|
|
FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORTS
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE and come back often to see the latest detailed Stick Marsh fishing reports available.
April 16, 2005
STICK MARSH FORECAST FOR THE REST OF 2005
Things are all stabilized in the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment. The effects of the 2004 hurricanes have actually not hurt the fishing at all and, in some cases, have made it better. The patterns for the rest of the summer, and into the fall, are established. Only one is yet to emerge.
NOTE: Before we go further, it is important that the reader understand the term 'structure-based impoundment'. 'Cover' and 'Structure' are two entirely different terms with entirely different meanings.
Cover provides concealment for all aquatic life and their prey. It is primarily grass and wood on our impoundment. Structure, on the other hand, is something that gives shape to the bottom. It may be a high spot, depression, submerged levee, the edge of a drop-off, the sloping side of a canal, etc.
The hurricanes made one BIG change in the way we fish the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment.
Where it was once approached and fished primarily as a grass-filled lake, it is now approached as a timbered and structure-based impoundment.
This has changed the locations for finding fish by reducing them to primarily: those where there are timber remains (all of the Stick Marsh portion and the south end of Farm 13); and, the submerged canals and levees of the Farm 13 portion (drop-offs, edges and shellbeds).
With the widespread grass that existed prior to the 2004 hurricanes, the fish could be found just about anywhere the grass existed (90% of the impoundment). We simply targeted grass until we found the right location (i.e., healthy, oxygen-producing green grass, clean water, and baitfish activity). Today, we target the wood remains and the submerged levees and canals (hard structure features). These methods of finding the fish will continue through the rest of 2005. Sometime late into the summer 2005 season, we expect to find small, submerged grass beds starting to emerge. But, the grass is not expected to reach the surface again until late summer of 2006.
This has also changed the options for lure selection. When the heavy grass existed, we were generally limited to something adaptable to the grass patterns (submerged, surface mats, holes in the mats, etc.). Now, the options exist for the use of virtually any lure. Crank plugs, which were once continually fouled by grass, are now the primary lure of choice in the wooded zones. This is followed by soft sinking jerk baits (like my RIPPIN' Stick), spinnerbaits, worms and even some jig/pig rigs. Out on the canal structure, the Carolina Rig still remains the primary lure choice, with lipped crank plugs being a fast 'run-and-gun' approach to finding a concentration of fish. Recently, I have also taken some large bass on a ˝-oz. jig with a plastic trailer off the shellbeds on the submerged levees. Topwater action should also kick into gear soon.
There is one other approach that will be starting before long and that is surface schooling activity. With no place to hide, the baitfish are currently in big schools and the bass are following them and feeding at will. Soon, the bass will start running those baitfish to the surface and busting them good. That is going to make for some exciting fishing, you can be sure. Rat-L-Traps, topwaters and jerk baits will be eaten quickly when tossed into the breaks.
Crappie, without their beloved grass to hide and feed in gone, will 'return to their roots'. Basically and open water, social fish, the crappie can be expected to be found in large schools out in open water. Finding them may prove a little difficult at first. But, we found what I think will be the best approach as early as last November. Nearly all fish key to structure features, with crappie schools being no exception. Last fall, we found we could consistently catch them by drifting minnows and jigs along the outside of the submerged canal levees. In some cases, the fish were in the submerged canals, themselves. But, most times, we simply stayed right along the outer edge of the levees. This will take attention to the depthfinder and some creative use of float markers. But, it will work.
Bluegills and shellcrackers will bed in the shallow wooded areas and the shallows near a shoreline. If the water clarity permits, you may be able to see the saucer-shaped beds. If not, it will require searching. They bed primarily May through June. After spawning, these fish will also school. In the past, we always found a lot of them in the submerged canals of the farm. We simply anchored on a submerged levee and fished crickets or redworms right in the canal, itself. It might take a little while to draw them to our baits. But, once they came, the continued to come and come. It was sort of like chumming.
Ok, that's what I think its going to be like for the rest of the year. If 50 years of experience is of any help, the odds are good I may be right.
