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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORT
JULY 2001
July 26, 2001
Fished the last two days in the PM. One was with Sunny Wells, who has moved here from Lake Fork, TX. He visited a year ago and we blew his mind at the Marsh, so he up and moved in to be on the banks of this great fishing hole. Sunny has a lure called the 'Tail Kicker', which is really neat and we'll be discussing it more on our site soon. It is made in Mississippi by RedNeck Lures, I believe.
The water is OVER normal level by about 20 inches right now. But, it should ease back down as the extra water is dumped out into the St Johns marsh. The gates are all running, though the main SE gate is now only medium flow. LOTS of fish in front of it. Many are on the backside of the cable barrier and busting shad along the walls of the gate. The 3 pipes on the other side of the basin are also open and the fish are just stacked in the eddies of that side. The best place is the point right in between the gate and the pipers. Strong eddies from both sides come right back on the point. Lots of fish running baitfish in that eddy. Had 2 bump the anchored boat yesterday while chasing. They lose all control when they get hot on that minnows butt.
The middle gate of the farm is only running from 7AM to 4 PM right now. Don't know how long that will be the schedule. Farm management, who controls the gates (and for whom I have a phone number - oh, joy) says they are burning a lot of diesel running the pumps on that middle gate and are trying to back off. Even if the gate is not running, the fish will be there if it has run in the past 4-6 hours.
The gate by the ramp is running most of the time, as it is gravity fed and requires no pump and fuel. Big crappie and tons of catfish are stacked in front of it. yesterday, I stopped in the north end of the Farm side and worked a spinnerbait and a topwater just to check. Took two real quick on both, so that may be the coming super fishing we predicted to happen when the water got up over the grass.
Another hot spot (actually two of them), so long as the water is moving, is the end of the levee where you go from the farm into the Marsh. The ends of the levee on both side of the big canal have fish working due to the current flowing across the drops into the big canal. Work until you find them. They are right on the drop, or just behind it on the top of the ledge.
With all this fresh water running and so much food, the fish really look healthy and well fed. Great color in them (see photo). I thought this picture was just good because the fish looked so great.
Lots of big brown floaters out there now. Watch them. No fast running and keep a sharp eye from the waves rippling over the logs.
July 23, 2001
Road was graded on Monday, 23 July. Water levels 20 inches ABOVE normal. All gates open and running hard. Had a half-day trip with Max Cleland, which was very successful. Fished moving water areas, but NOT the gates. Water coming from Farm side to the Marsh side runs around a corner and across the deep divider canal, plus a number of funnels. Good areas once you find them. Max was catching left and right, so he told me to fish, too. NEVER let the guide fish! He also gets the giant (see photo). But, Max had a good number of 3-5 lbers. Very fat from constant feed on moving water (see photo). Winds were 25-35 and gusty and light rain all day. When we started, at 4:30PM, we were the only boat on the impoundment. Such is life in a great fishing hole.
July 21, 2001
Famine to feast. Now we have too much water. The Marsh is overflowing (i.e., they are pulling it out the exit gate into the St Johns River Marsh.) Yesterday, we hosted Brandon Coleman and his friend Johnny, from SC, on the Marsh. All the gates were open and lots of fresh water coming in. The ramp and East Side gates were running dirty and there were no fish. The big SE gate had some fish, but not the non-stop every cast action we are used to. The word had gotten out though and there were 9 boats and an airboat trying to screw over each other just to catch a green fish. Lines crossed, cussing --. Two guys in a 12-foot V-bottom aluminum actually went right up in front of all the others and cut most of them off. A few choice threats later and the inconsiderate slobs got out. Because of the difficulty each caused the other, few caught fish. I suspect this morning (Saturday) is an absolute circus.
We worked a number of places other than gates yesterday and got Brandon and Johnny on some swimming worm fish. They know how to use it now and bought up a bunch of the baits before they left. (ordering information) Watch out SC bass.
Then, we went to some of the moving water areas away from the gates and found a lot of fish bunched right in the current. Brandon used a short C-rig with a 3/16 weight and a 7-inch worm to take a good number of them (see photos). His method was to cast up current and just hold a tight line while the thing bounced along the bottom. Whenever the weight hung on the bottom, he just let it sit there while the worm waved and rolled in the current. Very effective method. Johnny, who has been bass fishing only a month, had some trouble with that technique. But, he managed to let them know he was there.
