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May Day Orlando Fishing Report

May 3, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

May Day Orlando Fishing Report

Since Friday was May Day, which used to be a fairly important holiday, this is the May Day Orlando Fishing Report.

And since it’s May, the Tarpon Poem needs to make its annual appearance.

an ideal world
hot sun, blue sky, clear, slick water
sweat
a graphite wand, a wisp of feathers, a sliver of steel

a flash of silver breaks the mirror
another, and another

feathers land in water
magically, they come to life

line tightens
mirror shatters
power
water flies, gills flare, body shakes, shudders
again, and again, and again

beast tires
arms ache
hand grasps jaw
feathers removed

great fish swims free once more

tarpon
one of God’s gifts to fly fishers

orlando fishing report

One of God’s gifts to fly fishers.

Last week’s report was called the Stalked by a Gator report. The photo I used was of crocodiles, however. Several people emailed me to let me know. Of course I knew- just checking to see if anyone was paying attention! Anyway, here’s an alligator photo.

orlando fishing report

An actual alligator, not a crocodile. Here in Florida we are fortunate to have both.

Blog Posts This Week- The Orion Cooler- A Review

OK! FISHING! Monday found David Gunn and Bill Elk in my boat again. Unfortunately I didn’t learn Bill’s last name until I had finished fishing him. Otherwise I would have called him Bull Elk all week. Anyhow, I digress.

On a cloudy, windy day we launched the boat at Port Canaveral. We ran north for quite a way looking for any sign of activity. Although Davis and Bill are fly casters I had a spin rod with a bucktail jig on it that I used as a search tool. It did not find much- two lonely bluefish.

We saw a couple of tarpon roll. We saw a few tunny busting bait. We did not get a shot at anything. At one o’clock I pulled the boat and drove to Port St. John, launching again on the Indian River Lagoon. To my relief there was a load of ladyfish at the power plant. We caught ladyfish pretty steadily for a couple hours, and David got a mullet for good measure. So the day was a moderate success.

Tuesday found David Gunn and Bill Elk in my boat again. We launched at Parrish Park, running south to check the flats across from Titusville. The water looked nasty and we did not see anything. We ended up back at the power plant for a while. Although we caught a few, there were many fewer fish there than the previous day.

We left and checked a flat. After we ran over a few redfish David started blind casting. With fly tackle this is a low probability approach, but he got not one but two redfish. We did not count how many puffers were caught. You can always count on the puffers. Bring extra flies. They make pretty short work of a fly if it gets in there the right way.

orlando fishing report

Bill and David went wading on Wednesday. Bill got this nice red.

Wednesday I was supposed to drive down and fish with Rick. The wind was howling and was supposed to continue doing so, so we postponed the trip. I got to play with fishing tackle instead. The Squishy Cat wanted to play too, so I got this photo.

orlando fishing report

Squishy Cat wants to learn to fly fish?

Friday I went scouting on the Banana River Lagoon. It was windy! I was cold, on the first of May. May Day! What a good reason to go fishing! I got the first fish I threw to. Yes, I do know we never end our sentences with a preposition. I thought it was last week. The water looks good, too.

orlando fishing report

JK with redfish, caught on a black bunny leech.

Saturday Eric Elfman and David Gunn joined me for some fly fishing, again launching at Parrish Park and fishing the Indian River Lagoon. The wind was howling out of the northeast. There was nothing at the power plant. We found some scattered trout and redfish. David got two reds and hooked and lost a trout. Although he had several shots at trout and reds, Eric got three trophy puffers, nothing else.

I think puffers need some PR. I was trying to think of a new name to call them to make them more appealing to anglers but nothing came to mind. If you can come up with a new, sexy name for puffers please email it to me. The best name I get will be worth a free copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt. Judge’s decision is final.

After fishing I made my way to the abode of Tom Van Horn, who was celebrating his 60th birthday. Happy Birthday, Tom! The stars were all out for this gala. My only regret is I left my camera at home.

And that is this week’s May Day Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski

www.spottedtail.com

http://www.spottedtail.com/blog

www.johnkumiski.com

www.rentafishingbuddy.com

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Stalked by a Gator Orlando Fishing Report

April 26, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Stalked by a Gator Orlando Fishing Report

crocs too

Last time I had gone kayaking on the Banana River Lagoon, a banner day ensued with five redfish and over a dozen fine seatrout. Naturally I had been itching to go back. It happened Tuesday.

