August 26, 2010 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

August 26, 2010 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Lake level: 865.60

Normal Pool: 867

Water clarity: slightly stained

Water temperature: 83 degrees

Between Monday and Wednesday, the water temperature dropped from 86 degrees to 83 degrees; cooler nights contributed to this. Fishing for all species has been fair and in the near future should be very good due to cooler temperatures.

Sorry for my long absence in posting reports. My wife has a continuing family emergency with her mother (who lies in Colorado and has pancreatic cancer), and as I held down the fort and continued to guide, posting fishing reports was low on my long list of priorities.

We’ve had a good summer overall, in spite of 48 days of 90+ degree temperatures, with heat indexes of 106 and above. By the way, if you were out on the lake on one of these days, that probably wasn’t the wisest thing you’ve ever done; it’s very, very dangerous. The water reflects the sun back to you, so you’re getting a double dose. If it is 90 degrees at your house, I guarantee you it’s a lot hotter on the lake, but I think those temperatures are about finished for the year.

We’ll talk about walleye first: A large majority of the walleye being caught are too short. Smaller fish tend to be more aggressive than larger fish, particularly in hot water; that’s why you catch more of the little ones. The bigger walleye slow down considerably in hot water, and will spend a great deal of their time in the deeper, cooler water. With the full moon phase lately, night fishing is your best bet. The bigger fish will come up in the shallower water (anywhere from 10-18 feet) to chase the shad. Trolling deep diving crank baits is a good way to cover a lot of water. Fish the main lake points, and the mud flats. One good mud flat is between B5 and B7; watch your depth in this area, though, because Stockton Lake is a couple feet below normal pool and this makes a big difference. Objects that were not visible before (logs and rocks) are now. Check out the dam and drift the main lake points with a jig and night crawler bounced off the bottom at a depth of about 18 feet. 18 feet seems to be the magic number no matter where you fish on the lake. Many times when fish lay in deep water (45 feet or so), they are usually inactive. When you scope fish in that 18 foot zone, those are the ones that will bite. Where a fish sleeps and where a fish eats are usually two different places. I predict in the next couple of weeks that walleye fishing will pick up considerably.

Crappie fishing is slow, but when you find the right brush pile at the right depth you’ll catch fish. There’s a lot of teeny weenie little baby fish in the lake right now, so match the hatch using small crappie minnows hooked with a small weight and drift over the brush piles. Brush piles need to be about 25 feet deep. Use a heavy enough weight to vertical fish, keeping the bait just above the top of the branches. If it strings way behind the boat, it’ll get hung up in the brush. Small jigs and little crank baits also work, but we have been catching them by doing what I just explained. Night fishing over a crappie light is also good in these same areas.

White bass: virtually all of our white bass have been taken by trolling deep diving lures like the Bandit across main lake points. If you like trolling and breathing exhaust fumes all day, you should catch white bass.

Largemouth bass: As usual, Junior Jaws can be found in 8-10 feet of water and they’ll grab anything from small plastic worms, jigs, spinner baits, even top water. These bass get in schools when they are this size (8-12 inches) and swim endlessly throughout the lake wreaking havoc on the shad, crawdads, and fishermen if they are trying to catch the big ones. The bigger bass we have caught this year (3-5 lbs, no real big ones yet) have been in around 15-25 feet deep. The best technique has been worms or jigs fished slowly. You need something that will get to that depth and stay in their faces for an extended period of time. With a ton of bait in the lake, these bass don’t move often from their zone to chase bait. However, when they do, your best bet is either at night or just before dark. Crank baits and spinner baits work well in the shallower water. Since the lake is lower than usual, there is finally a visible shore line, so take note of the structure that you see out of the water; it’ll give you a good idea of what is actually below the water in any given area. This is a real advantage no matter what kind of fish you fish for.

Shore fishermen: now is your chance to fish about anywhere from the shore on Stockton lake. Channel cat fishing has been real good. In Hawker cove, Old State Park cove, or just about anywhere that you can cast to about 15 feet of water. Use chicken livers (I use beef livers because you can cast them better) or night crawlers.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

Often imitated, never duplicated. Fish The Finest!

[Thunderin Gobbler]

Thanks for the report Marty, I'm gonna try it again this weekend. Just like we talked when I fished with you in May, I am really getting tired of Junior Jaws. It's fun catching bass all day, but they are starting to get annoying. It's pretty bad when your plastic worm is longer than the fish that bites it.

[straw hat]

Sorry to hear about your mother-in-laws cancer. My brother has been fighting melanoma for over two years but unluckily he is losing the battle. I pray that things go better for you all. My prayers will be with your family. If anyone feels that suntan lotion is a waste of time they should talk to my brother.

Most people don't think of fishing as a dangerous sport but as we have all talked about before; we need to watch out for high winds, other boats, sunburns, heat exhaustion, dehydration.... That one of the reasons this website is so important. Bob, you in particular have always help keep people reminded that safety is first. Thanks for helping us stay on our toes.

[minnowhooker]

Sorry to hear about your mother in law the same thing got my Dad.

On another note the walleye report is dead on. Today I culled a lot of little ones to get at the keepers.

[Walleyedmike]

Glad to have you back on the forum, Marty. I've really missed your reports. Hope your mother in law's condition is improving.

WM

[kwall]

thanks for the report, hope to meet some of you at Mutton weigh in on sat. it's going to be great now that the weather has broke a little,enjoy