Stick Marsh & Farm 13

Fishing date: 8/15/03 Water temps: 83 Water level: Very high Conditions: Bright, Sunny Scott had to coerce me into going today as my hands and arms are just about worn out. Of course if you believe that I have a bridge for sale that you can make a bundle on. Fishing the current of the spillway area produced over 150 bass by 1:00. There was a good breeze to keep us cool and lots of big fish to keep us happy. The size and number of fish are holding in there with many fish being up over that 5 pound mark. Storms moved in at 1:00 which ended the day for us. Four boats fishing the area. Fishing date: 8/16/03 Water temps: 83 Water level: Very high Conditions: Bright, Sunny We knew that this was going to be a busy weekend at the Marsh so we planned to be in the water by 5AM. Gary Piscano was going to be with us today and scheduled to meet us at 4:30. Gary showed up at 4:00 as I was icing the boat and loading the drinks so we actually got to the ramp at 4:45 and thought had to be the first there. NOT! There was already one boat launched and gone and Stan Daniels was busy prepping his boat. A two minute launch and a quick run to the spillway in the dark made us the number two boat for the day. By daylight this was going to be drastically different. I counted at one point 18 boats fishing in the area. Total cooperation and great camaraderie amongst all the boaters made for a fantastic day for everyone down there. Water flow through the spillway, and two of the three pipes wide open have the fish spread all the way back to where the area opens into the lake. At times the fish would hit crank baits of various sorts, but for the most part most were being caught on Carolina rigs. With the water levels rising quickly the current has actually been greatly reduced but there is still more than enough current to allow for ideal conditions for catching bass such as those above. These two bass slammed Senkos worked in the heavier current at the mouth of spillway. Throughout the day we would alternate between fishing the current up in the mouth and the downstream current out beyond the cable. The fish bit pretty much all day long although today there was not many caught on crank baits of any sort in these two areas. The preferred color of the Senko was dark. The Carolina rigs were set using a 3/8 ounce weight with about a 2.5 foot leader and 4/0 hooks. We used 5" Senkos in several different watermelon versions. We finally called it a day around 2:30 after boating between 150 and 200 bass. Without a doubt, this is the greatest fishing experience that could be found anywhere. The Stick Marsh/Farm 13 holds some of the biggest bass, and has one of the largest populations of big bass that can be found anywhere. We don't always have current and situations as we have had over the last few days, but we do always have the population and opportunity throughout the entire lake to catch that big fish and to wear your arms out. The lakes face is changing constantly and is greatly affected by many factors. Seasonal as well as temporary conditions making fishing this lake an ever changing process of adjustment. There are times when you could come here and find the last few days conditions working for you, and I would have to say those times outweigh the dreaded others. However, there will be those days which no one can control when you will have to work to make the day and the weather can get a bit tough. However, perseverance,  practiced skills applied, and location can make the day. This particular day Mark Lee and his Dad arrived to less than ideal condition with a combination of wind, rain, and temps in the forties. A front flew through and made conditions far less than ideal. However this didn't deter Mark who made the adjustment, kept on pitching, and was rewarded with this nice fish. By the way,  Mark and his Dad were getting hit with wind gust to 32 miles per hour when this picture was snapped. Hope you are having a great summer Mark.