Dollar Bill

Glad you get to cook some fish Justin! Lilley's style is good but my favorite is frying the old fashioned way, Put about a 1/2" of vegtable oil in a frying pan and crank it up. I coat the fish in 1 egg beat with some milk then coat it with half flour and white (or yellow) corn meal. I also like some Cavenders seasoning (or just salt and pepper) sprinkled in the mix or on the fish. Fry them about 2 minutes on each side. Now that's eatin! I've also started poaching them lately but first things first... Gotta learn to fry fish. It's the best way to make you keep going! The fishing will be good for a while yet so keep after them and we'll help you every chance we can! bill

That's a good ole big un Hat! How soon do you think the cats will get in the rocks? I'm thinking it was the 1rst or 2nd week in May the last year or two but everything seems early this year. bill

Yeah, loo10 is right, the view is better from the high road. Nicely played Bob.

MarkKay says "The fish are prespawn and this is spring weather, unless you are there every day and learn the patterns the fishing will be tough with some people hitting the jackpot at the right the time and location." Stockton Lake Guide Service says "The crappie fishing has been awesome to say the least. About 3 weeks ago the crappie moved into the rapidly warming shallow waters to feed up before the spawn. Although there are lots of varying opinions on if the fish are spawned out, are spawning, or are prespawn, the fact is you can catch them in 2-6 foot of water pretty much lake wide now. I have been fishing up the rivers for the past 3 weeks and have been catching the crappie under a strike indicator (bobber). The main reason for using this technique is to keep the jig in the strike zone longer and be able to fish the jig a little slower without getting hung up all the time. If you are newer to crappie fishing look for pea gravel and sandy banks. It’s ok to have some bigger rocks around, but the crappie need someplace to make their beds, so concentrate these types of banks. Also, don’t always go where all the other boats are, look for smaller areas that don’t have all the pressure. Sometimes this will help catch some of the bigger fish." Then he says "If you are wanting to catch some good fish, try trolling a 200 series bandit crankbait in 15 foot of water around secondary points and in the same depth through the coves,. It will help you locate some fish also, but will also catch you some really good size crappie. i used a "mad cow" color the other day and it worked better than anything else, but not sure if it really matters much." This site is loaded with great advice, good luck!

Wow! What a great trip... I'm happy for you guys. I used to fish with my father and then my father in law a lot. They're gone now but the memories are still strong. Go every chance you get. That area between chicken rock and Springfield cove is some of my favorite water on the whole lake. Not many smallmouth there but it's got everything else. Thanks for sharing. bill

Was my last day of vacation so I had to fish. Waited till I thought the storm was past, about 1:00 and put in at Cedar Ridge. Rained off and on most the day with only one semi rough cell moving thru. I have most always had good luck when the clouds are low but today was tough! High pressure coming in may be it. I pretty much just trolled a road runner and a 2" jig, both tipped with a half a worm. Stayed in 9 to 14 fow. My best luck came off points, go figure... Had many bites but they just didn't want to eat it. Actually saw a bass swim up to my wacky worm and get just the end of it and swam off a little and spit it out. I'm sure I had several walleye and crappie bites and finally ended up with 3 eyes with 2 being just over 15" and four nice black crappie. Not an egg in the bunch. Also tricked 6 short largemouth. Toughest day of the week for me but was sure glad I went! Good luck and be safe. bill

I wanted to add a suggestion, if you're struggling to find fish, try trolling in 6 to 14 fow with a road runner and or a white grub tipped with a piece of worm. Keep the boat moving using the wind when possible. It seems all the fish in the lake are using the bank right now and you are sure to drag it in front of crappie, blacks, walleyes, whites, cats, and large mouth! I haven't caught a single small mouth yet this year but I haven't fished from St Park or north. Eventually you will find a concentration of some kind of fish and can stop and milk it a while. If you play the wind right you can cover some ground and locate some new favorite spots. This technique is so good they banned it from pro bass tourneys... Give it a shot and good luck and watch the weather! bill

Got a late start today due to the storm and chores... Put in at Cedar Ridge about 1:30 and went to the spots that produced the best bass fishing day of my career on Thursday. Big wind, couldn't hide from it but I don't think that's what slowed me down. I'm not sure if it was the pressure change or lightning or maybe I just sore mouthed all of em but I really struggled to catch bass today. Had 3 shorts in 3 hours! Tried moving deeper to no avail. Finally gave up and decided to use the wind to help me troll for walleye. Quit at dark with 1 crappie, 1 white, 1 keeper largemouth and 3 keeper walleye. They were the only 3 I caught. Still love Stockton... bill

