powerdive

Let's review: Poster: Had an awesome day, caught a bunch, kept these mid-size chunkers for granny's table. Most: Beauties! It's your legal right to do so. Well done! One: You hurt the fishery by keeping that size fish. You should keep smaller ones, or better yet, eat other species and release all bass because they're special. A Few: Agree with One. Most: Disagree with One. Biologist: You're NOT going to hurt the fishery, even if 65% of all creeled bass are kept (proven fact). Fishery is managed to allow keeping. Babler: You ARE going to hurt the fishery if all creeled bass are kept. Everybody: Jump in, fan the flames. Poster & One: Descend into mild acrimony. Result: Everybody sharpened their typing skills.

Awesome. Cheers!

Because I'm a walleye fisherman. In other words, one of the minority. A 2nd class citizen in the Ozarks fishing world. Bass rule, and everybody wants to be just like the plastic people on TV. Makes 'em really hard to reason with.

The year-round open season is statewide. It is true that while the Stockton eyes spawn every year, recruitment is negligible in most years primarily due to lack of food for the fry. (Predation is a factor for all species.) Only a fraction of a tiny percentage of the fry survive, most years. But in high-water springs, you can have a normal in-the-wild survival rate. MDC stocks the lake every other year and manages it as a put-n-take fishery. Compared to other lakes in this area, Stockton is heavily fished for walleyes. And incidental catches by people fishing for other species usually result in harvesting the eyes, due to their uncommon desirability as table fare. The wild card in all this is the late winter/early spring meat blitz--people who otherwise would not fish for walleyes hitting the spawning runs up the creeks and on the extreme lower lake. It's very much like the white bass craze. Anyway, a lot of the lake's larger fish are removed from the system during the spawn. Some call Stockton the Dink Factory. Yes there are some larger fish in the system, but the percentage is much smaller than you'd find in a lake with normal size distribution. The numbers are way out of whack, partly due to the put-n-take management approach, and partly, I believe, due to the wholesale removal of the bigguns during the spawn.. Of course, you never know what kind of spring we're going to have. But the fish are going to spawn every year, and people will always take advantage of the easy pickin's. Based on the above, I'd like to see the walleye season closed from March 1 to April 15. All waters, but especially Stockton. Just my opinion.

Of course! The innocent were protected, no opinions were changed, and all is well. TV-style bass fishing still rules, unfortunately, but we're all on the same side overall, and always have been.

I think you'd love it, 9LB. Might even bring you back from the dark side.

Whatever. Bass don't interest me. And as the biologists said, they don't need protection. Up north, all gamefish seasons close during primary spawning seasons. However, in much of that area, the bass actually spawn after the gamefish season re-opens. Doesn't seem to matter.

I agree. March and the first half of April should be closed on walleyes to protect the spawning run. If they did that, you'd see more big fish and bump the average size of creeled fish. In high water springs, the walleye spawn is successful. But even more important, closing the season would eliminate the rampant meat-hogging that removes so many of the larger eyes from the system. It's really hard for me to get excited about fishing Stockton when Bull Shoals is going, because of the big difference in average fish size. I'd much rather catch six 18-25 inch eyes at Bull than thirty 13-17 inch eyes at Stockton.

And why does Stockton have better bass? After all, Table Rock is much more fertile. Of course, the harvest rate seems to be higher up here. Oh, the horror. I will agree on Babler. He may be a crotchety ol' bass-hugger, but the quality of info he freely provides is second to none. A superb resource. Even when bass are over-populated as they are at TR, they can be tough for weekend warriors to pattern at times.

Are you suggesting things might be a little one-sided over there? They sure do love to drink that Kool-Aid.

Looking forward to seeing those walleye pics, 9LB. Thanks for a great report!

Well said, SRJ. To each their own, and keep it in our own yard. This holier-than-thou crud comes up every time somebody posts a stringer pic, and it does get old after awhile. If someone wants to eat legal green carp, they have a perfect right to do so. Bass are no holier than any other fish, and they're far more numerous and easier to catch than some of the "preferred" species they've decided everyone else should eat.

Gee, it sure is fun wading through bazillions of runt bass while trying to fish for other species on Table Rock. I consider it irresponsible for bass fishermen to release every single bass they catch; their hearts are in the right place, but their heads are somewhere else entirely. Perhaps they should question their unwritten rules once in awhile. Bass are NOT stocked; they reproduce naturally, and prolifically (since they're related to panfish). The conservation regs are set to accommodate selective harvest; 100% release degrades the fishery by upsetting the balance. Prepared properly, bass taste just fine--oh, the horror! Total release is nothing more than a good idea taken too far; selective harvest is far more reasonable, and would help the fishery. Just my two cents. By the way, good job, Dirtracer35!

Watch out mid-lake, kwall. The local walleye tourney boys are getting together that week/weekend out of Lake Woods Resort near Buck Creek. First semi-organized outing we've had in at least 3 years, so we'll all be frisky. Lotta lines in the water.

No surprise there, RB. Bwaaahahahaaa!

How long ago did you receive the acknowledgement letter? Sometimes these manufacturers are just really slow, due to people passing the buck and then not knowing what to do because it's outside normal procedure. I'd bet you'll receive a new one, maybe two, in time. They can obviously see it's never been used.

Heartfelt condolences, lmt out. It's a wonderful thing when you can look past the grief and reflect on all the great moments you've shared. Best of luck to you and your family as you go forward. Mike

Great to hear, Mike--thanks!

Quill, I strongly encourage you to release every walleye you catch. Heck, I release every stupid bass I catch, so it's only fair...

A couple winters ago I watched an eagle harass a loon that had grabbed a small floater crappie at Stockton. When attacked, the loon would dive, the eagle would hover, and every time the loon popped up with the crappie in its mouth the eagle would swoop again. Guess who eventually won that battle? Also got to see 3 eagles squabbling over a fish at Kdock one fine winter day. Every time one got a good grip and started to fly off the other two would move in and force him to drop it. That drama lasted a good 15 minutes and covered a lot of area.

Fish Stockton if ya like loons, Quill. Lots of 'em out there all winter, and some stick around most of the year. Some of the warmwater hangers-on will approach your boat sometimes, looking for handouts or short releases, I guess. And while the average bass size seems to be bigger, be advised that you'll be sharing spots with walleye boats now and then--you know, those deep vee's that the real men drive.

You can also get an extra 2-3 feet of depth by adding a couple good-sized splitshots about 15" and 20" up the line, and they won't kill the action.

Yes. The 2nd week of March is the spawning peak on upper Bull in most years. But remember, not all the fish spawn at the same time. Some go early, a few will still be looking to drop eggs in mid-April. Part of Nature's preservation plan, I guess. Nice job, and a pretty fish. Enjoy!

Everybody's looking for a "magic bait." Despite what the tackle companies will tell you (and I know, because for years I was the one writing that stuff), there is no such thing. Darn near every crankbait, and every color, will catch fish. It's more about when, where and how, than what. However, the Flicker Shad is a quality bait with an appealing action, at a good price, and one of the few that just about anyone can count on catching some fish with. If you've never tried one, you should.

Ve haff our vays.... There really is a little more to it than just throwing a bait out as far as you can and putting the motor in gear.