LoweSTX175

I'm in about 10-15 FOW. I use the lead core sometimes....but this year I'm going to use it full time on the flats. I will troll the entire Spring/Summer/Fall unless I try to sit on top of a brush pile.

Those are my exact words. The way I see it a couple of dozen minnows cost about $5... if I lose a crank every now and then it comes out even. But I feel confident on the flats I can back up and get them free.

I'm going to troll Hot n' Tots this year on the flats for walleye. It seems like when I troll on flats I pick up walleye when the crank smacks on the bottom.

White and Chart (Chart Pearl) in the 9 would be my choice when May rolls around. That bait does well on Stockton.

I think he's probably pounding away some candy already this AM. He'll get a chance to get back out on the water to drown some cranks here in a couple of weeks. The next time we'll get him on some fish.

I just took a look. Might be an option to trying to get them deeper than the standard 12-15 FOW. I've got a driftmaster trolling set up that I used to put into the back seat pedestal and troll from the back. I might try this just for the heck of it to see how it does.

We trolled flickershad initially then change over to the lipless cranks. The lipless was what caught both fish. The water was super dingy. I'd say visibility was only about 6 inches in that water. We'll get him down to Stockton and Taneycomo at some point this year to have a more productive trip.

I like this idea. The reason I'll go with a crank bait and go 2 MPH is it allows me to cover more ground. I figure 5 hours on the lake gets me about 10 miles of lake. I always figure I'll finally find some action. I also think the fish tend to hit at the crank off of instinct or being annoyed by the crank... basically I feel the fish don't have to take the bait in the mouth entirely. Good luck next week. I'm planning on going to a different lake this weekend to change it up a bit.

My house is exactly 1/2 mile east from there just off of 103rd......the answer would be yes sir. It's Chicago style. As far as lead core is concerned, don't let someone new to trolling/fishing use it. Just my own thoughts. It does have a different feel and some additional weight on the reel.

You'll hear me as well as SlabSlinger and Dan Hufferd talk about FlickerShad by Berkley. Those are my go to cranks. When the crappie get later in the spring I'll transition all the way up to the 9 cm size. Typically you can go with a 7 cm and have good success on the suspended ones either post spawn or waiting to spawn. You'll also hear me preach about using a counter reel. The counter reel allows you to precision troll when you see them on the finder. A number 7 cm with 150 foot of line (per a Depthmaster reel from Cabela's) will get you down to about 14 foot. That's about the deepest you can go with a 7. You can adjust up if needed by reeling in a bit to get your bait to go through the zone once you find them. The 9 CM will go to about 18 foot. Troll that at 2 MPH. Put those cranks on a quick snap on the end of your line so you can quickly change colors. Also when trolling a flat I have been known to change out to a Hot n Tot. Now once you start wanting to get to the walleye I will change my line out to the lead core line with leader versus the braid with leader on it. That helps you go deeper if you so desire. I have several counter reels already rigged differently so I can quickly change up a technique once I find out what's working. This is just something I started doing 3 years ago and has put a heck of lot more fish in the live well. I used to simply drive on top of a brush pile and jig. I'm going to try and get a post/article out after this weekend's trip with what I consider the 5T's of trolling with explanation. Temperature, Time, Terrain, Technique, and Targeting (technology). If any other guys out there can think of another T to add let me know. I am also considering adding Temptation... which is "something to avoid" when trolling.

For the last 3-4 years I've really got to spend some time on Stockton during the spring (April-May) and early summer months (June). I also spend one week per year fishing the lake typically in September or October. Here's how the lake has worked for me over that time. Most of my trips allow me to fish for 3-5 days each trip. I personally now avoid going up to CC and into Turnback Creek during this time of the year. Way too much boat traffic. So I try to stay south of Mutton/RB. Not as many boats. But I tend to troll, so I'm going to be able to cover about 10 miles of water in about 5 1/2 hours on the lake. Eventually I'll find some action. As mid-May rolls around it always seems like in that area the lake turns and you'll see lots of moss floating. The lake turns almost green. I've been skunked before in May south of Mutton. The water temperature has climbed also. I'll run up north to Hawker or State Park. Water up there in May is cooler and it seems to me like the crappie really turn on at that point in that deeper water. I find them suspended with walleye in about 20-30 fow. Once again I'll be trolling, so I'll cover ground until I find them. Once June and July hit I'll move over to Cedar Ridge when things die down around Hawker for me. Once again just my own experience over the last 4 years that seems to work for me. Once again you have to adapt and sometimes go against what would seem normal. Sometimes I think the guys crappie fishing close to the bank think I'm crazy when I'm trolling in 45 FOW because that's the only open area to run.... then they stare when I keep turning around and going through the same area picking them up.

