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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORTS
For the month of June 2006
27 June 2006
Some may know I spend the summers in the WNC mountains to escape the heat of FL. While here, we have explored many lakes of the region.
Lake James (Marion area) showed us lots of smallmouths and a few largemouths. Big Fontana lake has produced smallmouth, largemouths and channel cats in abundance. The small lakes of the upper Tuckaseege watershed (Cedar, Bear and Wolf) have proven to be consistant producers of quantities of largemouths and walleye, although we get nothing really big.
BUT -- I want you to know about a rather obscure, little-publicized body of water with a tremendous fish population.
We had never fished Lake Junaluska, just north of Waynesville, until last week. I really thought it was off-limits, in that it is a Methodist retreat area. However, we found it was open to the public with only a gasoline motor restriction. Yep, electrics only. No problem. It is not a big lake.
We have now fished Junaluska three times. In those trips, we have caught 44 largemouths, 120 crappie, 3 yellow perch, 50 bluegill and 1 carp. The largemouths have all been under 2 lbs. The bluegills are bedding now, and are large and are aggressive. The yellow perch were just eating sized keepers.
The crappie, however, have been the real surprise. They ae easy to catch on the blue/chartreuse tail PERFECT jig, or probably most any other small lure. They average 3/4 lb. Most still have eggs, though not to the bursting point.
There are 3 ramps on the lake, with one closed due to raod construction. It appears a 4-wheel drive is needed on the others if your boat is a big beast like my 20 ft. Blazer.
I was surprised to find the lake so full of fish. I expect you will be, too, if you are in the area.
7 June 2006
Our good friend, Stan Daniel, advises that the current conditions are about the same in the Stick Marsh/ Farm 13 impoundment. The water is up just a bit, but still 20-24 inches low. Be careful out there! On our last outing on the impondment, we made a stop or two on the Stick Marsh side and caught a few fish on the small Big-O (little green plug) and the Green Pumpkin RIPPIN' Stick. Stan indicated that the bass have now started up big-time on the Stick Marsh side, with the Twin Palms area (now the Twin Stumps, since the hurricanes!) and the center-west end being the best bets. Randy Sanders reported that there were some good bass schools along the rim of the big canal that divides the Farm from the Stick Marsh, towards the west where the opeing is. He siad they were not breaking on the surface yet. But, a Trap and Carolina rig had produced a lot of fish just out from the point of the levee at the opening into the Farm. Our old firend and TV companion, John Fox, worked the bass over in a 3-day trip last week in the south end of the Farm. We recommended the area in the coordinates C-3 (see our interactive map on the web site). John called on the cell phone and said he did not find many bass in that area, so we walked him to some other landmarks to try other locations. He later reported that he finally got on the fish well, but they were closer to the center north/south ditch in the farm, just to the east of our C-3 recommendation. He also indicated that the water had gotten a bit too warm to keep shiners alive.
19-20 May -- THE ESPN TV SHOOT
Well, we finished out May 2006 with a couple of parties that had some giant fish in the 9 lb (+) range. But, the double-digit fish eluded us until the ESPN TV crew came to film in mid-May. We pulled out all the stops, left the shiners at the bait shop, and went to do some serious, for-real fishing!! Nothing but artificials and the intent to get that giant bass for the cameras.
Stan Daniel, a super guide on the Stick Marsh in his own right, agreed to provide the camera boat for the filming. We carried a camera man in our Blazer for the close stuff, while Stan did the back-off and varied position shooting. From looking over the raw footage, Stan moved that boat around like he had done the TV shoots all his life. Really great work!!
The first day of filming, we caught a LOT of bass, but did not get a true giant bass. Topwater, spinnerbaits, Texas rigged worms and jig/pig-type lures worked them over good. But, on the 2nd day, it was a whole 'nuther ball game. Stan and I set it all up before the ESPN crew arrived.
Nope, we didn't have to bring our own fish, like that crew from another un-named outdoor program did on us last year (we cancelled out on them and refused to fish a set-up show). Stan and I met at the ramp a couple of hours early and went out to locate the core concentration of the bass. We had noted other angler and guides catching 20-30 fish a trip deep in the wood at the south end of the Farm. We did that the day before, too. So, we did what the two of us have done successfully a number of times before - we simply moved to the OUTER edges of the wood line (to the north). Within 15 minutes, Stan had a 6 and a 5 on topwater, while I was popping them steadily on a spinnerbait and then on a 1/2-oz jig with a 4-inch RIPPIN' Stick trailer. Within an hour, we had defined a 50 yard circle that held a tremendous concentration of good fish.
Returning to the ramp, we saddled up the cameramen, the producer, the director, and the two guest anglers and headed back out. Upon returning to the location of the fish concentration, we advised all who had the need to take their heart medications. This time, we warned, the fishing was going to be for real --'Stick Marshing' at its best!!
Everything started with a bang. Fish came on the lures rapidly. Stan gritted his teeth as he positioned the camera boat, but could not fish. I know that hurt. Within 20 minutes, the giant bass came to the jig and RIPPIN' Stick trailer!! I felt her hit it on the drop and alerted the cameraman in my boat. He was ready and came up to get the hookset, the attempted jumps by the giant bass and all the action until she was netted and in the boat. ('Attempted jumps' is what the real giant fish do. They are simply too big to get their bodies out of the water in a true jump. What they do is get their head and about half their bodies up and then fall over in a wallow.)
With all the other fish caught, the giant bass made the film complete. So, we started teaching the cameramen how to do it. One had actually never fished, nor ever caught a bass. Believe it or not, he actually caught on to the Texas-rigged worm immediately and started to catch a fish about every third cast. The other guy was pretty good too, after he got a couple of strikes to learn on. Heck, even the producer caught one! Some of this ESPN fottage will also appear on a segment of the Outdoors Channel soon, we are advised. We will let you know when the programs, to include the earlier In-Fisherman filming, will air.
As of today, we are resting on a mountain top in western NC, where the 7AM temperature this morning was 42 degrees. We 'chicken out' of that hot Florida summer each year. So far, we are averaging about 25 bass a day from the small lakes of the upper Tuskaseegee River watershed. They are not large, as we are used to in FL. But, we can get a 2-man limit (10 bass) that will make 18-22 lbs, and that ain't bad for lakes at 4000 feet elevation. Next week, we hit the smallmouths in the Little TN River and Fontana Lake. We'll let you know how we do.
The following are the 1, 6, and 10 May fishing status updates that went out to our Update Email List (you can be on this list, too, and get concise water and fishing status of the Farm 13/Stick Marsh Impoundment 2-4 times a week; sign up in the top right corner of our web page):
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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