Walcrabass

I have to agree with you Hammertime. Camped and put in at Mutton Creek myself and the Worm Bite was non-existent. Jig bite was O.K. Caught our biggest fish on them. Probably did not catch over 50 Bass in 2 days. Most productive was at first light with 1 OZ. Rebel Poppers and Short, fat, shallow crankbaits in 5-7 feet of water. Schooling fish were the target. Only one fish over 3 pounds. Very few Keepers. I would have gone towards the dam and Birch Branch too but had too much boat trouble.

I tried to post again but must have made a mistake with computor keys. I truly did not try to enrage anyone. Just trying to get people to think. I DEFINITELY am NOT blaming the TEACHERS or SCHOOLS. Only trying to use a little sarcasm about how our country has changed in some areas of thinking. Most people that were born around 50 years ago would have known this type of behavior to be inconsiderate. I am not wanting to call anyone names. I only want everyone to be respectful of others and for NOBODY to get hurt. The person that wrote in about the trees just under the water surface is right. Boating can be dangerous.

I am definitely NOT BLAMING our schools or TEACHERS!!!! I was just trying to make a point that about a half a century ago most people by the ripe old age of 5 would have known better than to do these kind of things. I guess I had better make my sarcastic way of putting things better in the future. It is just that I hate to blatantly call people names for committing silly stunts so I tried to get the point across more gently.

I was using the "Kindergarten" thing in hopes that people would see my comments and be a little embarrassed if they were part of the problem. That is why I put "NOT" in parenthesis in my comments. As far as the Bass go we found most of them in 15 foot or less of water. Did not get any by flipping in the brush.( Most were probably already ran out by Jet Ski people.) I did notice that the smaller Bass were caught on the 8" plastic worms. The bigger ones all came on Stand up Jigs with Craws or Y-Nots. Some were fished with just the head and some were fished with skirted Jigs. Green Pumpkin, Dirty Pumpkin, Bluegill Bandit, and Pumpkin Pepper Dazzle were the colors of the skirted Jigs. The Bluegill Bandit Jig with a Green Pumpkin/Red Flake Y-Not was the top dog producer. Biggest fish was 4.12 pounds but we caught several between 14.5" and 16". Jig Fishing should be fantastic for the rest of the year.

We fished at Stockton on Saturday. Let me rephrase that... we attempted to fish. When I went to Kindergarten I was taught to be polite and respectful of other people and their things. In other words don't blast the radio when everyone is asleep etc. I saw more rude self centered actions by Jet ski operaters than you can imagine. They were in the coves running 40 mph all around the perimeter at a distance of about 10 feet from the bank. Instead of turning out in plenty of time when they came to someone fishing it was as if they were playing "Chicken" or something. The worst was the guys that turned around to come back and do it again! I might add that it was not all the young either. Two or three Fathers with their children out for a ride are also included. What a great way to teach your kids that others don't matter. Please yourself and forget all else. The really bad thing was that they were in big coves where they could have stayed out towards the middle. For all that the whole lake was pretty calm and they could have been in the main body. Please don't think that I am blaming them for not catching fish..... we caught a bunch of nice sized Bass....after moving about five times. I am simply blaming our school systems ( NOT) because obviously they do not teach the same things today that I learned in yesteryear. I know we have Hunter Harrassment Laws. Do we have anything on the books that can help with this matter? I have noticed that when the noise level gets too loud in the campgrounds that the Sherriff shows up. Maybe the Water patrol can lend a hand. If it is this bad already I can just guess what the rest of the Summer will bring. Please don't think I am raging mad because I'm not. I am just really disappointed in a small group of Human beings. If the Water Patrol is interested the area was around B-8 and Googer Creek. Have a great time at the Lake......please don't knowingly hamper the enjoyment of others. Oh yeah, the biggest Bass was over 4 pounds. Plastic Worms and Jigs.

kre11, I agree!!! The Mustad Hook is the most durable I have used. I have Jigs that I used all last summer. They are still plenty sharp. I have written to Mustad asking them to start manufacturing in the U.S.A.

While we are talking about the "Illegal" stuff I will mention again that EVEN IF YOU ARE IN A BONAFIDE BASS TOURNAMENT in the state of MISSOURI in JULY or AUGUST it is ILLEGAL to CULL. Once they are in the live well they cannot be traded, culled, or put back in the lake and replaced with another fish. I feel pretty sure this practice has happened in a Bass tournament or two. Too bad that when this results in taking home the top money the real winner may have went home empty handed. If I am incorrect about this someone please let me know as I haven't looked it up in a while. LONG LIVE THE LARGEMOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe Missouri could start a Monster Bass program with the Department of Conservation. Kinda like the share a lunker in Texas. Any MDC people out there with some ideas?????

