Bubfisher

Great sunset pic there. Glad to hear the fish are biting even with all the rain and muddy waters. When is the fish fry planned for?

Sorry I should have been more specific. Midway (halfway down from the dam to where the low water bridge is) Where the water is pretty calm and the bank is steep and muddy. I think the wider calm water allows for Goggle Eye to spawn. During a spawn you can almost catch a fish on every single cast. Here soon after the water levels go back down a bit they can be caught easily on live bait worms. Try early morning and evening hours.

Camped at Truman State Park. Got there Wednesday just before the floods. Caught crappie from the bank. Most were shorts 8-9 inches but did get a few keepers. Caught my first ever hybrid striped bass. Ended up catching 5 hybrids including a 5 lb and 6 lb. Family had a great time despite the rain.

Kayaked and fished below the Springfield lake dame on Wednesday noon till dusk. Did well on night crawlers but really didn’t even need live bait. The goggle eye were spawning and they were easy to catch on a slow retrieve using a 2” white grub. Also caught a couple crappie and big blue gill. Most of the fish were midway down from the dam. Had a little fun with photos and editing.

Cool pictures thanks for posting! Only about 5 more weeks till spring yeah!

Here are the length and daily limits for anyone new to Stockton Lake! Walleye = 15" total 4 Crappie = 10" total 15 Bass = 15" total 6 total combined limit 20 these are the main ones, the rest you can look up! http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/MoRegs/moarearegexceptions.aspx?txtAreaID=7701

I'm Jealous!

Well this is a few days old but I wanted to give a report from last monday. I fished near the greenfield access boat ramp from 4:30pm till 8:30pm caught 3 keeper crappies 2 white bass and 5 bluegill that all endend up in my freezer. I also caught several short crappie and lots of short bass. I fished with a white twister tail jig which has always been dynamite for crappie and bass for me. I caught the bluegill in just a couple fow on worms. It was a perfect evening, there was a full moon and for the first 3 hours I didn't see or hear a boat; I felt like I had the whole lake to myself. The fishing was excellent, the fish were very active and they would smash my bait on every cast. I hope since the weather has changed that they don't stop biting, i'm going too try again in a few days when it warms up again.

What is the concensus of the crappie spawn, has it passed yet or are they still spawning. I know that fishing has slowed down a bit, and fish have moved a little deeper. does this mean that it is over? just wondering what some opinions were on this topic thx.

Huck, I think you nailed it on the head when you said "kinda miss her" I reckon we all got cabin fever. Tired of winter already and ready for spring.

yeah I used to ice fish up in Wisconsin its easy, you just tape your reel to the top half of a two-piece rood and wallah your good to go. I heard some guys did it last year on Stockton when it was -8,-8 for two days. A regular pick works good for making a hole. and a bucket to sit on. .........and yeah like everyone says just be super safe!

Let me know if you do go, interested to see how much ice there is? also I used to ice fish before i moved to missouri I would go if ther was at least 4 inches

Thanks for the report Straw Hat I always have appreciated your input!

Ok so I wasn't EXACTLY right but pretty darn close I still say a 5 lb fish is gotta be no less than 21" http://www.windycityfishing.com/bass_conversion_chart.htm I love the end where it says (24.5" liar) lol to funny

I didn't say it was a perfect system and yes you are right once you get to about about 21" weights vary, but it is still a pretty good system better system then the piece of junk scale shown in one picture. I have caught a lot of fish and weighed a lot of fish so I guess I'm just tired of people claiming to have caught 5 lb fish when really they are probably 3.5 lbs either get a electronic measurement or just a length measurement. remember people a 3.5 lb fish is still a nice fish.