Indian River Lagoon & Banana River
Capt. John Kumiski
February 14, 2005
Titusville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Spotted Tail report2/14/05
This week’s fishing report from Spotted Tail, updated 2/14/05
Now booking tarpon dates for May and June along the Lee Island Beaches!
Happy Valentines Day!
So I don't forget, I'm doing the upcoming events part first:
- on March 5 I'll be conducting a "Show and Tell" fishing seminar in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I show you where, and tell you how! The price is $30 per person, limited to 20 people. E-mail me at [email protected] for more information.
Signs of spring that I observed this week:
-Azaleas are blooming, as are some oak trees.
-the red maples have already gone to seed, and some are starting to leaf out.
-the mulberry tree in my yard has flowers on it, and is starting to leaf out.
-yesterday while participating in the trash cleanup on the wildlife refuge I heard some honeybees, a stopped to watch them for a few moments. They were working flowers on a tree that I don't know the name of, and they (as is their habit) were working it hard. Honeybees are great little creatures, and those were the first ones I've seen this year.
Fishing was a little frustrating this week, especially after hearing reports from some friends.
Monday I launched the Bang-O-Craft at River Breeze to scout for a kayak trip the following day. It was overcast and breezy. And what's up with the high water this time of year?? I shouldn't be able to scout my kayak fishing spots with a johnboat. I shouldn't be able to get the johnboat into where I kayak fish. But I did, and didn't see much. I had one bite all day, on a RipTide Weedless Jig.
Tuesday I met TJ Bettis and Tom Saunders at River Breeze for some fly fishin' and 'yakkin'. We probably paddled five miles. We didn't see many fish. Because of the high water, and clouds early on, we literally ran over almost every fish we did see (not seeing them until after we ran them over), and we did not get one legitimate shot all day.
Friday Joe Scheer, violinist and bamboo rod maker extraordinaire (visit his website at www.fishinfiddler.com), graced the Spotted Tail. We used the skiff in the Mosquito Lagoon. Air temperature when we launched the boat at 10:30 was a very chilly 44 degrees. In spite of that we found fish almost immediately and were in fish almost all day. And in spite of that we only had one bite, a slot red that took a SexyFly minnow. Joe is a fine caster too, the fish were just not very cooperative for us. But one is so many more than none!
Saturday afternoon (it was a spectacular day!) I went scouting for shad on the St. Johns, launching at the SR 46 bridge crossing near Lake Harney. I met a fly fishing club at the mouth of the Econ. They had been there most of the day and had a handful of shad for their efforts. I continued up to Puzzle Lake and drifted back while casting, probably for two miles. I got one bite and landed one shad, on a sparkle chartreuse shad fly. Pretty slow fishing, although the wildlife was incredible.
Yesterday 13 of us picked up several pickup trucks full of trash at Patillo Creek. Afterwards Mike Adamson, Ron I-already-forgot-his-last-name, and I went wading along Biolab Road for about four hours, looking, wading, casting. Mike got a single slot trout on a DOA Shrimp, and that was it catch-wise. It was a spectacular day, though!
Remember- life is short. GO FISHING!
Life is also great and I love my work!!
John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
member IRGA, FOWA
More Fishing Reports:
