Stockton Lake Guide Service

I go out of ruark or mutton for the most part. The only secret is to locate brush. Skip trying to graph the fish for now just locate the brush or channel drops. The bluff at ruark is a good starting oint. There is an mdc brushpile half way down the bluff in a lil cut. Its close to the bank and in about 18 ft of water. Hit the ends of the bluff at the points. Try to keep your boat in about 20 ft. Hope this helps

Writing this from my phone so it'll be a lil short. We had 2 limits of crappiebthis morning. Fish are locatedbon channel drops in 20 foot of water and brush piles 12 to 16 foot deep. Jigs and minnows working about the same. Only had 6 short fish so if u r catchin small ones I would say move to the next spot. The mdc brush piles qare producing some excellent fishing right now. We also had a school of shad that crappie were chasing. Thought they were whites but ended up being crappie. The fish are moving as the days shorten and water cools. If you are not catching then move to another area. Its best time to catch crappie and not freeze . I've got all mdc spots on a sd card. These are public spots so if u need help finding them or gettin them on your gps I can try to help. Thanks again mdc for an awesome job on the placement Walleye are chasing crankbaits on points and worms on flats. Getting very active and biting good. Sorry so short but this keyboard is tiny.

Writing this from my phone so it'll be a lil short. We had 2 limits of crappiebthis morning. Fish are locatedbon channel drops in 20 foot of water and brush piles 12 to 16 foot deep. Jigs and minnows working about the same. Only had 6 short fish so if u r catchin small ones I would say move to the next spot. The mdc brush piles qare producing some excellent fishing right now. We also had a school of shad that crappie were chasing. Thought they were whites but ended up being crappie. The fish are moving as the days shorten and water cools. If you are not catching then move to another area. Its best time to catch crappie and not freeze . I've got all mdc spots on a sd card. These are public spots so if u need help finding them or gettin them on your gps I can try to help. Thanks again mdc for an awesome job on the placement Walleye are chasing crankbaits on points and worms on flats. Getting very active and biting good. Sorry so short but this keyboard is tiny.

I have to give it to Billy's wife, she has done a decent job getting tackle together this year. I told her some stuff that would help, but now we all need to use it and see what else they are willing to do. Son Sac now serves pizza, breakfast, and a decent line of tackle. But use it to your advantage. if you see something that would sale good but they don t have it, then tell her and she will order if possible. I would have to say that on the south side son sac is the only tackle place to go. State park has a little tackle wworth checking out, but town of stockton lake stockton mini mart will also order stuff for you . She has stuff instock and is willing to stockt up on needed stuff. Just let her know. Give them all a chance, and it would be nice to have a good tackle store close. It's coming, but where is the question. My guess is either son sac or the mini mart pulls it off. They both show the best so far. Good luck

Been pretty busy over the past 2 weeks, but I have some time free next week. If it stays like that can you come up for an evening and I can work with you on a few things and show you some stuff on the lake. give me a call 4172089535 and let me know. Hopefully we can get some time together and get the fishing pardners on some fish!! We did have 56 crappie today, 4 short of our limits, but still a great day!!

nice job yesterday. I've ate more bluegill this year than all others combined. they are good eating. Thanks for the report.

culler- all of you guys and gals at the corps of engineers and the Mo dept of conversation need to know what an awesome job you have done with these brush piles. They are greatly appreciated . I met a guy at the ramp today from nebraska that I talked to on OA and stuck a chip into his humminbird and bingo he has 2156 brush piles in mo now. All the ones i have fished so far on stockton have produced quality fish and good numbers also. Again, thanks for all your time and cold days on the lake. I saw you guys out there working while we were "working" or playing. If you don't have any rules against fishing, tell some of the guys that were in on all that work to feel free to call me anytime and I would love to take them out fishing on me for the day, of course we might fish a few of "their" spots. Thanks again for a job well done!! Bob Bennett 4172089535

water temp was about 75 867 foot and normal color bass were slow but some were being caught on plastic in 10-12 foot brush piles. Crappie were well, slow, but we did catch some on 20 foot brush piles early then some shallower piles later. jig and grub, didn't try minnows. It was a very light bite and they didn't stay around long. I figured we were on them and had 5 keepers in first 10 minutes, but that stopped. worked hard to get them the rest of the day. Walleye a few are still on the flats and humps. 17 foot down on crawlers, slow death rigs, and some are coming from trolling. white bass were up tonight down by the dam. Lots of them from what I was told. they didn't surface by googer so we left about 7:30 to go find crappie. I'll post some updates as fishing improves this week. I'm booked thru next sat so it better get better quick!! I'll try to post some updates as the week goes on. Good luck to all and see ya on the lake.

