April 18, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

April 18, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

My departed grandma (bless her soul) used to always say if spring comes too early, there'll be a very bad cold spell, which will freeze everything. Which it did. However, the fishing has been picking up day by day as the lake temperatures recover from their almost 8 degree drop last week. Today should be the beginning of a good spring season.

Walleye: Your best bet for consistent walleye (even though it's not as good as it will get) is around the dam, Crab Tree cove, and the Masters boat ramp. Try trolling Lucky Craft pointers, Rapala shad raps, or any minnow or cylindrical type bait. You cover more ground by trolling, but late in the evening or early early morning, I would cast to the shore using these same types of lures. Minnow and jig combos still work fairly well when slow drifted off main lake points. Get as big of a minnow as you can and tip the jig head with it. I'd concentrate most of my efforts above the 215 bridge for walleye or the bluffs around east and west Ruark bluff.

Crappie fishing is productive in the area of the CC boat ramp in the trees. Water temperature is considerably warmer there than the lower end of the lake, therefore the majority of the crappie in this area will be in 8-10 feet of water along the banks. For this presentation, I would cast chartreuse Road Runners and white or chartreuse Beetle Spin type jigs toward the shore. Due to the fact that the fish are in shallower water, you'll spook the fish if you try to slow troll over the top of them. Deeper timber in this area of the lake is abundant and I would tie up over water 15-20 feet deep and fish with bobbers. It is interesting to note that a lot of fishermen will try to be quiet by holding their voices down, and at the same time bump or drop something on the bottom of the boat. Sound travels through water quickly, whereas your voice will bounce off across the top. It's always fun when you take a client to a hole that has large crappie to have him drop his tackle box or slam one of the compartment doors on the boat. When this happens, gently tap your friend upside the head with the paddle and move to another spot. Crappie fishing will soon be very productive throughout Stockton Lake. If we get one week of warm weather, things will really take off. Normally by this time of year the spawn is in full swing, but due to the cold, it has been slightly delayed.

Guide's tip of the week: To accumulate good fishing records, I would suggest that you copy each weekly fishing report and save it for future reference to develop patterns for all species of fish in Stockton lake. I try to give as much information as I can without giving away trade secrets. Another word of advice: you are going to save money and time by hiring a competent, commercially insured fishing guide rather than trying to figure out a lake out on your own.

White bass are being caught around the Cedar Ridge boat ramp, in the Turkey Creek arm, and the Master's boat ramp area off of main lake points and around State Park. These fish are being caught deep (25 feet) by trolling small bass lures with a clip on weight system to get them down to the depths. Try 1/4 oz Road Runners or 1/4 oz curly tailed jigs, white or chartreuse. I say white or chartreuse because these are effective colors in highland clear water lakes, such as Stockton. These are not the only colors that produce fish, you'll have to experiment. Here's a rule of thumb: dark day, dark lure, light day, light lure. You have to remember, that a fish sees color much differently than you do.

Largemouth bass have also been affected by the sudden drop in water temperature and most of the decent fish that I have been catching (2-4 pounds) have been off of secondary points in 12-20 feet of water. Plastic worms (as usual) have worked well for me and my clients, as well as crawdad colored jigs (orange, blue, green, brown) fished slowly across the bottom. Late in the evening, bass are turning up in the backs of coves. Look for coves that have running water and access to deeper water (20-30 feet deep). The typical pea gravel banks which are everywhere on Stockton lake are also one of the keys to a good cove. These fish will be staging to spawn very very soon if they haven't already in certain parts of the lake. As of this report, slow is still your main presentation. The suspended jerk bait is still somewhat productive. Top water....you can try it, but it's iffy. When the water warms, the top water bite will also heat up.

Smallmouth bass: Stockton Lake holds the current and previous Missouri state record for smallmouth bass. Everybody looks at Table Rock as a premiere smallmouth lake, which it is, but with these credentials, Stockton cannot be overlooked. Smallmouth bass, being more cold water oriented than the largemouth bass, should be close to spawning. Concentrate your efforts above the 215 bridge, fish along the chunk rock shores and main lake points. Finesse presentation is a key for smallmouth. Drop shot rigs are also very productive fished along bluffs or underwater structure. Small spinner baits and deep diving crank baits work well too. Remember: it takes a smallmouth bass 6 years to be able to reproduce. All smallmouth need to be returned to the lake to ensure a world class fishery like Stockton Lake. And while we're on the subject of conservation, reference sight fishing: when you jerk a parent fish off the nest, by the time he gets back to the nest, the blue gill have already wiped out the brood. I have fished with biologists in the past who say if the fish does get back to the nest, in most cases, the eggs or fry, have been eaten by other fish, primarily blue gill. It is obvious when these fish are caught in tournaments that the nest is guaranteed to die. Your big bass publications rarely comment on this...I wonder why? If any of you has any information on this subject, please email me.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thank for all the reporting that you have been doing Marty. I know it takes a lot of your time and effort to continualy do this. I greatly appriciate it.

....."I have fished with biologists in the past who say if the fish does get back to the nest, in most cases, the eggs or fry, have been eaten by other fish, primarily blue gill. It is obvious when these fish are caught in tournaments that the nest is guaranteed to die. Your big bass publications rarely comment on this...I wonder why? If any of you has any information on this subject, please email me."

I would like to add that I would like to see the state of Missouri step up and become the first state to limit the number of tournaments on lakes. I have seen as many as 2 or 3 torunaments on the same lake on the same day. I don't care what anybody says there is a higher rate of mortality than anyone will admit. I understand that this is a good revenue source, but at what cost?