APRIL 9
The month of April appears to be taking up right where March finished up -- LOTS of bass and MANY GIANT bass cartwheeling through the air, blowing water in every direction, and thrilling a lot of anglers. Just about every guide working the Stick Marsh is being very successful in putting his/her clients right on fish. A really super aspect of this grand fishing period is that there are so many big fish in each daily catch. Where we used to say that you could generally be assured of at least a 6-pond bass in a day's fishing, that has changed to 7 to 8-pounds for the time being. Lots of 9-pounders, too. As is the normal case, the 10-pound (+) fish are not as prolific, but we do see them on a regular basis. The recent 11 lb. 14 oz. monster is still the largest of the season, so far.
The old timbered areas of the south end of Farm 13 continues to be the hotspot location. Some bass are right against the rear cover wall, while most appear to be 300-600 meters out to the north. But, so long as there's wood beneath the surface, there are bass. Pick your lure -- I like a shallow crank plug and the RIPPIN' Stick in Junebig and Green Pumpkin. The fish seem to like them, too. Many are using live shiners and slow-trolling them across the wood with great success. It's a very effective, but expensive, way to fish.
It is important for all to realize that the personality of the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impound has changed drastically due to the effects of the hurricanes. The big change is: It was once approached and fished as a grass-filled lake.
Now, it is approached as a timbered impoundment. That has changed the locations for finding fish by reducing them to primarily those where there
are timber remains. With the wide-spread grass, the fish could be found just about anywhetre the grass existed (99% of the impoundment). Before, we
targeted grass until we found the right location (i.e., heathly, oxygen-producing green grass and baitfish activivty). Now, we target the
thickest wood remains. This has also changed the options for lure selection. When the heavy grass existed, we were generally limited to something
adaptable to the grass patterns (submerged, surface mats, holes in it, etc.). Now, the options exist for the use of virtually any lure choice.
Crank plugs, which were once continually fouled by grass, are now the primary lure of choice. This is followed by soft sinking jerk baits like my
RIPPIN' Stick and then possibly spinnerbaits.
April 4, 2005
Mike Miles and Jerry Petty came down from the slowly warming area of Springfield, IL, to what the Stick Marsh had to offer. We planned to go with artificials, but packed a couple dozen shiners as a backup. As it turned out, we had to force ourselves to use the shiners!! The 4-inch RIPPIN' Stick just ate the bass up!
I had expected to go to the wooded area of Farm 13 and burn those little green crank plugs amongest the stumps. That is such a productive technique right now. Then, I figured we'd work the RIPPIN' Stick nice and slow down in the stumps for those giant bass. But, we decided to check a couple of shellbeds first.
We never got past the first shellbed. In fact, we spent the entire time there and never moved the anchor outside a 50-foot circle. There were so many bass on the large, clean shll-covered high spot that Mike and Jerry simply caught them at will. I expect a number of lures would have worked, but we opted for Carolina rigs with the 4-inch RIPPIN' Stick. That turned out to be a great choice, too. They ate them up. The bass showed no color preference at all, as we went through all the colors, plus a couple of new ones. All drew the bass like magnets. We even rubbed a little BullFrog suntan lotion on them a few times to prove that even that did not mater to the fish. Both Jerry and Mike also learned to 'walk the dog' all around the boat, only they used bass to do it. They found out that fish are so dumb, they will not turn loose of a soft plastic lure unless you scare the heck out of them. To save wasting those expensive shiners, the guys free-lined them across the shellbeds until; they just ran out. They ran out quickly, too, as the bass clobbered them. I don't know how many fish were caught - I simply lost count. And, the averghae size was right at 3-pounds. Great fishing in anyone's book!!
April 6, 2005
Bob Newman and his fishing buddy, David Wright, flew down from lower Maryland to see if the Stick Marsh was as good as they had heard. In fact, Bob works with a couple of Government civilians at a Navy Air Station with whom I had done some defense business a few years back. One of them had told Bob all about our guide service and the fabled Stick Marsh impoundment. They sure were not disappointed, either!
