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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
August 19, 2003
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
Submitted by George, Imagination Bassin Guide Services
Date Fished: 8/19/03
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
There are a couple of important things to pay close attention to when you come to Florida in the summer.
The first is protection for your skin. The sun here is hot and it is very easy to get burned quite severely. Correct protection starts at your motel room before you ever come to the lake with application of an adequate sun protectorant. SPF 45 is a must and getting it on before exposure to the sun is a must.
The second, and this one can be a killer, is adequate consumption of liquid. Far too often I need to remind people to get a drink, and far too often I hear that they are just fine. Liquid and plenty of it is an absolute must if you are going to keep the body hydrated throughout the day.
Another item of protection that is most often neglected is protection from the pesky mosquito. There are several things out there that can make you either very sick or worse, and they come to you via the mosquito. Encephalitis, (which is quite serious), West Nile Virus, and Malaria can all be contracted through the bite of a mosquito. These are not illnesses that should be taken lightly, so when you come bring plenty of good insect repellant. On the Stick Marsh you only need worry about these pesky critters prior to sunrise and just around sunset, so if the launch is early, or the return is late, cover and spray.
The last couple of days on the Marsh have seen some drastic changes in water flow. Yesterday at 9:15AM, the water management people arrived at the spillway on the Farm and lowered the gate to 2 feet. With the extreme high water situation that we have this cut the flow drastically, and cut the bite associated with this flow.
We started in the spillway yesterday and moved out into the SE area of the Farm adjusting to those changes. The weather was bright and hot and we departed before 11AM. All of the fish we caught were caught on Senkos, both Carolina rigged in the spillway area, and weightless outside of the spillway. We had boated 40 bass before leaving the spillway and picked up another 17 as we worked our way out from the mouth of the area.
Today's trip started on the north end of the center ditch and as we worked our way southward 2 bass were caught on a chrome/blue 1/2 ounce rattletrap. From here we went to the spillway and picked up about 25 bass on rattletraps, Carolina-rigged Senkos, and Storm Chug Bugs. As we left the spillway area the water management people arrived and raised the gate to 3 feet but it didn't do much for the flow or the bite.
We moved out through the SE area of the Farm catching a couple of nice bass in the scattered hydrilla and then moved to the southern end of the center N/S ditch. You can view these areas I refer to on my site at: http://www.imaginationbassin.com which includes GPS numbers for all of them. On the center ditch we finished out the morning leaving the lake at 11:30. Storms were coming in rapidly and the heat was just a tad much.
See you on the water. Say hi if you get the chance.
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