During the search periods, we found the bass would blast a crank plug well in the current flow areas, too.
LOTS of floaters out there. Really have to navigate with care. And, if you go to the SE gate, you'd better go armed. It is amazing how rude fishermen can be to other fishermen. The result is/was that none of them did much good. But, guys like that probably can't catch fish any other way.
The storms continue strong and we are now over our average rainfall. Some flooding in local areas, too. Saw a funnel cloud as we left the Marsh yesterday. It was rotating well and very obvious, but never came down. A lot of those boats at the SE gate were still out. I hope the lightning storm that came soon did not get anyone. Fish are not worth it.
July 16, 2001
This afternoon, the 16th, I checked the entire impoundment, moving quite rapidly. When I got there, I was the only boat. When I came in there were 5 more out and all in the Farm side, it appeared. The road was graded today, as well, and is a 9 on a scale of 10. Really good shape.
All gates were running strong. There were a few fish on the input gate at the ramp. One was a very decent size. Lots of catfish in the current flow, as well. Crappie are there and can be easily caught once the water speed slows a bit. Found a good number on the gate on the east side of the Farm. Pretty dirty with grass, but the fish cooperated. I suspect they were just moving in as it was not a fish every cast. Maybe every 5th cast.
The big gate in the SE end of the Farm had no fish yet. It was running pretty dirty and usually has to clear up some to have fish. I expect another 48 hrs and it may be good on all of the gates (if they are open that long). The water is at normal pool and the grass is submerged over a lot of the areas.
I did a quick check of the Marsh side, out over the now-submerged wood, and had 3 blowups on buzz baits. That is good, but they did not seem to really want it, as they all missed the hooks for some reason. The grass is now a foot or so under, so a spinnerbait might have been better, or even a Minus-One.
On the Farm side, I went to the SW Nursery area (haven't been able to get in there in awhile) and used a white spinner bait and swimming worm rig in that wood to get 4 in a pretty quick period. That is a really positive sign!! I like that location. Monster bass city, it is. All the grass that was on the surface at the north end of the Farm is underwater, except for a few heavy clumps. Did not have time to work these, but the fish schools that have been working there should not have moved. As they adjust to all the fresh water, possibly the fishing will improve more. At some point, that submerged grass is going to turn on big time.
Beware of the afternoon storms. Florida is the lightening capital of the World and people die.
Also, with the rising water, there are a lot of floaters out there. Be VERY careful.
July 13, 2001
Afternoons of the 11th and 12th have been great. Two ladies on Wednesday afternoon made for a really great time. Janie and Barbara could just have well been named Harry and Charlie. But, they sure knew how to fish. Yesterday, we had two young teens as a birthday present from their Dad. They could fish pretty good, too. These 1/3rd day (approximately 4 until 7:30 PM) trips are producing about as well as full day. Decided to never say how many are caught again so the frustrated ones don't complain. Suffice to say, it was very acceptable both days. Rains came early, so it was cool and overcast after 3PM. No storms and no bright sun. Fish were extremely active. Floating worm, swimming worm and Pop-R. North end of Farm. Find them and they are easy to catch. Nothing over 5 either day, though. Each day, on the way in, we stopped on the crappie hole I came across a week ago. 1/16 oz green jigs do about as well as the minnows were doing. Remember, precisely 8-9 feet deep in the big canal. Once you catch one, work in a circle and you can pretty well stay with them. It is a bit hard to tell what you are seeing on the depthfinder. An important point to remember about open water crappie schools are that they school HORIZONTALLY. There may be a lot of fish, but you won't get varying depth readings IF they are crappie. A very dense, yet thin, return signal is a way to sometimes pinpoint them. However, they are constantly moving so it is hard to stay with them. What I have found about the summer crappie schools within the narrow confirms of a canal are that they appear to move in circles. Possibly, they are working from one side and then back to the other. Who knows until we get to talk to one and ask him about his fishy habits. Road is 6 on a scale of 10, with the rains having rutted it a bit in places. Water is now only 20 inches low and both the center and left passes through the grass are fine. Only 1-2 brush bumps and they are light. No fast running through there yet, though. Finally, watch for floaters. Lots of them about.
