Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
December 22, 2004
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
We are coming upon the close of 2004 with only 2 more days to Christmas.
Florida has seen some troubles with Hurricanes which made getting accommodations
here a bit tough, but that is behind us, things are pretty much back to
normal. Scott and I took over 500 people out on the Stick Marsh this year and
most had really good days irregardless of weather conditions.
Each and every year the Marsh/Farm presents us with changes in fishing
conditions and locations and this year will be no different. Water quality,
weather conditions, and varying cover cause the bait to move and with their
movements, so go the bass. Each and every year the spawn comes and some years to
the same location. This year we saw a change on the Marsh side and the bass were
in a different spot for the spawn. The beginning of this year and the end of
2003 we found the bass located on the south end of the Farm. Due to the draw
down at Toho we saw a large increase in those seeking bass on our waters and as
is normal, boats draw boats, so the south end of the Farm looked like a
gathering of all the fishermen on the lake.
This year, since the hurricanes, things have again changed. The bass are not
on the south end of the Farm, Toho has its waters back and I doubt that we will
see boats relating so closely to each other. The fish on the Farm side are
relating to the structures far more than the cover, although there is an
abundance of cover in the south end of the Farm. For those that know the Farm,
they know that there is a hefty combination of structure and cover on the Farm
side, whereas the Stick Marsh side is primarily cover. Well, bass like the
combination more often than one or the other, hence at this time most of the
bass are to be found on the Farm. For a good deal of the time, the apparent
cover is hydrilla, but this year Mother Nature has changed that. As the
hurricanes ripped through the area they removed the hydrilla and moved it to the
west wall of the Farm. For the next few months your most important tool is going
to be your depth finder, as you need to see the structure to fish it.
On the Farm there are old irrigation ditches that run from north to south,
and a major feeder ditch that runs east to west. Along these ditches are levees
and road beds and this is where you will presently find your best fishing.
Intersections create areas of increased current as the ditches merge so I would
suggest that be your first stop. From there I would suggest that your
best option would be to head north along the ditches. On the north end of the
ditches running east to west there is a swale and this can be a productive area
also. Once you locate a fish work the area intensively, moving outward from
where you caught the fish.
This is the time of year when the crappie, (speckled perch), fishermen come
out in force, and for the next two months the parking lot will make you think
that the fishing pressure is intense. No less than 50% of the vehicles will
belong to crappie fishermen. The road will have its periods of washboard but
they usually grade it a couple times a week during the season. Dust from the
road will get into everything so a cover is strongly recommended.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words: So here is 10,000 words to
describe the Stick Marsh last January: 1/11/04 - 1/18/04.
Andy Strickland 1/18/04
I see no reason to not have the same kind of a January this year. The fish
are there, just not in the same spots as last year, and they are just as easy to
catch. Our last trips out there have all been high number trips. The wind has
howled, the grass is gone, but the right spot, and the right bait will produce.
Give us a call, we still have plenty of spots open and we will be only too glad
to take you out to our favorite fishing hole.
See you on the water, say hi if you get the chance.
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