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Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

March 20, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

Pagans everywhere! Celebrate the Equinox!!!

For disturbing news you won’t get on TV (like we need any more disturbing news), this summer’s algae bloom is already in full swing in the Indian River Lagoon system around Titusville. Two reports came in that it’s bad from Max Brewer Causeway south past NASA Causeway. On Sunday’s On-the-Water Show and Tell I circled Mosquito Lagoon twice. Water that was crystal clear last week is muddy brown now. The south end is just plain brown. This is not a good harbinger for summer fishing, or future fishing for that matter, in the lagoons. I hope to check the Banana River Lagoon this week coming.

Speaking of the show and tell, I got a little feedback-
-“I enjoyed them both very much and I think I learned a great deal.”
-“Thanks for the seminar, John. It was informative and enjoyable. I had been wanting to go on one for years.”
The next one is in October. Don’t miss it!

Casey Borland, who I fished last week, made a short GoPro video of our trip. It’s good. It made me laugh!

Fishing report, oh yes! Sunday, no fishing, the show and tell happened.

Monday I fished the brothers Gardner, Kevin and Joe, from Tallahassee, Florida. We went out of the Port with hopes of finding and catching tripletail and cobia. We ran south almost to Patrick AFB and then idled north a couple miles past Cape Canaveral. We did not see any fish other than a few hand-sized tripletail- not at all what we had in mind. The weather was awesome, the seas a little sloppy for the Mitzi.

They had to drive back to Tallahassee, so we started heading back to Port around 2:30. On the way back we ran into a large school of large black drum, hooked a half-dozen, and boated two. Not what we expected but I never look a gift horse in the mouth while fishing.

saltwater orlando fishing report

Joe got this drum on a swimbait.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

I don’t like the Boga Grip but it’s the only way Kevin could hold the beast.

Toosday I had a doctor appointment. Afterwards I met Michael Parks and his son Landon, from Atlanta. We used paddle vessels to go fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. We found a few tailing fish and Landon hooked and caught a very nice one, one of two reds he got.

saltwater Orlando fishing report

Landon does battle from the Dagger.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

It was his biggest fish to date.

Wednesday Michael and Landon joined me again. This time we used the Mitzi and fished in Mosquito Lagoon. The water looks bad. Lots of Rhodophyta floating around and covering the bottom. We saw five redfish, no dice as far as catching them goes. They did get a few trout on the DOA Deadly Combo, though. They had to drive back to Atlanta so we were off the water at 3 PM.

Thursday and Friday I got ready for the celebration of the equinox. Maybe I’m part Druid…

And that is this week’s Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

March 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

Sunday, a lovely day, found Chip, Casey, and Robert in the Mitzi skiff as we searched for hungry fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. We found lots of fish. They were not hungry. At the first spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but did not get a bite. At the second spot we cast to fish for a couple hours but only got one bite. It was missed. At the third spot we cast to fish for a couple hours. Chip got a decent trout and two rat reds on a DOA CAL shad tail. Robert missed a strike on a Johnson Minnow. Other things we tried included DOA Shrimp, jerk baits, and live shrimp. It was a beautiful day, but frustrating from a fishing standpoint.

Monday, likewise lovely, found Chip, Casey, and I in kayaks on the Banana River Lagoon. We did some fairly serious paddling. We found a school of black drum. Casey had a bite but lost the fish, then they would not bite any more.

We went looking for other fish.

I found another school of black drum. My fishermen were not nearby, so in order to get their attention I hooked a fish, using a black Bunny Leech. Chip and Casey came over PDQ. 

Orlando Fishing Report

Casey battles a fish.

 

orlando fishing report

It was the first black drum he’d ever caught.

 

orlando fishing report

It took a DOA Shrimp.

 

orlando fishing report

Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech, tied by Steve Baker.

 

orlando fishing report

Aye, ’tis a handsome fish!

Casey got one on a DOA Shrimp. Then Chip got one on a black Bunny Leech tied by Steve Baker. Then Casey got another on a DOA Shrimp. Then the fish would not bite any more.

We had a chance to cast to some tailing manatess. We did not take it.

We had more shots at fish before we left but did not get any more bites.

Still working the run of awesome weather, Rodney Smith and I went out of Port Canaveral on Tuesday on a cobia mission. The waves were running three to five feet, but it wasn’t very windy. The Mitzi handled it beautifully.

orlando fishing report

Rodney works a tripletail in close.

