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Great Weather IRL Fishing Report

October 15, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Great Weather IRL Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Great Weather IRL Fishing Report. Got out four days this week, all solo trips by kayak. I need a fishing buddy who has a sense of discretion…

Last week I had a question, if anyone had seen mullet working down the beach. NO ONE responded. Either you folks need to get out more, or there are no mullet on the beach.

FISHING (and other) Report

The high water is killing me! The Haulover Canal gauge has hovered around 1.5 feet all week.

Monday

Spruce Creek, still beautiful.

Went paddling at Spruce Creek. Hadn’t been there in a year, did not know what to expect. It’s still beautiful! Did not see jacks raising hell, or ladyfish either. Did see a few tarpon rolling. Did see a few fish bust along the shoreline.

Got several snooklets and jumped one tarpon on fly. The hook must have hit the bony part of the tarpon’s mouth- it jumped right off, and bent the Gamakatsu hook besides.

As the tide got high, I just blind-cast the rubber shad, and got surprised by a redfish pushing 30 inches. I unhooked it without removing it from the water, a growing trend. Nice way to finish the trip!

Tuesday

Went paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. Weather was fantastic, but my optimism was fairly crushed early. Ate lunch without having seen anything other than mullet.

Showed two different flies to two different redfish in the afternoon. Both turned and fled. I just blind-cast the rubber shad, and got surprised by a seatrout pushing 26 inches, my nicest trout in a long while. I unhooked it without removing it from the water…

Wednesday

A consulting visit to the oral surgeon. Move along folks, nothing to see here…

Thursday

Went to the Indian River Lagoon, different place. Weather was extraordinary- even had light rain for a while, very pleasant. Saw exactly one redfish as I ran it over. Did not get a shot with the fly rod all day. Got a few marginal trout by blindly pitching the rubber shad. Did thrill to a pair of eagles flying together.

Trout on rubber shad.

It’s so easy to enjoy these days, watching the kingfishers and the ibis, watching the clouds grow and shrink as they travel through the sky, listening to and watching the dragonflies of all different sizes and colors. I watched a dragonfly catch a mosquito I had shooed off me one morning. That was awesome!

Friday

Went to the Indian River Lagoon, a different different place. Weather was again extraordinary- what a run we’ve had! Wind from the east for weeks, but whatever.

Snoook on the new fly.

 

Black drum, actually hooked in the chin.

Got a snoook on my third cast- guess that new fly works! The fish tore it, and its partner, apart. Guess I need to armor plate them! Ended up with five snook, two ladyfish, one each of redfish and black drum, and hooked a tarpon that I got three jumps out of. There were no IGFA world records here, folks. But all were on fly, and I’m not complaining!

Yeah, I need to beef these flies up. Never saw one fall apart in quite this way.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading this Great Weather IRL Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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Fishing News, Fishing Report

October 9, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Fishing News, Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Fishing Report. Got out three days this week, all solo trips by kayak. Tried to find new places to fish. Hard to do- I’ve been at it a long time!
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Fly Tying

Last week I wrote, “I … got ready to tie up some delicious offerings for fish.” The results of that little tying spurt are shown below.

A deliciousness of electric sushi.

The pattern, originated by the late Mike Martinek, is called Electric Sushi. I am a huge fan! You can see the tying directions at this link- http://www.spottedtail.com/tying-the-electric-sushi-fly/

Reds like sushi.

 

Trout do, too.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ve been writing recently about the redfish worm and the fuzzy or wooly redfish worm. It’s a great fly! I haven’t shown a photo in a long time. Picture below, wooly on top, plain on bottom. Not a lot of difference.

hook- mustad 3407 #4
eye- small or micro lead dumbell, or bead chain, or plastic, depending on desired sink rate.
tail- I prefer arctic fox but will use marabou or a bunny strip. I prefer black, but use whatever.
body- medium ice chenille or cactus chenille. again, I prefer black.
hackle (if desired)- grizzly neck hackle, tied Palmer.

The redfish worm is one of my favorite drum flies, too.

