Fluke

Thanks MoCarp I use to have some of those and got rid of them upgrading to the green submersible ones.Big mistake. Was planning on going this weekend but this snow storm canceled that plan. Hopefully it warms up a tad next weekend. If I go out I will post how it was.

Thanks MrGiggles, I really appreciate the detailed answer. While your out and about if you come across some schooled up feel free to share where. Hopefully I can find their shallow spot close by. Thanks again

Thanks Dutch, I know every lake is a little different. At the only other lake I fished, in the winter they would move back and fourth from really shallow flats in coves with deeper channels close by. If it warms up for a few days they would migrate to the warmer water and head back to deeper water when a cold front moves in. I was also told if you find this pattern in a certain area they will do this in the exact same spot year after year. So a lot of people that don’t target shad specifically but seem to run in to them all the time at certain location, don’t realize they discovered a shad migration spot. I marked a couple of areas on my C-MAP app, I am going to look for them.

Does anyone know any good winter shad holes, around the Hawker point area?

I have been posting a few questions (a lot probably) on this forum since I started fishing Stockton. I live over an hour north of the lake but plan on moving there permanently in a couple of years. Since I can’t get down there every weekend I read a lot of stuff and ask a lot of questions. Growing up (before the internet) we did old school networking; looking at old charts, talking to commercial fisherman, party boat deckhands, and even bennys (tourist) to figure out what’s going on and where to go. So I try to use this forum in the same manner. Hanging out at the local bait store was a thing and everyone stopped by to say where the fish were running and tell the tall tales of the one that broke the line lol.

Very nice! Just catching shad is one of my favorite things to do and in my opinion there is not better bait for freshwater.

MoCarp, I have a green submersible tube light, I haven’t had much luck with it though. Starting to wonder if I “drank the kool aid” on going with green. What color light have you had luck with? And, are you using it in shallow or deep water?

I like to use size 6 or 8 sabiki rig, we used them in backwater inlets in Jersey and for our herring in the fall when the bunker were harder to find. When I moved to Missouri I started using them at Norfork (along with cast nets). When the shad were deeper you can get them to hit on one. I spoke with a couple of MDC people and they think it may be out of aggression or curiosity but the juvenile shad will feed on small insects. I posted the question because I have not ran in to anyone that targets them or follows their pattern routinely for bait at Stockton.

Nothing like having a bait store under your boat lol. I have several sized and weighted cast nets for different times of year but mainly throw a 7 footer now days and fishing for them with shad darts is just as fun.

Does anyone hear catch their own shad out of Stockton? Has anyone caught shad with Sabiki rigs (shad darts)?

Thanks all for the responses. The reading and asking questions part is just in my DNA, it’s a nerd thing lol. Plus it’s saves on time and gas. I hate fishing, I love catching!

I think I may have figured out what the rip-raps are. The large rocks along the dam. And what I read about the “springs”. I think the person was trying to say where water that warms up faster in the winter close to deeper pools. And the shad will move in to the warmer water we have a few days of warmer weather and can easily move back to deeper water when a cold front comes in.

Hope everyone is doing well. I was reading an article about some prospective place’s to fish and came across two areas. “The rip-raps” supposed to be down by the dam and “The springs” supposed to be some areas of warmer water relative to the surrounding waters. looked on my hot spot map but couldn’t find anything, has anyone heard of these areas?

Dustink, could you also pm me his contact information, I think I could use some help dialing in my electronics as well. Thanks

I didn’t know that, good tip. I think I am so use to fishing open water fish the whole brush pile, points, ledges etc will take a big learning curve. This is the closest thing to social media I have, someone else mentioned facebook but those places aren’t my cup of tea.