Please EMAIL THROUGH MY SPACE!!!

October 2007 Submitted 10/7/07 The season has arrived and the results that some people are having on the Marsh/Farm is quite dynamic. A witnessed report from two anglers: 90+ bass to the boat including several 5-7 pound fish. I fished relatively near these guys and in an hour and a half boated 15-20. Last year at this time we were spending a fair amount of time on Blue Cypress. Water levels were still good there but were receding. When we weren't there, we had limited time on the Marsh due to winds and was spending a lot of time on Ansin/Garcia because of the afforded wind protection that lake offered. In addition the water levels were dropping quickly which made working the staging bass, (south end of the Farm) difficult to work anytime the wind blew due to the heavy wood found there. This year the scenario is completely different. Water levels are at or above previous seasonal levels which will allow us to work the south end using wind socks this year. For any that have fished this area previously in late fall to early winter you know how exciting this fishing can be. In addition there is always a strong possibility of moving water as the continuing rains flood the marshes to the south which can only move north through the Stick Marsh. Stick Marsh/Farm 13 is part of the Blue Cypress Conservation Area, and one of 5 areas that make up the head waters to the St Johns River. As you know, the St Johns runs north. All or most of the Ft Drum marshes, and the three areas of Ansin/Garcia have to flow through the Stick Marsh, and with the continuing rains that we are experiencing this means a fairly reliable and constant flow. To add to this northward flow is water from a private reservoir that is just south of us. Anyone that has fished the current on the Marsh/Farm knows that these current flows means a phenomenal number of fish caught in a day, and size to go with the numbers. Typical of October's fish when current is running. Some of the scenes that we encounter on the Marsh/Farm are quite spectacular. This exception shot of a double rainbow was captured a couple of days ago by Don Wills, (AKA Don the Worlds Worst Fishermen). So far this month we have seen in excess of 4" of water in this area. It seems however that much of the rain stops before reaching the inner areas of the state so inland lakes are not coming up as we have. Okeechobee is reporting 10 feet (above sea level) which still leaves them down by as much as 5 feet. Hopefully some rain will reach them a bring their levels up. There is nothing like spending a family day doing anything, however there is a magic to doing it fishing. The Fletcher family found it to be so and I am sure you will also. Bookings are coming in a bit faster this year for this season. To ensure you get dates of your choice get on the phone and give me a call. We will fish shiners or artificial bait, but artificial is preferred. If needed we supply rods and reels. (Shimano) We do not supply bait or terminal tackle but will give you a list of what is working just prior to your days. The boat is 20' and ready to carry you to what in most cases is a trip of a lifetime. See you on the water - say hi if you get the chance. Submitted 10/17/07 by George Every year at this time the fish start getting quite predictable and not only is this year following the patterns, but the volume of fish make the forecast look like it's going to be a banner year. Days of catching over fifty, and yes, over 100 bass have been seen in the last week. Shad busts are happening and if you get in the right spot and use the right bait that's what you will see. Being in the right spot will make the difference between catching almost nothing and catching the big numbers. In addition, get in the right spot and see multiple fish 6-pounds or better. I have had several e-mails asking about Don Willis and Steve P. Yes people, they are still very active out there and yes they have been spot dead on them. Their lack of reports are for the same reason: they are sick of the internet rebuttal crap, and they don't wish to inform some where they are fishing. I know for both they have had multiple days over the last week with huge numbers and jumbo bass. Booking a trip for the upcoming season is going to be a bit tougher if you don't get your desired days in earlier this fall. With the last years drought, the ensuing difficult fishing because of water levels and conditions, and the high gas prices, the numbers of guides out here has dropped drastically. Safe navigation on the lake presently is of little concern as unlike most Florida lakes, we have plenty of water. Drifting the south end of the Farm with drift socks will pose no problem this year, so breezy conditions will be far less of a concern. The road coming in is in fair to good shape. Baits that have been working best: rattle traps - small crank baits - hard jerk baits - Swim Senkos - Carolina rigged plastics. Plastics are dark, traps are chrome/blue. Watch for shad busts: realize that you are not watching for a single bait/prey situation but rather substantial top water activity. I you start chasing the single events you will be running all over the place and not having much success. If you find a school of bass, sit still as the shad will come back through the area again and re-excite the bass. You have to be ready, you have to be fast, and you need to cast accurately. Basically this time of the year finds the bass south of the E/W ditch on the Farm. However don't forget to check those ditch edges! Running water can be a real producer, but so far this year the spillway area has not been a hot and heavy area. However, it is an area to check as it can change anytime there is running water. The pump house has been good if you know what to do in there, and how to set up. November has always been a good month on this lake. Yes, she is over 10-pounds. As you can see, sometimes it can get cool. Another November monster. Again, another chilly day. This one went over 12. As you can see we also have nice warm weather also. Over 10 and fell for a deft presentation of a Senko/watermelon. Mark caught this one in the 1st 1/2 hour on the lake. This lake is a producer, and we know where to find them and how to fish for them. It's early enough for me to have quite a few days open, but that isn't going to last. Give a call and book now. See you on the water.