I always try to tell it like it is so here goes... Put in at High Point at 9:30 and ran to my crappie hole. 3 hours and 5 keepers later I decided to go bass fishing. Had to hide from the wind and ended up near Cedar Ridge cause I'm liking that clearer cooler water for bass. What happened then was unreal... Fished from 12:30 to 7 and threw a wacky worm up to the bank in 1-10 fow. Baby bass color. The fish were half way back to the very back of main lake coves and cuts. I didn't keep great count but I did catch 39 keepers! You'll just have to believe me. I may have caught 100 total. I've fished a long time and everywhere from Texas to Canada and this day, today, may have been the best day bass fishing I've ever had. Stockton rocks! Didn't have a single big fish, seemed like big ole males mostly. But I'm not complaining. Get out when you can and be safe. bill

For a 3 hour trip it sounds like you hit em pretty good! I need to find some spots to fish shallow like that. I know they must be getting close! This is sure a weird and wonderful spring we're having... Don't think the turkey hunting will be very productive though. By the time I get to go in week 2 you won't be able to see 10 yards!

Back to High Point today. Much less traffic than yesterday. I was wondering if they knew something I didn't! Got a late start again, put in around 10:30. Thought I'd go sack up another limit of crappie then try to find some walleys. Not so fast bucko... That NE wind was screwing up my primary honey hole and after about 3 hours and 8 keepers I gave up on em. Could only come up with one short eye too. By then the wind layed a little and the bass turned on. Must have caught 30 or so with 3 barely keepers. I did have a nice 3 pounder jump off near the boat. In fact all the bass were crazy today with the jumping! I've never seen anything like it. They were mostly caught on the senko worm up on the bank to about 8 feet. The water around Cedar Ridge is very clear with visibility to 8 foot! I think it helped them see the wacky worm as it doesn't make much vibration. No sign of any of the fish I caught doing any nesting, no bloody tails or anything but I wasn't really fishing spawning banks. Good luck and be safe. bill

Walker, Springfield cove is about 2 or 3 miles north or downstream or toward the main lake from the CC ramp. It's got some great "main lake" channel swings within jon boat distance and it's far enough from both CC and other ramps that it doesn't get quite the pressure from other boaters but this time of year it's hard to find some alone time! That mile long south to north bank on the west side just past SC and the small coves off it produced some major numbers of bass for me earlier this spring... Probably some crappie there too I would guess as there is a lot of standing timber along there. Great jon boat launching ramp! I'd bet ole Strawhat knows that area pretty good... Good luck! bill

Started vacation today and my plan is to fish until I drop! Went back to High Point again and spent most of the day between there and Aldrich. Started around 10:30 and quit at dark. What a beautiful day! Dunked some minnows and caught my limit of crappie in about 6 hours. Bass fished after that till dark. The crappie were not hitting very hard today. Still hanging at 6 to 8 foot deep but it seemed the sun and clearing water moved them into deeper water. Most of my fish were still suspended and came out of 12 to 20 feet. I don't think they're quite ready to spawn by the looks of the egg sacs. At least in that part of the lake. Not catching any big ole sows either but where I'm fishing it gets hit pretty hard. Had 11 black bass with 4 barely keepers and a big sow white. Water temp was 3 degrees warmer up the river than over by turkey. 69.9 versus 66.7. Couldn't believe both Aldrich and High Point lots were full! On a Monday! This lake gets hit hard and just keeps producing... Good luck and be safe. bill

Got the yard mowed this morning so I caved and went back to the same spot I had a limit yesterday... in 10 hours! The weather had done a complete 180 but the fish were still there. Had my limit in just under 3 hours today. If the wind wasn't so strong it could have been quicker.. Even mix of keepers and shorts but the overall quality was better today than yesterday. Same deal, drop a minnow either on a hook or a jig down to 6 foot deep and thump. They were hitting it hard today. Many came of stumps but many were caught just drifting down the bank, rod in each hand. I assume they were relating to some tree tops or brush piles but they may have just been suspended. What was cool is I could see them on the graph under my trolling motor as I drifted along and almost every time, whack! Never did throw at the bank so I don't know if they were shallow or not. Mine came in 12 to 20 feet of water. Had some time left so I went bass fishing and did pretty good with a senko where it was clearer and calmer and a white spinnerbait where the water was off color or windy. Fished mostly shallow backs of coves stuff. Had 3 smaller keepers and a dozen or so shorts. bill

