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Shads and Otters Report

March 5, 2022 by · Leave a Comment

Shads and Otters Report

Hi everyone, thanks for reading the shads and otters report.

The astute reader may remember that last Thursday I picked up the Bang-O-Craft from its obedience training session. Sunday morning I had time to take it out for a spin on the St. Johns, CS Lee Park. Although I had a spin rod, I didn’t intend to fish. Ran up to the mouth of the Econ. There was fishy activity there. I got a shad, on a Road Runner, on my second cast.

I put the boat up on the bank and commenced to casting. Yes, I forgot all about the intent not to fish. Fish were breaking all around, but no bites were forthcoming. I cut off the Road Runner and the crappie jig (I was using a tandem rig) and replaced them with two Creme Spoiler Shad 1.5 inch. It was a stroke of unadulterated genius. Or some fortunate happenstance. Pick one.

I started hitting shad almost every cast, and three times got two at once. I thought I was back in 1985. No one else was there. That went on for well over an hour. Then the Fishing Gods flipped the switch and that was that. I ran the boat a little bit and then loaded it up, quite pleased with the way the morning played out.

Monday morning found me driving to Mosquito Lagoon, Bang-O-Craft in tow. The motor started right up. Ran great to the fishing spot. Worked the fish hard, was rewarded with two undersized seatrout. When I’d had enough, I tried starting the motor. It wouldn’t start. I tried over and over. No start.

I was pissed. I had unkind things to say about Ahoy Marine. The wind was howling. I put the anchor out so I could try to troubleshoot the problem without blowing away.

After taking the cowling off, I examined the motor closely. It was then I noticed that on-off switch was in the “off” position. Prior to the recent carburetor rebuild, when I wanted to kill the running motor, I’d just pull the choke out and the motor would stall. This day, that didn’t work, so I switched the motor off. Since I didn’t switch it back on, it refused to start hours later, when I had forgotten all about it. I flipped the switch, pulled the cord. It started immediately.

Sometimes I am so dumb… I apologize to Ahoy Marine for all those unkind things I said!

Thursday morning Rodney Smith and I hooked up at Tosohatchee. Our intent was to hike, in hope of finding the virgin cypress trees. We started wandering through the woods, enjoying the other trees.

We came to a cypress tree that was bigger than the others. Debate ensued as to whether or not it was in fact what we were looking for. The tree was growing at the edge of a wide spot in a creek. We spotted an otter in the creek. The otter also spotted us.

The otter acted like it hadn’t ever seen anything from genus Homo. It swam back and forth, stopped in front of us, climbed up on the bank, and generally examined us closely. Having seen quite a few otters through the years, its behavior amazed me. They don’t usually hang around after spotting you!

The camera I had was equipped with my landscape lens, of course. It was the best opportunity I will ever have to photograph an otter and I had the wrong equipment. That didn’t make the experience any less incredible.

 

 

We found a still bigger cypress tree afterwards. It was anticlimactic. We hiked back to the car and went our separate ways. On the way home I called Alex, who met me at the house. We hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and drove to the St. Johns.

We went to Sunday’s hot spot. There were two boats there, but no fish. Alex has a spot he likes. We went there, found some fish breaking. We got a few crappie on a crappie jig and the Spoiler Shad. I couldn’t get one on a fly.

We went up the Econ to a spot I like. Alex got two shad and a few crappie. I got a few crappie and a shad, everything on the crappie jigs. By this time it was pushing 5 PM, so we called it good and packed it in.

Congratulations to Alex and Allison, who are getting married Saturday!

That’s the shads and otters report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2022. All rights are reserved.

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

Valentine’s Day Post

February 13, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day Post

This means Valentines Day to the true fisherman!

Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day post.

One year I procrastinated with the Valentine’s thing. The night before, I was at the card rack at Publix, with 18 other loser guys. All of us were looking for the perfect card in a completely picked-over selection. Lesson learned.

I hope you got what you needed before the mad rush started.

John Gilbert, engaged.

