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Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

January 27, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

 Shad Attack! Orlando Fishing Report

The shad bite this week was really good. We have a shad attack Orlando fishing report.

Nothing to do with fishing–

We can’t just confine our litter to the planet, we have to litter space too. This video about satellites in orbit was fascinating stuff- https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wonder/how-many-satellites-are-currently-orbiting-earth/vi-AAv8uZz

Upcoming Events

Paddle Fishing Seminar at Kayaks by Bo in Titusville on January 27 from 5-7 PM. Please make a reservation if you plan on attending- 321-474-9365.

Monday

Tammy and I went paddle fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. She nailed a trout almost immediately. I wasn’t expecting much and was caught by surprise when I spotted a pair of tails. The water was too dirty to see the fish themselves. I pooched the shot.

Tammy took the next shot at a small group of tails. I wanted to capture the whole episode on film (pixels, actually) but she pooched the shot.

I spotted a cruising fish, and made a cast. I misjudged its trajectory, and stripped like crazy hoping to get the fly in front of it. The leader was in the rod when I did, and the fish just crushed that fly, a Homer Rhodes Shrimp Fly.

Tammy had a chance to redeem herself and of course she did, getting a nice red on a Copper Liz. So we ended up getting three fish between us, and were off the water at 1 PM.

orlando fishing report

Tammy and redfish- good combination!

Before we got off the water a guy in a Carolina Skiff came running near where we were paddling. I expected him to get stuck. The water was low and quite shallow where we were. He started hollering at us, and with motor trimmed up, throwing mud all over, he idled over towards us. It seems he was lost, and wanted directions to the Biolab ramp. Really??? We pointed him the right way. Get a map.

Tuesday

The weather seemed quite lovely, so I hooked up the Bang-O-Craft and headed to the St. Johns River.

When I was a child my Dad and I used a lure called an Al’s Goldfish. They are back in production as of a few years ago (https://www.alsgoldfish.com) and I had bought a dozen. On a whim I tied one on, a 1/4 ounce silver one.

The shad LOVED it.

I tried fly fishing, working it pretty hard. I got three bites. Two were missed, one was a fat redbelly.

I tried small crappie jigs. I got three buck shad.

The Al’s Goldfish produced at least a dozen shad of all sizes, including a hickory, and several hooked and lost fish. That’s the hottest tip this week!

Wednesday 

I went scouting on the Indian River Lagoon. Maybe there are some fish left there but I certainly did not find them. I saw exactly two seatrout and caught one on a Riptide Sardine that generously was eight inches long (the fish, not the lure). It will be a while before I go look there again.

Thursday

I worked on the Indian River Lagoon Chronicles most of the day, and got the ebook republished on Smashwords and Amazon. I also ordered the proof for the print version. And did some boat maintenance!

Friday

My fisherman for Friday was Tom Campbell, from Maryland. The original plan was to fish the lagoon. The “east at 20” forecast caused a change in plan. We went to CS Lee Park and went shad fishing, starting at 8 am.

orlando fishing report

Mr. Shad, meet Mr. Campbell.

By 11 we’d gotten 15 or so on jigs and spoons. I pulled the boat and we went to Mullet Lake Park for a change of scenery. I learned there are many fewer airboats there, but many more bass boats going 50-60 mph. I mean, must you really go that fast? There might be other folks out there… Anyway, the shad bite was pretty strong. We got both Americans and hickories, several doubles, and I got a needlefish for the weird catch of the day.

And that is the Shad Attack! Orlando fishing report.

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 2018. 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

January 20, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

Chilly Week Orlando Fishing Report

We had frost this week, so yeah, we have a chilly week Orlando fishing report. Fishing could have been better. Of course it could have been worse, too.

Upcoming Events
Paddle Fishing Seminar at Kayaks by Bo in Titusville on January 27 from 5-7 PM. Please make a reservation if you plan on attending- 321-474-9365.

Tuesday Tom Finger joined me for a Mosquito Lagoon fishing trip. The first boat ride brought tears to our eyes. Yeah, it was brisk, and windy. We worked it hard for six hours and got two marginal trout to show for it. Ouch. At least we didn’t have to worry about hitting a manatee.

