Muskie Bob

Although I don't fish Stockton lake, I talked to a guy last week who told me he had a blast catching smallmouth bass on Stockton lake the week before. I've heard others mention Stockton lake had lots of smallmouths. I would be throwing some of the same lures I throw for large mouth bass. Right now, I'd be twitching a Smithwick Rogue along some of the steeper rocky shorelines mostly inside coves. The rogue should be good for smallmouths, largemouths, and walleyes (something else Stockton is well known for). Just twitch, twitch, pause, etc.......lots of fun in the prespawn time.

More trivial state record history that was written by Kevin Richards who verified the record......click on "Mo State Record" on the following link. http://www.missourimuskies.org/ from that article......... March 9, 1981 “near Shorecrest Resort” thee monster tuned out to be 49 ½ inches long and weighed a whopping 41 pounds 2 ounces. The girth was 25 inches The muskie was caught on a bone-colored Bomber.

I was curious about the muskie being netted during the spring sampling. So, I contacted Craig fuller, Muskellunge Program Coordinator. In his resonse, the said the following: "There was a large muskie caught during the spring sample on Fellows Lake last year (March 31, 2011; Length – 51 inches; Weight – 35 pounds). " Not only did Craig attach a picture of the muskie (I can't figure out how to include it), but attached forms to participate in the “Show-Me Muskie Project”. If you know anyone who may be interested, key on the following for more information..... http://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/fish-catch/game-fish/muskie/show-me-muskie-project

"Spoke with another boat that confirmed a report by the MDC i had read a while back on the internet - 2 years ago MDC shocked portions of the lake and found a 60"+ muskie in their findings. " I'd like to know where you found that information on the internet. Perhaps that was 50"+. Even at that, a 50"+ muskie is good results for MDC work.

Regatta Listing for Pomme de Terre for May.......hope that helps.... http://www.mswp.dps.mo.gov/Regattas/RegResults.asp?RegMonth=5&RegYear=2011&RegWaterway=Pomme+de+Terre+++++++++++&SubRegatta=Search

I fished some last Monday and Tuesday. I caught one bass (around 18") on a rogue in the back of haverstick. One guy I talked to on Monday afternoon said he and his partner fished several hours before catching their first bass. They managed to catch 8 really nice bass during 1 1/2 hours using shad raps. The key was that they ran into bass feeding on shad. He said some of the bass were hitting on top of the surface. They located the shad/bass on a point. I only talked to 3 other guys. One guy had caught 2 bass within the first half hour of fishing on Monday.......then, nothing. I couldn't locate enough fish on depth finder on some of the spots I like to troll (I'd rather cast) to make it worthwhile to troll. Actually, I didn't see many fish at all, except for some 30 feet plus deep. good luck.

I hate to hear of others killing every muskie they catch. The conservation department has invested a lot of time and money to promote the muskie fishery. I guess a lot of fishermen blame the muskies when they can not catch other fish. I remember many years ago when local crappie fishermen complain about the muskies eating all the crappie, when they would take more than one limit of crappie per day and come back the next day to do it again and again. Oh yeah, muskies will eat a bass or crappie from time to time. But, what fish doesn't eat another fish sometime? Actually, Pomme de Terre has a good population of shad, which seems to be a favorite food for a lot of different fish Oh well, I'm no expert. However, it is more than interesting to hear of other lakes in other states that have a higher population of muskies also have a higher population of crappie and bass. Too bad Pomme de Terre can establish weeds like there were many years ago. I think that would help a lot of the fishery. Oh well, I'm sure most of those who kill every muskie they catch probably don't obey many regulations either. They probably don't pay much attention to size or limits. I doubt if many of them are trustworthy. just my thoughts from talking to a couple of those who hate muskies.

