Crappie Report

[Phil Lilley]

Got to Greenfield Access WAY TO EARLY- about 3 pm. Met friend Paul Crews from Neosho- he'd been fishing a while already. I'd never been on that part of Stockton before- only been on Stockton twice and the last time was over 10 years ago. Anyhow...

We went up the lake (north), found a bluff bank and slow trolled swimming minnows, 1/8th oz jig head in 20 feet of water. We picked up 6 keepers and twice that many shorts in the next 4 hours. Caught a dozen blacks when we stopped and threw to the bank- some nice ones too. But they all went back.

Sun set and Paul was bummed cause the trip hadn't gone better. He had fished over there several times and he'd done well. But I kept telling him that the crappie should be going to the bank anytime, we just had to find the right bank. So I told him to head to the bluff bank and go till it changed from bluff to sloped and there's where we found them.

Caught crappie on every cast for the next hour +, finishing our limit easily plus 10 more keepers and quite a few shorts. Plus 6 white bass to boot.

I thought they'd quit biting at dark but they didn't. When we left, about 9 pm, they had slowed down a bunch but we still could have stayed and caught more... but both of us had a 90 minute drive home.

Didn't keep anything less than 11 inches and up to 13 inches- nice slabs.

Sorry, no crappie pics.

[Dutch]

Nice trip Phil. Its that time of the year for that part of the lake. A couple of feet more water would help with the whites.

Did you go below Springfield Cove?

[Phil Lilley]

Dutch- I don't know the lake at all... when we left the ramp we headed to the left, north, went around the first bend. Bluff on the left. We trolled that bluff, then went on to the next bluff on the left and trolled there. Caught them every once in a while all afternoon. Mostly shorts.

This is the bank the crappies moved up on at dusk. There were 2 boats about 600 yards up or NE of us that were catching them too so I bet they were all up and down this sloped gravel bank, not just close to the transition where we were.

[Dkman]

Thanks for the tip. I am new to this forum and will be heading to Stockton when my son is home for spring break next week. Hope to get him in some crappie and white bass. Do not know the lake too well, usually duck hunt it.