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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORT
March 1, 2001
The water remains at 34 inches low, although I do expect it will rise an inch this week. We had a bit of rain on Sunday, the 4th, and that MAY bring it up some. You are advised NOT to try and take pontoon boats in at all. I suspect you will be forever hung in the stumps just outside the ramp area. If the forecast calls for STRONG winds, especially from the south, west, or NW, you are advised to consider not trying to traverse the stumps in a glass boat. A heavy chop on the water is going to take you UP and drop you DOWN on some of those stumps. The brush and limbs are OK, but the stumps will crush the hull, and the wind and waves will certainly up those odds tremendously.
Some of the levees in the farm can be hit now. It is best to idle over them. DO NOT get on the CORNERS of the intersections of the canals; you will ground out. Saw a guide with 2 customers Thursdays afternoon who grounded. Guess who got out and pushed them off. (Hint: it wasn't the guide).
The next day, the SAME two guys who had been with the guide, plus another person fishing with them, nearly had a tragic accident. They came back to the exact SAME spot and, at a good 60 MPH, proceeded to hit that 6-inch deep area. The motor flew up with such force (and, I expect the driver was just starting a turn to the right, too) that the boat actually did nearly a 360 degree spin around and almost flipped. I already had my trolling motor up to head for them when I saw the boat land upright with all three still inside. This ain't play, guys! Someone is going to get hurt BAD, if common sense doesn't prevail in this low water condition.
Two ways to get to the rim canal from the launch area. George uses a slight right-hand angle from the opening in the trees to go out just to the right of the tall palm trunks. He goes out far enough to them take a 90 degree turn and go to the rim canal opening. It works pretty well. I tried it yesterday and I believe it is the best. (I used that path last year at low water, too.) Another way is using a half moon arc to the left that takes me along that left side grass line and brings me to line with the rim canal opening but about 50 yards out from that left hand point. There is a line of very hard stumps that come off that point going west for 30-40 yards. Be careful!!!
Fishing is sure picking up on artificials. We found spinnerbaits and the shallow runners, like a Swimmin' Image (see photos) , to work very, very well in the past few days. Bright colors, like green and chartreuse, seemed to produce best. Our success came from keying to holes in grass that grows along the various submerged canals, as well as any pockets that allowed the lure to be tossed back into the grass mats. It was also good to run a Trap parallel to the grass line and right over the deeper water of the canal. We caught a lot of grass with the Trap, but we caught good fish, too. The nice thing is that ALL these fish are running 3-4.5 pounds. The bad part (if you can called it that) is that none have been over 5 pounds.
Shiners are still getting a few giants and a lot of smaller bass. But, the condition of the fish is starting to make me wonder about the use of shiners. The bass a dumb as a rock and will NOT let a shier good by. I have caught the SAME marked bass THREE times in one day on shiners. What is happening is that their mouths and jaws are getting ripped to shreds from being caught so much. I have seen some that had a right or left upper jaw completely missing. There has to be a mortality rate associated with that continual catching.
The crappie are three weeks behind on spawning. Actually, it may be that I just have not found them on the beds. But, I doubt that. I have looked and I DO know where to look. I can't explain it. There are still plenty to be caught along the edges of most of the grass near the old zones that have wood. But, I just have not come across the normal massive schools that eat the lure every cast. Hopefully, we will find them soon. We did stumble upon the best concentration of shellcrackers I have seen in a long time. Some were as big as crappie and really stretch your string. Shellcrackers usually spawn earlier that bluegills, so that's what may be starting. Plus, shellcrackers also spawn about the SAME time as the crappie. Could be an indicator.
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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