 

orlando fishing report

We saw more turtles than cobia.

The first fish we saw was a tripletail, sitting under a small clump of sargassum. Rodney threw a shrimp over and the fish gobbled it. We ended up seeing quite a few tripletail and hooked five or six, boating four legal fish ranging between five and ten pounds. I found myself wishing I had brought a fly rod because catching a ‘tail on fly would have been pretty straightforward. We did not, however, see a single cobia. 

orlando fishing report

Some delicious eating on display. The fish. I mean the fish.

Back at the Port we ran into Fred Cisneros. He had also been searching for cobia and had seen only one. I guess they are not here in force yet.

The Kumiskis had tripletail fillets sauteed in coconut oil for dinner Tuesday. Very delicious it was!

Thursday I water-tested my new boat, a Sevylor inflatable kayak (read the review here…). This is not a terribly seaworthy little boat. Its main function for me will be small pond fishing for bass and sunfish. It passed that test admirably, as I got five bass on surface flies.

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

The Sevylor Kwik Pak K-1, ready for launch.

 

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

This was the best trip of the morning’s feasibility study. This boat will help me find a bigger one.

So in four day’s fishing this week I handled seatrout, redfish, black drum, puffers, tripletail, and black bass. I wish I had gotten a couple of sunfish, too! And that is this week’s Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

March 12, 2015 by · 3 Comments

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

Sevylor Kwik Pak K-1 review

The Sevylor Quikpak K-1, ready for launch.

So this fairly inaccessible pond used to have a boat on it. When I visited the pond a few weeks ago, the boat was gone. GONE! How could I fish there now? The bottom is soft, the pond full of big alligators. That’s not a good wading combination.

Some research on-line led me to the Sevylor Quikpak K1 One Person Inflatable Kayak. I contacted (three times) the media representative at Coleman (Coleman owns Sevylor) to inquire about obtaining said vessel. They never responded to me.

Since the boat with shipping was less than $120, I just bought it. But I am wondering what customer service will be like, should I need it.

The boat arrived in a large carton. In the carton was the boat, a hand pump and hose, a paddle (which I just threw away), and the pack to carry the boat in. And of course there were instructions.

I took the boat into my yard and blew it up. The literature says this will take five minutes. It’s more like ten, not a deal-breaker if you’re the type who would carry the thing for a mile or two to get it to a body of water. Pumping up the boat is only a small amount of work, but enough that my aging butt had to take a break in the middle of it.

The valves and the hose nozzles are not brilliantly engineered. By being a little fussy one person can still get all five chambers filled up with air in minutes. The hose appears to be the weakest link in the system- guaranteed to be the first item to break.

The pump also sucks all the air out of the boat when you’re finished using it. That’s a good thing- that way it fits back into the pack.

This morning I gave the boat the on-the-water test. I carried it a mile and a half to the pond, filled it up with air, put it in the water, and climbed on.

By the way, since I have other kayaks I also had a decent paddle already. I did not need or want the chintzy one that came with the boat.

The K1 paddles kind of like a doughnut, or a big inner tube, might. Every paddle stroke turns the bow of the boat the other way. There is a lot of effort wasted going laterally.

I kept telling myself if not for this boat I would not be there at all. I don’t suppose one can expect a finely designed and built boat for $120.

In its defense, the boat stayed filled with air. The material from which it’s made appears sturdy enough to last for multiple trips. The quality of the (Chinese) construction appears to be more than adequate.

I found myself wishing I had an anchor. I believe an eight ounce lead pyramid on a thin nylon line would be adequate. As it was I parked it on top of weedbeds and fly fished from that stationary position.

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

This was the best fish of the morning’s feasibility study. This boat will help me find a bigger fish!

I caught five bass from the boat this morning, and made it back to the put-in without incident. It passed the water test! With some maneuvering I was even able to pee from it. I think my limit for sitting in the thing will be four hours or so.

I’ve always regarded kayak fishing as an exercise in minimalism, but this boat takes it to the extreme. Outside of my pockets (in which was a small fly box, a leader wheel, and a multi-tool) I had a paddle, a one-liter water bottle, a banana for both good luck and a delicious snack, and a five-weight fly outfit.

The boat lets me access a place I would not otherwise be able to fish. I will adjust to its idiosyncrasies and continue using it as time and weather permits.

