February 27, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

February 27, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Walleye: Bigger is better when it comes to pre-spawn walleye. When these fish prepare to spawn, particularly the large females, they prefer a double meat burger instead of a French fry. For my clients, when the weather permits, we have been using ¼ oz jigs with a 3 or 4 inch plastic body, white or chartreuse in color, tipped with the largest minnows you can find. When I say largest minnows, probably the biggest you are going to find this time of year at the local bait shops are medium at best. Another technique that we use that has produced fish is a crawler harness with 2 minnows. Jigs tipped with night crawlers or night crawlers on crawler harnesses work from time to time, but the vast majority of our pre-spawn fish have been taken with minnows. Water temperature has been from 36-38 degrees; therefore you are looking at early pre-spawn. These fish for the most part will be deep (up to 55 feet) off main lake points. As the water temperature rises closer to 45 degrees, which is optimal spawning temperature, the fish will gradually go shallower. Work main lake points that are adjacent to year round running creeks where large numbers of walleye will go to spawn, and also rip rap, where walleye will also spawn.

20% of the walleye population in Stockton Lake are successful spawners, which is unusually high for highland mountain reservoirs in the south, so it is imperative that you eat the little males and put the big hen fish back so they can make more walleye. The lake is up at 870 now (normal pool is 867), due to rain, and should continue to rise (similar to last year), which makes for another excellent nursery year. A good nursery year basically describes the availability of cover for little fish to hide in during their pre-teen years when they can get picked off by everything that swims.

Early morning and late afternoon walleye bite can be had my casting minnow type suspending jerk baits in around 8-10 feet of water. Cloudy days are best for this technique, and cloudy days have been the norm during the last month particularly. Keep an eye on the water temperature; these fish spawn at about 45 degrees. The second week of March should begin the spawn in the main tributaries, because of the moon and because the water temperature in these main tributaries will reach the optimal spawning temperature first. As March progresses, you should be able to follow the spawn all the way to the dam by using your electronics.

Guide tip: Not all fish in a particular species spawn at the same time. This includes not only walleye, but all species that live in Stockton Lake. It is a progressive thing.

There are a few days open on my schedule in March and April. My guide service will appear in Missouri Game and Fish in the April issue, on the topic of crappie fishing, and when it hits the newsstand, I will be booked up all the way into June, so you need to book your dates as soon as possible for these prime springtime months. Also, we have updated our web site. Check it out.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

[outdoorgage]

I read about following the walleye to the dam during the spawn in the report where do they start I thought they would spawn in the rivers like white bass but that might show just how little i know about this species