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Stick Marsh & Farm 13
Capt. George Welcome
January 15, 2005
Stick Marsh-Farm 13 - Freshwater Fishing Report
As the rising sun announces a new day and offers a brief moment of natures
beauty one can only reflect on how lucky we are as we venture forth on Stick
Marsh/Farm 13.
When you arrive to fish the Marsh/Farm and look across the large expanse of
open water you might wonder where to start. With the high water that we have
right now there isn't much out there to give you a visual reference, however if
you could look below the surface this is what you would see. The Stick Marsh
side of this lake is wall to wall wood. The area that you can see in the photo
below is in the Twin Palms location looking westward, and the sunrise photo
taken moments before is in the same area of course looking eastward. If you sat
in the same spot today all you would see is water but the wood is there and so
are the bass.
However, with the water levels up or the water levels down this lake is a
fisherman's paradise and at any moment with any cast you will be treated to the
best fishing you can find anywhere.
In addition to fantastic fishing wildlife is teeming with many and varied
birds and of course alligators that sometimes like to try to take your expensive
baits away from you. The little guy below tried to take a Chug Bug from Scott
and in the process got it caught in his lower lip. However, with a some careful
handling and a quick twist with the pliers we were able to remove the hook and
the gator returned to the water none the worse for the meeting.
The Farm side of the lake has a mixture of fishing profiles with abundant
wood on the south end of the lake to old irrigation canals that dissect the lake
below the surface. At this time the apparent grass that marked these ditches is
missing but with electronics they can be easily found and working their edges
will on most occasions yield some really good bass.
Yesterday Bill, Brenda, Don, and Patsy were scheduled for a day of catching
with us. The weatherman predicted high winds with an abnormally high chance of
rain to include thunderstorms. Unlike the morning pictured above we were greeted
with gray skies, however with 16-dozen shiners off we went to the spillway area
in the southeast of the Farm. The parking lot was empty when we left and we
never saw another boat all day. The wind was light out of the SE and although
cloudy there were breaks that allowed an occasional glimpse of the stars. Bill
and Brenda have fished with us several times so anticipation was high for
another outstanding day that this lake is famous for.
They would not be disappointed as shiner after shiner were inhaled by willing
bass. Working them free-lined produced bass after bass and produced this beauty
for Patsy for big fish for the day. As the morning progressed the catfish moved
in but going to floats kept the catfish at bay.
By 11 AM the group had gone through the 16-dozen shiners and were getting
drenched by the rain that finally descended upon us. Although the spillway can
offer a lot of protection from the wind the north wind of today drove the rain
directly at us so thoughts of continued fishing came to an end and we headed
back to the ramp. Occasionally above the roar of the wind and the pounding of
the rain I heard the girls saying something about the "perfect storm" as we beat
our way across the Farm and Marsh to the ramp. The ride back was was a scene
right out of a Spielberg movie as front barreled into our area. The weather went
from cloudy and calm to a downpour and winds in excess of 40 MPH directly out of
the NW. However, the soaking rains and heavy surf did nothing to deter from the
fantastic day of fishing and the four departed the ramp for home to dry out and
prepare for their next adventure of a ten-day cruise to the Caribbean.
A test ride the day before on Garcia with the Nitro was needed as the
throttle positioning sensor on the Mercury went bad and was replaced. We spent
about an hour there after the test drive and managed 8 bass to 4 pounds in the
hour. Garcia is a good alternative location when the winds are blowing as levees
and grass lines afford wind breaks.
See you on the water. We still have a few openings in January. February and
March are filling in but we do have a few openings so give us a call. With the
grass being greatly reduced we are looking forward to some outstanding top water
action this year so start thinking April and May. The shad will be on the move
with less places to hide so the action should be hot and heavy.
More Fishing Reports:
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