waterpossum

Maze hasn't been too productive for me the last couple of years. Three years ago there was some spots that regularly produced keeper size bass. Just about a 1/2 mile further back from where your mark ended on the west side there is a good size colony of cormorants that have lived there and nested there for years. I know they are despised by most fisherman because of their prolific appetite for fish. Funny, but I have caught crappie and bass in that cove with those things grunting and cackling. Years ago even further back there was some huge grass carp that I guess someone had released. Maze has become a favorite arm for the night bow fisherman so I doubt any are still there. If you go across the 215 bridge in the back you can see a couple of big slabs of cement where the old road bed was. You can actually drive into Maze creek if you turn west on the first road before entering Cedar Ridge. I have seen several vehicles back there while fishing. I have only run at full throttle to the bridge when the lake is at 869+ Otherwise I don't have the nerve. Dan I think you are the victim of the infamous blue shelled crayfish known to lay in the deepest belly of Maze Creek.

Something is creeping up on your yellow clogs

Dan, some great pictures, congratulations. Once the water cools off the fish just seem to look better.

Anyone fish or hear how the tournament went today.

Setting here watching the snow fly. For some reason my past experience tells me today might be a good time to throw it. The water temp was around 55 when I was there last week, may need to get to around 50.

I had some luck Friday paralleling steep chunk rock bank with a square bill crank bait 4-6' deep. As luck would have it when I picked up a crappie rod I hooked one of it not the biggest walleye I have ever had on. It pulled lose while I was fumbling in the rod box for the net. I did catch three nice chunky keeper bass and a 3 lb. walleye on the crank. The walleye belched out two really big shad in the live well. Should note I made a lot of casts to catch them.

The west Ruark park is gated off, but the east park is open year round. Currently there is no attendant, but registration may be required. A lot of people use the campsites, especially on the south end of Ruark east. I think some may be hunters.

There are three or four places that you could drive to in Son;s creek and set up camp. Google maps should help.

Good luck with the surgery. Hope you recover quickly. Looks as if you had a great day.

It seems ridiculous that the lake level has been churned this low, especially with Truman and the Lake of the Ozarks at their standards. The fishing would be so much better if they had continued to hold the lake at near or above normal levels.(867) Grand is holding two more feet of water more than normal. The shad population has exploded and fishing is phenomenal.

I was at the lake yesterday fishing from 8-4 out of Ruark. Started trying to beg a bass bite on a plopper to no avail. About 10 I went brush searching to try for crappie. I fished about 12 locations where I know brush exists. I had a small amount of luck at three spots. All were windy main lake points that have a sprinkling of scattered brush(not my ideal way to fish for crappie) I was able to catch 9 keepers and about that amount of smaller fish. Water temp was 66-67 with a high sky. I was using a blue and white or green and chartuese slab slayer jig on 1/16 jig head. The keepers I caught were 14-15' deep, but that was well off the bank. I really like the 9' Wally Marshall rod, so I can reach out further from the boat and can keep the trolling motor off the brush, esp that shallow. It's depressing to see the creek arms so low. I wish the corp would reconsider bringing the lake this low. Grand has a new summer lake level standard and it is on fire for slabs right now.

2018 Ranger RT 198P

They may not have state funds, but I would like to see them extend that ramp. It takes a some Heavy equipment. A slab is poured on dry land just above the end of the ramp and pushed down the existing slab

In the past when they close that ramp they let the public launch at the north ramp. Did you check with the park attendant?

It had 7' of water depth on it Thursday.

Dutch, after reading the successful TR reports about offshore fishing, i.e. spoons, drop shots, swim baits, bladed jigs, etc, do you think it feasible that Stockton could present the same opportunities. Bill Babler one of the guides and contributors to the TR thread has some very interesting and informative ways he catches fish. I know TR has more opportunities for keeper size kentuckies and smallmouths, but some of the reports are showing big LM bass being caught.

There was a lot of surfacing going on from State Park to High Point last week.

Took the daughter and son in law out 6-8 Saturday eve and caught 12 in coves about 9' deep.

To get a better perspective of fishing tournaments through out the state of Missouri search Missouri State Highway Patrol Regattas. Stockton shows 31 permits for the month of May. Table Rock 75. The boat permits for Table Rock tournaments as a rule are usually larger than the Stockton tournaments. Though they both seem pretty high amounts, most Stockton tournaments don't come close to filling full fields. Small 10-20 boat tournaments are the most common. I would like to see the day tournaments institute smaller numbers of fish allowed for weigh in from mid June to mid September.

Nothing in Joplin, but a half inch of pollen.

For all the great things Stockton has, the light situation at most of the ramps is not that good. The light at Ruark in the past goes off and on and the Mutton creek ramps have little to no light at all. Seems the Ruark light is on a timer, but during the summer months it would be great if it was at full beam all night. The Hawker ramp is great. up until last year the light at Stockton State park was out. Old State park has a decent light, but it's pretty far from shoreline.

Gotta love the fact that Stockton does present a lot of bank fishing opportunities if you just take the time to drive down many of the backroads that lead to the lake. I have a boat stored up there, but sometimes especially when you have to fight wind the bank is a lot more enjoyable for me. That is a great fish your wife caught. You've given a lot of great reports over the years about some of your bank fishing trips.

I found a skull of a tiger muskie in 1984 on a bluff shoreline. It was just down the hill from the land I had purchased that year. My property is approximately 2 miles south of Birch Branch just past where the timber starts on the west side. I kept it in a sack in the basement and up until about ten years ago would look at it from time to time. I'm pretty positive it is still down there somewhere mingled in with 242 boxes of my wife's foo foo.

My first thought was someone maybe tried to bring one over from Pomme and release it. I understand that the watershed from Fellows does eventually find its way into the Little Sac arm. I guess your guess is as good as mine.

Sorry about the other picture attached