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Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

October 14, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Thank you for reading this tough week Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.

Show and Tell Seminar October 21

Hurricane Irma badly damaged many of the dike roads in Merritt Island NWR. The standard show and tell seminar can’t be held. We’re offering the On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar on October 21. For more information or to register, visit this link: http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

Save the Menhaden! Right NOW! PLEASE!!!

Menhaden (pogies, bunker, and many other local names) convert plant matter into animal matter by filtering the water (cleaning that water in the process). They are a vitally important baitfish for a large number of fish that anglers like to catch.

I attended the menhaden hearing in Melbourne on October 10. It was surprisingly well attended. Almost everyone there wanted a very conservative approach to menhaden harvesting. Leave the fish in the water!

The deadline for written comments was extended to October 24, 5pm EST. I have written a letter to Florida’s ASMFC commissioners and to Megan Ware, the Fisheries Management Plan coordinator, expressing my thoughts about how this resource should be managed. I posted it here- http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/menhaden-letter/. Please feel free to copy and send it yourself, or use it as a jump-off point for composing your own letter.

Omega Protein harvests over 100 million pounds of menhaden a year for the reduction fishery. They had 150-200 allies at the hearing in Virginia, have lots of political power, and could easily take the day when it the ASMFC comes to final action November 13-14.

If you don’t write today, don’t complain tomorrow.

Please write and send a letter right now! This is important! Protect your fishing future!

——————————————————-

FISHING! (finally)

Monday was adventure Monday for Tammy and I. The original plan was to fish the ditches along Biolab Road. Couldn’t happen- the road is closed. So she took me to a drainage ditch through a neighborhood, somewhere on Merritt Island.

Almost immediately I caught a ciclid on a small pink Clouser minnow. I did not know they had gotten this far north.

Cichlids on Merritt Island.

We launched kayaks and floated down the ditch. Baby tarpon rolled. I cast a tiny gurgler, got a couple bites, and stuck one.

Tiny gurgler, tiny tarpon.

We ended up getting six tarpon between us and were finished at noon. Quite a lovely morning, and always a good time with Tammy.

Tammy’s tiny tarpon.

Wednesday morning found Scott Radloff and I launching the Mitzi at Haulover. The water in Mosquito Lagoon, like everywhere else in central Florida, is high and in most places dirty. We found some clean water though, and actually saw a few fish. I cast a DOA CAL shad at one and was rewarded with the only bite we got, resulting in a 20 inch redfish. That fish was the only thing that stood between us and the dreaded skunk.

Thank you, little redfish.

Friday morning we met Bob and Andrew Dowgialo, a father-son team, at River Breeze. In addition to the 15-20 mph breeze, clouds dropped rain on us now and again. A long, tough day resulted in exactly one butt-hooked pinfish. Ouch.

Saturday morning we tried again. The rain was gone. The wind was not. A long, tough day resulted in one dink trout and one ladyfish. Double ouch.

In two days we saw maybe a dozen redfish, a handful of trout, a black drum, and three snook. Both Bob and Andrew worked very hard and did not complain, for which I was very grateful.

This reporter will be very happy when the water level drops.

And that, dear reader, is the tough week Mosquito Lagoon 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Three Lagoons Fishing Report

September 23, 2017 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

Finally, a more-or-less full week of fishing. Our travels this week brought us to the Mosquito Lagoon (twice), the Indian Rver Lagoon (twice), the Banana River Lagoon, the Econlockhatchee River (no fishing though) and a brief stop at Port Canaveral. So we have a three lagoons fishing report.

The boats wait for us to finish the shuttle.

Sunday I joined Tammy and Mike Conneen for a kayak trip down the still-flooded Econ. It had peaked earlier at 18 feet and on Sunday was at 12 feet (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/uv/?site_no=02233500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060), still mostly over its banks. The weather was awesome and everything was going fine until I took a “shortcut”, followed by everyone else.

Mike Conneen, navigator extraordinaire.

Off we go into the woods.

Don’t trespass!

Before long there was no current to follow and we were darn confused, paddling around in the woods. Mike got the phone out (GPS app). We followed him back to the river, losing about an hour in the process.

We’re definitely in the woods.

Still in the woods.

Tammy doesn’t care. She always enjoys herself.

When we got to the St. Johns there was no river, only a very large lake. It’s still lapping the sides of SR 46 and the CS Lee boat ramp is still closed.

Cheryl on the lake that once was the St. Johns River, near SR 46.

Remember to run at idle speed!

Monday Tammy and I went scouting on the IRL, launching at Parrish Park. The water is high (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?02248380) and dirty in most places. We fished around some culverts and Tammy got snook, redfish, and ladyfish. She foul-hooked a trophy black mullet. She wanted a seatrout but we could not find one. The mullet may have weighed more than all the other fish combined.

We converted one redfish on a DOA CAL shad.

Tuesday Scott Radloff and I did a Mosquito Lagoon survey. This lagoon has by far the cleanest water of the three lagoons, and quite a few mullet too. We actually saw a handful of redfish, getting shots at two and converting one on a DOA CAL shad. I got six snooklets on a #6 Clouser minnow, beautiful little fish that would have looked great in an aquarium. We also got a half-dozen slot trout, one on a jig and the rest on a DOA Deadly Combo.

