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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 27. Click here for more information/registration
-Mosquito Lagoon On-The-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 28. Click here for more information/registration

Blog Posts This Week-
 -My Views on Politics
-A Short Walk in the Woods
-Tiny Tarpon (guest blog by Paul MacInnis)

Bumper Sticker of the Week-

Fishing was a tailingfest this week.

Tailing Redfish Mosquito Lagoon

It was tailingfest this week.

Sunday night Chris Myers emailed me, asking me if I wanted to fish with him on Monday. So Monday morning found me in Chris Myers’ boat. We went down to the south end of the Mosquito Lagoon. There was nothing there.

Chris Myers. searching for fish.

Then he took me to where he’d been fishing as of late. There were redfish tailing everywhere. I was not particularly competent, but managed to get three fish on a small grizzly Seaducer.

I poled Chris for a while. He got three fish bang-bang-bang. Much more efficient than I he was.

The weather was incredible and I really enjoyed the day. Thank you, Chris.

Wednesday Tammy Wilson and I launched kayaks at River Breeze. It was overcast but there was no wind. We got to the first fishing spot and there were redfish tailing everywhere. I even got pictures.

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

Tammy with one of several redfish she fooled.

Between us we got about a dozen fish. Tammy was using a small green and yellow Clouser Minnow, I a black and green one. Two of the fish were trout that ate when we threw to tailing reds. What’s up with that?

I got the last three fish I threw to, making me think that maybe I was getting my groove back.

We didn’t see many fish at all in any of the other spots we checked.

Thursday brothers Eric and Ian Rauch joined me for some fly fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. We launched at River Breeze and went right to where Tammy and I fished the day before.

It wasn’t quite as good. But there certainly were tailing fish there, and they managed to get five between them. There were lost fish, missed strikes, and refusals, too.

This was the first redfish Eric had ever caught.

We checked several other spots. Some were barren, others held a few fish. But we did not see any more tailers once the first spot slowed down.

Friday the wind was forecast to be 5 to 10 out of the west. Scott Radloff and I launched at Port Canaveral, hoping to find tarpon or other exciting fishies.

We ran south all the way to Patrick AFB. We saw absolutely nothing. At Patick I turned left and ran out three or four miles, hoping to find some flotsam, diving birds, whatever. We looked around an anchored tanker. We looked around the mackerel net boats, all the way north to the buoy off Cape Canaveral. We saw exactly one tiny tripletail, nothing else.

We headed in to the beach to look around the Canaveral Shoal. Near the beach I saw a tarpon roll. We anchored the boat and started fishing.

There was a load of fish there. Jack crevalle, ladyfish, and bluefish were mostly what we got, on finger mullet, jigs, and Gotchyas. I also got a croaker and a nice Spanish mackerel, which we ate for supper Friday night. We saw a couple more tarpon, but they were scarce and widely scattered- no bites there, sadly.

SpanishMackerel

Scott shows off a nice, and delicious, Spanish mackerel.

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

Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral Fishing Report

April 15, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4.15.12

Happy Income Tax Filing Deadline Day!

Upcoming Events/Volunteers Needed
In celebration of Earth Day 2012, Anglers for Conservation is coordinating a series of Hook Kids on Fishing programs throughout the week of April 14-22. Volunteers are needed. This is the perfect opportunity to work within the fishing community while having a very rewarding experience. All volunteers’ will received a free Anglers for Conservation fishing hat! Contact Rodney Smith at 321-750-3374 or rodney@anglersforconservation.org.

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

Big Spotted Seatrout

See this trout? We didn't catch any like this this week.

On Monday son Alex and I went to Port Canaveral. We had to pick up the Mitzi from the mechanic (annual service on the Yamaha), who had forgotten about me. So we got a late start.
There was a school of menhaden over a mile long off Cocoa Beach. We fished there for a quite a while. Did not get a bite. Saw exactly one Spanish mackerel. Did not see any other fishermen. You don’t have to hit me in the head with a brick. We left and went on a search mission, going out as far as four miles.

