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Two Days Fishing, Two BIG Lagoon Redfish

April 23, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Report from Spotted Tail 4/22/11

Upcoming Events-

-Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted to launch 3:47 p.m. EDT, April 29. I am actively soliciting a charter for this date. Rumor has it that this will be the final Space Shuttle flight EVER. Watch the launch and fish, simultaneously!

-On May 7 I’ll be giving free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying Clouser Minnows. Come out and see us, and walk out with some new flies!

-On May 21 I’ll be giving a seminar called Fly Fishing for West Coast Tarpon at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, starting at 10 AM. Tom Van Horn will also be giving a tarpon seminar aimed at east coast fish.

Tuesday night at 9 PM I made a last check of the answering machine. There was a message on it that I immediately responded to. Because I did I had a charter on Wednesday with two delightful young men. Austin Warmus and his buddy Jonathan, both 17 years old, both from Raleigh NC, joined me for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. Austin had been on several fishing charters prior to this one and had never really caught anything. Nothing like a little pressure on the guide.

For most of the day we did not have great success. Redfish were fairly scarce and those we did find were uncooperative. We got several trout (mostly small) on DOA Shrimp, a couple ladyfish, and a bluefish. I stashed the ladies for future reference.

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Austin Warmus, Jonathan, and a Mosquito Lagoon Trout. Don’t mess with these guys.

With 30 minutes left I went to a chunking spot, staked out, and chunked some ladyfish pieces. Pinfish ate us up. On the last piece, almost out of time, the rod went off. Austin grabbed it and the battle was on.

Austin won. Here he is with the conquered. The fish was released. Austin kicked his bad luck in the teeth.

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Austin was a little more animated after catching this specimen.

Friday morning I dragged my butt out of bed at 115 AM and drove over to Tom Van Horn’s house. On the way to the Indian River Lagoon we picked up Scott Radloff. We launched the boat before three and went plugging. I had several bites that I missed before we got a decent trout. Tom decided that since the surface plug bite was slow we should chunk. Good call.

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An intense looking Mr. Radloff with an Indian River Lagoon seatrout.

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Same fish, close-up of plug.

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Capt. Tom Van Horn shows off a handsome redfish from the Indian River Lagoon.

We got five reds, one in the slot, the rest well over, and one Buulll that I subdued with a new Stradic and an old Cape Fear rod.

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A big ugly Indian River Lagoon redfish and that fisherman ain’t so pretty either.

So I was only out two days and didn’t touch a fly rod this week. Still haven’t caught a fish on any of the new rods I bought a couple weeks ago. Have tied a lot of flies though!

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Fly Fishing for West Coast Tarpon

April 19, 2011 by · 3 Comments

Why– if you have to ask…

Where– I fish the Fort Myers area but from Everglades up to Appalachicola. Homosassa, Tampa Bay south to Fort Myers Beach, Naples, and Everglades, all produce a lot of fish.

When– peak May and June. Some fish remain in Everglades, Charlotte Harbor into October

How?

Boat– a necessity. Fly fishing friendly, equipped w/ trolling motor(s). Flats skiffs and bay boats both work- water usually at least 3 feet deep, usually more. An anchor with float necessary.

Tackle

Rods-12 wt, 9 ft standard

Reels- highest quality- Abel, Tibor, Islander, etc.- 300 yds 30 lb. Dacron backing plus line

Line- ideally three rods w/ floating, sink-tip, & intermediate

Leaders- three piece big game style, at least 12 feet long.
-Butt- 6′ of 40-50 lb nylon
-Tippet- 6′ of 20 lb nylon/fluorocarbon, tied big game style
-Bite tippet- 12-24″ 60 lb fluorocarbon. Anything more than 12″ NOT IGFA compliant.      Longer bite tippet eliminates need for tarpon box.

Flies- Lots work, every guide has strong opinions. 2/0, 3/0, highest quality J-            hooks, sticky sharp!

Traditional hackle tarpon streamers, EP style, bunny flies, crab imitations, toads, shrimp. Variety of colors, brown, black, orange, purple, chartreuse, green. Never underestimate the power of the Cockroach!

Setting the drag- drag should be set at 25% of the tippet breaking strength, in other words, 3-4 lbs. Use a scale to learn. It’s hard to pull line from a drag set this tight.