All the fish I had found that trip (admittedly, it was a couple weeks ago) were gone, of course. Search mission time.

The search revealed a bunch of black drum tailing, after a long paddle. Still, tailing fish are tailing fish. One took a black Redfish Worm, another a Merkin. I missed a few strikes. The fish were not overly aggressive towards the fly, though.

Realizing that it was a scouting trip more than a fishing trip I left the tailing fish and continued the search. It led me to the shoreline, where an occasional redfish was spotted. In spite of best efforts, none were fooled.

At one point I got out of the kayak and was stalking a fish when a security vehicle drove up to the water’s edge, blue lights flashing. Since I was the only other human being in the vicinity, I paddled over to see what I had done wrong.

“There’s an alligator stalking you,” the Security Man said. I had seen the gator. It was not paying any attention to me. But I did not want an argument with the Security Man. I was curious as to how he knew that, but did not pursue a line of questioning.

“I hadn’t noticed,” I replied.

“You gotta be careful this time of year,” he said. “They’re mating and they get real aggressive. You got an ID?”

When Security Man was done with me I decided I was done too. I paddled back to the chariot, loaded up, and went home.

Thursday found Rodney Smith and me out on Canaveral Bight. The weather looked fine when we left but it clouded up quickly. There was a lot of bait there, and some bluefish, but we didn’t find much else.

The storm moved in faster than I thought it would and we were caught out in it. At least one of us had a raincoat! The lightning was all cloud to cloud, fortunately. The boat was on the trailer before noon. I drove through rain all the way home.

Friday I still wanted to know if there were any fish along the beach, so went out of the Port as a solo act. It was too windy and too snotty for me to do what I wanted to. The bait was still in the Bight, and the bluefish were still there too. I saw a few of the Giant Crevalles bust some baits within casting range. Before I could move to grab a rod they were gone. Having learned all that I could, I headed back to the Port and home.

Saturday found me out on Mosquito Lagoon with David Gunn (Peter’s cousin) and his friend Bill, fly fishers from New England. We found a school of black drum right away and David got one to eat a black Redfish Worm. The fish was a relatively small one of six pounds or so.

The fishy area quickly became crowded with boats and the fish just as quickly disappeared. We were on a search mission the rest of the day. We did not find much. The one bite we had already gotten would be it for the day.

And that is this week’s Stalked by a Gator Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski

www.spottedtail.com

http://www.spottedtail.com/blog

www.johnkumiski.com

www.rentafishingbuddy.com

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Jumped a Tarpon Orlando Fishing Report

April 18, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Jumped a Tarpon Orlando Fishing Report

Blog posts this week-

–Mystery Tackle Box a Winner

–How to Tie the Electric Sushi Fly

Electric Sushi

Electric Sushi

Summer in Alaska is not too far off. One of the things I would like to do this summer is figure out how to catch salmon in the ocean on fly. If any readers have any insight into this, I sure would like to hear from you.

OK, fishing. Wednesday Scott Radloff joined me for an Atlantic Ocean trip out of Port Canaveral. The ocean was a little snotty, and there was a high rain chance. We went to the Cape. The acres of bluefish were gone. But the water along the beach was calmer than in Canaveral Bight so we stayed there. Casting jigs we got steady action from ladyfish, bluefish, and jack crevalle.

Scott put a ladyfish chunk on his big rod, hoping to get a tarpon bite. He hooked a shark in the six to seven foot range instead. We had to use the boat to chase it down. He had it on for at least fifteen minutes, but the fish finally snapped his 50 pound braid. He hooked two other sharks but they both cut him off quickly.

orlando fishing report

Scott battles the brute. The brute won.

I got another bite on the bucktail jig, but this time it was a real fish. Weren’t we surprised when a 70-80 pound tarpon came flying out of the water! I may have been a little undergunned with the outfit I was using, but the fish threw the jig on its third jump. But I jumped a tarpon on April 15, the earliest day ever for me on this coast.

Thursday and Friday I was part of a three boat charter arranged by Capt. Chris Myers, on Mosquito Lagoon. The water is definitely a brown color now. I did not see any clear water at all. That and all the clouds made sight fishing next to impossible- except when tails were showing. Fishing was not fast but by using cut ladyfish we managed two slot redfish and a bunch of hardheads. We got a few short trout on the DOA Deadly Combo, too. Not spectacular but better than a skunking.

