Personal Best

This past week I took a couple from Michigan on a half day charter. Michigan weather doesn’t permit much winter bass fishing so Nick wanted to surprise his girlfriend Shannon with a trip to the Stick Marsh while they were down in Florida. We met at the bait shop and headed down to the marsh for an afternoon of shiner fishing. The bass have been biting better later in the day so we got to the marsh around 11 and headed to the spillway right off.

The day was sunny and around 65 with a light north wind. To Nick and Shannon, this must have felt like summer after the cold Michigan weather because they were dressed in tees and shorts. After a few nibbles the first hour the bass began to attack the bait like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Both Nick and Shannon caught their personal bests as far as big bass go. Those big bass earned both of them Bass Professional Guide Service t-shirts and bragging rights back home. Shannon had a reel problem at one point and still pulled in a big one by hand! It was great to see accomplished bass fishermen take such pleasure in the Stick Marsh experience.




Now’s the time to come to the Marsh to catch your personal best – 22” or better wins a tee shirt! Contact me at deanherdman@yahoo.com or call me toll free at 1-866-BASS-066. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Staycation

Thursday and Saturday were excellent fishing days at the Stick Marsh for any type of angler. Florida fall days can be awesome weather-wise, and last week was no exception. The water is hovering around the magic 70 degree number and the fish are biting. Julie and I took advantage of an extra long weekend and decided to treat ourselves to a staycation. We started off with a dozen shiners on Thursday and headed out to the marsh at about 9am.

The new owners of Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle told us that the fishing had been good with crappies (specks) running strong as well. We had a few light bites right away but no catches. We moved around the Stick Marsh and decided to head over to the spillway at Farm 13. The bass started to bite right away, starting with the first cast and steadily thereafter. The bass were scaling the bait but we kept on until we used up our shiners. We moved over to the bank area and switched to a Wave Worms Tiki stick 5” Senko type worm. About 10 minutes into it I had a 9 pounder on the line. I proceeded to catch 4 more bass, a 20 lb. limit all on the same worm, in the next ½ hour. Changed the worm and caught 3 more in the next 20 minutes. The bites and catching remained steady until about 4pm when we headed back to the ramp where we saw an angler with a 5 gallon bucket filled with catfish and bluegills.

Saturday saw us out a bit later. The fish seemed to be biting in the afternoon hours so we took our time. The road to the marsh was just graded so it was a nice smooth cruise. When we arrived, we found that the lot was nearly full. But people come and go so we found a spot and got on the ramp right away. As we were putting in the boat the guy on the other ramp said that he had already caught his limit of crappies and it was well before noon! We went straight to the spillway area and used the trusty Senko again.

In spite of the full lot, there were few boats to be seen. Bites started right off the bat, landing us a few small bass and a huge mudfish. We moved to the spillway itself and trolled along to the bank area. The bass had returned in our short absence and were biting with gusto. Even Julie managed to catch a big one! I say “managed” because she generally runs into trouble when setting the hook. We had another run of catching similar to Thursday’s blitz. I then switched to a Watermelon stick which proved to be a good choice. While we were catching on the bank we heard a whoop and watched a man fishing from above the spillway tunnel land a 10.5 pounder. We kept going until around 4pm when a big one broke the line and the sun was getting lower.

The bass are running and time is right to get some fishing in. Contact me by email deanherdman@yahoo.com or call us toll free at 1-866-BASS066 for a great day of fishing on the Stick Marsh.

Weather or Not

We don’t really have fall weather here in Florida. It’s generally in the 80’s, with a few mornings starting out chilly. Some days we only get into the mid 70’s but to those of you up north that probably sounds pretty warm. We had a record breaking cold snap that occurred for two nights running and yet the daily temperatures rose into the high 60’s or low 70’s. Perfect fishing weather if you ask me! The winds have been very strong as well but that hasn’t hurt the fishing.

In fact, this year fall fishing has proved to be enjoyable and traveling packs of bass are abundant. These guys are searching for bait pods and since they are feeding, they aren’t too hard to catch. The fish are beginning to fatten for the winter and some healthy fish have been caught. They seem to prefer live shiners at this time of year, as is evident in the number of bites and catches when they are used instead of spinner baits.




If it’s getting chilly up by you, try a day or two out in the Stick Marsh. That will fix whatever ails you! Contact me at deanherdman@yahoo.com or call me toll free at 1-866-BASS-066.

