Title
Date
 - 
Water Clarity
Angler Traffic
Fish Caught
Fishing Water Report
Reporting Outfitter
Reported Trip
Start Access Site
End Access Site
Filter
Sort By:   
Showing 21 - 40
 
out of 168
On the left map, we grouped Guide Fishing Reports that are located close to each other into small circles. Now, you can locate all Guide Fishing Reports on the map at the same time. You can also drag & zoom the map.

Circle numbers - Count of Guide Fishing Reports that are located in and around that circle.

Colored circles - Guide Fishing Reports that are displayed in the list below.

Grey circles - Guide Fishing Reports that are displayed on next page(s).

Half colored circles - Some Guide Fishing Reports in that circle appear in the list below and some on next page(s).

Click on circles to zoom in or highlight Guide Fishing Reports .
page 2 out of 9
Date:
Fri, 5 May, 2017
Here comes fishin season. The Mother's Day cadis hatch has popped on the lower Madison. More and more bugs every day. Fishing is best when the sun is off the water. Yesterday we fished ... morelate and that seemed to do the trick. We put on at warm springs about 4:00 in the afternoon. Hardly any bug activity until almost 6:30, but they finally did show up and the fish were looking up. We ended up with about a dozen fish by the time we got to the damsel fly takeout. We got out about 8:00 and it was still going off and there was still plenty of light. I wished we would have moved a little slower. As far as mid day is concerned the usual nymph streamer combinations. Seem to be the ticket. Bunny fur or rubber with a size 16 prince has been the best for me. Fishing during the day has been ok but the real show seems to be in the evening all the way to dark
Date:
Fri, 5 May, 2017
Fishing Water Report:
End Access Site:
The float section of the Madison starts at Lyons bridge and ends at the Ennis bridge. Fishing has been up and down all spring depending mostly on the weather. Get an overcast calm ... moreday with temps at least into the high 40s fishing seems to pretty good. Clear cold and windy, stay home and tie flies. The main show in the float section is still streamers stripped hard off the bank. Black seems to be the most productive for me. Fishing seems to start around noon peaking about 2:00 then dying of around 4:00 or 5:00. Warmest part of the day. Crowds aren't here yet it's nice and lonely out there
Date:
Thu, 4 May, 2017
The spawning rainbow thing is going off between quake and hebgan. The rainbows are moving up out of quake lake and stacking up below hebgan dam, but it's no big secret. You will have ... morecompany. It seems to be a race to the first soft water below hebgan. It's a great hole full of fish but angler density is a little to high for me. Down closer to quake lake there are a couple of small channels on the other side of the river that are chalk full of rainbows, if your a strong enough wader to cross the main river. Due to high snow pack they have already started raising flows. As of yesterday it was up to 1400. Which is high for this time of year. Wading caution is called for.

As far as flies. Spaghetti and meat balls "San Juan worm and an egg ball". Have been the best. Although you can still find the bigger fish on a black biggest. Over all fishin is good just expect company.
Date:
Tue, 2 May, 2017
Early lowland run off in April caused the big hole to jump from around 450 cfs to just over 2000. This pre runoff really kickstarted the fish. The fish turned on as soon as it started ... moreto fall. it has now stablized around 1500 and fishing remains good on both dries and wets.

There are still a few squalla bugs around so a size 8 chubby chernoble has been a good one especially with a San Juan worm hanging hanging about 2 ft below it if there is a little cloud cover, you can expect a good hatch of march browns by about 1:00. If the march brown do show up look for risers. There are only 400 fish per mile on the Jeff as compared with over 2000 for the Madison. Look for the fish there not everywhere. If you can get a few clouds, streamer fishing stays pretty good all day but the big show is the march browns in the afternoon .
Date:
Thu, 27 Apr, 2017
Due to wild-run rivers flooding over, the White River’s catchment dams are on the rise which means we should be prepared for higher discharges. Overall, things have been steady around ... more3000 cfs, but we could see higher levels with the lake continuing to rise above power pool. This may not be the best news for wade fishermen, but it’s good for float trips.

