SEPTEMBER 2006

Submitted 9/24/06

The weatherman called for partly cloudy, light winds, and a minimal chance of rain. Today we got to see it all as we had overcast skies at times, partly cloudy skies at time, several runs to avoid the rains, and dead calm with clear skies at times. When the sky cleared and the breezes dropped it got quite warm but fish can make it all seem grand if they cooperate as expected.

I picked up Don Willis, aka (the world's worst fisherman) at 6AM and we headed down the long dirt road to what we know as the nirvana of fishing aquariums. Once launched we headed to the back forty to find low water, areas of prime cover filled in with weed, and not so pleasant smelling water. Not the place to be in our estimation, we headed toward the lake for the trip to the south end of the Farm. While making the trek down the divider ditch, (ditch 7), we came across a couple that were there for their first time fishing the shore of the divider levee. They asked for directions so we told them to follow and we would show them safe navigation southward. Once there we explained what should be idle areas on the Farm and advised them as to the areas they should try fishing. They departed and immediately headed to the west levee, not out in the lake around the wood as we advised.

Stick Marsh/Farm 13 is not a lake with shoreline conducive to holding bass. There is no gradation of bottom as the lake is surrounded by levees, and the edges are home to Mr. Wally Gator, bass's number one predator in the lake. The best fishing is to be found well away from those levees most times. There is lots of wood, and ditches in this lake. Lots of stumps and laydowns attract the bass and most times bumping your boat  off this wood will put you right where the bass are.

Don Willis with a nice Farm 13 bass: picked off a laydown with a Senko.

Another nice Farm 13 bass taken off a ditch levee with a Senko

The bass are all over the south end of the Farm. You might say we have an advantage on this lake, but then: We make a living finding fish like the ones above.

We were off the lake before ten and headed for the air conditioning, with memories of 3.5 hours of fantastic fishing. Did I mention, 32 head shaking, line ripping, drag pulling memories to fill our heads with for the rest of the day?

Submitted 9/24/06

Blue Cypress Lake is a jewel located on the western fringes of Vero Beach in Indian River County. Access is off of route 60 just 6 miles east of Yeehaw Junction, or 21 miles west of I95. There are two ramps located in a small state park, located at the end of a bumpy dirt road, and is home to Middleton's Fish Camp. A bait & tackle store owned by Jeanne and Joe Middleton offers all the gear you would need as well as wild shiners if that is your bait selection.

Joe, who has been here for over 45 years is loaded with information and history about the lake, and is more than glad to offer current advice. They have small boat rentals to serve you if you so desire. If you want some inside assistance on this beautiful lake we off it as an alternative location for our guides services.

Breathtaking sunrises are never to be taken for granted, and we do get our fair share of them.

When you start your fishing foray on this lake you will feel as if you have arrived at the ultimate of bass factories.

Hundreds of Cypress come out into the water several hundred feet providing outstanding fishing opportunities.

100's of acres of grassland mixed with the cypress trees beckon the angler's cast.

Spectacular scenes of birds and such are common. This hawk posed with the M-Canal, Stick Marsh, and Farm 13 in the background.

Water control structures such as this one located on the end of the M-canal release waters northward, forming the start of the St Johns River.

Off course, fish like this are to be found, to cap off a day of spectacular scenery and casting opportunities. Don and I headed there on Friday and put another 11 pretty much like this gal into the boat, and missed an equal amount in that heavy grass you see in the background. Senkos proved themselves again as the fish were down and deep in the grass. By working slowly and persistently we had an excellent morning. The one "fly in the ointment" for the day was one of Florida's pesky critters, the Love Bug. Although they don't bite or sting, sheer numbers walking about on you can be a bit distracting.
 

Submitted 9/5/06

Sometimes it is better to start off with bad news first and then follow up with good news so as to temper the shock of the bad news. However, in this report I am going to start off with the good news, but you have to promise me that you will keep it a secret.

The road: relatively smooth once you are past the first section. The grader hasn't done the job as much as the rainfall that the area has been receiving.

The Lake: levels are high for this time of the year so navigation other than using common sense is safe everywhere. The only thing that is an issue is floaters, but they are for the most part very visible.

Current: the pipes adjacent to the parking lot have been open for several days now and as of yesterday all three were open producing a strong current. The Farm has been running the pump house on and off over the last few days with some pretty decent current flow being generated. The front and back spillways are closed, which for the inflow spillway is good because it is a weedy mess just the other side of the gate. If and when that gate opens you can expect it to take several days to have the debris out of the area.

Marking fish: The SW and central south areas of the Farm are where we are marking the most fish. Areas adjacent to the N/S ditches are showing the most. The water is cleaner in the middle south of the Farm, however we marked the least in both bait and fish in those areas.

This gal came from that central south area just east of the center N/S ditch.

This gal came from almost the same area two days later.

If you come out you will have most of the lake to yourself. The high heat that we have been experiencing over the last 2 months has kept most fishermen home. In addition is has kept most of the bass in hiding during the daylight hours.

The flowing pipes in the front have not produced. The pump house current has not produced. Although marking fish, most of the south end of the Farm is producing only sporadic catches. We checked the NW corner of the Marsh yesterday but that proved to be a fruitless effort.

My suggestion is stick with the Farm and try to find a bait that will produce for you. The top fish came on a Senko, and the bottom came on a rattle trap. We have not found any one bait that will produce multiple catches so mix it up and keep on casting.