lundone

Went fishing today. Could not beg a bite from a walleye but did watch some fellows catching whites one after the other. While out there I watched an eagle attacking an osprey which I have seen before usually so they can steal the osprey's fish. Not today. They both took a long dive into the water about a 100 yds or so from me and only the eagle came up and it flew straight to shore and stayed a couple of feet off the water like they do when carrying a heavy load. There was no more sign of the osprey. I even drove over where they went under and found nothing. It sure looked like the eagle killed the osprey. Hadn't seen that before.

You will make a fine guide Ed. Wish you a lot of success. Jim

Friday and Saturday I hitched a ride with some friends and we joined the crowds on Stockton. We like fishing the big balls of shad which this time of year like the deeper warmer parts of the lake. Used spoons and jigging raps and fished right off the bottom in 50 to 70'. Mostly it was white bass - so many we lost count - but once in awhile we pull up a crappie or walleye. Had 2 short walleye the rest went from 15 to 20". We have found when pulling the fish from those deep holes if we pull them up slowly they will survive just fine when we release them. If they do turn belly up we pick them up by the belly and slam them head first into the water which seems to decompress them.

Thanks for posting all the pics. Looks like a good time was had.

Thanks for the report. Bluegill is my favorite eating fish and I enjoy catching them but as Lmt Out says they come as a bonus when walleye fishing so I don't target them. It is good to know how to do so tho. Hope your father-in-law enjoys them.

They look like they had a good time. Tell them we appreciate what they are doing for us.

I think this site could be very handy since wind seems to always be a factor when fishing Stockton and most other lakes. Click on map and hold to get local wind speed and click to zoom in. http://hint.fm/wind/

Three years ago there was a professional walleye tournament on Stockton on this March weekend. The morning temps for those two days was in the teens and windy with skim ice in the coves. The tournament was won by two local men (Stanton and Brown) who were trolling crankbaits. I have caught walleye and crappie every season of the year trolling crankbaits. I also fished with Brown today and we trolled crankbaits with no success so there are those days where things just don't work out. By the end of March trolling crankbaits in 15 to 25' of water should yield fish of some kind assuming water temps and other weather factors are favorable.

Bassfisher2017, Waterpossum is right on.

I put hundreds of hours in on Stockton every year and I won't run open in the creeks. A friend of mine who makes his living working on outboards near Stockton says he replaces a lot of lower units from hitting stumps. Especially slow on Sons where there is a very narrow channel.

A friend and I went out Sunday. I had been out 2 other days last week with no luck. We started with spoons and raps in 30' and got 3 crappie and then nothing. Tried a lot of places and ended up in the dam area in 80+ feet. Found shad on the bottom and ended up with an 18" walleye and 7 good whites. He and I have found them in that deep of water in years before but it has to have been cold for some time for them to go there.

Also fished 2 afternoons this week and not only had no bites but could find no shad anywhere in the Mutton area and very few fish. In fact, I saw almost no fish eating birds. Since you were breaking ice Lmt out, I assume the ducks were up the creek arms. Maybe that is where the fish are?

I live not far from that hill of dirt and we have many mounds just like it and they all have ants crawling all over them.

A friend and I tried them on Sat. One 18" walleye and one short crappie. It was a tough bite! We found lots of ice in the backs of all the coves we tried and some floaters on the open water. Had a few other fishermen out but a lot of duck hunters back in the coves and they were having a lot of action.

Glad you got on the bass today. I and 3 others also took advantage of the beautiful weather and fished from about 10am to 4pm launching from the south Mutton ramp and we were the only boat on that ramp. We used minnows and jigs. Hit some brush piles in about 30 to 40'. Ended up with 4 keeper walleyes ( 17" to 19") and 12 keeper crappie all over 11". Had a great time but sometimes it was a good while between bites. Water was about 40 deg.

I have caught a few over the years in Stockton. The last one was about 8 lbs this last summer. I met one fellow who liked to fish for them in late winter in deep water. I think if a person went after them using shad they would have some success.

PD taught me most of what I know about winter jig and spoon fishing. Do miss those days! I will never be the winter fisherman he is but I sure have fun trying.

Went out once last week and had one keeper walleye, a large white, and 5 large bluegill and there were 2 of us. It was a struggle! Did use a spoon for awhile at the end of the day with a lot of hits and caught some of the bluegill on it.

Didn't know drum had a limit of 15. You sure had me going. Thought the bite was really on!

We have all had those days! Sometimes it makes no difference what you do, God just doesn't want you catching fish.

They all work at one time or another. Tying rigs is something I enjoy on days when I can''t fish. I use a lot of rigs tied with slow death hooks as well as 2 hook rigs. You can use anything tied to a leader behind a bouncer. I have caught lots of fish on crankbaits and small jigs.

Haven't been on here much lately so my answer is a little tardy. I retired many years ago and have the time to fish and love doing it. For quite a few years now I have probably averaged well over a hundred days each year on the water.

A few years ago there was a build up of algae in Sons Creek so I called DNR who sent a man out. He talked to some of the owners abutting Sons and concluded that it was a result of livestock run off in the upper reaches of the creek. He also stated that DNR had no control over such run off. In terms of quality of fishing on Stockton, I would have to say that this year was probably one of the most productive I have had for walleye fishing both in terms of keepers and size. Watterpossum: I have lived on Stockton for 15 years and can remember only one winter that it froze completely and that was probably 4 to 7 yrs ago.

Saw one in April in Dade county not far from the Lake. It would have gone 300 lb plus. Watched it at less than 200 yds thru 7 power binoculars. Believe they are going to become more and more common.

A couple of friends and I fished Bull Shoals in June and we caught enough Yellow Perch that I had better than a qt bag of fillets to bring home. We had caught them there before but never in the numbers and sizes that we got this year. They were delicious! It would seem that the introduction of yellow perch to Stockton would be a good thing. Anyone on here know of a downside to their introduction?