Enter Garcia Reservoir, just south of the Stick Marsh/Farm 13. Still full of grass, pads and reed stands, Garcia is a
beautiful body of water and packed full of fish. In fact, it has so many fish, it gets had to catch a giant. All the smaller,
faster bass just appear to beat the big ones to the lure. We spent a lot of time at Garcia during January and caught a lot
of fish. But, the average bass was less than 2 lbs. The crappie were readily available to those of us who know exactly where
and how to fish for them, but their size is also smaller than we’d like. The PERFECT Jig, used very slowly in the canal going
to Farm 13 took most of our crappie. You had to just touch grass at 4-6 feet to get a soft strike. The borrow pit and its
usual live minnow approach did not do well. For bass, the RIPPIN’ Stick, rigged wacky style was great, as was a ¼ oz. Rattlin’
Rap or Rat-L-Trap. We also switched from a spinner bait to a 1/8th oz. Beetle Spin to really catch a LOT of bass out over
the submerged grass in the old fields. .
In both locations, the water levels are good. Garcia is very clear, while
the Stick Marsh/Farm 13 impoundment varies from day to day with the winds. The water there is always dark, even if visibility
becomes good. .
Since our last report of 20 January, we took about 10 days off for a medical procedure. It was actually
test to determine if we had any problems. The outcome was that we have no problems whatever and an earlier test had given
a false indication. So, we picked back up fishing at the end of the month. .
31 January 2008
With ‘iffy’ water conditions and the potential for high winds, we started Larry Lynch and Gary Whitaker out at the Stick
Marsh for bass and crappie. We got some really giant crappie off the submerged levees, but not a lot of them.
When the winds failed to materialize and the weather appeared stable, we took shiners and moved into the south end of
the Farm. Again, the quantity of fish was a disappointment, but the guys managed to stoke a couple of really great bass.
1 February 2008
The winds due
on 31 January finally arrived the morning of 1 February. So, we opted to take Toby Cole, Floyd Layman, and a visiting friend
of theirs to Garcia.
The wind really howled out of the south as we drifted shiners over grass. Small bass blasted
the baitfish. But, it was slow activity and no big fish were caught. All were small.
Moving to the northwest canal,
we decided to try for the finicky crappie. I had caught these fish recently, but it was tough slow fishing. You had to work
that PERFECT Jig very slowly and just touch some underwater grass on the sloping side of the canal. Fishing what you can’t
see if always tough. I think we managed 15-18, but they were just ‘eating sized’ fish and not big slabs like the Stick Marsh
produces. With no fish of any size, we had no pictures.
4 February 2008
< We checked the water in the Stick Marsh and Farm 13 the day before and it looked acceptable. So, we headed out with Mike
Esposito and Bobby West to check the crappie and bass. We managed some nice crappie until the winds blew us away. The PREFECT
Jig on the levee tops was the key. But, the wide open waters of farm 13 get pretty rough when the winds blow hard.
Moving to the south end of the Farm, we set up with a few shiners and managed only a couple of fish. It was not
good at all. Mike managed one big bass. But, it was poor fishing. There were some bass caught in and around the submerged
timber on Rat-L-Traps that day. So, it appeared we needed to me moving around to find fish, rather than floating shiners in
one place.
5 February 2008
Once again, we hosted Toby Cole, Floyd Layman, and a visiting friend. This time, the winds let us fish the Farm 13 levees
for crappie. We did try drifting minnows for a short spell with zero results. But, the levees produced some giant slabs. Even
with 10-15 MPH winds, we managed to keep the big BLAZER boat lined up with the submerged levee top. With everyone tossing
the cinnamon and chartreuse PERFECT Jig, we put around 25 giants in the livewell, plus a bunch of big bluegills.
Date Fished: 1/19/2008 Water Temperature: 65 Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
1-11-08 Beds are abundant in the south end of Garcia and sight fishing is huge at this time of year, on this day I caught
39 fish to 4#'s and saw at least half of them eat the bait while protecting beds in Cypress and Redman Flats, a 1/32oz. speedworm
was the ticket and conditions were perfect with bright mid-day sun and a light north breeze.
1-18-08 Not much fishing for me this week with lots of wind, a cancel, and a touch of the flu but I did make it out today.
