7 March 2007 So much for all those reports of a ‘mild winter’!! Yep, it WAS pretty mild until February. Then, all sorts of cold fronts wreaked all sorts of havoc all over the country. Whether you live in Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Texas, the Carolinas, or Florida, we ALL felt Mother Nature turn on the ‘Time for Winter’ switch. For some, power outages, road closures, cancelled fights, and treacherous conditions were some of the results. The further north you lived, the worse it was. Even the northern half of Florida wound up with a short period, or two, of freezing weather. But, the real negative effects for our fishing scene were the never-ending series of one cold front after another, all in rapid succession. From our earlier information to you about the turbid water conditions since the ’04 hurricanes, you know we have had serious problems when the high winds stir up the silt off the bottom of many of the Florida lakes. Our Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment is sorely effected when the winds blow, especially those strong winds of passing cold fronts. The rapid succession of repeating fronts in February rarely ever gave the water time to clear sufficiently to provide decent bass fishing. A few days of clean water appeared occasionally, but it was a rare sight. We just completed another three-day session filming both bass and crappie for In-Fisherman TV and only got marginal water conditions (we’ll announce the dates these segments will be broadcast; expect late 2007-early 2008). We managed to catch plenty of fine fish for a crappie program (cinnamon, w/chartreuse tail PERFECT CRAPPIE JIG), but the bass really made us work hard. However, we did get two giant bass on the two days we worked on them. Of the 25 bass we landed, all came on chrome-finish Rattlin’ Raps. EVERY ONE of these fish was hooked in the same, slightly unusual manner. The front treble would be lodged in the corner of the fish’s mouth, while the rear hook would be outside, towards the back of the head. As best we could figure, none of these bass chased the lures in the murky water. It would appear the lure came at them and they tried to take it head first, possibly only nipping at it rather than making a decisive strike. We did note a large number of apparent strikes that resulted in no hook-ups, so our theory might be correct. Who really knows for sure. Someday, I will get to talk to a fish and THEN maybe I will find out why they do what they do!! Due to the poor water, most of the reputable guides have been offering to delay, cancel, or move their fishing trips to Garcia Reservoir when the opportunity to catch Stick Marsh bass was estimated to be low. Garcia has proven to be an excellent fishery, with a tremendous population of healthy, active bass. A normal full-day trip on Garcia normally produces 20-30 bass. But, their average size is below what we get at the Stick Marsh. Where a day on the Stick Marsh would usually give us at least one bass eight pounds, or over. Garcia’s daily estimate for a large fish is more like five to six pounds. What the bass lack in average size, however, is more than made up for by the sheer beauty of Garcia. The towering cypress trees, grass and pad fields, massive reed stands, and unbelievable wildlife make it one of the more esthetic places to visit. An absolutely wonderful place!! Another way to compensate for the poor bass fishing is to transfer your efforts towards the giant Stick Marsh crappie. Plus, other lakes, such as Garcia Reservoir and nearby massive Lake Kissimmee, offer excellent crappie populations. As noted in our fishing reports, we have dropped our number of bass trips significantly, while adding a LOT of crappie trips in their place. Not many area guides offer crappie trips, but we do and we execute them well (you’ll note a few hours fellow guide, Stan Daniel, and I put towards the crappie later in this report). In Garcia, you should concentrate the search for slab crappie in and around the borrow pit in the west-central section of the lake, as well as in the canal that connects Garcia to the Farm 13 spillway. Right now, the crappie are on active spawn, so look for vegetation near the deep waters of the pit and the canal. If there are spawning, they will be IN that vegetation. If they are still pre-spawn, they will be in tight schools in the open water right along the outside of the vegetation. The only way to find a group of actively spawning crappie is to search for them. There is no indicator to look for. So, cover a lot of water rapidly. They will be very protective of their spawning location and will attack most any lure that comes to invade their space. In the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment, expect the spawning crappie to use wooded areas, since the vegetation is almost non-existent. Once the spawning is over (end of March, or so), expect the crappie to school back up and be found in the deeper open water. By the way, our great bass film shot a few weeks ago, at the end of January, will appear on IN-FISHERMAN TV the week of 26 March 2007. Find your station, channel and time at this link on the IN-FISHERMAN web site: www.in-fisherman.com/tv/schedule/tv_schedule/ The Outdoor Channel, the Men’s Outdoors and Recreation (MOR) channel, and some local channels in your area broadcast the week’s program 5-6 times during that period. (NOTE: If you haven’t read the short Tip and seen the pictures on how we improve the hook-up percentage with flukes and soft jerk bait lures, be sure to do so. It may really help your fishing success!! Go here: www.jimporter.org/tipster/tipster115.shtml)
