Stick Marsh/Farm 13

[George_Welcome]

Except for the last couple of days the fishing has been pretty good for us. However, most of those days the live bait has outperformed the artificial baits, and the key has been moving water. With this statement, bear in mind that our idea of an outstanding bite might be quite different than others based on the norm for this lake.

Best bait selections: Live bait in current - Carolina Rigs worked adjacent to structure on the Farm - Rattle traps worked adjacent to structure on the Farm - (a major key has been the many floaters that are all over the Farm for individual fish) - weightless T-rigged plastics and rattle traps in the wood on the Stick Marsh.

The pumping station has been running almost daily, but the current has not been strong and the fish have not been piling up there as they usually do. This area normally produces well when running with the bait of choice being the Carolina rig.

Current throughout the lake has been limited which is due to the high water levels. Water north in the rest of the St Johns tributaries is high so moving water northward has been difficult, which in turn backs it up here at the Marsh. What this has done is caused the current at the spillway in the Farm and any other current producers to act quite differently from the past. Adjustments have been needed to compensate and those that made the adjustments have fared quite nicely.

As you have probably noted, those that have adjusted to the Farm conditions and put in the effort have had some pretty decent fishing. Those that are fishing the Farm based on years past are having a tough time of it. The areas that are key are the old irrigation ditches, (boat trails), and moving until you find the fish is going to be the producer. The bass are constantly on the move as they forage for shad so each day is a new adventure.

The last couple of days out there finding the fish in an eating mood has been difficult and entirely dependant on time of day. I can tell you that early AM has not been that time as Scott and Don on Monday AM had a whopping 4 fish after 4-hours of fishing. Yesterday Scott and I hit some of the other areas and had 1 fish in 3 hours.

The previous two days in the same time span we saw catches of 10-15 for the same three hour span. This included a soft jerk bait bite that was happening on the Marsh side.

As the cooler weather is being pushed southward we are seeing some real nasty afternoon thunderstorms. Hail has been common with the colder air aloft and winds have been running in the 60-70 MPH range within these storms. Be very much aware of the strength of these storms and get off before you become a statistic. Lightening and even tornadoes are a common factor in these storms.

With the cooler air drifting southward things will change quickly on the lake. With the accompanying water temperature drops we should start seeing that fall top water bite. Also, as we move into the fall the bass will start preparing for the ensuing spawn season. This translates into increase bite periods and the larger bass being on the move.

If I may say a few words about our sun here in the sunny south and how it affects you and your time on the water: In a good deal of our reports and others that post here we are constantly admonishing caution and urging the use of a good SPF sun protection. One of the areas of the body missed in our use of protection however is the lips. After a few weeks of trips to the doctor and a rather large lip cancer being removed from my face, I want to tell you it is not some trivial matter. The only good protection is cover-up and the only good and complete cover-up for your lip is Zinc Oxide. If you don't wish to face the worry of cancer in the future protect yourself. It takes very little of sun exposure to cause the damage to the tissue that encourages lip cancer. Fishermen lead the list of candidates so be advised.

See you out there.