Stick Marsh & Farm 13

Wilma came and blew, but with no damage other than power outages we pretty much functioned as normal. Not having electricity makes it very difficult to keep the refrigerator cold, the batteries in the boat charged, and it makes it downright impossible to post fishing reports. However, with limited power from a generator we were able to keep the refrigerator cold, the boat charged up, and get out to do some fishing. Scott's reports for the last week: 10/30/2005: I meet Daniel True and Corey Poirier, both local fishermen, at the ramp for a ½ day afternoon trip. We headed to the Spillway and tied of on the pole. With the strong winds the current was screaming so we had to move up to 1oz weights on our Carolina rigs. Right around 2:45pm St. Johns came down and lowered the gate to three feet which reduced the current significantly. Switching back to1/2oz weights kept the bass biting. We headed back to the ramp at 3:00pm after catching around 30 bass up to 6 pounds. 10/31/2005: I meet Don Willis at the ramp at 6:00am and we headed to the Spillway. Tying to the pole we started catching bass immediately. We noticed bass chasing shad but unfortunately they were just out of reach. We did manage to convince a few bass to chase our chug bugs. The bite started out with a bang but slowed as quickly as it started. We were able to catch 33 bass including two bass over 7 pounds by the time we called it a day at 2:30pm. All bass where caught on Carolina rigs, and swim baits.   11/1/2005: I meet Don Willis for another day of what we hoped would be an outstanding  bass catching. Like the day before the bass started biting right away and slowed down. The only difference today was they just did not turn back on for us. By the time we called it a day at 12:00pm we caught 15 bass with the largest bass weighing 5+ pounds. All bass where caught on Carolina rigged Senkos and 10” worms. I did manage to catch a few on swim baits. My trips for the last week: Ron Buchwald and Dave Goyer are regulars and when they come they do it a week at a time. They travel all the way from Oregon for the big bass of the Marsh and this years trek turned into quite an adventure. Due to arrive at the scheduled arrival of Wilma they changed their flight and trip dates, but Wilma proved quite fickle and they arrived in Atlanta the day Wilma knocked on our door. Once in Atlanta they found themselves stranded with no guarantee of any flight out for the next few days. They were able to find a car to rent, but luggage proved not as easy. Eventually they did get some assistance and the luggage was found intact. The drive down was uneventful and they called upon arrival ready to go fishing. The first day out things were messy on the Marsh. The spillway was loaded with grass and debris coming in and the rest of the lake was chocolate brown. Eight hours of fishing proved difficult to say the least, but we didn't go off skunked as six bass did cooperate. The next day proved quite a bit better with the water in the spillway a lot cleaner and the bass partaking of the Carolina rigged Senkos. Ron managed a nice eight pound fish which was part of an excellent day of fishing. Subsequent days were repeats with both Ron and Dave catching bass fairly regularly and adding some nice fish to remember until their next trip. Carolina rigs and Senkos proved to be the best bait, for both size and numbers Their final day was, weather wise, projected to be the best. The forecast called for chances of rain and thunderstorms. Skies were overcast, the wind was light, but the bass were not advised of the conditions. The morning started off excellent but as the hours passed the bite died. Unfortunately it did not turn back on, so the last of the seven day trip proved to be the second worse day of their quest. Think upcoming spawn and you can see the potential for some real dynamic fishing in the upcoming weeks. The water will clean up, the south end will come alive, and the fish caught will be fat and healthy. See you on the water. Say hi if you pass by.