WERE STILL HERE!!!!! OCT 3RD 2007!!!!

HEY ALL SORRY SO LONG SINCE LAST REPORT!!!! Yes we are stiill open and we got shiners, minnows crickets, worms!!! We got through the droght and long hot summer and fishin is comin back!!! Sunday Sept 30 Garcia Bass tournament proved to be awesome even though winds were blowing 20 miles an hour we had 5 boats due to the wind all caught fish, WINNER HAD OVER 18POUNDS!!! Last place had 16.5 pounds!!! Big Bass was 8.5 2nd place 7.5!!!! Great Fishin Day!!!! My Web site has been down and so is my e-mail Please call me to book guide trips or order bait at 772-571-9855 or just for info, we are always here to help!!! We are still operating under our summer hours until time change, which our wed, thur, fri, 7-10:30 and 4-6 pm sat and sun 7:00- 12:00-noon please give us a call to book your trip today or for special orders!!! God Bless Tina

Hi all sorry i havnt posted in a while!!! Water levels down so not alot of fishing been going on, Top water has been the ticket and if you have a airboat Santories is the place to go!!! south end of the Farm is great to if the wind is not blowing!! Blue gills are numberous on crickets and wigglers!!! if you have a small boat and you dont mined pushing at times in Garcia!!! Very Low Thanks to St.Johns . We will be reducing are summer hours sooner this year after Memorial Day June 5th we will be open tues, wed, thurs and possibly Fri from only 4-6pm if you want to order crickets or worms in bulk you can pick them up on those days, not enough business to set here all day and propane sales is mostly at night. Please check my answer machine at the store i will be out of town for Horse show and vacation several times this summer and hopfully fishin my self , please let me know if you need a guide or any thing i need to order ok. Thank You God Bless Tina