Buena suerte! Boa sorte!
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Fishing News- Haulover Canal Gauge

For years this blog has related water levels in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian River Lagoon to the USGS Gauge at the Haulover Canal. The URL, and the gauge format on the webpage, for that gauge is changing. The new URL is https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/02248380/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D

As I write this, the gauge reads well over 1.0. Every whole number equals a foot of water. I like for the gauge to read at 0.5 or below. I’ve seen it above 3.0 (after a hurricane) and below 0.0 (bars exposed everywhere). That webpage is an extremely useful tool for planning fishing trips in those lagoons!
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The MULLET RUN

Anyone have any news???

Will we ever see this again?

FISHING (and other) Report

Monday
Went paddling on high, murky water Mosquito Lagoon. Found a flowing culvert, where two trout, a snook, and a redfish fell for my flies. That was a good find! Ran over a couple fish, but it was very hard to see anything, in spite of the extraordinary weather. The water will most likely be high into December, maybe January. I doubt that I’ll ever see it clean again.

Culvert trout on Clouser minnow.

 

And the redfish! Note how murky the water is.

Tuesday
Susan and I visited the Orlando Museum of Art to see an exhibit of Clyde Butcher’s work. Highly recommended!!! One of my favorite Butcher photos is of the beach at Cayo Costa. I learned on Tuesday he waited there for a month to get the light he wanted. Waugh!

An example of the master’s work…

Wednesday
Dentist. News could have been better. Losing a tooth. 🙁

Visited Dr. David Demetree, chiropractor. Always feel a lot better when I leave there!

Visited the new digs of Mud Hole Tackle.

Put a new heating element in our clothes dryer.

Not a very exciting day.

Thursday
Went paddling on the high and murky Indian River Lagoon, place I had not visited in quite a long time. Looked for new nooks and crannies, got a trout and a little snook on fly.

Friday
Went paddling on the high and murky Indian River Lagoon. Again looked for new nooks and crannies. Relearned something I already knew from hard experience- first boat through a narrow spot gets all the spider webs. Got a couple trout and a small black drum on the rubber shad. Lightening chased me off.

No one likes getting one of these in the face.

Don’t know that I found new spots but had fun looking!

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading this Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Flies and Fly Tying, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Two Skunks Fishing Report

October 2, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Two Skunks Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Two Skunks Fishing Report. Got out three days this week, two solo trips by kayak, once with Scott Radloff. In general fishing was more productive last week. Can we call it a downwards trend?? With the temperature trending downwards? Seems odd.
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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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For Sale– 20′ glass pushpole, $100. 14′ glass pushpole, $50.

Three anchors with chain attached, $25 each. Wang anchor (new bracket and mounting hardware, used pole) $25.

Call or email me.
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FEESHINK

Monday

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. I had good shots at three redfish. All responded to the fly- negatively. The weather was great, water high but what passes for clean these days. Fish just didn’t want to play with the toy I offered, the wooly redfish worm. One skunk.

Tuesday

Scott and I visited a different part of the Indian River Lagoon, paddling my canoe. Fishing wasn’t on fire, but Scott got a snooklet, and a fat 18 inch trout,  jumped three tarpon, and missed a couple bites. His preferred bait most of the day was a rootbeer colored shad with the chartreuse tail. I, on the other hand, couldn’t get a bite on anything, and even bummed one of his rootbeer shads from him. Didn’t matter. Total skunking, second day in a row. Two skunks!

Wednesday,

I tried yet another IRL spot that I haven’t seen in at least seven or eight months, by kayak. It took over an hour of casting, but I got a redfish while blind-casting with Scott’s shad, one of the smaller reds I’ve ever caught. But I wasn’t skunked! BOOM to you, skunk!

Tiny redfish, skunk-buster!

A few minutes later I got a real bite. Turned out to be the best snook I’ve hooked since getting home, a lovely fish of five or six pounds, made my day. Still casting the rootbeer shad.

Nice snook, day-maker.

Hours went by, finally got another snooklet. Same lure.