Techniques

Needs for both- clean water, clear skies, moderate winds. Lots of fish help. Best to avoid weekends, especially Memorial Day.

Two main styles- wait and ambush vs. hunt them down.

Wait and Ambush– find a spot where visibility is good and fish frequently pass. Anchor and wait for them to come to you.
Advantages-  fuel efficient, no motor noise, lots of shots when fish are moving
Disadvantages- no shots when fish aren’t moving. Popular spots fill up.

orlando fishing, orlando fishing charters, orlando fishing trip, orlando fishing guide

Good light, light bottom, clear water, and a sizable tarpon school.

Hunt Them Down– Cruise w/ outboard, with electric, or on pushpole, hunting for fish at which to cast. When found, stalk fish w/ electric and/or pushpole to get into casting position.

Advantages- in some areas (Homosassa, others) fish don’t follow “paths”
-psychological feeling of being involved
-when fish aren’t moving it’s the only way to find some

Disadvantages-not fuel efficient. Motor noise, even trolling motor, spooks fish

You can use ambush style, then chase large groups of fish when they pass.

Tides and Fish

Simple explanation- Incoming tides generally push fish closer to shore. Falling tides cause fish to move farther out. In most places these are main tidal effects.

Complex explanation- Gulf has one tide days and two tide days. On one tide (“hill” tide) days Boca Grande Pass, Captiva Pass, and to a lesser extent other SW Florida passes have “crab hatches.” In afternoon big falling tide flushes pass crabs through passes. Pass crabs are tarpon candy. They rise to these like brown trout to mayfly duns. Fly fishing possible but crazy during crab hatch. Fairly easy to hook up sometimes, almost impossible to catch the fish. Current, depth, sharks, other boaters big problems.

Fish Behaviors

Backcountry fish- will lay up, fin out, and act in a generally relaxed way. Great to see. Relaxed fish will eat. Deep water rollers- hard to target with fly.

Beach fish are generally moving- cruisers.

Generally, you want fish high in the water column. When deep they’re hard to target with fly.

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Generally you want the fish coming at you and high in the water.

-Singles vs. schools- fish range in numbers from one to hundreds. All are legitimate shots. Singles eat. If the shot is there, take it!

-Flashing- fish rolls on side and flashes. Fish that do this generally relaxed.

-Rolling- fish come to surface and gulp air. Visible from a long way off, 200-300 yards.

-Daisy chain- fish get in circle and swim nose to tail, clockwise or counterclockwise. Both BC and beach fish will daisy chain. Great opp for fly caster. Always cast to fish coming at you.

Presenting the Fly

#1 Rule- Wait until you’re sure you can make the cast!

#2 Rule- wait for a good angle! Best angle- fish coming straight at you. Next- crossing shots. Fish moving away- no chance.

The higher in the water the fish is/are, the better your chance.

#3 Rule- lead the fish. Allow it to encounter the fly.

#4 Rule- strip just fast enough to keep the fly in front of the fish, or just keep contact with it, depending on presentation angle. Keep the fly in the strike zone as long as you can.

Strike zone with single fish is fairly small. With a big school it’s huge.

These fish live a long time and have seen it all. It is not easy to get a bite, even when you do everything perfectly.

The Bite

The moment a big tarpon takes your fly is the finest, most amazing moment in angling. Nothing else comes close.

When the fish turns, strip strike. And again! And again! Often he’ll only give you one chance though.

Job one- clear line to the reel.

Put rod butt against forearm. Circle thumb and forefinger on line hand and allow line to clear to reel. If a knot forms turn the rod guides up. The knot has a better chance to clear this way.

When the fish is to the reel, if he’s not jumping, use the rod and set the hook again, 3, 4, 5 times. It’s like driving a nail. Get that thing stuck!

Bow to the king! When he jumps lower the rod and point it at him. You need slack when he’s airborne or he’ll break the leader.

orlando fishing, orlando fishing charters, orlando fishing trip, orlando fishing guide

Bow to the king when he jumps to put a little slack in the line. This helps prevent leader breakage.

His first rush often requires a chase with the boat. That’s why you need a float on the anchor. Don’t try to stop or slow him, and pray he jumps a lot. Fish that don’t jump will hurt you.

