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FARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORTS
Report for the month of April, 2007
11 April 2007
Hopefully, the final major cold front of the year has now come and gone. Cold, we do not get. But, those winds that come with the front really ruin the farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment from a fishing perspective.
We were out on Friday, 6 April, and just got our trip in when the front blew through. By Saturday morning, the impoundment was a ‘lost cause’. Tina, at Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle, indicated a LOT of weekend anglers had purchased a LOT of shiners and headed for the Stick Marsh early Saturday. I expect a LOT of shiners got released by now as the muddy water and high winds sent everyone packing it in! I will say it again: Learn to interpret the weather; check the weather reports; establish a local point-of-contact that you can call for a fishing forecast. Do all that BEFORE you waste time and money trying to harelip a bass in the Stick Marsh. If the weather had beaten the place up, you will NOT catch much of anything.
On the good side, there is always Garcia Lake, just down the road from the Stick Marsh. That’s where we took our party on Saturday, after the front came through. The water, while low, was clean, clear and full of fish. We had an exceptionally fine day with some really good bass coming over the side of the Blazer boat, as you will read about below.
As indicated, Garcia is very low. Therefore, extreme caution must be taken when running the boat. If you are not intimately familiar with the impoundment, it is essential that you idle when outside the east and north canals. The small levees that border the ditches in the old farm areas have just inches of water over them. Some are actually out of water. Ground out on one of them while running the boat on plane and you may be aground until the tide comes in (which isn’t likely to happen!!). Idling takes up little time in such a small impoundment as Garcia. It will protect you and your equipment.
On our 6 April trip, we actually found spawning crappie on a shallow hump we like to fish. These were probably the last of the ‘late spawners’ and I do not expect we will see anymore. Look for the crappie to be back in the open water areas, schooled and moving around. Drifting minnows is the quick and easy way to find them. Keep the minnows at 5-7 feet. If the water clears well in Farm 13, you will also find good crappie concentrations in and along the submerged canals, and especially at the intersections of the various canals. If the water is dirty, it will be like the bass fishing – tuff.
7 April 2007
 Bob Browning and I both have been in the Defense Industry. I am now retired, but Bob is still knee deep in Government proposal development. When I was still in the business, he and I would jokingly hold our Program Manager reviews out in the boat, after all the technical reviews were presented. This trip, Bob was vacationing, trying to recover from a 10-week technical proposal development effort. Naturally, he planned a day’s fishing in that vacation.
Our previous day, with Bob Alexander and company, had seen the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment go from clean to ‘dirty as a pig pen’ as a front and high winds moved through. So, I advised Bob that we would need to go to Garcia Lake. To assure we had a good day, I advised that we get a few shiners. Bob is excellent at chasing bass with artificials, but I knew the winds would be high on Garcia and just wanted to be prepared.
And, yes, the winds blew hard! We started in the protected canal that goes from Garcia to Farm 13 with little success – only small bass. We then tried a few jerk baits along that same canal line with about the same success rate. So, we decided to go get out in the wind and anchor up.
Being very careful in the low water of Garcia, we worked our way carefully to the big borrow pit in the west-central section of the lake. With the 20-MPH winds coming from the northwest, we went directly downwind to the southeast side of the pit. We chose a location just off the edge of the borrow pit that sloped out towards us into the depths of the pit. Generally, we anchored up in nine feet of water with the wind at our backs. In front of us, the lip of the pit was about three feet deep, with a gradual slope running back towards the boat. Grass grew to the surface in the shallow water, but was underwater on the slope. We adjusted the depth of the bobbers to hold the shiners just above the top of the submerged grass and set them to hunting bass for us.
 The fish were not long in finding us either. After a few of the small bass that infest Garcia, Bob pulled the old ‘lead bobber trick’. Tossing out a shiner, the bait and the bobber hit the water together – and, just kept on going!! The bobber went down like it was a rock and never came back up. At first, we thought the shiner was holding it down. But, soon, we realized the bait was simply not that strong. Then, Bob also noted that his line was swimming back to the boat!! Turned out to be a nice 5-6 lb. fish.
And, that wasn’t the only good bass caught. There were four big bass caught, which is impressive for Garcia Lake. Two were in the 7-lb. range and another possibly 6 lbs. If you fish Garcia, you know that many good bass for one person is exceptional fishing.
While we floated the shiners under the bobbers, I rigged one up on a free-line rig and just let it swim in over the grass. That worked great, too. The nice thing about free lining is that you hold the rod and feel the shiner swimming and pulling. Then, suddenly, you feel big ‘thud’ and the whole rig starts to swim off.
I decided to try the PERFECT Crappie Jig along that grass, too. Tossing it away from the shiners, but still over the submerged grass, I found a big bunch of crappie and bluegills. In between bass, Bob got involved and caught a bunch of the panfish. In fact, he had one giant crappie like we get from the Stick Marsh. It was a big old gal!
The total fish off that single spot was around 20-25 bass and maybe 12-15 panfish, and we then ran out of shiners. Not too shabby a fishing trip considering the high winds and cold air!!
6 April 2007
 Our old friend, Bob Alexander, hosted some friends from Belgium this day. Marc Andris and his son, Alexander, were visiting relatives who now live in Florida. Through some mutual friendships and business relationships, Bob met them and decided Mark and Alexander might like to try fishing, ‘American Style’. I took Marc and Alexander in my boat, while Bob took Father and son, Christian and Roy Bohyn, in his rig.
 We were looking at the imminent passing of a cold front with wind and rain this day, so we started a little early. Our luck held well and we got some decent bass catching in before the winds started to beat us up and muddy the water.
With the water so low in the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment, we decided it would be too difficult to try and slow-troll the shiners. We would just be on stumps all the time. So, we elected to anchor and still-fish them. It took a few missed hook sets for our international visitors to get the hang of latching onto a Stick Marsh bass. But, once they got a little practice, they did well. Alexander had the big bass of the day, but his father, Marc, caught the most.
