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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORTS
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE and come back often to see the latest detailed Stick Marsh fishing reports available.
May 20, 2005
THE GENERAL ROLL-UP OF EVENTS AND CONDITIONS
(You will find that May is going to be a very abbreviated month. We decided that we were getting too much of that Florida sun and possibly a bit more fishing activity than a 65-year old body is supposed to handle. Consequently, we booked very few trips for may and will leave the guiding to the younger crew for awhile.)
May picked up where April ended with awesome fishing still continuing at a blistering pace. I am still amazed at the average sizes and the quantities of both bass AND crappie. The bass are still in the wooded zones at the south end of Farm 13, but shift their preferred locations every so often (I would think this is in relation to the movements of the baitfish schools). For the most part, the better locations have been right in the center section, continuing to both the east and the west of the center ditch. The larger bass appear to be near the outer edges (north end) of the wooded zones. Using the interactive map on our web site, the primary area is a rectangle bounded by four coordinates: F2, F3, C2, and C3. The same lures we have been using all year (1/3rd oz. Big-O FireTiger crank plug, blue and silver Rat-L-Traps, our own RIPPIN' Stick soft sinking jerk baits, and lightly weighted Texas rigs using the same RIPPIN' Stick) continue to produce well. The scattered shell beds on the levees of the Farm's east/west ditch are still awesome, when you happen on to a school of bass. Otherwise, it is a 'run and gun' situation where you get from 1 to 6 fish off a location. The best shell bed method has been the 4-inch RIPPIN' Stick rigged in the Carolina style. Work the shell beds thoroughly, in that it appears the direction of the retrieve is sometimes a deciding factor. But, once you get them going, these bass will feed wildly. The best concentration of shell beds is coordinates C4 to D4.
We have also had some great success over in the Stick Marsh side, working the western half with the unweighted RIPPIN' Stick and the 1/3 oz. Big-O (coordinates B10 and 11 to C10 and 11). That western portion of the Marsh side is full of submerged brush and a few stumps, so take care there. Keep in mind that, as the summer water levels get lower, the soft jerk bait down in that brush will be better and better. We also found a few breaking bass in the Stick Marsh. But, they are moving rapidly and difficult to catch, unless they break within casting range.
Crappie are very scattered and drifting the open water with minnows is still the best approach. It appears that most are using th4e approach in the north eastern section of the Farm. I suggest keying the drift to the outside edges of the submerged levees. There is no grass yet, so any old lodged drift logs may have some crappie around them, too.
May 3, 2005
Brothers Don and Charlie Lane are no strangers to the superb bass fishing of the Stick Marsh. They come down each year and fish it with us. In the past, we have had excellent trips, with lots of bass and at least one real trophy per trip. This outing was to be no exception, except there were more trophies taken!!
This time, Don set up our annual date and advised that they brothers were bringing their Father along. And, Don senior proved he could handle those fish, too.
With our little green plugs tied on and a few shiners for backup, we headed to the south end of Farm 13. There were already a number of boats in the area, but we noted they were fishing too far south for the really big bass. We have been doing great just north of the very last stickups and stumps that be seen on the north side of the wooded area. This day proved that we were still right on the ball, as we immediately came under attack by the fish. They DO like that little Big-O plug!! And, of course, they cannot resist the natual allure of a wild shiner.
Everyone caught big bass this day, as the pictures show. Don Junior wound up with the giant of the day, at just over 9-pounds. But, Charlie and Don, Senior were not far behind him.
 