Once he slows down get the fly line on the reel and start pulling. How hard do you pull? As hard as you’re able to. This part isn’t so amazing, and is really hard work. Many wannabe tarpon fishers realize during this part of the fight that this isn’t something they want to repeat.

One of you is always taking line.

Change the angle of pull frequently. Pull in the direction opposite that of the fish. Use the “down and dirty,” especially when he tries to roll.

When the fish surges, back off. As soon as he slows go back to work.

If your drag is properly set, if you use good technique, and if the fish jumps at least a couple times you should have him boatside in 30 to 45 minutes. If you get past an hour you should just break him off before a shark eats him.

Use gloves to lip the fish. For his sake and yours, leave him in the water. Use your trolling motor to drag him to revive him. When he’s ready for release you won’t be able to hold him.

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Use gloves and grab the fish's jaw with your hands.

A good guide is your best tool if you’d like to try this.

Capt. John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including text and photographs copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights reserved.

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A Mosquito Lagoon Seatrout for His Birthday…-Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

…but the redfish got away!  🙁

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4/17/11

Upcoming Events-

-Space Shuttle Endeavour is targeted to launch 3:47 p.m. EDT, April 29. I am actively soliciting a charter for this date. Rumor has it that this will be the final Space Shuttle flight EVER. Watch the launch and fish, simultaneously! Call me soon- time is short! Early bird gets the worm, and all that!

Imagine yourself in this scene. April 29, be there!

-On May 7 I’ll be giving free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying Clouser Minnows. Come out and see us, and walk out with some new flies!

-On May 21 I’ll be giving a seminar called Fly Fishing for West Coast Tarpon at Mosquito Creek Outdoors, starting at 10 AM. Capt. Tom Van Horn will also be giving a tarpon seminar aimed at east coast fish.

I thought the Bang-O-Craft was ready to rumble, so I took it for a spin on Wednesday. It made it about 300 yards and then it dies. Had to pole back to the ramp. Arrrrghgghhh- so aggravating. No scouting accomplished.

Friday my fishermen were Shane Arline and his friend Lieutenant Colonel Big Ed, both from North Dakota. It was cloudy and windy, hard out of the southeast. We started in the Mosquito Lagoon. Ed caught a redfish almost immediately on a gold Johnson Minnow. Then we went a good while without a bite so we moved to deeper water and tried trout fishing. Using DOA Glow Shrimp we got quite a few, although they were all small. We also got a couple bluefish and a few ladyfish. I tossed a ladyfish into the bucket for future reference.

The bite slowed so I took the boat through the Haulover Canal and tried the east side of the Indian River Lagoon, thinking we could get out of the wind. HA! no chance. We fished all the way up to Griffis Bay with a few small trout and ladies to show for it.

We ran back to the Mosquito Lagoon and put out a couple of cut ladyfish lines where we had seen a few reds earlier. The action wasn’t hot but we got two more to about 28 inches. Considering the weather I thought it was a pretty fair day.

Today, Sunday, John Ramsey bought the birthday boy Alejandro aboard for a nice birthday present of a fishing trip. Alejandro was 14 years old today- Happy birthday, buddy! We started by fishing for trout, again using DOA Glow Shrimp. It was a pretty good bite. Although most of the fish were undersized, we did get a few decent ones. There were no blues today, but a few ladies came aboard. I again threw one in the bucket for future reference.

One of the many seatrout Alejandro got for his birthday. The redfish escaped, however.

Toward the end of the fare I poled in close to shore and tossed a couple ladyfish chunks out. Alejandro was rewarded with a strong bite from a surprising large redfish. I was considering chasing it, as the fish ran a long way and the line level on the spool got dangerously low. However, and very sadly, the fish broke off before I could put my plan into action. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we ended our fishing trip.

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Three Ways to NOT Catch Flats Fish

April 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Learn a few sins to use when you wish to scare off every fish on any flat.

Big Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

You'll never catch fish like this one if you're noisy.

Clothing
If you can see them, you should assume they can see you, too. Flats fish can see bright clothing, especially brightly colored shirts or hats, more easily than more subdued shades. My friend Barry Kent was disgusted with himself one day while we were fishing together, saying his white hat had spooked several fish. White, bright red, and bright yellow are definitely colors to avoid when chasing skinny water fish. Wear subdued earth tones to avoid becoming a neon DANGER sign to your quarry.