 When the winds finally started to howl too much for bass, Bob reminded me that he also wanted to introduce his guests to crappie (that is also spelled ‘let’s get some fish for a cookout!’). We packed up the heavy shiner gear, pulled out some PERFECT Crappie Jigs, and made for an area protected somewhat from the wind. I fully expected to find the crappie out in the open water and even had some minnows along to drift for them. However, our luck was really in great shape and we found some spawning papermouths in an area of shallow water. Of course, spawning crappie are very aggressive in the protection of their spawning site. So, it did not take us long to fill a livewell. Plus, we added some catfish and a few HUGE shellcrackers.
Marc told me that he had never had such a fine fishing trip. Further, that back in Belgium, they only expect to catch one or two fish on an outing. And, that good places to fish are severely limited. We, here in our great Country, should consider ourselves blessed to have such fine resources and freedoms.
4 April 2007
Regular client, Vernon Grizzard, is a pure pleasure to share a boat with. He is as nice an individual as you will ever meet. So, when Vernon called me at the ramp and said he was going to have to make a last-minute cancellation, I was really disappointed. But, Vernon had a temporary cap put on a tooth just that morning and it had broken while he was driving to meet me. So, I decided to go ahead and go fishing, in hopes of finding something new.
My first stop was in the area of coordinates D3/C3 (see the interactive map on our web site) in Farm 13. This is where we filmed the ESPN ‘Rods and Wheels’ episode last year and it is loaded with thick, submerged timber. With the water levels so low, it was difficult to maneuver around in the area. But, I gave it an hour. There seemed to be small bass everywhere and they would take just about anything you put in front of them. As I worked more to the south, I found larger bass in some of the places where the wood was exceptionally thick. I used a few shiners to locate the fish and then switched to a blue, 10-inch Jelly Worm, rigged Texas-style. The bass would also take a spinnerbait, but it did not produce as well as the slowly worked worm.
From there, I moved into the PinBall Alley area (E3). The wood was so thick and the water so low, that I stayed mostly on the north edge of the wood line, as well as just east of the North/South ditch that borders this area on the east side. It was here that I found the green pumpkin RIPPIN’ Stick to be most effective. In general, working the bait slowly produced little response. Nearly all strikes came on the initial cast and the fall of the lure. The bass in this area were larger, on the average.
Back at the ramp, I decided to look at the flow-way canal on the north side of the boat ramp. We had done exceptionally well on crappie back there since last December and right on through the spawn. This time, however, I found the water to be exceptionally dirty with nearly zero visibility. So, I wrote that area off until it clears up.
2 April 2007
 The Farther and son team of Paul and Zack Wojtowicz were visiting from the Indianapolis area, where Paul owns a few of those Ronald McDonald eateries. Taking a winter ‘hamburger break’ in sunny Florida, the pair decided to sample some Stick Marsh bass, too. Paul advised that the fishing was somewhat limited in his part of Indiana and that most of the bass they managed to catch were small, averaging about a pound. I assured him he would see larger bass this day!!
 Arriving at the south end of farm 13, we found the water to be acceptable. It was not as clean as one would like. But, it also was not filthy dirty. I rigged up two shiner rods, tossed them out behind the boat, and proceeded to drag them slowly along a stump line.
We had only moved 10-20 yards when a giant bass blew up on one of the hapless shiners. Three times, the big sow swirled on the bait, forcing the shiner to jump completely clear of the water trying to escape. But, on the fourth blast, the bobber disappeared and the shiner went to Fish Heaven. Zack was right there and made a great hook set on the big fish. And, we were ‘off to the fishy races’! The big fish had made her runs, dragging Zack all around the boat as he struggled to keep it from the motor and the surrounding stumps.
 Although I could not tell as I prepared to net the bass, Paul was actually more excited than Zack was. In fact, his enthusiasm bordered on euphoria every time anyone caught a fish! He was having the time of his life and that made me want to climb on that bandwagon and cheer them on. The pictures give you an idea of the excitement level these two anglers had. But, you really had to be there to fully appreciate it.
That giant bass was the only one we caught slow-trolling the shiners that day. So, it was not long until we anchored and still-fished the shiners in and around an old ditch and its bordering stumps. This turned out to be the key to continuing our success. The bass seemed to start to come to us, much like feeding birds would gather where other birds have found food. Bobbers went down, shiners flew through the air, and fish came into the next.
 It was a fine fishing trip. But, it was the fun Paul and Zack were having that I don’t think I will ever forget. That’s what it should always be about.
1 April 2007
While crappie have been easy on the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 impoundment all year, the bass have been really 'touch and go'. Bass success has been entirely dependent upon the whims of the weather and particularly the WIND. As Stan Daniel so aptly put it, "Any wind direction with an 'N' in it stops the bass fishing."
This past week consisted of great crappie successes mixed with checking the water clarity in the south end of the Farm for bass potential.
The crappie at the south portion of the impoundment have completed their spawn. There will always be a few latecomers, but the majority appears done. I had a high spot surrounded by deep water (4 feet at the shallow point, with 10-12 all around it) upon which a big group of crappie spawned. Without grass to work with, the crappie appear to be using clean sandy bottom areas that are shallow enough for the sun to reach and hatch the eggs. Obviously, the spot they select will have to be a bit higher than the surrounding bottom terrain simply to assure the eggs do not get silted over. (This is the same approach shell beds follow when selecting a spot for the colony to grow. Water currents sweep silt from the higher locations and it settles in the deeper zones. That way the shell bed inhabitants do not become silted over and smother.)
Don Hoffman and I went to check the crappie on the 25th, working that shallow mound area. We found a large number of fish still on it, but noted their bellies were not nearly as swollen with egg sacs and the week before. We assumed that meant they were in process of dropping the eggs. Plus, we also found a LOT of big bluegill in the location. The presence of the bluegills indicates crappie spawning, in the bluegill eat the crappie eggs.
A few days later, I took out a party for crappie and we found the high area virtually void of crappie. Assuming the spawn might be complete there, I simply had the guys turn 180 degrees in their boat seats and toss the PERFECT Jigs out into the deep water behind us. Guess what? There the crappie were, back in the open water and schooled nicely. Just like the textbook says. The report is below.
So, the bottom line appears to be that the bass fishing is OK for now, so long as the water clarity is 14-18 inches. Rather than taking a chance on the fishing if you have travel from very far, just watch the weather and the wind speed/directions for the four days before your trip. If it is from the N, NE, or NW and the speed is 15 or higher, forget it.
