Stick Marsh & Farm 13

Cocoa Beach to Jupiter Inlet out to 20 NM ... 4:30 AM EDT Fri Oct 24 2003 Today ... East winds 5 to 10 Knots ... Increasing to 10 to 15 Knots. Seas 2 to 3 feet. Intercostals waters a moderate chop. As you can readily see by the above NOAA forecast, winter weather patterns are arriving with fronts rolling southward that will cool our waters. It is presently 59 degrees with an expected dip to 55 over the next 2 hours. New York City is sitting at 39 degrees which would be a bit cooler than I would want to see. The last week has seen the arrival of two fronts but both were mild with only small increases in winds and very little drop in temperatures. Water temperatures are still holding in the high 70 ranges and the bite has been mixed between top water soft jerk baits and down with the Senkos. Chris Cattuna of Wayne, NJ came out to sample some Florida fishing and had a great time on the Marsh/Farm. Chris lives on Packanack Lake and gets to fish most days, but he could not resist the opportunity to spend a day here while vacationing with his family in the Disney area. We started the day with soft jerk baits over the grass and ended throwing Senkos and it was the Senkos that brought the bass to the boat. Fished weightless and little movement did the trick. It has been relatively slow over the last week with most fish being caught down instead of on top. Half day forays have yielded catches in the 20 to 30 fish range. A lot of smaller bucks are showing up in the SW areas of the Farm in preparation of the upcoming December spawn and it is only a matter of a short time until the big females start showing up consistently down there. There are some in the area right now; make the right cast and she could be yours. If you catch her get your pictures and measurements but remember to be gentle and return her to the water as quickly as possible. Stick Marsh/Farm 13 is a public body of water with an immediate catch and release rule in effect. Fish and Game enforcement frowns greatly on the placing of any bass into a live well. Crappie or "specs", have a 25 per person limit and bream and such have a 50 per person limit. There are plenty of cats, some pickerel, the pesky bowfin and alligator gar, and a strange looking freshwater inhabitant, the needle fish. Shore fishing is available but difficult at best as is the case with most Florida bodies of water. There is one ramp to access the lake at is located at the end of Fellsmere Grade Rd, which is a 6.5 mile dirt adventure. Ramp procedures here are the same as anywhere: prep your boat first and then use the ramp as quickly as possible. With only one ramp location, prepping your boat on the ramp and tying it up is just a tad impolite. Be aware of your fellow fisherman and make every ones start of day a good one. Our busy season is here and as you make your plans to visit Florida and fish here keep this in mind. There are several really good guides to choose from and tons advertising on the internet. Many have the Stick Marsh featured in their ads, but never fish here and will try to divert you to other lakes. How do you figure out who is who? It is real easy. Get references! "Word of mouth" is the best way to know, but inquiries on the internet are good also. Most guides are advertising on the internet today: go to their pages and look for a comments section; http://www.imaginationbassin.com/Coments.htm When you do book your trip be sure to communicate the type of fishing that you want to do and any needs that you may have. Most guides provide tackle if needed but that does not mean that they will have it on board if you do not let them know in advance. Good communications will make a better trip for you and the guide. Some thoughts that I would like to pass on: remember that when you hire a guide you are hiring his expertise and not his boat. Treat his boat as a guest as you would want people to treat your boat. Don't walk on seats, throw trash just anywhere, store lake litter under your feet to be ground into the carpet, knock drinks over, come aboard with dirty feet, or any of the myriad of other things that can damage an expensive investment. Obviously the boat is made to work from but use it as you would use your own. If you are going to use the guides fishing tackle do so in the same manner that you would use your own. If you are hiring the guide than avail yourself of the guides expertise. Follow the guides suggestions and you will probably do a lot better out here than if you follow your own methods of fishing. Remember, he is a "Guide" with a lot of fishing experience with emphasis on this lake and not just a charter boat. If you have done your homework and gotten references you will probably have a great day out here even if the fishing is slow. See you on the water. Say hi if you have the chance.