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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
March 5, 2000
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
After spending the last two weeks on the Marsh I finally have the opportunity to get home and catch up on some of the home front responsibilities. Fishing has been absolutely excellent for the most part with most days in the 30+-catch range. Traffic on the Marsh seems to have peaked with the crappie bite being extremely strong in the SW corner of Farm 13. They were hitting just about anything including 1/2 oz. rattletraps at one point. Most boats were able to limit out for every soul on board.
The bass have been moving, but not too far, with the strongest bite being found on the boat trails. The center N/S ditch has done very well particularly in the north end on both Carolina rigs and rattletraps. I have done extremely well in the western N/S ditch to the north of the center E/W ditch using Carolina rigs. Colors of bait seem to change frequently and zipper worms and lizards seem to work the best. A little tip to help you when fishing these ditches: When working the N/S ditches you will find that the fish tend to stack more on the east levee than the west levee, and when fishing the E/W ditch the fish will tend to be on the north levee more often. If you have a GPS be sure to mark these ditches, as they are difficult to locate when the wind blows.
The SW corner of the Farm is producing strong catches with some top-water activity in the morning and again in the afternoon. Popping type baits and buzz baits are sure to produce and some big fish are coming up and raising the adrenalin levels. When tossing a worm hit every stump you see. Place the worm right next to the stump and then wait and watch your line. Also hit the stump from all sides as you have a 95% chance that a good fish is there. Patience pays off here so fish it slow. The deep SW corner which was really good a couple of weeks ago is getting difficult as we have had a water level drop in the last week. Also the bass seem to be moving out to the more conventional areas.
With the water level dropping you want to be careful in the Stick Marsh. Operation that was safe just two weeks ago is no longer the same, so although the urge is to get up and moving, I would suggest an idle in most areas of the Stick Marsh. Big fish are being caught still in the NW area of the Stick Marsh and out at Twin Palms. Also just drifting along can produce some good catches, as there are stumps just about anywhere you can drift. Rattle traps, small crank-baits and Texas rigs all work well up here.
Be sure to check the pump house for operation. Enjoy the wildlife, the fishing and be ready at all times for a big fish. Your next cast could be the one. Be careful and wave as you go by.
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