Girl Power

Happy New Year to all! I hope that everyone had a great holiday season. It’s been warm down here in Florida and a few folks took a break during their holiday vacations to come down to do some bass fishing. The gals beat the guys at all their fishing contests this week. First I took out the Purcells for a day of friendly family competitions. Hard as they tried, the guys just couldn’t beat Mazie! She landed big bass after big bass while her brothers tried to keep up with her.

The next day I had the Pennington family out for a half day starting at 10. The lot was a bit crowded as it was a weekend and holiday break but the lake was wide open. We went down to the spillway and started catching. Josie was quite the little fisher-gal! She had a pretty pink balloon for a bobber and pulled them in like a pro. She is only 6 but she outdid all my other clients that week! Keeping up with the female domination theme, Josie’s mom Karen brought in a few big ones herself. All in all it was a fun time for everyone.



Come on down and join me for a day of fishing. The weather is warm and the bass are biting. Give me a call toll free at 1-866-BASS-066 or email me at deanherdman@yahoo.com . See you soon!

Catch 22

In an effort to make our outings a bit more interesting for our clients we offer the following challenge. Any angler who successfully lands a bass measuring at least 22” or single handedly lands 22 bass or more during the day from our boat will be awarded a free Stick Marsh/Farm 13 BPGS T-shirt. This handsome T-shirt (a $12 value) is sure to remind you of the great day you had at the Stick Marsh every time you wear it.



Last week saw two buddies from south Florida came to the marsh in anticipation of a fun day catching some quality bass. Early indications were for a breezy chilly day following the passage of yet another cold front. With the wind blowing steady 10-15 from the WNW the fishable spots were limited but we were determined and undaunted. The boat handled the chop nicely as we clipped along across the chilly 57 degree lake and set up in the SE corner somewhat sheltered from the wind. After a short while the fish responded to the wild golden shiner dinner bell and provided us with a steady catch rate of quality 3-5 lb. largemouth throughout the rest of their day.


Dave and Mike braved the overcast skies and chilly temps which lasted till nearly the end of their trip. Each of them landed several nice bass and had ample opportunity for several more had the fish cooperated by hanging on a little tighter. We even had a nice double at one point which was very exciting.

These two anglers agreed that despite somewhat difficult conditions we managed to have plenty of action and accomplished our goal of having a fun day of fishing. This is always our goal at Bass Professional Guide Service. If this sounds like what you would like, please contact us toll free at 866-BASS-066 or send an e-mail to deanherdman@yahoo.com to set up a day on the lake and perhaps meet the challenge of our Catch 22.

Before the Front

This past week brought another series of cold front conditions into the Stick Marsh. It seems a little early for it to be this cool, but overall the weather has been ideal once the sun gets up and does its job for a couple hours. Passing fronts have been mostly dry of late and relatively absent of strong Northerly winds generally associated with their passage. It has made for some exceptionally fine days to be out on the lake.

When I went out Tuesday the weather was nice, about 75 with a light wind, but the water temp had dropped down to 63. I took out our old buddy J.Z. again, an annual friend who travels from St. Louis to Florida every year for Thanksgiving with family and takes a fishing day for himself when he comes. We met at the ramp around 10 and headed out.

Our first stop was the woody areas of the SW farm. Bites were slow and the water was kind of dirty so we moved to the spillway where our luck improved as we got into the early afternoon hours. We were fishing with shiners today and the bass were cautiously interested. The bass were biting more than we were catching but we still managed to land a few good ones. It was great to have John back and I look forward to seeing him again next year.

Up next were the Flack guys, Larry Sr. and his son Larry II. These two anglers enjoyed a relaxed and pleasant, 6 hr - 3 dozen, day. The front had arrived the night before, bringing lower temps for both the air and water. The day started breezy and chilly but quickly improved to become nice and sunny. I was shocked to see that the water had dropped to 57, a whopping 6 degrees lower than the day before. In spite of the drop, the bass were hungry for some shiners. We started off at the back lot, catching a few, and moved on around to the spillway about noon. The bites and catches really picked up as the afternoon wore on. The late start has been the way to go this month. The bass are far more active as the day warms up and we’ve been catching them in the later part of the afternoon.




The upcoming holidays are a great excuse to take a well deserved fishing trip to the marsh. We also offer gift certificates if you want to give the fisherman in your life a fantastic day of fishing. The bass are biting and the weather is great. Give me a call, toll free at: 1-866-BASS-066 or email me: deanherdman@yahoo.com . See you soon!

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.