Scott got a trout on a jig.

Wednesday Miss Chellie Gentry joined me for a fly fishing charter on the IRL. In the morning we hit maybe ten culvert pipes. None of them had fish. She finally got her first saltwater fish, a tarpon, on a gurgler. It was a wonderful moment- I’m sorry I didn’t get a photo.

The magic pipe produced a couple dozen ladyfish…

Then we hit the pipe I had been looking for all day. The ladyfish were going crazy, and she got three redfish too. They were not very big but they were all on fly. We called the outing a success! Chellie, thanks for fishing with me!

…and several redfish!

Thursday Mike Conneen and I met to check out the Banana River Lagoon, the third lagoon in the three lagoons fishing report. The water was a soupy olive green. Nowhere could you see the bottom. There was a dearth of baitfish. Mike actually caught a slot trout by blind casting with a Vudu Shrimp. We had the kayaks back on our cars in a little less than three hours.

Mike battles a trout…

…which was actually a solid fish.

While in the neighborhood it seemed appropriate to check the ramp at Port Canaveral. They are operational, and in spite of the big seas there were several trailers in the lot. I didn’t see any mullet and asked a fisherman who had come in to the ramp if he had seen any. He said, “I fish here regularly. It was dead out there. I used mud minnows for bait all morning and did not get a bite. And no, there weren’t any mullet.”

The obvious question is, where are they? It’s certainly mullet time.

Friday found me back on Mosquito Lagoon with son Alex and his friend John. We fished a couple bars and caught a few trout on spin tackle, then went looking for redfish. We actually found a few (and a few black drum too) but did not convert, and did not get one. About noontime threatening weather caused us to race the storms back to River Breeze. We got the boat on the trailer just as the storms hit us, some darn close timing when lightning is involved.

That is this week’s three lagoons 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 2017. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, mosquito lagoon fishing report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, seatrout fishing, tarpon fishing

Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

October 1, 2016 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

The mullets are pretty thick along the beaches right now, thus the mullet run Orlando Fishing Report.

Because they spend so much time in the sun, fishermen are at greater-than-normal risk for skin cancer. Visit this link for tips on avoiding this dangerous but preventable illness: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/pdf/skincancer_family.pdf

Here in central Florida, the beautyberries are ripe. While you can find tastier berries, beautyberries certainly are edible. It’s so nice of nature to leave these out where we can gather and enjoy them, at no charge other than a few moments of our time!

The aptly named beautyberry.

BLOG POSTS THIS WEEK
What A Fish Knows- A Review. http://www.spottedtail.com/blog/what-a-fish-knows-a-review/ A great book, of interest to anyone who cares about fish!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 15, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/
Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 16, http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

FOR SALE
EZ Loader Trailer- http://orlando.craigslist.org/bpo/5764303987.html
Wurlitzer Piano- http://orlando.craigslist.org/msg/5764347708.html

——————————
Sunday an email came in from Chris Myers. Paraphrased, it said he’d found a bunch of tarpon in the Mosquito Lagoon from 5-30 pounds, and they were eating. Did I want to fish on Monday?

I met him a 0545 and off we went. The fish were not where they had been. Still, he looked around and found a different bunch of tarpon. They were less than five pounds, and way less than 30. Still, they were tarpon. I missed a bunch and boated two on a small minnow pattern.

This is a small example of the greatest fish that swims.

When that stopped working we went looking for redfish. We found an area where there were quite a few, with enough tailing that you could see where they were. I would like to report that we got several, but we didn’t get any, on either fly or spin tackle. It was good to see them, though.

My bait freezer was as bare as old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, and something needed to be done about that, so Tuesday son Alex and I went to Port Canaveral. We caught a few mullet at the boat ramp, then pointed the bow of the Mitzi at Satellite Beach, hoping to find something scintillating along the way.

There were menhaden just north of the Cocoa Beach pier. Nothing other than a few pelicans was working them. We kept going.

We found a big pod of feeding Spanish mackerel before we got to Patrick AFB, and got six or eight on fly (in my case the same one I got the tarpon on the previous day). Then we continued looking. I wanted big tarpon.

We got to Satellite Beach without seeing anything else, so I turned the boat towards Spain and went out a couple of miles. There was nothing out there either.

We ended up back at the pogie pods north of the pier. Alex caught a small blacktip shark there.

File photo of Alex fighting a black tip shark.

We went north of the north jetty. Aha! That’s where all the mullet were hiding! Using mullet for bait we got several fish, including a small lemon shark, bluefish, jacks, and Spanish mackerel. I got some mullet for my freezer. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

Wednesday Scott Radloff joined me for another go at Port Canaveral. Not having seen much when running south the previous day, this time we headed north. There was a large pod of pogies in Canaveral Bight. We netted some, then used them for bait. We hooked several sharks of various sizes. We did not see or get bites from anything else. Not wanting sharks, we continued our quest.

