April Fool’s Fishing Report

April Fool’s Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this April Fool’s Fishing Report. No pranks were perpetrated by this reporter, nor were any played on him.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

Monday Caleb Vogl joined me in the Bang-O-Craft for some Indian River Lagoon exploration. I was surprised in a good way at how clear the water was. Even saw some seagrass trying to grow! What we didn’t see was a ton of fish. There were some redfish at one spot we visited, enough that I was able to get two modest specimens on spin with the plastic shad, which apparently are now referred to as swimbaits. Whatever. My buddy only got a couple puffers, which made him unhappy. But Rodney Smith says there’s no such thing as a bad fish.

The Econ

 

There were a few late irises.

Tuesday I did a walk-in to the Econlockhatchee. The stumpknocker bite was hot! And mind you, I was bass fishing. The stumpies were hitting and getting hooked on plastic worms rigged with a 3/0 hook, and were some of the largest ones I’d ever seen. And a half-dozen bass ate my baits too, five nice ones up to a four-pounder, and one dinker. It was a pretty good day.

These lizard-tails made the woods smell sweet.

 

And the woods looked great, too.

The rest of the week I spent working on the van that I thought I was almost finished with. Honestly, I think I can wrap it up tomorrow. It’s wiring and plumbing I’m working on, so it could be weeks….

Last week I wrote about the recent on-line webinar, “A Conversation with Dr. Duane De Freese and Keith Winsten” which reported on the current and future state of our Indian River Lagoon. The link to see this event came today, and you can see it here-

And that, folks, is the April Fool’s fishing report. Thanks again for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Blown Out Fishing Report

Blown Out Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this Blown Out Fishing Report. I re-learned this week what I used to practice when guiding- don’t cancel a trip due to a weather forecast.

Monday’s weather was yucky, with winds not conducive to fishing and a spot of rain besides.

The forecast for Tuesday was similar, with strong winds predicted to be from the southeast. But the sun would be out! “If I fish in the Indian River Lagoon, the shoreline will block the wind,” I thought. I got to the fishing spot. It looked like NASA was using it for a wind tunnel test. So much for the blocked wind theory.

At another spot where I could somewhat hide from the wind I launched my kayak. Hadn’t been there in a long time. Paddled around looking for fish and fighting the wind for about two hours. Did see a blue crab, and a lot of guppies, and a few mullet. Did not see or touch a gamefish. “This is stupid,” came to mind, so I paddled back to the launch and loaded up. Hey, at least I tried.

On Tuesday or Wednesday night there was an online symposium about the IRL, much of which I attended. A recording was made, and I’m supposed to receive a link to it, but that hasn’t happened yet. I will post the link when it becomes available. The presenters seemed optimistic the situation with the lagoons was improving, and I guardedly concur. It will never go back to what it was, though.

Thursday may have been fishable, but I had an appointment right in the middle of the day.

Friday may have been fishable, but I cancelled going due to a forecast. Worked on the near-finishing touches on the van’s interior. Probably should have gone fishing- it was a beautiful day.

And that, folks, is the blown out fishing report. Sorry it’s pretty sad! Thanks again for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

A Tale of Two Fishing Trips

A Tale of Two Fishing Trips

Thank you for reading this Tale of Two Fishing Trips. With the weather around here, you’d think it was winter or something. Wah-wah, woe is me- at least there’s no snow.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

The astute reader may remember that, about a month ago, I mentioned seeing sponges growing in Mosquito Lagoon. Since I was there Thursday, and since the sponges were still there, and since I had a point-and-shoot camera with me, Boom! Here’s your sponge photo:

A small, not-very-pretty sponge, growing in Mosquito Lagoon. My guess is it filters 25-30 gallons of water a day. Give me more!

A biological database I visited says sponges are superior water filters- up to 24,000 liters of seawater per day for a 1-kg sponge! Guess my guess was low.

Wanted to fish Monday and Tuesday. Temperatures and winds nixed those ideas. Worked on the van conversion, building a couch/bed, nearly done with the frame. I’m pretty happy with the way it’s turning out so far. If anyone out there knows of someone who does upholstery for boats in the central Florida area, I would love to hear from you.

