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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORT
BOOKMARK THIS PAGE and come back often to see the latest detailed Stick Marsh fishing reports available.
April 28, 2004
 THE GIANT BASS OF THE YEAR!!!
The last guide trip we planned for the 2003-2004 season and look what happened!!
Mike Saccone and Gordie Braun are regular clients with us. Last year, we were out 3-4 times. We all laughed and recalled catching two fish at once, both bass and then crappie. It was a real ball each time out with these great guys. This time, they brought along Dick Cushman. Dick was down to drive Mike back to his summer home in Cicero, NY. Mike had some heart problems that slowed him down this year, but it did not stop the fishing bug from biting him. We got the three friends out on the Stick Marsh and gave them the usual lessons in fishing the soft jerk bait. And, by golly, all three anglers got it right immediately and started catching bass. The water flew and the bass jumped and the topwater action was unreal!! Somewhere in the course of everything, Gordie got bite near the boat. I fgured it to be a 5-6 lb. fish, given the quick glimpse I got of it. I was so certain at the size that I telling Gordie to manhandle the fish away from the trolling motor and 'just pull him out from under the boat; that rod and line will hold him!'
Boy, did I feel like an idiot when I went to finally net the fish and IT WOULDN'T FIT IN MY NET!!! My gosh, I had been telling Gordie to just jerk the fish around like it was any other bass. None of use every suspected it was 13 lbs., the seasons largest caught. Well, Gordie just put the pressure on and dragged her out from under that boat. And, then, we all nearly wet our pants. What a monster bass!!! 30.5 inches long and 20.5 in girth. After I snapped a few pictures, I asked Mike to stand with Gordie and the big bass, but to get just into the foreground. That way, we would have a great perspective by which to see just how massive this fish really was. You can see Gordie's arm, not extended to make the fish appear larger, but folded back against his chest. Couple that with Mike in the foreground and the size of the fish is truly an awesome sight.
Even with this trophy of a lifetime in the boat and released, the day was far from over. The bass just kept going on the Stik-O right at the surface, giving us all a view of topwater action we would never forget. And, more good 5-6 lb. fish were caught.
In the final stats, Gordie, of course, had the biggie of the day. But, Dick had a great fish, as well. Mike had a couple in the 5-6 lb. range and may have caught the most bass, overall. I don't think Gordie minded that too much!
While this was the last guide trip we planned before our summer break, it may be that we will have to do a few more. The giant bass are still going at it and we have had some in the 9 and 10 lb. range while out 'fun fishing' with friends.
Hard Saying for the Day: TELLING THE TRUTH MEANS YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID!!
April 14, 2004
 MORE GREAT KIDS!
You gotta love kids and fishing!! I mean, the two just go together like coffee and cake!
I am still getting over the great time out with Alex Rice and his 6-year old son, Evan (see the 3 April 04 fishing report), when a call comes in from Jeff Neil. He has a pair of boys, 9 and 11, that he wants to have a quality fishing experience on the Stick Marsh.
Of course, I ask the normal questions about 'live bait or artificials', 'do the kids have any fishing experience', 'can they handle spinning tackle', etc. Jeff said Austin and Kurtis fish all the time and 'know how to do the deed'. I explain the concept and application of the soft jerk bait (Stik-O) and Jeff says that will be fine. I am always a bit skeptical until I finally see what expertise level we are working with.
But, with Austin and Kurtis, I could have just stayed at home. Heck, they didn't need a guide! All they needed was a boat to get to the bass!!
The guys put in a nearly nine hour day and there was never a word of 'going to the ramp', 'time to go home', 'I'm tired', or anything remotely resembling those remarks. Those kids fished! And, like Jeff said, they 'knew how to do the deed'.
Jerk baits started flying and bass starting coming over the side. Singles, doubles, big ones, small ones -- it was really a treat to watch the two youngsters go at it. If anything, their small stature was their only hindrance in dealing with those stout and strong Stick Marsh fish. Kurtis, the younger of the two, occasionally needed a bit of assistance when a good fish tried to go under the boat or into the motor.
Austin, on the other hand, just said he could 'handle it' --- and he did, too!! As we passed a series of stumps near a submerged canal trace, a bass in excess of five pounds darted from beneath the grass and nailed Austin's jerk bait. That is the good part! The bad part (almost) was that it was only 8-10 feet from the boat. So, there was Austin, with 5+ pounds of very fresh bass suddenly thrashing on a few feet of line. I must tell you that the youngster handled the fish like a champ and it soon found itself in the net.
The pictures included herewith tell the whole story. A beautiful day, a great crew to be out with, a proud Dad, and two happy youngsters --- it just doesn't get much better in my World!
Hard Saying for the Day: A CONCLUSION IS THE PLACE WHERE YOU GET TIRED OF THINKING!!
April 3, 2004
 It was a 'first' for me in the guide business - identical twins!
