Scott Phillips from Erwin, Tennessee arrived on the 14th with friends Ron & Mary for two days of sampling the waters of Stick Marsh/Farm 13. With Senkos, SwimSenkos, and rattle traps in hand Scott and his friends hope to see some of the big fish that Scott had seen on a previous visit. Lots of bass and plenty of good quality landed in the boat, however that elusive big gal just never showed her face. Working deep in the south end of the Farm, using the bump-a-stump technique, proved to be the ticket.
Dan Mitchell and his sons Clay and Conner of Franklin, Tennessee were next up, arriving on the 16th in hopes of catching a memory. Again as with the previous trip lots of bass, but no big ones. There out there, and just a cast away, but no one had the lucky cast. As with the previous trip, the bass were in the stumps and brush and Senkos were able to lure them out. Lots of fish, but again no big ladies to account for.
Next up were Terry Collins, his father John, and friend Cricket. Arriving bright and early on the 17th, all the way for Tullahoma, Tennessee, these guys promised to be a hoot from moment one. As they tumbled out of their vehicles they were already sounding off as to who was best, and who would get the big fish. With predictions of wind for the day they opted to try out some of Florida's finest golden shiners, and there option proved to be very good. The day started out with a bang as the first hit came within the first few minutes of setting up. This was followed by another 20 in the next hour or so and then as if a switch had been thrown, with the wind rising, the bite quit. With the wind blowing pretty hard out of the SE we starting drifting the south end of the Farm and managed a few more bites of the rest of the morning. As early afternoon rolled in we moved westward and started drifting fresh water.
The first big fish simply made John's float disappear. No fanfare, no splash, the float just quietly went out of sight and the fight was on. There was no question that John had a grand old dame on as she peeled line. There was no turning this gal until she was ready, and then it was still hang on as she tore out in a big arc to the right. John never got overly excited as he worked this monster to the boat, giving his his reward of one jumbo Stick Marsh/Farm 13 lady.
It wasn't but a short time later that Terry's bait was smashed and another real good fish came on board.
Monday the 18th was cleanup and boat repair time and with my friend Don Willis pitching in we patched a minor bit of damage on the bottom of the boat.
Yesterday, arriving out of the wintry cold of Chugiak, Alaska was Dennis Harns and his wife Cheryl who came out for a 1/2 day of fishing. Perhaps some of you have met these fine folks before at their fishing lodge up there. Dennis and his wife have run Alaska Trophy Safaris for the last 40 years and are well know for providing just super trips for Salmon and Trout in the cool waters of the north. We launched and headed south but were quickly chased out of the south end by 25+ knot winds. Heading to the north end canal of the Marsh produced the only two fish caught for the morning: one bass, and one cat. Both took a Senko. There were a few very light bites missed but we dismissed them as small bass.
As you can see, the bulk of the fish are coming from the south end of the Farm, and Senkos laid in next to a stump will get you a bass. We are rigging Texas rigged, and dark colors, (any dark colors) are working well.
See you out there.