Stick Marsh/Farm 13 Florida

The weather over the last three days has been super. Threats of rain have not come to be, and the winds have been pretty much calm. Water temperatures are holding in the low eighties. The bass are loosely scattered and I would imagine the first cold snap that drops water temperatures will push them towards their usual pre-spawn stomping grounds.

Monday's trip was a difficult one to say the least. The bass defiantly ignored our offerings and of the dozen or so fish that were caught, none made it over the 3-pound mark. The normal shad-busting that has been taking place was not observed. For those that were caught the rattle trap was the best producer: chrome/blue with orange belly.

Looking back through last years logs it amazes me on how this year's weather and fishing is following last years trends. We have much higher water levels so of course there are those days when current production makes for a super day. We have had more shad/bass activity, but on the overall, conditions are very similar. Also, as with last year's fishing, the end of the month is producing larger fish.

Yesterday's launch was at daybreak and the destination was the south end of Farm 13. Spinner baits, and SwimSenkos were the baits used with the SwimSenko definitely winning as the most productive. By 11:00 the  1/2 day trip came to a close with a dozen or so bass making it to the boat. The hits for the most part were a bit light and if the hook set wasn't there they got dropped at boat's edge. This happened a few times, however since the lake is catch and release for bass we just considered it as intentional so as to not get the hands wet.

As we approach the season the traffic on the lake is increasing and the parking lot showed it yesterday. Of course the majority of fishermen out there yesterday were looking to crappie. Both the crappie fishing and the bream fishing on this lake is outstanding. Yesterday in addition to the bass we caught two gills on spinner bait. One of them was a monster but unfortunately we didn't get a picture.

As evidenced by other reports, good things are happening here. Bookings are increasing so I would recommend you book soon to ensure the dates that you want. Multiple boats are not a problem as I have a couple of topnotch fishermen ready to pitch in. Both Don (WWF) and Steve P. have outstanding knowledge of the lake so your group is ensured an outstanding day on the water.

See you on the water. Say hi if you get the chance.