There were about 50 dead snook floating at the Haulover Canal boat ramp, lots of real nice ones. Cold victims all.

Wednesday afternoon I went to run the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns, see if I could pick up a shad or two. While I was staging the boat a fly fisherman next to the boat ramp hooked a fish. It was Brian Eastman! He had a striper hybrid, a nice one!

orlando fishing report

The Beastman with his striper hybrid!

I hooked four shad, caught two, all on spin tackle with crappie jigs, and got a crappie and a giant bluegill on a chartreuse shad fly. The hybrid stripers eluded me. Yes, the boat ran great.

The Shad, on a little jig.

 

The Crappie, on a shad fly.

Thursday I visited the North Brevard Historical Museum in Titusville. Never knew it was there. I don’t mean to be mean, but it was kind of like Titusville itself- a few really nice things and a lot of junky stuff. The people there were really nice.

I also visited the Brevard Museum of History and Natural Science in Cocoa. They have some awesome stuff there:
-an articulated giant ground sloth skeleton;
-an articulated mammoth skeleton;
-an excellent display of the Windover archaeological site;
and several other displays as well. Nine bucks, worth every cent, check it out when you can. The people there were really nice, too.

Friday I went to the Banana River Lagoon. I was hoping the cold weather had caused the water to clear up. When I got there the water was the color of puke. It was nasty. I drove to River Breeze and went fishing there. At least the water was clean. Three rat reds were my reward. I had a skiff guide pole in on me. Gray East Cape Vantage. There’s lots of water out there, don’t need to do that.

And that is the chilly week Orlando fishing report.

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 2018. All rights are reserved.

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June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

June 3, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

June Bug Orlando Fishing Report

During my morning trips to the petrol station the June bugs have been thick. So we have a June bug Orlando fishing report, covering the Mosquito Lagoon and St. Johns River.

Tuesday

Spotted Tail was host to the Warings- Chris (grandpa), David (dad) and Alexander (son). The trout bite in Mosquito Lagoon continued strong, and a redfish managed to crash the party. There were a couple ladyfish, too. As one might expect by this point, the baits were soft plastic minnow imitations, the DOA CAL shad and the Riptide Sardine.

orlando fishing report

The Warings caught some fish.

Wednesday

Rodney Smith and I went to the St. Johns River to fly fish before the summer rains kick in too strong and raise the water level. Rodney had the channel cats’ number, getting three and a tilapia too, all on an egg-sucking bunny leech. John did not do as well, and overall he thought the bite had slowed from previous visits.

Thursday

Scott Radloff and I tried to fish out of Port Canaveral. Pass the jetties, turn around, return to the boat ramp. We got to Mosquito Lagoon at almost 10 AM. The fish punished us for the late start- one dink trout and one 19 inch redfish was all we could muster in three hours. Weather forced us to leave.

Friday

orlando fishing report

George convinced this drum to strike a fraud.

George Allen joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon fishing. The trout bite was better than the previous day’s non-bite, but it had slowed compared to from Tuesday. We spotted what I thought were redfish. They were black drum. George got one on a DOA CAL shad, nice fish it was, too. Weather forced us to leave.

The summer rains are kicking into gear.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Orlando fishing report!

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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

May 27, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report

Please take a moment right now for a small prayer for all the men and women whose sacrifices we should be remembering this weekend.

This Memorial Day Orlando Fishing Report details trips to the Mosquito Lagoon, St. Johns River, and Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday

orlando fishing report

Nile with one of the redfish he caught.

Matt and Niles Smith, father and son, joined me on Spotted Tail for a Mosquito Lagoon outing. Three tarpon rolled next to the boat as we idled through Haulover Canal, the first tarpon I’ve seen this year.

orlando fishing report

Not to be outdone, Matt got one, too.

We were happily fishing for trout when I spotted redfish tails. We got on them without attracting the attention of the many other boats around, getting five nice reds before they vacated the area. DOA CAL shad were the bait of choice. Oh yes, the trout fishing was pretty good, too.

