Stick Marsh Farm 13 Catching Report
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2002 11:53 pm
From: "Hugh Crumpler"
To: "Hugh Crumpler"
Subject: Stick Marsh & Farm 13 Catching Report
Date: Sunday, December 15, 2002 5:31 PM
Stick Marsh & Farm 13 continue to produce some whoppingly fat bass. The time is here when the fish are getting ready to go on the bed. They get ready by eating all the time and getting fat. The food source that provides the bass with the most protien is wild shiners. So that is what my clients have opted to throw at the bass. And the results have been outstanding.
Two or three weeks ago the water temperature dropped over night from the low 80's to the low 60's. While the low 60's is good and over night drop slowed down the bass a day or two. And then- along came the jump from the depths to the feeding areas in and near the spawning grounds.
The bass are a little behind past years, in terms of when the process starts. But, they are off and feeding. For seven years I have taken John Doody bass fishing. Several years ago he brought his co-worker and friend Chris Scharrer. After one trip Chris has become a regular with John and this year they brought Chris's brother Eric who will now be a regulatr.
It has been awhile since some tens were caught. They are here- just not caught. On Tuesday we decided to take out 12 dozen shiners for John, Chris, and Eric. Not wanting the day to end early I suggested more. So we added three more dozen. That made the total 15 dozen. That is alot of bait and alot of dollars. However, if you come from Colorado to fish two days the bait is not the most expensive part. And you want the trip to be memorable.
They ran out of bait at 1:30 PM. Usual time to head for the ramp is about 2:30 PM. John caught a ten. Then the "gigging" each other began. Turns out in seven years of trips John now has five ten pounders to his credit and Chris also has five. Chris caught three in one day two years ago. I'm gald they are tied- just one more reason for them to come back.
Tuesday's bass total was 50 plus, add 10 Pickerel, 7 Catfish, 2 needle fish, and 6 Dog Fish and you have a successful day of bass catching.
The three returned on Wednesday. They opted for 12 dozen wild shiners. We picked them up at Middleton's. The logic in less shiners than the day before is because Eric wanted a little time to use artificials. No catfish, a few dogfish, no needle fish and 34 bass on siners. We went to the pumping station- it was not running. We drifted and trolled Carolina rigged french fries and produced seven bass and one pickerel. Called it a day an hour or so early.
I have not had the opportunity to use artificials all day at all this week. With that in mind my suggestions for artificial use now and next week would be spinnerbaits, soft and hard jerkbaits.
On Saturday I had two fine guys from Idaho for a half day. With the weather pattern in mind I suggested 3 dozen wild shiners. (Also trying not to spend too much of their money.) I figured I could make the shiners last. The bass just would not let me. The men ran out of bait in an hour and a half. We figured that all the shiners were eaten at least once and they caught less than 50% of the bites. So we guessed at a total of 15 bass. Then we went to casting spinnerbaits. Caught a few bass- mostly small and then called it a half day.
Sunday I had two fine folks from Wisconsin. They even thought it was cold. A little less cautious about spending their money and hoping for a good bass bite I suggested five dozen shiners. Perfect call. The bait lasted almost til the end of a half day. These boys could fish! They recognized bites quickly and caught a good percentage of their bites. Only two dogfish and 38 bass.
Other boats around us were catching bass. The other boats were not catching as many. Boat position, or position of the bait was not the reason they produced less. We were fishing our bait with no balloons or no floats. We were free lining our shiners. "Free" is the key word. NO!!!! NO!!! tension on the line. Just let there be slack and the shiner swim. This method produced lots more bites and lots more hook-ups. We hooked some below the dorsal fin and some in the lips. Both hooking methods produced.
The water temperature today (Sunday) was 64. The air temp in the morning was 47. Expect the water temp to remain in the 60's for at least a couple of weeks- through Christmas and beyond. Catching is always good in 60+ water temp. The key is where and how. Where is the spawning areas and feeding areas. The final key is on the day you go fishing be able to adjust to the weather. Low 60's is cold for Florida bass. Fish your artificials s-l-o-w! Fish them like the first decent day in the Spring- do not fish the artificials like the Fall feeding spree.
A photo of one of the Idaho boys and his 24" bass is attached. We estimated it at 6 lbs.
