The Southerner

You know, I've seen a lot of lakes that mark off areas for fishing and skiing. Usually, they put the fishing areas in the trees (which makes sense). Would it be nice if they just made up some simple rules to help control the summer frenzy? With all the bridges, making lines wouldn't be too bad.

The walleye also love to lay in between the bigger rocks off of bluffs. I have always done well off of bluffs around Crabtree Cove or near the ramp at that park just south west or the mile long bridge (name eludes me right now). The more snag risk, the better. I fish bottom bouncers about 1 mph just off the bottom or cranks at about 2 mph with same intend.

Well here's the first 10 Mar 2012 report for Bass fishin around CC ramp. I put in at 0500! Yup, it was dark! But with full moon and glassy water, it was wonderful! Had a whole million hectare lake all to myself! Checked around bridge whilst waiting for sunrise and caught two crappie and a bass in first 30 minutes. All too small. Sadly that was the fortelling for my whole morning. Went north at sunrise and fished bluffs and coves for bass mostly. Managed ot catch about a dozen total. With the exception of the last fish (which is still there), it seemed that every female was 14.5 inches and every male was 12 inches. But it was still a great day. Of course it got windy, so I decided to pull out around noon. By then, even the overflow parking was filling up! Hope everyone enjoyed the day. Gotta go fish the lower Colorado River in two weeks, so see ya'll around mid april! Have fun!

Although I've been spending some time down at Bull Shoals catchin Walleye (highly recommend guides around Tucker Hollow), I'm back to Stockton for Fall fun! In fact, I've been out the last two weekends with astounding results! Two weekends ago I caught nearly 20 walleye, a dozen crappie, and several bass, including two small mouth. All were caught trolling rocky bluffs (near crabtree and near Hawker ramp were best). Lst week, however the same effort returned only a few fish (3 small walleye and a few crappie). So for those going out to Stockton for the day, I thought of some "things to consider". Please note that better fishermen like Bob can probably overcome these things, but for me it's like this: 1. If a front has just passed through, the bite will likely be off. I've been catching them like crazy and have the wind shift and it's all over. On Stockton, I associate an east wind with no fish. 2. For most of the year, Stockton is a main lake fishing place. What I mean is that the fish tend to like main lake points, rocky bluffs, main lake tree lines, channels, etc.. They do move back to find food and certainly move back into coves and rivers to spawn, but in summer and fall, your best to start in the main lake. 3. Summer and fall fishing also tends to be better as you get closer to the dam. Not neceessarily at the dam, but coves like crabtree, cothwell and nearby points/piles do well in summer and fall. (A special note: about this time of year, keep checking Cothwell for shad and fish. A lot of the time it produces nothing, but there has always been a day when it's an OMG situation. I've limited out on walleye and crappie in just a few hours there on those days. What fun!) 4. A spring comes along and the line no longer freezes on your rod tip (a true die-hard's experience), start moving back to and into Son's and CC and cedar ridge (maze). The trees do consistently well. I'm sure there's more, but that's my limited experience without discussing the myriad of baits, lure's, and methods. I leave the serious catching up to the great guides on the lakes.

I know the bridge on 245 near 160 is closing next week. It really needs replacing, so that's good, but it will probably be out for awhile too.

Looks like Friday and Saturday are going to be nice days, so I'm sure we'll see y'all at the lake, but it does bode a quick report request. Has anyone ever tried East Sugarloaf Creek or Bear Creek this time of year (spawn)? I'm sure the River Run Area will be getting hot, or is already, but we are just thinking of something new. Half the fun of fishin is the hunt for new grounds. Y'all enjoy!

Trying to go out and take advantage of the crappie and walleye again, but would love to know if I can even launch through the ice before I head out in the morning. Any help?

We were on the lake during that last warm weekend fishing the south side of Cothwell Cove and in one small area we limited out on 12" plus crappie using electric chick jigs and minnows. both worked equally well. After getting our limits (2 of us), we dropped a pair of slow death rigs to the bottom at 40' and trolled across the same exact spot. In for passes we caught 6 keeper walleye. Then the sun went down and we went home. Best day fishing I've ever had on Stcokton, and I've had a lot of good ones! And as an aside, we noticed that only 100 yards from our spot, several people tried fishing without luck. If you don't see em thick on your finder, move on! Good Luck! Next week is looking warm!