The Sevylor Quikpak K1 One Person Inflatable Kayak- it’s not the perfect boat, but it does allow one to fish otherwise inaccessible water.

 

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Product News and Reviews, opinion, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , ,

Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

March 6, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar March 14

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar March 15

Only one week until the show and tell seminars, but there is still room both days!

 

My preference is to fish during the week rather than on weekends, but Sunday I had an itch to fish. To scratch it I took a bag of Culprit worms and a spin rod and checked out some retention ponds in Oviedo. You may be familiar with this type of pond. As you drive by you ask yourself, “I wonder if there are any fish in there?” Then you tell yourself, “I need to check that out.” Sunday was the day. I checked out two ponds in three hours and got three bass, the largest (not pictured) which was about 14 inches long. It sure beat watching men’s figure skating on TV. Can’t wait for baseball to start!

orlando fishing report

Lots of bass like this can be found in a retention pond near you.

            Yes, there are fish in that pond.

The beneficiary of a good weather forecast on Monday, I took the kayak to the Banana River Lagoon. When I pulled up to unload my stuff a cock cardinal landed on my rearview mirror and proceeded to do battle with his reflection. Most extraordinary. Beautiful, silly little bird!

The cardinal landed on my mirror...

The cardinal landed on my mirror…

 

...and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

…and proceeded to duke it out with his own reflection.

 

cardinal3

            The fog was thick and I found the spot with some good luck. I couldn’t see anything until a tidal-wave sized wake started moving away from me. After staking out the boat I went blind casting with a black bunny leech. The fish pictured below took the fly on the second cast. It was a nice fish- the photo does not do it justice.

orlando fishing report

Definitely not a bad start to the day.

            After releasing it I went blind casting again and hooked a significantly larger fish. It took me deep into my backing and then broke off. A piece of my heart may have broken off a second later.

            I could not find the fish again, and so moved along.

            There was nothing at the next place. In the meantime the fog cleared and the sun appeared in a cloudless sky, making for excellent sight fishing conditions.

            At the next spot I saw nothing for a while. Then I almost ran over a bunch of drum. After staking out the boat I went searching for them, now armed with a black and green Clouser minnow. A single was spotted. The cast was decent, and the fish obliged.

orlando fishing report

No one accuses black drum of being beautiful.

            That was the only black drum that cooperated, although several more shots were taken.

            Through the day two more redfish bit. One broke off on the strike (perhaps we need a beefier tippet), the other was about ten pounds, also on a black bunny leech.

            All in all a very enjoyable day.

Tuesday Mr. Joe Nourigat joined for a day’s paddle fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Although calm in the morning we again had fog. When it blew away there were clouds up there so we never got any good sight fishing light.

            The fish were not very active. For every one we had a cast to, we ran over a half dozen others. Joe had a limited number of shots at tailing fish, only got a single eat, and as so often happens when your luck is running that way we missed it.

            We tried blind casting, which yielded exactly nothing.

            We did have a wonderful, day-long conversation about books, and music, and a smattering of other topics. But when the boat was back on the car we had not caught a fish. It’s a good thing the birds were awesome. Joe was pretty cool, too.

Wednesday Fernado Fonseca, Mr. Orlando Mobile Marine, visited me to do an annual service on the Yamaha. The job is done, the money is in his bank, and see ya next year!

Fernando doing his thang.

Fernando, doing his thang.

Thursday afternoon I dusted off the cobia tackle. The water temperature is hitting the right spot. If the wind ever dies and the sea ever calms down I am going out there. Hopefully that will be next week.

Friday I needed to scout, so in spite of the clouds and wind the Bang-O-Craft and I went fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. No kidding, I caught a trout on the first cast. Often that’s the kiss of death. Not this day. The trout bite was steady by using the DOA Deadly Combo.

orlando fishing report

The Deadly Combo was, well, deadly.

As often happens there were quite a few little ones but I got six or eight in the slot. Some more trout and a couple junior league redfish also fell for a DOA CAL Shad tail. In four hours at least 20 fish were released, certainly entertaining if not spectacular.

orlando fishing report

The little bitty reds were out on Friday.

 

orlando fishing report

The trout were smacking the shad tail, too.

And that is this week’s Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

February 28, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

I've been getting ready for salmon fishing.

I’ve been getting ready for salmon fishing.