As for the crappie, they are back schooled in that open water. That makes it a ‘drift the minnows and jigs’ approach. But, it is also easy and very productive fishing. The only catch is that, like the bass fishing, the water must be reasonable clean.
For a couple of weeks, we have had some terrific north and NE winds. The entire Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment has looked like coffee and cream. This past week, things started to change. With about 5 days of strong, but easterly, winds, the waters in the Farm's south end did begin to clear a bit. I would check that southern end of Farm 13 each time we went out for crappie and, finally, it started to look better. Not great, mind you, but at least I could see my net 12 inches down.
So, on 30 and 31 March, with great apprehension, we gingerly ventured forth to try the bass. One of the trips was exceptional for giant bass. The other was darned good. The stories and pictures are below.
31 March 2007
 Randy Orr, Bill Kinsel and I went to see if ‘bass magic’ could be performed on the impoundment. Our goal was ‘big bass’, so we opted for shiners in the still-murky waters of Farm 13. This was a slow day, until the last three hours. The fish were non-cooperative and the shiners enjoyed a vacation. Every so often, a dumb bass messed up and had a snack. But, in all the morning was poor fishing.
Then, the winds got up high. We worked at getting the big Blazer boat to hold on the anchors, re-setting three times. Finally we moved off our primary spot to an adjacent one where I knew there were some logs and stumps for the anchors to grab hold. That turned out to be a good move. The anchors locked us down, while we also started to catch fish!! Bang – 4 pound; Pow – 5 pounds; Crash – 3 pounds; and so it went for awhile. Then, as suddenly as it started, the bite stopped and we watched shines basking in the warm water and sunlight again.
 Since location #2 produced some bass, we decided that maybe the original primary location might now be productive. So, we moved back in position. However, in order to get the anchors to hold us, I had to lay both out off the front of the boat. Randy and Bill, then, had to jockey around each other in the back. But, it paid off. The explosions started, as hapless shines went to shiner Heaven, one after another. This time, we got some fine fish. None were the giant bass we wanted, but they were running 5 to 6.5 pounds. That’s not shabby on any body of water.
30 March 2007
 This was our first bass trip in awhile. My wife had successful medical treatment, for which I stopped fishing for a week. As the waters of Farm 13 had been muddy and the NE winds howling, it was just as well. I would not have been very successful with the bass anyway. We had watched the water during some earlier crappie outings and it now appeared marginal. I advised Bill Bowen, Rick Robinson and Aaron Tropmann of the conditions and gave them my best guess at what might work. I also advised that Garcia Lake was clean and we could catch fish there, but they would average much smaller. The trio opted for a chance at the giant bass.
It turned out to be a great decision.
Setting out shiners on a prime spot in the south end of Farm 13, we got a chance to wonder if the choice of Farm 13 over Garcia was right. The fishing started slow. Then, it got even slower.
Then, suddenly, everything changed. The bass started to come visit for awhile. Everyone got some big bass , with Aaron’s 9 lb. 14 oz. fish topping the bunch. The quantity of bass we got, 18, was not that impressive (well, maybe it was, considering the still-dirty water conditions0. But, of the 18 fish caught, all by two were very near 5 pounds, and up. 6-pound fish were common, with a couple of 7’s mixed in to make us all marvel at this wonderful fish-factory once again.
 
27 March 2007
 Larry Oscarson chartered us for a day of crappie fishing and brought three friends along – Mickey Kubert, Jim Gibson and Mike Schifano. Larry also brought his boat, so we split the crew between he and my Blazer.
With a few minnows as back-up, we headed for a spawning site at the south end of Farm 13. In this location, the waters had a little protection and were not quite as dirty as the remainder of the impoundment. Having caught the crappie well here only two days prior, I was sure we would do well on the panfish.
Much to my surprise, there were very few crappie on the spawning site. So, we made the assumption that the fish had completed their spawn and moved back to school up in the deeper, open water. Basically, all we did was turn around in the boat and cast the PERFECT Jig out behind us to the deeper water.
Sure enough, there they were. Big old crappies, too!! Rigging up a few long poles with minnows, we started to work around out in the open water, tossing the jig and dragging the minnows. The combination really produced well, with the minnows and jig being equally successful.
Meanwhile, Larry and his partner chose to anchor and work the minnows at the edge of the spawning site. That did not produce as many fish as our moving approach, but he sure caught some big crappie.
When the dust had settled and all the culling was done, the anglers had a heck of a fish-fry in their cooler!
19 March 2007
I just previewed the IN-FISHERMAN segment on the Stick Marsh (airing the week of 26 March 07) and it is super. Big bass on both shiners and Rattlin’ Rap crank plugs! We even got a good close-up shot of a giant bass blowing up a shiner on the surface. You’re gonna like this show!!
We got a bit over a week of fine weather, with no cold fronts or winds, and the waters cleared beautifully! And, boy, did the bass fishing (also known as ‘bass catching’!!) take off.
Stan Daniel called me up to say he found clean water in the Twin Palms (now, Twin Stumps, thanks to the hurricanes) area of the Stick Marsh and his client had just caught a 10 lb. 14 oz. monster on a shiner. I was off that day, but decided to go to the impoundment that afternoon and see if artificials would do well. By the time I arrived, Stan and company had garnered 14 bass on the shiners, all over 5 lbs. Talk about quality fish!! They were about to end their day on the water, so I became the recipient of a few leftover shiners to go with my artificials.
To make the long story short, I caught fish well on the shiners. But, I also caught them on a spinnerbait, a shallow Rapala crank plug, and a ˝ oz. jig with a RIPPIN’ Stick trailer. As were Stan’s bass, mine were all big, quality bass. However, I had some ‘dinks’ that were between 4 and 5 lbs. This Stick Marsh pattern held for 3 days and then faded out. Obviously, the bass simply moved on, following the baitfish. That Stick Marsh side of the impoundment is BIG, so it may take some time to locate them again. I look for them to be at the west end, or NW corner in the dead palm trees. We found a LOT of small bass in that NW corner earlier. By now, there may be giants in there.
As Twin Palms faded, we shifted to the south end of the Farm. The water was clean and the bass hungry! Even with easterly winds kicking things up, the action was wild and plentiful.
