charliehorsejigs

Ruark Bluff parking areas are the least secure places to park your vehicles on Stockton. There have been a lot of thefts there the last few years and it's not only gas. Last year their were several people missing their catalytic converters when they retuned from fishing. They were stolen in broad daylight! You would think that someone would have noticed some thing going on. I just hope they get caught by law enforcement and not someone that has a concealed carry permit. Things could really ugly, really fast, especially if it was me or my son that they were trying to steal from. Does the term CITIZEN'S ARREST come to mind?

I'm sure the crappie fishing has dropped off with the higher water temperature. However, jet ski season is still open until the Tuesday after Labor Day. And there is no limit either. I'm not really serious though. It's not the jet ski's fault, just some of the idiot drivers who don't care about anyone but themselves. When the water heats up like this I usually just fish my local creeks and rivers and leave the lakes alone until it cools off. There will still be plenty of fish left then. Tight lines everyone and I'll be up to the lake in the fall.

Glad to hear from you straw hat. Glad you are doing better. Amen to taking care of your health. Had my own health scare recently. I was sitting in my recliner three weeks ago last night and my chest, back and arms started burning and I was short of breath. Wife took me to hospital and they said I had a mild heart attack. Next day they did an angiogram and found that the artery they call the widowmaker was 80% blocked and I needed a triple bypass. I'm just 52 years old and my blood pressure and cholesterol have been okay. Surgeon said that wasn't the problem, it was my family history of heart disease. You never know what life will deal you. I'm just thankful the good lord is getting me through this so i will be able to fish with my kids and grandkids again. Tight lines everyone and I'll see you on the lake as soon as I'm healed up from this.

The last time i talked to a conversation agent, I asked this same question. He said that even though the fish is not going to make it, it must be released. He said the same goes for a snagged fish that is legal sized. I hate to waste the fish, but I guess the vultures and the carp need to eat too.

I hope they let him load the fish in his vehicle before they arrested him. That way they can confiscate his vehicle too! Jail time is not enough punishment for crimes like this. Back in the late 70's they caught two guys on stockton that were over their limit and undersized on bass, walleye, northern, and crappie. They arrested them at the ramp as soon as they had loaded their boat on the trailer. They went to court and the judge took all their fishing gear and their whole fishing rig. The judge then said that if the agents had let them pull the rig out of the water before arresting them he could have taken their brand new Ford Bronco also. Funny thing is when they had the county auction they went to buy it back and the judge had a restraining order against them that prevented them from bidding on it. He even went so far as to contacting the DMV to stop them or anyone in their immediate families from licensing it if they found a way to get it back. I love that judge. Need more of them.

I heard a recipe for cooking carp. Here it is: Soak cedar board in water Clean carp Place carp on board Place on grill When carp is cooked thoroughly, throw it away and eat board.

I don't know about the bass, but I know the walleye eat the crappie from personal experience. I was cleaning a 22 inch walleye a few years ago and it had a ten inch crappie in its belly that was swallowed whole. We have also seen the walleye raiding crappie nesting areas early in the morning before the sun gets up very high, but they aren't as bad as the carp. They can mess up a nesting area really bad when they get rolling around. I carry a heavy rod in the boat and some snagging hooks just in case I find them in the back of a cove. You'll be hard pressed to find a fish that will put a better fight than a carp that has been snagged. I've been told they are good eating too, if they are fixed right.

Doesn't help when Springfield is getting a lot of their water from Stockton Lake either.

Same luck on my end too. We fished from mutton creek to shaw's bluff before we got one bite. My buddy got one small channel cat and one crappie within two minutes of each other at shaw's bluff and that was the only bites we had. Saw some friends that had limited out twice the previous weekend, they had the same lousy day we did. I think i may just hide in my basement and tie jigs and daydream about catching crappie until we get some rain. Surely once the lake gets filled back up and cools off the fishing will get better.

Two friends from work went out of CC ramp toward Shaw's Bluff last Saturday and the Sunday before. They and their partners got their limits both days. They were using 8 to 9 foot poles and staying back from the trees because the fish were spooking easily. It's no wonder because the fish were all no more than 8 feet down. I guess that's where the oxygen is best for them right now. They caught just as many small ones as the keepers. I would never have thought they would be that shallow in all this heat. They were using tube jigs. Don't know the color. They had minnows also, but they didn't do any good with them.

I have just found several young catalpa trees here in Carthage. A person might be able to dig them up and transplant them. I do know that they grow fast. My problem has been that all the other trees that I got worms off of for years don't have worms on them anymore. I think the birds have eaten them all and not left any to lay eggs for the next year. I don't have anyplace to put any more trees in my yard or I'd transplant some myself. If you would want some of these young trees I could talk to the landowner about digging some up. Just let me know if you want some.

If you can find them, the best bait we ever used when it gets this hot was CATALPA WORMS. We used to run trotlines on Grand Lake and we would absolutely slay the channel cats with them. I have been having trouble finding them and the catalpa trees that they feed on the last few years though. If you do find them you need to leave the worms that have eggs on them alone so there will be some for next year. Be ready for yellow stained hands for a few days if you handle them, but it's worth it. They usually come out about the second week of July, but with everything starting early this year they ought to be out any day now. Good luck and tight lines to everybody.

