New State Record Smallie?

[dprice]

Awesome !   Dropping on drops 

[misfitfishingco]

1 minute ago, dprice said:

Awesome !   Dropping on drops 

Just hear say right now but supposedly going public soon. I'm not confirming, just seeking out if anyone else has heard anything.  

[dprice]

conservation predicted this a few years ago that it existed 

[Flysmallie]

Wouldn’t surprise me. 

[MoCarp]

I have heard they sampled 2 fish over 8# at stockton, this is the current record caught in 94 

[misfitfishingco]

9 hours ago, MoCarp said:

I have heard they sampled 2 fish over 8# at stockton, this is the current record caught in 94 

Truly a giant. I hadn't heard of 2 8lbers being surveyed. Was that recent?

[misfitfishingco]

9 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

Wouldn’t surprise me. 

The biggest I've caught up there was right at 4lbs so I naturally was quite surprised to hear of a fish potentially easing out over 7lbs

[MoCarp]

1 hour ago, misfitfishingco said:

Truly a giant. I hadn't heard of 2 8lbers being surveyed. Was that recent?

I hear that 2 years ago

59 minutes ago, misfitfishingco said:

The biggest I've caught up there was right at 4lbs so I naturally was quite surprised to hear of a fish potentially easing out over 7lbs

in the mid/late 80's 4# where pretty common, they state started managing more for largemouths after the big LMBV scare, SMB were the dominate bass species the closer you got to the dam, seemed when they stocked the copper nose bluegills and silversides, was about the time things changed, I suspect LMB were stocked as well....then all the stocking of the lake strain walleyes, you used to see walleyes over 10# pretty regular in spring and fall, then they started pumping water to springfield, fishing TBH was never as good as it was before, lake seems clearer than it was in the past...I think the lake needs less lake strain walleyes and more of the native river strain, but I am told before the river strain is hard to produce in the hatchery, yellow perch would or should do well, if they would stock them, they are prolific and would produce more prey items stockton so desperately needs, you used to see daphnia in the lake stop seeing them in the early 90's, tiger muskies used to be in the lake along with northern pike, yet the crappie people yatched loudly that they ate all the crappie, I always contended that all the crappie fisherman filling their freezers well over the limits is what hurts the crappie fishing.

people still string everything there, need a 18" one smallmouth a day, and 12" limit on spots in stockton bump crappie to 12" drop the limit to 10....18" walleyes again...then fine the bejeezus out of over harvest and try and catch the meat fishermen....but as long as people are happy having buddy tourneys catching 14-17" LMB and keeping cigar 15" walleyes nothing will change, if COs want to catch the game hogs, hit the boat ramps that don't get used as much,  once a couple people loose their boats it will stop

 

[misfitfishingco]

34 minutes ago, MoCarp said:

I hear that 2 years ago

in the mid/late 80's 4# where pretty common, they state started managing more for largemouths after the big LMBV scare, SMB were the dominate bass species the closer you got to the dam, seemed when they stocked the copper nose bluegills and silversides, was about the time things changed, I suspect LMB were stocked as well....then all the stocking of the lake strain walleyes, you used to see walleyes over 10# pretty regular in spring and fall, then they started pumping water to springfield, fishing TBH was never as good as it was before, lake seems clearer than it was in the past...I think the lake needs less lake strain walleyes and more of the native river strain, but I am told before the river strain is hard to produce in the hatchery, yellow perch would or should do well, if they would stock them, they are prolific and would produce more prey items stockton so desperately needs, you used to see daphnia in the lake stop seeing them in the early 90's, tiger muskies used to be in the lake along with northern pike, yet the crappie people yatched loudly that they ate all the crappie, I always contended that all the crappie fisherman filling their freezers well over the limits is what hurts the crappie fishing.

people still string everything there, need a 18" one smallmouth a day, and 12" limit on spots in stockton bump crappie to 12" drop the limit to 10....18" walleyes again...then fine the bejeezus out of over harvest and try and catch the meat fishermen....but as long as people are happy having buddy tourneys catching 14-17" LMB and keeping cigar 15" walleyes nothing will change, if COs want to catch the game hogs, hit the boat ramps that don't get used as much,  once a couple people loose their boats it will stop

 

I agree there. A lot of meat fisherman up there. Im obviously too young to remember how the lake was back that far ago but in my time I have seen a change. Still catch good bass up there but not like it used to be for sure. Stocking yellow perch would be interesting. I've seen them a lot in Bull Shoals. Provide more forage for the fish 

[Smithvillesteve]

I always heard there was a guy fishing for bluegills up by the dam when he caught the state record. On a cricket!! I will agree with you boys on the number of "meat fishermen" on Stockton.