Fishing Report 8/25

[packersooner]

The plan was to target brush pile crappie from mid-morning through early evening in the Twin Bridges area. Well, I crashed and burned. I probably fished 20 piles and scanned a dozen more. This included MDC piles both new (2015) and old. Water depths of 15 feet to 35 feet. Also hit several personal favorites. One short crappie and that was it! Fished with jigs.

I will admit that I didn't spend much time on any one particular pile. 10-15 minutes and then move. I do have side-imaging/down-imaging on my console finder. I was not seeing fish around most of these piles! There were a few that had fish (even active ones) around them. They were not interested in my jigs.

Theories as to what went wrong? Millions of one inch shad swimming around could be part of the problem. They are everywhere on that lake! I may not have been marking crappie even on those pile that were "active". For example, I kept getting bluegill hits and caught multiple young bass. It is also possible that the crappie have not moved to the brush in numbers or are buried way down in there. Would love to hear other takes on this.

This is the second year in a row where I have not been able to pattern August crappie on Stockton. I heard reports (mainly last year) that dropping a minnow into the thickest brush wasn't even that effective.

I'd be curious to hear how everyone else did on Monday. Saw a lot of boats on brush piles. BTW, I was the gray Lund zipping all over the place.

Anywho, threw in the white flag on the crappie around midday and switched to walleye. Mainly bounced on the flats but did hit a few rocky shorelines/points. Handful of shorts and that was it. Of course, had the usual assortment of unwanteds (cats, bait-robbers, and even a big white).

Jason

[slab slinger]

Late summer crappie, well summer crappie on Stockton have always been tough for me. I usually get a few each trip and that's it. Don't really know where they go or if they just don't bite but I struggle on Stockton for summer slabs. Sounds like you done exactly what I would have by searching and staying on the move until you found a bite. Me and you both know there's 2 other lakes that are great summer crappie lakes and that's why I switch lakes almost every summer for slabs. I consider Stockton my home waters every season of the year but summer.  Sorry I'm not much help on Stockton summer slabs. 

[wtr dogs]

PackerSooner: Were you able to determine the level of the thermocline?

Down by the dam it appeared to40-45 feet deep last week.

I spent 8 hours last Thursday and Friday and was only able to catch ONE keeper walleye and a few short different variety both trolling and bottom bouncing.

[packersooner]

Slab...yeah Stockton sure has been stubborn the last few summers. I should know better and hit some more consistent lakes for the crappie bite. Part of me just wants to solve the puzzle. I remember when I first started fishing Stockton and "didn't know any better", I would slow troll timbered channels with jigs and averaged 10 keepers a day between me and my partner. Shaw Bluff comes to mind. Not great numbers, but enough for dinner.

Wtr dogs...marked a definite thermocline in the mid-lake region around 30 feet. This is much deeper than what I have seen in the past on Stockton. Usually, it has been around 20 feet.

I did get out with Powerdive about a week and a half ago and we managed somewhere close to two dozen walleye fishing the flats. Only one keeper though and it barely made 15". Most were caught trolling cranks on leadcore. We also caught a handful on bottom bouncers. The best depth was 15-17 feet.

Jason

 

 

[waterpossum]

Your report sounds like a carbon copy of ours on Wednesday from 9 am to 2‌:30 pm. We hit about 7-8 brush piles with no luck. Tried hardwood and bridge piers and caught two small Kentucky bass on the piers. I guess they are suspended over deep water gorging on this years fry. I used to do pretty good in August flipping a jig passed 10-15' hardwoods and letting it swing back into the tree, but we tried that in only one place in Son's without luck.

[straw hat]

The wife and I have been able to pick up 6 to 8 keepers each of the last two Sat. I was fishing the Big Sac Arm. I ran my thermometer down to 30' (bottom) and still no thermocline. The keepers were coming on windy banks in 12 to 16' of water. There is a tremendous algae bloom in the area and we saw a minor fish kill both days. Maybe 30 to 50 dead fish. All with their gills flared. Mostly bass, crappie, shad and other O2 loving species. 85 degrees on surface and 80 degrees at 30'. Can't be much oxygen available like that. Visibility 3'.

[packersooner]

Good info Straw. Yeah you have to wonder what the oxygen content is like once you get into that 20-30 foot range.

Fall can't get here soon enough!

[Ketchup]

These cooler mornings wil help with water temps and oxygen levels. Its been a rough year for fishermen, but moreso for the fish. It startd early in the year, pre-spawn when they were caught off guard, by high water temps, and cold fronts. It should start getting good soon. 

[straw hat]

The last water sampling for the corp was on July 18th. Dissolved O2 at the dam was 8.22 at 8 meters and 1.73 at 9 meters (thermocline).

At the 245 bridge it was 4.72 at 4 meters (start of thermocline)

2.38 at 5 meters

1.98 at 6 meters

Near Chicken Rock (Point B9) 4.85 at 4 meters

0.66 at 5 meters

One thing we all know, there was a lot 0f hot weather after that and along with increased algae growth it sure didn't get any better!!

[wtr dogs]

STRAW HAT: I need a conversion for feet to meters.  It would also be great to have a more current report. The numbers for O2 are concerning.

As far as the'Bite' The deeper thermoclines we have seen lateley would seem to give the angler a bigger area to cover and might explain the "SLOW" bite. As well as the pickup sized schools of baitfish. ????