Stick Marsh & Farm 13

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.