Skeeter ZX190

Never been there, but what about Rockbridge? Lodging, restaurant, and trout stream. https://www.rockbridgemo.com/

Many years ago I went out on Stockton when the wind was blowing pretty good. Probably sustained winds in the 20 mph Range and gusts in the 30's. I was headed to the main lake out of Orleans Trail and a sail boat was headed to the marina. It's mast was broken off and dragging in the water. When I hit the main lake my eyes got as big as saucers. My Skeeter handled it, but I'll never do it again. With the wind forecast for Stockton tomorrow, be very careful. That lake can get pretty rough. Here is the National Weather forecast for Friday: Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. Southwest wind 11 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph.

Cape Fair? Isn't that Table Rock?

Several years ago there was a father and son that went out on Stockton in a jon boat in 20 to 25 mph winds without their life jackets on. It was in March. It took a month before they found the first body. 2 months to find the second. Got to be smarter.

Will those keepers be treated to a hot oil bath?

To me color doesn't matter, as long as it's green pumpkin!😄😁

The ned is the most amazing bait I've ever thrown. I believe it all has to do with the way it always stands straight up when on the bottom. I know Dutch uses the TRD but I prefer the ZinkerZ cut in half. They just seem squishier and more buoyant to me.

Corps of Engineers has it at just under 6 feet high and slowly dropping

Up here to help my son move from Great Falls to Kalispell so I've taken the opportunity to do some serious fishing in Belt Creek. Weather has been gorgeous. Been using pheasant tails, copper john's, etc. and doing pretty good. Water is running pretty hard with the snow melt but it's still fishable.

What a strange year. 63 to 65 water temperatures in mid May. If the forecast comes true the lake is going to rise a lot. I'm up here in Montana and the weather has been perfect. Snow still on the mountains but in Great Falls it's been in the 60's and 70's. Been doing some trout fishing and it's been fun.

Dave Reeves is probably one of the best Ned fishermen on the Ozark Anglers forum. He almost exclusively fishes Table Rock and posts over there. He dead sticks it. Let it hit the bottom and leave it. Now to be successful at this technique, you have to be throwing it where the fish are. I do it like Dutch because I do more searching than catching. There have been a few times when I knew I was where the fish were and would let it sit. But it is really hard to do. Really hard!

This is a strange and late year. I fished Stockton on the 9th, and of the 16 bass I caught, 4 or 5 were smallies. Caught 1 on a rock crawler and the rest came on the ned. 4 to 9 feet deep on secondary points. Even though the water is still cold, you have to figure they would be staging close to spawning areas.

So what you do is print out a G. Loomis or Orvis logo and tape it over the Eagle Claw logo. Fool those snobbish trout!😄

Good luck on Sunday. Looks like the forecast says it will be windy. That's something Stockton never sees!😄

Dutch, I never tried a spinner bait. Thought about it, but with little wind, didn't think it would work.

What a beautiful day to be on the water. I figured the water temps would be in the mid-50's, and they were. 54 to 56 around Orleans Trail. Mainly fished a rock crawler and wiggle wart. Also caught some on the ned. Tried a jerkbait, but not too much. Ended up catching 16 bass and 1 walleye. 6 of the bass were keepers. Two of them went 17 1/2, a 17 incher, a 16 incher and two 15 1/2 inchers. I thought rock snot would be a problem but only far back in the coves.

I know for a fact that the weather we are having here in Missouri was due to a mistake at the National Weather Service. They had a new hire that thought MO stood for Minnesota. So they gave us their forecast. Our dumb luck because the one time in history the National Weather Service got a forecast right it gave us Minnesota weather!😀

Has anybody been around the lake? Is it completely frozen over or is there still open water in places?

I remember going to Pomme several years ago and the temperature was in the mid 20's when we launched. We were the first ones to launch. A truck & boat came in right behind us and when he backed down, the water from when I had pulled out had frozen. I'm sure a certain part of his anatomy was puckering big-time. Luckily, he was able to get the boat in the water without any damage. All that said to say I want 32 degrees or above and hopefully sun on the ramp to make sure I don't go sliding down the ramp.

With the weather now, and the forecast for at least the next week, you're going to need an ice breaker to get to your favorite spots.

First time on Stockton in a LONG time. Got on the water around 9:30 am and got off at 3:00 pm. Fished between Orleans Trail and Hawker. Only caught 5 but 3 of them were keepers. Biggest went 18 inches. 2 came on the a-rig, 2 on a jerkbait, and one on the ned. Water temps were 46 to 47 degrees. I'm sure that cold front that went thru a couple of days ago didn't help. Really not sure where the fish are hanging out. I mainly fished main lake and secondary points.

I haven't been on the site in a week or so. I'm in San Diego welcoming a new grandson. Saw this thread about "winter safety" so I thought I'd give it a look. A few posts about safety, but 5 pages of posts about monkeys, dolls, and squirrels. Fishing must be really bad right now!😁

What were the water temps?

Walcrabass will be proud of you!😀

I need to get down to Stockton soon. The bass should be shallow.