April 30, 2005
THE GENERAL ROLL-UP OF EVENTS AND CONDITIONS
April finished up as a wild, awesome fishing period. If I ever had the thought that the lack of grass would hurt the Stick Marsh, it certainly has been dispelled by the absolutely GREAT fishing. Bass days averaging 50-60 fish, a dozen, or more, over 5 pounds per day (wait until you read about Frank Simmons, below!), limt after limit of huge crappie --- it has just been an angler's dream to fish here.
The specific lures we have used were the 1/3rd oz. Big-O FireTiger crank plug, blue and silver Rat-L-Traps, our own RIPPIN' Stick soft sinking jerk baits, and lightly weighted Texas rigs using the same RIPPIN' Stick. The RIPPIN' Stick was used in all colors, with JuneBug possibly having an edge. But, color really seemed immaterial, so go with your favorite. We even rubbed 90% DEET bug spray and BullFrog sunblock on our lures to prove the fish were dumb as bricks and didn't care about anything but eating. The catch rates always stayed the same, no matter what we applied.
On one particular day, we brought a coffee can full of old shallow-running plugs that we found in our old lure and equipment storsge. So long as the depth was right (4-6 feet), every one we tried produced. Among these were a number of original Bagley balsa lures, a small ThinFin, an original Rebel 'R' series lure, all manner of off-brand things, 4 Rat-L-Trap imitators, a few old Norman Baby N's, and some we just could not identify. They all worked fine. The fish could have cared less. We even fished an old LimberNeck spinnerbait with no skirt at all. It had disentegrated away into a blob of ruber or plastic or some such sticky mess, so we just pulled it off and fished it 'nekkied'. It actually caught a big fish @ 6 pounds? Who says color is a big factor? What I think this all means is that you can catch these Stick Marsh bass with about whatever lure you like, so long as it is adaptable to 6-7 feet of water and a lot of submerged wood.
Crappie have fanned out across the 6800 acres of open water now and are a bit tough to pinpoint. But, if you look at the April 24th entry, below, the tactic with submerged levees still seems to be the best thing. I predict that drifting the open water and levees with live minnows at the north end of the Farm will eventually be the best approach.
April 27, 2005
Bill Builta and Eddie Eggers are a couple of temporary visitors who are about to get 'permanent' status in Florida. Working as adjusters in the insureance field, they are here from out-of-state working on hurricane damage claims. We noted that the 2005 hurricane season was only a month away, at the time they fished with us. Bill then indicated he hoped no early storms came through, as he had not seen his Texas home since August 2004. I think we all hope there is no repeat of 2004!!
After trying to get into a fishing window where there were no storms or high winds, we finally got to get Bill and Eddie on the water. And, it was quite a day, as the pictures show. Each got a big bass and a lot of bass. We dragged the shiners behind the boat and tossed the 'little green crank plug' (1/3rd oz. FireTiger Big-O), finding the big bass more than ready to explode on them. Our streak of big bass in the 8-9 pound range every trip was never endangered by these two anglers. Gads, there are a LOT of big bass in that impoundment!!
We worked the south end of Farm 13 on this trip. I noted that the water is getting about a foot low in the impoundment. So, until we get some significant rain, we really must start to watch where we run the boat a bit more closely. There is a line of underwater stumps to the left as you come out of the opening in the trees near the ramp area. Be sure to run out that sump hole between the trees for 50 yards before you turn hard left for the rim canal. After you turn towqards the rim canal, go just left of the two white fiberglass poles that are affixed to a stump.
 
April 25, 2005
Frank Simmons is an aerospace engineer who just moved from the southern California area to Florida to work at the Cape. Since he is employed by Boeing, I assume he is working on launch systems and projects. When he left California, he sold his house and (shudder!!) his bass boat. It had been awhile since he'd been fishing and I think he was starting to get withdrawal pains!
Well, the Stick Marsh gave Frank one of those exceptional, but not rare, days when it all comes together. We set up on a shell bed and never moved the anchor for 6 hours. During those hours, I will guess Frank caught 100 fish. I really couldn't count them. But, the really exceptional thing was that 25-30% of his fish were 5-8 lbs. After a short period into the catching, it was apparent that he could anticipate that the next bass would quite possibly be a big one. And, often it was. There were no small bass (under 3 lbs.) that I recall, though there may have been a few. In the pictures, there are NO repeats. They are ALL of different bass. All the fish were caught on the 4 and 6-inch RIPPIN' Sticks, rigged Carolina style with a 1/2 ounce sinker and a 3 foot Fireline leader. We went through every color and found that color was absolutely immaterial to the catching.
How can one guy be so lucky?!? Frank had his day, for sure. But, I know another guy who sure is lucky. I am lucky every day just to be able to guide on the place and meet so many fine people.
 
April 24, 2005
THE GENERAL ROLL-UP OF EVENTS AND CONDITIONS
March and Apeil have so far shown a tremendous number of large bass. Where we used to state that a day on the impoundment would yield AT LEAST a 6 lb. bass, today we say it will be a 7-8 lb. fish. The bass are using the wood of the Stick Marsh portion of the impoundment and the wooded south end of the Farm 13 side.
Just about anything will take them. The primary lures of choice are shallow crank plugs, Rat-L-Traps, soft sinking jerk baits (our RIPPIN' Stick is a good example), and lightly weighted Texas rigs. Color seems immaterial, so go with your favorite. The shallow crank plugs would do well to have a square bill, in that those styles run a bit flat and will bounce off most of the wood below the surface. Choose one that runs around 4-6 feet deep. The mid-size (1/3rd oz) Big-O is a good example. Spinnerbaits will also do the trick, if that's what you like to fish. Keep in mind that there are 1000 (+) stumps below the surface for every one you can see above, so casting a visible wood is really not any more productive than just working what looks like open water.
Wild shiners are an awesome way to latch on to these bass, especially the giant ones. Without grass lines to set up on, still fishing the bait is not really the method of choice. We are hooking the shiners through the bottom lip and out through a nostril hole in the top. Then, we place the shiner, unweighted, about 5 feet below a bobber and drift him across the wooded zones. This is a very SLOW drift and we toss the artificials off the sides of the boat while we drift. Hooked through the lips, the shiner will swim along behind the boat like a dog on a lease. When a bass spots the shiner, and vica-versa, all heck breaks loose! You will need a reel with a clicker system (line out alarm) or you'd better just hold the rods. Otherwise you may get that rod jerked right out of the boat!
Crappie are a bit hard to pinpoint due to the lack of grass. The most consistent way I have found to get them is to drift minnows right along the OUTSIDES of the submerged canal levees of the Farm. You might also find them in the canal trace, itself, but you will also find a lot of logs deposited by the hurricanes.
April 22, 2005
Mike Saccone, Gordie Braun, and Dick Cushman are from NY State, although Gordie now resides in Florida permanently. Mike and Dick visit in the Winter to escape the cold --- but, they also come to fish the Stick Marsh. We have hosted these fine guys a number of times and are happy to call them good friends.
On their last trip, in April of 2004, Gordie Braun took the largest bass of the year, a 13 LB. giant, on a JuneBug Rippin' Stick. This year, with no grass left in the impoundment, we opted to go with shallow crank plugs and a few wild shiners.
We worked both the south end of Farm 13 and the north side of the Stick Marsh. Both the artificials and the shiners accounted for fish, with big bass coming on both. It was a great day on the water, with plenty of action and flying fish. As fate would have it, each angler got a giant bass! They didn't reach last year's 13 lb. giant, but they were big, solid Stick Marsh giants.
 