The caddis hatch is strong this season. Right before the last rain we had success with dries such as Elk Hair Caddis and CDC Caddis. We can expect continued success as long as the caddis hatch continues.
Date:
Tue, 25 Apr, 2017
Water flows from Palisades Dam have dropped this week (18,000 to 14,000 cfs) and even though the South Fork is still running slightly off color, the fishing has improved quite a bit. ... moreThe upper reach in Swan Valley and the upper Canyon from Conant to the confluence with Burns Creek have seen the best fishing. Targeting riffles, eddies, seams and banks with double nymphs has been effective. BWOs have also been making an appearing in large numbers, and using mayfly nymph imitations works well. But large stonefly imitations and mysis imitations are also just as effective if not better on some days.
Date:
Mon, 24 Apr, 2017
We’ve had decent weather this week with temps in the 50s and warming into the 60s. Water temperatures have been reaching the upper 40s on the Lower Snake River below Moose Bridge. ... moreWe are also starting to see the first skwalas of the season, which makes it possible to fish with large attractors along banks, seams, inside turns of riffles, and the current margin of riffle pools. BWO imitations are also doing well most days in riffles and riffle pools along seams. The afternoon is the best time for these flies.

As far as nymphing goes, use either a double nymph rig or a dry/dropper rig. Large stonefly imitations and small mayfly and caddis imitations are working well. Aim for riffles, banks, bankside troughs, seams and confluence lines.

On good days, streamers are really effective, but overall the consistency is low. We’ve been finding success with intermediate sinking tips, 3ips and 6ips tips, and 5 to 7 feet of T-11. The best places for streamer action have been banks and structure, riffle and riffle pools, and seams. Moderate sized baitfish imitations and bigger, articulated streamers are effective.
Date:
Mon, 24 Apr, 2017
High water flows right now. The Lower and Upper Canyons are flowing from bank to bank. The best fishing currently is out of the Farmlands or Upper Proper, which both offer access on ... morefoot in high water using islands and channels.

We are currently experiencing hatches of March Browns and Baetis, along with the Skwala hatch. Just around the corner we'll be seeing Salmonflies and American Grannom - Caddis.
Date:
Fri, 21 Apr, 2017
Water levels are still high, but not enough to scare off anglers. While not necessarily ideal conditions, the fishing is still pretty good. The river is down 100 cfs to 400 (normally ... morearound this time of year it’s in the 90-150 range). A lot is coming from the Little Deschutes. Once the runoff winds down, fishing should be excellent.

We’ve had success on the river with Jigs and Micro Mayfly Nymphs. Also heard someone caught a decent sized brown with a sculpin over near Tumalo. High angler traffic in the Lower Bridge area due to reports of strong March Brown hatches along with Grey Caddis, Midges, and some Blue Winged Olives.
Date:
Mon, 17 Apr, 2017
Spring fly fishing season on the Madison has officially arrived. We have already started leading some guided fishing trips and the ice pack is long gone. The weather is warming up ... morea bit, and overall is nice. Currently, slow nymphing and streamer fishing are getting good activity. Blue Winged Olives should also get some action later in the day. The Madison is living up to its spring potential. It’s also really nice having the entire stretch from Reynolds Pass to Ennis lake open right now—anglers are finding more room to spread out along the river. 

Looking forward to the summer, we should see great water conditions on all our rivers, fewer closures, and less crowding on the Madison due to the great snowpack. All of the major drainages in the area are at or above average snowpack levels. This is good news for surrounding streams, where anglers will be able to find their own space instead of clogging up the Madison. On some years with low water (i.e. the last several years), the Madison becomes the only spot with really good fishing in Southwest Montana. That’s because of the cool water coming from Hebgen dam and the fast-moving oxygenated water of the Madison. This should turn out to be a great year with plenty of options for fly anglers to choose from!

