Is anyone interested in getting together for a slabfest in central Florida prior to the spawn in January? Any suggestions on a good lake?
Chuck
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Is anyone interested in getting together for a slabfest in central Florida prior to the spawn in January? Any suggestions on a good lake?
Chuck
I'm disappointed. 59 views, but no suggestions.
Chuck
I would be interested, I am open for the spot, You tell me time and place and I will try to bee there. I will Suggest the Stick Marsh/Pond 13 Lakes.
But am open to all locations
Great idea, probably take some doing to get it done that quick, also thought there would be a better response. Am kind of jealous of the Georgia guys they are about to have a blast and wish them all well.--shu
Won't be in FL. till Jan 1. My first time for Fl. fishing. I would be interested in "slabfest". It would be a way for me to pick some brains.Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckauten
EJL
I am flexible, you name the time and place. If you have room in your boat, I am more than willing to pay for gas, sup-plies etc. Might even buy lunch. I love to crappie fish but since I have only lived here 3 yrs I am still learning the how-to of florida speck fishing.
You are welcome to come fish with us any time Falcon Smity started this and its been great set your date and keep talking it up we always make eating part of it that'll bring um in.
I'm pretty new to the forum but have read for awhile. I'd be interested and would like to get out and see how to catch em up. Always willing to be learnt...Let me know when and where. I typically fish Blue Cypress down in Indian River.
I'll be in Florida sometime between January and mid-March to escape this Ohio winter crap. I was going to suggest Stick Marsh/Farm 13 also.
Big ass crappie and bass in that lake. I love that place.
We also do well for crappie on Mineola/Minnehaha chains and Little Harris.
will be at Middletons on Blue Cypress middle 2 weeks in Feb
Anyone have a suggestion of a lake in central FL? Harris, Toho, etc.? February would be good.
The Florida Crappie Assn would probably be a good group to get ahold of, good group and really involved in speck fishing(their classic is this weekend) They have a monthly tournament, Sandy's Bait and Tackle in Tavares also has a tournament the first sat. of each month (except Jan and Feb) on the Harris Chain, maybe all the speck fishermen can get together for a good day.--shu
Thanks for the info. Wasn't aware of the FCA. Will check it out. I am in Indiana, 24 degrees, until the 22nd. The 25th I am going to meet TNT at Talquin for another week of fishing. Check out the slafest pictures on the GA site. Lot of fun and great information sharing.
Chuck
i don't dare to look at anything mentioning Lake Talquin, got minnows, gas in the truck and boat, poles are in the boat, i might sleepwalk to the truck and leave before i could stop myself. Would like to spend Jan and Feb there but wouldn't have anywhere to come home to.--shu
Dont go to Talquin...The fish are small and the lake is trashy:p...Chuck and I are only meeting there to try out his new Jet Ski:D
What is a slabfest and how can I participate? Also what part of Little lake harris is good? I just parked my boat there for the winter?:)
Will have to look up Stick Marsh on google earth to see where it is. Never fished there, but would be a nice change from the Harris Chain. Know too that the Harris chain has a lot of miles of water. Does Stick marsh have a lot of pads/grass or deep water avaiable? May be hard to fit it in this quick with the holidays comming on in just a few days, any thoughts on mid Jaunaury when more people will be here?
Dusty
Slabfest is a get together of Crappie.com members for a day of friendly competition. We have a few Slabfests in GA every year at different lakes. It's just a day (or 2 or 3) when the members of this site get to meet each other and share info about crappie fishing. When we have one, there is always plenty of food, fun and fellowship. The actual "Slabfest" usually takes place on a Saturday and everyone pitches in on the expense of a trophy. Whoever puts the Slabfest together can set it up any way they want to. We dont have cash payouts to the winners here in GA, just a trophy and bragging rights for the top 3 teams and a Big Fish. Cash payouts has a way of bringing out people that do not post on here until it is time to fish, then they disappear after the Slabfest. Its basically a time of meeting others around the state and learning. We have people from as far away as Pennsylvania that attending ours and anyone is welcome at any of our Slabfests. I fish Talquin quite a bit and would probably fish some other lakes if Florida did have a Slabfest.Quote:
Originally Posted by rwebster14
Dusty;Quote:
Originally Posted by centerdriver
Here's two pics I posted in an earlier post as to the location of Stick Marsh and Farm pond 13 (AKA- Farm 13).
The northern half of the rectangle is called Stick Marsh, a little above the middle runs a dike from east to west, and on the west end is an opening where boat traffic can go around and south into the bottom half, called Farm 13 (AKA-Farm Pond).
This is Glenn's territory, he fishes there almost exclusively most weekends.