For the ultimate in flats camouflage, Aqua Design makes a line of technical clothing printed with computer enhanced images taken from underwater photographs looking through the water’s surface. If you make it harder for the fish to sense your presence you ought to get more good shots at fish.

Noise
Fish in shallow water respond negatively to noise, even the human voice. They hear everything you do with your feet. The following two examples illustrate this.

One recent morning three of us were stalking a school of about 200 redfish from my boat when my angler moved the Fly Lane Tamer, trying to get it into a better position for casting. The Tamer’s base bumped the lip that goes around the edge of my casting deck. The school, almost in casting range at that point, immediately stampeded and never slowed down as long as they remained in sight, pushing a receding wake for at least a quarter of a mile. A golden opportunity was lost because of one small bump.

On another picture perfect morning (the kind fishermen dream about) I was wading with a friend. We were surrounded by tailing redfish, literally hundreds of them, in water less than knee deep. My friend decided he needed to tell me something, even though he was 100 yards away. After he shouted over to me, every tail in the vicinity immediately disappeared.

If you want more shots at fish while on the flats conduct yourself as though you are stalking wary wild animals that are intent on surviving, because that’s exactly what you are doing.

Hesitation
An old proverb says that, “He who hesitates is lost.” Flats fishing proves this adage true over and over again. If you hesitate once the fish is in casting range, the fish either moves too close and sees you or else it moves too far away and you can’t reach it. It’s better to do anything, screw up, and learn from your mistake than stand there wondering what to do and let the opportunity disappear.

Fly fishermen often ask me, “How far will I need to cast?” In most flats fishing speed and accuracy of delivery will be more important than distance. Fifty feet, on target and right now, will usually do the trick.

There are more common sins. They will be the subject of upcoming blogs.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog including text and photos copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights reserved.

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A Week of Not Catching Redfish- Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

April 10, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4/10/11

Upcoming Events-

On May 7 I’ll be giving free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying Clouser Minnows. Come out and see us, and walk out with some new flies!

From the Mailbag-

“We enjoyed our trip last Friday! Thanks! Photo attached.” -Paul Parker

mosquito lagoon redfish guide

Mike with his first redfish ever.

This week, the fishing was wonderful. Catching, on the other hand…

On Monday fly fishers Gifford Hampton and Alan McDonald joined me on the Mosquito Lagoon. The day started windy and got even more windy. I thought it was blowing 25 mph, coming out of the south. I was wrong, it only hit 23. We saw decent numbers of redfish but only had a couple shots, and did not score. In that wind it was very tough fishing.

Tuesday thunderstorms came through and I did not fish.

Wednesday fly fishers David Frost and Thomas Reay gave it a go. It was blowing between 15 and 20 out of the east and again it was a tough day. We found quite a few redfish but were not able to get so much as a bite.

On Thursday Herb and Pat Jones, brothers from Gainesville, joined me. The wind was not blowing hard, although there were some clouds. It was a pretty nice day all in all. The first school of redfish we found were deep and could not be effectively targeted. The second school already had two boats working it. We did not linger.

We finally found another school and worked them for close to an hour. They were very spooky, many times moving off before we got into casting range. Casting range with a jig and a Johnson Minnow is fairly far. Just showing a bait to these fish was difficult.  Herb got one hit on a Johnson Minnow. The fish came off. Herb got one dink trout and that was the total catch for the day, for the week.

Ouch.

After this week I think I’ll write a blog post on “The Top Three Things to do to Not Catch Redfish.”

On Saturday friend Karl Dienst returned my cleaned up, now running, Johnson 15 to me. The Bang-O-Craft may ride again this week! Thank you, Karl!

Also on Saturday I went to Mosquito Creek Outfitters to give fly tying lessons. There was no one to give lessons to, so I just tied myself some flies. The store is beautiful and well worth the visit, especially if you haven’t been there before.

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando area saltwater fishing report

April 3, 2011 by · 3 Comments

The Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4/3/11

Upcoming Events-

On April 9 I’ll be giving free fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying wooly worms and wooly buggers. Come out and see us, and walk out with some new flies!

It’s April! Tarpon season is just around the corner and reports of caught keys and west coast fish have already come in. Spotted Tail will begin its month-long ode to the silver king at www.spottedtail.com/blog. Read the already posted blog about the Tarpon Box.