Monday

orlando fishing report

Tammy shows off a mini-bass. It’s as big as they get that size!

 

orlando fishing report

Channel cat on fly!

Tammy Wilson led me on a St. Johns River excursion. The river is ankle-deep in many places. We did not get any big fish but got five different species of fish on mostly surface flies. We also found three dead cows. They stink is a most foul manner.

orlando fishing report

Got me sum bass, two!

 

orlando fishing report

The river valley has some exquisite places…

Tuesday

orlando fishing report

This silly fish ate an Alaskan fly.

John went back to the St. Johns River by himself in an attempt to capitalize on what he learned the previous day. He stuck to subsurface flies (a black egg-sucking bunny leech worked quite well) and got largemouth bass, bluegill and red-breasted sunfish, three channel cats (!), four bowfin, one spotted gar, and one tilapia. Didn’t get the crappie or Plecostomas.

orlando fishing report

The bowfin, a fish in need of some love.

A large, aggressive alligator get much too close for comfort. Something about that gar splashing attracted it. I left the area post-haste.

orlando fishing report

Bull bluegill on a purple bunny leech. I lost all of the egg-sucking leeches I had.

Speaking of gar, what they need is some good PR. From now on I’m referring to them as garlin in what might be a misguided attempt to make them more popular among anglers.

Mudfish need PR too. Anyone have a good, appealing, alternate name for the mighty bowfin??

Wednesday
Ray Rowe was my guest on Spotted Tail. Although it was windy the fish were biting well. We got a lot of slot seatrout, although the big ones eluded us.

Thursday
Ray Rowe was again my guest on Spotted Tail. It wasn’t as windy as Wednesday but it was colder. Fishing was tougher, but we still got about 20 trout, mostly slot fish. The best of the day measured 22 inches. Thank you again, Mr. DOA CAL shad. And of course Mr. Rowe, too.

Friday
Found John at the helm of Spotted Tail, searching the mighty Atlantic for denizens of the deep. In an ideal world he would have found gobs of big tarpon. As it was, eight hours of diligently searching turned up some northern sennet, a few bluefish, a couple ladyfish, the smallest little tunny I have ever seen, and to top off the day a mighty mongo jack crevalle. I tried to get one on the twelve-weight but they were not having that nonsense.

orlando fishing report

The jack crevalle, different from channel cats.

As always, I would like to thank everyone who fished with me this week.

That is the Memorial Day Orlando fishing report!

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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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

Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

March 18, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Cold Front Orlando Fishing Report

We had a cold front come through on Tuesday and the temperatures were like those typically associated with January. By mid-March Florida standards, it was COLD, baby! And so we have a cold front Orlando Fishing report.

Upcoming Events- 
Activate the River- The Save the St. Johns: Activate the River campaign aims to get people out on the water to save the river. From March 18 to April 2, 2017, boat tours, paddling trips, hikes and biking adventures are available from the headwaters of the St. Johns to the mouth. We are asking YOU to #GetYourFeetWet and explore the river somewhere new. Bring a friend, register today, and upload pictures using the #ActivatetheRiver to share your experiences! Visit www.savethestjohns.org for more information about the various events and opportunities for you to experience this magical yet imperiled waterway and show support for its protection.

Fishing!

Monday Canadian Ted Sinfield and his friend Darryl joined me on a cloudy, wind-swept Mosquito Lagoon. For the most part sight-fishing was impossible. We stuck to lee shorelines to stay out of the waves and muddy water.

orlando fishing report

Ted with one of the several nice trout he got.

By blindly casting DOA CAL shad the Ontario natives were fed a steady diet of spotted seatrout to four pounds or so, with a couple modest redfish thrown in for good measure. Fishing was decent by any standard.

orlando fishing report

Ted and Darryl with another nice fish.

Tuesday I went to the St. Johns River, and found myself on Lake Harney. In so many ways I was not prepared for what I found there. It looked like the ocean- wind, waves, diving birds, breaking fish. Johnny did not have enough clothes on- a foul weather yachting suit would have been appropriate.

orlando fishing report

I didn’t have enough clothes on. The bass didn’t seem to mind.