Was at the 3 hills area yesterday. Didn't see one jetski. Going to have to change areas if I want get my limit. By the way, what is the limit on jetskis? The fishing was slow also, but it was a beautiful day on the lake.

I finally got healed up enough to go to Stockton yesterday. Put in at three hills and fished the trees out in the channel. The guy I went with had been doing fairly well there but the bite had slowed down a lot this week. Ended up with 2 crappie, 1 white bass, and 3 bluegill. Even though we didn't do that well it was good to get back on the lake. Staying home all spring while everyone else was going fishing was driving me nuts. Didn't see any jetskiers in this area either. Maybe they don't like to put in there. The road to the ramp is pretty rough. It would be hard on a jetski trailer.

We do have sportsman harassment laws that apply to hunters and fisherman. The problem is what the definition of harassment is. If you get some tree hugging peta idiot that is throwing rocks toward you to spook away the fish they can be arrested. But someone on a jet ski just running around spooking the fish around your boat gets away with the same thing. I think it all depends on the officer handling the situation. By the way Slowtroller great job on your post. I want to frame it and put it on my wall.

Should we impose an open season on these idiots that runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day? No limits. Snagging allowed. Maybe if we had one mounted and displayed at Bass Pro they might get the idea. LOL

Just now saw your post or I would have replied sooner. You can get igloo cooler parts at the Bass Pro Shops at the Branson Landing. They are also available at Academy.

We had a crappie tournament a few years ago out of Ruark Bluff. There were about 25 boats waiting to head out and an otter was going boat to boat. He would swim up to the side of each boat and peek over the edge like he was giving us a boat inspection. We wondered if he was working for the Water Patrol. Probably looking for a free meal.

Justin, my condolences on the loss of your Grandfather. It is never easy to let them go but he is a much better place than this messed up world we live in today. Just remember he will always will be with you. I never got to fish with my grandfather, he wasn't able to fish anymore by the time i was big enough to go. But my dad and I fished a lot together a lot while i was growing up. I lost him 2 years ago this July. Still hurts to go without him, but i feel him with me when i go. Just remember what he taught you and do him proud. Good Luck on your next trip.

Great job Strawhat and Wife. I'm glad you really got into the fish. We took the kids and grandkids fishing at a private lake near home on Friday. Caught several fish but none worth keeping. Looking forward to this fall when I'm healed up better and can go out on the lake again. Good luck everybody at Stockton.

I do agree that we are fortunate to have a walleye lake in MO. It just seems that most of the efforts of the conservation department are for walleye and not the other gamefish. They are also stocking a lot of walleye in Tablerock Lake. The crappie population there needs a boost. It seems like they are decling in numbers. I don't know why they just can't stock some crappie and help restore the numbers of fish to where it should be.

The walleye need thinned out some anyway. We have caught some of them with 10 inch crappie in their belly swallowed whole. Also have seen them several times raiding the crappie nests in the mornings before the sun gets up and drives them deeper. Don't get me wrong, they are good eating, but they can be awfully hard on the crappie population if the lake is not up into the brush when they spawn. I think it's time the conservation department eased up on restocking the walleye all the time and focused more on the other fish in the lake. They could spend some of their resources to put in some more docks for people to fish from. Not everyone has a boat or is able to use a boat. Since Mutton Creek shut down their dock a lot of people can't fish or they have had to start going to Grand Lake. Talk about extortion on their out of state license prices.

Would it do any good to call 911 and report these INCONSIDERATE #@%^&*() ? There are laws on the books in Missouri that protect sportsmen from being harassed by others. I sure will give it a try if it happens to me. Otherwise I think I will stock up on 2 ounce or larger sinkers and start casting them at the jerks and just spook the fish or maybe put a few dings in their boat. As Barney Fife would say, this needs to be nipped in the bud or they will just keep doing it. I don't want to stoop to their level but it may be what we have to do to stop this behavior. Doctor says I can't go fishing yet until my face heals some more from my surgery, but I can go along with the wife and kids and help them. May be up tomorrow for some bank fishing. Good luck and be safe on the water everybody.

Reminds me of a time on Grand Lake when i was just a kid. My dad and I were drift fishing for catfish out in the main channel. There must have been a hundred yards of open water on either side of us. Well, a guy who always acted like he owned the whole lake came by really close to us full throttle. Almost capsized us. We were not the first people he had done this to. Dad said we would catch up to him later. The next week we were headed down the lake and we saw him tied up to the bank, crappie fishing. Our boat we had could throw an awfully big wake at just the right speed and dad knew this very well. Suffice it to say that guys boat had a lot more dings and scratches in it after we went by. He looked up and saw who did it to him, didn't say a word, and was courteous to others on the lake after that. Some people just need a wake up call.

Great to see you back straw hat. Looking forward to being back on the lake soon also. Just don't know when I'll be able to fish again. Had an accident at work on the 23rd of february and crushed my left cheekbone and bottom of my eye socket. Doctors had to put in titanium plates. It is by the grace of God that i still have my eyesight. Said I would be off work several weeks and no lifting of any kind during this time. Guess we will just take the grandkids pond fishing and grandpa can bait hooks and untangle lines. Sometimes it's more fun watching them than actually fishing myself. Good luck on the lake.