Nice to hear that the church folks and friends are well taken care of.... and yes the Largemouth were the predominant species. Caught lots of fish in the 2.5 to 3.5 pound range. Concerning the fillets..... we put them on a cookie sheet with shake-on Greek Seasoning mix and just a little bit of butter. Then we put them into a hot Bar-B-Que grill and close the lid. They cook really fast, taste great, no oil to buy, and are without all the fat, grease, and calories. Oh Yeah, they taste great!!!! When all those little Kentuckies you are catching begin breeding with the Largemouth and Smallmouth we will be past the point where we can identify them easily and the gene pool for the Bass population will be ruined!!! I hope Missouri gets it in gear on the Lakes as they have done in some of the streams.

Straw Hat, I saw your trip report and the comment about the Drum. I don't know if you eat Drum or not but we do. I soak all my Drum and White Bass fillets in a bowl in the refrigerater that has about a gallon of water, 1/2 cup of salt, and two tablespoons of White Vinegar in it. After 24 hours I pour out the mixture and rinse the fillets and bowl in cold water. I then put the fillets back in the bowl with plain water and back into the refrigerater. Sometimes I repeat the rinsing and plain water for up to four days. At the end of this regimine the fillets will be pretty darn white, firm, and will be hard to tell from other white meat fish like Crappie. They of course can be frozen after this and cooked later. Everyone really needs to try this even the Bass fishermen who probably catch quite a few big Drum while Jig fishing like myself. On another note I just finished a vacation on a Lake in Oklahoma where Kentucky Bass have no size limit or daily limit. I praise Oklahoma for their insight into the future of Bass Fishing. I must also say that I don't think that I have ever caught more Bass on 5 consecutive days in my life. Good luck Cat fishing. P.S. Did I mention Oklahoma has broken their state record for Black Bass about twice in the last few years??????

Thanks for the info. I am going this afternoon trying to beat the rain before tonight. I assume that the Crappie are in the arm of the creek and not in the coves or pockets. If they are in the coves ( Greaser and others) please let me know. I've pretty much missed the Crappie fishing this year with work, cold rain, and Spring Football. Any help is appreciated. Is the water clearing up or getting worse since your May 4 fishing report?

Shad Attack I can tell you that the Crawdad bite is definitely on. I haven't been much because of work and kids stuff but when I went the Jig and Plastic Craw was definitely the go to bait. A high profile stand up Skirted Jig or Jig head is my weapon of choice. Zoom Craws are my favorite. This time of year Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, P-Nut Butter and Jelly in the dirty water, and Shad Patterns for swim Jig action are hard to beat. If you would like to know where to get some try sending a pm to me.If I can figure out how to work the pm I will hook you up. I can't go this weekend either so good luck to you. With the lake up I would say you will find Bass in the Creeks from 2 feet to maybe 20 feet. The deeper fish on the points naturally.

I would really like for a fisheries biologist, Game Warden, or other knowledgable person to tell all of us where to find the Stockton Lake Record for Black Bass. It is really difficult for me to come up with as a published account. I have had some similar problems with other Lakes. We fished a private lake in Arkansas last year and were told that a 19.5 inch Kentucky that was caught by a person in our group was a lake record. However the persons running the dock could not produce any records to prove it. I have heard that Missouri does not keep records on a lake by lake basis. Again....can someone help?

Noticed you are an MST Student?? Did you know that the school is trying to start a fishing team?? If you are interested I can get you in touch with the right people. I know a student at the school that has told me he has heard about it.

Yeah, The Spinnerbaits and Carolina are great also. Glad to hear you use a big Jig. I do the same. Hardly ever fish with less than 1/2 oz. 3/4 and 1 oz. are better. Tie my own so I get the patterns that I want, they look lifelike. I agree if you know which bed the fish (Deer) or whatever you are after is in that is 90% of the battle. One of the reasons that I put a lot of my logs deeper is because I set them at "odd" depths where a lot of Bass Fishermen won't find them. This is getting harder and harder since the invention of side imaging. That is one of the reasons I keep them small and low to the bottom. It is harder to find a structure that is only 4 feet tall and not very big around. The other reason I put them at these depths is I like to catch several fish at a location. It is not uncommon for me to catch 10 fish before I have them stirred up and need to leave on my better spots. Don't usually catch big ones. Maybe a couple 3 plus pounders and several 14 to 16 inchers. I would like to also mention while we are talking about the Bass that I cringe when I see people do the "Bass Tournament Pose" ( with the fish out sideways) that this tears and strains the tendons in their jaw especially on the bigger fish. There is scientific research that says a lot of fish that are handled in this way never recover. Please wet your hands and don't "grope" the fish getting the hook out. If you are releasing them get them back in the water fast. Just one more thing. Everyone needs to learn to tell the diffeerence in a Largemouth, Smallmouth, and a Kentucky. Let those Largemouth and Smallmouth Spawn, they need our help in competing with other fish.