Threw to one redfish, spooked the crap out of it. Should have tried the fly rod. 🙁

Thursday, visited my dentist, went and got my COVID vaccine booster, and participated in a few other similar fun tasks.

Had to wait around for the appliance repairman on Friday. That’s some kind of fun, too. I cleaned and organized my fly tying bench and got ready to tie up some delicious offerings for fish.

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Two Skunks Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

September 24, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this week’s Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Got out four days this week- once to the beach, two solo trips by kayak, once with Tom Van Horn. In general fishing was more productive last week.
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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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Monday

The first fish of the day nailed an Electric Sushi streamer.

I went to the Indian River Lagoon by kayak. Early on I heard a fish bust along the bank. Got into position (so important) and flung a fly along the bank. Third cast the line came tight, a beautiful coppery top-of-the-slot redfish. Good start to the day.

The tarpon seemed to prefer the EP fiber minnow.

It wasn’t gangbusters though. After some time, I found some baby tarpon rolling. Through a few fly changes and a lot of casting I got a few bites, jumped and unhooked two. Tarpon of any size are the coolest of fish!!

The snook didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

A few more fish started busting along the bank. Turned out to be what Mark Nichols calls snooklets. Got a few on streamers.

An electric sushi did the red.

Last fish was another red, bottom of slot. It was by far the most productive day of the week.

Tuesday

Susan and I went to see the Orange County Public Schools Art Teachers exhibit at the City Arts gallery. If you’re in Orlando, it’s a worthwhile stop of an hour or so.

Wednesday-

the autumnal equinox, saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. It’s o-fish-illy fall! Determined to get some fish on fly, I made sure the leader was long enough (about 16 feet) that the line wouldn’t spook fish. It worked! Didn’t spook any! Of course, most of the reason for that was because there weren’t any fish to spook.

The only fly-caught fish of the excursion, took an electric sushi streamer.

Worked my butt off all morning blind-casting, got one small snook. I stood up and poledled (paddled and poled with the paddle) all along the shoreline heading back, saw nothing for a long way.

The spin rod was out, with a DOA Shrimp, when I spotted a slot trout. A cast, and the fish hit violently. As I played it, a dolphin appeared out of nowhere- I thought he’d take the fish off the line! He hung around waiting for me to let it go. I kept it in the boat, not wanting dolphins to associate fishing boats with food (although this one clearly already did). The fish, about 17 inches long, died while waiting for me to release it. That’s how long the darn dolphin hung around.

I love dolphins. They are magnificent animals. But they can outswim anything else in the water and certainly don’t need humans to catch fish for them. Please do not feed caught fish to dolphins!

Thursday

was the official son Alex’s birthday. Happy birthday, Alex! He’s currently in California, so not much special went on there. Except I went fishing with Ton Van Horn, in the Indian River Lagoon.

We saw exactly two redfish (no shot at either) and three or four tarpon roll. If not for the generosity of a pair of six-inch trout, we would have been completely skunked.

Friday

Susan and I went to Playalinda Beach. I tossed a jig and did not touch a fish. One hundred yards away, three guys were surf fishing conventionally, using cut mullet for bait. They caught bluefish steadily.

I thought this bird wanted me to pet it. It hung out right next to us until Susan mentioned having boiled eggs for lunch, at which point it bolted. Poor bird!

Soon enough the mullet should start their annual parade down the beach. Then my jigs will work as well as anything else.

After leaving the beach, we went looking for spoonbills on the Black Point Wildlife Drive. There were none there, and precious few birds of any kind. So that’s not in season yet, either, but should be soon!

That’s what I got. Thank you again for reading the Autumnal Equinox East Central Florida Fishing Report. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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A Fishing-y Post

September 18, 2021 by · 2 Comments

A Fishing-y Post

Thank you for reading this week’s A Fishing-y post. Got out four days this week, once to the beach, the others solo trips by kayak. Most of the photos this week are file photos, only have one new one, of the redfish.

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I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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The weather all week, although warm and humid, was outstanding. Rain every afternoon, though.