Submitted by George: The first half of April has been one of continuing fluctuation of fishing due to winds and conditions. However, I am happy to be able to announce that the Marsh is showing a considerable level of improvement in both water conditions and fish concentrations. Our last 11 trips have for the most part been pretty good. Big fish for the period has been 9.5 pounds, with a fair amount 5 pounds or better. We were only blown off one of the the last 11 trips. Fish are concentrated in the lower reaches of Farm 13 in the heavy stump fields with both quantity and quality be produced. Top bait for the better part of the day is Senkos and Senko Swim worms, however we have had considerable top water action on both Chug Bugs and Spooks. The best locations seem to be the center south areas of Pin Ball Alley with some production also just to the west of this area. The southwest area is still pretty muddy and has not been producing. On the Stick Marsh side we have been finding fish in an around the stands of bulrush, and in around any visible brush. Again, as with the Farm side, the best bait has been Senkos weightless, and the Senko Swim worm. Working the Senko Swim worm: We are rigging this bait with an 1/8 to 1/4 ounce weight and skin hooking the bait. The consistency of the bait is a bit tougher than the regular Senko and we find we get a better hook set if we skin hook the bait. Swim the bait as you would a spinner bait, varying the speed until you find the speed that produces. For the most part, the speed for us has been slow, working the bait just above the brush. Pausing the bait has been good, but don't let it sink to the bottom as the brush is dense and you will leave your rig behind most times. Working the 5" regular Senko will allow you to get to the bottom if you rig it weightless and of course slow is the way to work this bait. Watch for the shad busts both on the Farm and the Stick Marsh side. With a shad bust you are looking for multiple bass coming up, not the single fish chasing a shad or shiner. If you are lucky enough to observe this phenomenon get the Chug Bug or Spook going. After the shad pass through and move on, drop back to the Swim Senko or the regular Senko to continue catching. If you stay put in the area, the busts will occur again. Don't try to follow the shad as you will spend your time chasing and you will miss out on the catching. Shiners have been producing, however in order to keep them out of the wood because of the shallow water conditions, trolling is necessary. Trolling is difficult due to the submerged wood. Be careful of either side as the water levels are at a bad level right now. Wood is just below the surface and with the water conditions due to wind seeing the wood is most difficult. Move slowly when in the wooded areas. I recommend you remove your transducer from the trolling motor when working in the heavy wood if you don't wish to buy another. Also operate that trolling motor just deep enough to get a bite in the water or you may be buying a new shaft. If you get on a stump and need the big motor to get off, turn your boat to the side that the stump is on. This will spin the boat off the stump a lot easier. I have seen many people end up going into the water because of an attempt to rock the boat off. I definitely do not recommend rocking the boat. Use common sense and keep it slow in known wooded areas and you will not only come out unharmed, but you will have some really good fishing. Look for top water to increase rapidly now and look for bigger fish to come on top water. See you on the water. Say hi if you get a chance. Remember, if the wind gets up, be very careful in the wood: you don't want to punch a hole through the boat! Submitted by George - 4/23/07 Putting it as simply as I can: The top water bite is here!!!!!! Chug Bugs reign supreme on the Farm. You have to be in the wood and it can be tough going, but that's where the fish are. If it gets too windy for the wood on the Farm move to the Stick Marsh and get out the swimming worms, and the Senkos. Find brush and you will find bass to play. Submitted 4/30/07 The bite that everyone has been waiting for is here! Top water players are on the prowl. It will take persistence, patience, and a bit of boat maneuvering, but the results are well worth it. Don Willis - into the Chug Bug bite - Farm 13 I can handle this kind of excitement any day. Note that the wind is calm. In the area that we are fishing the calm wind is important as the place is loaded with stumps just below the surface. With the tannic stained waters seeing those stumps to avoid them is almost impossible. Yep, the Boga Grip is the only way to be sure that you have accurate weight on that trophy that you catch. I think that Greg is happy with his Chug Bug bass. If you are looking for action and you want that action to come on the top give us a call now. It is only going to get better and better as we get more and more days of calm winds and active bass. See you out there.

