August 8, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

August 8, 2007 Stockton Lake Fishing Report

The majority of my guided trips have been late afternoon til around midnight. This includes all species that I guide for (walleye, bass, white bass, crappie, catfish). Not only is the fishing better for the fish at this time, it is also better for the fisherman. The past few days with the heat index of 105 or more, has been somewhat trying for the fisherman. Therefore, the information given in this report will center around the hours that I have stated above.

Walleye: a few walleye are being caught around the dam by bottom bouncing jig and minnow combinations and also crawler harnesses. The fish spend most of their time around the thermocline (which is approximately 22 feet deep) following the shad. Slow trolling is the best way to locate these fish because of their continuous movement. About sundown, troll crank baits or crawler harnesses across the main lake points that lead to the river channel. This not only includes the area around the dam, but any main points on the lake that have this feature. We have caught several walleye on what is called the flats, just north of the Mutton Creek marina. Fish will come up more shallow as the sun goes down, and can be caught by throwing white or chartreuse jigs or Cast Master type spoons. When the sun goes down, you should be able to troll across these flats with minnow type crank baits or shad imitators like Shad Raps. The majority of the fish should be legal (15” and up). The key bit of advice that I can give you now is cover a lot of water and keep your eye on your electronics. And bring mosquito repellent…those little buggers are everywhere.

Crappie: Take your night light, tie to a bridge pillar (one closest to the shore) or anchor next to a crappie bed and you should catch fish. Minnows either under a slip bobber or fished vertically is the presentation. You can find fish off of secondary point brush piles; this is where your bigger fish will be caught. There is very little wind after dark, therefore boat positioning is not a problem. Birch Branch is producing fish, as well as Price Branch and the Turkey Creek arm of the lake in the timber.

Largemouth Bass: Spinner baits, jigs or worms are the most consistent along the bluffs. Keep a top water bait tied on, because for the last week, every evening, the largemouth have been hitting the shad, particularly off of the points that connect to these bluffs. Top water bite has not been great, but my clients have caught fish off of clear top water lures such as Zara Spooks, Torpedoes or Devil Horse type baits. Less color seems to be more attractive to the fish…make as much commotion as you can. Not only do these baits simulate the shad, but they also simulate feeding bass. It appears this technique works well because if bass feel that other bass are feeding, they will be more stimulated to do the same. So much bait means you have to do something out of the ordinary to get their attention. The majority of your strikes will come when your bait is sitting still after a lot of commotion. Crank bait bite has been hit and miss, and I think the reason for this is there is so much bait the fish are not willing to chase down a fast moving crank bait. Numbers of fish can be caught from 5-10 feet deep along the brushy shores and the bigger fish are a little deeper (around the 20 foot mark) off of main lake points. Your jigs will work well here, as well as the old reliable plastic worms. If you fish after dark, bigger is better, particularly with your worms. A 12 inch worm is not too big. In most situations, the fish locates the bait with his lateral line and vision is utilized only at the last instant. For example, I use Colorado blade spinner baits after dark because they put off more vibration than the slender willow leaf blades. Actually, bass fishing has been quite good for the last two weeks.

Blue gill: Any brushy cove that has deep water (30-35 feet) will produce big blue gill. Night crawlers, red worms, or crickets fished under a bobber in around 10-12 feet of water will catch blue gill. Chicken Rock is a good place to start, along with the coves around the Twin Bridges.

White bass have been slow, but the fish that are caught will be deep off main lake points by trolling small deep diving crank baits.

Channel cats: Hawker Cove, Old State Park, Crabtree Cove are just a few places channel cat action has been hot. A variety of baits work well…anything from chicken hot dogs to night crawlers. For those of you who don’t know what a chicken hot dog is, it is a cheap wienie made with chicken meat and all of the leftovers from any other kind of “meat” they add. The fish like the chicken hot dogs better than the expensive beef hot dogs. Beef hot dogs are wienies made with beef, not chicken. Evidently there has been some confusion about this. When we refer to a hot dog, we are actually speaking of only the wienie component. Another bit of information: chop the wienie in ½ inch sections. Don’t use the whole wienie. And PLEASE don’t use the bun with relish, onions and mustard because it all slings off when you try to cast. And besides, we don’t want fish with bad breath. That is not environmentally sound and I don’t need Al Gore down here giving me a lecture.

Marty Thompson

Thompson Fishing Guide Service

www.fishstockton.com

417-424-BASS

[adjust555]

Lover your reports. Been tide to the closest pier for acouple months. the past 3 weeks all i have been catching is white bass, lots of them and a few channel cats. No crappie. Did they move?

[Thompson Fishing Guide Service]

Thanks for your energy and for reading my fishing report. I try to be as honest as I can be...I can't tell you exactly where to go because I am sure a whole lot of people are reading this response, but cruise the main lake points around the dam with your sonar and you should find crappie in around 25-30 feet of water.

[adjust555]

Thanks for the quick response. Understand your point. Just wanted to help and recieve some help,

Vince