Monday saw me trying the Banana River Lagoon again. This time I brought both a spin and a fly rod. Got nothing on fly. On spin, with the three-inch shad, I got a slot red and a crevalle jack. On a DOA Shrimp I got a trout. There is no grass, and the water is kind of high.

Wednesday I was going to go to the Indian River Lagoon. I could not access the launch point because of the Space-X launch, so I went to the Indian River Lagoon instead. Good thing that lagoon is so big! Only a fly rod this day! Found a few baby tarpon rolling, and managed to get one on an ugly little streamer.

Saw some fish busting along the bank. The water was too brown to see anything, so I just blind-cast, beating the bank, with a streamer. Got two small snook.

Thursday was the official wife’s official birthday. We went to the beach! I brought a spin rod. On one of the first casts, something toothy took my jig. I tied on a new one, of course, but did not get another bite. There were two bait fishermen near me. Neither got a fish that I saw.

There were a few mullet in the surf. I saw a small blacktip shark cruising right in the wash. The water temperature is still in the mid-eighties. It needs to cool more before the mullet start moving hard, I think.

Friday I went to the Indian River Lagoon. After much searching I found a pair of tailing fish, swimming right at me for an easy shot. The cast was true and I got one of them, on a fuzzy redfish worm.

Saw a few baby tarpon rolling, could not get an eat.

That’s all I got this week. Thank you again for reading the a fishing-y post. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

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Trying to Get Back to Normal

September 10, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Trying to Get Back to Normal

Thank you for reading this week’s post, Trying to Get Back to Normal. Whatever normal means!

I post this on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in which almost 3000 people were killed, triggering nearly unanimous and well-deserved outrage from the American people.

Over 600,000 Americans have died as a result of COVID, and we still have cretins not wearing masks or getting vaccinated. I don’t understand it…
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Readers may know I’ve been writing a travelogue for Global Outdoors. You can see some of those posts here- https://blog.globaloutdoors.com.
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Traveling Epilogue, by the numbers

On our trip around the USA, which lasted 153 days (give or take one or two), Susan and I traveled a total of 15,783 miles in our Sienna van. The van used 702.5 gallons of gasoline to do that, which cost me $2271.91. The fuel economy for the entire trip came out to 22.5 miles per gallon. The miles per dollar amount was just under seven miles per dollar.

We used roads in 29 different states. Additionally, I flew to Alaska.

We did not count how many state and national parks we visited. It was quite a few!

The trip, a huge learning experience for both of us, was an epic adventure from any standpoint! We hope to do more trips in the future, so stay tuned…

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Responses to the Rant

Last week’s post generated the biggest response of any post I’ve made over 11 years. Need I say, not all were positive? I had numerous unsubscribes. Seeee ya!

Positive responses, on the other hand, were more numerous than the negatives. I would like to thank first all of you who did not unsubscribe, and then especially those of you who wrote comments of encouragement. Thank you!

Some of those comments-

“Your rant is very much on target. Kudos to you for speaking up on your website. The selfishness and stupidity out there is incredible. And the fact that people in high political office are promoting this is unforgivable. I had to let you know you are not alone in your beliefs.”

“Amen, amen. Keep on ranting—sadly, though, it seems to change the minds of fewer than 5% of my Alaskan friends. Some of the worst are the ‘personal liberty’ proponents who don’t seem to realize that they give up personal liberty for the common good ten times a day when they stop at a traffic light.”

“I agree with all you said in your rant. Having troubles these days praising Florida as my home state.”

“Appreciate the rant. I’m pretty sure my politics are to the right of yours (I’m a hopeless conservative.) But I am stumped by the stubborn, callous leadership of a governor who is charged with helping the people of his state flourish and by the decisions (and information sources) of some of my friends for whom I have great respect. Vaccines and social mitigation techniques have proven effective. Full ICU capacity populated by unvaccinated patients should be enough motivation for all. We’ve lost our minds.”