Then came last Friday and Saturday (16 and 17 March). In came a very strong front with plenty of 25-30 MPH winds. That tore the place up, with all the water becoming like bad chocolate milk again. I expect it will be Thursday (22 March) before the place is fishable again.
I am told Garcia may be too low to launch a boat. However, if you have a four-wheel drive tow vehicle, why not simply use the Garcia airboat ramp?! It backs right into deeper water. As usual, Garcia is clean and nice, with excellent soft plastics fishing and some pretty good topwater action now. Shiners, of course, work great. The west side and the northwest section do well. Plus, the flats along the canal from Garcia to Farm 13 can be terrific.
The crappie at the north end of Farm 13 appear to have completed their spawn. Most had returned from the vegetated shorelines and were in 7-8 feet of water in the open water canal. None appeared to have eggs any longer. I had two gentlemen there yesterday and we had 20 in just a few hours (see report, below). The water was somewhat dirty and that held our catch rate down. But, thanks to the sheltering effect on the north levee, it much cleaner than the open water zones where we chase the bass. A few days earlier, I found good crappie concentrations at the south end of the Farm. Those fish were still in open water and were full of eggs. In fact, we cleaned a few for food and found the eggs not fully developed. That tells me we should still find spawning crappie through mid-April. I think the next 10 days may be the peak period for crappie spawning. Remember, spawning crappie schools get very tight and compact as they go about their ritual. That can make them hard to find. The good news is that, when found, you can really catch a bunch in a small area.
18 March 2007
 Yesterday, we finally got old friend, Bob Stemich, and his ‘Big Guy’ buddy, Chuck Devoe, out for crappie fishing. Being out of Cleveland, Bob had been weathered in a good bit and we had to shift his fishing date out some. Last year, the pair also had weather conflicts. When I told Bob we had just had a major front go through and that the water would be dirty and the winds would be high on their fishing day, I thought I would hear a grown man cry. So, I made them a deal. I wanted to go fishing, too. So, I said we’d go and, if we couldn’t catch fish, all they would owe me were expenses. (I neglected to remind them that I am the luckiest guy I know at crappie fishing.)
Sure enough, we found the water pretty dirty. But, I could still see that little PERFECT Jig down to 8-10 inches deep. That was a LOT better than the bass fishing waters out in the open areas. Having brought a few dozen minnows ‘just in case’, we set out three long poles on the canal-side of the boat and tossed jigs at the vegetation on the canal edge. Chuck decided that he would man the long poles while Bob and I taught the jigs to swim. Bang, bang – Chuck boated two slabs before the jigs even got wet! Boy, howdy, was I glad to see that!! I was really worried that we might have a really bad day with the tough water and the strong winds. As it worked out, we boated 30(+) crappie, counting all the small ones. Of that number, 20 were fine keepers, which weighed a collective 22-24 lbs. The long poles and minnows in the deep water took approximately half the crappie, indicating the spawn is over in that area and the fish are back in the open water. Plus, none of the fish appeared to have any remaining eggs.
15 March 2007
 Eric Paulson and Al Bartlett both come from the same ‘frozen over 7-months out of the year’ town of Amery, Wisconsin. Al is now a bank executive in the North palm Beach area, while Eric still ‘lives’ up north. However, Eric is working a long-term construction job here in Florida for awhile, so he and Al get together at times.
This ‘get-together’ was to tackle bass in the Stick Marsh. It was very windy on our fishing day. But, the water was clean and the east wind did not dirty it too much.
As usual, everyone boated their largest bass ever!!
We tried trolling the shiners for awhile, but the winds were really tough on us. Plus, the water is now a full 2-feet low in the impoundment, making all the underwater stumps major obstacles to navigate. Stan Daniel and super shiner guide, Jeff Duval, were also there and dragging the shiners. They did well until the winds got too high, then both resorted to anchoring. Jeff actually hit a stump at a bad angle and, with the help of the pushing wind, broke the trolling motor off his boat.
 We did the same, anchoring up on one of our high-percentage locations and floating the shiners downwind. After a brief lull, the bites started coming. Then, more bass showed up. Suddenly, a giant bass took Eric’s shiner and headed for Fellsmere and all points east. 8-lbs and counting on that one. Then, Al set on a fish that ran him all around the boat, the motor and the anchor ropes before finally sliding into the net. 7 lbs. on that big gal. When the shiner scales finally settled, the big bass had eaten all the shiners we had and only two bass had been under 3-lbs. Those two smaller bass must have been ‘regulars’ to that ‘high percentage dining table’, in that I had caught both of them twice before. I mark the fish we catch and each had two identifying marks on them from previous encounters.
13 March 2007
This was a short, partial day trip with Dennis Bonk and his longtime friend, ‘Big Lou’. For the life of me, I can’t find where I wrote Lou’s last name down. I think I was just taken by his size. He was aptly nicknamed ‘Big’. He was all that and some more, too. Those big bass looked like perch in his hands!! But, he was a nice guy and probably won’t hold it against me.
We were just coming out of the effects of a cold front and the water was still a bit turbid. So, in the beginning, the bass were a bit slow for us. It gradually got much better, but the fish were not anywhere up to their average sizes. We did make up in quality what we missed in quantity, though. I think Big Lou had made some prior arrangement on who would catch the big bass. He got them all, including his largest bass ever, and left the small bucks to Dennis.
 
12 March 2007
 Steve Hammer got ‘hammered’ by Mother Nature on this fishing trip. The water was of poor quality, the winds were blowing and it was cold!! That made it tough to do much quality fishing, but we tried. It was the only day Steve could go, so re-scheduling was not an option. I explained the situation to Steve and he said, “Let’s go for it.”
As the saying goes: ’No guts, no air medal’. So, if we hadn’t gone fishing, Steve wouldn’t have caught a thing. As it was, the fishing Gods took pity on us and gave us a decent day’s catch. We had to work and earn it. But, it was actually pretty good shiner fishing, all things considered. We never did see a big bass, but the 3 to 4-lb. fish kept us occupied.
9 March 2007
 Don Hoffman’s wife, Sue, is my kinda gal. She gave Don a fishing trip gift certificate for Christmas. Being a local resident, Don was able to wait until ‘things were right’ before cashing the trip in. That sure helped, as we were just clearing up from a cold front and another was just a couple of days away. We hit it right!!
