guards are essential.

First you search for the fish. There are no guarantees you will find them. Sometimes it’s a long day, lots of water covered, nothing to show for it.

black drum

Searching for black drum in the Banana River Lagoon.

Sometimes, though, you hit the jackpot.

black drum image

John Thompson with a big black drum.

The best days for them are warm and sunny with little or no wind.

black drum image

The first time Barry Kent fished with me he got this black drum.

The water is cold though. You need waders unless you’re tough.

black drum

Greg Ritland fights a black drum.

Many moons ago I brought one of my students, a seventh grader, fishing there. He had a brand new fly rod. This is the first fish he caught with it.

black drum image

Matt Van Pelt broke in his new fly rod with this fish. He’s in his thirties now.

No one will mistake these fish for a bonefish or a rainbow trout. But they are probably the largest tailing fish in North America, reaching sizes over 100 pounds.

black drum image

It’s a face only a fisherman could love,

My good friend Rodney Smith and I had a banner day on drum one time.

black drum

Rodney Smith, when he had time to go fishing.

Another good friend, Rick DePaiva, has had more luck there than anyone else I know.

black drum image

Ricky D with one of the many big black drum he’s taken there.

 

black drum

This was the first fish we saw this particular morning.

 

black drum

We photographed the daylights out of this fish, taking advantage of a good fish and great light.

 

black drum release

We took several more fish this day, but this was the best one.

 

Black drum should be on the flats until about Easter time. Make some time to get out there and pursue these unusual fish.

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Fishing and Other Odds and Ends

October 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Fishing and Other Random Stuff That Popped Up This Week

We postponed the fishing trip scheduled for yesterday. I went around the entire Mosquito Lagoon during Sunday’s On The Water Show and Tell and did not see a single fish. Thank goodness that’s a pretty rare event.

fishing, black drum

With the temperature dropping into the 40s, can this action be far off??

Here’s a link to a blog that found me. It’s not about fishing but it is honest. There’s lots of conservation in there, and nice photography- http://pejorativejinx.blogspot.com

I chose today to go vote. It was not a good day to go commando. I froze while waiting in line. I couldn’t believe how many people were there.

The emotional response I had to voting almost overwhelmed me. We are so very, very lucky to live here.

Please take the time to research the candidates and to vote. Democracy works best with an informed, responsible citizenry.

With our suddenly chilly weather, it seems like a good time to re-visit this article on my website- http://www.spottedtail.com/free-fishing-article-flats-fishing-after-a-cold-front/

As always, thanks for reading.

John Kumiski
http:www.spottedtail.com

Copyright © John A. Kumiski 2012. All rights reserved.

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Redfish Photo Essay

October 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Redfish- A Photo Essay

Chasing redfish has occupied a lot of my time since 1985. Good fortune has allowed me to search for them all over Florida and in every state where you can reasonably expect to find one, except Virginia.

Below is a selection of my own favorite redfish photos from the digital age.

cruising redfish

Hungry redfish search for food in a North Carolina salt marsh.

 

shrimp jumps for life

A small shrimp makes a desperate, acrobatic leap to escape a hungry redfish.

 

redfish pushing a wake

Several cruising redfish, pushing a distinct wake.

 

redfish busting shrimp

Tiny shrimp scatter through the air in all directions as a hungry redfish explodes on them.

 

egret w redfish school

An egret follows a redfish school hoping for some free lunch. Many kinds of birds do this.

 

texas redfish

Ken Shannon on the fly rod, Chuck Naiser on the push pole, Aransas National WIldlife Refuge, Texas.

 

louisiana redfish

Ken Shannon with a redfish on the fly rod, Kevin Carter with a pair in his hands. Plaquemines Parrish, Louisiana

 

kevin's redfish

Five year old Kevin was trading this redfish for a trip to Disney’s Haunted Castle. No wonder he’s happy! Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

 

makoto's redfish

This was Makoto’s first redfish. As he held it for the photo, it was squirting milt all over his leg. Indian River Lagoon, Florida

 

Redfishermen all love to find tailing fish…

tailing redfish

Tailing redfish, Mosquito Lagoon, Florida

 

tailing redfish

Tailing redfish in a Georgia salt marsh.

 

stalking a tailing redfish

Stalking a tailing red in a Georgia salt marsh.

 

He’s on! A black bunny leech did the trick.

 

Aye, ’tis a handsome redfish!

 

UGLY redfish

This is the ugliest redfish I’ve ever seen. I caught it in the Mosquito Lagoon.

 

Kayaking is a favorite way to hunt for redfish. Here my son Maxx is surrounded by them. Indian River Lagoon, Florida

 

redfish portrait

A beautiful redfish on a spectacular afternoon. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

redfish head shot

This fish was pushing 20 pounds. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

big redfish

My son Alex with a handsome redfish. Banana River Lagoon, Florida

 

Winter ordinarily provides outstanding opportunities to sight fish for redfish here in central Florida. I look forward to another great season!

