Stockton Lake

About Stockton Lake

Stockton Lake, located in the western part of Missouri, is a 24,900 acre Corps of Engineers lake, created for power generation, flood control, and recreation. Because of the terrain in the area, Stockton Lake offers bluffs and rock banks, along with large flats. With Stockton being positioned north to south, there’s not much cover on the main lake from even mild winds. For this reason, Stockton Lake can be very rough at times.

Stockton Lake is made up of two rivers, the Sac and Little Sac. Both arms are long, and offer deep channels, bluff and rock banks, gravel points, and large flats with flooded cedars. Where the main lake is very clear and windy, the water up in the Sac arms do offer some color and cover.

Stockton Lake offers many recreational opportunities such as fishing, boating, skiing, sailing, scuba diving, camping, golf course, horseback riding, and hiking trails. For water sports, there are plenty of boat ramps around the lake along with three marinas, Orleans Trails, Mutton Creek, and Stockton State Park. All three marinas are full service, and provide fuel, storage, tackle, store, and boat rentals. There are also resorts, motels, restaurants, and shops in the area. For fishing, Stockton Lake offers black bass, crappie, bluegill, white bass, catfish, walleye and muskie. A recent stocking program on Stockton Lake should provide excellent walleye fishing in the future.

Detailed Lake Information:

Type of Lake: Hilland

Average Depth of Lake: 69 feet (est)

**Average Water Temperature:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	45-50 85-89 70 40

Spring Thaw: Does not occur
Fall Turnover: August
* Stockton Lake will freeze over during hard winters.

Heavy Rains: Affects entire lake with the exception of the dam area. The rest of the lake clears up in 2-3 weeks.

**Winds:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Windy-Strong Windy Windy Windy

Detailed Lake Characteristics:

This information describes the makeup of the bottom, shoreline, structure, and water color for various parts of Lake Stockton.

**Dam Area:**
Bottom: Shoreline: Structure: Water Color:	Mud, Rock Rock, Gravel, Bluffs Rocks, Bluffs, Stumps Clear-Stained

**Sac River Arm:**
Bottom: Shoreline: Structure: Water Color:	Mud, Rock, Gravel Rock, Gravel, Bluffs Bluffs, Stumps, Flats Clear-Stained

**Little Sac River Arm:**
Bottom: Shoreline: Structure: Water Color:	Mud, Rock, Gravel Rock, Gravel, Bluffs Bluffs, Stumps, Flats Clear-Stained

Detailed Fishing Information:

Main Forage: Shad

Average time of year when fish spawn:

Bass:
Crappie:
Bluegill:
White Bass:
Catfish:
Walleye:

April-May
April-May
May-June
March-April
June
March

Best baits to use during seasons:

**Bass:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Stickbait Top Water, Plastic Worm Crankbaits Crankbaits, Plastic Worm

**Crappie:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Minnows, Jigs Minnows, Jigs Minnows, Jigs Minnows, Jigs

**Bluegill:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Crickets, Worms Crickets, Worms Crickets, Worms Crickets, Worms

**White Bass:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Jigs, Crankbaits Top Water, Crankbaits Top Water, Jigs Crankbaits

**Catfish:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Crawdad Shad Stinkbait Stinkbait

**Walleye:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Jigs, Crankbaits Jigs, Worms Jigs, Worms Jigs, Worms, Crankbaits

**Muskie:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Jerkbaits, Crankbaits Crankbaits Bucktail Crankbaits Bucktail Crankbaits

**Night Fishing Conditions:**
Spring: Summer: Fall: Winter:	Good Excellent Good Fair

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