“The ‘we’re free to do whatever the hell we want’ argument is also flawed. No one has the right to walk around with a gun pulling the trigger while they point it at people all around them, thinking it’s unloaded. Essentially that’s what they’re doing if they’re unvaccinated. COVID can be lethal and the unvaccinated are playing Russian roulette with other people’s lives.”

“that was one of the best stated cases for being vaccinated that I have seen, well done and I pray it hits home with some of your friends and followers.”

“I also enjoyed the rant. All I can say is ‘Amen’. I live in Lake County and I think we are regressing instead of progressing. I have two grandchildren in public school and a great granddaughter in preschool. I want them safe and a mask is such a simple thing to wear.”

I’ll let it go now. Hopefully all my readers and their loved ones will stay COVID-free.

FISHING-

Labor Day weekend- I never fish, or even venture outside much. I hibernate until the craziness is done, then cautiously venture back out again.

Dawn Patrol

Tuesday– Mike Conneen and I had a dawn patrol trip (it’s still summer in Florida) on the Banana River Lagoon. Mike did OK with the spin rod, tossing his favorite lure, the Vudu shrimp. Trout, snook, and a redfish fell to the bait. He mostly cast around schools of rain minnows.

I mostly watched him, catching only two small trout and one smaller ladyfish on a redfish worm fly until Divine Intervention happened in the form of a pair of tailing reds. The cast was true, the fish responded like one hopes, and a short time later I released a fish near the top of the slot. Made my day.

Mike and River the Wonder Dog

It still gets real hot here under that sun come midday.

Wednesday– went to the beach on a dawn patrol trip, hoping for some action. I got it too- in the form of big rollers. Apparently there was a hurricane off the coast. The surfers were having a field day. It’s a fantastic time of day to be on the beach!

I, however, only hooked and lost three small bluefish on a jig. After an hour and a half of fighting waves fruitlessly, I went to the Indian River Lagoon, where Divine Intervention happened again, in the form of a tailing redfish. Again the redfish worm did the job, and I got a photo of this one.

A colorful redfish on a drab black fly.

Thursday‘s weather forecast kept me home, and Friday was an errands and maintenance day. Hope to do more fishing next week!

That’s the report for this week. Thank you again for reading the post, Trying to Get Back to Normal. Life is great and I love all my readers!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go hiking! Take a walk! Do SOMETHING!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Home This Week Post

March 13, 2021 by · 2 Comments

Home This Week Post

I stayed home this week. Thank you for reading this week’s Home This Week post! As the soothsayer said, Beware the Ides of March!

No Surprise There Department

This manatee probably wants a solid meal.

Received a press release from the Defenders of Wildlife-
“More than 400 Florida manatees have died since the start of 2021, fueling concern for the iconic and federally threatened species’ future. The 2021 mortalities are larger than the combined totals of the first two months of 2010, during a particularly cold and prolonged winter. While the current winter has not been as severe, scientists are examining the causes for the dramatic spike in deaths. So far, cold stress combined with the loss of large areas of seagrass—the manatees’ staple food—appear to be the primary causes of death in recent months for manatees along the central and south Atlantic coast of Florida.

“Due to a variety of factors, including water pollution and algal blooms exacerbated by urban and agricultural runoff, leaking septic systems and other culprits, significant areas of seagrass meadows that manatees depend on have been wiped out, causing many animals to become sick or starve.”

The Save the Manatee Club made a big newsy splash back around year 2000 by suing the state of Florida and the Federal Government for not doing enough to save manatees. The result of that was huge new slow speed zones for boaters. We must have been an easy target.

I’ve been wondering for five or six years now where the SMC was, since all the seagrass was dying and they haven’t made a peep about it. Hard to sue everyone who eats and poops.

I don’t the problem will be solved for a long time. Get used to dirty water and a lot fewer manatees. It’s sad.

Boat Class

Marker 24 Marina, a shiny new facility.

Wednesday mid-day found me at Marker 24 Marina on Merritt Island, where I joined Capt. Mike Berry for Boat Class, Intermediate BoatClass + Advanced Docking.