I fished 7 hours and had a blast while fishing Saviours Ditch and nowhere else, I yo-yoed a trap and caught 47 bass to 3#'s,
not big but extremely fun and I caught 2 at a time twice, I sent pics of the double hook-ups to Bart and Steve P but they
were both at work and not too happy about it but they get their share and will get over it.
1-19-08 Back to my hotspot with Bart and the fish were still stacked and eating our traps on every cast, we only got about
a half hour in before the 20+ mph wind came up and dirtied the water to a chocolate mess, we had 16 up to 3.12lbs and went
searching for clean water. There was no problem finding good water and a few more fish but the pre-front bite was basically
over, we submitted at noon with 21 fish.
If you find those offshore schools of unpressured pre-spawn fish there is nothing funner in bass fishing, I know this reservoir
as well as anyone but the use of my depthfinder and gps were critical in my last 2 days of fishing, if I wasn't right on the
spot I wasn't catching and I had 4 separate gold mines with over 30 fish on each in about a 10 foot circle, that won't happen
again until atleast wednesday, if you see me feel free to keep on going,LOL. Have fun be safe !!!
Glad I could help Avalanche Bill, see ya soon !
Randy Sanders
Area names From: BIGMIKEINFL #10278, Florida Randy, do you have a link/map with the different names
of the areas you reference on here, or are these simply names you and friends have come up with? I fish Garcia frequently,
and know the lake decently, my partner knows it really well, but we've never known names for the different sections. would
be interesting to know where you are talking about when you reference those areas.
lipped crankbaits? From: avid #10303, Florida Thanks for the post Randy. do you ever throw lipped crankbaits
at Garcia or stickmarsh? Seems like all us Florida guys know about crankbaits starts and ends with RatLtraps.
names, cranks From: Randy Sanders #10223, Florida A printable labeled aerial photo is on my site with
all the names but unfortunately my site is under construction, yes lipped cranks work well too, Lucky Craft RC 1.5, Manns
baby 1 minus, Bandit Footloose, Lure-jensenspeedtrap, etc. I could personally show you more than you need in 4 hours.
Thanks Randy From: BIGMIKEINFL #10278, Virginia Whenever you get that sight up, I'd love to see it...don't
worry, we don't fish the sunday tourney's, so your secrets are safe with me hehe... as far as the lipped cranks, I've caught
many fish on mann's baby 1- down there, caught a few on a little deeper diving baits in some of the deeper areas (the pit,
the canal that runs to the stick marsh) but a majority of my crank bait fish have been on a manns...
Garcia From: Avalanche Bill #10220, Florida As of this morning, Randy's site is up and running. You can
get the map there. These flats are easy to find but only as a place to start. The best way is to spend some time with Randy.
http://www.commercemarketplace.com/home/basstrips/
Jan 08 Fishing in rough weather still caught Big fish !!!
20 January 2008
‘Into each life, some rain must fall’,
or so the saying goes. Well, it fell in Florida a couple of times recently. A week ago, the winds and rain dirtied the water
badly at the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment. A few bass were caught in the back area, out in the flats, on Rattlin’ Raps
in red and in gold colors. Even the water back there was pretty dark. The crappie were pretty well a write-off all week. Virtually
none were caught from the coffee-colored water. Then, last night, another big weather system went through at 60+ MPH. It moved
so fast, the weather reports could hardly keep up with where it was next. Today, the cold air is coming in fast and the strong
winds behind the front are building. We can expect the impoundment to be a mess for until at least Thursday, probably Saturday.
Our response to the weather patterns has been good old Garcia Reservoir, just south of Farm 13. That beautiful, wild
piece of water is so full of fish. But, the average bass runs only 2-lbs., or slightly less. I am beginning to think Garcia
may actually have more fish than the Farm 13/Stick Marsh impoundment. They are easy to catch and seem to be just about everywhere.
The problem is getting big bass. If you look at the Garcia impoundment, only about 35-40 percent of it is fishable, with the
rest being extremely thick pad fields, grass and wooded areas. About the only thing that can penetrate into those thick vegetated
zones are airboats. There is plenty of water in there, so you have to figure there are also LOTS of fish down in and under
all that stuff. Big bass like thick cover and that may be where the majority are and why we don’t catch more giants in Garcia.
If we can just figure how to get back into those ‘jungle zones’ and they fish them, we may find a bonanza of big bass.
We
cancelled two trips this past week due to wind and weather. But, we actually did get in three good outings with lots of bass
were caught. On two of the trips, we caught some big bass (‘big’ by Garcia standards).
14 January 2008
The
boys from the Circle Bar racing team (the Craftsman truck circuit) finished up the inspections and tests at Daytona and came
down to fish with us. As last year, Stan Daniel had one boat and I provided the other. Unlike last year, we did not fish the
Farm 13/Stick Marsh for giant bass, as the place was totally blown out. So, we all gathered at Garcia and did what we like
to do – just go fishing.
And, it wasn’t bad at all. We had about 38-40 bass between the two rigs. Stan’s boat had
the most fish, plus a couple of good bass in the 4.5 to 5-lb. range. With the winds a good 25-30 MPH, we used two drift socks
on each boat and pulled a pair of shiners behind the boat, while also tossing plastic worms and spinnerbaits. Of course, the
shiners did well and got blown up a lot. The first two shiner strikes in my boat turned out to be pickerel, which duly cut
the line with their razor sharp teeth. After that, we stayed pretty well on the bass. Stan’s camera had a problem and my boat
caught no big bass, so we took no photos this trip.
An interesting development was the way the bass were caught on
the plastic worms. The ZOOM Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm is a small plastic worm with a hooked tail. The little tail flutters when
the lure is pulled through the water. Stan had one rigged Texas-style with a 1/8th-oz. slip sinker. Somehow, he stumbled upon
a presentation method of just swimming the lure back to the boat with a slow and steady retrieve. Holding his rod tip up,
he found he could generally hold the lure over the top of most of the grass as he retrieved it. The bass really ate it up.
My guys went with a big Culprit ribbon-tail worm and just pulled slowly up and over the grass beds. That worked for them pretty
well, too. If you go to a Bass Pro Shops catalog and find a picture of the Speed Worm, you will see the shape of the tail
section. You can take a paddle-tail worm and cut a matching notch in it and get about the same action. I took my RIPPIN’ Stick
soft jerk bait, made an angler cut part way across the tail and got the same flutter effect. Apparently, they just liked the
action that flutter gave.
17January 2008
Mike Durrett is a General Contractor and decided to treat some of his supervisory crew (Potts, Marek, and Adam) to a few
days of fishing in Florida. We got them lined up with a place to stay at the Blue Cypress campground, so they could rent boats,
cook fish and generally spend some warm days in Florida. On one of their days, they opted to fish with us. Stan Daniel again
provided the second boat. The wind and rain forced us to Garcia again.
With the exception of Mike, the party was a little inexperienced at bass fishing. But, before the day was over, they had
caught bass on the shiners, a spinnerbait and two styles of worms. Stan started it off with the first fish of the day dragging
a shiner down. That bass weighed a good 5-lbs., really nice for Garcia.
Fishing with shiners usually levels the playing field among the experienced and inexperienced anglers. But, this day, Mike
Durrett seemed to hold the edge, no matter what he fished with. Mike got two big Garcia bass on the shiners and a pretty good
number of smaller ones on his Berkley GULP worms. His partner in my boat, Adam, had a nice one on a shiner, as well. Considered
the killer weather, we had a fine day.
18 January 2008
< Danny Morgan called at the last minute and we managed to work him into the fishing schedule. He came down from Staunton,
VA, to attend a wedding in south Florida. But, he confided that he had considered it a great opportunity to get out of Skyline
Drive’s cold winter weather and fish in warm Florida for a day.
In actuality, it was pretty warm last Friday. A major
cold front was due in 48 hours, so we has southerly winds bringing warm, moist air up from the oceans south and west of Florida.
The rain only drizzled at us a couple of times and the winds stayed down until noon. Again, we opted to go with shiners and
toss a few artificials when we could. Early in our trip, we had a lot of fish blowing up on the shiners with great regularity.
Then, as the wind picked up and we had to deploy the drift socks, the bite slowed at lot. We finally decided to anchor on
some of the underwater grass beds that had produced multiple bass earlier. Floating the shiners downwind over the grass, Danny
got back into catching again.
Then, he got ‘the strike’! It was that rarely seen, true giant bass in Garcia. Danny got a great hookset and it was off to
the races. The bass was actually one of those that was too big to really jump. All she could do was get her head and upper
body above the surface and then wallow as she fell back. As luck would have it, the hook popped free close to the boat and
we did not get her for pictures. But, we did get a good, close look!! What a fish!
The winds laid back a bit and we
decided to work the very eastern edge of the open water section we were fishing. It turned out to be a good move, in that
all the bass in Garcia appeared to be gathered there. And, most of them were a good bit larger than average! In short order,
Danny went through all the shiners and had a big grin on his face.
13
January 2008
The first week of the New Year was a major bust to fishing in our area. The cold front
that blasted in with 2008 tore up the waters, making them extremely dirty and very cold. In fact, the surface temperature
drop of 72 to 54 degrees in a bit over 36 hours probably was a big physical shock to most wildlife. It was a full week before
fishing returned to normal, with the crappie being the most affected. We started out on Monday, the 7th, with big bass (see
below). Then, the bass worked for us at a decent rate on the 9th and 10th. On the 10th, we also got back on track with the
giant crappie. Then, it finally happened, on Friday, the 11th, our long-time friend, Vernon Grizzard came up for West Palm
Beach to try the bass. Unlike all his past trips where he caught the giants well, this trip was a bummer.
As I write
this, we have another strong front progressing through Florida. The rains have past and the temperature is dropping. Tomorrow
promises to be cold and windy for our Circle Bar NASCAR team out on the water. Since we know that the Stick Marsh/Farm 13
waters will be a disaster again, we plan for protected Garcia Lake. We have four more trips planned for this coming week,
with another front due at mid-week. But, I am looking to try and reschedule everyone. I think the fish will go down the tube.
I suspect it will be Monday to Wednesday of next week (the 21st and 23rd) before fishing will return much.
7 January
08
After waiting out Mother Nature’s cold front rampage through Florida, we finally got back on the water with Joey and Beth
Peifer. This was a bass-only excursion, but I got the pair to stop on a couple of crappie hangouts and help me see if the
fish were home. The water was dirty and cold and the crappie didn’t even raise an eyebrow (if they had one) at us. So, it
was off to the south end of the Farm and some shallow water. We surmised that the shallows might have warmed somewhat faster
than the other locations, and it appeared we were right. With all that wood in the water acting as heat sinks and thermal
masses, absorption of the bright sun was a real plus. We found the water at around 63 degrees, a far better cry that the mid-50s
of few days earlier.
Beth got everything going and it appeared her end of the boat was the ‘charmed’ seat. When she also latched onto a giant bass,
it was certain she had things going her way. But, things have a way of changing and, sure enough, Joey started to rebound
and catch up. Then, just before quitting time, Joey got his giant.
Who says the Farm 13/Stick Marsh hasn’t got any
bass left?!!
9 & 10 January 08
Jonathan Lebendiger and Bill Bendon flew down from Philadelphia just to fish two days with us. Now, that’s gotta be confidence
in their guide, what with all the negative data I had been giving them about the weather changes at New Years. But, as they
got on the plane, I was able to tell them about the fine success of the Peifers. I sure was hoping the fishing would continue
to improve!!
Our first day, we went to look for crappie first. The water was still dirty and pretty cool that morning, so we went to the
south end of Farm 13 to find big bass. John landed a couple of really nice bass, one being a big-bellied sow just full of
eggs and ready to go spawn. Bill had to settle for the small fish of the day. But, there was still a day of fishing to go.
Our second day, we went to see if the crappie would hit the PERFECT Jig. The waters had warmed to the upper 60’s and were
clearing more. After working 200 yards of levee top, we were still fishless. Then, I remembered the last place I had caught
the crappie well just before the NewYears cold front passage. I figured we should check it, as it was a bit more out-of-the-way
from where we normally catch those giant crappies. Moving a half-mile down farm 13, we keyed into a GPS position I had marked.
After I had made a pass and located the old canal trace and its submerged levees, I dropped a marked and got up to fish. Before
I could get the trolling motor down, both anglers had crappie on the jig. We had stopped precisely at the perfect spot, I
suppose. What luck!! We worked a 50-yard section of the levee, which appeared to harbor a huge shell bed all along the levee
top. It was stacked up with big slabs, those giant shellcrackers and some big bluegill. Strangely absent were all the catfish
that had been on the shell beds before the cold front. Jonathan and Bill got to catch their first really giant crappies ever,
with Jonathan getting a huge gal with some eggs showing at her vent (looks like an early spawn in the making in that section
of the impoundment).