North of Cape Canaveral the water turned a lovely emerald green color. There were fair numbers of mullet in the surf. We got some jacks and bluefish when we fished. We did not see any tarpon, or catch any other species of fish.

The sea breeze came up so we headed back down to the jetty and tried fishing among the commercial mullet netters. Man, they do some damage. Jacks, blues, Spanish macs, and sharks was what we got. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

Thursday the craziest thing happened. Someone called me, wanting me to take them fishing on Friday. Thank you, thank you, I thought no one loved me any more! Dear readers, we are open for business and this report works better when people go fishing. There are still fish out there, so let’s call John and make some plans, OK? 407 977 5207. Thank you for your consideration!

Friday Scott Bryant and his son Greg joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon spin fishing. Were the redfish where they were Monday? Of course not.

We looked in shallow areas (the Mitzi kept hitting bottom) and saw a fish here, a fish there. Greg got a small slot fish on a gold Johnson Minnow. A while later Scott got one a little larger on an identical bait. We had shots at several tailers, none of which converted.

Greg with a spoon-fed red.

One thing which is easily noticed this time of year- there are hardly any finger mullet in the lagoon. There aren’t enough on the beach to make one think that they all chose that route. Where are they???

All in all it was a slow day, with only a couple of fish for which we worked quite hard. So it was a modestly successful with outstanding weather.

And that is this week’s Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report, courtesy of Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: mosquito lagoon fishing report, mullet run, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, tarpon fishing

Jackzilla Port Canaveral Fishing Report

May 22, 2016 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Jackzilla Port Canaveral Fishing Report and Photo Essay

Four days fishing out of Port Canaveral this week led to some outstanding catches, particularly if you consider a 30 pound plus crevalle jack an outstanding catch. The fishing out there was fairly sizzling. So we have the Jackzilla Port Canaveral fishing report this week. Still trying to sell that EZ Loader- Details at this link- http://www.spottedtail.com/sale-rebuilt-aluminum-ez-loader-trailer/

For sale!

The Indian River Lagoon is not the only great Florida waterway suffering from gross mismanagement. See this link about Lake Okeechobee- https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2016/05/15/sucking-in-the-algae-bloom-lake-okeechobees-s-308-slrirl/. We desperately need a new governor and an almost entirely new legislature. Not that I have strong feelings about it! Monday was not about the Port, though. Monday morning found two gentlemen from Jacksonville in the Mitzi, Mr, Jeff Weir and his friend Marinis. We were out on Mosquito Lagoon, looking for redfish. We found decent numbers of fish, although they were uncooperative enough that they only got one each. We had a good time!

Jeff with his only redfish of the day.

Tuesday Scott Radloff and I went out of the Port. It was snotty at first and I almost turned around. Jim Ross gave me a bunch of menhaden and invited us to follow him, which was really nice of him. We did. It took a while to get a bite, but when we did it was a double of mongo jacks. Quite a way to kick off the action. Jackzilla!

Scott’s hands were full for a while with this beast.

Soon there were jacks swimming all around us. One day several years ago Scott and I hooked 14 of the beasts, but we’re older (and maybe wiser) now, besides the been there done that aspect. So after he got his second one it was time to look for some other action.

He’s happy it’s no longer on his line!

The wind layed down, and the sun came out. The weather just continued improving all day.

Jackzilla!

We found some tarpon rolling. They were scattered and I didn’t think we’d hook one, but a fatty came up and ate my pogy. It proceeded to jump all over the Atlantic trying unsuccessfully to dislodge the hook. What it did succeed in doing was to saw through the #80 fluorocarbon leader. So it got away. And the rest of the fish disappeared. While we soaked baits hoping a stray was still around the biggest, baddest, meanest jackzilla of all bit my bait and proceeded to cause me some serious pain. No kidding, that fish kicked my alpha, you know what I mean?

This fish caused me some pain. Although it does hurt so nice…

Now I was really done with the jacks. We were still seeing them all around, but neither of us wanted anything else to do with them. I saw some activity and went to check. Breaking tunny! I love tunny! We fired jigs out. Bam! I was on. Still trying to recover from the jack, now I had the tunny. Tunny are awesome but compared to a crevalle pushing 40 pounds it was pretty easy. We got a couple more before we were done.

A phalanx of blacktips.

We saw another bunch of activity and went to check. It was a school of sharks, sharpnose and blacktips, up on the surface, on a ball of anchovies, with Spanish mackerel and tunny blasting through them to get at the anchovies. Neither of us wanted anything to do with the sharks as far as a fishing rod was concerned, but I wanted photos. I got the camera out and started firing, resulting in a couple good shots.

Sharks and ‘chovies!

So the day started slowly, and ended up being my best day out of the Port this year. Lots of big fish, hungry, and awesome weather. Yeah, it was good. Thursday found me back on the Atlantic, this time with Tom Finger in the Mitzi. Tom’s biggest crevalle to date was about eight pounds- I’m not sure he believed me when I told him there were 30 pounders out there. Again, it started slow and just kept getting better. His first fish was a small shark, which did nothing to prepare him for the second fish- a 30 pound crevalle. Jackzilla! He fought it hard, and in only 25 minutes or so had it boatside. I pulled it in and photographed him with it, and off it went.