We saw two small tripletail all day, and did not get a bite. A very thorough skunking was had.

We could have gone north of the Cape and gotten smaller fish but we were thinking big. Just didn’t work this time.

Wednesday Dick and Karen Hendricks joined me for a morning’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The fish were very uncooperative. We saw quite a few redfish, even a nice pod of tailing fish. They didn’t want anything to do with us.

We found quite a few nice trout. They were equally fussy.

The Hendrickses got one redfish, two trout, and one ladyfish in four hours. All were small.

The weather was quite lovely and we had a good time.
Friday afternoon I wanted to go to the Econlockhatchee River. The bluegill fly box hasn’t turned up yet so I had to tie up some new flies first, making a couple of small (#6) white gurglers with chartreuse tails and rubber legs.

Both the redbellies and the bluegills liked them. The bass ignored me, as they always do. One of these days I’m going to have to target them. The sunnies are so much fun and so beautiful that except for when I actually see a bass I don’t really care about them.

Saturday morning found me at Kiwanis Park on Merritt Island at a Hook Kids on Fishing event, where I met Ron Conner, Key West fishing guide and Spotted Tail subscriber. He had driven up from the Keys to be a volunteer after reading my volunteers needed post the past couple weeks. Pleasure meeting you, sir!

It was cloudy, windy, and threatening rain, but about 70 kids and their parents showed up for some quick fishing lessons and an hour of fishing. My job was to give a 10 minute lesson on boating safety, which I did six times. Then all the volunteers supervised and assisted the new fishermen.

Fishing wasn’t too good. I only saw two pinfish caught. But all the kids received rods and reels, and everyone had fun.

Volunteers are still needed for next week’s events. It’s not too late to get in on the action!

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral 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.

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

Effective Slow Trolling for King Mackerel

April 12, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

King Mackerel, cocoa beach, fl

 

One of the true pleasures of living through the heat of a central Florida summer is spending time in a boat, slow trolling for king mackerel. When the weather cooperates and the fish are in tight to the beach you can be successful doing this from a johnboat.

Since kings prefer water temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, they don’t typically show in numbers in central Florida waters until April or May. When the word gets out that the kings have showed up, the parking lots at Port Canaveral fill up early.

Read the rest of this article here…

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Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral Fishing Report

April 7, 2012 by · 3 Comments

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 4.7.12

Fishing team of the week:

Upcoming Events/Volunteers Needed
In celebration of Earth Day 2012, Anglers for Conservation are coordinating a series of Hook Kids on Fishing programs throughout the week of April 14-22. Volunteers are needed. This is the perfect opportunity to work within the fishing community while having a very rewarding experience. All volunteers’ will received a free Anglers for Conservation fishing hat! Contact Rodney Smith at 321-750-3374 or rodney@anglersforconservation.org.

Monday required a trip to the lab. The Coast Guard wanted some body fluids for drug testing. Yuk.

Tuesday return angler Austin Warmus and his father Paul joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The weather was awesome, bright and sunny with very little wind. It took a little while but we found quite a few tailing reds. They were very spooky. Every time they would hook one all the other would flee, pushing wakes as they changed locations. Also every time they hooked one it came unbuttoned, every time but one. Austin put one in the boat that was about 25 inches long.

mosquito lagoon redfish
We also spent some time trout fishing and got several on DOA Shrimp, but nothing of consequence.

Wednesday son Alex, Scott Radloff, and I launched at Port Canaveral. We were thinking big. We ran south of Cocoa Beach pier and netted some menhaden, then went looking for big fish, going out as far as three miles.

We did not find any. We could have done without the bait. It did not produce a single bite.

What we did find north of Cape Canaveral was an almost mullet-run-like number of ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, and bluefish. I used a DOA CAL jig with a shad tail. The other guys used Gotchyas. If not for the treble hooks I would say the Gotchyas made more sense for those toothy critters than did soft plastics.

I broiled some Spanish mackerel fillets for dinner Wednesday night. They were delicious.

