Date Fished: 5/10/03
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
The weather was great and fishing on the marsh today with my wife Tricia was a blast, literally a big blast on our topwaters and others I talked to at the ramp.
8am
As we approached a ditch intersection in Farm 13 we noticed fast and furious shad busting so Excalibur Super pops and chug bugs went flying, for about a half hour we experienced some incredible aerial assaults as more bass missed our baits than connected, most were strong 2.5 - 4 lb. fish.
8:45
Topwater action slows and carolina-rigs emerge, occasionally a fish is scraped up by casting to the middle of the ditch and dragging the baits up the levy.
The C-rigs we were using are 1/2 oz. Gambler rattlin' weights with 30" of leader and "blood red" model "S" Martian Baits.
The ditch is roughly 10 feet deep in the middle with soft bottom yet as the baits are dragged up the levy to the 6 foot zone the bottom hardens with clay, gravel, shells, clams, mussels, snails, occasional logs and sparse hydrilla. This is where our bites came.
This type of cover is typical on all the old irrigation canals with the east levies and intersections USUALLY being the most productive for several reasons but that's a different story but put bluntly, "roadbed".
10:30
Warming up quickly, further south along the ditch, more grass, lots more, topped out on each side of the ditch. We both opt for the change to a florida-rig which proved worthwhile and draws a decent fish every 20-30 minutes but no hawgs by any stretch.
The Florida-rigs are Gambler 3/16 oz. rattlin' florida-rig weights threaded to 10" junebug ribbontails and pitched to holes in the hydrilla.
12:30
The fish are still active but it's hot, no wind, time for a ride into the west side of the Stick Marsh to hopefully find some crankbait fish, we began with baits that dive 5-6 feet when they aren't bouncing through pepper ,fruit, and palm stumps which we caught lots of but no fish at that depth. Our next bait change was to crankbaits that operate in the 3-4 foot range, that was much more rewarding as the fish were suspended in the brush tops and though they were not smashing the baits they would occasionally STOP the baits dead, usually after wood contact.
The crankbaits used were Spro Prime crankbait 25's in chartreuse, the western side of the marsh is about 6 feet deep, the fish seem to be relatively scattered and many casts were needed as well as patience with snags.
3pm
AIR CONDITIONING
"stick martian"
Randy Sanders
www.BASSTRIPS.com
With hard-core experience to put you on the fish, show you the feeding habits,and migration routes of BIG BASS, you'd better not miss the boat!