Friday saw us out with the same crew, and Rock Man was with me again. He got the first red of the day, a pretty 10 pound fish, in the first 15 minutes.

orlando fishing report

Rock plays a fish on a spectacular morning.

 

orlando fishing report

Noah records Rock’s redfish for posterity.

 

orlando fishing report

Rock and his redfish…

He would end up getting three more reds and a black drum besides. Noah managed a slot red, too. And of course since we were using cut bait there were catfish involved. Again, not spectacular but certainly acceptable.

orlando fishing report

Noah got in on the action, too.

 

orlando fishing report

Just before we finished Rock boated this beauty.

It’s been raining this week, every afternoon. I went to check the Econ this morning, thinking about fishing there. It is blown out, the water having risen almost five vertical feet. Guess I won’t be fishing there for a while.

And that is this week’s Jumped a Tarpon Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

 

John Kumiski

www.spottedtail.com

http://www.spottedtail.com/blog

www.johnkumiski.com

www.rentafishingbuddy.com

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Some days are better than others

April 4, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Some days are better than others

A guest blog by David Caprera

We got to bed in New Smyrna Beach about 2am Wednesday morning (our flight landed about midnight in Orlando).  I went out fishing in my kayak Wednesday afternoon, saw three fish, caught none, lost interest, played 9 year old kid at the frog pond and came back with three crabs, six dog whelk, one horse conch, and seven oysters (one was a mudder.)

Pulling the kayak out I wrenched my back.  Bad.  It was a four Ibuprophin, two martini, back ache.  I woke up this morning and could not even roll out of bed.  (In our bathroom, the toilet paper is on the opposite wall… Too much information, but I digress.)

It was a drop dead gorgeous day.  I got up, sat on the dock, drank my coffee.  At eleven, my back was feeling a bit better.  I ran for 36 minutes on the beach, REAL SLOW. It loosened up.  I had lunch.  At 1:30, I could not stand it anymore, and in some discomfort, dragged the kayak to the ramp and set off.

I went to Raccoon Bay, my closest spot.  Visibility was good, but no fish. I continued west, poled a mile of shore and still not a single sighting.  I crossed the cut to the Redfish Motel (the redfish get in but they never leave – kinda like Hotel California.) It was 3:30, calm and clear.  Poling down the west side, 50 yards ahead, I see a splash.  Probably a mullet.  Another splash, more like a tail.  I cross.

And there they are.  Two beautiful copper torpedoes, cruising ten feet off the bank, not too fast but with purpose.  I position the kayak about 60 feet from them and cast a crab fly ten feet in front of their path.  Stop.  Bump.  Bump.  Strike.  Charge.  Fish on.

Nice redfish.  The reel clicks whir. (I don’t use Abels anymore because I love the sound.) Now he is towing the kayak.  It is a fucking sleigh ride. In my delirium I start singing, “Rudolph the red nose redfish, had a very shiny nose.” Easter weekend no less.  It has been a tough couple of months, fishing wise.  It felt good, primeval, to feel the pull at the other end. My backache is cured.  (Later I determine the cure is temporary.)

“And if you ever saw him, you would say it really glows.” You can sing along the rest.  In my euphoria, the only word I changed was “redfish” for “reindeer.”

I get the redfish close to the kayak and try to grab the leader.  I fail to hold on.  But that makes it an “official catch.” (I have questioned this.  I picture a poor, subsistence fisherman living in a debt laden country, say Greece, coming home.  “Boy, we are going to eat well tonight.  I caught three fish.” “Where are they dad?” “Well I didn’t actually put them in the boat but I touched the leader.  Doesn’t that count?”)

But the redfish stayed hooked and I did bring it to the boat.  It measured 26 inches. It was hooked in the lip and with a bit of wiggling the hook came free.  I grabbed the fish’s tail and it swam away.

Guides say that ” practice casting makes you a better fisherman.” I will tell you what makes you a better fisherman, “catching fish.” I had been fishing lethargically, with little effort.  Catch a fish and now you are charged.  Let’s go find another one.  I had two more shots this afternoon.  I failed with both but the sight was good and the casts were crisp. One was in deeper water and I lost sight of the fish, the other was weird in that the cast was good but I think he may have sensed my presence and ignored the fly.

It is 7 pm, I have taken my vodka and vermouth back medicine, and a beautiful sunset is commencing. Some days are better than others.

