Lifes2Short

Zaraspook and I met for the first time yesterday and went up to Stockton fishing. Got on the lake about 5:45 and had a pretty good morning with the bass. A couple of keepers and a number of shorts. Spook had to head back to town about 10:30 and I continued fishing and got off the lake about 4:00. Continued to catch bass with another couple of keepers and one nice (20") walleye on small a chartreuse crankbait. I lost another couple of walleyes, bigger than the one I kept, right at the boat. :-( It was interesting because I caught these walleyes in the very back of a large creek channel in less than 6' of water. Most of the bass came on the shakey head with a green 4" finess worm. Had north wind all day and very sunny skies. Be safe if you are headed out this coming weekend, it will be a zoo!

I'm in and have a boat. Ron or fishbait3, you want to fish sometime during the week let me know. Todd

Put in at Ruark Bluff around 7:30 this morning and fished for about 8 hours. Ended up catching roughly 20 bass today, 3 keepers with one going over 5 lbs! A mixed bag was used today; spinnerbaits, jigs, small crankbait, and shakey head. Looks like the lake has dropped about a foot but you can still find bass in the buck-brush. The big bass came on a channel swing bank in about 12' of water on the green jig. The biggest number of fish came on the shakey head on main lake channel swing points.

Headed out of Mutton Creek again around 9:30, stayed cloudy and breezy all day. Caught around 10 bass, 3 keepers on a variety of baits. Small crankbaits in the very back of coves in 3 to 5 feet, Jig on channel-swing banks, and shakey head with finess worm. I also caught 2 keeper walleye, one on the crankbait and one on the jig. For the first time I could not get bit on the spinnerbait??? Tight Lines, Todd

Great job!

Congrats Dollar Bill, told you that worm would work,,,,,,,,good choice on color!

What a let down after the past few weeks up at Stockton. Put in at Mutton Creek around 9:00 and fished until about 3:00. Spent most of the time bass fishing, when we tried crappie fishing we didn't get a bite. The crappie that were being pounded in an area where we were bass fishing this past Thursday were no where to be found today?? We did end up catching roughly 15 bass and I don't think any would have kept, well maybe one squeaker. Caught a few on the jig and a few on the worm but we had to work real hard to get the fish to bite. Did not see any sign of fish on the beds and none of the fish we caught had been building nests yet. The only thing I can figure is that it was a bluebird day and the water cooled back down to the very low 60's. We'll head back up on Thursday with the cloudy rainy weather and hope they turn back on! Tight Lines All!

Also had a tough day in and around Mutton, I'll post my report.

9LB, Let's you and I get together for a day of fishing. I would llike for you to work with me on catching a few "eye's" and I'll show you what I know about the bass on Stockton. Sound good? Todd

Went back up today on a cloudy, cold, dreary, misty, foggy and breezy day! Put in at Mutton Creek about 7:30 and fished until 3:30. Had a BALL fishing a new "technique" today. Normally I don't get too detailed about what I use but I just have to share this. I was told that anglers were doing good on a floating worm on Table Rock so I decided to try this up at Stockton. I bought a bag of Zoom "Sherbert" Trick Worms and rigged them Texas style with no weight. I caught a fish on my second cast and it was all GREAT from there. I must have caught 40+ fish today, most in the 14" range but must have caught at least 8 or 10 keepers. Nothing bigger than 3#'s today but what a time I had throwing that floating worm!!! I would highly suggest you try this if you are headed up that way this weekend. Let me assure you that you can't throw that worm too shallow. The water is clear and you keep telling yourself that you could see fish if they were that shallow.......WRONG, they are there so throw it right up on the bank and twitch it back to the boat. Most all the hits came within 6' of the shoreline, it you let the worm sink about half way back to the boat you'll even catch more fish. It was an AWESOME day to be out!!! I'm not sure this would work if it's sunny, and I couldn't catch the fish on this worm in stained water, I tried a jig, wart, and chatter-bait but I couldn't get bit. But I really only tried these other baits for a short time because I was having soooo much fun with the trick worm! If you try this let me know how you do. Might just have to head back up tomorrow! Good Luck All!

Anybody want to go fishing tomorrow, I think I'm headed up to Stockton?

Sounds like a great day on the water! There is a bald eagle on her nest in the cove that's just south of Mutton Creek on the main lake, same side of the lake as Mutton Creek. Go to the back of the cove and you can't miss her!

No worm but I think that they would have hit most anything. If I go up again on Thursday I'm going to try a floating worm, it's about tme for that to work. I also wanted to try a fluke but I was having too much fun fishing the "normal" stuff. And in case anybody is wondering, that big girl is still swimming as well as all the rest I caught today!

Had a pretty great day up on Stockton. Put in at Roark Bluff and spent the day in Son's Creek. Must have caught 25 or 30 bass on a wide variety of baits. Spinnerbaits, jigs, and wiggle warts seemed to do the most damage. The water was 62 to 65 and none of the bass I caught had any signs of being on the nest, no bloody tails or beat up bodies. Ended up having about 8 keepers with my best 5 going 16 or 17 pounds. Had a first today, a pretty nice crappie inhaled my 3/8oz War Eagle spinnerbait. The morning bite during the drizzle and clouds was by far the best part of the day, slowed way down when the sun came out. Also heard that some guys were tearing it up on Spooks around powerline cove. Hope to get back up there on Thursday. Tight Lines All!

Where did the bigger bass go?? Put in @ Mutton Creek about 9:00 this morning and fished hard until 5:30 this evening. Unlike last week I could only get 2 keepers and they were only a little over 15". Now if the limit was 14.5" I would have had a double limit! I fished a little bit of everything today, coves, creeks, main lake pockets and points, bluffs, and channel swing banks. I found water temps from 51 degrees to 68 degrees. I caught blacks, kentucky, smallmouth, drum, and walleye. However it was a pretty slow day overall, might have caught 20 + bass but nothing to write home about. The two "keepers" came on jigs in the back of a creek cove. I also caught bass on spinnerbait, jerkbait, wiggle-wart, and had the most fish (including the drum, smallmouth, and walleye) on a shaky-head with a 4" watermelon green finess worm. The lake is up about a foot so there is some small flooded brush on the bank and I found a number of bass in less than a foot of water, and clear water at that. If you're looking to catch bass, and you're not worried about size, tie on a shaky-head and drag it around the points in the main lake pockets..........plenty of fish to be had this way. The 68 degree water was in the cove just above Mutton Creek on the main lake, however the water in Mutton Creek at the launch ramp was still only 54 degrees. I use a infrared digital thermometer so I know the temps are correct. It's crazy to think that there's a 14 degree difference in water temps in less than a 1/4 mile. Good luck when you go!

See my first post..................

Pomme Bassin Nights. Fished out of Hermatige from 7 to 3. We were fishing the Pomme side from the launch ramp to Lightfoot. Our "bigger" fish came on jigs out of the brush.

Had a small tourney yesterday on Pomme. Also prefished for the tourney on Thursday. Water was on the rise both days and the bass were pulling into the flooded buck brush. Caught almost all the bass on Thursday on the bluff ends and flooded brush on jigs. By yesterday the bluff end bite was gone for me but the spinnerbait bite was on around the flooded banks and jigs in the flooded buck brush continued. We had 5 keepers that went almost 12 pounds. The tourney was won with 19+ pounds but don't know how they caught their fish?? Back over to Stockton this next week to see how the fishing is going there!

I had sent a note to the folks up at Stockton wanting some information and this is what they sent me. What a crazy spring it is this year when the lake is up 10 degrees over this time last year! Good Morning Thanks for your interest in Stockton Lake. I think one of the best sources for lake level information is at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/current/?type=lake&group_key=NONE You can click on Stockton Lake and get current level and also some historical data is available through this website. As far as Lake temps - we keep track of it here at the office and keep records - but it is not generally posted to a website. 3/23/11 the Lake temp was 43 degrees. Today 3/23/12 the Lake temp is 53. These readings are taken at the surface near the face of the dam. The lake temp varies quite a lot across the lake - shallower water, darker bottoms, along rock outcroppings, etc. Another good source for lake levels, scheduled releases, etc. is at http://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/WaterManagement/index.cfm Thanks again for your interest in Stockton Lake. I hope you have many SAFE and enjoyable visits. Feel free to contact us - if you have more questions. Rod Hendricks Stockton Project Office phone 417 276 3113

Where are you going out of Straw hat? Email me btlifes2short@aol.com

I'm headed up there tomorrow and will give you a report. My guess is that this rain is really going to start to turn these fish ON!

Morning Binman, I can't find a Sunrise Storage on the Internet or in the phone book. There is a Sunwest and a Sunshine Storage but they are both on West Sunshine. Have any idea the phone number for Sunrise? Thanks in advance, Todd

Went out of Mutton Creek area today and fished from 10:00 to 5:30. Spent the first 4 hours fishing main lake points and small coves. Caught 4 small ones on jerkbait, jig, and wiggle wart. All those fish came out of the very back of the main lake pockets in about 8 feet of water. I then decided to find warmer water as the main lake was only 50 to 54 degrees. I actually found 62 degree water in the back of a creek and it was LOADED with big shad hitting on the surface. Spent the last hour and a half of the day catching roughly 15 to 20 nice chunks, nothing bigger than 3 pounds but they were a ball to catch. Most were caught on jigs and rattle-traps, and just a couple on a spinnerbait. It was a GREAT way to end the day! Off to Pomme to fish a tourney tomorrow.

Called that place and they want $90 a month...........guess that's about the going rate.

Straw Hat, Don't mean to sound helpless but I can't find any listing for a bike shop (motorcycle or bicycle) on 160 north of Springfield. However I am headed to Stockton tomorrow and I'll look for it as I head north. Thanks for your reply! Todd