Old dog 417

Squeez Inn, Stockton, MO. Everyone should experience the Squeez burger with it's "cheese skirt" at least once. It's safe to say there's none other like it. Somewhat limited hours so research it online before making the trip. I also second the motion on Ken's in Arcola. (breakfast, lunch, and dinners) od

Good job MrGiggles! Tough tough year on Stockton but you're making things work. Some of us haven't put together even one 3 "Wally" day yet this year so color me impressed! od

EXACTLY!! And that's a major reason why many of us visit this site regularly. Kudos to you. As we said in the 60's...if it feels good do it! lol. OD

In another somewhat related KY3 story this morning announced the resurfacing of 28 miles of Hwy 160 between the intersection of Hwy 123 and 160 N.W. of Willard and ending at Hwy H on the East side of Greenfield. Although 160 won't be closed, flagmen and Escort Cars will most likely create traffic delays and that's not to mention the risk of oil splatter on vehicles and/or boats. It's not the only route to Stockton Lake but other routes may see increased traffic as many drivers search for alternate routes. Completion is estimated to be sometime in November. I don't recall the exact start date but it was relatively soon. OD

Leave it to those finicky fish to add insult to injury! Sometimes I think the graphs tell us to much. 😉 od

Sorry for the margin issues in the post... my typing and fishing are both in need of improvement! od

Weather people said substantially more rain would be arriving the next few days and that was enough to motivate me to get in a quick trip before it got here.... Launched at Cedar Ridge South Friday morning about 10:30. Had run the wipers off and on along the way and as I left the ramp I donned my rain jacket to ward off some off the drizzle. Keeping dry wasn't the only reason either...the lake air was chilly for a June day and the jacket felt good. There was a stiff SW breeze creating a 10" chop but the the predicted 20+ mph wind wasn't happening...at least not yet! Started out fishing a fire-tiger stand-up jig with half a crawler off a point in 24-30 ft. It didn't take long before I had boated 2, 12" channel cats then a 19" walleye. The predicted wind now arrived and boat control was becoming challenging. Soon the sun came out and the jacket came off but it seemed like the bite was now off too. Switched to other jigs and tried 2 more points and was rewarded with 2 more cats. By now I'd had enough so I decided to run downwind to Masters Cove and try trolling for crappie in the more protected back of the creek. Pulled 2, #7's and 1, #9 Flicker-shads ... 2- Fire-tiger and 1 Pink Cougar. All three produced and 6 keeper crappie were boated plus 1 short. The crappie were suspended at 15 ft in 26- 30 ft of water. Conditions: Lake Level- 884.6 ft. (about an inch higher than last week's trip, roughly 17.5 ft over normal pool) WT- 75 degrees on points and 77 in the creek Clarity- 30" Wind- SW 15-20 mph. Cloudy with drizzle in late morning becoming warm (78 degrees) and sunny in the afternoon. Even though he wouldn't lie still...I did manage a quick pic of "Walter" walleye. ☺️ Tight lines, od This post has been promoted to an article

MrGiggles, Thanks for the update..good info. Good luck tonight and/or tomorrow...at least the weather forecast for the next couple of days has improved. Looks like we will be contending with the high water for quite awhile. od

X 2 od

Water level was 884.5 down slightly from it's crest of 885.3 a few days earlier. Ruark ramp was usable but I had to wade a bit as all my vehicle wheels were in the water! A slightly uncomfortable feeling when you consider the flooded pit toilet nearby! 😨 A courtesy dock is in place but, be advised, it is positioned a fair amount above water level. Pics taken at Ruark Ramp except 4th and 5th pics, they're of the nearby Hwy H bridge and the North Mutton Creek Ramp. Conditions at Twin Bridges area.... WT: 78 Clarity: Stained, visibility 24" Nearby creeks were stained more and trashy. Few floaters observed, none large. Fished jig and crawler 20-25'....let's just say the drum bite was on and no walleye were harmed on this trip. Tight lines, od

I realize this is probably a dumb question but...my Alumacraft deep V is very difficult to enter over the bow. Especially with the trolling motor and graph mounted in the way and that's not to mention my dislike of having the bow sitting on asphalt or rocks. So,... Do any of the accessible ramps still have courtesy docks available? Please don't fall down laughing, hurt yourself, and then blame me! 😉 Thanks in advance, od

Regular price varies from $3.99 - $4.99 depending on size and style. The on-sale price represents about a 25% savings. od

Berkley's Flicker shad, minnows, shallows, and jointed are 25% off right now at Bass Pro. (Not the Pro series) There is one small caveat...The sale is posted online and even refers to in-store stock but there are no posted "sale" signs or reduced pricing tags on the pegs in the Spfld store. I asked 2 employees and they weren't aware of the sale but when the cashier scanned them they came up at the reduced price. (except the 2 pro series cranks I had also selected) I did advise the cashier that they were "on sale" at both the Cabela's and BPS website. Flicker Shads, #7 : $2.99, #9 : $3.74 Flicker minnows, #7, #9, $3.74 I don't work there or have an interest...just passing along what I experienced. Tight lines, od

X 2 I learned that the hard way. od

Highrock, Thank you for your service. od

Zarraspook, Well said!! Much thanks for sharing and thank you for your service. "We were winning when I left" ! Chu Lai, Vietnam. 1967 od

Thanks for the pics. od

With your report and additional rains predicted... Sounds like the bite may become pretty tough for several days not to mention the challenges playing log/floater roulette while attempting to navigate. Glad you were able to catch enough for a good fry! Thanks for the report. od

I haven't pulled the trigger on any of the jointed flickershads yet. So, you're saying you're seeing an improved bite recently or longer using them over the standard solid bodies? I'd appreciate hearing what your observations have been. (Ouch! I think I feel a pain coming in my back pocket again!) 😉 od

X 2 od

Good job! I imagine the points were rock and roll city the way Friday's winds were blowing. Kudos for giving them a try for ole Walter. od

Embarrassing to admit...I've been remiss on posting reports so hoping to improve on that! Invited a friend that typically only shore fishes for trout to try crappie fishing on Stockton. We launched at Rurak at 8:15 AM and proceeded to troll creeks with #7 Flickershads. The screen was showing good marks suspended at 15'-18' in 35'-40' of water and we hadn't gone 50 yds when we caught the first crappie. After a few snags, a couple of line tangles from too short of turns, and some bait switch-outs attempting to tweak color the 1 o'clock hour arrived and we needed to be going home. Final count, 25 crappie and 1 bonus 19" walleye. (Only 20 crappie in the pic..the other 5 are still in the bucket) No wall hangers were taken and the 4 largest crappie were only 12"-13". Most were around 11". Threw back about 6 shorts. All retained fish were females and full of eggs. Took some quick pics and filleted all in preparation for the weekend fish fry. All in all a great day on the water! We never did hone in a specific color. Pink Cougar, Firetiger, Blue Firetiger, and Uncle Rico all seemed to work equally well. Guess they were just hungry! Most valuable piece of equipment used...SPF 50 sunscreen as the sun was doing it's thing! Conditions observed: WT; 69 Wind; WSW at 15 mph. Water; stained, Clarity 3'-4' Limited amount of trash (few leaves) observed in creeks Trash and floaters in main lake have decreased greatly compared to last week. Tight lines, od

Way to go! od

If you would fill me in on that spot I could guard it for you when I'm there so it would be ready for you! You need not bother to to thank me...I'm just trying to help out! 😉 od