August 21, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

August 21, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Lake level 870.34

Normal pool 867

Lake temperature: 79-84 degrees

Walleye fishing has picked up because of the cool weather and cloudy skies, in spite of the east winds we have been having. My clients and I have had good success on several locations…obviously I cannot reveal the exact locations to the general public, but I will provide you with a prototype of the general areas where I have been fishing. Main lake points that are connected to large flat bottoms is where you will find a lot of walleye this time of year in about 23 feet of water. They’ll be there until the water starts to cool, which is usually around the first of October. Recommended presentations are jigs and night crawlers, weighted crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers with Lindy rigs and crawlers. These work well during the day, in the high sun period, mainly because walleye will be a little deeper this time of day. Fish move up more shallow in the afternoon and evening on trolled deep diving crank baits. Anything from Reef Runners to Bandits will catch fish. Take advantage of the opportunity while you can. In spite of what you may be told, you don’t go out and catch gobs of walleye on every trip. These fish move on a regular basis and can be finicky on a regular basis. And oh yes, this is also true of walleye that live in Canada. Cover as much water as you can and pay close attention to your sonar. If you don’t catch fish within ½ an hour, move to another area. You may say “Oh great fishing guide, I see all of these arches on my screen! Should I not stay here forever?” And I say “No, my little fishing friend, you may find a large school of walleye that won’t bite, no matter what you do.” Find a group of fish that will bite.

Crappie fishing has been good on Stockton Lake, and with the water being as cool as it is, and the weather as pleasant as it has been (thanks to Almighty God), the crappie fishing should be good into the indefinite future. Fish are being caught in all of the wooded coves, which include Greaser Creek, Turkey Creek, and Price Branch. Minnows are the most consistent approach, fished over brush piles around 25 feet deep. I don’t have a lot of complex tactics to present at this point, due to the fact that fishing is pretty good and anybody with a boat can catch them.

Bass fishing continues to be good throughout the lake, at least as far as my own experience is concerned. I took my wife and my dog fishing on Monday, and they decided they wanted to swim. I took them to a boat ramp and dropped them off. I fished an area of the bank that I had not planned on fishing, and I am glad I did. In two consecutive casts, I caught a 3 pound smallmouth and a 6 pound largemouth. My dog thought I was really the man. Both fish were caught on a white spinner bait. Spinner bait fishing is hit and miss, but when it is hit, it is always good, so keep one tied on and close by. Deep diving crank baits bouncing off the bottom off of main lake points have scored some good sized fish (4-7 pounds). The top water bite is a “Here today gone tomorrow” proposition. We have caught a few fish in the backs of coves and as a result of the cooler water temperatures, more fish should be moving into these areas.

If you have any specific questions that I don’t cover in my report, please email me or better yet hire me. It’s hard to get a vast amount of information in a fishing report. I give out as much as I can.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

Often imitated, never duplicated. Fish The Finest!

[powerdive]

I read your reports every week, Marty. Thank you for your time and effort--great job!

Mike

[Quillback]

Yep, these are great reports! Keep it up!

[techo]

Sounds like you have a great dog too. Mine always seems to be laughing at me!

[Dutch]

The bite at Stockton has been good. A bud of mine had 60 bass with 6 over 4# one day last week. They were on spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, cranks and tops as well as several plastics.