We’ll have to wait and see how bad the runoff is this year, and that will all depend on the weather. With temperatures in the 80s for extended periods of time (around late May or early June), the river will become jammed with dirt and the runoff will be extreme, but short. On the other hand, if things start slow with a mix of warm and cool days, it could mean mildly clear water and fishable conditions all through the runoff. No matter what, we can always find a great place to fish, it might just mean we have to spend more time in the car!
Date:
Tue, 11 Apr, 2017
Fishing Water Report:
Reported Trip:
Spring has sprung and the Blue Winged Olive hatches have begun. Here in Park City, both the middle and lower sections of the Provo River are seeing some nice activity. Though we haven’t ... moreseen any “blanket” hatches yet, we have still seen enough bugs to keep the fish active. Clouds, cool weather and rain will likely produce a decent hatch. Look for stormy weather if you want to experience this. Also, most hatches are occurring in the late afternoon (try 1-4pm as your target window—later is better).

We have found that patience is important, and you should be willing to try various different flies on the BWO lifecycle. If you’re not having any luck with mayflies, we suggest you switch to nymphing when the action is sparse up on the surface. Also be sure to pack cripples and emergers for when the hatch is approaching.

BWO nymphs live in fast moving water and they are great swimmers. When they emerge, they swim straight to the surface and get pushed into slower pools and flats. You may have to explore the river a little bit to find these spots that are perfect for BWO behavior. Look for deep pools, riffles and flats, and don’t be afraid to move around!

This is one of our favorite hatches, and there are a number of reasons why. BWOs mark the beginning of the river coming back to life after the long, dormant winter. They also bring out aggressive feeding tendencies in trout, so the strikes are good. Additionally, the weather is great, and we get to enjoy the wonderful restoration that Spring brings!

We hope you have a great start to your Provo River fly fishing season!
Date:
Tue, 4 Apr, 2017
Like many things, when it comes to assembling our tackle for the rigours of a day’s fishing there are some rights and wrongs. Often too, we’re in a hurry, especially when ... moretrout are rising nearby. In our haste it’s easy to overlook one or two of the fundamentals that lead to frustration and ultimately, disaster.

The basic guidelines outlined here will help beginners avoid unnecessary pitfalls and longer term should prevent potential damage or wear to fishing equipment.

ASSEMBLING RODS

Smooth and polished, the brass ferrule fittings on old cane rods and the like could simply be pushed firmly together for a secure fit. Furthermore, being metal they were nigh on impossible to damage by hand, so even a forceful fit was rarely an issue. However, the female joint on carbon fibre or glass rods can be breached by hairline cracks if joints are rammed into position, so make a point of never pushing these rod sections together.

Instead, when assembling modern day blanks, it’s better to misalign the rod joints by some 30-40 degrees and gently snug them into place by twisting until the guides/eyes align. As for dismantling rod sections, all that’s required is to twist the sections in the opposite direction while firmly easing then apart.

FITTING THE REEL

It sounds and looks simple enough to fit a fly reel onto your rod. Generally speaking, you simply locate the foot of your reel into the openings and using the knurled ring, lock said reel in place. Why is it then that occasionally a reel drops off during mid cast, which is obviously worse if you’re afloat?

Often, we rush and don’t completely lock the reel in place. Consequently, with the repeated action of casting, our so-called locking rings can work loose. It’s vital to secure the reel properly so no play is evident and if there’s an additional locking ring (as above), make sure this is firmly located too.

STRINGING UP THE ROD

Nothing appears more straightforward than actually stringing up a rod. Yet beginners are often confused by a number of things. Firstly, they assume a fly-line exits the reel spool from its uppermost edge to remain in line with the rod rings (picture 1). However, as we ultimately use the reel for line storage, such an arrangement causes the line to wrap around your hand or rod handle when casting or retrieving. Far better control is achieved when the line exits your reel from the spool’s lower surface (picture 2).

Another common mistake sees beginners threading fly-line through the keeper ring near to the cork handle (picture 3). As seasoned rods know, this is there to accommodate our fly when moving from spot to spot (picture 4).