I have looked at all of this vids and tried to look at both sides. I found this vid and MAYBE it will at least help cool the tempers, but it looks like it starts with someone melting lead, then goes into the narrative part. Toxic to fish or not, this video should make you see the other side.

Day 9 and all seems to be going well here. Thought I would just drop by and see how the lead thread was going. Anyone know what the record is for number of days the same topic is at the top? Not sure how long Phil is out of town, but I'm sure this one will be shut down the day he gets back. OK, going back to Stockton, have fun!!!

give me a call thursday evening. I'm gonna try to fight the rain tomorrow to find fish for trips over the weekend. It looks like they are moving a little shallower.

Haven't seen your wife, but I'm pretty cute. Good thing you stayed home monday. I tried the jig crawler and slow death but it was pretty slow. we ended up crappie fishing on the trip. Hopefully fishing in this 4 inches of rain in the morning will work better, if I ever get to bed.

Bass are fair to good on main lake and secondary points in 10-12 foot of water using jigs and plastics. They are also hitting topwater and spinnerbaits in the backs of some of the covers. The fish are starting to move shallower with the cooler water temps. Walleye are fair on main lake flats on jigs and crawlers in 10-15 foot of water. They were biting great up until the latest rainfall but haven’t been doing to good since. Again, with the cooler water temps, some of these fish are probably heading to feeding areas so check out the points with some crankbaits and rattletraps. Crappie were biting great, then we got 10 inches of rain. We probably caught 30 fish today, but there were lots of smaller fish instead of the big ones we were hoping for. There are still some on the main lake brush piles in 15-20 foot of water, but some of these fish are moving closer to their fall patterns. We caught as many fishing points today as we did on the brush, so watch for the bite to continue to change and stay on the move. Sorry can’t tell you more, but it wasn’t as good today as it had been. White bass are still surfacing around point 5. Use roostertails and just cast into the schools. If you see them chasing shad, you should be able to catch them. Catfish are good on fresh shad in 10-15 foot of water on flats and points. The lake temp is down about 15 degrees in the past 2 weeks. With the cooler temps, the fish are starting to move some, but they are still biting. It just takes a little more time to find them sometimes. Keep on the move and try fishing shallow in the same areas that the fish have been biting. Look for the schools of shad and fish around them. Good luck and stay safe!! It shouldn’t be much longer before the fall bite is going great.

That's awesome. Can't get much better fishing with and for the kids than this time of year. Glad to hear you guys had fun!!

there has been some topwater bite up sons creek west of 3 hills. Haven't been able to go very much, but have also talked with some people that have been catching a few. buzz baits been working best. Try the 2 cuts west of 3 hills, on south side. Sorry can't help you more but been doing lots of walleye and crappie fishing so the bass have been neglected. plan on doing some this week hopefully. Good luck and let us know how you do!!

LOL, now your talking Bill. I forgot about the lightbulb law. Luckily when i built my garage i put in the new t12 or whatever they are. And your lifestyle is probably about the same as everyone else's on here. I still run a 2 cycle 225. Think of the problems that is causing!!

