powerdive

Yours are absolutely the most fun-to-read reports in the area. Very much appreciated!

I tried jigging and also trolling cranks at K Dock on Saturday and failed to catch a walleye. A small gar, a 21" bass and a 14-7/8" crappie were the only things that got in my way. Caught them at 24-25 feet. Lots of show on sonar, hard to get any bites. Fished at Diamond City yesterday, trolling cranks around the flats, and only managed 5 walleyes with 2 keepers and a decent perch, plus assorted undesirables (bass, gar, etc.). Same deal--the 23-33 foot range is just loaded with shad and fish, but it was tough to make them eat. Even the bottom bouncin' brigade struggled to find any legal eyes. Seems to me the thermocline is starting to form, finally, and the concentrated natural buffet is tough to compete with. It'll get better. Packersooner, Horseshoe Bend is a great area for early fall. Just troll the contours, hitting the points and ditches. Question: At Bear, are you fishing the hump or hitting shoreline-related spots? Thanks!

Nice fish, BD!

Looks like you're a pioneer, vonreed. Let us know how it comes out!

rps is a good and interesting fellow who has earned his fish the hard way and deserves the respect we accord him. I just wish I could cure him of his bass affliction...

Thanks for the clarification. Evidently the law has changed since I left the state 14 years ago. Sorry to post something incorrect...but still, that's what most of us grew up with.

In Wisconsin, where I came from, it is illegal to return any rough fish you catch to the water. Unused minnows too. So they often end up on the bank. By the same token, I see a lot of paddlefish and catfish carcasses hanging on fences around here... In local walleye circles bass are called "green carp" because they're prolific and easy to catch (relatively speaking), but not so good to eat. Sort of a counter-culture thing from a resentful minority, I guess. Not everybody butters their bread the same way.

I saw no indication of a themocline in the upper layers today at Baxter. Thought there might be a soft one forming at 80 feet, but that has no bearing on the fishing for now. We were trolling cranks for walleye, and couldn't keep the bass away. Lost count on those, but it was well over 50...lotta small ones, with only 6 or 7 of what you bass guys call keepers and then throw back. (We followed suit, of course.) Ended up with only two keeper walleyes. 26 feet.

Jeff, we've been fishing down at Lead Hill/Diamond City the last couple weeks, and catching some nice fish on cranks at about 30 feet. I haven't been to K Dock in awhile, but I'd think the fish would be slightly shallower there. Suggest you try a couple passes along the edges of the flats between the marina and Snapp Hollow, maybe 20-23, then 23-26. But don't be afraid to fish shallower or deeper if that doesn't pan out. I've never bothered with the tops of the flats. Maybe you can teach me something! Leadcore takes some getting used to--it can be a pain at times--but it's absolutely precise and absolutely deadly. Good luck. Maybe one of theses days we can share a boat and do a demo. Good luck!

If I knew where Cook's Marina was (never heard of it), I might be able to help, might not. If you're looking for walleyes, that is. A little more info needed, please. As in, the part of the lake you'll be fishing and what you want to fish for. Thanks. Most folks won't give up spots but can tell you what to look for...check Mike Worley's fishing reports. Very reliable info.

Hey, Mike, thanks for the update. We caught a few nice ones near Lead Hill the other day, trolling cranks at 30 feet. It was flat calm, though, and overall the action was pretty slow, especially through the middle of the day. Get out early!

Fatties! Nice work.

Sounds like fun.

Nwtf, I would recommend just getting the hang of flatlining (trolling with regular line and a lure, no frills) to start with. Leadcore requires special gear and a deeper understanding of lure placement and such. If you get out on the flats between Points 5 and 7, there are plenty of walleyes roaming the 15-25 foot depths right now, and the consistent contours will help you learn to recognize how deep different lures will run, how they track, and how best to present them--and have a high chance of quick success too. It's how most of us start out, just using the gear we have. I've been using specialized trolling gear for, what, 10 years now, but I caught my best-ever walleye (12 lbs.) while I was just starting to learn the basics of trolling, using a handheld spinning rod and braided line tied to the lure with (gasp!) an improved clinch knot rather than a Palomar. I really didn't know for sure where my lure was running, whether it was within a couple feet of the bottom as intended or 10 feet up. But that fish about stopped my heart and made me seriously pursue the trolling thing, and over time I got better (I hope). So get out on those flats and start pulling some deep-diving cranks with whatever gear you have, and it won't be long until you start dialing 'em in. Good luck!

11 mph???!! At that speed, you must be pulling a jig! Or a stick. We've trolled big cranks for muskies at 6-7 mph, but most walleye cranks tend to blow out over 4 mph unless you're really good at super-tuning.

Walleye tourney guys in Nebraska and the Dakotas have been catching big eyes running big spinnerbaits through deep trees on leadcore. I think that's the motivation for rps' experiment. I fooled with running a 3/4-oz. KVD spinnerbait on leadcore down at Bull Shoals last fall when piles of fish were stacked at 30-40 feet on the edges of flats. No takers for me either, but it's always worth a try.

With the oven warming to 350, melt half a stick of butter in a 9x13. Rinse and pat dry your fillets. Lay in pan to coat the bottoms, then turn 'em over and shake on your seasonings of choice (I like Cavender's, or garlic powder/pepper/paprika). Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on thickness (Stockton fish, 10 minutes). That's it! Very tasty, no muss, no fuss. If you need to be healthier, substitute olive oil for half of the butter.

Keep in mind that Stockton fishes like two different lakes for crappies. In the narrow parts of the upper arms (the upper half of Son's Creek, Big Sac toward Greenfield/CC and Little Sac around Highpoint and Aldrich), the crappies usually can be found much shallower than they will in the main lake due to water clarity and abundance of cover.

Nwtf, I troll with my 40hp all the time--no bags needed. Most of the time I like to go about 2 mph with cranks--it seems an ideal speed for many cranks, and it's easy to figure the running depths with leadcore line. I can also get down to about 1 mph for bottom bouncing if there's no wind, or less if trolling against the wind (which can bring up boat control issues). A fish can swim much faster than you can troll. On Erie the saying is, "Speed kills." Sometimes moving faster (3 to 4 mph) will trigger strikes you wouldn't otherwise get, and sometimes a slow creep is the ticket. With most diving cranks, speed generally will not greatly affect the depth they run--just how quickly they'll achieve their max depth for the line you're using and the amount of line you have out. I troll for walleyes and crappies. Hey Feathers and Fins, what kind of line are you using to achieve those depths?

This might explain the third arm growing out of my forehead.

George Carlin: "Did you ever notice that anybody who drives faster than you do is crazy, and anyone who drives slower is an idiot?" That's one of the LEAST funny things he ever said.

I love leadcore, so I've held back on trying the Tadpole. Good to have a some feedback--thanks!

Great pic. Good for you!

The problem is on both sides. They're trespassing in "our" world, and we're trespassing in "theirs." Each has an equal right to enjoy the beauty of the lake, in their own way. But as Champ mentioned, people are different, both by age group and by activity. We don't understand their thinking, and they don't understand ours. People who don't fish have no idea what we're doing, sitting motionless with the trolling motor down, nor do they particularly care. They're moving, we're not, and that's about all there is to it. For the most part, they're not consciously being jerks, they're simply doing what they do--navigating around an obstacle, or showing off, or whatever. But of course, we transplant our values onto them by assuming they know that they're wrecking our day, which makes them real a-holes in our own minds. Wrong approach. Me, me, me. It goes both ways.

Sad to see. Glad you're safe.