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar March 14
Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar March 15

Sunday I went solo, in the Bang-O-Craft, scouting on the St. Johns River. Since the CS Lee ramp is closed I used the one at SR 50. All I found was a single shad, not very encouraging. But I saw Brian Eastman out there, and Mark Thomas, and Dave Lear, and Mark Benson. So the excursion was hardly a waste, quite the opposite. It was good to see all those guys. It had been years since I saw MT and Dave.

Monday Mr. Joe Xu of Beijing was my fisherman for a St. Johns shad trip. After Sunday I had my doubts, but we hit them right away, using small crappie jigs and the 1/8th ounce Pixie. After getting more than a dozen we went catfishing. What I don’t know about catfishing would fill lots of books, but Joe managed to get a six pound channel cat and a big bluegill, too. We also hooked and lost another catfish. Fishing was very good, and the day was gorgeous.

st. johns river shad fishing report

Mr. Xu, proud owner of a six pound channel cat.

Tuesday long-time friend Rodney Smith met me at the St. Johns boat ramp and we went off shad fishing in the Bang-O-Craft. Again, we hit them right away. After a dozen or so we tried catfishing for almost two hours with but a bullhead to show for our efforts. So we went back to shad fishing for our last half hour and got five or six more. I even got a double. So the shad are still a going concern.

st. johns river shad fishing report

Rockin’ Rodney with a St. Johns River American shad.

Friday I had an afternoon half day booked with Joel Sanders and his buddy Dave. It was about 55 degrees when they showed up. The flags were snapping and the lagoon looked like a washing machine. Dave was wearing shorts. Since he had just got here from Maine he said it felt like a heat wave. It did not feel like a heat wave to me- I was freezing.

Since the weather was obvious when I left home I had brought the shad tackle and suggested that we shad fish instead of trying the lagoon. They opined that might be a good idea so we did.

The fish were biting. It was not spectacular but it was very steady. We were using 1/16th ounce crapping jigs with tiny twisty tails in hot pink and chartreuse. We probably got close to 20 in just under four hours.

Son Alex wants to go today. The weather is again looking pretty iffy so I guess we’ll see…

And that is this week’s St. John’s River shad fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Fished Around Orlando Area Fishing Report

February 8, 2015 by · 2 Comments

Fished Around Orlando Area Fishing Report

Emails have come in asking, “When is the next Show and Tell seminar?”
The Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell is on March 14. For more information or to register see this link…
The On-the-Water Show and Tell is on March 15. For more information or to register see this link…

So, since I didn’t have any work this week 🙁 I fished around, mostly by myself.

Sunday I went down the street to the Econlockhatchee. As I prepped the kayak I thought, “The water is still too high and too cold.” I floated for maybe 3/4ths of a mile tossing a crayfish pattern, did not get a bite or see any fish other than Gambusia minnows. The wind howled through the new green on the trees and it was absolutely stunning out. No fish, but I was so glad I went.

Monday Maxx and I did a wheel bearing job on his sailboat trailer. The bearings were pretty bad, lots of water and rust, but he successfully towed the boat home when we were done.

Tuesday I checked out a spot on the Indian River Lagoon where I like to fish occasionally. The water was dirty and there were absolutely no fish there, mullet or anything. Pure wild goose chase, pure and simple.

Wednesday I visited another spot on the IRL where I had not been for years. Apparently neither had anyone else. I’m not going into details because no one would believe them (I did not bring a camera), but it was one of the best days of inshore fly fishing I’ve had in years. Cha-CHING!

Friday I visited a remote corner of the St. Johns River that I sometimes fish. There used to be an old, leaky beater boat there. It’s not there anymore. I’m trying to figure out how I will fish that place now.

orlando area fishing report

Saturday Tammy Wilson and I tried the St. Johns River for some shads, launching at SR 50. We got a few right out of the gate, but then it slowed down a lot. Working it pretty hard we got a dozen or so. Tammy managed a double on a rig consisting of a Road Runner with a shad fly tied on a dropper above.

orlando area fishing report

We got some on a 1/8 ounce Pixie spoon, too. A lovely day, a little too much boat traffic for my taste but it was Saturday and the weather was beautiful. I always like fishing with Tammy.

orlando area fishing report

Perhaps this was the point of the entire affair…

And that is this week’s Orlando area fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 31, 2015 by · Leave a Comment
mosquito lagoon fishing report

Who is that masked man, and what is he doing with that fish?

Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Monday morning I climbed in the chariot, hit I-95, and drove to Pinehurst to visit Steve and Bonnie Baker. It had been years. Steve walks with a cane now, but seems fine otherwise. Bonnie looks great. It was fantastic seeing them both again. I’d like to thank them both for their hospitality.

Wednesday I had errands-uh.

Thursday I strapped the kayak to the roof and went to River Breeze. I stopped to use the bathroom. Afterwards the car wouldn’t start, and then the alarm started firing. O meu Deus. Next thing the van is on a tow truck. We went to Myron’s Auto Repair in Edgewater. The problem was minor, a $50 repair.

I got the boat in the water about noon, paddled to the first spot. Ran over a few fish, so I got out and started wading, blind-casting. Got a redfish the first cast, and another on the third, using a brown sparkle crab. Ended up getting a dozen or so, all short but one 24 incher. Checked a couple other spots but did not see anything else. All in all, even with the car problem, a lovely day.

Friday George Allen joined me for some skiff fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. There were schools of fish in the first place we went. They were not very bitey, but George got a black drum on a mullet head?! What’s that about? We were in fish most of the day, had two bites on a DOA Shrimp, hooked and lost one nice trout and caught another. It’s the most fish I’ve seen in one day for a while, but they were not eating very well.

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

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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

January 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Can’t get enough of this sticker…

Things seem to be looking up in the fishing world. We didn’t catch a lot of fish this week, but finding them became a lot easier.

On Monday Rob Boman and David Cline joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We saw two schools of redfish right away. They were spooky enough that we could not get a cast to either. We continued on our way.

Spot number two yielded nothing. We did not see a fish there.

At the third spot we kept blowing out fish. Dave got a redfish on a RipTide Weedless Shrimp. Went through again. No bites. Staked out the boat and tossed a couple mullet chunks out. Rob got a 16 inch trout, released it.

Tried another spot. There were a lot of fish there, both trout and reds. They did not want to eat our offerings, and we did not get a bite. Yes, we were changing lures. No, it did not seem to matter. On the way out I spotted a school of reds lying at the edge of the flat. We had several good casts to them and Dave had one nail the weedless shrimp. It was a n-n-n-nice fish, 28 inches of glorious copper-colored Scianops. We released it.

Have you ever heard that saying, “Don’t leave fish to find fish”? These fish weren’t biting so I went to another spot where I had seen fish last week. There were hardly any there. Given time to think about it, and getting close to the end of the day, I went back to the previous spot. They still weren’t biting very well, but Rob got a 20 inch red on a four inch DOA CAL jerkbait. So, it had been a slow, tough day, but we saw quite a few fish. I thought things were finally looking better as I loaded the boat.

Dave was kind enough to send me this email- “Thank you for the great day fishing.  You put us on all kinds of fish and that is all a person can ever ask for.  I like that you bypass all the latest doo dads and fishing gadgets/gimmicks and concentrate on hardcore fishing.   I think we did pretty well considering the lockjaw that seemed to be so prevalent.  Robbie and I learned a lot too.”

Thank you Dave, for the kind words.

 

Tuesday Patrick Phillips joined me for some fly fishing, also on Mosquito Lagoon. We brought waders with us. I parked the boat and we got out and waded for a while. I can’t say fishing was hot but we got three trout and a red between us, on a gurgler and a streamer.

The wading was not fun because the bottom was gooshy. We got back in the boat and fished from it the rest of the day. Patrick had a lot of shots from both trout and reds. They sneered at everything we tried. The last fly he tried was a crab pattern. The final cast of the day was into a school of reds. They blew out.

So once again, the fish were there, but getting a bite was a tough proposition. But we were in fish the entire time.

black drum

A gratuitous black drum photo.

Wednesday I went kayaking on the Banana River Lagoon, all by my lonesome. I do some of my best work when I’m alone. Not this day. I found several schools of huge black drum. I only tried two flies, the wool crab and the black bunny leech. I easily had 100 great shots, but got only one bite, on a brown and olive green wool crab.

I hooked the fish solidly. I could not break it out of the school. My line went slack and I pulled the now fly-less leader in. It was broken cleanly, not at a knot, a mystery break. I speculate another fish swam into it, but really don’t know what happened.

All I know is I only saw a few trout, a couple dink reds, and excepting two puffers did not get another bite. The day was magnificent, the water clean. The fish caused some frustration, but it was an awesome paddle.