With chattering teeth I repeatedly cast a quarter-ounce jig was around the birds (as closely as possible). The bass responded as well as one could hope. The best fish was around four pounds. On the verge of hypothermia I left them and loaded the boat up. In spite of the cold, an awesome morning.

Thursday‘s forecast high was 60 degrees. In spite of that I launched a kayak at River Breeze at about 10 AM. The wind was a solid 15 MPH and it was cold.

orlando fishing report

The fly accounted for close to 20 fish before one busted it off at my feet.

The fish were where I hoped they would be. They were reluctant at first, but as the sun warmed the water they got positively stupid, very aggressively smacking the synthetic minnow pattern I offered. The only difficulty was casting the three-weight in that wind. Both trout and slot reds were in the mix, with the best fish honors a tie between a five pound trout and an eleven-spot redfish. Fishing was so good, I thought it was the old days!

Expecting cold on Friday we took it easy all morning. Much of this report got written then. Around noon I wired a fishing rod to the frame of my bicycle and went riding off to the Econ.

neighborhood walk

On the way I stopped at a neighbor’s loquat tree and had a delicious snack. Ripe loquats have this reporter’s highest recommendation.

Some of my neighbors have never been to Disney World…

A pickup truck towing a trailer full of cattle passed me. We can reasonably assume the cows were not headed to Walt Disney World.

A flash of insight while I was pedaling- it reminded me of how I used to go fishing before I had a driver’s license- pedal my bike to the local fishing spot! I might have been going to Wright’s Pond, or Upper Mystic Lake. I can almost hear Patti Cefalo yelling at me, “Why don’t you grow up, John!!” Some things really never do change.

orlando fishing report

First fish of the day was a rather aggressive crappie.

I got to pedal, clamber, amble, ramble, scramble, scrabble, climb, walk, cast, see some alligators, watch an armadillo roll around on its back like a dog (who knew?), see some cowboys (on horseback, of course)- what an afternoon! Beautiful spot, awesome weather, a few fish, life sure is good!

orlando fishing report

I bet life is difficult for little gators like this. They’re like tootsie rolls for the larger lizards.

 

orlando fishing report

This bass was the best fish of the day, though.

Saturday found Brian and Lacey Rosedale in Spotted Tail, shivering in some too crisp weather as we motored up the St. Johns River in the fog. I thought it painfully cold. What was even more painful was the lack of breaking fish at the breaking fish spot. At least eight other boats were similarly disappointed.

orlando fishing report

Brian and the sunshine bass. Sounds like the name of a garage band.

We fished our way back to Mullet Lake Park, got exactly three bites along the way. Brian got a modest largemouth and a nice sunshine bass, both on a Culprit Fat Max worm. Lacey hooked and lost a fish on a DOA CAL shad. It turned into a gorgeous day but the fish weren’t happening for us.

That is the Cold Front Orlando fishing report!

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 2017. 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: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hot Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

February 4, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Hot Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

The year is young, but this week was the best fishing of the year. Thus the hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Upcoming Events-

2017 Fly Fishing Film Festival, February 26, 4 PM. Check the graphic below to get more information.

The week started last Saturday with a kayak fishing charter with Mic Lauric of Atlanta and his cousin Patrick, from Houston. The day began as a search mission, and the search paid off, especially for Patrick. He got numerous redfish and a couple nice trout too. Mic also got a few licks in. One was using the DOA CAL Shad, the other the Riptide Sardine. They seemed to work equally well.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Patrick found this fish tailing in Mosquito Lagoon.

A cold front came through on Sunday. Monday morning found me at AutoNation Toyota with my brides car. They got me out early (just after 9 am!) so I went looking for shad in the St. Johns, launching at SR 50. A couple crappie, a fat bluegill, an anemic redbelly, a beautiful day and boat ride, but no shad. This year’s shad run is shaping up pretty sadly for me.

Tuesday

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Most of the fish caught on Tuesday fell for this silly fly.