I posted a few posts back some pics of the place when me and Glenn fished there recently.
I didn't notice much if any at all lilly pads except where one launches their boat, right there is plenty of real estate to fish pads, but, the bodies of water of Stick Marsh and Farm Pond are pretty much empty of pads.
If I recall from Glenn and mine's recent trip, the depth was around 6-8 ft.
If you go down, ya go south on I-95, pass Melborne exit (Hwy #-192), pass next exit (Palm Bay), and get off at the next one (Malabar), go east to big light (Babcock St) hang right, go south on Babcock St, for, I believe around 12 miles (long way ! ), then you wll come to a big canal running east to west (can't recall it's name), you must cross over, and right there on the south side is a dirt road taking off westward running right along the south side of the canal. I believe this dirt road is approx 7 miles long (pretty good ways) take it all the way to it's end and there is the boat launch, etc, etc.
Is a good trip from here (Titusville), so will be even longer for you.
But, if ya ain't never been, always good to do new places.
P.S. Be very carefull, look out for the occasional submerged trees, most times you can see just a little sticking out of the water, best to run in the canals and go slow anywhere else unless following someone, etc....
I would suggest PM'ng Glenn for a rendezvous for first trip.....
http://danny.belcher.com/StickMap.jpg
http://danny.belcher.com/StickMap2.jpg
You know, I saw that retangle and just thought it was a glitch in my program. Never saw a square body of water before ..... 'cept a swimming pool.
Dusty
Research the history about the place.
I believe a long time ago it was going to be a place to grow stuff, then things changed and they decided to make it into a watershed to catch nutrients to keep them out of the St. John's, I ain't sure. But nowdays it is a primary Bass fishing place.
Somethin like that......
Edit--->
Here's some stuff I dug up-->
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There are 5 predominate structure features in the Farm 13/Stick Marsh:
1. Submerged canals
2. The submerged levees adjacent to those canals
3. Small drainage ditches that connected to the major canals
4. A few isolated piles of dirt or other debris (possibly the remains of a burned shed or a pump house, etc.)
5. Old roads used by the farm equipment to work the fields that once made up Farm 13
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Stick Marsh was a marsh. It was full of trees that were tall and brush and some wild fruit trees. There were swampy areas and areas not so wet. The entire area was surrounded on all four sides by canals. In the late 1980s, the St. John's River Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers initiated a project to restore the drained marshland and to construct reservoirs, canals and levees that would offer a new level of flood protection. The water flowed over the top of the inside levies and filled up the stickmarsh. This created, Stick Marsh the lake. The FWC then stocked the area, brush, trees and vegetation still intact, with gamefish.
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Farm Pond/Stick Marsh is incredible crappie fishing. Probably as good as Talquin. The only problem with having a Slabfest there, NO FACILITIES. None, other then dirty Porta Potty type bath rooms and good launch ramps.
The attached file is actually a picture of an Excel spreadsheet that I posted a few months ago. I took old maps and overlaid them with lon/lat so I could find the old roadbeds and ditches. The pond has very few land marks and only a few can fish it without a bottom machine or GPS. I'm still new to the Pond and I learned a lot from Glenn. I think we both agree that fishing the old ditches is the most productive tactic. Even though its almost a hundred mile round trip, its my go to place whenever I can go. The average depth is 5-7 ft except in the ditches. The deepest ditch that I know of is 11 ft.
The pic is pretty low quality, so PM me if you would like me to send you the Excel file.
The Florida Crappie Club is the new name for the local(florida) group of guys that love crappie fishing, Darryl Cole is this year's pres. contact home 352-669-0442 welcomes anyone interested in speck fishing. Monthly tourn. and good fishermen.--shu
Thanks shu. Kind of info I'm looking for. Have Darryl's # in the book. Still plaing on leaving the cold the 29th of Dec, be there the 31st.
EJL
I just opened a bait, tackle, and boat rental store located on Lake Monroe, St. Johns River. We carry lots of Crappie tackle, minnows, drinks, ice, and coffee. We're right on the water at Monroe Harbour Marina, next to the public boat ramp. We open every morning at 5:30 AM. Lake Monroe - St. Johns River Boat Rental, Live Bait and Tackle by BoatClub.com in Sanford, Florida - The Palms resort, also right on the water is located directly across the parking lot from me. Our address is 531 N. Palmetto Ave., Sanford, FL. 32771 - toll free: 1-888-647-2628 - Monroe is a great Crappie lake for both artificials and live bait.
This might be a great opportunity for you to host a Slabfest.....Just an idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by boatclub08
Quote:
Originally Posted by TnT
Sounds like a really good idea. 1. Hopefully a place big enough for a meet/fry.