In the bed position.

 

In the couch position.

Wednesday’s forecast was NW at 5-10, high about 65 degrees. I went to the Banana River Lagoon, launching the kayak at 8 am. In two hours saw one fish, by running it over, of course. A few minutes later there was a tiny “blip” on the surface. It was a red, swimming in shallow water, it’s fins intermittently disturbing the water’s surface. I tossed a plastic shad in front of it and the bait was crushed. Pretty nice to get the fish on the first shot of the day!

Nice skunk chaser!

A while later a similar scene played out again, with the same result. Feeling pretty good, it was time to use the fly pole.

I waded to three different tailing fish and spooked all three. Did not get a red on a fly that day. However…

…I found some black drum tailing. They were not bitey on my fly. A cruising single followed it (a wool crab). I was able to convince him to take it and I got it, about a 15-pound fish. I was wading away from the boat (and camera), no photo. It was just released when there was a viscerally loud, low-frequency rumble. The rocket was already a mile up. As I was wading, away from the boat, no photo. But as the earth rumbled I had the thought, “The fish ain’t gonna like this.” Spectacular day for a launch close-up, though!

Hardly any shots at fish forthcoming after the launch. Loaded up the boat about 1630.

Thursday, after the enjoyment of a pulmonary function test, I deluded myself into thinking it was a nice day, so I loaded up and drove to Mosquito Lagoon, launching the kayak at about 1230. On arrival I nearly turned around and went home. It was cold and windy out of the northeast, the lagoon with a nice patina of whitecaps. Already there, I went fishing.

In 10 minutes I had a redfish, then another. Switching to the fly rod, I got reds to 24″ and slot trout steadily at the first spot until it was worn out.

Slot trout, steadily.

Except for two puffers I got on fly, the second spot was barren.

The third spot again gave up numerous under-slot reds and slot trout. It took me an hour to paddle back, going with the wind, and I saw nothing the entire way. The leader on my fly rod needs replacement from all the knots I put into it casting into that breeze. We were on the road home about 1730, heat on the entire way back. My waders may have developed a couple leaks?

And that, folks, is A Tale of Two Fishing Trips. Thanks again for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on 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, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

Van Conversion and Two Days Fishing

Van Conversion and Two Days Fishing

Thank you for reading this post on Van Conversion and Two Days Fishing. The fishing was fair at best, but let’s look to the van first…

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

I’m building a cabinet in the back of the van. It’s hard! I’m hardly a skilled woodworker, and nothing in the van is square or level. In spite of that the cabinet is mostly done. It may not be bee-you-tee-full, but it will be funk-shun-al. Once I run some wiring along the back of it, I can put the face back on, and probably cover a few of the hatches with doors. All in good time.

Once I run the wiring. Should only take a week…

OK, fishing. Thursday was the best day of the week, speaking weather. Nice day, windless. But overcast much of the day. I fished in the Indian River Lagoon.

It’s hard to see fish when it’s overcast. I got a few trout blind-casting with the shad, and a small red too.

Got a few trout on the shad.

God smiled on me in the form of a bank-crawling, ten-pound red. I got the shad in front of him and he crushed it. Pulled the kayak quite a way, a nice, fun ride!

He pulled the kayak quite a way.

I found some tailing black drum. There was no way to tell which way they were facing or moving. I’d see a tail, put the fly near it, and hope for the best. I didn’t get a bite. I don’t think that was the best, but at least I had some shots, so no complaints. But no fish on fly, second trip in a row.

Friday I picked up Tom Van Horn at noon and we went to Mullet Lake Park in search of the wily American shad. I didn’t even bring a fly rod. The river is running quite high, especially for the “dry season”. Tom quickly got the skunk off the boat with a fat crappie he got on a Road Runner. I got one a short time later on a crappie jig. Then we had a long dry spell.

Shad-a-lac!