Tom with a small shark, one of many.

The sharks were almost a nuisance. The tunny never showed up. We hooked several more jacks, and then found some tarpon. Tom jumped a smallish one, and then another fatty ate my bait. This fish, well over 100 pounds, jumped only once and proceeded to kick my alpha. Twice in two days! He got down on the bottom, and despite using every trick I know I could not lift him. After 20 minutes I broke him off.

Tom met jackzilla, too.

Tom got one more shark and we called it a (great) day. Friday Mike Conneen and son Alex joined me, hoping for some big fish, especially tarpon. Alex started off the festivities with a big tunny that smoked some line off the reel before succumbing rather easily, at least compared to some of the other fish we would hook.

Alex and Mr. Tunny.

Then Mike hooked and got butt kicked by a big shark that in 30 minutes we only got a couple glimpses of. Finally the fish, tired of toying with Mike, bit through the leader and made his getaway.

Mike got a hand from Alex so he could boat his fish.

Mike then hooked a massive crevalle. Jackzilla! When he finally got the fish released he said, “I do not want another jack today.” OK!

You can’t really blame him for not wanting another one. Jackzilla!

We found some breaking tunny. Alex got one on a jig. I love tunny but it was as a minnow compared to everything else we got. We went looking for tarpon. We saw a handful but nothing that was really targetable (is that a word?) But we did find another school of jacks. Alex cast a menhaden in front of them and they raced each other to get there first. Alex hooked and caught the winner. Unless you compared it to the one Mike had caught it was a giant.

What is this again? Jackzilla!

We spent the rest of our day searching without success for tarpon. We got in just before the sky cut loose with torrential rains and winds. Saturday Dr. Jacob Garrett of Fort Worth joined me on the Atlantic, hoping to meet some sharks, some big jacks, some tarpon. He fought the first creature he hooked for 30 minutes. It broke off without us ever seeing what it was, not even a flash of color.

Dr. Garrett was thrilled to catch this shark.

Without going into the sordid details, he got a small hammerhead, a large jack, hooked and lost two tarpon and got broken off a few times, just an outstanding day. Thank you for fishing with me, sir, and I hope to see you again!

Jacob was certainly not to be outdone by my other anglers.

Still have open days this month. Give me a call if you want to go fishing!

Dr. Garrett, hooked up again.

And that is the Jackzilla Port Canaveral fishing report from Spotted Tail. Life is great and I love my work! Life is short- Go Fishing! John Kumiski www.spottedtail.com http://www.spottedtail.com/blog www.johnkumiski.com www.rentafishingbuddy.com https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, Photo Essays, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: adventure fishing, crevalle jacks, florida fishing, Jack Crevalle, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, port canaveral fishing report, tarpon fishing

A Rare (for me) Flamingo Fishing Report

March 28, 2016 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

A Rare (for me) Flamingo Fishing Report

Ken Shannon and Bob Stearns were both on my mind a lot this week, as I fished out of Flamingo with my son Maxx (thus the Flamingo Fishing Report). It would have been nice to have either or both of those gentlemen with us. I’ve had many great trips down there with Ken, and learned more fishing there one day with Bob than I had in a dozen trips on my own. Great human beings, both of them.

And of course, a blessed Easter to all.

News of the Week
The year 2016 is shaping up to be the roughest yet for the Indian River Lagoon system. There was a total fish kill in the Banana River Lagoon this week. My understanding is that the biological collapse was nearly complete. Zero dissolved oxygen in the water asphyxiated everything there that needs to extract dissolved oxygen from that water to stay alive- all the fish and shellfish, all the other invertebrates, all the rooted plant life that had managed to survive to this point. Air breathers like dolphins and manatees won’t be faring too well either, as there is absolutely nothing left for them to eat there. Interested readers can get more information here: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/2016/03/23/what-we-know—-and-dont-know—-fish-kill/82163574/

A tragic bit of news.

Fishing!
Tammy had given me a glowing report of her Econ trip last Saturday. I went by kayak on Tuesday and managed two sunfish in almost five hours, an ill omen for my charter the next day.

On Wednesday Wisconsin fly fishers Vic Gulla and his son Daniel joined me for a St. Johns/Econlockhatchee trip. Fishing was embarrassingly slow. In an all day trip they got a few sunfish, two gar, and two small bass. These guys are good anglers, too.

Early Thursday morning I pointed the chariot towards south Florida with the Mitzi in tow, meeting Maxx in Florida City at about 930. At Flamingo we got our backcountry permit, although we could not do what we wanted, which was to set up a base camp on the Oyster Bay chickee for three nights. No, we had to break camp and move every morning, a big waste of time and fuel, but park rules is park rules.

Our first night was at south Joe River chickee. Fishing in that area we got a couple ladyfish, a couple snapper, a small trout, a trophy lizardfish that I wish I’d photographed (don’t have any lizardfish photos), a few puffers, and some big, ugly gafftopsail catfish. The catfish would be a recurring theme on this trip.

