Walcrabass

Nice to hear about the Big Fish. Caught a couple myself last year only mine came in the summer. Caught them on logs I put in myself as you stated about the Big Girl.I really don't get to fish much in the Spring. Don't like to catch Bass on the beds anyway. I would rather they get to spawn undisturbed. Kind of impossible when fishing in the Spring so it's good to get them right back in the water. Just curious about what are your favorite BIg Bass baits. In early Spring I'm throwing Big Jerk baits in the morning and if it is bright and sunny I go to Stand-up Jigs and Trailers later in the day.In the Summer it is Top Water in the morning then Stand-up Jigs and Huge Plastic worms/personal creations. Just one more thing. I have been asking what the Lake record is for Black Bass(not Smallmouth of course) on Stockton. If you have that information I would like to know.

Went to Stockton on Sunday.Fished up the lake from CC area. 59-60 Degree water. From the looks of the Bass we caught the warm temp at the surface must not penetrate very deep. They were washed out looking and cold to the touch.All fish caught in 6 to 15 feet of water. Caught 20 plus fish and all were short. Incoming storm had the fish we were on shut down. Used Stand up skirted Jigs and Bare Heads with Crawdad Trailers in 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Bite was VERY LIGHT!!!!!Wind blew so hard it was hard to feel a hit. Crappie fished too. Same problem with the storm. Bite was light, wind was terrible. Caught 18 keepers between two of us. Only one or two fish at each location. Had to increase size of our jigs and add split shots to keep our jigs in the water. Caught most on blue and white/pure white.Fish are on the graph in 20 feet of water.Fish that bit were in less than 10 feet of water. Ancient Chinese Proverb: Man who fish in high wind and face of storm work hard and catch little. Saw people on the lake without life jackets.....unbelievable.....

Excellent Idea!! The Bass get knocked around in the Live Well enough. We reeeeeeaaaally need to find a way to give the Largemeouth and Smallmouth a better chance. Maybe we could have a KENTUCKY ONLY Bass Tournament. Think about it. That sounds like a cool idea.

We fished from Ruark Bluff up into Son's Creek quite a ways. The farther we went up the creek the worse the bite.I believe the rain was pretty cold that went into the Lake.

We Fished Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon in the Rain, Wind, and Cold. Tried Jigs and Minnows for the Crappie, the Crappie won. Tried Jerkbaits, Crankbaits, Flukes, Various Plastics for the Bass. Caught 6 in three days. One 4 Pounder. The ONLY THING we could get a bite on was 1/2 to 3/4 oz. Stand-up Jig Heads with Skirts and or Trailers. They have been our only ray of hope two other times this year too. The wind blew so hard we couldn't keep anything smaller in the water. Water started out at about 52 degrees and traveled down to about 48.5 by Sunday. The Fish just weren't feeling good around my boat.I would like to see reports from others that might have fished other parts of the Lake.

I am a hunter also. I have hunted the Deer, Elk, etc. All I am saying is that if some entity imposes a financial burden on someone then they need to pay for it. Kind of like having a car wreck when it is your fault.And don't forget that the Deer were stocked also. I am just growing weary of the people who deserve to be reimbursed not getting it. When the Wolves were re-introduced to Yellowstone the Ranchers were PROMISED they would be paid for the livestoc damage they incurred. Read a little about this on the internet and see just how much they have been given for damages.Almost nothing.The wolves are eating them out of house and home .... literally. Third and Fourth generation ranchers are going broke... and throwing in the towel.Just think about it for a minute. In the case of these Otters it is not only the private pond owners that are suffering a loss it is also the people who fish the public waters. You pay for a license, tackle, boat, gas, vehicle, bait etc. but the numbers of fish you are after has been diminished.Once again.... it costs you.... but another entity gets the money. It just is not the place and time for these Otters to be thrust upon our society. They just don't do much good in the broad picture. Kind of like having a Computer given to you if we were in the 1850's. Maybe they should be here, but not at that time zone.

