Indian River Lagoon & Banana River
Capt. John Kumiski
April 9, 2006
Titusville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Indian River/Mosquito Lagoon report 4/9/06
Mosquito Lagoon fishing report from Spotted Tail, 4/9/06
Now booking tarpon trips for May and June along the Lee County Coast!
This week certainly had some ups and downs.
On Monday, kayaker Kirk Dunaway joined me for some paddle fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. Launching at River Breeze, we paddled exactly 6.9 miles according to Kirk's GPS unit. Kirk was tossing jerk baits and a Top Dog, I was using a black Clouser Minnow. It was best early, but it wasn't like there were a lot of fish around. We had some great shots though, and managed three fish between us, and had a couple of missed strikes. Kirk was kind enough to supply me with a jpeg of myself with one. The photo can be seen here: http://www.spottedtail.com
Tuesday I had a split half day on the Mosquito Lagoon, with fly caster Ralph Artigliere in the morning and spin fisherman Bob Carins in the afternoon. Fly fishing success usually requires good conditions for seeing fish, and we didn't have that, with gusty winds out of the northwest and lots of clouds. Ralph had maybe six decent shots at reds all morning but we failed to convert any. Towards the end of the morning the wind turned northeast, and if anything gained in strength.
Bob was able to blind cast very successfully with the spinning rod, getting his first fish on a gold Johnson Minnow and subsequent fish on a Chug Bug. Trout sure will smack that Chug Bug! He ended up with three reds and eight or ten trout to 26 inches, a beautiful fish, and had several missed strikes. Again, visit the link already mentioned to see the photos.
Wednesday brought Ed Heidel and Akeme Kan, both from Seattle. We started on the Indian River Lagoon, checking out both power stations. There was to my surprise almost nothing at either one. Akeme had a strike and caught the first crevalle of her life (and the first I've seen this year) on a jig. Then Ed, fly casting with a black Clouser Minnow, got a couple of reds over on the east side of the lagoon. Action was slow, so we pulled the boat and trailered over to the Mosquito Lagoon. Akeme got a small trout on a DOA, and missed a strike on the Chug Bug. Ed had a few shots with the black Clouser Minnow, and Akeme had one strike that she missed while using the same fly, and that was it for the day.
On Friday Henry Cadwalader, a fly fisher from Pennsylvania and student at Rollins, joined me for a fairly wind blown day on the Mosquito Lagoon. The wind was out of the southeast at about 15 mph and I tried to stay out of it as much as possible. It made fly fishing quite difficult. Henry had exactly one bite all day, and caught his first saltwater fish on fly, a nice trout of about 24 inches. It was one of Henry's flies, with a chartreuse tail of some kind of synthetic, and a collar of white bunny fur, quite handsome actually. Shots were scarce, though, and we just couldn't seal the deal on those we had.
On Saturday Terry Vanden Eynden from Kissimmee joined me for a morning's fishing on the Mosquito Lagoon. We had intended to fish a full day but the wind was blowing so hard we bagged it at 1130. Not before catching 15 or 20 trout on Chug Bugs and DOA Glow Shrimp, though! The fish ran on the small side though, with only a few legal ones and the biggest at 18 inches.
Although after Monday the wind was so strong it interfered with fishing, we basically had nice weather all week and everyone had a good time!
This week is supposed to be more of the same, but my schedule is quite light.
Remember- life is short. GO FISHING!
Life is great and I love my work!!
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me at [email protected], or call at 407 977 5207.
John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com
member, Indian River Guides Association,
Florida Outdoor Writers Association
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