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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
April 12, 2001
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
Date Fished: 4/10/2001
Water Temperature: 76
Water Clarity: 1 foot
Today, I had the opportunity to take my Nitro out with its new motor and everything ran the way it was supposed to. Since the completion or assembly of all the new parts last week we have been plagued with a motor that just didn’t run right. The culprit, a temp sensor, was replaced yesterday.
I would like to thank all of the parties that fished with us last week, or were supposed to fish with us, for their understanding and good sportsmanship. Everyone got to fish with no one left on shore, but it was with cooperation and friendship and we greatly appreciate it.
Fishing the past week has had its ups and downs. Top water fishing is coming on strong but when the fish go down they can be stubborn. We had days were, although not jumping in the boat, the bass cooperated throughout the day, and we had days were every fish in the boat was a hard fought battle. Even shiners didn’t seem to make great differences during the tough periods.
However, the shad have started to show, and when they do the catching is on. All along the north end of the farm amidst the clumps of hydrilla willing bass can be found. Top water baits such as chug bugs, buzz baits, soft jerk baits, and hard jerk baits will work well here. Always be ready for that flurry of action when a school of shad moves through. You have to be quick and accurate with your cast when this happens and the reward for that speed and accuracy will be a bass or two. JUST A MENTION: Don’t run for a bust if it is too far. By the time you get there the bass will have gone back down. However, if the bust is close by be ready for some real excitement. Most of the busts that we noted were taking place east of the stump on the north end of the center ditch. Another area that is still producing good catches is just south of the E/W ditch, and east of the center N/S ditch. Other baits that have been working well down here are spinner baits and Texas rigged worms.
Today’s foray took us from the north end of the Farm, down through the SE end and over into the middle south area. The wind, what little there was from the NW quadrant and had almost no effect except to let the gnats fly all about us. About mid-day we headed for the Stick Marsh. The wind had completely died down so navigation amongst the stumps and brush wouldn’t present a problem. We started on the south end of the Marsh and worked our way northward using a white tripletail shad on my rod, and a pumpkinseed worm on Scott’s rod. I had rigged the shad with a swivel about 3 inches above the shad, which was just enough weight to get a medium sink rate. Scott rigged his worm Texas style using a 1/8-ounce weight. We flipped, pitched and cast to brush, stumps, and treetops and about every third cast yielded a bass. Once hooked, the bass had to be water-skied to the boat or they were lost in the brush. A strong line and stout rod is needed up here. Paying close attention to your line is needed as the bass will pick it up and slowly move off with it. Although some of the hits were hard most of the bass were very sneaky. I would hazard a guess that you could pick any location on the Marsh and catch fish in this manner. The only thing I would like to add is that logic and common sense should be applied to fish on the Marsh. If the wind is blowing hard this is no place to be unless you wish to go swimming. Also, if the wind is blowing it makes seeing obstacles in the water very difficult and you will damage the trolling motor. However, if the wind cooperates, look for a spectacular time. With the winds cooperation, the motors cooperation, and 63 bass cooperating that is exactly what we had: a spectacular time! See you out there.
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