August 27, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

August 27, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Lake level 869.42

Normal pool 867

Water temperature low to mid 80s

Walleye fishing is fair. It has slowed down a little bit from what it was in the last two weeks, however, you can catch fish if you are in the right place at the right time. The right time could be anytime the way walleye are, especially with water temperatures cooler than usual. The more time you spend on the lake, the better. Move around a lot. The majority of the fish are caught on main lake points that are adjacent to mud flats. For the exact location, you need to look at your map. Fish will be in around 18-20 feet of water on average, they are somewhat scattered because bait fish are everywhere. You can forget about the old adage, “Find the bait, find the fish."

Road runners and night crawlers, bottom bouncers with night crawlers, and crawler harnesses should catch fish. Slow drift these areas through the fish you have marked on your depth finder. It may not be a bad idea to throw out markers where you see large concentrations of fish, that way the majority of your time is spent in productive water. It may not be wise to throw out your markers if several other boats are in the area, because more often than not, you’ll make a lot of friends… Trolling crank baits in these same areas is also a good idea, and you can cover a lot of water. Deep diving small bass-type crank baits seem to be the best; you need to experiment. Wiggle Warts, Wally Divers are the types of baits that seem to be the most productive. Late afternoon and early evenings are the best time to go.

Crappie fishing has been good, and limits are being caught in the timbered coves on minnows or crappie jigs and minnows in around 15-25 feet of water. Brush piles off main lake points are also good. The ones that are marked are ok, but the ones that are not marked are a lot better due to less fishing pressure. Mark the brush pile, anchor downwind (hopefully the anchor will hold at the right place at the right time) so you are about a half cast away from the brush pile. With this presentation, slip bobbers are the only way to go. If you try to position the boat right over the brush piles (particularly those that are shallow (10-15 feet deep), invariably your fishing partner is going to drop his tackle box or slam a compartment storage door and the fish will shut down or move altogether. A lot of people wonder why they are not catching crappie that they spot on their scope, and this could be one of the main reasons: too much noise. You shouldn’t have trouble catching crappie right now.

Largemouth and small mouth bass fishing has been good. The big question that is being asked now is “How do I get away from the undersized fish?” The best way to accomplish this is to locate schools of bass in deeper water (15-25 feet deep). Most of your smaller fish will stay out of these areas. If you go along just casting at the shore, you’ll never get away from Junior Jaws. Another thing to do to get away from these little fish is to use bigger baits. I use 10-12 inch plastic worms and have been catching 3-6 pound fish consistently this summer. If you are not a worm guy, use a bigger jig. Vertical fish spinner baits (1/2 oz- 1 oz) or deep diving crank baits for these deeper fish. My experience this summer has been that a slower presentation will get you more bites. My theory is with an overwhelming amount of bait in the lake, and as fat as these fish are, they are not going to expend a whole lot of energy running something down when they are really not hungry anyway.

Blue gill fishing on main lake points in about 25 feet of water with night crawlers has been real good for big blue gill. Channel cats are also being caught in the same areas that the blue gill are on night crawlers or chicken livers fished vertically from an anchored position.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

Often imitated, never duplicated. Fish the Finest!