John Kumiski: Econlockhatchee River

Thank you for reading this Econlockhatchee River fishing report.

All of us have been affected by the virus. I’m in a high-risk group- if I get it, it will probably kill me. In spite of that I chafe at staying home so much. The weather is nice- I should be outside! I got out twice this week.

Monday I launched my kayak at Snow Hill Road, planning on doing an out-and-back. The river was quite low and strangely quiet, very few wading birds, no alligators (?!?!). It took me an hour to get my first bite, a spotted gar. It was followed by a dinker bass. I photographed the first several fish I caught, all on fly, which I share here.

Spotted gar, on a popper.

It was tiny, but it was a bass!

This one got away.

Bluegill,

redbelly,

stumpknocker makes a sunfish slam.

And another dink bass for good measure.

It turns out the only alligator I saw was a dead one, decomposing in the middle of the river.

When I got back to Snow Hill Road I thought I had my days mixed up. There were about 20 cars there, folks out enjoying the day.

Wednesday I used a bicycle to access the upper river. The river, still low and still quiet, yielded about fifteen bass and a single stumpknocker. I started out using Culprit worms but after losing three in a row to gar I switched to the RipTide Sardine, which worked well.

The river is small here- the water hardly moved.

First of many bass- it wasn’t a dink!

The floodplain is lovely.

Another healthy fish!

And the one gator I saw this week.

I saw one alligator, one black snake, one owl, several feral hogs, no people. It was a beautiful day!

“The best fishermen I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them.” -John Gierach

Life is great and I love my work!

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

John Kumiski, author of Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide
Purchase Fishing Florida by Paddle- An Angler’s Guide at http://www.spottedtail.com/fishing-florida-by-paddle/