David Caprera is a talented writer who writes entertaining stories about catching, and not catching, fish with fly tackle. He splits his time between New Smyrna Beach and Denver.

All content in this article, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report

April 3, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report

A blessed Easter to all the Christians out there.

Although it’s not saying much, we found way more fish this week than last.

It started on Monday, when on a solo trip the kayak was launched on the Banana River Lagoon. The wind was light and there were no clouds. In some clean water, holy cow, there was an honest-to-God school of redfish, at least 100. They were small ones, about 24 inches, but I got four- two on a pink Electric Sushi and two on a brown slider. Then they made themselves scarce.

Orlando Fishing report

For those wondering what Electric Sushi is, here’s a real bad picture of one.

Orlando Fishing report

Sushi would not be my first choice in redfish flies. This red did not know that.

Orlando Fishing report

Another red, on the more traditional Slider.

In the meantime I had seen some nice seatrout lying sunning themselves. The next several hours were spent sight-casting to fish that were averaging about 25 inches long. Four different flies were tried, all unweighted minnow imitations- Electric Sushi, Polar Fibre Minnow, EP Streamer, and SexyFly. All worked. It was an awesome day that came to an end too quickly.

Orlando Fishing report

Speaking of bad pictures, here’s one of a fly-caught seatrout.

Orlando Fishing report

The fish splashed water all over the camera, but you can see the Electric Sushi fly.

Tuesday the now retired Dr. George Allen joined me for a Port Canaveral excursion. The weather was awesome, light winds, hardly any clouds. A couple of weeks ago I had found a big school of black drum out there. I went back to the place because that’s what you do. It’s not like I expected the fish to be there weeks later. But to my surprise and joy they were. George got one, a brontosaurus-sized beast, on a jig.

Orlando Fishing report

George and the brontofishsaurus.

We went along the beach looking for surface activity. Spinner sharks kept jumping out of the water. We saw a ray swimming. I got one cast off before the ray dove. That cast did not get a bite. Did not see much else.

After a few hours of looking without success, we tried blindly casting towards the surf. Bam! Bam! Ladyfish, bluefish, jack crevalle, all on bucktail jigs, steadily. No big fish, but some solid action. I kept four bluefish for the smoker.

Finally we reversed course, moving farther out off the beach. I spotted a ray and moved to intercept. It dove. George spotted a ray and we moved to intercept. It dove. They were very spooky. We couldn’t get close enough to cast at them. I spotted a ray and moved to intercept. It maintained its course, and a well-placed cast resulted in a nice cobia coming up and eating the jig, plainly visible to us, a beautiful thing to see. George fought the fish up to the boat where I netted it and bingo- we finally got cobia, the first of the year, a nice fish of 30 pounds or so!

Orlando Fishing report

Coe-Bee-Ahhhh!

Wednesday the Brinkman was busy, as I sat there and fed it charcoal and wood chips for four hours while the fish smoked. Yum-mee! We’ll be eating smoked cobia and smoked fish dip around here for a little while, at least.

Thursday the Reverend Jay Bergstresser and his brother Hank the Mercenary joined me for a half-day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We were taking it easy, just fishing for seatrout. We used DOA Deadly Combos in some of my favorite spots. The bite was not on. We caught quite a few fish, but all but one were undersized. Still, the weather was nice and the company was good, and we enjoyed ourselves. Hank got de-stressed, an important consideration. And of course we all got closer to God, a real important consideration.

On Friday the USGS gauge on the Econlockhatchee at Snow Hill Road read just over two feet. Time to go fishing!

While the river was low and clear and the weather was awesome, the bass bite was relatively slow. Although I missed a couple strikes, I got three bass in five hours. I also got a sunfish slam, and a spotted gar, all on a white foam popping bug. The river is so beautiful…

Orlando Fishing report

You have to love how aggressive the stumpknockers are.

Orlando Fishing report

The best bass of the day.

Those of us who like to fish are lucky we have such a wide variety of fishing we can do in central Florida. Even with the continuing onslaught of progress there’s still lots of incredible fishing here.

And that is this week’s Finally Got Cobia Orlando Fishing Report from Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

March 20, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Vernal Equinox Saltwater Orlando Fishing Report

Pagans everywhere! Celebrate the Equinox!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

saltwater orlando fishing report

Joe got this drum on a swimbait.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

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

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

saltwater Orlando fishing report

Landon does battle from the Dagger.