April 21, 2005
Pete Fair and his lovely wife, Lori, lived in Palm Bay at one time. In fact, Pete worked across the street from where I was with the Harris Corporation. Now, the pair reside in Tampa, clear aross the state on the gulf coast. But, they remembered the Stick Marsh and wanted to come fish it.
And, fish it they did! With wild shiners and that little green plug (the 1.3 oz. Big-O in FireTiger), they had an excellent day! While 'quantity' was not the strong point of the trip, 'quality' certainly was. In fact, the first bass Lori landed was the giant of the day. When the dust and foamy water finally settled, a prety good number of fish had come to the boat. Lori landed another giant bass and Pete got his, too.
 
April 12, 2005
I recently had the oportunity to fish with a most remarkable young man. Steven Ingram and his brother, Dan, are from Canada and had never fished for bass before. But, they had read a lot about the great fishing in Florida, as well as seen numerous TV programs depicting big bass in the southern United States. Their Father is retired and lives down in the West Palm Beach area. So, when they planned a Winter visit to see Dad, they called about a bass trip on the Stick Marsh. Apparently, our guide service was a subject of discussion at the Toronto Boat Show and we were highly recommended.
When the pair got to Florida, Steven gave me a call to finalize the trip. During that conversation, he advised me that he had a physical impairment that might affect his fishing and wanted to know if I had certain equipment that would make it easier for him control things. I assured Steven that we would make it work.
It is true that Steven had a slight impairment. But, the young man also had one heck of a large amount of determination. And, Steven Ingram did better at fishing on the Stick Marsh than most others I know. He worked out how he would handle his rod, both for casting the little green crank plug, as well as how he could fight and land the big bass.
The bass immediately started in on the drifting shiners, with heart-stopping blow-ups and lots of action. Both anglers did well, with Steven showing he could hold his own. In fact, after catching a couple of bass on the shiners and plugs, he was no longer aprehensive about being able to handle the equipment. The average fish was in the 3.5 lb. class, with Dan getting a 7 lb. beauty and Steven a 5.5 lb. fish. It was certainly a trip I will remember for a long time to come.
April 11, 2005
Jeff Hay has a very nice daughter. I have never met her, but I KNOW she is a nice lady!! Why? Because she gave her Father, Jeff, a Stick Marsh fishing trip for Christmas!! Jennifer called me just before the holiday season and told me what she wanted to do. So, we took the old computer and made up a full page color gift certificate and mailed it to her.
Jeff lived in Canada, at one time. Now, he resides in the Miami, FL, area. One of his Canadian fishing firends, William Thomson, spends part of the winter in south Florida to escape the cold, so Jeff asked him to come along on our fishing adventure.
And, it was an adventure for these two anglers who had never fished for largemouth bass before.
We planned to use artificials, but carried two dozen shiners as a backup. Stopping on a submerged canal levee of Farm 13, I started to seach for an old shellbed that held fish in the past. Before too long, we located it using Carolina-rigged 4-inch RIPPIN' Sticks. The rough, washboard bottom was easy to recognize. But, the strike of a strong 4-pound bass was an even easier way to tell we were on target. Putting my rod down, I anchored the boat so both anglers could cast to the target shellbed. We never know if one of these locations will have one bass or one-hundred bass on it. Today, it was the 100 fish school!! Such is good luck.
After a few hours of non-stop action, I reminded the anglers that we had two dozen very expensive shiners in the bait well, and that we really should put them to use, too. So, I rigged up to free-line rods and we pitched the hapless shiners to the shellbed. None lasted very long, either. They were eaten about as fast as the RIPPIN' Sticks were. It was a different method with a different feel of a strike, but both guys caught on real fast. Later, after all the shiners were gone, we went back to the artificials until it started to get too dark to see well. During this entire fishing episode, I moved the anchor position twice, but never more than 20 feet in any direction. I don't know how many bass were on that shellbed area, but they never did run out the whole time we were there.
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.
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