Finally, as we often thread our rod up using the leader, often a rod ring can easily be missed with this invisible link, especially if we’re flustered due to hurrying because fish are rising. One surefire way of ensuring the rod is strung up properly is to double the end of your fly-line over as you’re now able to spot if any rings have inadvertently been bypassed, see main image (on page left).

ADJUST THE REEL DRAG

A question that always crops up is “how light or heavy should my reel drag be set”? Before discussing this, it’s as well to touch on reducing any drag on your reel between trips. This prolongs the life of mechanical parts in any reel’s braking system.

Obviously, prior to fishing we now need to adjust the drag so it’s not in free run to prevent the spool repeatedly spinning, which in turn causes fly-line to ball up and tangle (left).

Conversely, if you overtighten the drag, the chances are that your tippet will break when a trout charges off. Ideally, your drag should be tensioned so that – if you pull on line close to the reel – the spools turns freely enough without overrun occurring.

CONNECTING YOUR LEADER TO FLY-LINE

Many prefer the loop-to-loop method of attaching leaders to fly-lines as this offers a degree of versatility by allowing changes from floating to sinking tapers. While this form of connection appears trouble-free, there is a correct and incorrect way of forming this link.

The correct method is to pass the loop of your chosen leader over the fly-line loop before pulling the narrow end of your leader through the fly-line loop (right, top), which ensures the two loops are seated by interlocking them.

By mistakenly passing the leader loop through rather than over the fly-line loop, a noose is formed (right, bottom) that can cause hinging and subsequent poor energy transition between fly-line and leader, resulting in poor turnover.

HOW TO JOIN LEADER TO LEADER

When it comes to creating a leader, or adding tippet sections, several knots exist for joining lengths of monofilament to one another. One that remains reliable and is easy to master has to be the three-turn water knot (see below).

Step 1
Offer up two lengths of line that overlap by several inches. Note, if you prefer a longer dropper leg then take this into account by increasing this measurement.

Step 2
Using both these lengths of mono, form a loop. Pass the downstream ends (those in the direction of the fly/tippet end) through this loop three times before drawing tight. Remember to pull on all four ends to draw the knot up evenly.

Step 3
Having tightened, cut off both tag ends for a mono-to-mono connection. However, if a dropper leg is required, leave the tag end pointing towards the fly (downstream leg) long to act as your dropper.

DROPPER LEGS

Frustratingly, dropper legs have a habit of wrapping themselves around the main leader to create a tangled mess. A simple overhand knot (see below) makes dropper legs stand at a definite right angle, which in turn goes some way to preventing unwanted tangles.

Step 1
Create your dropper leg using the three-turn water knot (see above).

Step 2
Throw an overhand loop around the main line and take the tag end through this opening.

Step 3
Dampen the knot and pull tight by tweaking the tag end forwards, towards the fly-line end to lock it in place. The dropper now stands at a right angle.

ATTACHING THE FLY

For knotting on a fly perhaps the best known of all knots is the tucked blood knot (below). It’s vital not to take shortcuts here and make sure you include the extra tuck for a much more secure knot in all types of monofilament. Remember to take care when using fine tippets as this knot snugs down on the main line a fraction of an inch away from the hook eye and, when drawn tight, can cause an unsightly kink here that might even weaken your tippet.

Step 1
Pass loose end through the hook eye before twisting this round the main line four times.

Step 2
Double back tag end and take it through the opening between hook eye and the first twist of the knot.

Step 3
Now take the tag end through the large loop created when line was doubled backed.

Step 4
Moisten then draw tight by pulling on both the tag end and main line. Finally, snip away surplus end.