We decided to run down to Marina Isle. I couldn’t help but notice on the way that there was rain falling to the south. We stopped, turned around, and started trolling back to the boat ramp. Tom got a bite and got an American shad! His first of the season! We got to the ramp and the rain started to fall on us at the same time. It was only about 2:30. I’d like to think we didn’t miss much in the way of fishing.

The hero and the fish.

Tom went shad fishing Thursday out of CS Lee Park. Out four hours, he got exactly no hits, a good skunking. So our three fish in two hours was, speaking comparatively, some hot fishin’!

The weather’s not looking good for the weekend, but at least we have some playoff football to watch.

And that, folks, is a Van Conversion and Two Days Fishing Report. Thanks again for reading, and thank you, Tom!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on 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, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

One Day on Banana River Lagoon

One Day on Banana River Lagoon

We had some crappy weather this week. We had a couple nice days, too. Caleb Vogl and I got out one day on the Banana River Lagoon. It was hardly gangbusters, but there were some encouraging signs.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

Caleb is a young guy, from Kansas City. He wants to be a fishing guide. Tom Doerr introduced us, asked me to help him. So I guess I’m in the role of mentor, or perhaps tormentor. At any rate, we went to the Banana River Lagoon on Wednesday. The water was moderately clear, and there was quite a bit of widgeon grass growing, which was good. Lots of Rhodophyta, too, not so good.

We paddled for well over an hour before seeing a fish. No shots were forthcoming. More paddling turned up a few tailers. Caleb hooked one on a DOA shrimp. It was quite entertaining, and he got this beast-

 

He carefully released it.

It did not start a trend. I only got a couple fly shots that did not work, and we each got one (more, in his case) slot-sized fish on spin tackle. When we got back to our vehicles, Caleb said, “Wow! We paddled a long way today!” Yes, we did. You’ll cover some ground fishing with me. Three fish between two of us in over eight hours. Good thing one was a career fish!

In other news, I’m doing a new build of my Sienna camper van. I hope to be finished next month (A-ha-ha-hahaha!). Here’s how the interior looks as of this writing-

The laminate floor is installed, the cabinet is in progress. The bed and sink vanity are still in planning stage.

Weather forecasts predict some pretty crappy weather this coming week, too.

Happy MLK Jr. Day Monday!

And that, folks, is a One Day on Banana River Lagoon Report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on 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, © John Kumiski 2024. All rights are reserved.

A Fine Day Fishing, And Happy New Year!

A Fine Day Fishing, And Happy New Year!

The weather broke enough for me to have a fine day fishing, so that’s a good thing. Hope everyone’s Christmas was cheery, and best wishes to everyone for a happy new year!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

According to the weather forecast (which are, of course, very unreliable and untrustworthy), Wednesday was supposed to be the best day of the past week. The forecast wasn’t spot on (there was more sunshine than expected), but it was darn close.

It was a gorgeous day, light winds, comfortably warm when the sun was shining, great for paddling. The water in the Mosquito Lagoon was quite clear. The odd thing was, all the fish I caught were gotten blind-casting with a fly rod. I could not catch any of the fish I saw. Most of them were either 10 feet away or already run over when I saw them, but I did have two decent shots at reds. Both fish spooked off the fly. In spite of that minor frustration it was a wonderful day, and I stayed out until sunset. I did not make a single photo, though.

Clousers with synthetics.

There’s plague of puffers out there. I just tied up a half-dozen Clouser style minnows with synthetic wings. Bucktail cannot hold up to the constant trimming by the puffers. Hope these new ones are more durable! I caught three puffers Wednesday, and by the third was considering starting to kill them. Didn’t happen. No fish were harmed, was fishing barbless…

All you want out there right now…

Almost finished putting a floor into the van, intend to finish today. Here’s what it looks like so far-

The almost-finished floor in the van.

Read this from the Miami Herald.

That’s a Fine Day Fishing Report. Thanks for reading! And again, best wishes for a great new year.

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Go on 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, © John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Boreas Makes an Appearance

Boreas Makes an Appearance

In ancient Greece, Boreas was the god of winter winds. Yeah! He showed up this week! Wind speeds ranged from 15 to 30 miles an hour, steadily, all week. No, I did not fish. The bad news is, it looks the same for next week, too. Merry Christmas!

