Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

A blessed Easter to all the Christians out there. I hope the pagans and infidels have a nice day too.

 

We caught a few fish this week.

On Monday three gentlemen, led by Mr. Peter Scribner, joined me for an eight hour kayak fishing extravaganza out of River Breeze. It was a beautiful day but windy and not at all warm.

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

It was beautiful out if you didn’t mind the chill wind.

We had to do some searching, as fish were not concentrated anywhere we looked. I’d guess we paddled at least ten miles. Neither Peter nor Rich caught a fish. Chuck got seven redfish and a beautiful trout, all on a small Johnson Sprite.

orlando saltwater fishing report

Chuck, my 76-year old role model, with another fish.

At 76 years old Chuck is a role model for all of us. He easily kept up with me all day. I can only hope I can still kayak fish all day if I’m lucky enough to reach that age.

 

Wednesday Scott Radloff and I took the Mitzi on a scouting trip out of Haulover Canal. It was cold. It was windy. There were no fish in the first place we looked. Spots two and three had quite a few nice trout. Spot number three had a few reds too. We got a trout about 24 inches long on a juicy piece of mullet.

orlando saltwater fishing report
Spot number 4 had some black drum and a few reds. I sightfished up a 30 incher on a juicy piece of mullet.

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

The last spot was seatrout city. Using five and a half inch DOA CAL jerkbaits we got a half dozen 18 to 22 inch trout, a nice way to end the day.

Thursday Mr. Brian Burns joined me for a day’s Mosquito Lagoon fishing. He got three nice trout on the five and a half inch DOA CAL jerkbait at the first spot. None of the fish at the second spot would bite. Muds everywhere, but no action.

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

At the third spot Brian went to work. Switching back and forth between a DOA Airhead and the CAL jerkbait he got seven or eight more trout and a slot red besides. The fish were spooky and not very bitey but there were so many that he got a bunch anyway. It was not too windy and was just beautiful out.

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Friday son Alex and I launched the boat at Port Canaveral. We hoped to find tripletail and if we got lucky a cobia. When we cleared the jetties it was beautiful, clear sky, hardly any breeze.

We ran south to Satellite Beach, then out about 2.5 miles. I had heard there were weeds out there. We didn’t find any. But someone had turned on the wind machine. I came about to start looking for fish and there were whitecaps everywhere. Three waves in succession poured into the cockpit. Yikes!

It’s hard to spot fish cruising at 3000 rpm, but that’s what we did so the bow would stay up above the waves. Eventually I stumbled onto a tripletail. It was a real one. Alex hooked it up and it just swam away, breaking the 20 pound power pro after about 20 seconds. Fish 1, anglers 0.

We saw another one, fairly small. It refused the delicious hand-picked shrimp we used to tempt it.

A while later I spotted another one. This one must have been hungrier, because it immediately inhaled the shrimp. Alex fought it up to the boat, where yours truly dipped it up. A fine ‘tail it was, and one delicious broiled fillet was more than three of us could finish. But I digress…

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

We saw two other tripletail as we ran them over. We decided we had had enough fun at about 2 PM.

Saturday James Cran and his friend Mike came all the way from Ontario to fish in the Mosquito Lagoon. The fish could not have been much less hospitable. We spooked several hundred fish over the course of six hours with only two bites all day. Both were missed.

At the last spot Mike fooled a slot redfish using a Road Runner with a four inch DOA CAL jerkbait for a tail, the first fish of the day. Shortly after James got a dink trout on a jig. That was it.

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

 

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

 

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

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Blog Posts This Week:

Paddleboard Fishing Mosquito Lagoon
Celebrate World Water Day
Solo Skiff Review

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

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

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Tim got this trout from his paddleboard.

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

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

Thursday was errand and other minutia of life day.

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

mosquito lagoon fishing report

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

We wanted tailers. We got nervous wrecks.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

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

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

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

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

paddleboard fishing in mosquito lagoon

Tim Baker with his paddleboard transport vessel.

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

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

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

Tim looking for fish from his paddleboard.

Tim looking for fish from his paddleboard.

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

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

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

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Tim got this trout from his paddleboard.

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

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

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

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

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

Paddleboard Fishing in Mosquito Lagoon

Loading the board after the trip.

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events
Not in the Immediate Future Dept.- Rodney Smith and I are planning on paddling an Old Town canoe through the Indian River Lagoon from New Smyrna Beach to Jupiter (the city, not the planet, although THAT would be a heck of a trip), beginning December 2. More details will be forthcoming in future posts. We’re looking for individuals or groups who’d like to partner with us. Contact him or me for more information.

Orlando Area fishing report

Yes, we’ll get all that gear into a canoe.

—–

Son Maxx is on Spring Break from school. Monday he was able to squeeze enough time that we could go fishing. We took the Old Town out of River Breeze. It was cold, with significant breeze. The water was low and clear. The fish were plentiful but very spooky. There were reasonable numbers of tailers, lovely to see.

mosquito lagoon redfish

Maxx, preparing to release a nice redfish.

We managed six redfish, all in the slot, all on slider flies. Maxx couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a redfish on fly. It was an awesome day with my son.

mosquito lagoon redfish

This fish took a slider.

Tuesday I went riding my bicycle in the Big Little Econ State Forest. Fortunately there were no crashes. I love doing that, it’s great exercise and great fun.

 

Wednesday son Alex and I got up early and drove to Jensen Beach. We met Marcia Foosaner and Mark Nichols a little after 9 AM, just as a cold front came through.

We did not catch any fish at the first or second spots, although I did lose much of my lure to a blowfish. Fortunately Mark had some more.

We again all went wading at the third spot. I got a few slot trout and a couple dozen small crevalle, using DOA Shrimp and CAL jigs. Mark did best, getting what I got but also getting three nice pompano.

It was wonderful getting out and fishing with both my son and old friends. Thanks to everyone involved.

 

Thursday Simms Outdoor Products held the first High Tide Guide Gathering at River Palms. Great event. Alex and I met a bunch of new people. I saw a lot of old friends. We spent some money, learned new things, and had a fine time. Thanks to Simms, Costa, Yeti, and Hell’s Bay for putting it all together.

 

Friday Tammy Wilson joined me for some scouting on the Indian River Lagoon. It was hugely disappointing.

The VAB flat across from Titusville used to have lush grass growth. It wouldn’t always hold fish, but you always knew they’d be back. Now it’s all bare sand, with blobs of algae rolling around here and there.

There’s nothing there to hold fish.

Grass feeds and shelters crabs, shrimp, worms, minnows, those things that redfish and seatrout eat. Without grass, no food. Without food, no fish. Those of us who fish around the Space Center should all be very, very concerned.

There’s no grass in the Banana River Lagoon. There’s no grass in much of the Indian River Lagoon. Is Mosquito Lagoon next?

I took Tammy to a spot usually good for a couple fish and we got three between us, two reds on a slider and a small trout on a spoonfly.

I won’t be going back to that section of the Indian River any time soon.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

mosquito lagoon fishing report

This fish was NOT caught by me this week.

Upcoming Events-

-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com

Blog posts this week: Trip Planning

Sunday afternoon I went to the St. Johns River on a shad hunt. In a little more than two hours only two bites were had. Both were missed, and nary a fish came aboard. Rain chased me off the river.

Monday Steve Timmons joined me on the Mosquito Lagoon. The fish are continuing in their spooky ways and we only got a few trout.

Tuesday I was supposed to fish Sue Cocking. I called her Monday night and told her not to drive up. As it turned out it was a good call- the weather Tuesday was awful, windy and rainy.

Windy Wednesday fly fisher Eric Malmbourg joined me on Mosquito Lagoon. There were fish on Tiger Shoal that wouldn’t eat, in spite of a few excellent shots. The fish were gone from a couple other spots. At the end of the trip we found some reds on the south side of an island, where they were out of the wind. Again Eric had a few good shots but no bites. He ended up with one dink trout for our efforts.

On Friday the weather was marginal but I took the kayak out of River Breeze to see if it was still possible to catch a redfish on a fly. In spite of the overcast I found a school of fish in a big white hole and even wading I could hardly get near them. In three hours I did get two on a slider.