Tuesday found me in the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns River. John Gilbert was my guest. It took me about three minutes to get our first shad, so naturally I expected “great things”.

Taking a break…

We were there four hours, got seven or eight between us, definitely not “great things”. All on spin tackle. Could not buy a strike with the fly. Gilbert surprised me when he said the first one he got was the first one he ever got!

The happy man. Fish, not so much.

I thought the sunset would be killer so I went back out to photograph it. It was only OK. Yes, I am being so presumptuous as to grade the sunset. It was awesome, of course, but not what I had hoped for. I made the best of it.

Pretty killer for not so killer.

The rest of the week I ran a couple errands, worked on the wiring for the van (I should be finished by month’s end!), and spent time on Instagram. Not an exciting week!

Love the palm trees!

Except the Bucs won the Super Bowl!

Thank you for reading this week’s Valentine’s Day 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, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , ,

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

January 23, 2021 by · 4 Comments

Ode to Cabbage Palms Report and photo essay

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms Report. There may be a couple fishy mentions in here too!

Monday and Tuesday must have been pretty dull, for I don’t remember what was done. I did repair our clothes dryer in there. My brain must have blotted out that terrible memory! On the other hand, the dryer does get hot and dries our clothes now.

Wednesday afternoon found me in the Bang-O-Craft, launching at CS Lee Park. Target, shad! Went to the mouth of the Econ, where casting commenced. The weather was fantastic. There were some signs of life in the water, and before long I had a fat crappie. A while later I got another. Shortly after I got a little one. And finally, the first shad (for me) of 2021, a little buck, which took a pink crappie jig, right next to the boat. All fish were released.

The noble sabal palm photographs beautifully.

I had been wanting to photograph some palm trees against the setting sun. The sky was spectacular, the light was golden, and I had my cameras.

They’re so Florida!

I went to a stand of sabal palm (Sabal palmetto) trees. Out came the camera. I may have gotten carried away, even trying imitate a palm tree myself.

Silly John, you can’t photosynthesize!

Would life be easier for us if we could photosynthesize? Imagine if we were green and could stand in the sun and make sugar!

Palms at sunset.

You can eat the heart of the sabal palm tree. Only once, though, as removing it kills the tree. Sabal palms are also called cabbage palm because of this edible heart.

Reflections of palms. It’s an ode to cabbage palms!

The Bang-O-Craft lacks lights, so I left before I wanted to, but got some more shots of the sky as I made my way back to the boat ramp.

St. Johns sunset, fantastic.

 

SR 46

Thursday played out in similar fashion, except I went to Mosquito Lagoon, and the photos happened at Black Point Wildlife Drive.

Note the brown slider. Eyes are bead chain.

Two black drum ignored my flies, and a redfish did not. I’m still using the brown slider. The water was quite low, and dare I say it looked a little cleaner? Some green stuff, that exotic algae from the Pacific Ocean (I can’t find the name right now), is starting to grow on the bottom of the lagoon. When that gets established we can be sure we’ll never see manatee grass there again.

The Release!

Friday began the process of installing the solar electrical system in the Sienna, which is probably how much of next week will be spent. At the moment I’m trying to figure out where all the components will go, and how to best mount the solar panel on top of the van.

The spoonbills are still at the wildlife drive.

 

Telephoto sunset.

 

Wide angle sunset.

Thank you for reading this Ode to Cabbage Palms 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 2021. All rights are reserved.

Filed Under: central florida destinations, Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Photo Essays, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Alafia River State Park Report, more

January 8, 2021 by · 2 Comments

Alafia River State Park Report, more

Thank you for reading this Alafia River State Park Report. Did a couple other things, too.

Upcoming Event– Lake Monroe Cleanup, Jan. 23 

Click the link now to reserve your space!

Sunday– tried my luck shad fishing in the St. Johns, launching at CS Lee and fishing around the Econ River mouth. Cast for three hours, only met this guy again-

Monday– Drove to Stuart to fish with Rick DePaiva in the Indian River Lagoon. Hadn’t seen him since last year! We fished for pompano, and it was s-l-o-w. That having been said, I got two pompano on a pompano jig. Also got a bluefish, a redfish, several crevalle jacks, a ladyfish, and a tiny mutton snapper. We worked it hard all day.