July 12, 2001
Water continues to rise. Now 20 inches low (up about 24 inches from its low point. Another 8 inches and we can run the wooded areas again. Can navigate to the rim canal with ease now. You can take either the center or right hand opening in the grass (see picture on earlier fishing report for specific path markings). Road is in good shape; probably a 7 out of 10 rating. Some new dirt added, so watch for it to be slick there during rains. The crappie we found are still there. Easy to catch in the main canal. Set minnow depth at precisely 8 feet. Bass are slowing in Marsh due to grass, but coming on in the Farm. Just pick most any area along the northern half of the farm and start with buzz baits and topwaters until 10 AM. Then, switch to Senkos and sinking worm rigs around the grass edges. Spinnerbaits work, but require that you find active fish. Some surface action early and late in the center canal section, about midway of the northern half. West side of Farm still good and getting better. Big problem now with safety. LOTS (spelled m-a-n-y) floaters coming off the banks with the rising water. Run only at a speed enough to stay on plan and be prepared to cut back if you see something
July 5, 2001
BIG rains! About 4 inches of the stuff today. Expect the water to rise a bit more. It was 22 inches low when I checked today.
At the request of a visitor coming to Florida to fish, I checked the Stick marsh for crappie action. I am glad to say they can be had fairly easily in the big canal between the Farm and the Marsh. I used live minnows at 8-12 feet. I would think small jigs will take some, as well. But, summer crappie are best chased with live bait. Anywhere in that 8-12 foot range produced a steady stream of fish. Most were small, by Stick Marsh standards, but their quantity made up for it. Crappie are a school fish, so you need to move until you find a school of decent size crappie. Another important thing about summer crappie is that they want the minnows to be moving. So, drift the minnows and don't sit still. It makes a BIG difference!! I used a #2 gold wire hook and a big split shot about 8-10 inches above it. That allowed the minnow to work around some. The heavier-than-normal weight kept the minnow down while I was drifting along. I used Fireline, rather than mono, and it worked fine. Crappie don't care about your line. Another point is that the bites were light, so tight-lining was the way to go. No bobber. Just watch the rod tips and you will see the bites.
July 3, 2001
The grass is fast becoming out of control. The water level is 24 inches low, but the rise is slowing as the rains slack off.
I was at the Marsh on the 3rd. The only other boat there was Hugh Crumpler. I noted the gate next to the ramp running out of the farm, so I went over to the rim canal and went to the gate. It was running very clean, which meant it had been running awhile. And, the bass had gotten on the back edge of the blow-out hole pretty good. Fishing those gates is sorta like cheating, but I 'cheated' for two dozen or so fish on a grub and a C-Rig. Then, 2 guys with an old white boat drove up in the parking lot, looked over and saw me catch a fish, went and launched their junker, and 5 minutes later they were within a rod's length of me. Their words were, "Have you been here long?" Obviously, with the manners of a couple of pigs, I can figure what their Mommas DID NOT teach them. I think I had caught most of the fish, so I gave them the place and blasted out. Guys like that need to be careful. I'm too old to fight them. But, old Bubba carries a .357 in his boat and you'd best not try to tie on to his boat. I am amazed at how bad some people want to catch a green fish.
Out in the lake, the Marsh side is so grassed, I am writing it off. It's too hard and there are other places to fish. On the farm side, there were fish all along the west wall canal. The northern half of that canal is VERY narrow and has some wood in it to watch for. But, the water from the canal to the west dike is about 3 feet deep and very fishable in the breaks in the grass. The grass and wood mean a lightly weighted Texas rig, a spinnerbait and a floating worm are most adaptable. I found no big fish there, but the small ones were abundant. The Texas rig did well when it was not hung in the grass. The south half of that canal is still a good spot for the floating worm. The lower end has some water now and the intermittent stump line seems to be the best place. Remember, that canal does not have its deepest water in the middle. The canal was dug like a wedge and the deepest water is right against the drop-off along that stump line on the west side. Odd, but true. So, hold the boat on the east edge and fish to the west.
I ran over a school breaking on the surface in the northern half of the Farm, just to the west of the center N/S canal. I only got one cast on them before they went down and the fish was 2.5 approximately. So, I worked around all the grass and tossed the floating worm and a Zara Spook into the grass openings and, low and behold, there appear to be fish out there away from the submerged canals. Mike Allen indicated he had found some just west of this location using the same tactics, so maybe we have a pattern until the grass gets too thick.
