Tempting the Delta V for a Bass.

[jdmidwest]

Spur of the moment trip, searching for a motel near Stockton Lake.  Travel advisory, Covid is rampant and attacking all tourists.  Goofy internet  messages.

Made it to Masters at 6 pm on Friday and started hitting a few spots.  Found a working bunch of white bass and dropped a spoon below a bait ball to pick out a couple before dark.  Otherwise, pretty dead, but wonderful afternoon.

 

Short nap at the Hoot Owl Motel in town and off to the ramp at the Marina by the town at 5 am.  We fished the dam up to Googer Creek under Heavy cloud cover and threatening skies.  Goofy system churning and looked like would drop all morning.  Rain started falling around 10 at the State Park point on way back but we kept fishing.  Got heavy and thunder started rolling, we pulled out and had lunch in town.  Drove over to State Park and dumped back in at 1pm and fished till 6 when fresh storms came rolling in again.  Several shorts, a couple of big blue gills on cranks.  Nothing really produced on Sat, pretty disappointed and arm sore.

 

Sunday morning broke foggy and we left Boliver and headed to Ruark Bluff and dumped in.  Largemouth were hitting good around the bridge piers on Soft Plastics.  Huge bait balls all around on down scan.  Steady fish, better than Sat.  We found a pattern and I found my sweet spot.  We went up river along the channel and hit the bluff walls and timber.  Its a narrow river channel and I am not really sold on Lake Maps to keep me in the channel.  Gets a little spooky running up there with all the trees sticking up.  A few showers rolled thru, but we boated about 25 green bass with a 3 lb as best fish on a worm.  Best looking part of the lake I had been on for what I like to do.  The Flash Flooding from Sat nite had not really made its way into the lake while we were there.  All rivers blown out till we came back into Rolla.  Storms dumped a bunch of rain. 

 

A little rain and seventy degree temps on a mid July weekend really goof things up.  But overall good trip.  A little rainbow by Fort Wood to brighten up a damp day.

[Flysmallie]

Cool pics. I used to have that timber up there really figured out. Loved taking my buddies flying up through there 60 or 70 mph. 

[jdmidwest]

7 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

Cool pics. I used to have that timber up there really figured out. Loved taking my buddies flying up through there 60 or 70 mph. 

Yep, lots of big flat water with trees under the surface. I would have been ok in my Tracker aluminum boat.  My buddy got spooked running his 21'Triton glass boat.

Navionics maps are fair, but have lots of variances.  We switched to Active Scan and found the channel to be in a completely different place.

[Dutch]

I never try to run the channel.  I run the fields and can skirt the channel bends on the outside.

[Flysmallie]

I'm sure it would be pretty slow going for me nowadays. Sure is some good fishing up in that area. 

[jdmidwest]

Second time on the lake.  We spent a few days at Mt Carmel Inn a few years ago in the fall and fished out of State Park Marina in the Tracker.  Trailered the boat to Greenfield and put in upper arm there above where we were Sunday and played with the shad feed.  Had several walleye and white bass in the big water out of State Park.

My buddy was hitting the walleye early this spring and tried to do it again on Friday nite and Sat.  I coaxed him into the bass mode Sunday up there for a little action.

The goofy swirling storms we have suffered thru this spring have the fish all messed up.  I think there were 2 low fronts in MO on Sat.  I did not expect much at all and ended up a fair trip.

[jdmidwest]

12 hours ago, Dutch said:

I never try to run the channel.  I run the fields and can skirt the channel bends on the outside.

 Kept marking timber standing and down all over the place.  Could not tell if the open areas were old fields or stump yards.  Navionics does not bring alot of it out in detail.  But water appeared to be a few feet higher than normal.

[Dutch]

8 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

 Kept marking timber standing and down all over the place.  Could not tell if the open areas were old fields or stump yards.  Navionics does not bring alot of it out in detail.  But water appeared to be a few feet higher than normal.

It has been up all year.  It’s about 3’ high right now.  I don’t normally go up there except spring and fall looking for whites and eyes.  With the resurgence of whites at Pomme de Terre I may skip Stockton this fall.  I need some fillets for the freezer.

[jdmidwest]

I wanted to hit Pomme one day, but we stayed on Stockton.  Probably hit Pomme this fall.

[Dutch]

4 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

I wanted to hit Pomme one day, but we stayed on Stockton.  Probably hit Pomme this fall.

Have you been to Pomme de Terre?