Always love bass fishing but it's time to put some fish in my belly! (and the freezer too). The problem is I suck at catching walleye and crappie. Getting better at the cats and am really looking forward to them moving up on the rocks soon. But today I tried to catch some crappie. Put in at High Point about 8:30. Thought it would be slow there but there were only about 8 trailers at Aldrich and I took one of the last parking spaces at HP! Didn't seem that crowded though and I fished where I wanted to. Started up in Turkey, nuthin. Moved over to Morgans, nuthin. Hit some pockets east of there and blanked too... Caught a few short blacks and small whites. Finally ended up between HP and Aldrich on some treed banks and pockets and found them... They're probably everywhere but I finally figured out how to catch them. 6 foot down. That was the key for me today. Caught fish on hook and minnow, jig and minnow and bare jig. Color didn't seem to matter nor which combo. Depth was 6 fow to 20 fow. But the bait had to be at 6-7 foot down. You could see them on the graph suspended over tree tops and brush but even when they were next to a stump, 6 foot down was the deal. Caught about 40 crappie but only 16 keepers. 11 of the 15 cleaned were females but only had 2 slabs. The rest were 11" maybe. Had 3 doubles as I fished with a rod in each hand. The bite got better later in the day and when the clouds were blocking the sun. Great day and hopefully it won't take me 10 hours to limit next time! good luck! bill

Just want to say thanks to all the folks posting! Good stuff... I get a lot of fun and knowledge from you all and appreciate it. Haven't had a chance to go lately, that may change Wednesday or Thursday (just in time for some wind, rain and highs in the 60's!) Don't care, it's time to go. Will fish a lot on vaca from the 9th thru the 15th, hope it's not too late for some whites and crappie... Who knew it would Spring a month early? I'll let you know how I do, good or bad. bill

Heres the 3 sows i got sunday next to a 15" male black. These are what I'm looking for!

Hey man, welcome! I'm glad you're posting I aways wonder why some posts get read by over 500 different people and yet there doesn't seem to be nearly that many submitters... Think of all the knowledge we can share! "well I don't want everybody else catching MY fish..." Come on folks! We're not that good... I've fished over lights many times but I remember only doing it in the summer. Sure otta work..The water 2 miles toward High Point was much more colored and 2 miles more toward Aldrich it was almost muddy. Good Luck and keep sharing! bill

Thanks for the post Walker! Are you thinking the sows have moved way on up or are the males up there first and the sows are still to come? I'm askin cause I fished around High Point Saturday and caught (by accident of course) 3 big ole female whites there... Was the boat traffic as bad as the Aldrich lot looked? bill

I've had my best luck on channel banks and points and bluffends. That must change soon as the spawn increases. I would be looing in likely spawning areas and the transition areas near them...

Have been fishing between Ruark and CC the last few trips with good sucess so I thought I'd change it up this time. Why I don't know... Put in at High Point about 9am and got off at 7. Beautiful sunshine with very light wind all day and highs in the mid 70's. Counted 27 trailers at Aldrich when I went by so I'm guessing the river was busy. Only 12 at HP so not as bad. Main river water was much more off color than side coves and downstream. Water temps were weird. Found 56 to 66.7! Oddly, the south facing sundrenched banks seemed to be up to 4 degrees cooler than the opposite banks and my best fishing was in the cooler water... Fished all day between Aldrich and Cedar Ridge. Pulled my back sometime midday so that slowed me down quite a bit. Didn't tear it up but caught several fish. Took some minnows and spent a couple of hours early trying to find some crappie with zero fish. Dang. Went bass fishing and ended up catching around 20 blacks with only 1 keeper, a couple of spots, 3 huge whites and a walleye. Caught them on a shad wart, a Senko, rigged wacky, and I broke down and even threw the A-rig for the first time catching 2 blacks and 1 white. It was a home made "mini" rig my friend at work got me. Cute but not magic. Couldn't really put together a solid repeatable pattern but what a great day on the water! Good luck and be safe! bill

That's some good info there, thank you! I'm going later today and will let ya know how it comes out.

Thanks guys for the information. I'll let you know what and where if I get on them...

Hey, I get to go to Stockton Sunday the 25th and I haven't seen any info on whether or not some of the closed ramps have been reopened now that the water has come back up some... Specificly High Point and the main Cedar Ridge ramps... Any still closed? Also any info on road closures like 215 near Morrisville? While I'm at it, any info on the status of the whites run? It's time to put a few fish in the freezer and I like me some fried white bass. I've caught some up the river from Aldrige and around Masters in the past but the reports have been few so far... Anyone willing to share? Thanks, Bill

I don't know the cost but Lakin's market and storage up north of Metro appliance on Glenstone has storeage suitable for boats. $90 a month sounds expensive but I wish I could fill by boats gas tank for that!