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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
July 5, 2000
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
Water Temperature: 80+
Water Clarity: 1 foot
Water levels continue to increase as we get more and more rain showers. Caution in the front end is still need, maybe even more now as the stumps are not visible any more.
Fishing continues to be excellent.
July 1 Scott took a trip and fished until 3:00. The bass were a little stubborn about top water so technique was a mixed bag of chug bug, buzz bait, and rattle trap and Carolina rigs. Fisher people on board were two young ladies on their second trip and my younger son John. 62 bass came over the rail and quite a few were missed with the top water baits. The bass were found on the south end of the middle irrigation canal. The weather was a bit rough with a fair amount of rain and goodly amount of wind but setting the anchor and using Carolina rigs was all it took to dismiss the effects of the wind.
July 2nd I had out Tony Maresca and brother Tom and Tony Jr. We were able to work a chug bug all day long in the same area and landed the exact same amount of fish. (Perhaps they were the same ones as Scott's trip yesterday) Tony Jr. as usual did a fantastic job as his pictures on my pages illustrate. Tony Sr worked a rattletrap for a period and had great success with it. The wind picked up in the afternoon but we were able to work our way through it. Later in the day we moved to the front of the Stick Marsh and picked up several along the palm trees.
July 3rd I had brothers Bob and Jim Sisko. We started working the south of the intersection on the center ditch and the second cast of buzz bait by Jim landed him a 27" - 16" girth 10+ pound bass. It was just becoming light and had the three of us dancing about the deck. Not 5 minutes later, brother Bob had his buzz bait sucked down and the twin to Jim's bass was in the boat. Measurement was exactly the same and certainly had me wondering if it wasn't the same fish. However markings on the bass disproved that thought. This was a half-day trip and we quit by 11:00 with 17 bass on board. The wind was strong and we caught several at the pump house on Carolina rigs while anchored up. For Bob and Jim these big bass were their biggest ever and certainly made the day for them. Bob lives in Cocoa area and will be back soon but Jim lives in NJ so for him this was a super special occasion.
July 4th my grandson convinced me that he really wanted to try this bass fishing for himself. He is eight and has been with his father many times for pan fish, but never tried any type of artificial lures before. Back to the same location on the center ditch we went and Chis, on his own caught and released a 3-pound bass on his third try. I would cast the lure for him and then he would work it back to the boat. Total for Chris in two hours of fishing was two to the boat and about a dozen misses. Won't be long before he's hooking those hits more often. His catches made our day and with storms brewing in the east we headed home two very happy fishermen.
The bass over the last couple of days have become a little finicky about hitting top water baits. When this occurs go to some other baits such as rattletraps and plastics. Don't immediately think they have moved somewhere else. Slow down all presentations and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. The schools that we have been working are all still in the same locations and with different baits we have been able to get them to the boat. The hydrilla is filling in rapidly so don't fish just the edges of the ditches. Move off and see if you make contact out in the open areas away from the ditches. We have found that the edges of the schools are as much as 150 to 200 feet out from the ditch edge. Another thing that we have noticed are a lot of short hits on top water. When this occurs, first slow down the presentation and if that doesn't work then down size the bait. We have very successfully used a baby bug. The smaller bait seems to make the bass concentrate more on the bait and results in more hook-ups.
Another suggestion is don't run up on the area you are going to fish with the big motor. Shut down and use your trolling motor to get to your spot. Yesterday I watched the 4th of July crowd running directly down the irrigation ditches with the big motors which of course will send the fish off for safe haven for a while. Also, I would suggest that if you find a fish spend a good period of time working the area with several baits. I witnessed a tremendous amount of people running hither and yon yesterday and only working areas that I knew had fish for brief periods. Running and gunning will generally eat a lot of gas, cool you off, and cover a lot of water, but it will most often not put many fish in the boat. The baits only work when they are in the water. Good fishing and hope to see you out there.
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