The morning was cold but sunny. I paddled (and dragged) a kayak to the place where Pat and Mic caught their fish. For fly fishers redfishing and seatrout fishing doesn’t get much better than it was on Tuesday. Sightfishing big seatrout with a flyrod is tremendous fun. They pull drag!!!

mosquito lagoon fishing report

We might have been wading. Wish there was seagrass.

 

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Being a mullet must be awful.

After releasing three trout in the seven-eight pound range the mischievous part of my brain wondered if I could get one on a gurgler. Good shots at four fish resulted in one crap-your-pants take and another seven or eight pound trout. They were all bigger than the reds, beautiful fish, the first time I’ve been able to sightfish them like that in a couple years. —AWESOME—

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Yes, I do realize I’m blessed.

Wednesday

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Vince says he caught seven redfish on Wednesday.

Steve Bartek and his buddy Vince, local gentlemen, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon skiff fishing action. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny, almost windless. We found a spot with a lot of redfish and stayed there all day. Again, they were throwing the DOA CAL Shad and the Riptide Sardine. They seemed to work equally well, and they worked real well, about a dozen redfish worth not counting missed strikes.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Maybe Steve got the biggest one, though.

Thursday

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Tom was very pleased with this trout.

Another beautiful day found Mr. Tom Finger of Oviedo, FL in the Mitzi, again on the Mosquito Lagoon. Needless to say we started at the hot spot from the previous day. It almost goes without saying that it was not nearly as hot. After Tom got a red (DOA CAL Shad) the rest of the fish first got lockjaw and then vacated the area.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Tom was happy with this red, too!

We went looking at a number of other spots, working hard but picking up several more redfish and trout too. At only one place did we not see any fish. Altogether a good day it was.

Friday

morning I went scouting for a Saturday bass fishing trip. Wasn’t I surprised (not in a good way) when I could not get the Bang-O-Craft up the Econ. The water is too low.

My decision to check Lake Harney was foiled by the same problem- shoaling and low water prevented me from reaching the lake, too. I put the boat on the trailer, drove it home, dropped it off, threw a kayak on the van’s roof, and went to the Econ.

The water is low and clear, just gorgeous. For our friends in colder climes, the willow trees are leafed out and flowering, as are the red maples. With the quality of light now the river is Clyde Butcher picturesque.

Three hours later the kayak was returned to the van’s roof. I did not touch a fish in either place, yes, slapped upside the head by the dreaded skunk. Loved every moment of it.

So, that is this week’s hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

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 2016. 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Windy Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

January 27, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Windy Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Oh yes, it was windy all week! So we have a windy week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report.

Blog Posts this week-
-A Betrayal of the Public Interest- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/betrayal-public-interest/
-Top Tips for Women Hikers- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/top-tips-for-women-hikers/

Sunday we had a major front come through, complete with tornado watches and warnings. There was no fishing by this reporter.

Monday the winds blew over 20 mph all day- still no fishing.

Tuesday the Senter family of Hackensack, NJ joined me for some light tackle fishing on a still-windblown Mosquito Lagoon. Dan the dad and his two sons Zev and Ben tossed DOA CAL shad and Deadly Combos for almost six hours. I figured that because of the storms and the change of weather it would be a search mission. It was. Some of the spots that had been reliably producing fish were barren. They got one slot red and perhaps 20 trout, four of which would hold batter. So it was fairly slow, although we’ve all had worse days.

Wednesday Brownie’s Septic Service visited the Kumiski household for an exciting septic tank pumpout, something that should be done every three to five years… It pretty much tied me up all day.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Capt. Jason with a nice trout.

Thursday Jason Semeyn joined me kayak fishing out of River Breeze, a light tackle half day. I had not been up there in almost a month. The water was pretty clean, if not chock full of fish. Using soft plastics we got a rat red and a half dozen trout to about 24 inches, all by casting into potholes, quite a lovely morning.

In the afternoon it got real windy as another front moved through.

Friday found me at AutoNation Toyota, getting my bride’s chariot serviced. Much to my surprise I was out of the shortly after 9 AM. After taking care of a few things I put a kayak on the roof and went to the St. Johns River.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

This poor creature will be eaten tomorrow.

