East Central, John Kumiski

Blown Away Orlando Fishing Report
Three straight days of fishing in 20 mph plus winds, no surprise we have a blown away Orlando fishing report.

Bad news for all Lagoonatics– this year’s installment of the algae bloom has already started in the Banana River Lagoon. See this link for all the gruesome details-

The Indian River Lagoon Chronicles is now available as a paperback book, either from me or from amazon…

Upcoming Events–
-Paddle Fishing Seminar, Kayaks by Bo in Titusville, March 17, 5 PM. Please call to reserve your space. 321.474.9365.
-Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, March 18, 8:30 AM. Please visit this link for more information…
-Florida Fly Fishing Association meeting, Kay’s Barbeque, Cocoa, March 27, 7 PM. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Monday- Rock Springs Run

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Mr. Conneen rollin’ down the creek.

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This painted turtle let me get surprisingly close.

Mike Conneen and I went a-paddlin’ on the Rock Springs Run, starting at King’s Landingand finishing at Wekiva Marina. At this central Florida gem, it’s more about the aesthetics than the size of the fish. You’ll find plenty of brilliantly colored fish here, but they tend to be small ones- stumpknockers, redbellies, even the bass run small.

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Rock Springs Run stumpknocker. Yes, it’s small.

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Mike, still rollin’.

Use ultralight tackle and small, weedless baits (I like the Beetle Spin or a three-weight fly rod)) and you will have fun racking up the numbers if not the poundage. A bruiser will surprise you on occasion.

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One of many ibis we saw.

Mike got a dozen or so bass, the largest was (being generous) maybe two pounds. It’s an awesome trip- the scenery and the wildlife are so nice, who cares about fish size?

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One of the larger fish we caught.

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A stream-side blue flag iris.

Wednesday
Last week I said this about the shad- “I think they’re done for the season.” PDM, whose name will not be revealed, sent me an email complete with maps telling me he had his best day of the season the same day I caught exactly one. So following his very specific instructions (which I really appreciated- thank you!) I went there on Wednesday. It was not great. I had to work, but I got ten or twelve in a few hours. It was enough that I figured I could use it again of Friday if needed.

Thursday
Went scouting solo out of River Breeze. The places I had been finding fish were devoid of life. On my good friend the 3″ plastic shad I got two slot trout and a few dinks. The slotties were delicious, pan-fried in coconut oil.

Friday , Saturday, Sunday
I had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Dan Carr, a fly fisher from Atlanta, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He warned me ahead of time that he brings bad weather.

If you were a kite flyer or a windsurfer the weather over the weekend was incredible. It was kind of windy for fly fishing, though.

Friday morning we started out of Haulover. By noon we had seen exactly five redfish with nary a shot. Dan had caught a rat red on a plastic shad, which was the extent of the action.

I pulled the boat and went to the St. Johns River. Shad were the goal.

In four hours plus Dan got one hickory shad and one small channel cat. I pulled the boat near sunset and went home to get ready for the next day, and lick my wounds. So much for the shad. They are done.

Saturday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

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Dan with one of the many rat reds he caught. Note the breezy-looking water behind him!

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, both trout and redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good, enough so that he wanted a repeat the next day.

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Sunday we met at River Breeze, armed with a fly rod and a canoe. River Breeze has seldom been more aptly named.

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The fly of choice. Actually, he used several different patterns.

I poled the canoe about ten miles in that gale, exhausting myself in the process. Dan did catch some fish on the fly, though, all redfish. No big ones, mind you, but still, fish on fly in 20+ mph is not to be sneered at. He done good!

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We got 15 or so redfish in three days and not one would have held batter. We did get a few legal trout, though. And a good time was had by all!

And that is the blown away Orlando fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com