I just got back from fishing Stick Marsh four times this week. I fished on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Sunday I went out with a friend Mark who moved from Virginia to Vero Beach. He showed me how to navigate the lake but we only caught two small fish at the spillway and nothing on Rattle Traps eventhough we tossed them all day(saw reports of catching them on traps). On Monday we fished the canals around Ockochobee and Tuesday I fished Ansin Garcia.

Wednesday I started out at the spillway because the wind was light. I ended up catching one 3lbs on a Matt Lures Babybass swimbait. I worked my way out of the spillway into the stump field on the left and caught one that was 6lb 12oz (My personal best.....I just don't find as many that big in VA) and a 2lber. At 10 AM the wind kicked up and after getting bounced around for two hours I picked up, went back to the boat ramp, past it and left into the canal. I ended up getting 4 small ones, 4lb 10oz (Chatterbait), 4llb and one 5lb 2oz all on junebug trick sticks. They were all up on the left side flats of the canal at the beginning of the canal. Their are beds on those flats but no fish. I didn't see much evidence that the fish I caught had spawned yet.

Thursday It was really windy again and I fished just the canal and wooded flat at the end. I got one 4lb 10oz and 5lb 2oz on the Baby Bass swimbait. I caught 6 other smaller bass on a spinnerbait and trick sticks.

Friday had more wind just straight out of the east. I tried the spillway and stump field but it got too windy too fast. So I spent the day in the canal but their was no dodging the wind. I caught a couple small bass and missed another. One fish took the tail off my Baby Bass and my best lure was done.

It was a great trip and you guys are so lucky to have Stick Marsh in your area! I even met George Welcome and talked to him a few times while I was there! He gave me a few pointers on where he was catching them! I caught fish on a Matt Lures Baby Bass, 5" junebug trick stick, 5" purple green flake senko, 3/8oz white chatterbait, 1/2oz white/chartruse tandem spinnerbait silver colorado/gold willow, junebug baby brush hog.

Here is a picture of my new personal best largemouth bass:

  Let me say this, Nice fish and great fish. Can you tell I'm green with ***?

Flipin,

        We will be off and running with good fishing here in Virginia in about a month.  The last three years I went to the Ocala / St. John's area in Florida to fish in February and it was mostly strike outs with a few good days sprinkled in.  This year I was forced to push it back a month because the wife wanted to take the kids to Disney.  After bad fishing on the St. John's last year I decided to look for greener pastures.  Stick Marsh is definitely GREENER!  

        Now that I have confidence in that Baby Bass swimbait, I can't want to try them this spring in VA!  Maybe I can trick a bunch of the bigger fish into biting that lure!

Nice fish buddy!

Tpayne kickin it  

Nice bass and thanks for sharing.

Thanks guys!

I forgot to mention that the water temperature was 68 to 72 degrees.  The water is the standard Tanic (Tea Colored) Florida colored water.  Visibility was 2-3 feet.  It was windy from 0-30MPH.  It blew out of the N, S, E and W.  Thursday the wind came from all 4 directions at one time or another, it POURED, it drizzled, it sprinkled, it was sunny, cloudy and partly cloudy throughout the day.

I recommend Stick Marsh highly!