2. For a Grand opening, what could be better than have a whole bunch of florida speck fishermen show up. Word of mouth ya know.
3. Been wanting to fish that lake for a while now.
Dusty
I think it's a great idea. I don't believe there's any good space in the Marina itself, but on the lake front a block to two east of the marina is a city park with tables, etc.
I'm up for anytime after January.
Don
What a good place to have a slabfest and a "sponsor"Quote:
Originally Posted by boatclub08
It would bring a lot of recognition to your business and I don't think the financial end would be a loosing deal. As for the social get together and eating everyone involved should chip in with all of the eats, eating utensils, drinks, condiments deep fat fryers to cook the fresh fish caught and what have you.
SANDY'S BAIT AND TACKLE in Tavares, FL does a good job with his "fishing tournaments" of course he is not here on crappie dot com.
A word of caution to those who have not fished or boated Lake Monroe and St John River: this is a haven for the MANATEE and there are signs posted all over the place that the speed limit is IDLE SPEED in congested areas and areas where MANATEES congregate. A visit from the water patrol police is a $65.00 payment at the Deland office. PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE:eek::eek:
SO BRING IT ON. I am sure that it is not to late to get something going.
Mid January seems to be the target to shoot for. More people will be down, specks should start cooperating and the weather should not be too bad. Have gone from one end of Monroe to the other (just a boat outing) and will say the lake can kick up real quick. Going up to Palatka from Astor was great, coming back was 3-4' and a slow go.
Would like to fish it though, and that would be a great reason to trailer, since I normally only trailer out of here for salt (unless someone has an empty seat).
Dusty
I'd like to try Monroe if it works out.
Fished Lake Washington Sunday afternoon in spite of the wind. Only caught 5specs, but they were good ones, plus one tittie bream. Three of the specs were about to pop. I thought it was early for big roe. Wouldn't you think they would have laid out next full moon?
Rusty
I'd definitely be interested in hosting a Slabfest. Just let me know what I need to do. Just to let everyone know, however, there's a Crappie Masters tournament on Monroe Jan 31st - Feb 1st. I can be reached at 1-888-647-2628 or c: 407-242-4321
Lake Monroe - St. Johns River Boat Rental, Live Bait and Tackle by BoatClub.com in Sanford, Florida
I can vouch for these Slabfest here in Georgia. These events are some of the greatest events that you will ever attend. Its a bunch of crappie fishermen and their families having fun and fellowship. No money involved except for the trophies which is around 50 or 60 dollars. I will vouch for "chuckauten". This man is a really nice man that also loves the sport of crappie fishing. You will definatyely leaves these events with a lifetime of memories and new friends.
quote:"I'd definitely be interested in hosting a Slabfest. Just let me know what I need to do. Just to let everyone know, however, there's a Crappie Masters tournament on Monroe Jan 31st - Feb 1st.
Lets start looking at dates....hhuummmmmm....looks like, maybe the 17th??? We will be in and out before them tourny fellows catch'em all up.
Dusty
check with Sandy's in Tavares he usually has a tourn and fishfry the day before Crappie Master's, at Buzzard Beach.--shu
lake rousso caught four 2.5 lbs some nice slabs cauht 3 channel cats and 2 butter bellys
Talked to Daryl, the president of the Florida Crappie Club. They try to have a tournament the 2nd saturday of the month starting in March. They normally have 15-25 boats participate. We are going to have lunch after the first of the year at a resturant in Leesburg. I will post the date and time if anyone would care to join us. They have been posting flyers in the bait shops of central florida, inviting everyone to join.
Let's block the 14th of March as a fun date. Will post the information around the middle of January.
Have a great holiday.
Chuck
I can probably line up discounted room rates at the Palm Island Resort on Lake Monroe (it's litterally across the parking lot from my bait store). I can definitely line up discounted boat slips at Monroe Harbour Marina (this is where my tackle store is located & shares the parking lot with the public boat ramp). I can also provide a digital scale for any weigh in that you guys may be interested in. There's also a public park next to the marina for a cookout (It's the same place Crappie Masters are having their weigh in on 01/31 - 02/01. And finally, I can offer 10% discounts on any tackle, and discounted live bait prices on minnows (sold by the dozen, 1/2 lb, or pound increments). Let me know if this interests any body, and I'll set it up and post all the information.
Lake Monroe - St. Johns River Boat Rental, Live Bait and Tackle by BoatClub.com in Sanford, Florida
I will start a new thread so we can see all interested in fishing Lake Monroe and when. Also are you interested in cooking and have a picnic like get together after fishing:):)Quote:
Originally Posted by boatclub08
flycaster