Tuesday Sue and I packed for a little camping trip.

Wednesday through Friday we were at Alafia River State Park in Lithia (Hillsborough County) on a fact-finding mission. I’d never been there nor heard much about it. And really, we went there because I couldn’t get a site at Hillsborough River.

The park sits on an old phosphate mining site. There are phosphate pits full of water there, as well as the Alafia River. The river is small and shallow, but looks like it should hold some bass and bream. We checked it out from a bridge at the park’s south entrance. The only fish we saw, and were hordes of them, were Plecostamus. If I had brought a paddle vessel, I would have explored it. But, didn’t bring a boat.

We walked one of the equestrian trails.

The park’s main claim to fame are the mountain biking trails. They are supposed to be the finest in the southeast. I didn’t bring a bike either, and doubt if I’m healthy enough to ride any more, but the bike trail system is extensive, well-managed, and well-maintained. There’s a pro shop there (closed during our visit), a bike washing station, air pumps, and map boards. Trails are marked by skill level, from the turtle track for beginners to two or three double-diamond expert trails.

The pond I cast into. The banks were high and nearly vertical in most places.

The Turtle Track is a multi-use trail (the bike trails are dedicated- hikers not allowed). Susan and I walked it, and I carried a spin rod. The ponds we came to, with one exception, had such thick duckweed my shad just sat on top of it. Couldn’t get my lure wet for the duckweed! The no-duckweed pond got a few casts with no response, but access was difficult due to the terrain.

Susan on the hiking trail.

There are hiking trails that also use the old phosphate mining area, with abrupt elevation changes sufficient to get one’s heart pumping fast. We started on one and made it up one hill before turning around. The hiking trails map is hopelessly inadequate, unfortunately.

At the park’s north entrance is a phosphate pit you can drag a small boat into. Again, didn’t bring a boat. But it looks delicious…

Phosphate pit at north end of park, courtesy Google Maps.

The campsite was a state park campsite- electric and water hookup, nice clean bathhouse within easy walking distance. Most people there are in RVs so tenters or van life folks pretty much have the bathhouse to themselves.

I went out at night to make photos, and zombies came after me!

So, the park caters to bicycles, has equestrian, hiking, and fishing available, and is nicely maintained. I’d go back, but I’d bring a kayak with me.

Thank you for reading this Alafia River State Park 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.

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Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report

February 11, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Mosquito Lagoon and more Fishing Report. The more includes the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon. Since I’m typing this on Tuesday, and I won’t be fishing tomorrow, next week will be a bye week. No sense in posting a two-day fishing report.

Long-time angler and friend Todd Preuss sent me the following-

Thought I should share. BTW, I do have a will.

FISHING

Monday
Old friend Walt Jennings joined me for some shad fishing on the St. Johns River. I told him to meet me CS Lee Park at 1000. I got there at 0830 and Walt was already there. Talk about prompt!

We spent five hours looking for shad, from the outlet of Lake Harney to up near Puzzle Lake. We also went up the Econlockhatchee. We got five shad in five hours, plus a few small crappie. Shad fishing was pretty crappy. It’s been that way all season.

Tuesday
Old friend Tom Mitzlaff joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon scouting. We met at River Breeze. Tom was not an hour and a half early!

We looked in a lot of different places, and saw very little. We could have seen them, too- the water was pretty clean. We got a handful of dinky trout and a single dink redfish, but it was not looking good for my charter the next day.

We actually found a few sprigs of seagrass trying to photosynthesize. I wish them the best of luck!

Wednesday

Bob opened things up by landing this beautiful sea trout.

Matthew Pineda and his friend Bob joined me for a day’s fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. Tuesday showed me where not to go. We got some fish at our first stop. Bob’s first fish, a handsome seatrout, turned out to be the fish of the day. We got more trout, although most were small. All in all it was a pleasant day, with a decent number of bites.

