Friday the 30th
22 fish did make it to the boat in 6 hours of fishing though things were not easy, the carolina-rig bite had all but dissolved and only 3 fish fell victim to the c-rig. Tricia insisted that if we weren't going to catch lots of fish then we should at least try to catch a big fish so I agreed, like I had a choice. At this time of year we always consider the buzzbait for big fish suspending under the grass, even 3 lb. fish hit them hard and pull enough to keep you guessing for a minute or two. We were already on a Farm 13 ditch that I knew had thick grass and bait on the south end so off we went.
Upon arrival I noticed very little shad activity but we threw buzzbaits for about 15 minutes anyways trolling on high speed , when we were just about to run somewhere else we noticed a needlefish skip across the surface once, twice, then dissapeared in what looked like a cinder block dropped from a helicopter, a big fish, as expected we stayed but could not hook up on the buzzbaits. We continued to see needlefish sometimes running for there lives, sometimes chasing our buzzbaits but no bass. We knew the fish were there, bait, grass, shade under the grass, hard bottom under the shade, and water from 5-11 feet deep. I couldn't stand it, I felt the surface was the place to fish, partially because of the activity we saw and because of the lack of success in the earlier part of the day. I then tried a bait that I am still finding applications for, a Gambler Flappin' Shad, this time rigged weightless, weedless, on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG superline hook and with glass rattle inserted, also by Gambler .
When fishing a gambler Flappin' Shad I will usually use a shad-base color however the fish were clearly eating the needlefish so I went with the "rainbow trout" pattern mostly for my confidence. If you ever have the pleasure of hooking a needlefish, NOT, you will notice a lizard-green color to most of there body and a slight pink tint on the belly, a near perfect match to Gamblers "rainbow trout" pattern. I fished the bait for a while with nothing, then at the end of a cast when I speeded the retrieve steadily for the last 10 feet I was visiously assaulted, no hook-up but I could tell it was a substantial fish. I began casting and steadily retrieving quickly, no twitching or stopping the bait but just retrieving and letting the baits tail slap the water's surface. It was the ticket for 19 fish in a little over 2 hours but we never did get the big fish, I was a little dissapointed but I didn't realize this would be the most excitement for at least a few days. All fish were caught casting to the east side of the ditch, I positioned my boat on the west levy.
* When fish strike in this scenario, do not set the hook when you see the strike, reel til' you feel, then cross her eyes !!!
Saturday the 31st
Craig Alexander of Virginia was to be my victim for the day, I had plans of carolina- rigging a couple locations on the way to my new found needlefish eating Farm 13 bass. The fish were once again not on the c-rig pattern so I thought maybe all would be in order to go through a bag or two of Flappin' shads but boy was I wrong. Even with Craig's persistence and patience only 5 fish made it to the boat by 12:30, it was truly a tough day and without Craigs excellent company it would have been a really tough day. With things heating up quickly we agreed to try again Sunday. It was not the best day I've seen but if I said I never experience slow days I would be lying.
Sunday the 1st
Craig had never caught a fish on a buzzbait and I really wanted to see a Stick Marsh monster scare the split shot out of him for lack of better explanation. One fish at the north end of the sticks took a swing but no hook-up. After hitting several areas in the farm with no success we came across some small fish at the east side, action had been very slow for 2 days now and Craig was ok with catching the smaller fish knowing the possibility for a hawg is always there. It didn't happen but we did manage to scrape up 20 small fish and have fun, that would be pretty good on alot of other lakes but I really wanted Craig to catch 100 fish from 5- 15 lbs., that's a near unrealistic expectation but I am always incredibly optimistic because I have seen what the marsh can do, it's powerful stuff. I cannot say enough about Craigs character, not to mention he told me on the phone he's a novice fishermen, he's an excellent fisherman and will be back with the rest of the gang. See you this winter Craig, Rob, and George Alexander.
Monday the 2nd (Labor Day )
My wife Tricia and my best friend Bart said they could crack the big fish code for me so once again I was at the marsh on the hunt. Shad activity was up and so was the bass activity slightly but the fish were still small, 27 fish between all three of us in 7 hours biggest being just 3 lbs. Most fish were caught on c-rigs on farm ditches.
HONESTLY GUIDING / FISHING 4 - 7 DAYS A WEEK YEAR ROUND ONLY AT THE STICK MARSH IS SOMETHING ONLY A COUPLE CAN CLAIM.
I'm there regardless, guide trip or not because I love being there, I believe you worked hard for your money and deserve the best opportunity possible to catch fish and have fun.
GUARANTEED SATISFACTION !!! Try it, you'll like it, if you don't, keep your $ !!!
"stick martian"
Randy Sanders
www.BASSTRIPS.com
(321) 544-4534