That is the end of the redfish photo essay.

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters

October 10, 2012 by · 2 Comments

Flies for the Mosquito Lagoon and Adjacent Waters 

Redfish Flies

A selection of effective flies for fishing the east central Florida lagoons.

It occurred to me while working on my Goodnews River fly series that one needed to be done for the local Florida waters. This is it!

Which flies work best when fishing the Mosquito Lagoon? What day are we talking about? Accept the fact that the fish have moods. Some days they’ll eat anything. Other days they’ll eat nothing. You need to cover the water column, and you need to think about what your target species eats. For fishing in this lagoon, flies need to have weedguards or they will not work.

Redfish eat crabs, small fish (generally two inches or less) and shrimp. They have an inferior mouth, and prefer to feed down. Seatrout eat small fish, shrimp, and occasionally crabs. They have a superior mouth and prefer to feed up. They will take a much larger baitfish than reds typically do.

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

A small Merkin will take reds when nothing else will work. Black drum like it, too.

For reds I like flies on #4 and #2 hooks, lightly weighted, and equipped with weedguards. Patterns include Clouser Minnows, my version of Borski’s sliders, Merkins, bunny leeches, and similar types of flies. I always have some unweighted bendbacks (same sizes) for when the plop of a weighted fly landing spooks them.

Indian River Seatrout

Sliders work on many different species. This one uses synthetic “hackle”, but an actual hackle feather works well, too. Note the obvious two-pronged weed guard.

For seatrout I like minnow-type flies, similar to the popular Puglisi patterns, in sizes 2, 1, and 1/0. Small gurglers, poppers, or sliders are also good to carry. There’s quite a bit of crossover between the two species in terms of what flies they’ll take.

Mosquito Lagoon Seatrout

Big trout eat smaller fish. This one took a bendback. A minnow pattern is a necessity.

Colors are more important to fishermen that fish most of the time. That having been said, my redfish flies are typically black, brown, tan, gray, green, or purple. My trout flies imitate the natural coloration of small fish, or are hot pink and chartreuse.

Lastly, for days when blind casting is needed, I like the Dupre Spoonfly and the Rattle Rouser in addition to a few popping bugs.

If you carry a selection of the types of flies mentioned you’ll be ready for almost any situation you’re likely to encounter here.

Please feel free to comment and let all of us know what your favorites are. You might even consider writing a guest blog about it!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

September 24, 2012 by · 3 Comments

Happy Birthday, Alex Kumiski!

 

After doing some telephone research, Monday morning found Scott Radloff and I launching the Mitzi at Kennedy Point Park in Titusville. The goal was to do some scouting and hopefully find some redfish and seatrout in the Indian River Lagoon.

We poled and ran quite a distance from the Rinker Canal to Parrish Park. Having been in Alaska all summer and having heard about the algae bloom in the lagoons I was not expecting much. This was a good thing. We didn’t find much.

The water clarity was better at the south end  of where we looked. It wasn’t very good anywhere. The closer we got to shore the dirtier the water got.

We did not see many fish. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. We got three reds between us, mine on a DOA Shrimp, Scott’s on a Gulp. The largest was 22 inches. I tossed a Chug Bug all morning and did not get a single response.

The boat ran well and it was wonderful to be on home waters again.

Tuesday Tammy Wilson and I tried a similar routine on the Banana River Lagoon, launching at Kelly Park. The water was at least as clean as the cleaner places we saw in the Indian River Lagoon. However, there was very little seagrass. Most of the bottom was bare.

I wanted to run down toward Pineda Causeway but the whitecaps made me re-think that strategy. We did not see many fish. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. I got one red on a mullet chunk from under a dock, a skinny 21 inch fish. We beat the rain back to the dock, pulling the boat at about 1:30.

Thursday I went up the road to the Econ, just to check it out. It is running quite high, higher than I would want to wade in.

With this as my background I had a fly charter on Friday with Jim Coraci. He had never caught a redfish before and desperately wanted to do so.

We launched at Parrish Park at 7 AM, running and poling as far south as the NASA Causeway. We only saw a few fish, and had zero shots. Plenty of boats, though!

We turned around and ran north of Parrish Park. We found a few reds working along a shoreline up there. What they lacked in numbers they made up for in lack of size. However, Jim managed to get three bites on a Merkin crab, and landed two redfish. One was a beautiful fish with 12 spots. The other was tailing with a partner.

Lovely to see tailing fish, even if, again, they were only about 21 or 22 inches long. Better small fish than no fish!

I will be doing more exploration in the upcoming week. It’s the end of September- there ought to be mind-boggling numbers of mullet everywhere in those lagoons. There definitely were not, so I need to look along the beach.

That is this week’s Orlando area fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2012. All rights are reserved.

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