For more information, go to my blog <a href="https://lifeundersky.com/">https://lifeundersky.com/</a>.
Date:
Fri, 3 Mar, 2017
Fishing is good along the Miracle Mile, especially in the mid-to-late morning. It has been very windy though. Be prepared for winter conditions on roads. One option for great spring ... morefishing to avoid high winds is the Bighorn river (about 2 hr drive from Casper). We have fished well with a variety of flies. Try red San Juan, orange eggs, and brown and natural leeches.
Date:
Fri, 3 Mar, 2017
Fishing has been good on the Grey Reef with a mix a low wind and high wind days. To get away from the wind and find great spring fishing, also try the Bighorn. Fish are biting on purple ... morerock worms, orange eggs, and natural leeches.
Date:
Sun, 12 Feb, 2017
Still Hot Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report Incredibly, this week was even better than last week. Thus the still hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.... more

Upcoming Events-
- On-The-Water Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishng Seminar March 4. Click this link for more information... http://www.spottedtail.com/mosquito-lagoon-on-the-water-show-and-tell-fishing-seminar/

SuperBowl Sunday Fran and Christian Allen, fly fishers from Massachusetts, joined me for a cloudy half day on Mosquito Lagoon. We spooked all the fish off the first spot. We just could not see them.

The second spot produced a handful of seatrout, some of which were decent if not huge. Fortunately my anglers did not object to casting blindly.

At the third spot Christian got a bite. His response? "That's not a seatrout!" He was correct, as a 26 inch red had taken the fly. It was a short, sweet trip, and that fish was the culmination.

On Monday David Waring and his friends Ryan and Dan, all engineers from the Seattle area, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon light tackle action. Redfish, seatrout, and black drum, all on either DOA CAL Shad or RipTide Sardines, came into the boat in spurts all day long. Dan posed with a couple of his fish!

Tuesday I went scouting out of River Breeze. I did not find fish everywhere I looked, but I certainly found fish. The water is getting really low.

Wednesday Coloradoan Donald Nunn joined me, again on Mosquito Lagoon. It was the slowest day of the week fishing-wise, but he still got several redfish and a couple nice trout, all on my favorite artificial baits (see above).

Took Thursday off.

Friday Billy Vail, a fly fisher from South Bend, and Billy Vail, a student in Jacksonville, joined me out of River Breeze. We got trout and reds more or less continuously all day, with the best fish coming on the last cast of the day. The fish was a lovely 27 inch seatrout. If I could script every day that's how it would play out.

On Saturday Mic Lauric and his friend Brian, fly fishers from Atlanta, joined me for a day of kayak fishing out of a busy River Breeze Park. Somewhat inauspiciously I got the first two fish just a few minutes from the launch, a fine trout and a slot red, on a Polar Fibre Minnow. On the rest of the way to the spot I had in mind we saw very little. Even my spot was slow at first- all the fish were at the far end of it.

Without the gruesome details, they had at least three doubles. Mic sent me the following email- "Thank you. Can't wait to do it again. Please send pics when you can. We want to braggggg..." Flies were synthetic minnow imitations. The fish were definitely on the feed. There goes that they don't bite good on the full moon nonsense.

So, that is the still hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.
Date:
Fri, 3 Feb, 2017
Hot Mosquito Lagoon Fishing Report The year is young, but this week was the best fishing of the year. Thus the hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report.... more

The week started last Saturday with a kayak fishing charter with Mic Lauric of Atlanta and his cousin Patrick, from Houston. The day began as a search mission, and the search paid off, especially for Patrick. He got numerous redfish and a couple nice trout too. Mic also got a few licks in. One was using the DOA CAL Shad, the other the Riptide Sardine. They seemed to work equally well.

A cold front came through on Sunday. Monday morning found me at AutoNation Toyota with my brides car. They got me out early (just after 9 am!) so I went looking for shad in the St. Johns, launching at SR 50. A couple crappie, a fat bluegill, an anemic redbelly, a beautiful day and boat ride, but no shad. This year's shad run is shaping up pretty sadly for me.

Tuesday morning was cold but sunny. I paddled (and dragged) a kayak to the place where Pat and Mic caught their fish. For fly fishers redfishing and seatrout fishing doesn't get much better than it was on Tuesday. Sightfishing big seatrout with a flyrod is tremendous fun. They pull drag!!!