It was not on fire. I foul-hooked a tilapia. While it was pulling I did not know that, and wondered what in the heck it could be. The filets are in my refrigerator right now. Mmm-mm-mmm.

Two shad fell victim to my crappie jigs, along with a very small warmouth.

mosquito lagoon fishing report

Friday’s best bass, on a hair bug.

A half-dozen bass attacked my surface flies, to my surprise and joy. No big ones, though. Still, in part because not a single airboat went by, it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

So, we did not fish much this week, and that is the windy week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

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 2016. All rights are reserved.

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

Elusive Black Drum Fishing Report

January 21, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Elusive Black Drum Fishing Report

This is the Elusive Black Drum Fishing Report!

Upcoming Events
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 25-30, Titusville, FL. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

Sunday found me in a canoe with Mr. Roger Cook, gentleman and fly fisher from North Carolina. On a spectacular day we were looking for tailing black drum, a fish and behavior that had been plentiful the previous week.

They let us down.

We ran into another fly fisher, a young man named Nick Swain, who was out on a paddle board. He found some drum, not tailing, and caught one while we watched. I photographed him. He invited us to cast to the fish he was working, but we could not get a bite.

black drum fishing report

Nick Swain releases a drum.

We found a few black drum in another spot, and got one on a wool crab. Even though we were out until sunset, that was it for the day. Tough day…

Monday Tammy and I Bang-O-Crafted our way up to Puzzle Lake, searching for American shad. We caught some crappie. We caught some sunfish. But we did not get any shad.

We ran into a couple other folks who had caught a few. One fly fisher called them “the fish of a thousand casts.” Shad should not take 1000 casts. When they’re around you often catch two at a time if you use a tandem rig. There just aren’t many in the stretch between SR 46 and Puzzle Lake. Will they show? That’s the question.

Wednesday I took the Mitzi across Lake Harney and fished the outlet, again for shad. Using crappie jigs I got three, nice ones all. It was still pretty slow.

Going upriver I tried again at the mouth of the Econ. I got two warmouth, nothing else. That was really slow!

I talked to a couple guys who told me their friend had been “killing” the shad near Mullet Lake, with 20 fish days. Perhaps I will check that out…

Thursday Roger Cook and I went looking for tailing black drum again. Although we saw a half-dozen or so, most of the fish were still schooled up in deeper water. Roger managed to get one of those fish to eat a fat brown sparkle crab. I could not get a bite, and ended up fishless at the end of another long, tough day.

black drum fishing report

Roger really had to work. This was his reward…

Roger and I went out on Mosquito Lagoon on Friday. We used fly tackle, and got spanked. We saw some fish, but it was windy, and the water is getting dirty again. DANG!

black drum fishing report

The mighty (and elusive) black drum, about to be released.

We got exactly one decent shot, which we did not convert.

Did the wind stir goo off the bottom into suspension, or are the algae already growing again? Hopefully it’s only the former. Time will tell.

So even though almost all the fish were elusive this week, that is the elusive black drum fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Paddle Fishing Florida · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Some Good News Lagoons Fishing Report

January 15, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Some Good News Lagoons Fishing Report

Upcoming Events
-Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 25-30, Titusville, FL. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org

The water in the lagoons has cleaned up considerably and I found some schools of fish this week- good news! Thus the good news Lagoons Fishing report.

A cold front slammed us last weekend, cold, wind, rain, the whole she-bang. Monday afternoon the weather started to moderate, so I took the kayak to the St. Johns on a shad mission. It was slow, but in three hours I got two shad (one on a chartreuse shad fly and one on a pink crappie jig), a couple crappie, and a redbelly. There were hardly any airboats, a lovely afternoon all together.

With charters coming up I went to the Mosquito Lagoon on Tuesday for some scouting. Wasn’t I surprised- the water was pretty clean in places! The bad news is lots of the seagrass is gone. Hopefully the water will stay clean and the grass will come back.

With clean water I could sight fish. The seatrout were sunning in a lot of my favorite spots, nice fish in the 20-inch-plus range. Redfish were also ranging on the flats. My current favorite lure, the three inch DOA CAL shad, was effective on both. I felt pretty optimistic about my trip the next day.

lagoons fishing report

Brent with one of several redfish he caught.