You are exactly correct. It will be "Cool" for a relatively few Trappers and Hunters. The rest of the General Public, Ranchers, and all people who purchase Vehicle Insurance will pay for these animals to be here. Kind of funny that we do not receive any of the money from the sale of the licenses to go after them. The Ranchers are already cringing at having to feed the Elk(their hay)and repairing their fences. I remember old friends of mine that used to hunt Colorado in the days when the ranchers got some money for each persons tag that killed a Deer on their property. What has happened to giving to those that deserve a little? It is almost as if the Farmers/Ranchers are EXPECTED to feed all this Wildlife. I guess it is the way of things today. One entity gets the benefit while others pay for them to have it.

Glad to see that you are pleased with the restocking of the River Otters. As you have stated it has created income for you(and the Conservation Department in the form of licenses). But as seems to be the norm for our society today a very small percentage of the people reap some benefit from what ends up costing the rest of the population very dearly. There are some things that just don't fit in our society today. Such as Grizzly Bears in some areas that they used to exist. I used to go trapping with a friend and I fished while he ran his traps.I am curious as to which bait you use for these critters. Is it Largemouth, Smallmouth, or Crappie?

Thanks for the news. Were you fishing Main Lake Points or Creek Arms? What temp water did you find? Was it clear or Muddy? How deep were the fish? Did you try Jigs/ Plastic Crawdads/Trailers? We are planning to fish this weekend and I'm trying to gather some information for my first lake outing this year.

This is unrelated but does anyone know what the Stockton Lake Record is for Black Bass? Not Smallmouth.

I am in agreement that July is not a good month.August either. I believe if you look in the Code book you will find out that it is illegal to cull fish in either of these months while in a tournament. We wouldn't want anybody to be doing anything illegal now would we? Stay away from the spawn months as well because it is a known fact that Bass disturbed while nesting may not return to nest in that same year. October sounds like a great time to not disturb the Campers and Normal Fishermen.( and their families)And while we are talking about not messing up the Big Bass let's get a slot length on Stockton whaddya say? Something like not keeping anything between 14" and 17". Let those Largemouth Spawn.

I may be misreading things here but I think you guys are talking about two different kinds of "spots". I have heard others talking about catching 80+ bass per day and they too were small. My own experience hasn't produced many large ones either. I have tried deeper, shallower, brushier, etc. but the big ones are evading me. I have found that there are many bass still relatively deep (15 to 20 feet). I think we just need for the weather to calm down so that the bigger fish can warm up to a good bite. It seems to me that the smaller fish recover much more quickly than the larger. Anyway, like you said, praise God for a great day with the family, and some fish to boot.

"Straw Hat", once again you have made a reply that seems to ring true. I agree wholeheartedly that man has already tampered with nature in building these impoundments. Whether we want to be in the "Fish Farming" business or not I would say that we are already there. The Florida or Florida/Northern cross Bass may not be the answer. But I believe they should be deeply looked into for Missouri. After re-reading all the posts on this subject I think that I can safely say these things: 1. We all want bigger Bass. 2. None of us want to wait in line to fish until another boat comes off the lake. 3. None of us want a smaller Bass species to infiltrate the larger species, especially when they grow slower. Just one other thing. Does anyone else remember when the length for Bass on Stockton was 11 or 12 inches? Was the lake producing as many large fish then as it is now? I am all for increasing the length limit of the SMALLMOUTH and LARGEMOUTH to 16" and possibly instituting a slot as well. If anyone out there reading these posts has a personal contact with a Missouri Department of Conservation biologist would you please have them read these posts. It is no problem to contact someone at the Dept. but I feel as if a personal friend would put this task at a higher level. Thanks to everyone for their comments, I have gained a great deal of knowledge from them. I'll see you at the lake and I hope you have caught a bushel basket full of bigguns.

Concerning other articles I have read the Kentucky Bass can also interbreed and these offspring are also capable of spawning. This is why The MDC has targeted them on some of our creeks because they are causing the severe decline of the Smallmouth. Am I right " Straw Hat"?