This was a half-day excursion and Don asked if we could do some crappie, as well as bass. That’s tough to do well in a half-day outing. So, we decided to make one pass along a vegetated shoreline with the mighty PERFECT Jig for crappie and then go soak some shiners for bass.
 Being lucky sure is a big help in the fishing business. We ran that 300 yards of vegetation and the crappie were there to greet us. Nice big slabs, too. One thing we noted was that they did not seem to be as bloated with eggs as in previous trips. Since we caught them right along the vegetation line, I expect they were in process of spawning.
From there, we ran to the south end of Farm 13 and anchored on that ‘Super Secret Hawg Hole’ that is no longer so secret. Sure enough, the lucky streak held and the bass gobbled the shiners like M&Ms. Don got his big bass ever to go with some big crappie. Not a bad half-day, if I do say so myself.
7 March 2007
So much for all those reports of a ‘mild winter’!! Yep, it WAS pretty mild until February. Then, all sorts of cold fronts wreaked all sorts of havoc all over the country. Whether you live in Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Texas, the Carolinas, or Florida, we ALL felt Mother Nature turn on the ‘Time for Winter’ switch. For some, power outages, road closures, cancelled fights, and treacherous conditions were some of the results. The further north you lived, the worse it was.
Even the northern half of Florida wound up with a short period, or two, of freezing weather. But, the real negative effects for our fishing scene were the never-ending series of one cold front after another, all in rapid succession.
From our earlier information to you about the turbid water conditions since the ’04 hurricanes, you know we have had serious problems when the high winds stir up the silt off the bottom of many of the Florida lakes. Our Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment is sorely effected when the winds blow, especially those strong winds of passing cold fronts. The rapid succession of repeating fronts in February rarely ever gave the water time to clear sufficiently to provide decent bass fishing. A few days of clean water appeared occasionally, but it was a rare sight.
We just completed another three-day session filming both bass and crappie for In-Fisherman TV and only got marginal water conditions (we’ll announce the dates these segments will be broadcast; expect late 2007-early 2008). We managed to catch plenty of fine fish for a crappie program (cinnamon, w/chartreuse tail PERFECT CRAPPIE JIG), but the bass really made us work hard. However, we did get two giant bass on the two days we worked on them. Of the 25 bass we landed, all came on chrome-finish Rattlin’ Raps. EVERY ONE of these fish was hooked in the same, slightly unusual manner. The front treble would be lodged in the corner of the fish’s mouth, while the rear hook would be outside, towards the back of the head. As best we could figure, none of these bass chased the lures in the murky water. It would appear the lure came at them and they tried to take it head first, possibly only nipping at it rather than making a decisive strike. We did note a large number of apparent strikes that resulted in no hook-ups, so our theory might be correct. Who really knows for sure. Someday, I will get to talk to a fish and THEN maybe I will find out why they do what they do!!
Due to the poor water, most of the reputable guides have been offering to delay, cancel, or move their fishing trips to Garcia Reservoir when the opportunity to catch Stick Marsh bass was estimated to be low. Garcia has proven to be an excellent fishery, with a tremendous population of healthy, active bass. A normal full-day trip on Garcia normally produces 20-30 bass. But, their average size is below what we get at the Stick Marsh. Where a day on the Stick Marsh would usually give us at least one bass eight pounds, or over. Garcia’s daily estimate for a large fish is more like five to six pounds. What the bass lack in average size, however, is more than made up for by the sheer beauty of Garcia. The towering cypress trees, grass and pad fields, massive reed stands, and unbelievable wildlife make it one of the more esthetic places to visit. An absolutely wonderful place!!
Another way to compensate for the poor bass fishing is to transfer your efforts towards the giant Stick Marsh crappie. Plus, other lakes, such as Garcia Reservoir and nearby massive Lake Kissimmee, offer excellent crappie populations. As noted in our fishing reports, we have dropped our number of bass trips significantly, while adding a LOT of crappie trips in their place. Not many area guides offer crappie trips, but we do and we execute them well (you’ll note a few hours fellow guide, Stan Daniel, and I put towards the crappie later in this report).
In Garcia, you should concentrate the search for slab crappie in and around the borrow pit in the west-central section of the lake, as well as in the canal that connects Garcia to the Farm 13 spillway. Right now, the crappie are on active spawn, so look for vegetation near the deep waters of the pit and the canal. If there are spawning, they will be IN that vegetation. If they are still pre-spawn, they will be in tight schools in the open water right along the outside of the vegetation. The only way to find a group of actively spawning crappie is to search for them. There is no indicator to look for. So, cover a lot of water rapidly. They will be very protective of their spawning location and will attack most any lure that comes to invade their space. In the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment, expect the spawning crappie to use wooded areas, since the vegetation is almost non-existent. Once the spawning is over (end of March, or so), expect the crappie to school back up and be found in the deeper open water.
By the way, our great bass film shot a few weeks ago, at the end of January, will appear on IN-FISHERMAN TV the week of 26 March 2007. Find your station, channel and time at this link on the IN-FISHERMAN web site:
www.in-fisherman.com/tv/schedule/tv_schedule/
The Outdoor Channel, the Men’s Outdoors and Recreation (MOR) channel, and some local channels in your area broadcast the week’s program 5-6 times during that period.
(NOTE: If you haven’t read the short Tip and seen the pictures on how we improve the hook-up percentage with flukes and soft jerk bait lures, be sure to do so. It may really help your fishing success!! Go here: www.jimporter.org/tipster/tipster115.shtml)
2-4 March 2007
 We again hosted Editor-In-Chief Doug Stange and the IN-FISHERMAN television organization for some fishy chasin’ on the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment. This time, we planned to film crappie fishing with jigs and giant bass on crank plugs. The murky waters gave us some problem with the bass. However, experience with fishing turbid waters (not to mention a lot of luck!!) prevailed and we caught a good number in our two allotted bass days, including two big ones.
Basically, the intent is to always use the equipment and lures of the program’s sponsors. Plus, the bass segment to be filmed was to have a theme associated with using vibrating, noisy crank plugs. Nothing fit that bill better that the Rattlin’ Rap series made by their sponsor, Rapala. We chose the standard ˝ oz size, Model 07, in the ‘Silver Gold’, ‘Red Crawdad’, and ‘Redfire Crawdad’ colors. These colors gave us maximum visibility in the murky water. We rounded out the hardware with top-quality stuff: seven-foot All Star cast rods, Pfluegar President reels, and 20-lb. Fireline from Berkley.
 The Fireline was the new low visibility CRYSTAL color, which looks a bit like white sewing thread. However, it certainly had the same super strength as the original SMOKE color Fireline, plus it was less visible in the water and was very limp right off the factory spool. A great thing to find was that the CRYSTAL color was actually more visible than the SMOKE out of the water. When tossing the PERFECT JIG on 6-lb. test CRYSTAL, we could actually follow the line and see where the jig was going. It has always been very hard to do that with the SMOKE color.
Since the giant bass ripped us up so badly in our last two filming periods (March 06 and January 07), we made one modification to the Rattlin’ Raps: we replaced the standard treble hooks with Eagle Claw L774 4X-strong trebles. The L774 is a super-heavy hook that even Godzilla would have trouble bending!! And, this stronger hook sure did the job. No big bass were lost this time and no hooks were ever bent.
Our bass fishing was done in the south center section of Farm 13, right in the thickest submerged timber we could find (if you are going to hunt elephants, you have to go to the jungle!). Yep, we got hung a good bit. BUT, we also caught a lot of good fish! Nearly every bass caught hit the Rattlin’ Rap right after the lure caromed off a piece of that submerged wood.
Our time spent for chasing the big crappie was about a just a little late, it appeared, and we really had to work for them. My customers and I had caught the giant crappie well, right up until a couple of days before Doug and I went after them. Doug and I caught some big slabs, but not those 2.5-lb. fish we had hoped for. But, it should still make a nice film.
 The full moon, which usually triggers crappie spawning, occurred on 3 March 07. Of course, nothing is absolute in fishing, but it appears the crappie left their previously predictable locations along the outside edges of the wooded areas and the sparse remaining vegetation. I would suppose most went back into the thick cover zones to start the spawning ritual. Our success was based on covering a LOT of water with a LOT of PERFECT JIG casts. Some were caught by dropping the jig straight down up tight to whatever cover was available. Most of the female crappie still had very large egg sacs. But, a few appeared diminished somewhat, indicative of spawning activity underway. The ones caught also struck the PERFECT JIG very aggressively, also an indication of protecting the spawning location.
For the crappie, we again used the sponsor products (All-Star 6-foot ultralight rods, small Pfluegar spinning reels, CRYSTAL 6-lb. Fireline). However, after trying a number of crappie jigs and plugs without too much success, we went to old Jim’s PERFECT CRAPPIE JIG in the cinnamon, w/chartreuse tail. We found we had to swim the jig very slowly and steadily, while maintaining a depth of 3-4 feet. The jig simply suited those presentation requirements best.
28 February 2007
 We hosted Scott and Betsy Woodprince for a half-day trip on the Stick Marsh. Our intent was to try and spilt a half-day even further with both crappie and bass. The winds were up and I suspected the bass waters would be too dirty to fish effectively. Telephone exchanges with our friend, Stan Daniel, indicated that he was at the south end of Farm 13 and the water was dirty and the waves very rough. In fact, he came and joined us on the north end of the Stick Marsh right after that conversation.
We started out with the crappie first. I knew where they were and figured we could catch them within an hour, or so, and then try to come up with something for the bass. Making one pass along a sparely vegetated shoreline, we took 16. Most were extremely nice slabs, plump and full of eggs. One weighed an even 3-lbs., the first one this year of that size. We have had a LOT of 2 to 2.6-pound slabs, but this was the first to make 3-lbs since last year. If you look at Betsy’s picture closely, you will be able to appreciate the size of this trophy crappie. Note that her elbow is bent and she IS NOT thrusting the fish out at the camera. Also, note that her petite fist would just about fit into the fish’s cavernous mouth.
Since Farm 13 was ‘blown out’ by the howling winds, we decided to stay in the north end of the Stick Marsh and try shiners for bass. The waters in that area were pretty dirty, too. We managed two blow-ups on the hapless shiners, but never caught a bass. Sometimes you is the bug and sometimes you is the winshield.
21 February 2007
 Keith Melton wanted to try for some Stick Marsh crappie. We caught some Stick Marsh crappie. Some were BIG crappie. We worked a sparsely vegetated shoreline and found lots of crappie, with many of them small. But, Keith only wanted to keep good ones, so all small fish went back. We did not get Keith’s limit, but the individual sizes of what we did keep sure made a nice ‘mess’ of fish!!
That’s what you call a ‘short and sweet’ report. It was great fun and fine weather. Not to mention the great fish fry Keith took home.
20 February 2007
 Our friend, Chuck Adams, wanted to bring his sister, Teresa, to experience some of the fine Stick Marsh crappie angling. Chuck and his cute daughter, Lindsey, were our guests back on 12 November 06 (see the report at: www.stickmarsh.com/stickmarsh/reports/nov2006.shtml). Back then, we were drifting the vast open waters of Farm 13 and getting those big slabs. We did so well and the resultant pictures so great, Chuck and Lindsey even made the cover of a Florida fishing magazine!!
 This time, Chuck and his partner had to work a little for the crappie! The easy drifting for schools of fish was over. Now, they were bunched tightly along the edges of vegetation and wooded areas, thinking really hard about their future spawning period. So, now, it required that we toss a jig at them. As both Chuck and Teresa were adept at casting the light spinning gear, we were soon into catching crappie. Most of the fish came out from the edges of the cover zones. However, Teresa showed us that they could be caught ‘over our shoulders’, out in the wide open water, too. She turned and starting swimming the jig out in the open water and found a couple of good groups of fish. Chuck even got into that act. When the dust had settled, I think Chuck caught the most. But, Sister had outdone Brother for the big crappie of the day. It was a giant!
19 February 2007
 This was one of those days when no one should have been fishing for bass on the Stick Marsh. But, there are always die-hards who insist on going. Stan Daniel’s clients this day were two of those.
