Krazo

Id never used shad before but last night some guy at the ramp showed me how to use a throw net. i took him out in my boat for about 10 min and in about 4 throws of the net we had enough shad for my 30 hooks and a TON left over. I'm sold on the nets now, as long as you can find the shad. I just hope the shad catch fish. cant imagine they wont.

Anyone juggling this weekend? I dropped about 15 last night & will go pick em up shortly.

Some people have no respect for others. It's frustrating when that happens. Then when they get caught they're sorry.......sorry for getting caught.

I fished my jugs last sat & bass angler was telling me to go to same places, back of coves where creeks are dumping in, said he caught flatheads on shad patterns. I'm thinking the same thing friday night and saturday morning but I'll prob head to cedar ridge area. i've heard its not bad around there but i've never fished that part of lake so ....... what do you usually bait the jugs with? i tend to use a lot of liver on stockton and blue gill at LOZ. tried goldfish for first time last week and was not impressed. 4 channels in 8 hours out, and 2 drum.

I use to run more trot lines but seems like the jugs are easier for me. I usually run a 1 man operation and that gets tough with a trot line and wind pushing the boat then trying to pull in fish....know what I mean. Lines were good in that they are more inconspicuous relative to a bright yellow or red noodle (I run noodles too) i think you guys are right on though, you really gotta stay with the jugs to guaranty the dont get handled while your gone. where you guys run your jugs/lines at on Stockton? I'm always down by aldrich. looking to try different part of lake though & not sure where or what depths in bigger part of lake.

I'm relatively new to jug fishing & been able to fish Stockton as well as lake of the Ozarks. I use weights to anchor my jugs and leave em out, sometimes over night, sometimes just the day. However I've had jugs disappear that I would bet my paycheck a fish didn't take & surely got picked up or stolen or run over. Its happened on both lakes & seems to happen with a surprising regularity. Anyone else finding it more & more common to come home with one less jug or think your jugs are getting jacked while your not there? Heres a couple blues I got on one jug from LOZ last march. these guys were swollen from gorging on shad!!

The only thing Burt's jugs are nice with the whole jug setup contained right there in the disc, but it does cost some good $$. I've been able to replicate the rig with the exception of the actual jug. I use a 14" foam noodle with a 20" pvc thru the middle of it. I spool the line directly on the pvc and use a coated wire to adjust depth. spooling line makes this system but its does produce!!! caught 2 25# blues on same jug one night last spring.

There is no total bag limit on fish caught, only species limits.

In the aldrich area I catch a lot of channels on liver & stinkbait. the bite always seems better at night & river channel.

do you mean upstream from Aldrich, towards the bridges?

what a joke. silly officer, dont they know nearly everyone only saves the breast. sounds like an over zealous officer.

that was Adam's response

There are many factors that affect walleye spawning success, as with other fish species. Factors include but are not limited to water flow/levels, spawning fish condition, larval food availability, and as you mentioned, water temperatures. Although a number of factors have been identified, there remain many unanswered questions concerning walleye natural spawning success. Yes, walleye do spawn at Stockton. However, the recruitment of naturally spawned walleye into the population is sporadic and inconsistent. For this reason, walleye fingerlings are stocked into Stockton to maintain desired harvest levels. It is important to realize high variability in walleye recruitment is widely recognized in reservoirs. Your question “I've always heard the walleye spawn in Missouri is never that successful because the water warms quick therefore short spawn. This year since the water temp has been in the mid to upper 40s for a long time, will it produce a better natural spawn?” The short answer is that consistent water temperatures are good for walleye spawning success, but this year’s cold water temperatures are not exactly favorable. The reason is that good phytoplankton and zooplankton production are a key to larval walleye survival and growth. Zooplankton species are the initial food of larval walleye. Cool spring water temperatures do not set up well for phytoplankton and zooplankton production and thus affect larval walleye survival. In our walleye hatchery ponds we have observed a number of years where cool and persistent temperatures prohibit phytoplankton and zooplankton production and result in low numbers of walleye fingerlings coming from production ponds that were stocked with thousands of fry. In my opinion, the best case scenario for natural walleye spawning conditions come during years with “average” water temperatures, (not the extremes) when there are not wide fluctuations in water temperature. Studies have shown that large temperature fluctuations can negatively affect larval walleye survival. The last notable walleye year class that was naturally spawned at Stockton was in 2011. This was a year when walleye were not stocked into the lake and yet a good number of young of the year walleye were sampled in the fall. Surface water temperature in the dam area of the lake on 3/28/11 was 48F. This year the surface water temperature in the dam area was 43F on the 27th of March. I hope this information answers your question. Good luck out there.

i second Timsfly. i like a little more weight than usual with the high water. i too am a big fan of the san juan. I also like a little double trouble & will fish a pheasant tail or hares ear behind it.

Anyone consistently catch walleye around Aldrich? Whats a typical spring spawning pattern for them in that area?