December 31, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

December 31, 2008 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Walleye fishing has picked up since the weather has warmed up and stabilized. In the winter time, when you have repeated cold fronts and dreary weather, the fishing slows down and it takes 4 or 5 days of stable weather to pick back up again. This is not only true for walleye, but for crappie and bass as well.

Fish are being caught on main lake points by drifting jigs and minnows or crawler harnesses; however, the best bite has been on the creek channels in 35-50 feet of water, which is the basic winter pattern. Remember what I said in my last report: when fishing in deep water, you have to get out of the wind because sensitivity is a main issue. Sit right on top of the fish, use a jig up to ½ oz if necessary to keep the line straight and vertical. If you scope a great deal of shad (which you probably will), that is usually the result of an underwater spring. 54 degree water in water that is in the low to high 30s is a big difference, especially when fish are able to detect 1/10 of a degree variation in water temperature. Fish are also being caught by trolling minnow type lures such as Husky Jerks with a clip on weight system in deep water. I like to use the clip on weight system because it will get shallow running lures to the depth that the fish are without having to mess with lead core line or down riggers or put up with the pull of deep diving crank baits which don’t get your bait deep enough anyway. You need to cover a lot of water when you troll at a speed of about 1.5 miles per hour. I have most of my best days vertical fishing creek channels and the mouths of coves in the winter. This pattern will continue until the walleye get ready to spawn in late February and early March. When that time approaches, I’ll give you more details.

Crappie, like walleye, are in the deep creek channels where the bait clouds are bigger than your boat. Same principle….springs attract bait fish, bait fish attract crappie. I catch the biggest stringers of crappie (size and numbers) when they are in the winter pattern. Once again, sensitivity and concentration are the keys. You will not always feel a bite, so you have to watch your rod tip. I use medium-heavy action spinning rod with Stren braided line for both crappie and walleye. Attach a ¼ oz bell sinker to the end of your line and at 2 foot intervals, put on your favorite small crappie jigs tipped with a minnow or crappie niblets. They seem to be a little more interested in 2 targets as opposed to one, plus if you miss the first bite, you may nail him with the second one. This application is good not only for crappie, but for walleye and white bass.

Large mouth/small mouth bass: now that the water temperature is below 55 degrees, your suspended jerk bait bite is profitable in late afternoon on the banks facing the sun. During the day, bass are being caught on jigs and soft plastics in deep water. Deep water is relative, you know; 25-35 feet in a creek channel with a spring will hold bass. They are not as abundant in the 50 feet water like the walleye and the crappie are, for whatever reason, but they like the same type of structure a little shallower, particularly when springs are present. As you know, I use plastic worms the majority of the time, whether it is August or January, and 90% of my big fish (5-8 lbs) are caught on plastic worms. A rule of thumb: fish the way you like to fish and you become more accomplished; if you like jigs, fine. Creature baits, ok. I use both, but plastic worms are hard to beat.

I have been scheduling booking for January, February and March; if you want a spot, contact me soon. If the weather goes bad, we can reschedule. Even though the weather is cold, the water is cold, and I am cold, some of your best fishing on Stockton Lake is in the dead of winter.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

Often imitated, never duplicated. Fish the Finest!

[powerdive]

Another excellent report, Marty--thank you. Good luck to you and your clients in '09!

Mike

[hooked on crappie]

Another excellent report, Marty--thank you. Good luck to you and your clients in '09!

Mike

Marty is right, This is the best time of the year to catch large crappie and lots of them. Thanks again Marty!!!

[catman70]

"Attach a ¼ oz bell sinker to the end of your line and at 2 foot intervals, put on your favorite small crappie jigs tipped with a minnow or crappie niblets."

When you tie your jigs to this rig are you tying them directly to the main line, or are you tying a small secondary line from the main line to the jig?

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

If you tie a secondary line to the jig, it gets twisted up. TThe best scenario is to buy a device that is similar to a steel leader that has 2 protruding loops; you would tie this device 2 feet above the bell weight and then hook the jig lines to the loops. Tie monofilament to those protruding loops and you won't get tangled as bad.

If you don't have this device, tie your jigs on the main line with a loop knot at least 2 feet apart. So you tie your jigs two feet apart starting two feet above the bell sinker. Bounce the bell sinker on the bottom. Use different colored jigs; sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn't

[powerdive]

I've always wondered about dropshotting a Sabiki Rig for crappies...should work...IF it's legal to use 6 lures on one line in Missour-ah.