The clouds cleared, the sun came out, and I found some nice fish tailing. Although they were also pretty spooky I managed to get two more, much nicer fish. The bigger one was pushing ten pounds. After I got those two, though, all the other stopped tailing and apparently disappeared.

It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. I did not want to leave.

On Saturday I had seven folks for the Show and Tell Seminar. It was cold and windy but otherwise it went well. Wendy Radwan emailed me, “I wanted to thank you so much for your time and efforts for the seminar yesterday.  You could see that I took copious amounts of notes, and I’m excited to read your book and to try out some sites along the dikes.” Thank you, Wendy!

On Sunday I had four folks for two on-the-water show and tell sessions. Oh yeah, it was Alaska weather, cold and windy. At least it wasn’t raining! We circumnavigated the Mosquito Lagoon once in the morning and again with a different crew in the afternoon. We didn’t see a fish either time, except when coming back into Haulover Canal at the end of the day we watched a nice black drum get caught..

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3


MINWR Launch Complex Update
– rather than clutter up this report with all the correspondence flying back and forth, please visit this link for the latest updates. At the link I have a letter you can copy.


Florida has some fishery problems, but nothing like this:

Kentucky will unleash a full-court press against invasive carp during a tournament being held in March.

The Carp Madness Tournament will get teams of commercial anglers competing in a contest to corral the growing population of Asian carp in two of the state’s largest and most popular fishing lakes. Five teams that bring back the highest poundage of fish will split $20,000, with the top prize being $10,000.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is putting together this unique event for March 12-13 at Kentucky and Barkley lakes in the western end of the state.

A sighting by a commercial angler on Kentucky Lake last fall is giving officials a greater sense of urgency to tackle the problem. “Right about dusk, he saw a huge school of carp just underneath the surface,” Brooks said. “He reported there were fish from bank to bank, and as far up the lake and down the lake as he could see. That’s why this tournament is so important.”

Read the entire piece here…

Fishing!

This has nothing to do with fishing, but Sunday we went to a skeet range. I still can’t hit a clay, but I got a photo I never expected to- my bride holding a shotgun.

orlando saltwater fishing report

Monday I effected repairs to the aging chariot- no fishing.

Tuesday I had the pleasure of a visit from Rick DePaiva. We fished for about six hours in the Mosquito Lagoon. It was fairly windy with lots of clouds, which made sight fishing difficult. In spite of that Rick got a half dozen slot reds on the new DOA Airhead. We wanted a big trout too, and saw quite a few, but that prize eluded us. Perhaps next time. Thank you, Rick!

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

Ricky D. with a nice one.

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

Wednesday and Thursday I had no work. The weather was windy and rainy, so I worked around the castle. No fishing.

Thursday night I spoke to the Backcountry Flyfishing Association of Orlando about fly fishing and BFA history. I really enjoyed it, and apparently the club did too. Here’s what Tom Dyll emailed to me: “Great talk. Probably the best I have seen in the 3 or 4 years I have been with the club. Great mix of content and entertainment.” Thank you, gentlemen, I hope we can do it again sometime.

Friday I got a late start, leaving home near 11 AM. Went kayak fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Hadn’t done that for a while. Should have been. Got a half dozen reds on a sparkle crab, and blew some shots too. All but one were cruising when I spotted them, the odd one being a tailer. All were in the slot. A very enjoyable afternoon.

More repairs to the chariot on today’s agenda.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

Orlando Area Fishing Report

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

Blog Posts this Week-
UV Skinz- A Review

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

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

tailing redfish mosquito lagoon, orlando area fishing report

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

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

mosquito lagoon seatrout, orlando area fishing report

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

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Orlando Area Fishing Report

Orlando Area Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

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

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

-Titusville Surf Fishing Workshop, Wednesday, March 6, 6-8 pm. There are several other surf workshops coming up along the Space Coast in the next two months. For more information please email Rodney Smith irlcoast@gmail.com

-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, MINWR, March 2; On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 3

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

orlando area fishing report

We did some fishing this week, folks.