A free swimming tarpon gulps some air.

I’m looking for that big sardine,
the one that makes you jump and scream.
I’m looking for that big tarpon.
Just give me my prize and I’ll be gone.

From the Mailbag-

“Thanks for the great day on the water. Photos attached.” -John Stafford, Columbia, MO

Mr. Stafford's first fish of the day was fooled by a DOA CAL jerkbait.

“By the way, I read your blog this morning. You forgot the part about getting lost in the fog and your angler getting out to help push…(kidding……just a friendly jab).”
-Ron Schomer, Orlando, FL

Thanks, Ron. With friends like these, how can I go wrong?

Got rained out Monday. Tuesday’s fishermen read the forecast and postponed to next week. It turned out to be the nicest day of the week. But I stayed home and got my taxes done. 2010 was pretty dismal economically speaking.

While I was doing taxes the hummingbirds were having dogfights around the feeder. You would think that they could share, since the feeder has four stations. But two tiny birds used up a lot of energy keeping each other from feeding. When a third bird showed they both zoomed after it, then returned to their private aerial attacks.

Wednesday Sue and I went for a walk on the Florida Trail. We got and ate some tangerines. On the way back we raided one of our neighbor’s mulberry tree. The fruits are ripe and I probably ate a pound of berries. Yum! Urp. Excuse me!

The intent was to go scouting on Thursday. We awoke to lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, which continued all day. Didn’t go.

On Friday Alabamans (?) Paul Parker and Mike Baumgaudner joined me for a windy but otherwise beautiful day on the Mosquito Lagoon. We fished two separate schools of reds, getting exactly one bite on a Johnson Minnow. The fish weren’t too aggressive. The hooked fish broke off in one of those mystery breaks that you can’t figure out why it happened. In a different spot Mike got a nice slot red while blindcasting a Johnson Minnow. It was his first ever, and damn fine work. Paul got a trout that may have been in the slot on a DOA CAL, four inch.

It wasn’t a great week fishing-wise, although I did purchase four, count ’em, FOUR, new fly rods. Ooh yeah!

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

 

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Orlando area fishing report 3/19/11

March 19, 2011 by · 2 Comments

The Report from Spotted Tail 3/19/11

Upcoming Events-

On April 9 I’ll be giving fly tying lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. We’ll be tying wooly worms and wooly buggers. Come out and see us.

Don’t know how I got on his e-mailing list but I get a weekly blog from a fellow by the name of Bruce Turkel. It’s often interesting and thought provoking. This week’s was especially relevant. You can read it at this link: http://turkeltalks.com/index.php/2011/03/14/whats-even-better-than-being-lucky/

Fishing was pretty solid this week. The week had the most perfect weather I’ve seen well, maybe ever.

Monday fly caster Warren Pearson joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We had a good time. The weather was fantastic, and we were in fish most of the day. In spite of being a weak caster Mr. Pearson got himself a couple fine reds and missed several strikes.

On Tuesday the scene was repeated with John Stafford. Mr. Stafford preferred spin tackle. On about his fourth cast of the day a 16 pound red inhaled his DOA CAL jerkbait. If I said it got better after that it would be an exaggeration. But it stayed pretty darned good and eight or nine reds and trout were released.

Wednesday luck went south though. Mike Rudy and his friend Jim joined me, again on Mosquito Lagoon. We found a big school of fish right away and couldn’t get a bite on anything, including mullet chunks. Jim hooked a fish from the second school we found, only to break it off. We found a third school and could not get a bite, and ended up with one break-off and no released fish, in spite of seeing hundreds of reds. The weather was beautiful, and we had a good time. But it was a frustrating day from a fishing standpoint.

Thursday fly fisher Jose Colon, president of New York’s Salty Flyrodders, joined me. Again the weather was awesome, and again we saw loads of fish. Again they were not biting very well. This week had the fullest full moon of the year, since the full moon coincided with the lunar perigee. I wonder if that had anything to do with the redfish behavior the past couple of days? Anyhow, Jose did get one on a brown redfish worm, and missed a couple of strikes. He had hundreds of shots. Both of us enjoyed the day tremendously.

A redfish virgin no longer. Sr. Colon and his fish.