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

Tuesday I had a doctor’s appointment. When I got there, I got a, “We’re very sorry, Mr. Kumiski, but the doctor isn’t here today. They were supposed to call you…” No one called me. If I hadn’t shown up, I would have gotten an invoice. Since the doc didn’t show up, I sent them one.

When they don’t pay (and they won’t), I will write it off on my taxes as an uncollectable debt. This is the same doctor that, when I was sick and called repeatedly, took four months to return the call. Then I got billed $150 for a ten-minute telephone conversation. Power to the patients!

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Susan and I have been pretty happy with the camper setup in my Toyota Sienna, but we found a better design, which you can see below-

I spent part of a couple days this week disassembling the old camper build, in preparation of assembling a new one. The new bed will be a few inches narrower than the old one, but we think overall this build will make better use of the space we have in there.

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I tied a few flies, and did some writing, some of which was about tying flies!

https://riversandfeathers.com/author/john-kumiski/

https://blog.globaloutdoors.com/?author=604144e9071ab616be8ac66a

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I took a walk on the Florida Trail, but did not take any pictures. But I did wrap and ship presents and even a (very) few Christmas cards! Pretty laid-back week, all-in-all.

That’s the Boreas Makes an Appearance Report. Thanks for reading!

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

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, ©John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish

Nice Weather, Not Many Fish Post

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish post. Spring is breaking in central Florida!

Monday I took care of honey-do’s, like repairing the clothes dryer (again!) and buying a new refrigerator. Ah, how I enjoy the minutia of day-to-day existence!

Except for the catching, everything about the day was fantastic.

Trying not to give up too easily, Tuesday I tried the Econlockhatchee again. I went to the most remote section of the river that I know how to access. The water was higher than I like, if I had a choice in such things as water levels. The wind was blowing, but where I was that mattered not.

The gum and maple trees are leafing out.

The day was spectacular.

Even the alligators seemed happy.

I worked it pretty hard. Got two smallish bass on a Culprit red shad worm. Got nothing on the 3″ plastic shad. Got some decent photos of the woods and river. Did not see another hominid.

HERE ARE THE LEAVES!

Catching might have been better, but I enjoyed the day, like totally, man!

Wednesday, after getting COVID shot #2, I finished up wiring the van.*

Thursday I dropped the auxiliary battery in, hooked it up, and turned on the power.

NO SMOKE! Hurray!

I tested all six 12V sockets. Power to all!

I tested the reading lights. Power to both!

I tested the five LED light strips, all which worked when tested before installation. Not one worked. I spent the rest of the day messing with one of those circuits. At day’s end, none of them worked. As I type this none of them work. Clearly, more work needs to be done there.

It looks ready to go to me!

Friday Tammy Wilson took me out on the Atlantic out of Port Canaveral, on an absolutely stunning day. She said (and I paraphrase), “Wanna go look for tarpon and cobia?” I asked, “What’s the water temperature?” “Sixty-three degrees.” “We won’t see a thing.”

I was wrong. We found a school of small bluefish. We saw three small tripletail. I took a picture of the rocket scheduled to go up Sunday night.

*I have not put the solar panel on the roof yet. The panel and carrying a kayak are mutually exclusive, so the panel will be installed as soon as I know I won’t be carrying a kayak for a while.

I’m going fishing next week. So I should have an actual fishing report.

Thank you for reading this week’s Nice Weather, Not Many Fish 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.

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

Thank you for reading this week’s post. It’s certainly not exciting from a fishing standpoint, but I am excited about progress on the van conversion. Gee, that sounded exactly like last week!

Had two other posts this week-

What’s in Your Fishing First Aid Kit?, a guest blog courtesy of Justin Walker, and

Free and Fearless: The Amazing Impact of One Precious Life A Book Review. This was an inspiring book about love and loss. Check them out!

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Before we do anything else, a shout-out!

Sunday my phone rang, kind of unusual these days. Ed Wasicki called me. He subscribes to this blog, so he knows I’m working on a van conversion. During our conversation he offered to give some camping gear he no longer needed, which I thought rather generous of him.

