Bass catching is excellent at Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Bass catching is very good at Garcia. Stick Marsh and Farm 13 has the fatter, fuller, broader, and longer bass. While Garcia has the much easier to catch smaller bass.
Garcia bass are in the canal leading to the Spillway going into Farm 13 and they are in the Western blocks of the main lake. The bass will bite CCTBs, Rattle Traps, Spinnerbaits, Senko type baits and probably more of the lures that tend to run shallow. On one trip that I took with Gary Clark the bass in Garcia preferred Chartruce and White CCTBs and Chatterbaits of the same color more than any other lure or color we threw. We strictly fished the grass flats. Also, the bass will bite wild shiners. The bass that bite the live bait tend to be some what larger.
On Tuesday I took my clients, Brian and Laura, to the Spillway. The water was running. We started with eight dozen wild shiners. By 9:00 AM I was concerned we would be running out of bait way before the end of the fishing day. By 10:00 AM I knew we would be out of bait. By 10:00 AM Laura had a double by herself. Brian and Laura also had a double together. There were also a few tripples- two folks with three bass on at the same time.
At about 11:30 AM an employee of the Water Management Distric came and shut the Spillway. The bass became less active. We caught some more. The action was slower and we ran out of bait by 1:00 PM..
Once the Spillway is shut the bass begin to move out. It does not take long the bass move out of the Spillway area and back into the main lake protion of Farm 13. At times it can take as long as two days for the bass to find their new homes. At times it does not take that long.
On Wednesday I took Brian and Laura to the South end of the Farm. We anchored and caught a few smaller bass. At the Stick Marsh and Farm 13 smaller bass are still very nice sized bass. We moved to anchor in another spat and caught a few more. Then we moved to another spot and did not do very well. The wind increased seriously and I moved us to the total oposite end of the two lakes.
I moved us to the out going Spillway at the NorthWest corner of Stick Marsh. The wind was a factor. The wind kept our lines with a serious bow. This makes a hook set tough. The bass were up against the mat and against the walls. Brian and Laura caught several nice bass.
On Thursday I took Brian and Laura to the South end of the Farm. Action was slow. They did catch some. I heard the pumps start at the pumping station and let them run until 10:00 AM before we moved to anchor and fish the Pumping Station. We had a bass on the first or second cast. Good Sign!! We caught several. The bass were acting strange and hook setting was difficult. The bass acted like they just wanted to carry around the bait and not eat it. Brian and Laura did catch some nice bass. On the report before this one on Live Updates at HughCrumpler.Com there are a dozen photos posted of 14 bass (two doubles) caught by Brian and Laura on Tuesday through Thursday.
On the 23rd of December, Saturday, afternoon Jim Wilson called me. Jim is a past President of the Florida Outdoor Writers Association and asked if I would help him film a TV show on Sunday. I volunteered for a half day.
We met at the Stick Marsh Boat Ramp at 6:30 AM. Jim brought his son, Adam. Jim and Adam brought six dozen wild shiners they purchased at Palm Bay Fishing Outfitters. Some of the bait was very large - which I love!!
We moved to the South end of the Farm and immediately began to get bites. We immediately caught bass. The action was not swift enough to suit my taste so we moved and reanchored. It was a good move! The bass got so active for about 20 minutes that I could not keep the lines baited. The bass bite over here - over there - and right next to the boat. It must have been a sight.
It's hard to film a TY Show in this situation because the tendency is for the camera man to grab a rod. However, Adam and Jim stuck fast to their duties and they even let me catch one bass. Three and half hours of fishing produced enough film of catching for two TV Shows. The TV Show will air in Panama City, Florida.
The bass have moved into the Southern end of the Farm to spawn. There are prespawn and spawning bass in the Southern end of the Farm. The bass are biting very well on live bait. Live bait is all I can testify to as that is all I have fished lately.
Someone at the boat ramp told me I was the only one was saying the bass were biting at Stick Marsh and Farm 13. That did not surprise me as I am the only one who is guiding at Stick Marsh and Farm 13 at this time. It sure is nice to have the lake to yourself.
Custom made lures by Hugh Crumpler are available at www.HughCrumplerLures.Com and guides trips are available by contacting Hugh@HughCrumpler.Com or by calling 321-722-3134.