I had Friday off. What does a fishing guide do on his day off? He goes fishing! Scott Radloff and I went out of Port Canaveral looking for tripletail and cobia. There were lots of tripletail out there, although most we saw were small. We did get a 22 inch fish on a DOA Shrimp. We spent hours looking for cobia. Finally this enormous black shape materialized briefly. I cast a home-tied jig at it and hooked up immediately. Some minutes later a 30 pound class cobia was netted by Scott. I’ll be firing up the smoker later today.

No one wants to see pictures of me, but the fish is nice!

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Orlando area fishing report 3/11/11

March 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

The Report from Spotted Tail 3/11/11

Emails from readers-
“I read with interest your blog on littering; that is one of my pet peeves. I also cannot understand how people can carry in, but not carry out. Long ago, I got into the habit of taking out more whenever I went fishing (trash, not fish). It’s not hard to do. I was inspired by your blog to start this habit in my new home. Monday and Tuesday, I fished the Banana River off the 520 causeway, near the hospital. I carried home a full trash bag each day. Also, I hope people driving by saw a crazy guy in chest waders with a trash bag in his hand picking up trash along the shoreline. By the way, I caught some trout, too, one of which measured 30 inches.
“I’ll call you when I return in May, so we can go fishing. Thank you for being a great guide and a great person.” -5:00 Bob

God rewarded you for picking up trash with that fine trout, Bob. Great work and thank you.

“I spent last week fishing large areas between Sebastian and Vero Beach. A combination of wind, tidal fluctuations and shallow water made accessing the fish difficult in my north-country deep V boat. On an information seeking trip, at the tackle shop below the bridge in Vero, I picked up a copy of your 2005 redfish book and used to it find some scattered reds. Without your guidance, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to continue to seek redfish, and would have turned to the more predictable trout and ladyfish. I even picked up a few flounder, a new species for me. Pretty cool.
“So thanks for selflessly putting your flats experience between covers. The book is an undervalued resource at $12.95, and should be priced at least twice as much based on the specificity and depth of the information. I’ll journal the experience, and will use your book to shape tactics during future visits to the IRL.” -Jeff Kutcha, Jackson, MI

Thanks for the kind words, Jeff. Send the other $12.95 to me directly, please!

Sunday Bill Carey and I did the On-the-Water Show and Tell on the Mosquito Lagoon. While it was not a fishing trip we found some redfish and managed to get six or seven on RipTide weedless jigs and Johnson Minnows. Thanks for coming out, Bill.

Monday was cold and windy. That didn’t stop Steve Ranier and his uncle Mike from braving the elements aboard Spotted Tail. We started off with a quick five or six redfish in the pole/troll area of Mosquito Lagoon, using RipTide weedless jigs and DOA Glow Shrimp with an inserted Woodies Rattle. When that well dried up we went on a search mission. Some spots were barren, others had fish that wouldn’t eat, and they got a few more fish in other spots. We knocked off in 20 mph winds an hour early. I’ll be glad when the Haulover Ramp opens again.

Tuesday’s trip was cancelled because of the weather.

Wednesday Jim Revercomb and his son Wes joined me, again on Mosquito Lagoon. If anything it was even windier than Monday. The graph I checked afterwards showed wind speed peaked at 24 mph. Jim actually tried to fly fish, and we actually found a tailing fish. Between the winds and clouds it was almost impossible. By using spin tackle they managed three reds boated and a couple missed strikes. A RipTide weedless jig and a Johnson Minnow again did the damage. Again, we knocked off an hour early due to the conditions.

It poured all morning yesterday. I’m not booked today.

Tomorrow I’ll be giving fly tying demonstrations and lessons at Mosquito Creek Outdoors in Apopka, starting at noon. If you want to learn to tie the Redfish Worm and maybe some related patterns, come on out and see me!

Embrace simplicity.

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 2011. All rights are reserved.

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Dust Off the Cobia Tackle

February 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

No reports have filtered in yet about manta rays swimming off the beaches south of Port Canaveral. But the water temperature will soon hit the 68-72 degree mark, so they can’t be far off. When the rays show up, so do the cobia.

Cobia are fairly large fish. They follow the rays, swimming with them as the rays slowly migrate north. They could be as close as a half mile or as many as 10 or 12 miles off the beach. Cobia may also be found around sea turtles, weedlines, buoys and other flotsam, or even free swimming.

