Steve McBasser

So when you plan a trip for 8-10 guys, 6 months in advance.... you have to take whatever you get on the weather. Thursday and Friday Oct 28th and 29th were pretty raw.... Winds steady at about 25, gusting to who knows what, and pouring down rain. Sounds like perfect weather for catching fish at Stockton Lake. We met for breakfast in Springfield and convoyed up to Mutton Creek arriving about 10am. After setting up camp, only myself and a couple brave souls that weren't afraid to go with me, headed out onto the water to see what kind of bite the wind had stirred up. We ran a few mile up the Sac and pulled up to one of our favorite gravel flats. Caught a 15" white bass on my third cast and then the slug fest began. In four hours we had 3 limits of whites in the boat and a handful of bass up to 3 pounds. The rest of our bunch was afraid to get their boats out so they fished from the bank and caught another handful big, fat, white bass. Needless to say, our Friday night fish fry was covered. Friday was pretty much like Thursday with the howling wind and the pouring rain..... and with the fish biting. Saturday we woke up to clear skies and mild winds and in spite of the bright sun shine we still caught a ton of fish. This was our 11th annual trip to Stockton in the fall and it paid off big time again... We are looking forward to our spring trip to Campbell Point down at Table Rock now.... Can't wait!

yum...

nice....

Actually, it wasn't that deep. The really brown smallies always seem to bleed a lot.....

Oh my gosh..... You got to get you a clear one, or 2, or 3...When you are fishing clear calm water.... Just sayin'....

Put in a Hideaway last week and ran toward Jackson... Caught 'em everywhere but only had 3 keepers. Still had a ball...

Just sayin'....

These covers were never meant to be trailered.... they are a dust cover once you get to where you store your boat. Take them off before you leave the garage....

I knew I should have brought my waders.....

6 - 10 feet

No matter how many fish I catch and how long I stay...... This always makes me a little bit sad....

Dean picked me up around 8:30am on Thursday and we headed toward Stockton. Put in at old State Park and headed toward the big water. Every point we tried to stop at had at least one or two boats on it. Went to my 7th or 8th favorite spot before we were able to fish without butting in on somebody. I really wanted to catch some top water fish but it was already bright and hot by the time we got there. I threw my spook and a popper a little bit but never could draw a strike. The wind was blowing pretty good so I threw a crank bait and a swim bait but no takers. I threw an underspin and a square bill up into the trash and a plastic worm as well but just couldn't make it happen. I really didn't want to but I reluctantly picked up my ned rig and..... started catching fish immediately. I'm trying to wean myself off of it so I can remember how to throw some of my old favorite baits but dang it..... it just keeps getting bit. So.... I quit fighting the urge and just starting throwing it, and I'll be darned if we didn't have another great day on it.... unbelievable.

See you in the Fall at Stockton.....