If you want to legally operate a motor vehicle on the highways of the United States, you must pass a written test that shows that you know what the rules are, and you must pass a road test that shows you can competently operate a motor vehicle. Here in Florida, if you want to operate a motor vessel, you just buy it, get in, and go.

Florida ranks No. 1 nationwide in both recreational boating accidents and deaths on the water, according to a United States Coast Guard report released this week. It’s an unwanted distinction that the state has earned every year since at least 2015. According to the Coast Guard’s 2019 Recreational Boating Statistics Report released Wednesday, there were 679 boat accidents in Florida that year. Of those, 55 were fatal, resulting in 62 deaths.

Might some boater education mitigate those grim statistics???

Capt. Mike teaches the three-hour class, on the water!

Brunswick Corporation has kicked off BoatClass, which I found to be very thorough. Three hours of on-the-water boat operation, led by an expert boater! The stress on safety was admirable. I don’t meet many people with more boating experience than mine, but Capt. Mike has a lot more, and taught me many things that I did not know. I recommend the class without reservation- it’s superb!

Get more information here- https://www.boatblurb.com/post/brunswick-corporation-launches-boatclass-on-water-training-program.

Fishing Friday
Friday the wind was down enough (you can understand why wind-pollinated plants like slash pines and live oaks drop their pollen this time of year) that I went kayak fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. There are plants growing on the bottom again in many places. They’re invasive, and are probably going to cause more problems. We’ll see.

I could tell it had been a while since I was out. There was rust! 🙁  I pooched a couple easy shots, not that there were lots of chances.

I showed the fly to four redfish. Two spooked off, two bit. I caught one, the other coming off after a few seconds. The day was beautiful, there was joy to be had just paddling around on a day like that. There are many fewer boats out there than there used to be. I guess that happens when the fishing goes to hell.

I’ll keep trying though. There is still the sun, and the water, and the birds, and an occasional fish…

Thank you for reading this week’s Home This Week post!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, opinion, Uncategorized · Tagged: , , , , ,

Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report

December 12, 2020 by · 4 Comments

Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report

At a Florida Trail head…

Thank you for reading this Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report.

If you want the fishing report, please scroll down past the hiking.

Tuesday– Regular readers of this blog know that my Mitzi Skiff was up for sale. It sold on Tuesday. While I still have a jonboat and three paddle vessels, I am now skiffless. I am out of the fishing guide business!

Mills Creek was full of water.

 

While waiting for the transaction to take place, I went for a stroll on the Florida Trail. Not too worried about ticks and chiggers when the temperature is in the 40s! Walked from Curryville Road to Brumley Road. Hawk, sandhill crane, and songbird calls filled the air. I saw, but was not able to photograph, a flock of about 15 turkeys. At least three had beards.

A designated FT campsite.

 

The trail was in good shape. Clearly a crew had been working recently. While the weather is cool and the bugs are knocked down, get out for a walk! It’ll do you good!

Unlike other seasons, there were not many flowers- a few purple asters, a few goldenrod. Most of the flowers had gone to seed.

 

I love the way the light plays through the cabbage palm leaves.

 

Wednesday– I visited the Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Baldwin to see the optometrist. Always a good time! Yeah, I still need glasses. And it only took three hours or so.

Thursday– My mantra for winter fishing has always been, the best day is when the wind stops blowing after a cold front. This was the day! Would the water be clean?

The water is not close to clean.

The water, while fairly low, was not clean. At all. But I still managed to find a few happy fish, and even caught a couple. The fly was an old slider with rusty bead chain eyes. The fish didn’t seem to mind the rust.

Still got one on fly. Note the awesome beanie! Off the Trail Apparel.

Friday– another day filled with great weather. I went paddle fishing at Mosquito Lagoon again at a different spot. I had several hours of searching before finding anything, but managed to again catch a redfish on the same beater fly from yesterday. I should have taken a photo of it.

Today’s fish.

Thank you for reading this Florida Trail and Mosquito Lagoon Report blog!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or walk on a trail!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , , , ,

Everglades National Park Report and Photo Essay

December 4, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Everglades National Park Report and Photo Essay

Thank you for reading this Everglades National Park report and photo essay. I’m afraid it may be rather lengthy.

To paraphrase Lynyrd Skynyrd- They call me Mr. Cold Front…

Drove down to the Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City on Saturday to pick up our backcountry permit. Met my associate in mild insanity, Mike Conneen, Sunday morning. He was accompanied by River the Wonder Service Dog. I had hoped to launch the boats by 7 AM so as to catch the last of the outgoing tide to Jewell Key. HA! We paddled against the current the entire way. It was still a lovely paddle with great weather.

Mike and River, on the way to Jewell Key.

After unloading our vessels and setting up our new temporary home, we went on a fishing expedition. The Gulf side of Jewell Key boasts an extensive live worm rock reef. While I enjoy sight-fishing over the reef, when we got there the tide was too high for this. Blind-casting with a plastic shad netted me several trout and ladyfish and a redfish. Mike prefers a Vudu Shrimp, the new weedless version. He got what I got and a few snook too.

Trout…

 

…and redfish made up my catch.

Late in the afternoon, on the falling tide, I switched to the fly rod. Using a plain chartreuse and white Clouser minnow I got more trout and ladyfish and a snook too, giving me what turned out to be my only slam of the trip. It was beautiful out there. I fished until after sunset.

Got one on!

 

And then it was released.

Monday morning it was blowing like snot, coming off the Gulf. We fished on the inside, the lee side, of several islands, with a few small fish to show for it. Mike wanted to range further. I thought it was a bad idea with a front on the way. We worked our way back to camp.

Here comes the front.

 

Here we are waiting for it.

 

Got some nap time in.

 

My tent kept the water outside, where it belongs.

Good thing, too. The front blew in with hard wind and heavy rain. It continued to rain on and off into the evening. We spent a lot of time in our tents.

Surprisingly, Tuesday morning was not that cold, although it blew like snot. I left Mike and River in camp and went walking the now uncovered reef, intending to cast from the edge.

The uncovered by low tide worm rock reef.

There were a lot of raccoons working that reef.

Silly raccoon, thought it was hiding.

One would expect that when a human being approached a raccoon on a wide open area, the raccoon would flee for the woods. Certainly, many of them did exactly this. But several just kept doing what they were doing. When I got close, they would attempt to “hide” in the rocks. It was hilarious. Watching where I was walking, I nearly stepped on one. Had I been carrying a decent camera, some fine raccoon photos might have been had. As it is I used the point and shoot to get a few snapshotty pics.

The rising of the Beaver Moon.

That evening the Beaver Moon rose. We got to watch an awesome sunset, then an awesome moonrise, within an hour of each other. Jewell Key allows one to do both, which is very accommodating on its part.

Sunrise from Jewell Key. Thank you, God, for another glorious day!

Wednesday morning was cold. The wind still blew, too. Mike and River spent the entire day in camp. I spent the entire day walking the reef. Fishing was hard- remember the cold front? I did kill two trout that we fried up for dinner. They were SO delicious!

Mike and River spent the day in camp.

More sunset watching and moonrise watching happened. Some stargazing got thrown into the mix, too.

The sun has set on another day.

For me, fishing is the prime reason for making a trip like this. But enjoying the sunrise, watching the birds, the dolphins, the raccoons, stargazing, all of that stuff is at least as important as fishing. I enjoy moving my boat by my own power. I just love the elemental nature of moving and camping out in remote areas!

Watching the birds, a wonderful way to spend some time.

We decided that, rather than getting up before sunrise on Friday and fighting the outgoing tide to get back to Everglades City, we would leave at the bottom of the tide on Thursday and fish the incoming all the way back. It was a good strategy for the well-rested Mike, who got a nice red and a nice snook, too!

Mike and River collaborated to get this snook.

After loading up we had dinner at the restaurant-that-used-to-be-the-Oar-House. Then we hit the road. I pulled into my driveway at 9 PM. My messy car and gear are sitting out there right now, waiting for the clean-up.

All things considered, it was a pretty spectacular trip.