Matthew got this fish a few minutes later.

Thursday and Friday

Did not fish due to high winds.

Saturday
I try not to fish on Saturdays and Saturday’s Mosquito Lagoon scout trip reminded me why. There was a redfish tournament going on and the place was a zoo. I really dislike fishing tournaments.

I launched at Eddy Creek. Thought I should check the south end of the lagoon, since I hadn’t been there in a long time. It was a waste of time- the water was opaque brown. No need to go back there for a while!

I ran around a lot, even going through Haulover Canal in to the Indian River Lagoon. I did not see much and got one bite all day, a dink redfish on the spin rod.

A word of caution- trying to pull the boat out at the Eddy Creek ramp with my two-wheel drive RAV4 dug a nice hole in the sand under my front tire. If a couple of muscular young guys hadn’t come along and pushed me out I would still be there.

Sunday
Chris Kent joined me for some fly fishing in Mosquito Lagoon. We mostly had the place to ourselves, surprisingly. We found a flat that had quite a few redfish on it, which surprised me in a good way. We worked it on five separate passes and did not get a bite, changing flies, angles, everything I could think of. Yes it was frustrating. I thought he should have hooked at least two and perhaps more, fish that responded to the fly but said no.

We found a spot with some nice trout. His line would hit the water and big mud poofs would come up. Those fish wanted no part of us, either.

The only fish we got were some small trout from a deeper spot, blind-casting with a Clouser Minnow. We saw 50 or more reds over the course of the day and couldn’t make a deal.

Monday
Johnny went kayak fishing in the Indian River Lagoon, all by hisself. He paddled to where he intended to start, and spent the rest of the time wading. He missed his first strike, but got the second, and nice trout of 22 inches or so. The fish took a black Clouser Minnow. There was a long time between bites, so he switched to a spin rod with a DOA Shrimp tied to the line. He was rewarded with two redfish (small ones) on back-to-back casts.

A word about spin tackle- I am transitioning to ultralight spin tackle- 1000 series reels, 5.5 and 6 foot rods. A few years ago this would have been unthinkable. Now the average size of the fish has dropped so much it seems to make good sense. Even the small fish seem sporty on tiny tackle. Sooner or later I’m gonna hit a real one and get my clock cleaned I bet…

Anyway, I ended up with a half-dozen nice trout, all in the slot or above, plus those two rat reds. It was not hot fishing by any means, but I’ve certainly had worse days.

And that’s my Mosquito Lagoon and more fishing report. Thanks for reading it!

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report

February 1, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Central Florida Smorgasbord Fishing Report. I got out every day this week, and managed at least a few fish every day.

NEWS UPDATE
Today, February 1, the rules for taking seatrout change statewide. Here in east central Florida the slot changes from 15-20 inches to 15-19 inches. The bag limit per angler changes from four to two. Formerly, one fish of the bag limit could exceed the slot, per person. Now one fish may exceed the slot, per boat. For more info click this link- https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/271263f

FISHING
Monday was to be a scout day. I got to the Indian River and the boat battery was dead. I brought the boat home and put the battery on the charger. Then I hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and went to the St. Johns River. Four hours of casting turned up a half-dozen shad and a half-dozen crappie.

Shad boatside.

At the ramp when I got back was an FWC Creel Survey man. I like talking to those guys, you get some good information from them. He told me my six shad were the best report he’d gotten all week. Ouch.

Tuesday I launched at Beacon 42 for some scouting. It was blowing 10-15 and the water was full of mud. I got a few small trout and a floundah! Saw seven or eight decent reds, had shots at two. Both blew out when the lure hit the water. In general pickings were pretty slim.

This picture is for Tammy’s fans.

Wednesday Tammy Wilson (who has fans!) joined me for that Indian River Lagoon scout. We went to three spots, did not see anything living. I pulled the boat and went to River Breeze. We got a couple redfish and a few smallish trout. In general pickings were pretty slim.

