Missouri Lakes Fishing Report

Lake - Stockton 06/20/07

Walleye fishing has been fairly consistent from the 215 bridge both north to the dam and in the northeast arm towards State Park. Use your electronics to scope out the main lake points and troll crank baits such as Wiggle Warts or small Bombers and Big Os. It seems the fat bodied lures like these are the best. Experiment with color, but shad colors seem to be the most consistent. You will need to troll these lures at the depth that you scope the fish. If the fish are real deep, you’ll need down riggers or a weighted system (maybe someday someone will invent a sinking deep diver).

You need to cover a lot of water and you need to realize that these fish will turn on and turn off like a light switch. That’s why we LOVE walleye. Late in the evening til about 10 or 11 at night seems to be productive also in these same areas. Fish are being caught around the twin bridges at the south end of the lake according to information I have received from other fishermen. Jigs and minnows will work well too when you find the fish. Use a heavy enough jig to keep your bait as vertical as possible.
Crappie: my clients have been catching crappie off of deep (25-35 feet) cover/structure on secondary lake points.

This is as far as I will go with this information, but I will tell you this: when you find these areas, troll about 1.5 mph with small deep diver crank baits and you’ll catch BIG crappie. I don’t waste time on the marked crappie beds because they get beat to death. Guide’s tip: remember, to catch big fish, you have to fish where big fish live.
In the same areas, hold over the spot and use a ¼ oz jig and minnow combination. Try some night fishing under a crappie light.

Largemouth bass: with rising water, bass will be scattered along the shore and just off of the shore. Early and late try fishing a floating worm. Texas rig it with no weight, throw it out with a spinning outfit, and let it SLOWLY sink down into the brush. I have caught big fish this way…you will too if you know what you are doing. Do the jig thing on secondary points. A technique that I use is to throw out a ¼ oz or ½ oz jig in 15 feet of water, let it sink, and jerk the jig off of the bottom, then let it fall back again. Keep your line semi tight, and your eyes open. Most of your strikes will come when the jig stops at the top of the jerk or when it is falling. Flipping and pitching has been providing action early and late in your deeper coves. Top water action has been fair in the same areas (deeper coves), particularly on cloudy days.

I would fish the area around Cedar Ridge boat ramp. Spinner baits are good one day, and crank baits are good one day; you’ll have to experiment. The bass (like walleye and crappie) have been difficult to pattern this season due in part to consistent heavy rains and the resulting rising water. Do the drop shot rig on the rocks around Cedar Ridge and you will catch fish if you know what you are doing. If you don’t know what you are doing, you need to contact me and I will lead you and guide you into the wonderful world of drop shotting or any other technique you want to learn.

White bass: no real consistent top water action as of yet, but we are catching fish deep trolling small crank baits (just like for crappie and walleye) across main lake points.
You need to get down deeper than your deep diving crank baits will go, so you need to put on a weight system. White bass have been hit or miss, but the ones we have caught have been in the 3 pound class. Or try vertical spoon jigging through the fish that you spot off the main lake points with your sonar.

Marty Thompson
Thompson Fishing Guide Service
www.fishstockton.com
417-424-BASS