I tried so hard not to get back on here. But I thought I would do some more research on what is going to replace lead, if it was to pass. I couldn't find very much as to studies on the use of tungsten, however it looks like the DOD has quit using it in heavy artillary shells because of the dangers. I didn't have time to read thru the entire thing (and my guess is that we would want to keep our artillary shells dangerous, thats just a joke). But here are the symptoms of tungsten toxicity: * Acute nausea within 15 minutes of ingestion. * Sudden onset of seizures. * Rapid onset of clouded consciousness leading to coma with evidence of encephalopathy. * Initial moderate renal failure progressing to acute tubular necrosis with anuria within 24 hours * Hypocalcaemia * Gradual symptomatic recovery over weeks with complete resolution of biochemical/metabolic abnormalities after 5 months Here are the signs of lead poisoning: * Pain, numbness or tingling of the extremities * Muscular weakness * Headache * Abdominal pain * Memory loss * Mood disorders * Reduced sperm count, abnormal sperm * Miscarriage or premature birth in pregnant women * Fatigue This is obviously on humans, not fish. I just thought I would post some info on tungsten metal so that it might make everyone think if the alternative is better or worse than the lead. After reading the symptoms of both, I'm not even sure if I want to be around either one of them. Might just tie a rock onto my line next time. outside bend- you put that it is a fact that 20% of the birds die from lead poisoning from fishing tackle. Did you mean to put that? I believe the correct statement would be that 20% of loons died from lead and this appeared to be from lead shot, not fishing tackle. Although I have read a few reports that split shots have been eaten by loons, but this might lead to a change in the way we use the weights ie where, size, depth of water, I don't think it supports an overall ban of lead. And there is a huge difference between a company dumping 800 tons of toxins into a single location and people fishing that break off a weight. Not sure as what you are trying say about the largest producer of tungsten, but that appears to be china in everything that I have read. Be nice if someone would just solve this problem outright, but the fact is that everything has it's downfalls and its advantages.

I would guess that up around 39 bridge or greenfield access would offer the best chance from the bank, although you might get into some around ruark, but I don't recall ever catching them on the campground side.

I'm retired from the govt and have nothing against them. It's just that it has become so big and we continue to lose rights, everyday. Just like this topic, someone want's us not to use lead anymore. The term environmental wackos and government geniuses mean just that. it does not encompass all that work for the govt or work to better or help the environment. I would consider myself an environmentalist, as far as one that tries and wants to keep the environment clean and safe, but the ones that try to blame humans for acting human are the ones that I am referring. I am sure that all of us can find things we can do better to help out, and I have changed my habits in the past and will probably do so in the future, but so will most other people that care about fishing and hunting. We don't need laws to tell us what type of weight we need to use. And just so everyone completely understands what I am and was saying, there are some great and awesome people that work for the govt and work to help our environment. there are also those that take it way to far, throw power around because they can, and do things just to get personal recognition. I guess it comes down to the motivation behind what you are doing. As much as I disagree with Eric1978, I believe him to be sincere and think what he is saying and doing is what he believes is best for the environment. I believe different than him and have no problems using lead weights or lures. if it was found to be harmful or a better alternative comes along I would be happy to change. Now it's way past bedtime, good nite!

I made the mistake of getting on the pomme forum and responding to this topic. You guys have fun if it gets out of hand like pomme, I've decided just to stay on the lake and fish. If it passes, somebody call and let me know so I can change weights. Don't need to get in trouble!! See ya on the water

Yea, that's the guy Squarebob spongepants. The water temp is about 82. Down from 90 2 weeks ago. The shad vary, but are between 1" and 3" for the most part. some are very small. As far as to much bait to get bit, the flats here are loaded with shad. millions, so my personal opinion is that to much bait really doesn't mess up the fishing. What you really need to do is get to imitate the wounded bait. I throw a rooster tail in with them.. sometimes they want it reeled fast, other times they want it reeled slow or jerked etc. Try a small rattle trap or baby 1 minus. It might be small K's , or even crappie chasing the shad. If you are not seeing lots of fish busting the shad, then it is probably some lm or k's chasing them and not a huge school of fish, like the whites seem to do. It sounds like the whites are starting all over the lake. Ive heard of fish up around turnback, ruark, googer, state park, and .... so finding them shouldn't be a problem. I didn't get out tonight so waiting for someone to tell us if they were biting again. Good luck!!

I will tell everyone, but I was giving him some other info and I simply wanted to keep it off the thread etc. If you would like a copy of what I sent I would send it to you. you are right, when they are surfacing they are pretty easy to catch, but he was taking his kid and wanted to make sure he understood where to go. Sorry, it seems that I'm pretty good at offending people the past 2 days. Guess i'm getting good at that!!!

