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Indian River Lagoon & Banana River
Capt. John Kumiski
September 12, 2006
Titusville - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing Report 9/12
Space Coast fishing report from Spotted Tail, 9/12/06
First off, we have upcoming events:
-On Sept. 30 the annual Kids Fishing Day will happen. If you've always wanted to take a kid or two fishing, now is your big chance! Hit this link http://www.spottedtail.com more information. Or call me at 407.977.5207. Or email me at [email protected]
-I've had several calls and emails about my next Show and Tell. I've scheduled one for October 14. The cost is still $40.00. Visit this link http://www.spottedtail.com more information
Last fishing report I said I would fish more this week. I did, and here are all the (not very) tragic details. I have some nice photos, though, that can be viewed at http://www.spottedtail.com
On Labor Day I hopped into the chariot and motored to Miami, kayak lashed to the roof, getting wet several times along the way. Tuesday morning Bob Stearns and I motored through the rain and dark to Flamingo. When we got to the ramp it wasn't raining, but Bob said we had perihelion tides (high highs and high lows) and he wasn't very happy about it. We launched his boat, a Mirage HPX, and headed for East Cape.
It began raining again before we got there and it never let up. The water was high and dirty and we didn't get a bite or see a fish anywhere we tried there, so we went back towards Flamingo and fished in high dirty water in the rain some around there too. I had two different (small) tarpon come up and give my popper a look, but neither actually hit it. When the lightning started around 1130 we bagged it, not having gotten so much as a bump, and after bidding Bob goodbye and thanks I headed to Long Key, where I went wading. The water was real high, and I only saw one bonefish. He looked like he was heading somewhere in a hurry, and my showing him the fly only served to increase his speed. Then I went to Duck Key, where I was rooming with Walt Jennings.
Wednesday morning Walt, Dale Sanders, Ron Presley, and I hopped into Walt's Contender (what a magnificent boat!) and headed offshore. The weeds were thick and we were expecting dolphin city. We sabiki'd up about 40 small blue runners and thus armed we went fishin'. Not finding the first fish in the weeds we headed to the Marathon Hump. There was a heck of a rip there and some fish were going off. Birds were diving, and it looked great. We got close to some working fish and Dale, using one of our live baits, hooked up with a light spinning rod.
Basically, the fish kicked his butt but he hung in there and we finally boated it, a skipjack tuna of 10 pounds or so, a very handsome fish. I thought we would be in them the rest of the day. Wrong! Dale's strike turned out to be the only one we got. The tuna would come up and crash bait but by the time we got there they'd be gone, coming up again several hundred yards away. We saw exactly one dolphin and didn't get a shot at it, and didn't get another fish.
Thursday morning at 430 I got a spin rod, a handful of DOA TerrorEyz, and went down to the nearest bridge. The current was ripping through there, but I fished the TerrorEyz real slow and after about 20 minutes jumped a tarpon. He threw the hook on that first jump. Before it got light I jumped two more and caught a snook of 24 inches or so, and also missed a few strikes. It turned out to be the most action I had on the entire trip.
Walt and I went to Long Key to wade for bonefish. Places that are normally exposed at low tide were waist deep. Those darned perihelion tides again! We tried gallantly until about 1030 AM. By some miracle I saw three bones swimming together, again looking like they were on a mission, and showed them my fly. Again, it only served to increase their speed.
Sunday morning I got up early to fish the bridge again. I cast from all sides until it got light and didn't get a bite. Jimmy Jacobs and I then hooked up to go kayak fishing near Lignum Vitae Key. The water on the flat there was actually pretty shallow in some places, only about 14 or 15 inches deep. I spotted a pair of tailing bonefish, big suckers, and made one cast to them, leading them by about five feet. They changed direction before they reached my fly, and I couldn't get in position to cast to them again. I saw one more tailer and didn't get a shot, and we ran over a couple of fish that we didn't see until we were right on top of them. Jimmy never got a cast to a fish. We bagged it at 1000 AM, and Jimmy split for Atlanta.
I stopped at Pennekamp to fish the flats in Largo Sound. I had a lovely if somewhat hot paddle, but again the water was ridiculously deep on the bonefish flats and I didn't see a single fish there. By noon time I was headed to Stuart.
Monday morning found Marcia Foosaner and I in her Action Craft in the north fork of the St. Lucie River. The water was high and kind of dirty. There were a few tarpon rolling, mostly small ones. We blind cast with fly rods for a while with no success. I finally got a bite and thought for a moment that it might be a 'poon, but it turned out to be a crevalle and a small one at that.
We left the north fork and went into the Indian River. We hooked up with Mark Nichols and Greg Gentile at the Roosevelt Bridge, and went with them to fish another area. There were a very few tarpon rolling there. We were all using DOA products and I finally had a hit from a fairly strong fish on a TerrorEyz. Marcia said, "That's a catfish," and darned if she wasn't right, a gross, slimy sailcat of six or seven pounds. Yikes!
We then left Mark and Greg and went down to Sailfish Point for some wading action. We waded and blind cast with streamer flies for about an hour. Neither of us got a strike. By this time I could take a hint, so we returned to the ramp where I hopped back in the chariot and returned to my humble abode, where my family and I were very glad to see each other.
It was a fun trip, but the catching was pretty stinky. Things will get better, because I'm home and the mullet will be running!!!
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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