From there, we went over to the east wall of the Farm to the pump station. It was running at about half speed, so we anchored
and free-lined shiners into the light current. We caught a decent number of bass. But, It appeared there were more big catfish
and mudfish there than bass. We caught our bass and also lost a number of shiners to the trash fish.
Being almost
noon, we decided to break for lunch. So, we headed back to the ramp for some fresh fried crappie fillets. Um, um good!! It
is always so much better cooked outdoors with some of Dot’s fresh potato salad and baked beans. Plus, a big pitcher of sweet
iced tea. Who says life has to be hard!!
After stuffing ourselves well, we moved back to the south end of the Farm
and some shiner action. There, the bass started eating the shiners again, as the day before. It was not a heavy bite, but
it was decent. The fish were mostly average. Then, Bill set the hook on one that proved to be another egg-laden sow. As I
netted the fish and moved for my camera, I suddenly realized that I had left it in my truck after lunch. Dang my forgetful
old mind. Doing the best I could, I took a few pictures with my cellular phone. As you can see, one of our pictures is pretty
poor, so I know you can tell which was the phone picture.
Jonathan and Bill both stated that the trip had been well
worth the flight down, plus it got them into some 80-degree weather. That made me feel good, knowing my luck was still holding
out.
11 January 08
We got a last-minute call from our friend, Vernon Grizzard, who said he had to be in
our area on Friday. Did we have any fishing time open, he wanted to know. Heck, we always have time for past customers. Vernon
is what you call a ‘good guy’, very personable and a real gentleman. The kind you like to call friend.
I hope we are
still friends after that afternoon, though. It was warm, the water temperature was in the low 70s, and everything seemed great.
Plus, we were coming off three fine fishing days earlier that week. We got a lot of hits on the shiners and a lot of surface
blow-ups on them. But, we could not hook up with the fish. I think the catfish and mudfish have learned how to blow-up on
the shiners now. That is the only reason I give for only three small bass for three hours of teaching shiners to swim.
So,
our great streak of success that started back on the 4th of November 07 finally came to an end. We finally had a poor day
of fishing. However, there sure were a LOT of great ones in-between!!
Lastly, I had a gentleman email and ask if I thought he could fish from one of those sit-on inner tube rigs that you move
around with swim fins on your feet. I sent him this picture of the big-nosed guy that guards my best fishing spot. Never did
get a reply back from him.
We are excited that you are visiting our web site. Our company is here to provide unique adventures for any occasion.
On this site you'll find information about our activities and facilities, along with descriptions of our special getaway
packages. We hope you will find all of the information you are looking for about our recreation company.
ANTHONY BORKOSKI!!! WAY TO GO!!!
VISiTED US FROM OHIO!! GREAT CATCH FEB 08
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November 13, 2007 - Tuesday
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.
With ‘iffy’ water conditions and the potential for high winds, we started Larry Lynch and Gary Whitaker out at the Stick
Marsh for bass and crappie. We got some really giant crappie off the submerged levees, but not a lot of them. 
We checked the water in the Stick Marsh and Farm 13 the day before and it looked acceptable. So, we headed out with Mike
Esposito and Bobby West to check the crappie and bass. We managed some nice crappie until the winds blew us away. The PREFECT
Jig on the levee tops was the key. But, the wide open waters of farm 13 get pretty rough when the winds blow hard. 
Once again, we hosted Toby Cole, Floyd Layman, and a visiting friend. This time, the winds let us fish the Farm 13 levees
for crappie. We did try drifting minnows for a short spell with zero results. But, the levees produced some giant slabs. Even
with 10-15 MPH winds, we managed to keep the big BLAZER boat lined up with the submerged levee top. With everyone tossing
the cinnamon and chartreuse PERFECT Jig, we put around 25 giants in the livewell, plus a bunch of big bluegills. 
Mike Durrett is a General Contractor and decided to treat some of his supervisory crew (Potts, Marek, and Adam) to a few
days of fishing in Florida. We got them lined up with a place to stay at the Blue Cypress campground, so they could rent boats,
cook fish and generally spend some warm days in Florida. On one of their days, they opted to fish with us. Stan Daniel again
provided the second boat. The wind and rain forced us to Garcia again. 