Maxx casts as the sun sets at south Joe River.

Be it ever so humble. And they just cleaned the port-o-potty, too.

In general the water down there looks terrible and Coot Bay, which in my experience had always been clear, looks how the Mosquito Lagoon currently looks. I’m glad our state government is doing everything it can to keep Florida’s water quality at its historically high levels. Anyway…

Day two was spent moving camp to campsite B. We fished along the way, nabbing several more handsome sailcats. While casting a shoreline along which I was poling, Maxx also got a nice 27 inch snook on a pot-gut jig Bob Sterns had given me.

Maxx about to boat his snook.

A happy young man with a handsome fish.

We dropped off our gear at the second campsite and went looking for tarpon, the main focus of our planning for this trip. We found some, big, happy, rolling fish. One soon nailed my black and purple streamer and tried to kick my ass. It took thirty minutes of straining and grunting but Maxx finally leadered and lipped it, after which we used the trolling motor to revive it enough until Maxx couldn’t hold it any more. Awesome!

Maxx jumped an even bigger one on a deep-running DOA Bait Buster but it only stayed on for a couple jumps before tossing the bait.

Tarpon on fly, it does not get any better!

Yes, it was a solid fish.

Night two was spent at the Shark River chickee. There Maxx and I experienced the heaviest no-see-um concentration that I personally have ever been fortunate enough to witness. I got utterly devoured while making supper. We jumped into the boat and rode around while eating our spaghetti and no-see-ums (I guess we got them back just a little bit there) just so we could relax, after a fashion of speaking, in bug-free comfort.

The bugs were waiting for us when we got back.

We got into the tent as fast as we could. So we would have something to do in there about 800 of the tiny bloodsuckers came in with us. It was about an hour until dark, and we killed diminutive, biting nuisances the entire time, actually ending up with a relatively bug-free sleep.

The bugs were waiting for us when we woke up. Several clouds of no-see-ums, each with thousands of individuals, hovered outside our tent. The diabolical midges knew we had to come out, I guess. There was no wind to disperse them, so they just bided their time.

We broke down camp in record time but in that time they bit the snot out of us. A fast boat ride blew them all away. All that was left were the welts.

We went back to where the tarpon were the previous day. Most of them were gone. We sat down to wait, a nice breeze keeping the bugs away. A school of fish came, obviously going someplace. We followed and fished them for about thirty minutes, without a bite, then gave up and returned to the “spot” and waited.

Another school came. Maxx jumped one on the Bait Buster. Two jumps and it was off. We followed and fished them fruitlessly for about 20 minutes, then returned to the “spot” and again waited.

Another school came. I got a bite on a Bait Buster, a big fish. One jump and it was off. We followed and fished them for about 20 minutes, then returned to the “spot” and again waited.

No more came. We eventually gave up, since we had to go to the Joe River chickee for our final night.
On the way we caught a few seatrout, keeping two 16 inch fish for supper. The catfish again made an appearance. No shortage of catfish down there, that’s for sure.

Joe River chickee has a double platform. Our neighbor this night was an 83 year old gentleman who was down there fishing by himself. Right on, baby! I can only pray that will be me in 20 years, and there will still be such a thing as wild fish to fish for.

Joe River sunrise, Easter morning.

And that, dear reader, is this week’s Flamingo fishing report from Spotted Tail.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

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

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.

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Indian River Lagoon Fish Kill Rally March 26, 2016
Florida fish kill: ‘Heartbreaking images’ for miles

Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports · Tagged: adventure fishing, Algal bloom, Bob Stearns, DOA Lures, everglades national park fishing, fishing everglades national park, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, snook fishing, tarpon fishing

Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

October 19, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

Here in central Florida we find many species of fish- redfish, snook, seatrout, tarpon, snapper, moonfish, jacks, it’s a long list. Since you’re traveling, you don’t have room to bring a ton of tackle. I hope the list below reflects an exercise in minimalism for Florida saltwater flies.

The fish you’ll be encountering eat three things for the most part- smaller fish, shrimp, and crabs. The flies carried should reflect this. Additionally, some attractor-style flies like spoonflies and poppers should be carried, too.

Try to fit all the terminal tackle into a single Simms Dry Creek Waist Pack . In the pocket of the pack put the following items:

– a couple of finger guards

– a Dr. Slick hook file

– a stick of sunscreen for the lips.

Inside the pack put the following:

-fluorocarbon leader wheels in 12, 15, 20, and 30 pound test

– a package of Knot 2 Kinky leader wire . You never know when this might be needed

– a dehooker

– a Gerber Multitool or equivalent

– a small bag with a half dozen small white shrimp flies for nighttime dock fishing. If you get a chance you will be ready.

– a one quart ziplock back containing a couple dozen synthetic minnow fly patterns, similar to Puglisi style flies, in sizes from #4 to #2/0, many with weedguards, some tied as bendbacks.

An example of a minnow fly. Lefty’s Deceiver will work, too.

A flock of faux fishies.