The weather was cold early in the day and the winds howled. The water looked like chocolate syrup. Needless to say, it was poor bass fishing. I called Stan on the cell phone to ask how conditions were and I thought he was going to start crying with frustration. It was that bad. But, at least it was only a half-day trip. I told my friend that I was coming down to the Marsh around noon to look for new crappie spots. I knew some protected areas that, while they were poor for bass, might hold crappie. Stan said he would like to go out with me during the second half of the day and chase the slabs.
 We secured Stan’s boat and piled into my big BLAZER. Armed with ultralight rods and PERFECT CRAPPIE JIGS, we went forth in search of the wild papermouth of the Stick Marsh (we fear nothing!!).
Soon, after combining Stan’s ‘luck’ with my ‘luck’, we had ‘double luck’ and the crappie had very ‘bad luck’. Yep, we double-teamed them. It was a rough afternoon for the fierce crappie.
Plus, Stan worked out his frustrations over high winds, muddy waters, and a livewell full of expensive, leftover shiners.
14 February 2007
The fact that all the OPEN WATER GRASS is gone from the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment is fact. 100% true. And, it does not appear to have started to grow back yet. Whatever you may read or hear from some guide (to try and gain business) or angler to the contrary, it just ain’t so. NO GRASS. End of story.
I recently received an email from Gary Nichols, the Invasive Plant Program Supervisor with the St. Johns River Water Management District. Gary is responsible to control vegetation in all the waters under the Water Management District’s purview and, when you see someone spraying on the Farm 13/Stick Marsh (or, Garcia), that’s Gary’s crew. Gary and I have conversed for a few years about where/when/why to spray and NOT to spray. These communications were to give him insight on where I thought spawning areas were and where the loss of grass would adversely affect the fishing. As a result, we have had no open water herbicide treatments in the impoundment since 2002. In most cases, our data exchange kept certain shoreline and vegetated areas untouched, so as not to interfere with bass and crappie spawning.
Recently, the District held a regularly scheduled recreational meeting that was open to the public. Apparently, citizen after citizen got up and blamed the spraying of herbicides for their lack fishing success on the Farm 13/Stick Marsh Impoundment. They claimed Gray’s crew killed off the grass and ruined the fishing.
Folks, that is NOT the reason the grass is gone. Two hurricanes with three hours each of sustained winds to 124 MPH are to blame. Both hurricanes went south of the impoundment, subjecting it to those worst-case north side winds (other lakes as far west as Lake Wales were similarly effected). The upheaval of the water (i.e., big mocephious waves!) carried the grass mats up with it and literally ripped the roots of the grass beds right out of the bottom. By the time it was over, all the open water, and much shoreline, vegetation was destroyed. It later rotted and formed a layer of decayed matter/silt on the bottom of the lake. That silt, ground pretty fine now, still dirties the waters when we have high winds and that hurts fishing.
The thick, shallow grass beds, when they were present, acted as thermal masses. That means they absorbed heat from the sun and transferred it to the water quickly. It would also appear reasonable that they retained sufficient heat with their mass to keep the water from cooling so much at night, while also acting as a form of ‘insulation blanket’ from the cold air. Now, we have more rapid cooling and much slower warm-ups.
This particular winter, especially the past month, has cooled the waters a lot more and longer than usual. Been hard to get back to a surface temperature of 60 degrees before the next front comes on us. That's not cold for fish. BUT - it is below the ‘normal’ for Florida bass and their usual environment. They, as well as the crappie, just seem to shut down.
Grass also means oxygen, via photosynthesis. ‘NO GRASS’ means oxygen gets into the water only from surface absorption and wind mixing action. I have not measured the O2 levels (and would not have any earlier data to compare them to anyway), but I am sure it is low. That can make fish lethargic.
We have noted that the bass seem to move about a lot, rarely being found in the same place from day-to-day. We also note that big areas of clean water exist within areas of dirty water and these, too, seem to move around in the south end of Farm 13. Unremarkably, the bass seem to always associate with those areas of clean water (darn, there I go giving away secrets again). I am no biologist, but I would venture that the dark water has a LOT of algae in it. Algae consumes the oxygen in the water when the sunlight is not present. So, at night, oxygen is simply sucked out of waters with a high algae content (that is the cause of most fish kills, by the way). Possibly, this is an issue. However, there has never been any noticeable sign of a fish kill.
What I DO NOT understand is why the grass, after two years, has not started to recover. Hydrilla/milfoil/ ‘whatever you may want to call the open water grass’ usually proliferate from pieces breaking off, drifting and finally rooting somewhere. There was a lot broken off by the storms! Plus, a lot still comes in from the Garcia Lake and its canals, as well as from the adjacent farms. Yet, none is started anywhere that I can find. Not even in the shallows. The dark water inhibits some growth deep due to blocking the required sunlight. But, the grass should grow shallow. This tells me something changed with the normal chemical makeup of the water. Something is certainly different - pH levels (???). Possibly, the vast quantities of rotted vegetation drastically changed the water in some way.
As it stands now, the impoundment does not perform its intended mission of cleansing fertilizes and slit from the waters that flow through it. It takes grass to do that. The result may be that the nutrient-rich waters from the surrounding farms and cattle ranches are going to affect the St Johns River again and cause those big vegetation blooms that block boat traffic and block water intake ports at the water plants. Possibly, when that fact is fully realized, the Powers-That-Be will try and restore the grass.
Yes, our catch rates are down somewhat. But, it is usually due to cold and/or dirty water. When conditions are stable, I am catching just about as many bass as ever. But those stable periods are just not as frequent as in the past. If some tell you that you will catch 40-50 bass on the Stick Marsh, take it with a serious ‘grain of salt’. It is done occasionally, but only by those who fish most every day and can stay up with the fish. The fish we do catch are big, fat and very healthy. They bear no signs of abnormality and seem mean as ever.
13 February 2007
Kevin and Teresa Farmer came from Lake Okeechobee to fish for crappie. The ‘Big O’ is in a serious state right now, with very low and dirty water. The fishing is extremely poor, unless you use a really knowledgeable guide who knows some ‘special places’. We were looking at the approach of a major cold front and, after some discussion, took our chances.