Fishing In May

ARM 13 / STICK MARSH FISHING REPORTS BOOKMARK THIS PAGE and come back often to see the latest detailed Stick Marsh fishing reports available. 19 May 2007 We had the chance to take our young friend, Tyler Bray, out on one of our North Carolina lakes for a day. A cold front had gone through and the bass were pushed back off their shallow water spawning positions. So, we decided to target the big white crappie. White crappie differ from the black crappie species a little. The white crappie have a much lighter body coloration, with the tendency to show some vertical striping. The white's body is slightly more elongated, while also not being quite as tall. The white's snout also protrudes forward a bit more. In general, their sizes are about the same, with the white crappie having a slight edge. The records are 4 lbs. 8 oz. for the black and 5 lbs. 3 oz. for the white. Whites tend to stay more in open water and sparse cover areas. Blacks, while also an open water schooling fish, stay more shallow than the whites and like thick shallow cover at times. Their preferences for food are generally the same and they both make great fish fry material! Tyler and I proved, once again, that the cinnamon, w/chartreuse tail PERFECT Jig works great just about everywhere in the Country. We did switch off to the Gray Ghost and the chartreuse, w/blue tail for awhile. But, the catch rates were about the same. The cinnamon/chartreuse is just our 'confidence' color. Working some wood features, we went 6-8 casts without even a missed strike. I was very close to moving to another location when Tyler got the first big crappie. Then, he caught a second fish. That pretty well told us the location had crappie and what we had to do was narrow it down to a couple of 'sweet spots'. We also had to adapt to one other peculiarity and that was the feel of the strike. The crappie bit so softly that is felt like the lure simply brushed something. Not one first hit the jig with authority. When we finished up, the livewell had a good limit in it and our Memorial Day fish-fry was now a sure thing!! 12 May 2007 Lots of things have happened since the last formal fishing report was published: lower water levels, wildfires, early tropical storms, good fishing, poor fishing, Kentucky spotted bass, smallmouth bass, ----. Some urgent family business moved us out of Florida early. And, after settling the business, we went on to our North Carolina mountaintop. And, from the looks of things, leaving Florida early actually worked out well for us. But, not worth a hoot for most in the Sunshine State. There were a few wildfires here and there just before we departed. Now, they seem to be as many fires going as there are McDonald's burger bins. Stan Daniel reported that the big south Georgia wildfire, coupled with the season's first tropical weather system and it's counterclockwise winds, has put so much smoke into the peninsula that it is becoming a health hazard. That 'sub-tropical' storm in the Atlantic brought high winds into the state for days on end, tearing up the waters and making fishing and boating all but impossible. Being a low-pressure system, its counterclockwise wind flow brought those strong winds in at the state from the north. As Stan says, any wind direction with an 'N' in it spells wipeout for the Stick Marsh, as well as most local waters. Tropical disturbances usually have a lot of rain to dump and, boy, do we all need that! But, this turkey storm hasn't brought a drop. All the rainfall has been on the east side of the storm and is just filling the Atlantic more. With the lack of rainfall, Garcia Reservoir is now too low to launch and very hazardous to navigate. So, it is arguably no longer a viable backup for the Stick Marsh. Water levels are now where both impoundments are becoming either inaccessible and/or dangerous. Accordingly, the airboaters just about have the waters all to themselves. Due to the shallowness of the ramp area and the levees of the farm area, Garcia is basically inaccessible to anything with a gasoline motor. The small boats usually don't have trim on the motors and can't get them up high enough to operate the shallows. Boat that do have trim are normally too large and pull too much draft. Add to this the many submerged levees out in the Garcia impoundment, many of which are now right at the waterline or exposed, and there are navigation hazards. The Stick Marsh/Farm 13 impoundment is dangerous to negotiate anywhere within its bounds. It is especially bad from the ramp to the first easternmost canal. Idling is the only safe way to get to the still-navigable east and south canals, but the motors will still take a beating. Running above a slow idle is dangerous and risks capsizing (small boats) and/or impact damage. The most dangerous scenario is the stump just under the waterline and the smaller boats. Small boats passing over these obstructions are easily tilted to one size and, depending on speed and weight distribution within the boat, may be easily tipped over. It is extremely important that small boats NOT be overloaded!! Swimming is difficult due to the dense wood underwater. You DO NOT want to wind up in the water. Farm 13 was a fully cleared row crop farm. As such, with all the timber removed, it is safe too run-- except: At the south end where the submerged logs and stumps are Where the submerged levees border the numerous old irrigation canals. Many of these levees are now very close to the surface, some as close as six inches. The boater MUST know where the canals and levees are and then which are extremely shallow; and Along the western levee, where a 50-100 foot section of old timber remains extend out to the east. Steer clear of that western edge. There have been a number of accidents and some drowning in the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 impoundment over the years. Some were weather-related, so clear out quick when summer storms approach. Most, however, involved collisions with submerged objects. I every case where death resulted, there were no life jackets. That speaks for itself. The fishing reports written below are somewhat few, mainly due to poor water conditions. I try to be very open and honest with potential clients about whether they will have the opportunity to catch fish, or not. I usually ask them a specific question right off the bat: "What do you want to fish for and what are your expectations?" If they tell me a giant bass is the primary goal, then I eliminate Garcia and evaluate the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 conditions. If the high winds have dirtied the waters badly, I advise them against spending the money to try it. Personally, I don't like to fish unless there is an expectation of an excellent trip. I would rather the client come back another time than have a bad fishing experience when conditions aren't 'right'. So, we cancelled a number of trips in April.