– a small Plano box jammed with flies, including-

*3 Dupre spoonflies

* a half dozen Merkin-style (or other) crabs, size #4, with weedguards

*several Clouser Minnows in various colors and sizes (#4-1), with weedguards

Clouser minnows of many color combos work well.

*several black bunny leeches, #2, with weedguards

* several Borski-style Sliders, size #4 and 2, in various colors and weights, with weedguards;

My version of a slider.

* a few Trout Bites or other style bendback, size #4 and 2

* a few Rattle Rousers, size #4, great for dirty water

* a selection of poppers and gurglers. Baby tarpon love small gurglers!

If you have space, a few fry minnow patterns will be great for freshwater fishing and baby tarpon.

A craft fur fry minnow.

With this kit, you could fish saltwater anywhere north of Key Largo and would be prepared for most of what you would encounter.

So we have discussed Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida. In your Florida fishing fantasy, what different stuff would you bring?

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying, opinion · Tagged: fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, fly tying, redfish, seatrout fishing, tarpon fishing

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

October 16, 2015 by john kumiski · 1 Comment

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

This is the Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report. It will have several parts!

Contest of the Week-

To the first person who can tell me 1) what this is…

What is it and what is it doing??

and 2) what it’s doing, goes a free copy of Flyrodding Florida Salt! Judges decision final. Hint- I encountered this while out fishing this past week. Please use the Comments Form below.

How Will Global Warming Affect You???

The water level may well be different in 2100.

While web surfing I came across a website that predicts the water levels on planet earth in the year 2100. You type in your zip code, and you get two maps- one in 2100 with pollution drastically curbed, and one in 2100 with things continuing the way they’re going now. It ain’t pretty. It will take an extraordinary run of luck for me to make it to 2100, and even if I make it and I’m in the same house I will still not have beach front property.

According to this prediction, the Indian River Lagoon will not exist anymore, the barrier islands all being submerged. It’s an interesting and sobering exercise. Check it out at http://choices.climatecentral.org/#12/28.7254/-81.0920?compare=scenarios&carbon-end-yr=2100&scenario-a=unchecked&scenario-b=extreme-cuts

Tips for Surf Fishermen

Rodney Smith has posted some great tips for surf fishermen. Read them here… http://rodneysmithmedia.com/ten-surf-fishing-fun-facts-2/

Show and Tell Seminars

For those who have enquired about the seminars, first, thank you! I have been working on it. The MINWR requires more paperwork than ever before, can you believe it? Hopefully they won’t make me raise the price to out of reality.

I wanted to run the seminars this month. At this point it looks like November at the earliest.

Orlando Fishing Report!

Sunday I layed around and watched the NFL all day. A complete waste of time, and yet glorious.

Monday– Boat Day! Minor repairs, cleaning, organizing, etc.

Tuesday– Scott Radloff and I ran out of the Port. The redfish were gone! 🙁 We found a few tarpon rolling, and Scott had a nice one on for 10 minutes or so, four or five jumps, the highlight of the day.

Can’t argue about its highlightness!

We did a lot of running and didn’t find too much. We did find a big ball of jacks near the beach. Evidently the jacks were being herded by numerous large sharks, because as soon as I hooked one all kinds of hell broke loose. The sharks appeared out of nowhere, all lit up. My jack ran right at the boat and six feet of determined shark ate it right along the gunwale, nearly smacking into the boat, and tossing water all over us.

Scott had one eat his mullet and fought it up to the boat The beast was easily six feet long. I wish I had gotten a picture of it.

For the day we ended up hooking a nice tarpon, eight or nine sharks, one juvenile snook, a dozen jacks, a couple Spanish mackerel, and a couple bluefish. The weather was spectacular. It certainly beat a sharp stick in the eye.

Wednesday– Looking at the weather forecast, Wednesday was supposed to be the last day with west winds, with them shifting to the northeast and increasing in velocity as the weekend approached. So if I wanted to fish along the beach, this might be the last chance this week. I took it, launching at Port Canaveral.

The redfish are definitely gone. There was not much else there either. I ran north up the beach, hoping to find breaking fish, or a school of fish, or predators pounding mullet, or rolling tarpon. Something! I had two fly rods and wanted to use them.

It was a good thing I had a cast net and caught some mullet, or I would not have gotten a fish. As it was all I got were six bluefish, decent ones for east coast Florida, but nothing else. The fly rods were both exercised, but only by casting. Nary a bite came to my flies.

The numbers of mullet appear to be thinning somewhat compared to last week. It’s mid-October, and the numbers of mullet last week were the best in years, so that’s not surprising. I hope I can get out there a few more times before it ends entirely.

Thursday– searched for the mythical source of the Econlockhatchee. Private land surrounds Lake Conlin in Osceola County, not accessible. There’s a bridge crossing at Wewahootie Road in Orange County, also on private property. Went to Hal Scott Park, pulled the bike out of the van, and went looking for the river.

Tools of exploration.

I found it, not the source but as close to it as I’m likely to get. I should have brought a fishing rod because there were a few fish popping. I’ll bet they don’t see many anglers up there either.The bike ride was a good thing- it had been too long.

