Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – February 2010

Eufaula: Level: 0.8 feet above full pool. Temp: 38-45 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Slow. Anthony Goggins reports, “The fish are holding shallow, as usual, although some are holding deep. Some can be found schooled up in the pockets off the main lake where they prefer to do their spawning. They will begin to bite spinnerbaits and topwater more as the water begins to warm. Eufaula is still averaging well over 15 pounds a day in tournaments. The water level has been fluctuating up and down about a foot during the week. Lots of the good spots to fish are guarded by armed duck hunters. When the water hits around 50 to 60 in the next few months, focus shallow with Terry Bowden’s Cold Steel Walking Stick or topwater frog, which always catches me a good sack in the spring.” Stephen McCord said the fish are super lethargic in these cold water temperatures, but having taken second in a recent tournament, he seems to have them figured out as well as anyone right now. He’s fishing the deep docks right now, in 12 to 18 feet of water as close as he can find them to the river channel. The fish are schooled up around bait, and once he finds them he’ll settle down on them to try and fill his limit. Start by searching under docks and around posts with a spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait. For search baits, Stephen likes an Xcalibur Xr75 in the Tennessee shad color for his rattling bait and a chartreuse/white or solid white spinnerbait with double, gold willowleaf blades. He’ll fish the spinnerbait all the way on the bottom just as slow as he can roll it, and he’ll yo-yo the Xr75 waiting for the strike while it flutters to the bottom. If he catches a fish, he’ll slow down and hit the dock about five more times. If he catches another, he’ll settle in and really pound it with either a worm or a jig. He likes a 1/4- or 3/16-oz. Texas rig so it will sink slow and stay in the strike zone. Terry Bowden’s Lizard Worm in pumpkin chartreuse or a 10-inch Zoom worm in red-shad green are both good worms to try. For the jig, stick with black/blue, and go with a 3/8- or 3/16-oz. Arkie or football head. Locate the baitfish and fish, and concentrate on the brush you find. As the water begins to warm in February, it’ll be time to start looking for prespawn fish and maybe some early bedding fish, said Stephen. Then it’ll be time to fish the points and secondary points with a Carolina rig, a jig or a Texas rig. The Xr75 will also come into play very heavily as the fish get more active.