Fronts, wind, clouds, crowds make tough Mosquito Lagoon fishing
Capt. John Kumiski
December 28, 2008
Titusville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing Report from Spotted Tail 12/28/08
Upcoming Events:
January 23, 24, 25, Fly Fishing Show, Somerset, NJ. I'll be tying flies, signing books, and giving a program or two. If you plan on attending the show, please stop by and say hello!
Since this will be the last fishing report of 2008, it's time to wish everyone a happy, fish-filled, healthy, and prosperous new year!
I was supposed to take Larry McGlashan fishing on Monday. However, a cold front came through so we postponed it a few days. But I got a call for a two boat charter on Tuesday, so I called Kevin Mulligan and we arranged to meet our anglers at Kennedy Point Park on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday Adam Powell and his two friends Paul and Will got in the Mitzi for the trip across the Indian River Lagoon. Mully got their three friends. The wind was honkin' along out of the east northeast at about 15 mph, so with four of us in the boat (I was the smallest of the four) it was quite a test of the seaworthiness of the Mitzi. It did an outstanding job.
We fished the flats, we fished along the causeway, we fished in the Rinker Canal. We fished in shallow and deep water. We fished with lures and with bait. We saw a handful of redfish but did not catch one no matter what we tried.
Mully was on the windy side of the river near the power plants, and he got some fish over there. So we braved the elements and went over. It was nasty rough but we got three trout and a beautiful 27 inch snook, all on DOA Shrimp. Hardly a great day but it beat a skunking.
On Wednesday Larry McGlashan, Mr. Woodie's Rattlers, joined me for a day on the Mosquito Lagoon. I wanted a 25 to 27 inch redfish for Christmas dinner. I wanted to catch it legally. Beyond that, lure or bait, it didn't matter.
We got three reds on the first flat we tried, all on 4 inch DOA jerk baits. The biggest red was 21 inches. All were released. We were unable to get a fish on any of the flats we tried after that. So sometime after noon I broke out the mullet and we went chunkin' in many of my favorite little chunkin' holes.
Larry got two reds in the first hole. The biggest was 21 inches. Both were released. We got a string of beautiful, fat hardhead cats after that, or nothing at all, in the next several holes. Finally, now after 4 PM, we hit one last hole. I got a 20 inch red and a 20 inch trout. Both were released.
We ate salmon on Christmas Day. Although not a fresh Mosquito Lagoon redfish, it was quite delicious.
On Friday and Saturday Bill Lambot, a fly fisher from Massachusetts, joined me for an attempt at his first redfish on fly. We fished in both the Indian River Lagoon and the Mosquito Lagoon.
Although there were a lot of fish around on Friday, there were a lot of boats out, too. Bill got his first red at the first spot we stopped at, about five minutes in, on a Sili Shrimp, or his version of it. While we had lots of shots at reds, trout, and black drum, he didn't get another bite that day.
There were sixteen skiffs poling around in a small area inside of Tiger Shoal. There were a lot of fish there but it would have taken dynamite or a gill net to get any of them. They were just a little bit worked up.
On Saturday there were even more boats out. Additionally, there were both clouds and a 15 knot wind to deal with. And the fish had their high-def radar on. We again saw good numbers of fish, but most of them were moving away from us before we were even in casting range.
Bill said that he had been expecting dumb Bubba fish and it had been quite an enlightening experience. He thought bonefish were much easier to catch. He didn't get a bite on Saturday, only having gotten a few decent shots. So he got only one red in two days of guided fly fishing, in spite of have seen hundreds of fish. It was a tough couple of days.
Let's hope for great weather and a strong bite this week!
Life is short- GO FISHING!!!
Life is great and I love my work!
If you have any questions or comments, or if you'd like to go fishing, please feel free to email me at [email protected], or call at 407 977 5207.
John Kumiski
member, Indian River Guides Association,
Florida Outdoor Writers Association
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