Econlockhatchee Bridge in Hal Scott Park.

Friday– wasn’t going to go out but Alex asked me to take him and his babe. Forecast NE at 15, we went to the Indian River Lagoon. Not much has changed there since last week. The alligator that follows you is still there.

The alligator that follows you.

There were ladyfish at the power station. Alex hooked a nice trout on a jerkbait but it came unglued. There were not a lot of mullet, not like it should be now.

The Babes fishing.

And that is this week’s Mullet Run Winding Down 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing News, Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, tarpon fishing

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

September 20, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

We had several days of nasty weather this week, thus the nasty weather Orlando fishing report.

People tell me, “I miss the change of seasons.” Geez, folks! Open your eyes!

The beauty berries are ripe now, gorgeous purple clusters of berries surrounding the stalk. Beauty berries are edible, but certainly not delicious. Goldenrods are blooming all over the place. I haven’t seen any purple asters yet but they ought to be around. Orion is high in the sky before first light. He’ll be in the eastern sky right after dark in a few months. And the autumnal equinox is this coming week- the quality of the light will be noticeably different from that of say, July. Finally, there are some serious mullet running along the beach, always a harbinger of autumn.

The beauty berries are ripe now, a sign of approaching fall weather.

Monday found me in the canoe on my favorite bass pond. Fishing was real slow. In five hours three small bass, one bluegill, and one spotted gar came to hand. For a change of pace, most fish took a bassquid streamer. That’s two slow trips in a row there. I guess I’ll give it a few weeks before returning.

This was the fish of the day…

…and the fly that did the job.

Tuesday found Alexandre Pinto, a fly fisher from Sao Paulo, in the Spotted Tail. He wanted to add redfish to his life list. Based on the forecast I thought it would be a tough day. On the Indian River Lagoon, we had clouds and wind, and high, dirty water, not a good combination for finding redfish you can see and cast to. First spot- nothing. Second spot- nothing. Next spot- a few spooky fish and zero shots. Next spot, a few spooky fish and zero shots. Now desperate, I just picked a piece of shoreline at random and started poling along, watching the clouds get ever higher, wondering when the lightning would start…

Senhor Pinto got his first-ever redfish with lightning flashing in the background.

There were a few fish there. Alex had a few shots and got an eat. Oh, no, he missed it! He had a few more shots and got another eat. He stuck this one, and good thing, too- the storm was about a mile off and coming our way. The fly was the redfish worm, the fish was about two feet long, and after releasing it we raced the storm back to the ramp, barely staying ahead of it. Once the boat was on the trailer all hell broke loose. Made it!

Release technique, all important!

Wednesday saw atrocious weather. Several honey-dos got done.

Thursday saw more atrocious weather. Since unlike most of you I am aging, and because my wife asked me to, I read Social Security for Dummies. Not exactly compelling reading, but it did tell me several things I certainly need to know. If you’ve hit the magic six-oh, you should probably get a copy and spend an afternoon perusing it.

So after that chore, some fishing needed to get done. I grabbed a four-weight and a couple flies and went to a retention pond not too far from Mud Hole tackle. In forty minutes I got exactly one chunky little bass on a popping bug, a very satisfying fish from a spot I had never fished before.

Friday the weather was supposed to be bad again. I couldn’t stand being home again so tossed the kayak on the roof of the van and drove to KARS park. The park is closed for repairs. 🙁

I went to Banana River Drive, launched the kayak, and started looking for fish. To my pleasant surprise the water, although high, was fairly clear in most places. The grass looked great, both the manatee and widgeon grass. And I found a spot that had a few fish. To my surprise, a redfish took my Gurgler, the first red I’ve gotten on a surface fly in years. To show it wasn’t a fluke I would get another later. In between a little snooklet and a baby tarpon took a popper as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Social-Security-Dummies-Jonathan-Peterson/dp/1118205731

This fish took a popper, surprisingly delicately. Then it jumped six times!

To finish the day a school of reds came by and one took a bucktail streamer. So I got a hat trick on the reds with a snook and a tarpon thrown in. How do you spell S-L-A-M?

The last red of the day was fooled by a simple bucktail streamer.

Not only that, but I got to watch an alligator eat a horseshoe crab. It seems like an odd thing for a gator to eat, but they can eat whatever they want I guess.

Tammy battles a lady

On a rare Saturday fishing trip, Tammy met me at the Port just before seven am. We went into the bight, hoping to fly fish for breaking fish. There were a load there, all ladyfish, nice big ones. We got six or eight each on streamers, then went looking for other types of fish. That was not happening. We found acres of menhaden and absolutely nothing was feeding on them that we could see, other than pelicans.

The wire leader and the wire bodied fly meant we got every fish on the same fly. What a time-saver!

And that is this week’s Nasty Weather 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.comhttps://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

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

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Rare ‘Super-Harvest Blood Moon’ To Shine On September 27, 2015 | Video

Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report, St. Johns River Fishing Report · Tagged: adventure fishing, Banana River, Bass fishing, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, kayak fishing, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, redfish, tarpon fishing

Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

September 12, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

Did not take a photo this week. These are photos from the files.