Dick and Bob Mohr live just around the corner from the Stick Marsh, hailing from the Space City of Titusville. Titusville is best known for two things: it is the doorway to Cape Canaveral and the Nation's space program and it is the home of the World's best redfish angling (Misquito Lagoon and the Indian River).
Dick called and wanted to do trip to the Stick Marsh and try out those big bass. So, we set up a date and got ready to give it a shot.
Our game plan called for a few shiners, with an afternoon switch to that marvelous soft jerk bait. It worked great!!
When you can get decent sized shiners this time of year, fishing with them is a real treat. From February through the end of March, the live bait always seems to be in short supply and those you can find are terribly small. Couple that with an obscene price increase for the critters and it just stinks.
But, we got lucky for Dick and Bob's day out, with Jeanne Middleton, at Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle (In Fellsmere), fixing us up with some really great 6-8 inch shiners. That size can be drifted with great success and all the Needlefish and Gar will usually leave them be. Plus, the bass love that size bait.
As has been the case for two months, the winds were very brisk, but a drift sock slowed us to the perfect speed. The bass ran the drifting shiners to the surface and blew them up with abandon. It was really a sight to see.
After running out of live bait, I took the two 'youngsters' down to the SE section of the Farm for some topwater blowups on the jerk bait. After my usual demonstration of how I work my jerk bait and showing the pair that a bass will not turn loose of the lure, we started to drift the submerged grass areas. The brothers caught on to the jerk bait technique pretty fast and the fish cooperated.
(Here might be a good place to explain the successful way to work that Stik-O soft plastic jerk bait. Personally, I work the lure with a constant imparting of motion. I am not retrieving very fast, at all. But, I do use a constant wrist action that makes the lure stay in motion all the time. I watched the action in a swimming pool recently and it is very interesting to see. I had thought the lure probably moved slightly like a Zara Spook, in its 'Walking the Dog' mode. The Stik-O does do this to a degree, but the side-to-side darting is minimized. It really appears that the lure is doing rapid hesitations and dartings and just quivering all over. Whatever it looks like to a bass, let me tell you it is the most effective lure and lure presentation I have ever seen. It is basically THE ONLY lure and technique I have used in over a year. It is so compelling to the bass that I get constant topwater action right through whole calendar year. November through March, usually not considered topwater periods, are great using this type lure and my action approach to presenting. There is not one of my many customers who will tell you that this is not true. They have all seen it and know full well how effective it is. BUT, not every one of the clients mimics this presentation method well. Some just can't get the rhythm correct or their wrists just don't hold up long. That has led us to the realization that there is NO WRONG way to fish this soft jerk bait. So long as it moves and stops, the lure catches fish. That sounds ludicrous, I know, but it highlights the fact that the lure has fish appeal in just about any way it is presented. Short jerks, followed by a pause, and then repeated works great. A pull-and-drop technique does well. Everyone catches fish with the thing and they usually develop their own presentation technique.)
When the sun finally got low in the west, Dick and Bob had caught their largest bass ever and the most ever on a single fishing trip. And, while there were no giant Stick Marsh bass caught, there were some darn big ones!! Bob wound up with big bass honors for the day and it appeared to be Dick who had the most. I just lost count.
A year or so back, we hosted Alex Rice, his young son Evan, and his fishing buddy Frank. One of the pictures, Evan with a bluegill and a 5 year-old smile, is still one of my all-time favorites. So, when Alex called a few weeks back, I adjusted my schedule so we could do it again! This time, he and Evan brought Mark, another bass club buddy.
Evan is now 6, going on 7. But, in the fishing department, he is more like 6, going on 16. He really likes to be out there. We made him the 'Shiner Captain', the 'Net Captain', and let him reel in about half the bass. He was a busy little guy! He was smiling all day, with that special look that only 6 year0olds with some missing front teeth can have. The only problem was Evan is still 50 pounds soaking wet and some of those fish were just too much. But, I have to give him credit -- he did get a five pound bass through all that grass and up to the boat!! I did cheat just a little and hold the back of his belt so he didn't go overboard, though.
All the shiners I found we poor excuses for even crappie minnows, so I only got a dozen, or so. Tina, at Palm Bay Fishing Outfitters, even handpicked me the best of the lot. (By the way, the supply and size have improved a lot now. Plus, there are a lot less anglers visiting the Stick Marsh, too). We had a few blow-ups while drifting the live bait, but not many that were hooked. I expect they were pickerel and needlefish picking at the small shiners. A few bass were caught, but nothing big.
As expected, the small shiners proved to be a little value. So, we switched to the dependable soft jerk bait. That was the trick and both Alex and Mark became pretty proficient with it in a short period of time and a lot of bass were caught. The gnats were bad, as usual, in that the winds laid down. So, we all donned our 'fashion headnets' and went at it. Mark got the 'biggie' of the day, pushing the scale close to 8 pounds, with Alex topping out between 6 and 7.
Hard Saying for the Day: PROFESSIONALS ARE PREDICTABLE; IT'S THE AMATURES WHO ARE DANGEROUS!!!
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Email questions to jporter@jimporter.org.
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