Skeeter ZX190

To me color doesn't make a difference as long as it's green pumpkin!

Half on the ned and half on the Megabass. I tend to be hardheaded. I probably should have switched up color some on the jerkbait to see if they preferred something else.

First time on Stockton since last September. Started fishing about 9:30 am and fished until sundown. Started at Orleans Trail and fished between there and State Park. Ended up with 14 in the boat (15 if you include a big gizzard shad I snagged). 7 came on a green pumpkin ned. The other 7 came on a Megabass 110 +1 in Pro Blue. I caught the bass trifecta. Also caught a 20 inch walleye. I would say most of the fish came in 8 to 12 feet of water. The water coming out of Price Branch only had about 1 to 2 feet of clarity. Same with Hawker. The smaller tributaries like Orleans Trail, had a good 5 to 8 foot clarity. Temps ranged from 42 to 45 degrees. This post has been promoted to an article

What were the water temps?

Megabass 110 in either Pro Blue or Triple Illusion.

Good job. Thinking about coming down on Monday or Tuesday but with all this rain it has me wondering if I should wait a week. But I probably should go ahead and give it a try because "lifes too short"!!

Now that's funny!

When did the Missouri Department of Conservation open a rifle season on walleye and crappie? What size caliber do you use? Do you shoot blindly in the water or do you scuba dive to their level? This could be fun!

The Academy in Belton doesn't have them on sale. I would have picked up a few.

I think they will start showing up once the water cools some. I am still of the opinion that the fish are scattered across the lake in open water not relating to any structure. On a good note, a lot of the fish we caught were spitting up 2 inch shad. Shad about the size of a pop-r.

This is my first time on Stockton since the beginning of May and the high water. Put in at Orleans Trail around 7:30 am and fished until 4:00 pm. Water temps were 75 to 77 degrees. Water clarity was 3 to 4 feet around Orleans Trail and the dam area. We ended up catching 36 total but only 1 was a 15 1/2 inch smallmouth keeper. Caught some early on a pop-r and spinnerbait. Most of the fish came on the ned. Most of the fish came on flat points in 6 to 12 feet of water. It was good to get back out on Stockton and give it a go. Fishing should improve as the water temps cool into the 60's.

Now that's funny!

I say put a helmet on him and have him play offensive line for the Kansas City Chiefs!

I haven't been on Stockton since May so I don't really know, but I have a theory about Stockton in the summertime. I think the bass are out suspended cruising the main lake and following the shad. They aren't relating to any structure or channel. The other dilemma is that the shad they are primarily feeding on are SMALL so matching the bait size is difficult.

No. I used it off and on both days. It just seemed to work the best on Tuesday when the wind was out of the north. Flipping bushes is not a strength for me so I was trying to develop that skill. Don't know if I learned much other than you have to be on your toes or they will wrap you up in a split second.

Put in at Orleans Trail about 8:00 am with water temps ranging from 69 to 71. Water clarity was between 2 to 3 feet. On Monday the winds were light. On Tuesday it was blowing pretty strong out of the north northwest. On Monday I ended up with 35 fish and 2 were keepers. Included in the 35 were 2 white bass, 3 crappie, and a drum. Of the 29 bass, it was about evenly split between largemouth and smallmouth, however I did catch 2 spots. All I can say is that the fish are scattered. I caught some flipping the bushes and did catch 3 on a spinnerbait up in the bushes and one of them was a nice 18 inch fish. He must have been sitting there with his mouth open because the spinnerbait barely hit the water and he inhaled it. The others I caught out in the 8 to 12 foot range, probably about where the bank line is when the lake is at normal level. On Sunday it was a different deal. I struggled to get bites. Only caught 10. Most of them were caught up in the bushes flipping a baby brush hog in green pumpkin red. I did catch 1 on a bubblegum trick worm up in the brush. I'm not sure, but I wonder if the 2nd picture is a mean mouth. When I first saw it I thought it was a largemouth, but it had a a toothy patch on its tongue. It really didn't look like a smallmouth either. It was 16 inches long. On a side note, is it me or is it just Stockton that when the wind is out of the north that the fish seem to shut down?

Those crappie look like they still have their spawning colors.

Put in at Orleans Trail about 10:00 am. Saw JMontgo1246 there at the marina so I stopped and introduced myself and said hi. I should have given him some advice on how to catch more fish, GUARANTEED. He needs to trade in the Jayhawk gear for the purple Powercat!!!! Water was around 62 to start the day and 65 when I got off the water at 5:30 pm. I didn't venture very far south and between Orleans Trail and the mouth of Price Branch, the water was fairly clear. 3 foot clarity maybe. Is it the first of May or the middle of July. The fishing reminds me of summertime fishing with the depth that I had to fish to get bit. Seemed like I had to be sitting in 16 to 20 feet of water casting to 12 to 16 feet. I caught 25 with all of them coming on the ned. I tried some different baits but nothing was working. I did have a bite on a carolina rigged lizard but he spit the hook. I caught 24 brownies and 1 spot. 4 of the brownies were keepers. Biggest was 16 inches and is the one in the picture. The best locations seemed to be in the backs of some of the big bays with a lot of pea gravel in that 12 to 16 foot range. I guess there was some high school tournament going on and most of the boats must have been down fishing the cleaner water. There were boats EVERYWHERE. I think the high water has the fish confused. Not sure where the green ones are.

Sounds like it was ned to the rescue.

Here is the COE's daily report for all of the Kansas City regions lakes. Hope the link works. http://www.nwd-mr.usace.army.mil/rcc/nwk/lakepool.txt

The Corps of Engineers estimates that it will go to 877.24 by Thursday unless there is rain Wednesday.

National Weather Service says Stockton could see up to 2 inches of rain on Wednesday. That will keep it rising.

How much water did they release during the last big flood when Phil Lilley did the One Cast from his window?