We planned to run that little green plug (the 1.3 oz. Big-O in FireTiger) down in the stumps and get some big bass. It worked, too. David got a 'biggy', but Bob lost his. And, it was even bigger than David's! After awhile, we started to use the shiners. Setting them three feet below bobbers, we simply drifted and let them swim behind the boat. That brought some great action and a good number of big bass, too. In fact, Bob got his giant bass of the trip on a shiner, while David got another to go with the crank plug fish he had already caught. It was a great fishing trip!
 
April 1, 2005
March 2005 has been one spectacular fishing period on the Stick Marsh!! It has actually been about as good as I have ever seen it in 14 years of fishing the place. And, the numbers of BIG bass, those between 7 and 12 pounds have been absolutely staggering.
Even without any grass whatsoever, most knowledgeable anglers have managed to locate patterns which produced well. Here are a few of those patterns in the southern half of Farm 13: slow-rolled spinnerbaits down in the wood; fast shallow crank plugs (Traps & lipped diving lures) in the wood and around the southern submerged levees on the N/S canals; 10-inch plastic worms, rigged with 1/16th oz. sinkers, worked carefully through the wood and on shellbeds; Green Pumpkin and JuneBug 5.5-inch RIPPIN' Sticks worked very slowly all the way from against the south shore to 500-600 meters out to the north; buzzbaits and the same RIPPIN' Sticks worked rapidly on top against the south shore; 4-inch RIPPIN' Sticks rigged Carolina-style on shellbeds and old roadbeds.
The south shore of Farm 13 is now partially running all the way back against the Zig-Zag canal levee. But, the majority of the rear section remains reed stands inundated with old vegetation and wood debris deposited there by the hurricane winds. For awhile, the bass were right against that south end, or within 100 feet of it. Thick as fleas and twice as ready to bite, too! Gradually, they have worked out and are now found in large groups out as far as that 500-600 meters. You can generally reference this northernmost limit by the very first stumps or wood you can see. However, beware -- the wood remains often starts well to the north before you can see the first stump. Don't bust an engine or hull. Start the idle early for safety sake.
The majority of our really giant bass have been on the slow RIPPIN' Stick soft jerk baits. However, our largest during March, George McGehee's 11 lb. 14 oz. monster, came on a mid-sized FireTiger Big O. I expect the spinnerbait, being a lure known for quality bass production, would have done a great job, had we just fished it more. But, it is not our favorite since we got on that soft jerk bait a couple of years back. Day in and day out, the sinking soft jerk bait is THE lure, both for QUANTITY and QUALITY.
After our last big rains a short while back, all the gates and pipes in the impoundment were running hard, as well as the exit gate that dumps water out of the impoundment and into the St. Joihns River basin. Often, this water ran very dirty (both with silt and trash). That stopped the bass bonanza on moving water, as well as blew the crappie clean out of the SE corner of the Farm. Remember, that SE corner has not only that big gate, it also has three pipes over to the east of it. With the gate and all the pipes open totally, the entire basin was a total torrent of fast moving water. All the pipes and the main gate are now shut, so the basin will be coming back to normal soon.
.We have been able to catch a few crappie by targeting the E/W canal that runs across the center of Farm 13 (coordinates 8, A-G on our interactive web site map (http://www.stickmarsh.com/stickmarsh/mapdet.shtml). If the water is clean, the PERFECT Jig in carteruse, w/blue tail, is the main producer. If the water is dirty, live minnows do best. Work the jigs within 3-4 feet of the bottom right in the canal, and the minnows just a foot or so off the bottom.
March 28, 2005
Frank Shelp fishes with us every year, just before ehading back north to his permanent home. Franks wants a really giant bass. Last year, we got his largest ever -- a 6.5 lb. beauty. This year, with his good friend Bob Nickademus, we set out to try again. I really am not sure what the issue is with getting Frank a real big bass. But, it appears we always catch a load of fish without managing that elusive giant. This time the shiners did not work well. But, the bass lined up to get that little FireTiger Big O crank plug. However, after all the foam and froth settled, we still had caught only 'fish'. Maybe next time, Frank.
