couple things I have noticed on stockton

[beagle man]

first the shad have done it again, great spawn, small,med,large shad everywhere,
second, the small crappie are huge. I measured 56 crappie friday and all were between 9and 10in just not quite 10 so over the side they go, and not hard, easy don't want to stunn them,
second again== the small fish were weighing between 10 and 12oz. thats pretty darn fat for short fish, now I know my little rapala scale is not certified but heck it cant be that far off.

second again, I have noticed the fish are in a feeding pattern liken to fall, scatterd out in deep creek channels, moving in and out of the creek. guess the cool weather has them kinda mixed up, and I think that is good. get a bunch of weight on them before the big winter feed rush, BUZZY and I were talking earlier this year and was wondering if a 2 or 3 lber would come off stockton this year, we say yes it will and I hope one of the dot commers gets it. dont remember a year when the short fish were so heavy, these fish are darn good lookin, good color,no fungus, and fight like a big fish, I had sever come clear out of the water and jump like a like a heck cant bring myself to compare a crappie to a green carp, opps just did, just thought I would share, oh jig color didn't matter and the fish were caught in all areas, bridge piers,trees,flats,drop offs, boat docks and a couple on brush piles, the brush was the slowest. luck everyone

[buzzmanmo]

Thank you mr. beagle.

[mduncan62]

Beagle, I've kind of noticed the same thing off and on on Truman. Interesting how they do that. Last Monday on the Osage, they seemed to be hanging in the shad pretty deep.

[WantinCrappie]

Just got done making my post about fishing Stockton today and then read this Michael. I made almost the exact same comment about the size of the small fish I have been catching. They do look very healthy to me also. Should be good next year. Thanks for the post. Interesting comments.

[FROSTY]

Thanks for the info, Professor!
Those are all things I would never look for. Just wouldn't cross my mind.
One thing for sure....If I measured 56 fish and were all short....Several might make a little more than a SPLASH!

[kazualobzerver]

Beagle, from what a Stockton fishing friend is telling me a big percentage of the sub legal fish he is catching right now are black crappie. I always felt blacks are generally more likely to be heavy shouldered and broader than a white crappie at that size. And they tend to be more spunky. Personally I think a black crappie 10-12 inches long is a better eating fish than a white of the same size but sure not everyone would agree. Stockton is the lake to watch the next couple of years. Just my opinion.

[drfishjd]

I'll bet those shad stuffed crappie were really slimy too, weren't they?  They really get gooey when they're wolfing down those shad.

[old fuzzy]

Nice Report And Obversation,,,mr.beagleman Looks Like Next Year Should Be Interesting Down There

[Pole Bender]

Good bit of information Beagle, I have noticed the same thing and commented on it several times. I think this winter fishing is going to be awsome!

[Bigby]

Truman Lake had a great hatch of shad this year, last night the top of the water was covered with them.