After releasing three trout in the seven-eight pound range the mischievous part of my brain wondered if I could get one on a gurgler. Good shots at four fish resulted in one crap-your-pants take and another seven or eight pound trout. They were all bigger than the reds, beautiful fish, the first time I've been able to sightfish them like that in a couple years. ---AWESOME---

Wednesday Steve Bartek and his buddy Vince, local gentlemen, joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon skiff fishing action. The weather was perfect, cool and sunny, almost windless. We found a spot with a lot of redfish and stayed there all day. Again, they were throwing the DOA CAL Shad and the Riptide Sardine. They seemed to work equally well, and they worked real well, about a dozen redfish worth not counting missed strikes.

Thursday, another beautiful day, found Mr. Tom Finger of Oviedo, FL in the Mitzi, again on the Mosquito Lagoon. Needless to say we started at the hot spot from the previous day. It almost goes without saying that it was not nearly as hot. After Tom got a red (DOA CAL Shad) the rest of the fish first got lockjaw and then vacated the area.

We went looking at a number of other spots, working hard but picking up several more redfish and trout too. At only one place did we not see any fish. Altogether a good day it was.

Friday morning I went scouting for a Saturday bass fishing trip. Wasn't I surprised (not in a good way) when I could not get the Bang-O-Craft up the Econ. The water is too low.

My decision to check Lake Harney was foiled by the same problem- shoaling and low water prevented me from reaching the lake, too. I put the boat on the trailer, drove it home, dropped it off, threw a kayak on the van's roof, and went to the Econ.

The water is low and clear, just gorgeous. For our friends in colder climes, the willow trees are leafed out and flowering, as are the red maples. With the quality of light now the river is Clyde Butcher picturesque.

Three hours later the kayak was returned to the van's roof. I did not touch a fish in either place, yes, slapped upside the head by the dreaded skunk. Loved every moment of it.

So, that is the hot Mosquito Lagoon fishing report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.
Date:
Fri, 20 Jan, 2017
Elusive Black Drum Fishing Report Upcoming Events -Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 25-30, Titusville, FL. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org... more

Sunday found me in a canoe with Mr. Roger Cook, gentleman and fly fisher from North Carolina. On a spectacular day we were looking for tailing black drum, a fish and behavior that had been plentiful the previous week.

They let us down.

We ran into another fly fisher, a young man named Nick Swain, who was out on a paddle board. He found some drum, not tailing, and caught one while we watched. I photographed him. He invited us to cast to the fish he was working, but we could not get a bite.

We found a few black drum in another spot, and got one on a wool crab. Even though we were out until sunset, that was it for the day. Tough day...

Monday Tammy and I Bang-O-Crafted our way up to Puzzle Lake, searching for American shad. We caught some crappie. We caught some sunfish. But we did not get any shad.

We ran into a couple other folks who had caught a few. One fly fisher called them "the fish of a thousand casts." Shad should not take 1000 casts. When they're around you often catch two at a time if you use a tandem rig. There just aren't many in the stretch between SR 46 and Puzzle Lake. Will they show? That's the question.

Wednesday I took the Mitzi across Lake Harney and fished the outlet, again for shad. Using crappie jigs I got three, nice ones all. It was still pretty slow.

Going upriver I tried again at the mouth of the Econ. I got two warmouth, nothing else. That was really slow!

I talked to a couple guys who told me their friend had been "killing" the shad near Mullet Lake, with 20 fish days. Perhaps I will check that out...

Thursday Roger Cook and I went looking for tailing black drum again. Although we saw a half-dozen or so, most of the fish were still schooled up in deeper water. Roger managed to get one of those fish to eat a fat brown sparkle crab. I could not get a bite, and ended up fishless at the end of another long, tough day.

Roger and I went out on Mosquito Lagoon on Friday. We used fly tackle, and got spanked. We saw some fish, but it was windy, and the water is getting dirty again. DANG!

We got exactly one decent shot, which we did not convert.

Did the wind stir goo off the bottom into suspension, or are the algae already growing again? Hopefully it's only the former. Time will tell.