Thursday Tom Campbell and Jack Florio joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. It was overcast, with a forecast of 10-20 out of the north, awesome weather for flats fishing. We launched at River Breeze and had a go of it.

We got five species of small fish- trout, flounder, catfish, puffer, and pinfish. When it started raining we packed it in. Pickings were really slim.

Friday Tom and Jack joined me again. We launched at Beacon 42 this time. The wind was not blowing, although it was still overcast.

Jack with the best fish we got in two days.

We found a lot of trout. With two or three exceptions they were all small. We found a few redfish. They were all small too. Everyplace we looked for larger fish looked like a virtual biological desert. There is no grass, we saw no bait.

Tom with his best trout. It would have held batter!

Tom and Jack, thank you for fishing with me again, and good luck in the Keys!

And that’s my Central Florida Smorgasbord fishing report. Thanks for reading it!

Life is great and I love my work!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase 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, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

February 17, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report

This fishing report covers the Mosquito Lagoon and the Econlockhatchee River.

Picture of the Week, from my friend Kevin Linehan-

Link of the Week– A woman by the name of Laarni Tadeo sent me this link on packing for fly fishing trips- https://mightygoods.com/flyfishers-packing/
Good stuff!

Monday Tom Campbell and his friend Jack joined me for a day’s fishing from the Mitzi on Mosquito Lagoon. Jack started the day with a trout and a redfish within minutes at the first spot we stopped. Then Tom and Jack doubled up on slot reds! I’m looking at an epic day, maybe.

No, we pretty much had shot our load already. We caught plenty more fish, mostly undersized trout and a couple dink reds. But an epic day it was not, and as so often happens, all my scouted spots were dry this day. So goes life.

Tom looks happy with one of many shad he caught.

Tuesday Tom Campbell and his friend Jack joined me for a day’s shad fishing from the Mitzi on the Econlockhatchee. We got shad at the first place we stopped, and at every other spot as well. We’d fish a spot until the bite slowed, then go to another. I tandem rig the jigs. We had six or seven double hookups during the day, and probably got 30 or so shad, as well as bass, sunfish, even a crappie. Good day. Thanks for fishing with me, Tom and Jack!

Wednesday we did not fish for a couple reasons, one of which was the cold rain that fell all morning.

Thursday Tom Finger joined me for what began as Mosquito Lagoon fishing. We got there and it was all whitecaps. We reversed our field and went to CS Lee Park to fish for shad. The shad fishing had fallen off a cliff. We worked it most of the day in both the Econ and the St. Johns and only got six or seven. The best fish of the day was a big crappie from the Econ. Thanks for fishing with me, Tom!

On the way home I stopped at the Snow Hill Road bridge over the Econ and fished ten minutes. Got three shad for the best fishing of the day. ARRgghhhh.

Friday I went kayak scouting out of River Breeze. There is a lot of fishless water around there. But if you look in the right places there are trout and reds. Quite a few fish were caught, including a season’s best trout of seven or eight pounds. No photo, don’t want to hurt those girls.

Saturday Steve and Brad Myott, father and son,  joined me for some paddle fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. We paddled quite a bit. I thought the fishing better on Friday, but Steve got his personal best redfish and Brad got his personal best trout. They kept a couple slot trout for dinner, too. Beautiful day, great people. Thanks for fishing with me, gentlemen!

Steve’s redfish…

That’s this week’s Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report and Econlockhatchee River Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

Central Florida Fishing Report

February 10, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Central Florida Fishing Report

This is a central Florida fishing report covering the Indian River Lagoon, the Mosquito Lagoon, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Econlockhatchee River. Yeah, we got around this week.

Upcoming-
-Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Seminar, March 23. An all-day fishing seminars that take place in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. For more information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

-On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 24. Fun, educational four hour fishing seminar that takes place in my Mitzi on the waters of the Mosquito Lagoon, with the express goal of helping you catch more fish. For More information, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Monday found me paddling on the Indian River Lagoon. It was pretty windy. I found a few redfish tailing but could not get near them. The waves made the kayak slap, and the fish all disappeared before I could get into fly casting range. Three dink trout managed to get impaled on the point of the fly’s hook, though.

Tuesday I took the Mitzi out of River Breeze to see how far south the clean water went. And, as long as there was clean water, I could do a little sight fishing, too. Find some fish for the upcoming trips, maybe. Such an idea!

I looked in a half-dozen spots, working as far south as Tiger Shoal. The water was still clean there. Fish were scarce, though. While I did see a few black drum and redfish I didn’t get a shot at them. Blind casting with the shad imitation netted me a few dink trout.

Working my way back north I fished a flat which has been a fish producer in the past. There were some redfish and decent sized trout there. I got a nice slot red and a solid 20” trout, and pooched a couple of strikes. It was a nice way to end the day.

orlando fishing charter

The best trout of the week, on a plastic shad.

Wednesday found me back at the lagoon, still scouting. At the first spot I released four slot reds. NICE! There were more there but not wanting to beat them up I left them and looked elsewhere.

A couple elsewhere spots had nothing. But then I found another batch of fish and got a half dozen or so reds and trout, all slots. Again, I left them so as not to beat them up.

orlando fishing charter

Not the biggest redfish of the day, but the spots!

At the next spot an hour plus was invested. A few dink trout were caught, and four redfish were spotted too late. Then three more slot reds came in quick succession. Then it was time to quit. It had been a very solid day, even though the fly rod was not touched. And, clean water almost everywhere I went.

Thursday Mike Conneen joined me for some near-shore Atlantic exploration. Off Cape Canaveral we got a few dink bluefish and a couple of the smallest pompano I’ve ever caught. We spent hours looking for tripletail, ending up near the steeple in Cocoa Beach. We saw thousands and thousands of cannonball jellyfish, but only one tripletail. He did not eat our offering.

orlando fishing charter

The cannonballs aren’t very sporty.

Saturday Marisol and Cheryl joined me for a shad outing on the Econlockhatchee River. Two awesome ladies who love to fish, it’s a wonderful thing! The shad were cooperative enough that we got two doubles and lots of singles, releasing a couple dozen, all on little crappie jigs.

orlando fishing charter

Cheryl got the first fish, a tiny crappie.

Great day, and thank you for fishing with me, Cheryl and Marisol!

orlando fishing charter

Marisol with one of many shad they got.

I have not heard from the publisher about my latest book. While the suspense is killing me, not hearing is usually a good thing. If you hear right away it’s because the work ain’t up to snuff. I will try to continue being patient.

That’s this week’s Central Florida Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2019. All rights are reserved.

 

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

Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

February 3, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report

We fished for shad (three days) and redfish this week, so we have an Orlando shad and redfish fishing report.

Monday the weather was too cold and windy (for me!) for fishing.

Tuesday I took the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns and up the Econ looking for shad. Six were caught, along with a single crappie, in six hours, all on crappie jigs. Mr. Creel Survey, at the dock, told me shad had been electroshocked in the Econ. Interesting indeed.

Wednesday the weather was awful, cold, gray, windy. I drove to the Snow Hill Road bridge and fished under it for about 45 minutes, releasing four shad and hooking and losing another. Mission accomplished!

orlando fishing report

The shad love the Al’s Goldfish.

Thursday I had a shad charter with Bob Gilbane and his brother-in-law, Dennis. We went straight up the Econ. Got only two in the first spot, three in the second. The third spot was a keeper though. We spent about four hours there, getting at least 20 fish, even a couple doubles. And TWO, count them TWO, red breasted sunfish as well! It was cold and windy but we were protected by the trees and it waren’t bad ay-tall.

Thank you for fishing with me, gentlemen! I had a great time!

Friday saw the kayak raised to the roof of the car, which then drove to River Breeze Park. Surprised and delighted to see genuinely clean water, like I thought I would never see here again. There was not a lot of grass except in really shallow spots. I paddled at least ten miles over shallow flats and through canals, and saw exactly one redfish. But in the three holes I fished there were fish. I was using a six-weight with a faux slider (Borski’s is awesome but I’m not tying anything that’s that much trouble.).