If the water temperature hits 72 degrees, cobia will frequently be right at the surface in 40 to 60 feet of water. If the light is good these fish are clearly visible to anyone who is looking for them. The average fish caught out of Port Canaveral weighs between 20 and 30 pounds, but of course smaller ones, and larger ones, are caught every year.

a fish like this will make your day

A few years back Rodney Smith and I went out in my Maverick Mirage on a perfect March day. We saw no mantas, no weeds, no flotsam of any kind. We were two or three miles off of Patrick Air Force Base idling around somewhat aimlessly in what I thought would be a fruitless search for fish. Then I spotted one cruising slowly with his fins out of the water. Rodney’s cast was right on. A few minutes later he was ours. We ended up finding six cobes, four of which we hooked, and three of which we caught. We each kept one, and got a nice tripletail (which was also free-swimming) as a little bonus. Not a bad day at all!

Although many different kinds of lures will work, a favorite for Canaveral cobia is a two or three ounce, chartreuse colored jig, tossed with a 20 pound spinning outfit. Use a 40 or 50 pound test fluorocarbon leader. Cast the jig to the side of the ray and let it sink on a tight line. Sometimes the fish will take it on the drop but if they don’t, work it rapidly back to your boat and try again. When one strikes there won’t be any doubt about it. Set the hook hard.

Another excellent and convenient cobia bait is a lively, six inch long shrimp, hooked through the tail with a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus or 5/0 or 7/0 circle hook. Lively is the key word here. Dead shrimp don’t elicit much response.

Cobia are very found of menhaden. If you can net up some pogies and then you find some cobia you’re sure to hook a few. Hook the pogies through the nose using a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus or a 5/0 or 7/0circle hook. Cast to sighted fish and liveline the baits. Refusals are rare.

Other productive cobia baits include live blue crabs and live eels. Live mullet and pinfish will also work. Day in and day out the shrimp are the easiest to obtain and use, and probably work as well as any other live bait.

You can also catch cobia with a fly rod. You need calm seas, and floating weeds are a big plus. With no flotsam, the fish could be at any angle relative to the boat. It’s hard to be ready for a fly rod shot. Weeds concentrate the fish so you only have to look under the weeds. The farther away you spot the fish, the easier it is to get a quality cast to him.

While many anglers gaff these fish when they come alongside, using that technique to boat your fish means you’ll have one very angry fish aboard. For truly big cobia a gaff is indispensable, but more modest specimens can and should be boated with a large landing net. They are much less likely to destroy tackle (or anything else in their way) if they’re not stuck with that big hook.

Cobia have dorsal spines that can inflict painful wounds on the unwary. Be careful when you get one of these fish in the boat. Larger vessels will have fish boxes that the fish will be dropped into, but in a small boat the fish may be simply lying on the deck. Cover such fish with wet towels to keep the sun off of them.

The cobia run only lasts a few weeks. It is a harbinger of the changing seasons, promising the nearshore angler months of great fishing to come. Take advantage of this fishing.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2011. All rights are reserved.

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More Stupid Ideas from our Legislators

February 13, 2011 by · 1 Comment

Mr. Bill Gunn of Melbourne sent me this as an email. It’s important enough that it needs to be passed along and responded to by all Florida readers.

Greetings.

Sportsmen have a long history of supporting conservation. States fund fishery and game enforcement, research and conservation through user fees raised by selling licenses. The attached link is an article from Florida Today regarding a Florida State Senator who is proposing that Florida eliminate the requirement for both fresh and saltwater fishing licenses within the state.

Florida fisherman and hunters are a very lucky lot. I lived in Connecticut where license fees go into the general fund. Their legislature is not mandated to earmark those funds toward programs impacting our sport and they skim off user fees for other purposes. But in Florida the funds are dedicated.

Note that Federal Law calls for states to administer Saltwater fishing licenses or the feds will impose a national licence requirement. If this proposal passes we will have no freshwater license and a federal saltwater license. Florida will loose funding for FWC, conservation, research and enforcement.  Please take a moment to read this article and voice your concerns to the State Senator sponsoring the bill. I believe he is misguided.

Stay hooked,

Bill Gunn
President, FFF Florida Council

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110213/COLUMNISTS0308/102130328/1067/SPORTS05/CCA-will-fight-Senator-s-plan-kill-licenses

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