So even though almost all the fish were elusive this week, that is the elusive black drum fishing report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.
Date:
Sun, 15 Jan, 2017
Some Good News Lagoons Fishing Report Upcoming Events -Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, January 25-30, Titusville, FL. http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org ... more

A cold front slammed us last weekend, cold, wind, rain, the whole she-bang. Monday afternoon the weather started to moderate, so I took the kayak to the St. Johns on a shad mission. It was slow, but in three hours I got two shad (one on a chartreuse shad fly and one on a pink crappie jig), a couple crappie, and a redbelly. There were hardly any airboats, a lovely afternoon all together.

With charters coming up I went to the Mosquito Lagoon on Tuesday for some scouting. Wasn't I surprised- the water was pretty clean in places! The bad news is lots of the seagrass is gone. Hopefully the water will stay clean and the grass will come back.

With clean water I could sight fish. The seatrout were sunning in a lot of my favorite spots, nice fish in the 20-inch-plus range. Redfish were also ranging on the flats. My current favorite lure, the three inch DOA CAL shad, was effective on both. I felt pretty optimistic about my trip the next day.

Wednesday Brent Chapeldaine and Tom Howell joined me for Mosquito Lagoon fishing. Out of the gate we hit trout, on the three inch DOA CAL shad. No surprise there. The larger fish had scattered some, but there were enough around that they kept three handsome fish. They also got quite a few redfish to about 24 inches. Basically we caught fish all day, a splended outing. Thank you for joining me, gentlemen!

Thursday was a Banana River Lagoon trip, with fly fishers Kevin Barnes, from Georgia, and his friend Jamie, from Pennsylvania. The word younger folks would use to describe the fishing is "epic." Tailing fish most of the day, calm winds, drizzly but not uncomfortably so, and the whole place to ourselves. Wool crabs worked well. Thank you gentlemen for the second awesome day this week!

Friday my old friend Kevin Linehan joined me for some fishing on Mosquito Lagoon. I wanted three trout in the 17-18 inch range for dinner, two for me and one for him. We caught a load of trout but did not complete the task, with one sixteen inch fish for Kevin and zero for me. Saw an honest-to-goodness school of redfish, at least 50 fish. They weren't happy, but it was the largest school I've seen in a couple years, a wonderful thing.

So we have clean water, sight fishing, a school of fish, good catches, some good news for a good news lagoons Fishing Report!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.
Date:
Fri, 30 Dec, 2016
Mixed Bag New Year's Orlando Fishing Report We fished the Mosquito Lagoon one day, and the St. Johns River two days, and the Banana River Lagoon one day. Of course results were a mixed ... morebag. And Sunday is New Year's Day! So we have a mixed bag New Year's Orlando fishing report!

Best wishes to all for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2017!

Monday around noon I went launched the Bang-O-Craft on the St. Johns. Son Alex and John Napolitano were with me. It was warm and sunny and every airboat in Florida seemed to be there. Fish were popping fry minnows all over the river.

At the mouth of the Econ there was a paddling fly caster who steadily caught 12 inch bass on a small white streamer. Since there were three of us we refrained from joining him and went farther up the Econ. We found breaking fish up there but they weren't taking our flies very well. John and I each got a crappie.

We went back down the river and the other angler had left. We took his spot. Fish were breaking steadily. Using a fry fly I did some damage! Bluegills, bass, and my first shad of this season all succumbed to the fry fly's charms.

When the action slowed we went down the river, where we found another spot with breaking fish. Again, the fry fly did some damage, taking some reasonably large bass. The other fly that worked extremely well was a #10 white Gurgler, a silly little fly. The fish liked it, though!

Fry Fly
hook- Daiichi X510, #10
thread- Danville flat waxed nylon, white
wing- craft fur, light grey, light tan, or cream
eye- Witchcraft 3-D, 5 mm

Start the thread. Cut off a clump of craft fur and pick out most of the fluff. Tie it on to the hook, smooth the head, and whip finish.

Glue the eyes on with Zap a Dap a Goo or Duco cement. After the glue dries, coat the head with Softex.

Since the fly is small, you'll catch some very small fish with it. Some surprisingly large fish will take it, too. The hook is on 3x thick wire, so it will hold a good fish without issues.