Monday morning, we met at the SR 50 St. Johns River boat ramp, where he did his best to fill the van! Here’s a photo of the boo-tay:

Ed gave me a pile of good stuff!

So, I gotta shout out, THANK YOU SO MUCH, ED!

Ed also gave me the number of the VA COVID vaccination clinic, a place I’d already called without luck. I called while driving home, and got an appointment for Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I went and got the first shot. So, thanks again, Ed!

On Tuesday I worked on the van, doing wiring.

Thursday, while cool, had not much wind. I went kayak fishing on Mosquito Lagoon on a spectacular day. The fishing was not spectacular. It was pretty dreadful, for hours.

This was the weather I had to endure. Pretty easy!

I found a culvert with water flowing through it. Not expecting anything, I cast into the flow. BAM! After a second or two it came unbuttoned. He did get my attention, though. I continued casting to that same ten foot area for about 45 minutes, and released a half-dozen slot reds. It was shocking, although in a good way.

Yah yah, I caught da feesh!

I started with the- wait, what fly was it? That’s right! The brown slider! I had some short strikes so I took it off, for the first time in six or eight weeks, and put a smaller fly on that I tied by making dubbing from our cat’s fur (no I’m not making this up). It looks like a big nymph, the kind you would use for trout fishing. The fish seemed to like it!

That bite dried up, the way they always do, and that was it. I stopped at the Big Little Econ State Forest on the way home and photographed the sunset.

Cirrus clouds equal awesome sunsets, a simple equation.

Friday and Saturday I worked on wiring the van. Here’s a photo I took on Friday of what I’m doing.

Even though I’m a gomer, this looks fairly professional.

Here’s picture of my wiring diagram, courtesy of exploristlife.com.

Click on the diagram to see a bigger copy.

As long as I’m shouting out, Nate Yarborough, who I have never met, has, through his website and youtube channel, taught me how to do this job. Awesome information there, Nate, and thank you so much!

There’s a football game coming up, that Super Bowl thing you may have heard of. Go Bucs!

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post about the van conversion!

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.

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

Van Conversion Update, Fishing and Sunset

Thank you for reading this week’s post. It’s certainly not exciting from a fishing standpoint, but I am excited about progress on the van conversion.

Since the weather forecast showed a front coming through Monday night, with cool temperatures and blustery winds Tuesday and Wednesday, I went to Mosquito Lagoon on Monday. It’s like a ghost town over there! You can always tell how the fishing’s been by the number of trailers in the lot.

A pair of my sliders.

Even though I didn’t start until noon, I had a couple shots and actually caught a redfish, still using the brown slider. I almost spent more time watching birds than fishing, though. Looking for fish gets tiring when you’re not seeing many.

The sun set, and then the colors came out.

It looked like it would be an awesome sunset, so I knocked off from fishing and got the camera out. I believe it was a smart decision…

Some kayakers came.

 

Then they went!

Tuesday through Sunday I worked on the following items on the van-

Interior view, from the rear. The mattress is not in the vehicle.

-cabinet upgrade. The camping trips we’ve taken showed us that my original idea for the cabinets was flawed. I removed the fixed doors, added shelves inside the cabinets, and added hinges to the doors. The upgrade allows way better use of the space within.

Hinged doors and a shelf allow better use of available space.

-Water box. I built a box for carrying bottles of water. It holds four one-gallon bottles and one five-gallon bottle, and fits just behind the seats.

The box will securely hold nine gallons of water containers.

-Headboard. Across the roof of the van, just behind the seats, I installed a headboard. This will be a mounting point for interior lights, clothes hooks, and interior fans.

The headboard is for fan mounts, clothes hooks, and lights.

 

Interior view from the driver side door. It’s shaping up!

-Solar panel. I’m figuring out how to attach the solar panel to the roof rack. I think I have it worked out, but that test will happen later.

If the weather is favorable this week I’ll fish a day or two. If not, there’s a lot of wiring to be done!

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post about the van conversion!

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.