 

saltwater Orlando fishing report

It was his biggest fish to date.

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

March 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

The Variety Pack Orlando Fishing Report

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

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

We went looking for other fish.

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

Orlando Fishing Report

Casey battles a fish.

 

orlando fishing report

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

 

orlando fishing report

It took a DOA Shrimp.

 

orlando fishing report

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

 

orlando fishing report

Aye, ’tis a handsome fish!

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

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

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

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

orlando fishing report

Rodney works a tripletail in close.

 

orlando fishing report

We saw more turtles than cobia.

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

orlando fishing report

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

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

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

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

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

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

 

Sevylor Quikpak K1 Review

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

 

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

March 6, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Fished Around Central Florida Orlando Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar March 14

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

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

 

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

orlando fishing report

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

            Yes, there are fish in that pond.

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

The cardinal landed on my mirror...

The cardinal landed on my mirror…

 

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

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

 

cardinal3

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

orlando fishing report

Definitely not a bad start to the day.

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

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

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

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

orlando fishing report

No one accuses black drum of being beautiful.

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

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

            All in all a very enjoyable day.

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

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

            We tried blind casting, which yielded exactly nothing.

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

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

Fernando doing his thang.

Fernando, doing his thang.

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

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

orlando fishing report

The Deadly Combo was, well, deadly.

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

orlando fishing report

The little bitty reds were out on Friday.

 

orlando fishing report

The trout were smacking the shad tail, too.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Belated Valentines Day Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

February 16, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Valentines Day Orlando Saltwater Fishing Report

Upcoming Events

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar March 14. Visit this link for more information or to register!

Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar March 15. Visit this link for more information or to register!

Redfish on the Fly is now available as an ebook! It’s available in various formats at this link , through iBooks, and as a kindle file at this link…

I only got out two days this week. Monday I took the kayak back to the Indian River Lagoon spot that gave me such an incredible day last week. It was way more subdued this time. I had a couple dozen shots at redfish. All but one spooked off the various flies. I brought a camera this time and did something I’ve never done before to hold the fish for the picture (it certainly can’t be called a photograph)- I used my feet.

orlando fishing report

Holding the fish with my feet was not that easy to do.

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

The fish took a Trout Bite.

If you have any unusual ways of holding fish for photos we all would love to hear them.

orlando saltwater fishing report

Not exactly the fish of the trip, but a fun catch due to its novelty.

I got about a dozen trout too, the best one maybe three pounds. Synthetic streamers were used. I also got what for me was quite an unusual catch- a spotted gar that took a seaducer. It photographed well. All fish were, as per usual, released. I got nice and wet on the back end, caught in the rain by an incoming cold front.

orlando saltwater fishing report

This modest specimen was the best trout of the day.

 

orlando saltwater fishing report

It ate a synthetic minnow and splashed water all over the lens.

Tuesday and Wednesday there were small craft advisories. All the boats stayed in the yard. I watched the trees rock back and forth, releasing mass amounts of pollen.

Thursday Matt Ohley and his son Noah joined me for a half day on the Mosquito Lagoon. We left the dock with high hopes. The lagoon proceeded to crush them.

There were no fish at the first spot, where last time there were hundreds of black drum and some redfish. No fish. None. Not even mullets.

The second spot had some fish, mostly trout, pretty nice ones. They were very spooky and would not bite. I staked out the boat and tried soaking bait. No, that did not work either. So we left and tried door number three.

There were quite a few fish there, mostly nice-sized trout but a few redfish too. Again, they refused all our offerings, including some soaked pork chops. They left lovely wakes as they sped away from us, though.

I’m going to have to go to six pound braid with twelve pound leaders and simply cast a mile to where I think they are from now on. By the time I can see them they just won’t bite because they already know we’re there.

Friday I drove up to Ocala and set up my booth at the Ocala Sportsmen’s Exposition, where I spent Saturday and Sunday (explaining why this report is delayed). Met some good people, saw some old friends, yes, the Gatorman!, got some flies tied, it was a good trip. Maybe some bookings will come from it, one can only hope.

Looking at the weather forecast for this week was not very encouraging. We’ll see what reality brings.

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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

Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

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

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

Two Day Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

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

Wednesday I had errands-uh.

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

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

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

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

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski

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

 

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2015. All rights are reserved.

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