Stick Marsh/Farm 13

1111 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by houdini, Oct 29, 2003

acstech

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2003 (Edited)

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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. 
<img border="0" src="http://www.imaginationbassin.com/test/DCP_0499.jpg" width="400" height="266"> 
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; <a href="http://www.imaginationbassin.com/Coments.htm">
http://www.imaginationbassin.com/Coments.htm</a>
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. 

 
 
 

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acstech

Discussion Starter · #2 · Oct 27, 2003 (Edited)

Update thru weekend

Today's weather forecast
is calling for a slight chance of showers with winds from the south @ 10.
Saturday's forecast called for 0% chance of rain with winds from the east at 15
- 20 Knots. Saturday it started relatively calm but by 9:AM the weatherman was
right about the wind as the wind came and within short order we were fighting
20+ winds. 20 knots = 23 MPH and the weatherman proved to be dead on from 10:AM
on. However he was a tad bit off about the rain as a rainstorm bore towards the
Farm at 1:30. 
 
Temperatures did get into the low 80's so it made for a pleasant change for two
of the 3 gents I had on board. Three young gents in and around their 60's
arrived with a trip on the Marsh as part of their annual get together. These
guys presently live in Yorktown, Va., Holland, NY, and Davenport, Florida, but
their commonality was that they all went to high school together in upstate New
York. Your own Houdini, J. Geckler, Howard Hoffman of Davenport, and Art from
Yorktown proved once again that "boys will be boys" as the banter flew about the
boat in a continuous and humorous manner throughout the day. 
 
We started in the SW area of the Farm throwing both topwater jerk baits and
T-rigged plastics in our search for the lunker. The hydrilla over here is matted
in some of the area and spread out and growing in the rest. After an hour and
not so much as one "howdy" from the bass we were seeking we moved through the
mat to the deeper south. As you move southward the mat has dropped back and the
water is fairly open. 
 
It didn't take long before our first fish of the day; Small he was, but a bass
nonetheless. While we fished we kept in contact with Scott who was out on the
center N/S ditch just south of the intersection, and working the area with
rattletraps. We continued in our area with an occasional bass and decided to
move out when Scott reported several fish on the traps. As we moved the short
distance out to Scott's location the wind hit and the bite he had died. After a
short while we went back to the area in the SW, moving from stump to stump and
fishing the areas we could reach while tied off. 
 
All the conditions were in place for an upset. Bass win and we lose. I sure do
dislike that term "that's fishing", but although the fishing was lacking the
camaraderie was plentiful as we finished out the day and headed for the ramp.
Houdini was a definite winner with fish caught, but all three were winners as
they shared memories and time together out here. 
 
See you on the water. Say hi if you get the chance.

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JOHN G

· #3 · Oct 27, 2003

George, please check your user control panel for a PM that I sent you...

thank you!

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houdini

· #4 · Oct 29, 2003

Stick Farm and Mosquito Lagoon

Well, I'll log in on this one as I'm mentioned.
This was indeed a get together of old friends from high school. Two of the three of us (me and Howard) have fished together since we were in seventh grade. We just located Art after all these years and I don't think he's as bit by the bug as we are.
It was fun - and would have been even if we hadn't of caught a thing. I thought it was fun because I caught fish and they didn't! Just about everything was on senkos or cut tail senkos in dark colors.
As George implies, it was more fishing and less catching. The three or four fish I caught all had holes in the side of their mouths indicating that catch and release is working at Stick Marsh. I would say the largest was about fifteen inches. All looked well fed and healthy.
It was a beautiful day until about four when a storm threatened and we got off the water.
The birds have to be seen to be believed. We saw one lonesome gator in the distance - well - actually a lump on the water that submerged that could have been a gator.
We'll do it again. For those of you who haven't met George, he's a savy guide and good company. His boat (Nitro) is well maintained and clean and he certainly knows the area. I'd recommend him with no problem.
The next day, we went over to Mosquito Lagoon and waded the flats. As we were there for the first time and had to sort of scope it out as we went, it was really an opportunity to check it out for future visits and get in some fishing. We didn't get much but found some areas to return to at a later date. This place is not to be missed - it's full of fish. If you do it by boat, it looks to be a huge area of flats and channels with great water everywhere.
We saw so many varieties of bird life that I won't attempt to list them other than to mention Roseate Spoonbills, pelicans, egrets and herons.
All in all, it was a great trip with two days of fishing in very diverse locations and the companionship couldn't have been better, George included.

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