You can see how to tie a gurgler here http://www.spottedtail.com/how-to-tie-a-gurgler/. Since the #10 is so small I use hackle fibers for the tail and the tying thread for the body- simple!

On Tuesday Greg Scible and Caleb Cousins joined me for some Mosquito Lagoon light tackle action. Unfortunately the action part was fairly slow- a couple trout and small reds. We started fishing the spots that had been so good to me last week- not so good this day. We tried Deadly Combo-ing for trout. We got a few fish but again, pretty slow.

We checked out a couple spots where I had found fish last week. Caleb got a slot red on a DOA CAL Shad. We Deadly Comboed again and got a few short trout. We tried soaking cut mullet in two spots where this worked wonderfully last week. Not even a catfish this day. I cranked the motor to move, and it pooped out. It would not start again.

I had them start fishing while I thought about the problem. They started hitting trout immediately, again on the Deadly Combo. Most were short, but a few were slot fish.

In the meantime I checked the in-line fuel filter. It looked fine, but there must have been some debris in it. When I reassembled it, the boat ran fine. We kept fishing though, and got a bunch more trout.

We ended the day with six reds and about 30 trout, not bad for a slow day.

Wednesday at 8 AM I met Paul MacInnis at the Space Center Badging Station. He got me a visitor's badge and off we went to the Banana River Lagoon. We had perfect paddling weather- no wind, no clouds. We paddled a long way before we found any fish, though.

The fish we found was a school of large black drum. They were way more interested in each other than in our flies, as we did not get bit.

We got a few small trout, though.

We found some smaller drum. I got one about seven pounds or so on a crab pattern.

I later got a small, beautiful nine-spot redfish on the same fly. Paul got a fish here and there too.

Some kind of rooted vegetation is beginning to grow on the otherwise barren sand bottom there, and the water is quite clear in most places. Perhaps it was just an off day, but it was pretty slow fishing-wise.

Thursday afternoon I went back to the St. Johns, by myself, by kayak. A short distance from the boat ramp there were breaking fish. My first two casts, on the little gurgler, each garnered strikes from 12 inch largemouths. Before leaving that spot three strikes were missed and two more bass released.

The spots that had been so hot on Monday were not on Thursday. Apparently the fish are following the moving bait.

No shad or crappie were caught, but bluegills and a couple more bass rounded out the catch. All fish were released to make more fish for the future.

Thursday night a cold front came through, putting the kabosh on any thoughts of fishing Friday.

So that is the Mixed Bag New Years Orlando Fishing Report! Have a great holiday!!

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short- Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com
http://www.spottedtail.com/blog
www.johnkumiski.com
www.rentafishingbuddy.com
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jkumiski

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2016. All rights are reserved.
Date:
Mon, 19 Dec, 2016
Wow, the past few weeks on the Trinity have been extremely good to clients. While others have been working hard to find fish, we have consistently hooked a half a dozen adults on a ... moredaily basis, with my last 2 days up there hooking 16 adults and landing 8 of them, this being right after the big rain last week. This recent storm has blown the river out again, but as I type it is already back into fishing shape. What does this mean......time to get up there and hook some chrome. We are still finding some willing fish to take a swung fly, but its all about right place at the right time, as well as water temps. This last rain storm did help bring the water temps up slightly. The indicator with nymphs below has really been cleaning house, and if you have the right flies, the right drift and the right float, there can be some epic fishing. Look for the Trinity to be the go to steelhead fishery for the next month or two, especially if you want to get away from the crowds, and try you hand at swinging.

Flows:
Lewiston - 300cfs steady
Bucktail - 500cfs and dropping
Douglas City - 775cfs and dropping
Junction City - 1600cfs and dropping

Nymphs: Stones, Psycho Princes, Eggs, Worms, Copper Johns
Swinging: Ho Bo Speys, Bread Crust, anything black/blue
Guides Tip: "Be the report, dont believe the report!!!"
This will be my go to steelhead fishery for the next 3 months