On Monday Tom and Joyce Moore, Green Mountain state folks, joined me for a day’s fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. Tom got a nice redfish on a jerkbait right out of the gate. Then we had to work, as the fish seemingly disappeared. We got several trout and another redfish on DOA Shrimp.

Orlando area fishing report

Tom Moore got this fish on his second or third cast.

Fish Story of the Week:

Tom was using a DOA Deadly Combo when he had a powerful strike. The fish took off and the leader parted. We could see the bright orange float as the fish swam off with it. Inexplicably, the fish turned around and came back towards us.

Tom tried to hook the line between the fish and the float, but the DOA Shrimp was a poor choice of baits for that particular task. I climbed down off the poling tower and tied on a Sting Silver and snagged the rig on the second cast. Joyce reeled the fish in, a beautiful 26 inch seatrout. We got our Deadly Combo rig back, photographed and released the fish.

Orlando area fishing report

The star of our fish story of the week, displayed by Joyce Moore.

On Tuesday Cincinattian Steve Horgan joined me for the first of four days of fly fishing. Steve describes himself as a “multi-species fisherman”, which means he is interested in catching as many different species on fly as he possible can. So that was our goal for the week.

Tuesday found us on the Mosquito Lagoon. In the morning the weather was perfect, very few clouds, very little wind. The redfish were thick, lots of schools, but very spooky. There were quite a few boats about. We stalked schools of both tailing and cruising redfish for about five hours. We did not get one. Steve had only one bite during that time. A three or four pound black drum took the crab fly. Steve had his first specie of his trip.

orlando area fishing report

Mr. Horgan’s first ever black drum.

Early in the afternoon it got windy and cloudy. We fished in several spots trying to get a redfish and/or a seatrout. We failed to do so. It was a frustrating day, after seeing so many hundreds of fish.

Wednesday morning Steve and I drove down to Sebastian River and launched the boat. Tarpon were rolling 100 yards from the boat ramp. Like Sebastian River tarpon usually do, they laughed at everything we tried. We gave up.

I idled down to the ICW and ran through Sebastian Inlet, hoping it would be calm enough for us to look around out there. It was definitely not. We tried floating the flats inside the inlet. There was no grass, no bait, and no activity. We saw nothing and did not get any bites so we headed back into Sebastian River.

I poled while Steve banged the shoreline with a streamer. He ended up with seven snook, three mangrove snapper, and a couple of ladyfish, all new species for him. We went back to where the tarpon were and tried various things for another hour plus but did not get a bite. I was hoping we’d get a crevalle and maybe a redfish, but neither of those happened, either.

orlando area fishing report

Seven snook sounds great. At least they weren’t all quite this small, although they were all lovely.

It was nice being there, but in my opinion not worth the drive as far as catching fish went.

Thursday we went to Mosquito Lagoon. We found a school of redfish. They were not showing themselves very well. We played cat and mouse with them for a couple of hours. Steve had some good shots but the fish didn’t bite. As the wind got harder I lost the fish, so went and looked in a couple other places. I saw very little.

We pulled the boat and went to the Indian River. By now it was blowing about 20 mph. There were no groups of fish and Steve had trouble seeing the singles I found. We’d blow right past them without a shot. We ended up completely skunked, wet from the rain and wind. It was a really tough day.

Friday found us at the St. Johns River. The temperature was in the high 40s when I launched the boat, with a 15 mph wind, which increased in force as the day went on. Fishing was s-l-o-w. Steve did get a nice shad on a bucktail streamer.

orlando area fishing report

Mr. Horgan’s shad, another first.

I got a couple little ones on a wooly booger. He got a few bluegills. I got a small crappie and a small channel cat. It rained intermittently. We worked hard all week and really didn’t have a lot to show for it.

Steve did get five new species, but we failed to get either a trout or a redfish for him. Thank you for your patience, Steve- it was wonderful fishing with you.

My fisherman for Saturday postponed his trip because of the wind and clouds.

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

 

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

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

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Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Merry Christmas to All, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to Everyone!

Upcoming Events-

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

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

My bride had knee surgery. I spent most of this week taking care of her, as she can’t get around very well. She’s doing fine, thanks, and we expect a complete recovery.

Only three days were spent on the water this week but many other things got done.
-My website got hacked and crashed. It needed a complete re-build. That took some time.
-As long as I was at it I built a new website for my sister, the glass artist. See it at http://www.cherylkumiski.com

Blog Posts this week:

-A Christmas Gift to You

On Wednesday Tammy Wilson met me at Parrish Park. We spent four hours looking around the Mosquito Lagoon for fish. We did not see many, perhaps because we started late.

Tammy got a trout and a redfish, both out of the slot, while blind-casting with an olive colored bunny leech.

I got two smallish trout blind-casting with a DOA Shrimp.

 

A cold front came through Thursday night. The water level dropped six or seven inches, and the water temperature dropped by 10 degrees, between sunset Thursday and sunrise on Saturday. At that point I met Jason and Jonathan Brege, my fishermen for the next two days.

It was 38 degrees at the boat ramp and the flag was almost straight out. The Indian River Lagoon was covered with whitecaps. They wanted to go anyway so we launched the boat at Titusville Marina. That first boat ride was almost like the brain freeze you get when you eat ice cream too fast.

We fished in every dredge hole and canal I know. We came up with a grand total of three trout to 23 inches, all caught on jigs. Late in the day we found a bunch of fish, mostly trout but a few reds too, up on a flat. We could not get them to eat anything and didn’t get a bite there.

 

Sunday dawned much more placidly. With the winds forecast to be light and variable we went to Mosquito Lagoon with the intent of fly fishing. The first spot, which had been holding fish, was nearly barren. Playing a hunch I went to the spoil islands. Good call.

Both Jason and Jonathan got their first ever seatrout and redfish on fly. An imitation crab and a minnow pattern did the damage. They took turns fly fishing, so the “off” guy tossed a jerkbait, which also accounted for several trout.

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The trout were running large…
Jonathan with a fine trout.

The trout were running large, between 20 and 25 inches. The best redfish was 26. We got enough of each that I lost track (three or four is enough for that to happen, though).

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Brother Jason with trout on fly.

The weather was spectacular, the fish were cooperative, my fishermen were great guys, it was a fantastic weekend. Happy Christmas to me!

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The brothers with a fat Mosquito Lagoon redfish.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area and 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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Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

 

A moment of silence please for yet another senseless tragedy.

 

Upcoming Events

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

An Osprey preparing to dive at Kennedy Space C...

– Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Clean-Up, February 9, 2013. Contact Nancy Corona, 321-861-0668 or nancy_corona@fws.gov

Only two days were spent on the water this week but many other things got done.

Blog Posts this week:

Wire Leaders for Toothy Fish

Mushrooming with Confidence- A Review

Birds of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Extraordinary Projects for Ordinary People- A Review

We’ve launched a new fishing escort service for folks who need or want a fishing partner. Please visit our new website at http://rentafishingbuddy.com . Any feedback you can send me would be appreciated.

 

Now, on to the fishing! It waren’t real good.

Monday Stan Major, his brother Tom, and his friend Emily joined me on Mosquito Lagoon for a full day. Tom wanted a redfish on fly.

It was breezy, overcast, and the water is still high . There weren’t many fish around (I don’t know where all those I found on Friday went). Tom blind cast all day and got the only two bites we had. He boated one seatrout, a decent one of 18 inches or so that took a slider. That was it for the day.

Near the end of the day we found a single tailing redfish, the first we’d seen all day. Tom made one cast and the fish disappeared. That’s how our day ended.

Saturday Richard Sykes, from the low country of South Carolina, joined me for a day’s fly fishing. We kicked off the day by chasing about a half dozen schools of spooky reds around a big flat. As quiet as the Mitzi is we could not get close to those fish. In more than two hours he never got a decent shot. Time to change gears.

We went looking for big seatrout. Apparently in South Carolina a 20 inch fish is a giant. I showed Richard some trout that were between 25 and 30 inches. If they weren’t fleeing when he threw to them, they were as soon as the fly landed. We managed to spook every redfish we saw too. In spite of some seriously nice weather he never got a bite and we were skunked in a most serious fashion.

And that is this week’s exciting version of the Orlando Area and 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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