The first hole yielded two dink trout. Hey, ya gotta start somewhere.

The second hole gave up a mix of dink reds and trout, about a dozen fish.

Slider redfish!

The third hole reminded me of the old days. There were at least 40 slot reds in there, as well as a couple giant trout. The trout eluded me but I released four nice reds (one had seven spots, just lovely), and missed a half-dozen strikes. I saw every take, just awesome. No, I was not on top of my game. Yes, I may just go back next week.

That’s this week’s Orlando Shad and Redfish Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

January 19, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report

The Shad, on a little jig.

This is a St. Johns River shad fishing report, covering the St. Johns River and the Econlockhatchee River.

Choosing Effective Fishing Lures (and baits!) for Florida
When you’re choosing effective fishing lures and baits for Florida, you don’t need a lot of different lures. Sixty years of fishing has taught me lots of different baits aren’t needed.

I prefer lures that only have one hook. It makes it easier to release the fish.

Saltwater Lures
My go to for trout, redfish, snook, and tarpon is a 3 inch plastic shad. I use ones made by DOA (3” CAL Shad) and Riptide (Riptide Sardine) on a 3/0 Owner 5132W-013 hook. If that doesn’t get them I’ll put the shad on a weedless jig head, 1/8th ounce, and bounce it along the bottom.

To read the rest of this piece (and see the photos!), visit http://www.spottedtail.com/free-florida-fishing-informatio/choosing-effective-fishing-lures-and-baits-for-florida/

FISHING!

Monday
In the afternoon I launched the Band-O-Craft at CS Lee Park and went shad fishing in the St. Johns River, with both spin and fly. It didn’t matter which I used- there were no fish and I did not get a bite.

I went up the Econ a short distance (to the shelter) and caught a few shad. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

Tuesday
Kevin’s Tree Service https://www.kevinstreeservices.com sent a crew to my house, where they cut down three trees threatening said house. They earned my stamp (or is it stump?) of approval!

Wednesday
Tom Van Horn joined me for some more St. Johns/Econ scouting. We took the Bang-O-Craft up the Econ to the cabin. The water is pretty low and we hit several stumps and the bottom. We got a couple small bass and stumpknockers, and Tom got a single shad on a jig. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

Thursday
I stayed home and cleaned my yard, and ripped the deck off the Bang-O-Craft. Time for an upgrade.

Friday
Launched the Mitzi at CS Lee Park at 8 AM. Joining me was fly fisher Jon Klarenbeek of Victoria. He wanted bass and shad, and while he got both the fish did not make it easy. At the first Econ stop we got two shad. Unfortunately I got both of them. We spent almost an hour there.

We went up the river and Jon started tossing a pop-n-drop, with a Krebs Popper and fry fly dropper. Jon’s first bass was a whopping 5 inch fish. Then he got a couple stumpknockers. All these came on the dropper. Then a bass took the popper. It maybe would hit eight inches. Then we had a long spell with no bites at all.

We went back to the place I got the shad and spent another hour. Jon got three shad this time, and I got none. Fine with me! All this time I’d been thinking about Mullet Lake Park. About 2 PM we pulled the boat and drove over there.

The FWC creel survey man was at the CS Lee boat ramp when we were staging for the road. He said more shad were being caught at Mullet Lake than at CS Lee, although there weren’t a lot of fish at either place. He also said only one sunshine bass was being caught per day, so that’s not a going concern yet.

We fished from the boat ramp at Mullet Lake Park to Lemon Bluff, spending three hours. We each had one bite. I got a shad. Jon hooked and lost his fish. I would characterize the fishing as slow.

This year’s shad run is looking to be pretty poor. The river is low and has very little current, and there just aren’t many fish.

That’s this week’s St. Johns River Shad Fishing Report! Thanks for reading!

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 2019. All rights are reserved.

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