Stick Marsh Farm 13 Catching Report

[Hugh Crumpler]

Subject: Stick Marsh & Farm 13 Catching Report
Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 9:32 AM

You can catch all the bass you want. Yes, all the bass you want. And probably more. All you have to do is go to one of the old canals in Farm 13 and follow the canal until you see some bass bust on shad. Then start fishing. Stay in the area- real close. The bass will feed all day long. Well, they may not be the largest bass you ever caught but, you will wear yourself out catching them. And if you catch enough of those little rascals there might just be a big one underneath waiting for a chance to get the bait. Who knows?

The yearlings are feeding on shad and the larger bass are feeding on wild shiners. Shad and shiners do not live in the same places. So finding the larger ones means going to where the shiners are. Shad roan, drift with the wind, go with the current, and run in schools. Shiners live in grass and on soft bottoms. Shiners live in large groups, but those groups are not as tightly knit as pods of shad. Shad live out in open water. They rely on the sheer numbers of their group as protection. Shiners live around cover and have the abiltiy to hide and run.

So........ when you find fish feeding on shad they will be concentrated and generally abushing bait that drifted into their ambush area. Also, the areas of feeding can change as the wind, weather or current change. Also barometric pressure. On the other hand the bass feeding on shiners will be more scattered but will stay in the same area as the bait does not tend to move or roam.

Right now the shiners are larger than the shad. The use of smaller lures will tend to increase the numbers of bass you catch that are feeding on shad and the use of a little bit larger lure will eliminate bites from the shad feeders and increase the bites from the shiner feeders.

Part of the fun is finding the bass. I am not giving specific locations but with what I have told you- you can easily find the bass. Just keep the feeding pattern in mind and you will find the bass eating. The easiest ones to find are the ones that you find while traversing the old canals in Farm 13.

Need a map that shows the old canals? Joe Middleton carries the map I made at both of his stores- Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle and Middleton's Fish Camp. The map is also available on my website: www.HughCrumpler.Com.

Yesterday, Tuesday was the last time I was on the water. Stan Daniels and I had a conversation on the water and fished some next to each other. Stand asked me "Why arn't the larger bass feeding on the shad?" I told him I thought they were somewhere- but, we just did not find them. Well, I have been catching some nice bass away from the shad feeders. Just a few in a place. In fact, one of these places is where Stan and I were fishing in my boat when he caught his 10-6.

Yesterday, a looked down into the grass on top of one of th old canal levies and saw a fish. Closer observation determined that the fish was a wild shiner. So.... last night, at home. I put a shiner and the location of the larger bass together and came up with an answer to Stan's question.

For those of you that like fishing the spillway. The spillway is running and has been since Friday. Now, do not be upset if you go and it is off. I can't control the gate- all I can do is relay what was happening when I went and looked. So... really.... I do not know it is on now........only that it was on when I left yesterday about 1:00 pm.

Hugh Crumpler guides at Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Hugh's e-mail is [email protected]
website is www.HughCrumpler.Com and land line is 321-722-3134. God Bless You, Hugh Crumpler III