All Wrapped Up

We finally got together with Ace Digital Graphics and they did a fine job on the new boat’s wrap. After many days of going back and forth with designs and ideas, we settled on a look that is similar to the wrap on the truck. Our sponsors are very happy too!

The fishing has been great and it’s warmed up again after a cold snap. Well, a Florida cold snap so it was in the 60’s! This is a perfect time for you to get out there and get some fishing in! Send me a line: deanherdman@yahoo.com or give me a call on my new toll free number: 1-866-BASS-066 and set up a date to catch.

New Look

Fall is creeping in on us at the stick marsh. The subtle changes that earmark the coming of fall in Florida can be noticed by the slightly cooling temps especially in the morning. The bass population is beginning to gear up for yet another spawning season by aggressively eating.


In anticipation of the upcoming season, I have upgraded our equipment including a new boat on which we will be fishing. This new boat is a custom built 20’ Velocity Bullet. For those of you familiar with our old boat, this one is quite similar in style and performance with a few added features to make your fishing experience a better one. It’s a great ride, with comfort and performance in one stylish package. Now is the time to choose a date to come out and catch some bass. You'll enjoy the ride! Call me toll free at: 1-866-BASS-066 or email me at: deanherdman@yahoo.com


Keith and I had a great maiden voyage, landing a few hungry bass. We are also about to debut an upgrade on our website. Stay tuned to see a new look and more updated features and lake reports coming soon.

Moving Water, Biting Bass

Summer patterns continue to produce some excellent days at Stick Marsh Farm 13. These days the heat and afternoon thunderstorms will force most anglers to start at dawn and finish up early. Some searching will be needed to find the fish but once located its all good. If you are fortunate enough to be out there on a day when the water authority is moving water the bite is tremendous.

On a recent outing we found the spillway at the SE corner wide open and we proceeded to latch on to over 50 fish in a matter of 4 hours. These fish, mostly in the 3-5 lb. range were just inhaling senko type baits on seemingly every cast for a while until the flow slowed and the pipes to the left of the spillway were opened. This dirtied the water and shut them down but not before we had a plenty of action. For Stick Marsh first timer, Mike Krokrich, this was a day he will not soon forget and is excited that he has chosen to move to the Vero Beach area and will get to fish the lake a lot.

We also had good success with rattle traps and shallow cranks in various locations around the lake. A 75 fish day on your first time out there will spoil you fast but will also indicate that the reports of a dying fishery are greatly exaggerated. Give me a call toll free to book your day of fishing: 1-866-BASS-066 or email me at: deanherdman@yahoo.com.

Gators Galore

I will begin this report by apologizing for the length of time elapsed since my last update.

Computer problems have plagued my ability to utilize some of the photos on file and to be honest it has been slow. The fishing has not been that slow it is a shortage of anglers of late that has kept things quiet. In early May the Palm Bay area had a series of wild fires that all but shut down access to the lake and made for some uncomfortable conditions, hampering our ability to get out on the lake. That is behind us now and the fishing is very steady.


On Tuesday I took out two generations of the Pitts family for a half day trip that was very enjoyable. The nature on the lake was very active with an over abundance of gators plying the waters of the Stick Marsh. At times we could count at least 15- 20 all within a few hundred yards of the boat and witnessed some very aggressive feeding. It has been mentioned by some that these gators are eating all the big bass. As if this is something new and unusual. Let me just say that it was quite exciting to see a 10 foot alligator 3 feet from the boat munch a 5 pound catfish that was floating dead. We also watched in amazement as another large gator crashed the bank only to see a big bass jump several feet into the air to escape the jaws of this awesome predator and live a little longer.


All this gator action was a bit annoying to the senior Mr. Pitts who is a native of Tallahasee and a life long Noles fan! Undeterred the father and son fished 3 dozen wild shiners with good success and landed plenty of nice bass as well as a few other species. Once the shiners were exhausted we switched over to faster moving crankbaits and rattletraps and caught them equally as well.


Summer season is upon us and the crowds have left the ramp. The fishing is still great and the lake is basically yours. It is a bit warm out there but the breeze helps and you can always let the motor run to induce a cooling effect. As always the show that Mother Nature gives you at the Stick Marsh is well worth the price of admission. Come see for yourself, you won’t be disappointed. To book a trip, call me toll free at: 1-866-BASS-066 or email me at: deanherdman@yahoo.com