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Fishing Stick Marsh with jim porter
Current mood:  calm
Category: Sports
4 November 2007
 This report will cover the fall turn-on of smallmouths and spotted bass in the North Carolina reservoirs and the present fishing
situation in Florida.
It was a long time coming, but fall conditions finally made it to NC. After an unseasonably
warm summer in the NC mountains, an unseasonably warm introduction to fall came along. Normally, it is expected that the summer
disappears and fall starts in September. This year, it did cool down a bit around 10 September, but it never did get really
cool until around 20 October. That was a 1.5-month delay, with the cool down being very gradual. The question we consider
is if 'global warming' is a reality.
 The gradual cool down, though, did wonders for the fishing in the high reservoirs such as Hiawassie, Burton, Blue Ridge, Nottley
and Chatuge. With the waters very low due to local drought conditions, we were able to target good structure easily. The blow-down
seen in the picture (now 40 feet out of water!) was a great location for both smallmouths and largemouths back in May and
June. Now, it is a bit too 'shallow' for them.
 The gradual weather cooling caused a similar gradual transition of the fish to their fall feeding binge patterns. Smallmouths
and Kentucky Spotted Bass all go on a major feeding spree when the high reservoir waters cool to 65-70, and it continues until
the water gets down to 50 degrees. There is a LOT of surface action, as the baitfish school out over deep water and the bass
coming to pick them off. We saw 20-30 bass in 4-5 hours normally. Most were 1.5 to 2 pounds on the average. But, we did run
across a few 3-4 pound fish. Our best lure for the breaking fish was a fluke rigged with a treble hook trailer. We would never
miss a strike when using the treble add-on hook. Fishing out over 40 feet of open water meant we'd never run a chance of getting
hung up, so the treble was great.
The next best lure was, remarkably, the Swimming Worm. We found the bass were chasing
the baitfish up onto shallow flats and bars adjacent to deep water. So, we figured the bass must have been holding just off
the flats over the deeper areas and waiting for the baitfish to come by. We simply ran the Swimming Worm at about 4-5 feet,
very slowly and parallel to the drop from the flats to the deep zones. It worked great.
 Returning to Florida recently (and when the NC temperature got below freezing a couple of mornings in a row!!!), we found
a late tropical storm cum Hurricane named Noel heading at us. Talk about not being able to win. But, a high pressure pushing
a good cold front into Florida steered Noel out to sea. We did have about 6 days of rain and 30-40 MPH winds from Noel. However,
it turned out that the east and northeast winds were from directions that did not mess up the Stick Marsh/farm 13 badly. We
had a guide party scheduled for Friday, 2 November, and it was 'iffy' as to whether we could make the trip safely and effectively.
 We pre-fished on Tuesday and Thursday, finding the winds horrific, but the water not too dirty. Working some sheltered areas,
we actually did very well.
Any ideas that the numbers and sizes of bass in
the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment have been depleted are just untrue. Stan Daniel recently took our old regular customer,
Bill Molen, from Florida's west coast. Bill brought his Father-in-Law, Russell and said he wanted Russell to 'catch the giant
fish'. Stan and the bass cooperated beautifully, with 30+ bass being caught, including Russell's 11 lb. 4 oz. giant!!
On Tuesday, we only hooked 12 bass. We used the Swimming worm as a slow 'sreach and tease' lure and then a deep Fat
Free Shad in front of the pump station. One minute it was blue skies and the next another of Noel's rain bands moved through.
But, you could see the rain coming, so it was easy to grab a FroggToggs and stay dry. The rain and low light at times messed
up some of the pictures (see the one where the orange rain suit is saving my skinny tail from being washed away!!) we tried
to take with the automatic timer, just not having enough light to focus properly. On Thursday, we caught well over 20 bass
(with a 7 and an 8-pounder at the top end) and then about 40 crappie (PERFECT Jig, Hot Momma color). With high hopes, we advised
our party members, Bob Clark and Mike Esposito, that we were optimistic about a successful trip. They were ready to go, rain
or shine, so it was decided we'd give it a try.
Friday found Tropical Storm Noel at near hurricane strength, but turning
away from Florida and out into the Atlantic Ocean. That was the good part. The bad part was that the 3-40 MPH winds shifted
to the NW and North and blew straight down into the Stick Marsh and the farm 13 impoundments. The winds also blew out our
successful fishing location of the previous days. On top of that, it dirtied the water terribly.
Never give, the man
said. So, Bob, Mike and I ventured out into the 3-foot swells and pounding wind to try and harelip a bass. Fishing in the
brunt of the wind, we managed 3 fish. What a bummer. Dirty water, getting beat to death by the wind and waves, and no fish.
What luck!! The only protected place left was the 'Back 40', the shallow area to the north of the boat ramp and along the
canal that carries water to the exit gate of the impoundment.
 We got a bit drenched by the high waves and winds running back to the ramp area. But, we found the back 40 reasonable stable.
With all the summer rains, the impoundment is now full of water and the back 40 is at normal level. Trying to recall where
certain brush piles and structure features were in the Back 40, we laid out two anchors and floated shiners over where we
though the fish might be. I still say I am the luckiest fisherman I know! The first place we stopped turned a pot load of
bass, up to 5-pounds!! It was like a feeding holiday, with bass chasing and blowing up shiners all over the place. Those surface
blow-ups are what really make shiner fishing great! Talk about falling into it and coming up smelling like a rose. Bob and
Mike burned up nearly all the shiners in that one location.
We tried a couple of other locations in the back area
to no avail.
 Then, we went to what Stan Daniel and I reverently call 'The Mudfish Hole'. This mucky, shallow 'nothing' of a spot has turned
a LOT of big bass for Stan and I when the main impoundment waters were muddy. It saved many a fishing trip for us. We don't
know why the bass are there at times, but it always seems to turn a good one, or two (sometimes a LOT more, too!). Mike had
maybe five blow-ups on his shiner, but never had the fish take the bait sufficiently to get hooked. Mike had some chase his
around and not take the shiners, too. I suspect they were catfish or mudfish. But, their surface blow-ups sure looked like
bass. Eventually, Bob got one to take his shiner. It was not a giant bass, but we were happy with whatever we caught this
rough day.
When the dust finally settled (and the rains passed on), Bob and Mike had managed enough action and fish
caught to use up five dozen shiners. When we looked back at the day, there were actually a LOT of bass caught. One went five
pounds and the rest 3-4 pounds. Not bad at all for a storm day with high winds.
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