Wednesday Brent Chapeldaine and Tom Howell joined me for Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Out of the gate we hit trout, on the three inch DOA CAL shad. No surprise there. The larger fish had scattered some, but there were enough around that they kept three handsome fish. They also got quite a few redfish to about 24 inches. Basically we caught fish all day, a splended outing. Thank you for joining me, gentlemen!

lagoons fishing report

Tom was howling at how good the fishing was!

Thursday was a Banana River Lagoon trip, with fly fishers Kevin Barnes, from Georgia, and his friend Jamie, from Pennsylvania. The word younger folks would use to describe the fishing is “epic.” Tailing fish most of the day, calm winds, drizzly but not uncomfortably so, and the whole place to ourselves. Wool crabs worked well. Thank you gentlemen for the second awesome day this week!

lagoons fishing report

Jamie had never caught a black drum. He figured it out real quick.

 

lagoons fishing report

They are such beautiful, delicate fish!

 

lagoons fishing report

Mr. Barnes got a few, too.

 

lagoons fishing report

All fish were released.

Friday my old friend Kevin Linehan joined me for some fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. I wanted three trout in the 17-18 inch range for dinner, two for me and one for him. We caught a load of trout but did not complete the task, with one sixteen inch fish for Kevin and zero for me. Saw an honest-to-goodness school of redfish, at least 50 fish. They weren’t happy, but it was the largest school I’ve seen in a couple years, a wonderful thing.

So we have clean water, sight fishing, a school of fish, good catches, some good news for a good news lagoons Fishing Report!

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 2016. 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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Early January St. Johns River Fishing Report

January 7, 2017 by · Leave a Comment

Early January St. Johns River Fishing Report

If you appreciate spectacular weather then you really enjoyed this week. I was fortunate enough to be out every day, four of which were on the St. Johns River or her tributaries. Thus the early January St. Johns River fishing report.

On Monday Anton Faith joined me. We took the Bang-O-Craft up the river, looking for breaking fish, and hoping to find some shad (we did not). We did find breaking fish, though.

The river was pretty low, and continued dropping all week.

Anton does not have much fishing experience. He was armed with one of my ultralight spin rods, with a pair of crappie jigs attached. The fish wanted no part of it. They were all over the fry fly- crappie, bass, bluegills all ate it, and I had what I think was a striper hybrid on for a while, although it escaped. When I tried the spin rod to see if it was the fish or the fisherman, my conclusion was it was the fish. I couldn’t get a bite with it either. Weird.

Anton finally got a bass (his first!) on a mini-plug, the only bite he got. He warn’t skonked, though!

st. johns river fishing report

This is the average St. Johns bass lately.

Tuesday I took the kayak back to the St. Johns, still hoping to find a shad, still looking for breaking fish. Again, found the breaking fish, but no shad. The schooling bass were awesome. No large fish, but on a three-weight they are still pretty feisty. Lots of crappie in the river, too.

An alligator in the ten foot range started stalking me, chased me right out of the best spot. Fish or no fish, I prefer not to become a gator snack.

Wednesday I went out with Tom Van Horn. Our goal was to find shad. Our success was limited to Tom hooking and losing two while using a small jig. We did get a few bass and crappie while shad fishing, though.

st. johns river fishing report

There are lots of crappie in the river now.

We saw son Alex and John Napolitano there. After we left they got three shad, and John got a tilapia too.

Thursday afternoon found me floating down the Econ in a kayak. It was such a beautiful day! The Econ looked great, too, low and clear, just how I like it. It was quite dead, though. I got four junior-league bass (six inches or so), one redbelly, and one stumpknocker.

st. johns river fishing report

This was it for Econ bass this week.

With the river conditions the way they are, if the fish are there you usually see some, even if they’re not biting. I saw lots of mullet. I saw five shad. I did not see any bass or sunfish except for really small ones. They must have all dropped down to the lower river or the St. Johns.

And that is the Early January St. Johns River Fishing Report!

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 2016. All rights are reserved.

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