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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
January 3, 2001
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
The New Year has come into Florida with temperatures that are to us frigid with wind to make them worse.
We finished out the year 2000 with a full day on the water battling cold and wind but the catching made the trip worthwhile. Eric Johnston and party opted for a day with shiners and Scott took them to the spillway. With a bite that was slow, Scott decided to try the Ansin/Garcia side of the spillway and the catching was on. Several good bass were hanging around over there and they found their way to willing anglers. Also, working the areas where the hyacinth has bunched up on the Farm side of the spillway several others yielded to the beat of the shiner. 30+ fish make for a good day when conditions are as cold and windy. Temperatures at the ramp in the morning were about 33 with a 15-20 MPH wind and warmed throughout the day to a stellar 39 degrees with the wind never letting up. However, all had a good time and appeared none-the-worse for the experience.
Yesterday, Scott launched at first light and headed to a rendezvous with Joe Middleton to get their bait for the day. Bo White was ready, the shiners were ready and Scott headed for the spillway again. Using the same strategy as two days before they got onto a good bite and landed bass to 5 pounds. However, with none landed bigger than 5 pounds Scott moved out into the Farm and started working one of the irrigation canals. As the day wound to an end the Farm came through again and released another 11+ pound bass to the willing angler. The shiner Bo was using was as big as some of the bass he catches at home, but the bass here eat them readily. With some deft rod handling and careful working of the bass through hydrilla, Bo got her aboard, measured and pictured, and then released for another anglers bait.
I launched for an afternoon trip and Gerry Gault and Chris his son also opted for shiners. They brought their boat, which we took so that Gerry could safely navigate over the next few days of working the Marsh. Getting our shiners we headed for the 1st N/S ditch and worked an area I worked last week. We got several good fish when Scott called and told us about his catch. I don't think it took us more than a minute to pull anchor and be underway headed to where Scott was at. We got there in time to see the big bass released. We spent the next 1.5 hours at this site and caught several good fish with our big one being about 7 pounds. Gerry and son are headed there today and I hope they get the big one.
The baits of choice have been shiners for almost a month now. Only a couple of days have been good for artificial and hopefully the bite will be coming back this weekend. Temperatures are supposed to be increasing and I am looking for the barometer to fall. Shiner fishing for bass is a unique experience. As the bass play with the shiner, mouth it, turn it, and hit it, you need to have patience. If you hit too soon you get air, and if you wait too long you get air. It takes several tries for most to get the correct hook-up procedure down and actually land the bass.
Again a reminder: The water is low here! Idle through the Marsh to the canal before getting on plane. On the Farm beware of canal edges and of course stumps in the southern ends. Also, the stumps in the southern end stretch from the fisherman's shack on the west wall to the SE corner, so if you’re south of that line, IDLE! Another note: The irrigation ditches are not your safest place to run. Adjacent to these canals were fence posts and some of these are still present as either submerged obstacles or floaters. You are safer running in the open fields than in the ditches. Be careful out there, catch lots of fish, and be safe. Be sure to have layered clothing for this time of the year.
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