I smoked several bluefish fillets on Thursday. They are very delicious!

Friday afternoon I went to the Econlockhatchee River for a couple hours of fly rodding for sunfish. Before I left I went on a major search mission to find my bluegill flies. I couldn’t find them. I used some orange gurglers I use for dolly varden in Alaska.
I’d like to say I slammed them but that would be an exaggeration. I got a few red-bellies and a few stumpknockers, missed a few strikes. I watched and listened as the trees rocked back and forth in a fierce wind. It was a very pleasant couple of hours.

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

An Awesome Week- Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral Fishing Report

March 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The Orlando Area Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 3.4.12

Spring is breaking out in central Florida! Azaleas are blooming, trees are leafing out, oranges perfume the air with their blossoms.

Fishing has been fantastic.

Monday’s trip was a family affair. Pastor Louis Schulz, his son Chris, and the pastor’s brother Chris, joined me for a day’s fishing in the Mosquito Lagoon. It was overcast almost all day, and a soaking rain lasted for at least an hour. Fortunately there was very little wind.

We wanted redfish. With the exception of a school of maybe two dozen fish that did not hang around very long, we did not see any. But the trout were really on.

I don’t know how many they caught. It was a lot. Most were caught on DOA Shrimp, but at the end of the day we found a hole full of trout and short reds and they used live shrimp there. All of the reds and many of the trout were short, but eight trout were in the slot and two were over 20 inches. It was a wonderful day.

 

On Tuesday Mike Webber, his girlfriend Judy Votta, and his friend Mike from New Orleans joined me for a day’s fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. It was cloudy and windy, not nice at all, although in the afternoon the sun finally broke through.

It was almost a repeat of the previous day. The DOA Shrimp produced a lot of trout, some short, some in the slot. Live shrimp produced a few more, and some short reds. The one slot red they got came on a mullet chunk.

seatrout Mosquito lagoon

Judy had the hot rod all day long.

The sun finally came out. It turned out to be a lovely day.

 

Wednesday Father Rick Voor and his long-time friend Steve joined me for some kayak fishing, launching at River Breeze. It was a search mission, as I hadn’t been there in weeks.

The weather was awesome, the water was low, and conditions were great. We did not see any fish for about an hour. Then we found a school of reds in a large white hole.

Father Rick had never caught a red on a lure before. Steve had never caught a red at all. They got quite a few- most on the DOA Shrimp, one on a Johnson Minnow. With the exception of a couple shorts, all were in the slot. It was a blessed day.

steve's first redfish

steve's first redfish

father ricks's doa redfish

redfish doa

This redfish wanted the DOA Shrimp.

 

Thursday son Maxx and I launched the Mitzi at Port Canaveral. Winds were SW at close to 15, almost at the limits of the Mitzi’s ability to handle on the open ocean. But there were no clouds at first.

We ran down to Satellite Beach, then went out a couple miles and started to idle back. Close to two uneventful hours passed before Maxx said, “There’s a fish!” He fired a jig out towards it and the fish was all over it. It was close to 20 pounds.

cobia

Maxx's first cobia in quite a while...

That gave us more confidence, although another long lull followed. Then I spotted a tripletail. I fired a live shrimp out in front of it. How could it say no? It was around five or six pounds.

tripletail

The tripletail- lover of shrimp.

A while later I spotted a cobia, coming in fast. He ate the jig but in spite of my striking him three times he came right off.

A while later Maxx spotted another cobia. He followed, but did not eat, the jig. I tossed a live shrimp and he was all over it. We released that one.

We bagged it shortly after that, but ran another cobia over on the way back. The boat was back on the trailer before 2 PM.

Saturday 10 fine folks attended the Show and Tell seminar. We drove all  around the Merritt Island NWR and talked fishing at every stop. We didn’t finish until almost 6PM. Great group of guys, great day.

The weather blew out Sunday’s on the water show and tell. We will hold it next week instead.

And that is this week’s Mosquito Lagoon and Port Canaveral 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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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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