I'm sure someone is going to argue with me... but yes they will still be spawning on Stockton the second week in May. I have caught crappie all the way up until the first week of June around Hawker Point that still have eggs in them.

That's one big crappie. You catch that in KS?

I troll a standard crank bait (FlickerShad) with a quick snap on my line and counter reel. If the whites start to boil reel in and quickly change out to the plopper. The other thing I like about the idea of trolling a plopper is I can get in areas where a deeper running crank can't.

I got some ploppers over the winter. I'm going to try and troll them at 2 MPH and see what I can catch. I've heard that fish get real cranky when they see/hear them on the water and want to hit them hard.

I'm getting better with posting pics. I did yesterday... I think I'm going to start a collage of all the Drum I catch.

Minus the whites, I think crappie and walleye can go through May and into early June if you go up around state park, hawker and cedar ridge. Like I mentioned previously I have found eggs in them that late in the year in that area. One just has to be aggressive on the lake and find them.

My problem is my fishing buddies don't know how to use a phone to take a picture. I have had some great opportunities with some big fish that went squandered. I've had a lunker walleye for stockton (27 inches) that didn't get a picture because my fishing buddies don't know how to take photos. So I'm having to adapt by taking a picture of them with my fish...and of course that can be a touchy subject! So my response has now become "learn how to take a picture and you don't have to be seen with something you didn't catch!"

I attached a map for you. These were the three places I was talking about. Temp started at 54 at 3 PM and it was up to about 57-58 by the time I left. Water was clear enough yesterday you could see about 3- 3 1/2 deep. Water barely had a green tint, but the sun made seeing a crank bait running pretty easy. On the flat (southern most box) didn't see much on it. When I got out deeper fish were from the bottom up to about 15 FOW suspended. Around the point (middle box) fish were all on the bottom. The northern most area (old point 10 now B9) the fish were all around the balls of shad. Each fish was stuffed full with them. The bait was suspended in about 35-40 FOW. You could see all the fish following the bait. At one point right before I left the water just about started to boil. Hope this helps.

Surface temperature was at 57 once the sun started to peak. I'd say 4 foot below that the temperature is different all the way to the bottom. The spawn on Stockton happens at different times of the year on different parts of the lake. I'm no expert by any means, but growing up around this lake it seems like the spawn starts in the south (Turnback Creek) right around the mid March then slowly works its way up to CC. I will typically end up fishing around Hawker Point by mid may through early June. I catch fish (walleye and crappie) that still have eggs in them. So I'm saying the spawn takes place during different times. I think the weather today is going to slow things down for a couple of days.

Depends on how you plan to try and catch them. I have my own opinion after today, but I didn't catch any walleye today.

I was marking some dandies that I assume were walleye in 35 FOW in that entire area. I was only able to go today and won't get a chance to get back down here for a couple weeks. If I could get back out after tomorrow's rain I'd bottom bounce or try and get a deeper running crank down there to them. Water is about 3-4 foot visibility right now around Birch Branch.

Launched around old point 9 at 3:30 PM. Headed towards the second flat south towards CC. Fished it for about an hour and a half. Picked up 2 nice whites in about 25 FOW. Fired up and moved to point B9 (old 10). Caught four more whites trolling around B9 in 40 FOW. Also picked up a 19 inch Largemouth in the same area in the same depth (no photo because my phone was dead). Largest white went 18 1/2 inches, 1 went 17, 4 went 16 1/2. Smallest was 15. I turned the LM back unharmed. Caught the LM on a reef runner, the whites were all flickershad. The whites were all over the balls of shad in the part of the lake. I'm confident that we could have kept hitting them had we had another hour or so on the lake. TOW 58.

Nice Spring River fish. Believe it or not a buddy of mine from high school owns bottom ground around in Mt. Vernon on Spring River and his older brother caught two big (trophy mount) rainbow trout out of the river. That happened like 15 or so years ago.

I purchased and received the rebate without issue. It does take a little bit of time to get it back. Any time I got to buy any sort of baits from BPS I always ask at the rod counter to see what has rebates going. Typically there are rebate slips for most baits behind the counter if you ask. I'm going to head back to the BPS in Olathe real quick to go see if they have any 9 CM as part of the sale/rebate. I went in there yesterday and listened to the Gene Lawrew from Bobby Garland do a quick seminar. He had some good information about crappie as well as what different colors look like under the water.