The winds stayed from the south most of the day, with a steady advance of nasty clouds. We got into a protected area and saturated the water with the cinnamon w/chartreuse tail PERFECT JIG. Although the boat control was easy and the wind no problem, we did not find the fish concentrated. So, we just gritted our teeth and made all the casts we could. By golly, persistence paid off and we caught a nice bunch of big old slabs!! Who says we aren’t the luckiest fisherman we know?
Then, the weather came on with a vengeance. Man, it was about as close to a tornado as I want to be in! We saw the low, fast moving clouds and made it for the ramp. I just got the boat on the trailer and the Farmers got to their car when it hit. I parked and sat in the cab of the truck, while everything shook and rolled and palm fronds went sailing by on both sides. Once, I saw some bank fisherman’s five-gallon bucket go up into the air and out of sight. Scary.
When it let up to a mild roar, I got the fish into Kevin’s cooler so he and Teresa could get started back to Okeechobee. The heavy rain is why you see no pictures with this fish story. No one wanted to stand out there that long!
12 February 2007
 Wayne and Sylvia Burton have a few timeshares and hop around Florida in the winter, staying in one and then another. They were leaving Cocoa Beach, headed to Pompano Beach, and made a stop to bass fish on the Stick Marsh. Their eventually fine fishing day illustrates just how tough things can be on the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment and how a knowledgeable guide can be worth his pay.
It was overcast and cold, with an all-day spitting rain. A big from was about 48 hours away and we were out in the vanguard of it. I give the Burton’s credit – I tried to talk them out of going, but they wanted to go and stayed at it all day, too!!
Our first spot was a prime location. I have caught many, many giant bass at that spot. We floated shiners for two hours, without even a quiver from one of them. Not even a catfish bite. So, we started dragging a pair of shiners behind the boat. Three miles later, the shiners were doing that backstroke and catching up on their reading. No bass to be found. Next, we worked half of the lower end of Farm 13, still-fishing the shiners in those fabled bass haunts, like ‘The ESPN TV Spot’, ‘The McGehee Hole’, ‘The Basin’, ‘The Home of Lost Rat-L-Traps’, and famous ‘Snag City, USA’. Nothing –- Zero – Zilch – Blanks – Dead Water – that was our catch. We did not even GET A BITE in six hours of using shiners!!
At 3:00 PM, I suggested we go back to that spot where we started the day. It was such a high percentage place for both quantities and giants, I just had to try again. (We did this with the NASCAR Circle Bar team on a trip in January; see that result in the past fishing reports section.)
 With wind now brisk from the east, we set up and floated the shiners out from the boat. I was preparing a third shiner rod when a bass suddenly blew up one of the first two shiners in the water. That fish came aboard. Then, about as fast as I got shiners in the water, the bass went after them. Sylvia got one about four-pounds and then two in the three-pound range. Wayne finally got started and hooked a giant bass. But, she managed to get hung in a submerged stump and we could not get her. Sylvia, meanwhile, kept catching fish. She told me this was Wayne’s fishing trip, but she let us all know she was ahead on bass.
Then, Sylvia hung a good ‘un!! A lot of grunting and squealing and holding on went past us before she got a 6-pound, egg-laden gal into the net. Just about the time I netted Sylvia’s big bass, Wayne asked where the red bobber was (claimed his eyesight was not too good). I looked and my eyesight was poor, too. Turns out the red bobber had gone north!! Wayne grabbed it and made a fine hookset. This ‘poor eyesight error resulted in the big bass of the day, nearly 8-pounds. Again, this big gal was full of eggs and obviously on her way to find a male.
The weather finally brought steady rains and we had to pull up stakes from our Hawg Hole. But, persistence and luck made for over 20 fine bass in 2 hours, none under 3-pounds and two ‘biggies’ in the bunch. Are we lucky, or what?!
9 February 2007
 Chuck Davis wanted crappie. We got him crappie. Plus, neither of us got rained on!! That was a first in a while.
The first thing I noted was that Chuck knew how to use a jig. The second thing was that this definitely WASN’T his first crappie trip!! He knew how to do it right. We started with the little cinnamon, w/chartreuse tail PERFECT JIG and never had to change. That color seems to work just about everywhere I have fished. I know Florida crappie sure go for it.
 We worked three hundred yards of shoreline, targeting pre-spawn crappie just out from the non-grass vegetation. A few fish took the jig in close. But, the vast majority were 6-10 feet out (unless they followed the jig a way before striking it).
When we loaded the boat on the trailer, I started getting the crappie out of the well to transfer to Chuck’s cooler. It was obvious he had done well. I did not count the fish closely, but it was nearly a half net full. Some good fish frys in that bunch!!
8 February 2007
 My wife, Dot, and I had an afternoon open so we looked for something to do. Heck, we decided to go fishing!!
I won’t dwell on this trip long. We caught a bunch of big crappie and Dot proved again that she can beat any guide!
7 February 2007
I went crappie fish alone, just to try and find more fish. This was one of those special days when something unique happened. I can’t really explain it, but the giant crappie all decided to commit suicide on the PERFECT JIG. I culled twice and wound up with a 25-fish limit that went slightly over – are you ready for this? – 40 pounds. One of my clients from 5 February, Floyd Layman, was there in another boat and got to see them. It was awesome. Four of the fish scales at 2.5-pounds.
5 February 2007
Floyd Layman and Rock Alsante had been on my fishing calendar for some time. But, everytime we tried to go, the weather got to us and we had to cancel. It was good that these two guys lived close by and could change. Still, the day we went looked cold, windy and maybe a bit of rain. In fact, we spent the whole day in rainsuits to stay dry and stay warm!!
We started by drifting minnows out in the Farm. That proved to be of little value, with maybe a few keeps and some little ones (those open-water fish are bunching up to spawn now, so they are getting hard to find in open water). From there, we went to a protected area at the south end of Farm 13. The water was dirty and we found no crappie.
We decided to get away from the cold winds and went to the protected area behind the boat ramp along the north side of the impoundment. Working the vegetated north shoreline, we started to catch a few nice fish. Finally, we had located some crappie. The bad part was that it was now close to dark. So, we caught what we could in the time left and then called it a day. It made a fine mess of fish for a fine fish fry, too!
 
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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