powerdive

Thanks yet again, Bill. Quick question: what is OMR? Old Man River?

I use medium-light spinning, slower tip, 10-lb. Stealth or PowerPro braid, small snap, no leader.

That's pretty darned impressive! And deeper than I'd expect for midsummer. Were you bottom bouncing?

True dat, WR. The over-20's were grouped up and on the feedbag that day. Lots o' fun! But that's the only time that's happened, for me, in 14 years of fishing Stockton. I'd like to know what Cabinman's secret is, because even though we catch plenty of eyes on Stockton, about 95% of 'em are sub-18" dinks.

It registers on sonar, assuming your settings are good, due to the differing water densities. At times, in deeper water, you can see thermal breaks in different depths.

Cabinman, I doubt those words have ever been spoken before. We get the occasional big fish at Stockton, but for us they're few and far between. I did hear once that the lake record at Stockton is 16 lbs. Hard to believe...seems more like a cigar factory to some of us.

...unless it was a Thunderstick or Hot-n-Tot. Rapala in their infinite wisdom redesigned some old faves when they bought the Storm brand so they'd be cheaper to produce, but the new designs totally bombed with fishermen. So now you have the Original Series, which are supposedly made with the old Storm molds. I've never owned a Wart, but the Original Seriest Tsticks and Hot-n-Tots are OK. Perhaps it's all in my head, but they don't seem to have that magic "something" that the old baits do. But they catch fish.

Bill, re: losing spoons: I do a lot of winter spooning on brush and steep craggy drops (30 to 75 feet) at Stockton for eyes and crappies. Usually 1/2 oz., sometimes 3/4. I've found that replacing the treble with a 1/0 short O'Shaughnessy single hook minimizes the hangups without sacrificing hookups. It's saved me a lot of lures. Also, with my #1 lure for vertical fishing, the Jigging Rap, I clip off both end hooks, since 99.9% of the fish are hooked on the small belly treble. Of course, the Rap kicks out on the lift, so maybe it wouldn't be a good choice for the close quarters you were fishing yesterday. In both cases, I use 10/2 braid tied direct to a snap, no leader. For hangups, I use a 1.5 oz. walking sinker with a slit cut in the eye--just open, clip on the line, pinch closed, send it on down to the lure on a tight line, and jiggle it loose. Works great. Just some food for thought if you ever get on that pattern again. Thank you for the great info!

Thank you sincerely, Bill. For us walleye guys, that's one for the ages. Appreciate your forthrightness.

No weeds = no toxic oxygen-depriving decay = fiish can live below the thermocline. (There are trout all thru the lake, down deep.) Most of the shad that the bass, walleyes, whites, etc. feed on stay above the thermocline, though. Trust your sonar. Unless it needs a sensitivity adjustment, you probably are seeing fish down there. If the deep "school" seems widespread and pretty flat across the top, your unit might actually be showing you the thermocline. If it's more of a haystack or an irregular bunch of marks, try dropping a jigging spoon down, and maybe you'll find out what they are...

On the other hand, BB28, by reputation bass are not nearly as social, yet you catch about a thousand a day on Table Rock. It's just population dynamics: tons of food, and not many walleyes per acre. You can catch walleyes in bunches out there, but it does seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Thanks to Bullitt, I had my best day of Southern walleye fishing ever right here on Table Rock (and I fish Bull Shoals and Stockton a lot). It was September, we were trolling cranks down deep on a single inside point, and we caught about 25 walleyes with most between 20 and 27 inches. We're seeing a lot more shorts these days. That's a good thing.

Elusive fellow...man of mystery, goes by many names. Most not fit for print.

Yes, it is. You only get so much time to fish. I tend to not sleep very well the night before fishing, so I'm raring to go also. But as H91 mentioned, it's worth a few minutes' time.

Honestly, it's hard to get excited about walleye fishing in Stockton after catching a few at Bull Shoals. One average chunker at BS equals about three or four skinny minnies here.

Hoping Marty will post the photo when he gets time--hint hint, nudge nudge...

We had 5 boats, 6am to 12pm. Only two boated walleyes. Mr. & Mrs. Hunter 91 had 4 shorts on bouncers and cranks, and Bullitt (don't think he posts here) and his partner had one short and--get this--a beautiful 29.5", 10.2 lb. walleye. Trolling cranks over the channel, 30 feet down over 36 fow. The rest of us caught numbers of bass (duh, go figure) and a couple 14" plus crappies, but the eyes eluded us. Bullitt & Brian had to fizz the big gal and spend some time with her, but she finally kicked tail and swam down, never to be seen again. Hopefully a successful release.

There are signs posted at ramps noting that Bull Shoals is infested and directing all boaters to clean off their boats and wash out their bilges. Maybe someone can snap and post a photo.

Respectfully: Why get that technical? 9LB has already told us what's working. Always run sonar for awhile before you start fishing--it will show you the "fish zone," whether they're relating to the thermocline or not. Then, just work that magic depth.

Pretty amazing report. I think even I could go out there and catch bass (on purpose) after reading that. Thanks, Bill!

I blanked on walleyes at K Dock a couple weeks ago, even though there was a ton of show on sonar along the edges of the flats. Was pulling cranks; very strange, as I can usually count on putting a few in the boat there. Don't know why I struggled so??? Maybe bottom bouncing would be the ticket. Been fishing mostly at Lead Hill the last several weekends, and catching some very nice walleyes on cranks at 28-30 feet. Haven't heard anything about Stockton...maybe Hunter91 will have some tips for you.

No problem on the ramp, other than the fact that it's a very shallow slope; always has been, but now there's a courtesy dock which makes launching and boarding easier. After fishing, if you load by hand, you'll probably need to wade (as I do with my 16' deep V) or do your balancing act on the trailer; if you drive on, no real issues other than the need to back in a ways. Just avoid the small pothole in the ramp that has developed in about a foot and a half of water--look first. Hope that helps.

Awesome, riverfish. Thank you very much! Good luck to you.

riverfish, that is a FAR more fun way to catch 'em than trolling or bouncing! May I ask how deep those spoon fish have been? Thanks.

I hate ditches. They're so darn steep and narrow. When I'm trolling cranks on a contour, I tend to get sucked into following the ditchline up until it disappears into the shallows, and then it's hard to turn and and catch the other side with multiple lines out. But they are fish collectors for sure, especially the points at the mouth of each ditch. More and more these days, instead of following the ditch in and getting off my line, I'll cut across the mouth to the next point. When bottom bouncing, though, ALWAYS follow the ditch in and back out the other side. The fish are there, if you can get a lure into their faces.

rps, your Reef Runners will get close to 35 feet on 10/2 braid with 150'-160' of line out. Otherwise, you'll probably want leadcore or snapweights for trolling those depths.