Wind has calmed down and bass Fishing has kicked in!!!!

Bass Fishing is back!!!!! Wind Has died down and specks and bass are hungry, concerned about the water levels give these men a call to complain St. Johns Water district is allowing sun Ag to keep canals full and taken water to lake Washington not to mention killing every piece of grass that comes back to keep there weed control money, Ed Garland St johns 321-676 6612 or our county commissioner Wesley Davis @ 473-8688 Give us a call to set up your trip and check out the pictures!!!

Fishing With in Fisherman And Jim Porter

Florida's famous Farm 13/Stick Marsh mpoundment (located on the Indian River - Brevard County line near Fellsmere) will be featured on the nationally syndicated IN-FISHERMAN television series 26 March - 1 April 2007. The theme will focus on landing the impoundment's giant bass using rattling crank plugs. Local fishing Pro, Cpt. Jim Porter, provides the guide expertise and shares the boat with IN-FISHERMAN Editor-in-Chief, Doug Stange. The stations/channels are listed below, with the program running multiple times during the week: In-Fisherman Television 2007 Schedule OUTDOOR CHANNEL 2 HD http://outdoorchannel.com/index.cfm?site=2 THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL http://www.outdoorchannel.com MENS’ OUTDOOR RECREATION CHANNEL http://www.menschanneltv.com/ FLORIDA LOCAL BROADCAST CHANNELS WKCF (Channel 18), Orlando-Daytona Beach http://cw18tv.com See station schedule In-Fisherman is a professional lifestyle company dedicated to freshwater fishing through a multi-media communications network based on education, conservation, and environmental respect. In-Fisherman is committed to teaching its audience how to catch fish while continually working to ensure the future of fishing. Founded in 1974 by brothers Al and Ron Lindner, In-Fisherman is the communications leader in the freshwater fishing industry through the integration of publications, television, radio, books, videos, fishing tournaments, and the Internet. Based in Brainerd, Minnesota, In-Fisherman is part of PRIMEDIA, Inc., America's leading producer of targeted media, headquartered in New York City. PRIMEDIA, Inc. also publishes The Florida Sportsman magazine. In-Fisherman Publications include In-Fisherman and Walleye In-Sider magazines; plus four annuals, Walleye Guide, Catfish In-Sider Guide, Bass Guide, and Ice Fishing Guide. The In-Fisherman Library consists of over 19 educational fishing books and 75 instructional fishing videos. The In-Fisherman Professional Walleye Trail (PWT), the nation's premier walleye tournament circuit, hosts six regional Pro-Am competitions plus a world championship. In-Fisherman Radio airs nationwide 52 weeks a year and In-Fisherman Television airs 52 weeks a year on The Outdoor Channel, Fox Sports Network, The Men's Channel, and select broadcast stations.

NOTICE MISTAKE WITH HOURS ON ABOUT US PAGE!!!!!!!!

WE ARE OPEN ON MONDAYS, SORRY MY WEB MASTER DID NOT CHANGE THIS AT THE END OF NOV>!!!! WE WERE CLOSED ON MONDAYS DURING THE SUMMER!!!!! PLEASE NOTICE WE DO BOOK GUIDE TRIPS ,AND ALSO HAVE OVERNIGHT RENTAL, XLARGE SHINERS LARGE,MED,AND SMALL, MINNOWS ,CRICKETS ,AND WORMS AND A FULL LINE OF TACKLE OUR BAIT MaY COST MORE, BUT IT WILL LIVE PAST THE BOAT RAMP!!!We have people fed up with the old bait shop ways take it half dead or leave it and we are doing something different with a new wholesaler if you do have a problem with are bait please tell us, WE WILL REPLACE IT!!!! It is a live product and things can happen but we are changing the way bait shops use to be run this shop is not take it or leave place, we appreciate your business and will do our best to make your trip a great one!!! WE ALSO DELIEVER TO THE BOAT RAMPS AND HAVE BOAT STORAGE!! Thanks Tina