I would guess you really are talking about L4 rather than L5. Although both sides of the point may be good, the north side has a tree row out from a shallow bay where muskies have been caught in the past. It's good to hear you released a huge muskie. If you catch another muskie you think might be a new state record, you may want to measure the length and girth, and then enter them in the following site to determine the weight. Of course, even then the different methods of calculating the weight will vary. http://www.esoxhunter.com/weightform.php

report your luck. The fishing prospects weren't very good for white bass (see quote below). I really miss the white bass fishing. good luck. "Angling for white bass is expected to be poor in 2011 and the next few years. In November of 2009 Pomme de Terre experienced a white bass die off that severely impacted the fishery. It will take several years for white bass numbers to improve." taken from the following..... http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/fish/prospects/?m=13#a59

I guess Truman and the Lake of the Ozarks need to be lowered a little below normal pool to accept Pomme de Terre's additional release, along with more rain in the forecast. I see where they are releasing around 3200 cfs. If so, I would assume Truman will be raising some when Pomme de Terre releases its water. Perhaps the additional water into Truman will help keep their water level up for the spawn. Just a thought. Anyway, thanks for posting the updates.

I asssume jerkbait would be good. I've heard rogues have been good in the past winters. I would think they would hit something similar to the shads. I'm hoping to get down there sometime early March. Good luck.

Hermitage State Park (Cedar Crest) Open with dock floating in water. The dock seems very safe to use. The ramps are somewhat shallow compared to what I have been use to. Most boaters seem to be using the north and middle ramp. It looked like there might be a few rocks still in the south ramp. If you are by yourself, rubber boots might come in handy. I managed without them. However, it would have been easier to load my boat with rubber boots.

Someone else mentioned he had heard there were 7 muskies caught with one over 40" (43"). Personally, I think this was bad timing for the muskie tournament. 7 muskies over 30" was probably good for the size of this tournament and the weather. I doubt if there were that many boats fishing it. I looked on the Pomme de Terre Chapter of Muskie Inc, but couldn't find any info regarding results. I didn't see any postings for muskies caught in 2010. Normally the muskie fishing picks up around mid September.........which I was looking forward too......but this year the weather is a little warmer. I hope others will report when muskie fishing picks up..

According to the news article..... http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/pt/news.cfm#L385 "Once the drawdown is completed and repair work begins, releases from Pomme de Terre dam will be very limited, likely to a maximum of 100 cubic feet-per-second. The normal low flow release is 50 cubic feet-per-second." "During the six-month work period, the lake elevation could vary greatly depending upon rainfall. If significant rainfall and inflows are received, then Pomme de Terre Lake could rise to an elevation as high as 858 feet." Now, that's interesting.........the lake level may rise well above normal. It just depends on the amount of rainfall. http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/wrc/drought/monthlyrainfallmaps.htm If I did my math correctly, the rainfall amounts for Sept and Oct were.... 2009 - 15.7 2008 - 12.6 2007 - 4.48 2006 = 4.5 Based on the last couple of years, the lake might rise back to above normal before the end of Oct. Just my thoughts. So, just how long will the drawdown last?

Thanks for the info. I'll be on the lake sometime Monday. The bank on the southwest side from the Pittsburg landing has been good in the past. However, I'm not sure the brush piles are still there. If you were catching smaller crappie, I would think the larger females will be moving into the banks sometime this week.......

I'll be fishing Pomme this Monday. If I see "dark in color and eating off the surface", I'll give you an update. I'm not sure about the color, but I've seen (what I thought were carp) feeding off the surface. Interesting, thanks for the info.

just curious about the "bigmouth buffalo"? Is it common to mistake them for carp? I'm not sure, but I think I know of 2 buffalo's being caught and released were around 30 to 35 pounds. From time to time, I see schools of fish I think are carp. Could these be bigmouth buffalo's? If so, I'll try to remember to update you with any findings. Are they good to eat? Just curious about the fish.

Is the picture of the muskie the one that was caught and released, and maybe a state record???? If so, that's really sad.....a small muskie reported to be 54" and possible a state record released..... Not only is the fish a lot smaller tha 54", it is skinny.....