Fishing with shiners usually levels the playing field among the experienced and inexperienced anglers. But, this day, Mike
Durrett seemed to hold the edge, no matter what he fished with. Mike got two big Garcia bass on the shiners and a pretty good
number of smaller ones on his Berkley GULP worms. His partner in my boat, Adam, had a nice one on a shiner, as well. Considered
the killer weather, we had a fine day. 
Danny Morgan called at the last minute and we managed to work him into the fishing schedule. He came down from Staunton,
VA, to attend a wedding in south Florida. But, he confided that he had considered it a great opportunity to get out of Skyline
Drive’s cold winter weather and fish in warm Florida for a day. 
Then, he got ‘the strike’! It was that rarely seen, true giant bass in Garcia. Danny got a great hookset and it was off to
the races. The bass was actually one of those that was too big to really jump. All she could do was get her head and upper
body above the surface and then wallow as she fell back. As luck would have it, the hook popped free close to the boat and
we did not get her for pictures. But, we did get a good, close look!! What a fish! 
After waiting out Mother Nature’s cold front rampage through Florida, we finally got back on the water with Joey and Beth
Peifer. This was a bass-only excursion, but I got the pair to stop on a couple of crappie hangouts and help me see if the
fish were home. The water was dirty and cold and the crappie didn’t even raise an eyebrow (if they had one) at us. So, it
was off to the south end of the Farm and some shallow water. We surmised that the shallows might have warmed somewhat faster
than the other locations, and it appeared we were right. With all that wood in the water acting as heat sinks and thermal
masses, absorption of the bright sun was a real plus. We found the water at around 63 degrees, a far better cry that the mid-50s
of few days earlier. 
Beth got everything going and it appeared her end of the boat was the ‘charmed’ seat. When she also latched onto a giant bass,
it was certain she had things going her way. But, things have a way of changing and, sure enough, Joey started to rebound
and catch up. Then, just before quitting time, Joey got his giant. 
Jonathan Lebendiger and Bill Bendon flew down from Philadelphia just to fish two days with us. Now, that’s gotta be confidence
in their guide, what with all the negative data I had been giving them about the weather changes at New Years. But, as they
got on the plane, I was able to tell them about the fine success of the Peifers. I sure was hoping the fishing would continue
to improve!! 
Our first day, we went to look for crappie first. The water was still dirty and pretty cool that morning, so we went to the
south end of Farm 13 to find big bass. John landed a couple of really nice bass, one being a big-bellied sow just full of
eggs and ready to go spawn. Bill had to settle for the small fish of the day. But, there was still a day of fishing to go.
Our second day, we went to see if the crappie would hit the PERFECT Jig. The waters had warmed to the upper 60’s and were
clearing more. After working 200 yards of levee top, we were still fishless. Then, I remembered the last place I had caught
the crappie well just before the NewYears cold front passage. I figured we should check it, as it was a bit more out-of-the-way
from where we normally catch those giant crappies. Moving a half-mile down farm 13, we keyed into a GPS position I had marked.
After I had made a pass and located the old canal trace and its submerged levees, I dropped a marked and got up to fish. Before
I could get the trolling motor down, both anglers had crappie on the jig. We had stopped precisely at the perfect spot, I
suppose. What luck!! We worked a 50-yard section of the levee, which appeared to harbor a huge shell bed all along the levee
top. It was stacked up with big slabs, those giant shellcrackers and some big bluegill. Strangely absent were all the catfish
that had been on the shell beds before the cold front. Jonathan and Bill got to catch their first really giant crappies ever,
with Jonathan getting a huge gal with some eggs showing at her vent (looks like an early spawn in the making in that section
of the impoundment). 
From there, we went over to the east wall of the Farm to the pump station. It was running at about half speed, so we anchored
and free-lined shiners into the light current. We caught a decent number of bass. But, It appeared there were more big catfish
and mudfish there than bass. We caught our bass and also lost a number of shiners to the trash fish. 
Lastly, I had a gentleman email and ask if I thought he could fish from one of those sit-on inner tube rigs that you move
around with swim fins on your feet. I sent him this picture of the big-nosed guy that guards my best fishing spot. Never did
get a reply back from him. 
calm 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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.