I would be fishing alone too, so i try not to take this all personally. I dont want to be taken out of context, so I do want to clarify that the environmentalist wackjobs I'm talking about are the ones that always have to have something that is bad for something. Not the ones that are sincere and have figured out that we can't dump nuclear waste in our drinking waters. Every post I have read on this thread seems to be for keeping the environment clean and making it better for our kids, but we are human and we do have to live here. These carbon footprints that I'm leaving can't always be helped. It just seems very hypocritical for people to scream about saving the environment and then drive their suv across the country on vacation. If they were really sincere, they wouldn't be driving around like that. People jump on a plane and fly across the country to protest against pollution. Keep yourself at home and maybe they will cancel the flight, now that will save some pollution. I am a conservative, not a republican or democrat. In fact I'm not even sure if I would vote for either one of them anymore. They all seem to be in for themselves, not for us or the country, so I will not argue any politics on here either. I'm glad you put this in, because I looked back thru and missed the part that I didn't like the people that made the lake etc. Next time your up this way, give me a call. I might not agree with your arguments, but would like to take a liberal on a free fishing trip so nobody can call me a hypocrite! I might have to find a conservative friend to take with me so I have some back up though!

I think you need to read all of what I wrote. I specifically gave praise to the mdc, and I did leave out the corps of engineers, but not intentionally. They have done a wonderful job on all of the lakes and continue to do so. I'm not sure what statement you are referring to, but please take the time to read my comments completely because if I read yours correctly, you missed quite a bit of what I said. As far as taking liberals fishing, I have no problem taking anyone fishing but I really don't do this job for the money. I enjoy the lake, fishing, and meeting new people. I don't look down on someone because they don't agree with me. If eric wanted to go fishing sometime, I would love to go out with him, as with you. I give information out for free all the time, and have never asked for anyones beliefs before I do so. Please finish reading all of my posts and let me know if it clarifies anything. If not, please except my apologies for offending you, that was not my goal at all.

You say that but I listen to all kinds of people, both scientists and others that seem to know what they are talking about. I just don't believe everything that they say if they can't back it up. If lead was so bad, then how is the fishing so good. Why are the fish not dead or poisoned. You are the one having problems listening. You say you would never use lead if there was an alternative. Fact is there is and you have not taken them time to research it and use it. You still use lead, and then try to put the rest of us down for doing the same. As far as who I would listen to, send me the info that can be proven that lead weights are causing a problem in the lakes. Something that can be proven, not from some environmentalist nut job. The problem with all of these arguments are that people don't look at both sides. The comment earlier in this thread about the number of ducks that die because of being wounded by steel shot, instead of killed with lead shot. Has anyone ever did a study about whether the steel shot saved the ones that would have died from lead, but killed other because of the worse shot pattern. Who knows, but I do look at both sides of the argument and then try to make an educated decision. I've done the same here and I have been unable to convince myself that lead fishing products are destroying the environment, and your arguments have not been able to prove that either. Like you said, facts are facts and you can't change them, but you can distort them so that the truth is not really the truth. Look at both sides of this before jumping to conclusions, and don't forget to buy a few of those tungsten spinnerbaits. This spinnerbait has it all! The Terminator Custom Tungsten Series of spinnerbaits are billed by Terminator as "Tungsten meets Titanium!" These blades, designed by some of the top pros fishing today, feature a compact head made from tungsten, a material that is twice as dense as lead. The wire arm is made from titanium to resist bending and retain its shape fish after fish so you don't have to keep tuning your spinnerbait. These Terminator baits feature ball bearing swivels, top quality blades, great colors and hard, glossy finishes that resist chipping. The skirts are fine cut silicon that flare out nicely from the head of the bait and pulsate through the water. These are very compact spinnerbaits, that measure only 3" from the tie point to the hook bend and 2 1/4" from head to swivel. They cast well in the wind and will come through brush and other obstructions as well as any other spinnerbait. These baits will catch any bass anywhere in the country and will excel in smallmouth and spotted bass water.