June 18, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

June 18, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Water level: 881.40

Normal pool 867

Water temperature mid to high 70s

Water clarity on the southern end of the lake is stained, north end of the lake relatively clear

Guide’s tip: Because of the high gas prices, if you are serious about fishing, and you want to learn the lake, I can save you a whole lot of money. For what it would cost you to drive around, and search for fish, you’ll save a lot of money by hiring a highly skilled and professional guide like me.

Walleye: I like to remind my readers that the information that I provide on my fishing reports is an accumulation of my experience and the information that I receive from other fishermen who spend a great deal of time fishing on Stockton Lake. Walleye fishing is fair throughout the lake. Fish are being caught above the 215 bridge on crank baits either trolled or cast to the shore. This technique seems to be most effective in late afternoon and early evening and after dark. As of this writing, the moon has been coming up as the sun is going down, which contributed to a good night bite. This is probably your best bet right now for walleye. A couple of other places to try out are Turkey Creek arm, around Cedar Ridge boat ramp (one of the very few boat ramps that you can still use due to high water). Crawler harnesses or jigs tipped with minnows slow trolled across main lake points in between 20-25 feet of water is good for mid day. You need to cover a lot of water to expose your bait to as many fish as you can. They always say “find the bait, find the fish;” it is obvious that those “pros” have never fished Stockton Lake because the bait will be everywhere you go. Some will have arches and some will not. Just cover a lot of water on main lake points. Mud flats around Mutton Creek will produce fish late in the afternoon and early evening with the same technique. Try this also: if you find a large concentration of fish arches on your sonar, try vertical fishing pepper spoons, Cast Master spoons, Dare Devils, etc. I use the word “arches” because a lot of fishermen don’t realize that fish symbol on your sonar represent any object in the water…fish or clumps of algae. Don’t use the dumb fish symbol, it is pretty near useless.

Crappie: for the most part, crappie fishing has been good throughout the lake. Try the mouth of Price Branch, Turkey Creek, or Birch Branch, to name a few. The fish that we have been catching are suspended in the river channels in about 35 feet of water. Believe it or not, the large majority of the black or white crappie are still full of eggs. I believe the large amount of rain, up and down lake levels, and cooling temperatures in early spring have contributed to this. The fish will be suspended and their depth will be determined by water clarity, wind, and cloud cover. You need to experiment. Drift slowly with a jig and minnow and you should catch fish. Later in the afternoon when the sun begins to go down, small spinner baits or small crank baits cast to the shoreline brush will be productive. I prefer small spinner baits due to the fact that they get hung up less.

Largemouth bass: Spinner bait fishing is still hit and misses, but it is worth a try because you won’t know until you experiment. Crank bait fishing is hit or miss, but the problem with crank bait fishing is that there is so much submerged brush that you get hung up a lot. As I have stated in other reports, plastic worm fishing has been the most consistent for me and my clients for both numbers and quality of fish (4-6 pounds). Top water bite has been slow, but always try it late in the evening. I know everybody is crazy about buzz baits, but I find Hula Poppers or other loud baits work best because of the vast amount of cover. Unless the fish are on top of the brush, your buzz bait will go on by long before they ever figure out where it is. Pop Rs, Skitter Pops, or the like work well when you leave a long pause in between jerks. Main lake coves are the best places to be. Here’s advice to you power fishermen: the fish are fat, and extremely well fed. If you fish fast, you fish failure. Slow down.

Channel cat fishing continues to be very good. Night crawlers, hot dogs, whatever you like to fish with for catfish all work. If you are patient and in the right place, 5-7 pound fish are not rare.

Guide’s note: A large percentage of your bass are still full of eggs. So are the catfish, and even large crappie. It is advantageous that these egg laden fish be returned to make more fish. That is a fact of life in this day and age in which we live. My friend caught a 39 ½ pound flathead a week ago, and he turned her loose for this very reason. Those fishermen who like to hang the big flathead heads on their fence posts are taking away from our resource. You can catch more eater fish than you can eat in a short period of time. I can’t state how important selective harvest is.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS