February 14, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

February 14, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

Walleye: Slow trolling minnow type crank baits along the main lake bluffs is still producing walleye action. Some fish are also being caught along the dam using the same technique. My clients have been catching fish, however, around Ruark Bluff by slow trolling minnow baits and Wiggle Warts. This is a main staging area for the upcoming spawn and you can find good numbers of fish in the river channel. A second technique that seems to be effective is slow drifting a 1/2 oz jig head with half of a night crawler. Follow the contour of the river channel on your sonar.

Largemouth bass: Main lake bluffs are still your best bet for consistent bites by slowly working a Pig n Jig or slowly rolling a spinner bait with a single Colorado blade. Colorado blades are good for the winter months for several reasons: the bait can be fished more slowly, the blade creates more vibration in the water, and the bait falls more vertically. The spinner bait was originally designed as a bait to be fished vertically, but the slow roll technique has taken hold and the original technique has been forgotten. Particularly in the winter, a bass is more apt to hit a bait on the fall; a vertically fished spinner bait allows you to place the bait slowly in the strike zone. This is excellent when used along bluffs. Remember to position your boat as close to the bluff as you can and work the bait back to the boat vertically (reeling a little bit, then letting it fall). The winter pattern of the bass places them along the bluffs for the simple reason they can move a few feet up or down and change depth and temperature significantly without traveling a far distance. I always put a big pork chunk on the back of my spinner bait which causes the bait to sink even more slowly. Make sure that your spinner bait blade spins properly as the bait falls; this is the reason for a Colorado blade. Fishing slowly is the key.

Crappie: Crappie are still being caught throughout Stockton lake off of the marked crappie beds in around 20-25 feet of water. Small minnows seem to be the best bait, followed by crappie jigs. Turkey Creek arm is still producing crappie in the deeper timber. Don't overlook the Twin Bridges area. Guide tip: when you fish timber, don't overlook the trees that are completely submerged because if you cannot tie up to it, nobody has fished it, so you should catch bigger fish. Anchor your boat so that you are approximately half a cast away from the submerged timber, and see how fast your bobber disappears. Whether it is crappie fishing or tuna fishing, use different techniques in different areas and you will be among the 10% of fishermen who catch 90% of the fish. That is guide tip of the week!

Safety issues: be sure everybody on the boat wears a life vest whether you're underway or tied to a stump. No matter how great of an athletic swimmer you think you may be, when you hit the 40 degree water, things will change in a hurry. Can you climb back in the boat? If you've never tried, it's harder than you think. Do you have dry clothes on board to weather the sub zero chill factor on the way home? On these cold days, water on the boat ramp freezes quickly. How will you get your boat out of the water? I carry cat litter to put in front of my tow vehicle's back tires. Always remember: fishing in extreme cold weather is far different than fishing in 80 degrees. If you fall in the lake, you better have a plan that can be accomplished in no more than 2 minutes, or your fishing days are over.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

[Arkamo Traveler]

Very thorough and informative report. I really appreciated the chance to read it, thanks Marty!

Do you have any suggestions for a bank fisherman (or canoe) to intercept some Walleye? It seems like the magic time is near--when the will run into the Stocton Tributaries...Also, do you think it is time to hit it yet (Feb 27)?

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

Thanks for reading my fishing report. In about two weeks I would take my canoe to the Greenfield (CC) boat ramp and start fishing anywhere from a mile below the boat ramp up river past the 160 bridge. This should be the first part of the spawn. My lure of choice would be chartreuse or white curly tail jigs (about 1/4 oz) or a variety of crank baits with the same color combination. During this period of time you should be able to catch large numbers of legal fish which are males and also a chance at a 4-10 pound female. Tell me how you did.