JULY 2006

Submitted 7/31/06

It seems as if we are stuck at that just short of ten pounds mark. Chris Corum decided to opt for some warm weather fishing without wind. It seems that his luck with the wind is such that most of his cooler weather trips here have also been met with the challenge of fighting hefty winds.

The day started out fantastic with this 8-pound gal taking the presentation early on. She was joined with 5 other players rather quickly, but as quickly as things began, things came to a halt.

To say it was a warm day would be an understatement of grandiose proportions, as the sun rose into an almost cloudless sky, and the wind conditions were non-existent. However, this in no way deterred Chris who is a true and inveterate fisherman. Multiple baits were tried, and many locations, but only one more bass was added to the count for the balance of the day.

The fish caught were all fat and healthy which indicates that they are feeding well. However it seems all the feeding activity is taking place at some level below the surface. We marked large schools of shad in several place, but the bass that we also marked in the same areas just wouldn't play.

See you out there.

Submitted 7/17/06

The weather, as with the rest of the country, is very hot and humid. The water temps are hovering in the mid to upper 80's.

The fish it seems are feeding extremely well down in the water column, but the top water activity is very limited. What we are seeing is an occasional shad or shiner chased to the service. On the graph we are marking huge schools of threadfin, but they are staying down.

Saturday's trip was one of a lot of water fished, a lot of sweat given, but few fish to show for it. Scott reported that only about 10 made it to the boat. One good fish, (7-8), was lost at boat side but the rest were smaller 2-3 pound class.

Plenty of sunshine, few fish, and no rain. Not the best report I can give you, but sometimes the conditions and bass are going to get us.

Areas that we fished were mostly on the Farm side with a short diversion to the NW area of the Marsh. Baits that worked were spinner baits, Senkos, and rattle traps. The best fish was on a spinner bait.

Submitted by Scott & George

The scene had been set as the history had predicted. A trip to the Stick Marsh can be magical as the Stick Marsh can easily offer a day of catching bass where the numbers climb well over a hundred. Such was the day that Craig Alexander had experience while fishing with Scott in October of 2004. The report given by Scott for that magical day was:

(On 10/18/2004 I had Craig Alexander from Midlothian, Virginia out for a day of sun and what would prove to be excellent fishing. Craig is no stranger to the lake as he has spent many days on the lake in the winters, however this experience would be his best ever as we spent the entire day in the spillway catching fish all day long. The majority of the fish were caught on Carolina rigged Senkos in dark colors. At 11:00am St. John's Water Management personnel  came down and lowered the spillway to 2 feet, which of course cause the current to slow down, but the fishing actually improved with less current. The best baits in the afternoon where crank baits and Long A’s. We headed back to the ramp at 3:00pm after catching over 175 bass.) 

Craig arrived ready and anticipating perhaps not quite the day he had had previously, but certainly ready to give it his all. He brought Allen (Juni), one of his employees and the idea was to catch a bunch of fish with hopes for a big one. I have to tell you, the day was a tough one, however a big one was caught. As a benchmark, we consider anything less than thirty bass a tough day.

As the day progressed we worked a combination of rattle traps and Senkos in the SW area of the Farm. One of the few times I picked up my rod and cast, the fish that Allen is holding almost yanked the rod out of my hand. As luck would have it, the wrong guy caught the fish. Allen helped me get a picture of the fish.

8-Pounds caught on a chrome/blue rattle trap

That was the only big gal of the trip and the day was called at about 1:15 from incoming storms. We didn't see anything close to a catch such as Craig experienced before but all in all it wasn't too bad a day. The overcast skies and a breeze kept things cool, and the camaraderie was fantastic.

See you out there.

Submitted by George

It's hard to believe that we are into the middle of the year already. The thunder boomers are rolling through each afternoon, but so far full days of fishing are done prior to their arrival. Keeping an eye on the weather this time of the year is very important as you don't want to be caught in the back end of the Marsh/Farm when one of these storms come rolling through. Ground strike lightening is extremely common with these summer storms, so don't be a statistic. If you see them or hear them it's time to get off the water. Better safe to fish tomorrow than to be surveying roots in the ground.

Six trips so far this month have shown us a lot of up and down in the catching department. A couple of areas have produced 20 - 40 fish days but they have not proven to be consistent. However there have  been some nice fish caught and everybody has had a good time out here. The Farm side has been the best for us and wood has been an important part of successes. The south end of the the west N/S ditch is producing. Rattle traps, Senkos, spinner baits, and Bomber Long A's have all worked with the rattle trap leading the way in production. Senkos/5" any dark color; Rattle traps in chrome/blue; white spinner baits/gold willow; and the Bomber Long A/gold shiner. Spinner baits/3/8 ounce - Rattle traps/1/2 ounce.

The spillway was open for 2 days but the fish never sensed the current and moved in.

Tim Wong from Stockton, California displaying a 7.5 pound lady that fell for a 5" watermelon Senko

Tim again displaying a 6.75 pound lady that fell for a Bomber Long A

Troy Rogers from Evansville, Indiana displaying a 6.5 pound lady that fell for a rattle trap

Troy with another that fell for a another that fell for a white/gold willow spinner bait

It's said that keeping the bait wet is the secret to catching the most fish and this past week that is a solid proposition. Perseverance has led to catches in the 25-30 fish area. The temperatures have been up and the breezes down, but all of our trips the guys have proven to be excellent fishermen with a "git er done" attitude.

Yesterday Scott took Tim our for a day on the Indian River and the action was hot and heavy with a mix of Trout, Jacks, Lady Fish and huge Sail Cats. Scott reported sail cats in the the 5 - 7 pound range.

Heading out to the lake shortly looking for the big ones. Give us a shout and we will be glad to get you out. Our sale is still on for a short while longer so give us a holler and get in on some Stick Marsh summertime fishing. See you out there.