Annual Season Pre-sale:

Each year I offer a pre-season sale for the upcoming year. The spaces allocated to this sale go quickly so if you are coming in the 2008-2009 (October 2008 – June 2009) you want to get in on this deal.

The way it works is quite simple. Book your trip within the next 30 days pre-paid and save $75.00 per day on your trip. It is not required that you pick the exact days at the time of booking as you have until October 1, to make that decision. Obviously I will cooperate on date changes if available. The booking rate for this deal is $300 per day.

Effective as of July 2008, I have no alternative but to raise my rates by $25.00. All rates will be adjusted.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

PS: No service fee applied to sale rate credit card charges.

      No cancellation on sales trips - we will reschedule to your convenience.

Submitted 8/5/08

Based on the summer fishing and the rainfall of this year we are expecting a very good 2008-2009 season. Rainfall has been at the level that spillway openings have been required to facilitate the movement of water northward through the St Johns tributaries.

Several trips this month have been very productive in numbers and have produces several bass in the 7 - 10 pound range. The predominate producer has been plastics both presented T-rigged, and Carolina rigged. The spillway in the southeast of the Farm has produced well for a multitude of baits that include: rattle traps, hard jerk baits, jigs, T-rigged plastics, and Carolina rigs. They have been both inside and outside of the cable. Prior to the spillway being open we had a period where on of the pipes had been open and west side of the current was very productive with the application of the Carolina rig.

In other areas of the lake we have found the Farm side to be most productive along the submerged irrigation ditches. In particular, the intersection of these ditches have been better than along the run of the ditches. Throughout July a lot of fish were found in the SW area of the Marsh, but that group of fish seems to have moved off, and it is my thought that they headed south into the Farm and settled in the ditches.

Weather over the period has been good with most days allowing for a full day of fishing. Thunder storms have come in the afternoon and most of them have been pretty nasty. Don't wait until your caught out there in one of these storms as this lake gets pretty raunchy in a big hurry. Temperatures have been in the 80's which calls for the drinking of plenty of fluids and the application of plenty of sun protection. Don't forget the sun glasses as the glare on the water from the sun can be very damaging.

See you out there. Say hi if you get the chance.
 

Submitted 8/28/08 George:

Lots of rain from TS Fay has changed the landscape quite a bit on the lake. Inflow waters are tremendous in quantity, however the spillway area is a mess of incoming weeds. Weeds are spread over much of the Farm as the current disburses in about the lake.

Fishing, as could be expected in the proper place is absolutely top-notch. Most boats have been reporting catches of 50- to over 100 fish per day, with many in the 5-pound and up category. I haven't heard of any of the illusive over-10, but then not everyone is talking. Prior to the storm, as previously reported the fishing remained good on the ditches and intersections of the Farm. The bonanza that we are presently seeing should continue for some time to come as Fay dumped a tremendous amount of water and it all has to get moved.

Presently, which is highly unusual, the C54 gate which moves flood waters to the east is open, so currents are quite strong. Be aware that the current at the ramp flowing around the bend to the north is very strong. If beaching your boat be sure it is well anchored, and I would recommend using the south ramp for the time being, unless the boat is attended. The rain did play with the road a bit and there are numerous pot holes to contend with on your journey of 6.5 miles of bumpety bump.

The St Johns river has taken all the water it can, so for the time being the exit canal in the north west corner is closed. One of the weeds flowing into the lake heavily is hyacinth and at any stop-flow the stuff is backing up. Be aware that they is hyacinth at the ramp. Be sure to clean your trailer before leaving the area as you don't want to transport this to another lake.

Don Willis - Farm 13 - 6 pounds even caught on a Carolina Rig

Don Willis - Farm 13 - 8.2 - caught on a T-rigged Swimming Senko

George - 8 pounds - caught on a Carolina rigged Senko

It's been a bit warm these last few days so remember: plenty of water, sun protection for the skin, and protection for the eyes. Keeping yourself hydrated will keep you from a visit to the doctors. Wearing skin protection is just as important to those that are 5-years old, as to those that are 70. Don't forget it and you won't be forking over large sums of money to the dermatologists.

We are have a blast out there. Give a call.

Submitted 8/31/08

The water still flows heavily as backups causing flooding are released eastward out the C54 into the Sebastian River and ultimately out into the ocean. The inflow area remains unfishable due to the amount of debris that is flowing into the lake. In addition to the debris a good deal of the incoming water is low in dissolved oxygen.

Three days ago I got out for about 3 hours by myself. When I arrived at the pump house area the current was there but it was  very weak. Searching the area with a Carolina rig I finally found the bass, but in a completely different location that previous days. They were on a hump but on the opposite side of the current. From no fish all around the current the catching went to a fish on every cast.

By the time I put my pole down I had caught 44 bass with 7 bass reaching 24 to 25 inches. Then an inflow of not so good water came through and the catching slowed. In the meantime a couple of other boats came in and anchored next to me to share in the catching. These fellows have been out here for the last week and caught well over 200 bass in the same general area.

I spent the better part of an hour talking with the areas head biologist. He was out doing oxygen studies and this is his results. Most of the lake had measurements in the area of 4.0, with some areas dropping as low as 2.0, and inversely some areas completely saturated. The lowest measurements came in the old nursery area, (SW area of the Farm). No measurements were taken in the spillway, but with the heavy population of air breathers there it is very likely that the dissolved oxygen levels there are pretty low. However the overall conditions are good to excellent and a great deal of the inflowing weed is expected to take hold as a result.

Yesterday saw winds increasing throughout the day and during the night and presently rain bands are on the increase as well as a result of hurricane Gustav passing to our south west. Based on the storms size and movement we are expecting to see in increase through the day in both wind and rain. Thunderstorm activity will increase throughout the day and the Marsh/Farm is notoriously bad when storms are in the area. Being a shallow lake it gets pretty rough out there when winds exceed 25 MPH and they will definitely be there over the next couple of days. If you are thinking of going this holiday weekend stay alert. I hate to say it but over but we have had several deaths out there in the past because people ignored the storms thinking they could ride them out. 

Along with wind and storm be aware that it is hot out there and you need to drink plenty of water, use plenty of skin protection, and wear those sunglasses. The road coming in has been graded, but all the rain made the pot holes substantial, and the dirt soft so drive accordingly. There is no need to go fast as the fish aren't going to leave the lake.

Again, be careful out there, and if you happen to see me, stop by and say hi.