March 30, 2005
Ken Booth wanted a family day on the water. That family amount to three generations of Booths, with Ken, his son Kyle (age 6) and grandpa Eric. With Spring Break in progress, Dad could get Kyle out of school for a day's fishing. It was Ken's desire that Eric and Kyle catch all the fish. And, they just about did, too!
We opted for shiners and the south end of the Farm for our half day trip. Setting the shiners out around a 'magic stump', two bass immediately gave Kyle his first taste of hooking and landing those strong Stick Marsh bass. He did it like a champ, too. The next fish, first suspected to be a catfish because he toyed with the shiners so much, turned out to be the big 'un of the day. Working towards 7 lbs., this old girl nearly took Kyle out of the big Blazer boat. As Kyle took two giant steps towards the gunnel (well, it was not really 'took' the steps; it was actually 'pulled' towards the gunnel!), I grabbed his belt and held him in the boat. It was all the small angler could do to hold this one! But, he gritted his teeth and held on. Sure enough, the old girls tired and went into the net. Grandpa Eric helped Kyle hold the big bass up and then turned loose just long enough for me to catch thre picture. Daddy Ken was beaming with pride. A goodly number more were caught, with Eric getting a couple of nice ones. But, no one beat Kyle. It was HIS day!!
 
March 31, 2005
 Tony Mills fished with us a while baqck and brought his teenage son. This trip, Tony wanted to bring his 7 year-old son, Loren. The object was for Loren to just catch fish. It did not really matter what kind, so long as the boy had a positive fishing experience. So, we figured we would try for crappie and catfish, and then go chase some bass.
Taking live minnows, we went to a potential crappie location. With all the dirty water and current at the Farm's SE gate, we had lost most of our crappie resources, so we had to find some more. As fate would have it, the vegetation mats we set up on had no crappie, but they did have an abundance of channel and white catfish. We lucked out there. Plus, those cats are really great eating. So, we hunkered down and let the minnows and catfish go there job on Loren. Boy, as soon as a bobber went down, Loren was on those fish. He did great and pretty soon we had a dozen for the table, plus a big old Bluegill that wandered by. We tried one other location for crappie, but found only one lone fish.
We decided to target the bass next. With about two dozen good shiners in tow, we headed to the south-center portion of the Farm. I opted to slow troll these shiners over the submerged wood, as they had been doing very well that way the last couple of trips. Letting boat start drifting with the wind, I rigged out the first shiner about two feet under a bobber and cast it out. As I was getting the second shiner in the water, Tony noted the first shiner being chased and then taken by a big old bass. Grabbing up the rod, he gave it to Loren. It was a bit tough on Loren, as he is really a small kid at present. But, he put the butt of the rod under one arm, got a grip on the upper rod and started cranking for all he was worth. Man, these Spring Break kids can do the job. The bass was nearly as big as Loren!! Working on along, the shiners continued to produce, as well as did the little green Big-O plug. I am not sure how many bass, Loren wound up reeling in, but it was enough that he finally got tired and was ready to call it a day. Besides, he was all excited about getting those catfish he'd caught hjome to show Mom. It might also have been that she was going to cook them up a fish-fry that nigh, too. Tony was a proud Dad, as he should have been. Between his two sons, Loren and Corey, he has some might fine children!
Today's Weather for
the Stick Marsh Area
Past Stick Marsh Fishing Reports
Farm 13 / Stick Marsh Information Guide
Email questions to jporter@jimporter.org.
|
Recommended sites by The Fishin' Tipster |
A common question that we get: "Is there somewhere close to get bait and tackle?" This is where we get our bait.
Pete and Tina Heinz / 9 South Mulberry St. / Fellsmere, FL 32948 / 772-571-9855
Get your site listed here
Let us help you drive more targeted traffic to your site.
|
Rank our Site
©Copyright 2001-07 All rights reserved by Jim Porter, any reproduction, quotation or other use of this site or its elements is prohibited without the express written permission of Jim Porter
|
|
FROGG TOGGS RAIN GEAR
THE BEST PRICES AVAILABLE!!
|
|