Sunday- Went canoeing with sister Cheryl, Tammy, Mike C., Jeff the crematory builder, and several others on the Econ. The water was high enough that Cheryl and I were able to paddle the canoe up on to the foot bridge that spans the river in the state forest. Because of the high water I didn’t bring a rod, but Mike C. got one small bass in two days of casting.

Tuesday- Steve and Janice Murphy of Calgary joined me for some fishing on the Indian River Lagoon, he with a fly, she with a spin. The water is still kind of dirty, and kind of high, so spotting fish is hard. They were there, though. Janice, blind-casting with a DOA CAL shadtail, got a slot redfish and several trout. Steve only had one decent shot. Unfortunately it did not work. We all wilted shortly after noontime. The boat was on the trailer about one PM.

Thursday- Anton Faith joined me for some fishing along the beach out of Port Canaveral. The weather was hot but otherwise awesome. Early there were large numbers of fish near Cape Canaveral- bluefish, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and crevalle jacks. They were feeding on glass minnows. We did some damage with the 3/8 ounce Sting Silver from Haw River Tackle. I pulled out a seven-weight with a sinking line and a simple bucktail streamer and did some more damage.

We found some tarpon, feeding on glass minnows. They did not want anything we offered.

Friday- Scott Radloff joined me for some fishing along the beach out of Port Canaveral. The weather was hot but otherwise awesome. Early there were large numbers of fish near Cape Canaveral- bluefish, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, and crevalle jacks. They were feeding on glass minnows. We did some damage with the 3/8 ounce Sting Silver from Haw River Tackle. I pulled out a seven-weight with a sinking line and a simple bucktail streamer and did some more damage.

We found some tarpon, feeding on mullet, just spectacular. They did not want anything we offered. Using a mullet, Scott jumped one that tossed the hook on that first jump, a battle that lasted about one second. It was the only one that bit. We did hook a couple of sharks. That was it.

Saturday- the Brinkman is running, smoking some Spanish mackerel and bluefish. I love to smoke those fish, and love the beach fishing this time of year. It should remain good through October.

And that is this week’s Port Canaveral Nearshore 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 2015. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Orlando Fishing Report, port canaveral fishing report · Tagged: adventure fishing, DOA Lures, Econlockhatchee River, florida fishing, fly fishing, Indian River Lagoon, Orlando Area Fishing Report, orlando fishing, orlando fishing charter, orlando fishing report, Port Canaveral, tarpon fishing

How to Tie a Gurgler

September 5, 2015 by john kumiski · Leave a Comment

The killer fly, a gurgler.

How to Tie a Gurgler

Gurglers, to the best of my knowledge, were invented by the late Jack Gartside. They are awesome, easy to tie flies that work of a wide variety of fish. Since I make them differently than Jack did, here are my instructions on how to tie a Gurgler.

First, you need to gather your materials. Use whatever color(s) you like.

Simple materials needed to make a Gurgler. Feel free to modify my list to suit your own needs.

-sheet of craft foam (available at any craft store)
-material for tail (in this case marabou, but it’s the tyer’s choice)
-tying thread (Danville flat waxed nylon for me) in Dr. Slick bobbin
-Estaz or similar product for body
-rubber hackle, sililegs, or what-have-you for legs if desired (for spider patterns or bass bugs)
-hook. For most of my saltwater flies I use a Mustad 34001 #2. For salmon I use a Mustad 36890, also #2. For freshwater applications it depends what the target specie is; i.e., for bass a stinger hook, #4 or #2, for sunfish an Aberdeen, #6 or 8, for trout and dollies a long-shanked, bronzed hook, #6 or 8, etc.

1. After placing the hook in the vise (I use a Regal), start the thread and wrap it back to the bend of the hook.

2. Using your Dr. Slick scissors, cut a strip of foam from the sheet of craft foam. Use the scissors to taper one end to a near-point.

Cut the strip of foam for the fly body. Wider ones float better but tend to rotate more. Taper one end to a near point.

To read the rest of these instruction, click here now…

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

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

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Filed Under: Fishing Tips, Flies and Fly Tying · Tagged: Bass fishing, fishing tips, florida fishing, florida fishing tips, fly fishing, fly tying, redfish, salmon fishing, seatrout fishing, tarpon fishing

Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

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Three Lagoons Fishing Report

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Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

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Jackzilla Port Canaveral Fishing Report and Photo Essay

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A Rare (for me) Flamingo Fishing Report

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Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

How to Tie a Gurgler

How to Tie a Gurgler

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Tough Week Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report

Three Lagoons Fishing Report

Mullet Run Orlando Fishing Report 93016

Jackzilla Port Canaveral Fishing Report and Photo Essay

A Rare (for me) Flamingo Fishing Report

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Florida Saltwater Flies- Packing for a Trip to Florida

Mullet Run Winding Down Orlando Fishing Report

Nasty Weather Orlando Fishing Report

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Port Canaveral Nearshore Fishing Report

How to Tie a Gurgler

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