Thank you for reading this Everglades National Park report and photo essay blog!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or paddle!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide

Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Paddle Fishing Florida, travel blog · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Part Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Part Information

November 28, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Part Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Part Information

Thank you for reading this part Mosquito Lagoon fishing report, part information. I did not intend to post a blog this week, but surprised myself with my industriousness.

FISHING

Sunday I took my bride for lunch (Sunrise Bread Company) and a drive on Biolab Road. There were quite a few truck fishermen soaking shrimp there. They were all catching fish, black drum, trout, catfish. So there’s that. Not my cup of java, but if it works for you there are fish there.

Alfred Hitchcock would love this.

Tuesday I went kayak fishing with a fly rod in Mosquito Lagoon, in spite of high, dirty water and a fairly stiff wind. I figured it would be tough fishing. It was cool enough that I wore my chest waders, quite a delightful day actually.

Nice tail.

In six hours of hunting I saw a handful of fish. Managed two bites, both on the redfish worm, the last coming right before I left. I caught, photographed, and released that fish, and went home happy.

The release.

Information

Florida butterflies are in danger. The fluttering species that inspire wonder, pique curiosity and support our natural environment need protection. More than any other state on the east coast, Florida is home to 178 different species of native butterflies. Sadly, many of these species are imperiled, with some already now gone.

You can help! Click this link for more information on how!

The US Department of the Interior, which has crapped all over the country the last four years, has loosened up some money for Florida finally. Read about it here…

Have you ever seen an exploding whale? This is laugh-out-loud…

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OK, it’s black Friday weekend. Books make wonderful gifts! Here are a few suggestions!

Fishing Florida by Paddle– Sprinkling colorful history throughout, author John Kumiski highlights the state’s best paddle fishing destinations, both freshwater and saltwater, including the bass of Farm 13, the redfish and trout along the Big Bend Paddling Trail and the snook and tarpon of the Everglades. Learn the locales and what to do when you get there, including launch points, shuttles, rentals, tackle, techniques and more.

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles- On December 1, 2013, five intrepid paddlers launched their vessels at JB’s Fish Camp in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Their destination? Jupiter, Florida, 160 miles distant. During their nineteen-day voyage of discovery they travel the length of the Indian River Lagoon, meeting birds, snails, manatees, and mangroves, dolphins, scientists, restaurateurs, and seagrasses, other paddlers, the ghost of Henry Flagler, and much more.

Into the tale of their journey is woven the forgotten history of the people who lived along the lagoon’s banks- Indians, soldiers, settlers, agriculturalists, fishermen, treasure hunters, entrepreneurs, dredgers and many others.

What They’re Saying About This Book-
“Found a copy of the Indian River chronicles…couldn’t put it down, well done sir…thank you!” -Steve Betts

“Wow! really enjoyed the read. You did a fantastic job of catching the spirit and adventure of the trip. I especially enjoyed the historical notes along the way. At the end I had tears in my eyes…” – Darryl “Bones” Benton

Pura Agua, by Rodney Smith- Smith’s passion for clean water, for a healthy planet, shines on every page, as does his love of surfing.

Proceeds from the book go to the Marine Resources Council of Central Florida and to Anglers for Conservation, making a purchase of Pura Agua a donation to two important, water-centric charities.

If you’re aware of your surroundings and you’ve been in Florida more than 10 years, you don’t need Pura Agua to tell you there are water quality problems here. For those who have been here five years or less, though, Pura Agua should be required reading.

Get a copy of Pura Agua. It just may change your life.

NOTE TO READER- I could not find a way to order this title today. When I get that information I will include it an another post.

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In my last post I asked that readers follow me on Instagram. I’m @spottedtailflyfish and would still appreciate it if you would follow me.

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As soon as this is posted I’m leaving for a week-long paddle-fly-fishing trip to Everglades National Park. Even with a cold front coming through, there should be a decent report next week.

I hope everyone had a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Thank you for reading this Part Fishing Report, Part information blog!

Life is great and I love life!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! or paddle!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase a signed copy of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2020. All rights are reserved.

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