Should have gone fishing Thursday, didn’t.

Friday and Saturday I had no work and the weather wasn’t nice, didn’t fish.

The St. Johns River is still very high. Saturday’s rain won’t help it drop. Reports of scattered shad catches are coming in, but I’ve heard this year we have a shad walk, not a shad run.

And that is this week’s Saltwater Orlando fishing report from Spotted Tail.

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

Is Spring Here? Orlando Fishing Report

January 17, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Is Spring Here? Orlando Fishing Report

It’s only the middle of January, so asking if Spring is here may seem silly. But the red maples have already flowered and gone to seed. They are starting to leaf out. I saw some orange blossoms yesterday. The water levels in the lagoons have not dropped to usual winter levels. I am beginning to doubt that they will. We had heavy rain this week that raised the level of the Econlockhatchee River four feet. That does not bode well for the shad run. Going up the St. Johns I cannot negotiate the Econ. The channel is indistinguishable from the surrounding pasture.

I published a new ebook this week- Orlando- A Great Fishing Destination! Please check it out!

Sunday and Monday I gave fly casting instruction. Tuesday Mr. Michael Depple joined me for a half-day of fly fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. As seems to be the trend, in those spots where we found fish there were not very many, and some spots had no signs of life. Was it the wind, the clouds, or us? We went fishless.

Thursday I took the kayak out on Mosquito Lagoon, to a spot I hadn’t visited in several years. It looked awesome. The birds were incredible- ducks, and coots, and egrets. I saw four bald eagles. In spite of the cold wind, the heavy overcast, and the spitting rain I enjoyed the paddle tremendously. But I did not see a single fish and blind casting yielded nothing.

I postponed Friday’s trip because of the weather, although it turned into a beautiful day. I ended up taking a hike on the Florida Trail.

The water temperature at Port Canaveral is 64 degrees. Is it too early to be thinking about cobia??

And as bad as it is, that is this week’s 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 2015. 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: , , ,

Another Tough Week Orlando Fishing Report

January 11, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Another Tough Week Orlando Fishing Report

Did some blogging this week!

-The Modern Savage- A Review http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/modern-savage-review/

-The House at the End of the Earth http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/house-end-earth/

-ZOINX Sunglasses Review http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/zoinx-sunglasses-review/

 

In spite of the blogging I got to spend some pleasurable if unproductive time in the boat, too.

Monday was cool and a little breezy but seeing the blue sky I needed some boat time. I launched the Bang-O-Craft at CS Lee Park and went shad/crappie/blue marlin fishing. I had equal success with all three, fishing between the mouth of the Econlockhatchee and Lake Harney. The St. Johns River is still quite high. Seminole County will be closing the ramp at CS Lee Park for about a month starting February 2. They will be doing “renovations,” whatever that means. Shad fishermen won’t be happy, at least until the beautiful new ramp is unveiled.

Tuesday George Yarko and I went to Mosquito Lagoon. I had not been to the south end in a while, so that’s where we started. We could not find any clean water and did not see any fish, although I can’t say we hit it hard down there. We ran back north to where there is clean water. We saw perhaps six redfish and maybe twice that number of big trout, but none of them bit our offerings. We got numerous trout on the Deadly Combo. All but one were undersized.

Wednesday I went running along the Econ, from Snow Hill Road. The water level, while not yet low, is dropping. I’m thinking about bass fishing after the shad run ends, not too far off now.

Thursday I had to take Sue to the doctor. Considering the temperature and the wind, that was a good thing. Yes, she is fine.

The cold temperatures and high winds certainly made the water level drop. The water temperature has dropped ten degrees in three days and has yet to bottom out!

gauge height temperature

Went out of River Breeze in the Bang-O-Craft of Friday. It was cold, windy, overcast, began raining. The weather reminded me of Alaska. Two different guys in skiffs almost ran me over, as rude as they could be. Saw very little, got three undersized reds. Very concerned about the loss of seagrasses up around Oak Hill. The prop dredge marks are appalling.

Saturday Dr. Edward Perez, fly fisher from Austin, joined me for a cold, windy day on Mosquito Lagoon. The water has cleared up nicely from the cold weather. Fishing was not good, as we got one bite all day. I saw at least some fish in most places I looked, which an improvement over the past couple weeks. They were not very bitey, or interested in doing anything to meet us.

That, my friends, is another tough week Orlando Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. 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: , , , , , ,
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