Things are a bit warm right now here in the sunny south. Temperatures in the low 90's and no breezes make for hot day on the Marsh/Farm but that doesn't stop the avid fisherman from taking a shot at the big bass this lake is famous for.
Meeting George Myers of Green Cove Springs, Florida for a 5:30 launch with great anticipation for our day of fishing, we headed south to Farm 13. First stop was the farm's pump house, but no current there. Loads of grass floating across the Farm indicated that the farm's spillway was flowing, but a quick trip there showed excessive debris coming through rendering the spillway an unfishable location.
The balance of the day was spent working the old irrigation structures of the Farm. The venerable rattle trap proved to be the bait of choice to cover the most water. Although numbers weren't as high as they can be on the Farm we managed to make a day's catch by putting in the time on the ditches.
Patience and persistence as usual was the winning combination.
A note about the moving water through the SE spillway: The water which is traveling north from the Ft Drum Marsh and adjoining reservoir, through Ansin/Garcia, and into the Farm is of poor quality. The dissolved oxygen levels are way down, so the flow is not attracting bait or bass to the incoming current. Yesterday we checked the area again but to no avail. We noticed some small bream floating belly up as they washed through the spillway area from the south.
Yesterday I had John Engle of Blue Springs, Missouri with his cousin Micky our for hopefully some exciting fishing. The heat was there when we left the ramp and the day became a matter of fighting rising temperatures and a diminished bass bite. We did manage some bass, but results were off. One good sized lady managed to slip away at boat size, (no guess on the size), but decent. The balance of the fish were fair but catching was tough. The sun blazed in a cloudless sky and no breeze to be found, making for a very hot day.
Call for summer and seasonal sales being offered! See you on the water. Say hi if you get the chance.
