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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
January 25, 2004
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
As I sit and review and compare the fishing and conditions of January 2003 to January
2004, I am amazed at their similarity. Last January we were bundled up for most
of the month facing temperatures that went low enough to allow snow flurries in
the area. This year we haven't gotten to that extreme but we have come close.
Yesterday we found ice formed on the deck of the Hewes early in the AM.
The fishing last year through the month of January was primarily in the south
end of the Farm and again this year we are finding the same thing. One pleasant
respite this year over last year is the lack of Pickerel being found in the
south end of the Farm. I think most of the Pickerel have located themselves in
the spillway area as there seems to be no shortage attacking the shiners being
offered in that area.
January of 2002 found most of the fishing and fish to be on the Stick Marsh
side with some pretty spectacular results if you got your baits into the right
area. This year there have been some sporadic catches on the Stick Marsh. Last
week we did find some fish outside the palms in the NW area and some smaller
bucks in the palms but this area has not given us anything consistent. Twin
Palms, located in the middle east of the Marsh has not shown much but it is an
area to watch for the upcoming spring spawn.
Shiner fishing in the spillway area has been producing some nice fish and some
protection from the wind and cold over the last week. Gary Stevenson and Greg
Witt of Sterling, Virginia joined Scott on the 20th for a day of shiner fishing,
trying to stay warm and bracing against a brisk 15-25 MPH wind. Morning found
them free-lining shiners in the spillway area, watching an unfortunate soul on
another boat fall into the water, and then moving and trolling shiners in the
south areas of the Farm. The days results were fair, but when taking weather
into consideration they did quite well. A quick note on rigging the shiners: In
the spillway area the bass are being found under and near floating hyacinth. Key
to having success in there is putting the shiner out sans a float, and belly
hooking the shiner to force it to swim down and forward. The hook is placed just
above the anal fin. When out in the Farm trolling the shiners, use a float and
hook the shiner in the lip. The hook enters through the bottom lip and comes out
either nostril of the shiner.
On the 21st while cleaning boats we discovered a problem with the Mercury on
the Nitro: water in the lower unit. Yikes! Fortunately Island Marine of
Sebastian came to our immediate rescue and we had it back in time for our next
trip which was the 24th.
Yesterday Jess Haynes and his friends Bryant and Neil arrived for some warm
Florida fishing. They had driven down from Okatie, SC the night before and
weren't quite prepared for the cold temperatures that greeted them a daylight.
Temperatures in the 30's and a light wind made the ride to the spillway just a
tad uncomfortable but these hardy youngsters were game and ready for getting the
shiners wet and hauling in some Farm-sized bass. Fishing this area produced some
nice bass for each and this lady that Bryant brought in helped to warm things up
a bit:
Not to be outdone, Neil also picked this lady out the hyacinth:
From the spillway Scott moved over to the south end of the Farm and had
moderate success trolling the shiners. By noon the temperatures climbed and the
wind died so it actually got quite comfortable out their. The two 7-pound bass
were the big fish for the day, and the guys headed back to SC early in the
afternoon.
I spent the morning working the south area east of the center N/S ditch with
Senkos. With the wind blowing at about 12 out of the NW and cold morning temps I
found a group of fish that wanted to play and boated 18 bass by 8:30 AM
including one 6-pound bass that put up quite a fight. At or around 8:30 it was
as if someone threw a switch and the bite dropped off. I played around for
another hour in the area and then went over to see how things were going in the
spillway with Scott and crew. Things has also slowed down for them although I
did see a couple of swings and misses, but they were probably only mud fish as
the guys never miss bass.
Within 15 minutes of arriving back at the south end a bass hit my Senko as it
hit the water and I boated a nice 8 pound bass. However, other that a couple
more smaller fish that was my catch for the day.
If you want to have success here, get out the Senkos. If you want to know if
they make a difference, and a second opinion read the results of this weeks FLW
tournament on Okeechobee.
Hope to see you on the water. Say hi if you get the chance.
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