Let's hope we don't have that fish kill we have been dreading. I saw a lot of very gold and very red algae dispersed throughout the farm side. It looked very fresh and very healthy and that's bad (with two d's). Again, the rising water has brought a lot of floaters, which are lodging, in the grass. Run with care. Momma always said to be safe.
July 1, 2001
The water continues a slow rise in the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment. As of 30 June, the water was approximately 26 inches below normal pool. But, that is a far cry from the 44 inches we had for awhile. There are a lot of floaters coming off the banks, levee tops and other locations as the water rises, so watch for them. They skillfully hide in the grass mats, so take care running through them. Also, note that the grass mats are getting thick and have a lot of slime in them. This really blocks the water intakes on the motors badly. Pay close attention to your water pressure gauges, or watch your water exit opening closely. If the exit opening is adjustable, turn it so that you have an easy time seeing it.
Coincidentally with the rising waters, the frustrations of many fishermen are rising, too. A sudden influx of fresh water has always had a negative impact on bass. And, this is somewhat true everywhere, unless the area has current flow. I can't say why it happens, but it sure seems to slow the bite down. That, coupled with all the exploding vegetation growth is causing fits with many anglers. I get 2-3 emails a day asking 'What am I doing wrong? I just can't catch them."
First, you need to know that the 60-90 day boom of great fishing in the Stick Marsh wooded areas is about done. The fish are still there, I believe. But, the grass is on the surface and makes fishing topwater and buzz baits extremely difficult. Flipping may be an option, but the boat hits so many now-invisible trees and limbs, that it is dangerous to stand and fish. I did catch some two days ago in the wood, but had to use a floating worm. And, even that was slow. Buzz baits had their blades clogged with slime on every cast, so they were useless. There is some open water at the extreme west end in the coordinates B-5 and B-6 area, but it is hard to get back there. The water is still a bit low to allow the boat to get past the dense wood remains just under the surface. The best route to get there is to head for the Twin Palms reference point (approximate coordinates C-12) and work back carefully from there. You will see a few patches reeds (thules) growing in the open water on that west end and that is how you will know you are far enough.
It was just too hard to fish the Marsh, so we (gentleman named Gene Stump was with us that day) went to the Farm side and worked around. The grass is getting pretty heavy over there, too. The entire Farm is about 50 percent covered. The canals are just about unfishable, except right in the middle of them. But, you can toss that slowly sinking worm along both side and just wait them out. They are right there, under the edges of the grass. When you get a fish, stop and work the area slowly and thoroughly. The bass school in the Farm during the summer. Don't take the chance of missing a school. It can be a quick 20-30 good fish.
The gate at coordinates G-4 was running again, but had not been on long. Hugh Crumpler and Gary Clark were working the outflow, but it was too early and the fish had not gathered. The big gate in the SE corner has still not been open to date and that sprayed vegetation is making a mess of it.
Gene and I wound up on the far west side in the canal that approximates coordinates B-2 up to B-4. Here we found very clean water and the grass now submerged well. The slowly retrieved floating worm took some fish, but none of any size (see photo). We also ran into school of small Goggle-Eyes (Warmouths to you purist folks) that really made us sit up and take notice. They must have been spawning because they were absolutely ferocious about protection their area. They would hit anything that came near them and keep hitting it until you got it out of there or they hooked themselves.
One other area deserves a look, but I did not make it that far. The big flat in the vicinity of F-2 and F3 is a large area of submerged grass. It is not at the top too bad right now and the rising water may make it better. There is now about 4 feet of water there. Last year, this was a fantastic place for topwater and spinnerbait action. It may be the ace-in-the-hole while this grass is coming up so fast.
NOW AVAILABLE: We just finished the first version of the Farm 13/Stick Marsh section which provides history, current conditions, current fishing reports, special information topics, AND an interactive map. The map, a creation of Bryan Hague of Fishing-Hunting.com, allows you to point to a section of the impoundment and have a pop-up window appear with the information about that section.
Today's Weather for
the Stick Marsh Area
Past Fishing Reports
Farm 13/Stick Marsh Information Guide
Email questions to jporter@jimporter.org.
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