Hugh Crumpler is a guide on Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Hugh's website is www.HughCrumpler.Com and his e-mail address is [email protected]. God Bless You, Hugh Crumpler III
To: "Hugh Crumpler"
Subject: Stick Marsh & Farm 13 Catching Report
Date: Sunday, December 15, 2002 5:31 PM
Stick Marsh & Farm 13 continue to produce some whoppingly fat bass. The time is here when the fish are getting ready to go on the bed. They get ready by eating all the time and getting fat. The food source that provides the bass with the most protien is wild shiners. So that is what my clients have opted to throw at the bass. And the results have been outstanding.
Two or three weeks ago the water temperature dropped over night from the low 80's to the low 60's. While the low 60's is good and over night drop slowed down the bass a day or two. And then- along came the jump from the depths to the feeding areas in and near the spawning grounds.
The bass are a little behind past years, in terms of when the process starts. But, they are off and feeding. For seven years I have taken John Doody bass fishing. Several years ago he brought his co-worker and friend Chris Scharrer. After one trip Chris has become a regular with John and this year they brought Chris's brother Eric who will now be a regulatr.
It has been awhile since some tens were caught. They are here- just not caught. On Tuesday we decided to take out 12 dozen shiners for John, Chris, and Eric. Not wanting the day to end early I suggested more. So we added three more dozen. That made the total 15 dozen. That is alot of bait and alot of dollars. However, if you come from Colorado to fish two days the bait is not the most expensive part. And you want the trip to be memorable.
They ran out of bait at 1:30 PM. Usual time to head for the ramp is about 2:30 PM. John caught a ten. Then the "gigging" each other began. Turns out in seven years of trips John now has five ten pounders to his credit and Chris also has five. Chris caught three in one day two years ago. I'm gald they are tied- just one more reason for them to come back.
Tuesday's bass total was 50 plus, add 10 Pickerel, 7 Catfish, 2 needle fish, and 6 Dog Fish and you have a successful day of bass catching.
The three returned on Wednesday. They opted for 12 dozen wild shiners. We picked them up at Middleton's. The logic in less shiners than the day before is because Eric wanted a little time to use artificials. No catfish, a few dogfish, no needle fish and 34 bass on siners. We went to the pumping station- it was not running. We drifted and trolled Carolina rigged french fries and produced seven bass and one pickerel. Called it a day an hour or so early.
I have not had the opportunity to use artificials all day at all this week. With that in mind my suggestions for artificial use now and next week would be spinnerbaits, soft and hard jerkbaits.
On Saturday I had two fine guys from Idaho for a half day. With the weather pattern in mind I suggested 3 dozen wild shiners. (Also trying not to spend too much of their money.) I figured I could make the shiners last. The bass just would not let me. The men ran out of bait in an hour and a half. We figured that all the shiners were eaten at least once and they caught less than 50% of the bites. So we guessed at a total of 15 bass. Then we went to casting spinnerbaits. Caught a few bass- mostly small and then called it a half day.
Sunday I had two fine folks from Wisconsin. They even thought it was cold. A little less cautious about spending their money and hoping for a good bass bite I suggested five dozen shiners. Perfect call. The bait lasted almost til the end of a half day. These boys could fish! They recognized bites quickly and caught a good percentage of their bites. Only two dogfish and 38 bass.
Other boats around us were catching bass. The other boats were not catching as many. Boat position, or position of the bait was not the reason they produced less. We were fishing our bait with no balloons or no floats. We were free lining our shiners. "Free" is the key word. NO!!!! NO!!! tension on the line. Just let there be slack and the shiner swim. This method produced lots more bites and lots more hook-ups. We hooked some below the dorsal fin and some in the lips. Both hooking methods produced.
The water temperature today (Sunday) was 64. The air temp in the morning was 47. Expect the water temp to remain in the 60's for at least a couple of weeks- through Christmas and beyond. Catching is always good in 60+ water temp. The key is where and how. Where is the spawning areas and feeding areas. The final key is on the day you go fishing be able to adjust to the weather. Low 60's is cold for Florida bass. Fish your artificials s-l-o-w! Fish them like the first decent day in the Spring- do not fish the artificials like the Fall feeding spree.
A photo of one of the Idaho boys and his 24" bass is attached. We estimated it at 6 lbs.
Hugh Crumpler is a guide on Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Hugh's website is www.HughCrumpler.Com and his e-mail address is [email protected]. God Bless You, Hugh Crumpler III