Good Luck

Chief Grey Bear

[gonefishin]

Thank for all the reporting that you have been doing Marty. I know it takes a lot of your time and effort to continualy do this. I greatly appriciate it.

....."I have fished with biologists in the past who say if the fish does get back to the nest, in most cases, the eggs or fry, have been eaten by other fish, primarily blue gill. It is obvious when these fish are caught in tournaments that the nest is guaranteed to die. Your big bass publications rarely comment on this...I wonder why? If any of you has any information on this subject, please email me."

I would like to add that I would like to see the state of Missouri step up and become the first state to limit the number of tournaments on lakes. I have seen as many as 2 or 3 torunaments on the same lake on the same day. I don't care what anybody says there is a higher rate of mortality than anyone will admit. I understand that this is a good revenue source, but at what cost?

Good Luck

Chief Grey Bear

Years ago, in the early days of organized tourneys, there used to be some talk about the mortality rate of bass caught and released during a tournament. Mostly the talk was about the mortality rate of bigger fish. There were several factors that were discussed about the causes. One established fact was was the length of time between when the fish was hooked and boated. Then as added injury there was the being handled, being hauled and banged around in a livewell, the stress of the weigh in and being released in a totally different part of the lake. All of this continued stress increases the mortality rate.

A lot of catch and release fans point at smaller fish and say "See, this fish has been caught many times without harm". This is of course true of small fish. The fight doesn't last long and they are generally immediatly released to the water near their home turf. It is the Large fish that die and the larger the fish the more likely it is to die. It was reported that that fish would die for up to 3 days after a tourney

There was also talk about loss of the nest. There is only a time frame of a few seconds that a bass can be away from a nest, after that it is all over for the eggs or fry. If I recall correctly it was decided that states all had stocking programs so it didn't matter anyway.

This talk all died out when it became obvious there were big bucks in tourneys.

[pomme geezer]

Hey Bigmouth

First I would like to thank you for your weekly fishing reports. I don't get to fish Stockton as much as I would like to, but when I do it's nice to have a little knowledge before I head out. As to too many tourneys on the lake, I live on Pomme and we get 6 or 7 every weekend. You can go to the weigh in sites after they leave and there are always a BUNCH of dead Bass floating. I know they ( the local businesses) think they generate revenue but I don't agree, sure they may buy there gas here, but thats about it. Anyway I thought I would throw my 2 cents in.

Keep up the good work, and keep those weekly reports coming.

Sincerly Pomme Geezer

[Fish Bork]

Speaking of taking bass off the nests I was listening to the Fishing radio show today and thats about all I heard was how to catch bass of nests and how a guy spent 2 1/2 hours getting one seven pound bass off a nest. Horrible

[Hunter91]

Are you saying there should be no bass fishing or tournaments during the spawning period? How many bass spawn out of the sight of any angler every year? I agree that you can catch fish off beds in shallow water but most of the bass I have seen bedding shallow are not trophies. I have seen some that were but the majority of what I have seen are mostly up to three pounds maybe four. So then if that is the case, should we not fish for them in the prespawn period as we may be putting to much stress on a big female you may catch before she spawns?

[powerdive]

I'm a walleye fisherman. I believe in selective harvest--keep a few, eat those you keep, release the rest.

This catch and release thing has gone a bit over the top with respect to bass fishing. Compared to other species, not a lot of bass actually get harvested these days. To my mind, it has put fish populations out of whack; there are simply too many bass out there. If the mortality concern is valid, then tournaments are actually performing a biological favor by helping to limit the bass boom.

Ever hear of MDC stocking largemouths? Of course not.

So...of the 25 bass you'll catch next time out, how many will be "keepers" (that's a bit of a misnomer these days)? My guess is only a couple.

Somehow we've made the mighty bass a hallowed creature, and I don't think that's such a good thing. If you're really and truly worried about reproduction, (1) don't fish for bass during the spawn; target bluegills instead, and (2) urge your lawmakers to follow the northern states' lead, and close the season for ALL gamefish during the spawn. (gasp!)

[Chief Grey Bear]

I would like to respond to a couple of your points:

"Compared to other species, not a lot of bass actually get harvested these days."

Not exactly correct. Most if not all MDC CA's have a slot limit for bass. Wonder why? Over harvest of big bass? That is part of it. Especially in urban areas, most bass caught any where close to legal size get harvested by the "city folk".

"Ever hear of MDC stocking largemouths? Of course not."

Nor have I heard of them stocking any other native species. There is are exceptions though. Spoonbill and Walleye come to mind.

Chief Grey Bear

[gonefishin]

I have heard of them stocking nearly every kind of fish I can think of. Bass, Bluegill, Redear, Channel cat, Spoonbill, Carp of all kinds, Sturgeon........ It would be easier to list the fish they havent stocked and the only one that comes to mind is Gar and I would bet at sometime and someplace, those have been stocked too.

[Hunter91]

I think you can go to the extreme both ways. I agree with PD and selective harvest. Personally, I don't harvest any bass during spawning time but then again I really don't have a problem with someone who does. I harvest a few during the summer because I like to eat bass. There are those who abuse it and catch as many as they can and cut all the heads off. But in my opinion the people who fish the most for bass practice catch and release. I was reading another post about the good ole days and all the bass that were caught and ate. You can't even compare how many bass were harvested when I was in my teens compared to how many are harvested today.( I am really not that old either)

Just my 2 cents.