Stick Marsh and Farm 13 opened to public availability in September of 1990. The stories of bass catching and speckled perch (crappie) catching were unbelievable. To add to the confusion those who had been to the impoundment and were talking about it were those individuals who people knew had a tendency to stretch the truth. No one would tell anyone where they were. The Stick Marsh and Farm 13 are, and were, located near the East coast of Florida. They were, and are, in an area famed for saltwater fishing. Why would anyone from this go freshwater fishing? Well, you get the idea. It was hard to find out where the Stick Marsh and Farm 13 were located and hard to believe those who had been there.

My opportunity to fish the Stick Marsh came in early December of 1990. I was asked by a television personality to come with him and fish the marsh. We were to be part of a group fishermen taking out dignitaries of the fishing industry. (This guy needed my boat to take people fishing so he could sell them advertising on his Television program.) I went. In doing so I met some fine people. Caught lots of bass. Found out where the Stick Marsh was and all about it.

Briefly, I was guiding on the Harris Chain at the time. I knew, as did several other guides, that the lakes were dying. The massive sprayings of grasses was killing the bass. We watched the bass die over a period of nine months. No one would listen, pay attention or if they did they did not care. I needed a place to take my clients fishing where they could catch bass. After going to the Stick Marsh once I knew it was the place. There were lots of bass, great scenery, NO water skiers, NO personal watercraft, NO civilization. WOW! I had gone to bass fishing heaven. (Go there about 250 to 300 days a year).

I went to the Stick Marsh several times in December of '90 (2 & 1/2 hours from my Lady Lake home) in search of the MONSTERS. I found them. In December of '90 I was the first guide to take clients fishing on the Stick Marsh. On December 31st of 1990 a client of mine from Connecticut caught the first ten pound bass in Stick Marsh. That bass was 23 inches long and 21 inches around. On my digital $300 scales she weighed 9.98 pounds. I figured we were safe to call her a ten. That bass was caught on a Slug-Go.

In the beginning Stick Marsh had a ramp that was the side of a levy. It took two vehicles to launch a boat. One to tow the other back up the ramp. So we went to the lake in pairs. Farm 13 was separated from Stick Marsh by a levy. A bass boat could not get into Farm 13. Many local anglers put PVC pipe along the levy and rolled their smaller aluminum and fiberglass boats over the levy and into Farm 13. Talk about primitive.

I believe it was in '92 that Hurricane Gordon came across Florida - twice. Stick Marsh and Farm 13 were low - very low. Gordon came towards Miami and it started to rain at Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Then Gordon went across Lake Okeechobee - still dumping rain on Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Then Gordon went out into the Gulf - still dumping rain on Stick Marsh and Farm 13. Then Gordon turned and came across Central Florida north of Orlando - still dumping rain on Stick Marsh and Farm 13. When the rain stopped I took my clients to Stick Marsh and Farm 13.

The water level was so high. Well, the road on the way in was covered with water. The water was just up the the frame of my trailer. The levy separating Stick Marsh and Farm 13 had water trickling over the top. Dump trucks were being towed by bulldozers to dump dirt and shore up the bulging outer boundaries of the two lakes. Later in the summer, in efforts to ease the water pressure the original "hole" in the levy between the two lakes was dug.

I was with a couple of young clients as we watched the digging. By using a series of hand signals we made arrangements to run the hole while the digger swung his load to the side. We were the first bass boaters into Farm 13. I was too excited to see everything that I fished nothing and we caught only one mud fish.

Also, in an effort to ease the water pressure the area where the ramp is now located was dug. This area was originally a solid levy. Now there are two holes.

The history of Stick Marsh and Farm 13 is tallied best by the AWESOME fishing and catching days many have experienced. The Stick Marsh and Farm 13 change every day. Each change marks the beginning of a new era. Each change in structure, water level also presents a challenge to stay on top of bass catching methods. Many will tell you that the lakes were down for a time and now they are back. That just is not so. The lakes were never down - just some people did not figure out how to catch the bass. One day during one of those "down times" my clients caught five bass over ten pounds. Down???

If a guide wants to be a "hero" he just has to take his clients to Stick Marsh and Farm 13 and bring some shiners. Even if the guide has the worst day on the lake of any guide he will still will have had a super day catching. There are that many bass. You just almost can not mess up. However, I have seen it done.

The lakes have changed drastically since they first opened. One thing has not. The lakes remain catch and release. And as long as they do the bass catching will remain AWESOME. All the bass do is make more and get bigger.

To get things straight: Number one Stick Marsh was a marsh - not an orange grove. It was named Stick Marsh before it was flooded. It is a mass of trees. Most are now underwater. "Every where you see a tree there is a tree. Every where you don't see a tree there is a tree." Number two: Farm 13 was a radish farm. It belonged to Fellsmere Farms and was their farm number 13. Old irrigation ditches, canals, places they drove their trucks and some wooded areas are the structures. Number Three: There are two lakes with two separate identities using one ramp.