One of the first things I saw at Stick Marsh. There were 4 gators that
we saw dead around the 2 lakes..and we heard from fishermen there were
other dead gators. They died during the hurricanes. Not sure of the reason, since gators can stay on the bottom for LONG periods of time. It may be that the 100 mph winds agitating the bottom caused this. If you have any ideas let me know.
The canal below this intake - outtake valve was pumping water into the lake.
You can tell by looking at the second pole in from the right of the picture. It is leaning back towards the dike on a slack chain. IF they were allowing water out the chain would be taught.
This is a picture of the St. Johns River outflow. Currently the river and the lake are at the same level and some water is now flowing out of the lake to the Ocean from the other side of the lake.

This is the location of the Safe House. The Safe house is for boaters whose boat breaks down and need a place to stay in storms and at night. The Foundation is there, but Hugh is not sure if the House was moved or blew into the water.
This picture was taken from approximately the same place as the picture above.
You can see the lake is way up. At least 4 feet above normal pool. And well above the stumps. The Twin Pams famous on the lake are gone.

This is the dock of the main ramp at Stick Marsh, the only access to this lake.
The back portion of the dock flipped over on top of the front portion before falling into the water.

The pavillion at the Ramp at Stick Marsh. Minor Damage.. but the bathroom lost its roof

THE HOT SPOT.. This is one of the hottest spots on both Stick Marsh and Farm 13 this is the Farm 13 Outflow. When water is flowing in, as it is now, this is Lunker Central. HUGE Bass school here because the shiners and shad gather here to feed.

Middleton's Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle
772-571-9855
Blue Cypress Resort / Owned by the Middletons 772-778-0150

Stick Marsh Bait and Tackle suffered severe losses to its store, but luckily the Motel Room they had for rental purposes next door was not damaged and they moved the store to the room next door. SEE BELOW
A little smaller than the store, but it is still open for business. The Bait Area with tanks was spared any damage.. SEE BELOW
The shiner tanks and crickets are doing fine. The roof held and all the tanks have bait.

After fishing with Hugh I stopped by the store and talked to Jeanne Middleton at the store. The damage to the store was extensive, but it has reopened in a cabin next to the original store. NOne the worse for wear for the most part. Power flickered while we talked. It had only been restored as of about 4 days before. The area is really looking better, and fishing has returned for the most part in all area lakes. Motels in the area are a bit full so call ahead to make sure there is a place to stay, OR better yet stay at the Middletons Fish Camp.
The Live Bait area is in great shape and made it through the Hurricanes with no damage for the most part. Plenty of bait.

This is the canal to Ansin Garcia.
Fishing on Ansin Garcia has picked up. Stick Marsh is still a few days away from
starting to pick back up. The oxygen levels are almost back to normal which should turn the big lunkers on.
Here is damage like you will see around Ansin Garcia. These trees literally lifted the bank back and away from the lake.
These Power Company workers were taking a break at the lake parking area.

This is a map of Stick Marsh and the Ansin Garcia area. Farm 13 is part of Stick marsh on this map. The dotted line from Stick Marsh to Ansin is a canal that joins the 2 lakes and is used for level control. Blue Cypress lake is a natural lake in the area. There was quite a bit of damage to the residents at the lake and cabins.