Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – April 2008

Eufaula: Level: Full pool. Temp: High 50s in the mornings, climbing to the mid 60s by late in the afternoons. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Excellent. There are bass in all stages of the spawn, according to Randy Tharp of Gardendale, Ala., who won a new boat with a first-place finish in the Sten Series tournament at Eufaula the weekend before last. “There are lots of bass that have already spawned, lots still spawning and lots still prespawn,” said Randy. “There are so many bass shallow — that’s what I keyed on all week. I caught some on the lower end sight fishing.” Randy was fishing a green-pumpkin Zoom Critter Craw and a watermelon lizard on the beds. Wind and fishing pressure caused Randy to leave the bedding bass and head up the lake. “Up the lake I caught most of them swimming a jig or fishing a spinnerbait. I was keying on what I call gator grass, it’s green, thin, viney. That, and where I could find little clumps of hydrilla just out from the gator grass. I’d swim the jig out to the hydrilla and just kill it.” Randy was using a 3/8-oz. Hawg Caller spinnerbait, and his jig was a white homemade jig with a white Zoom twin-tail trailer. Look for a good topwater bite to get started in the next few weeks for postspawn bass in and around the grassbeds and wood cover. Try a buzzbait or Bang-O-Lure. When the sun is up and bright, try medium-running crankbaits and Carolina-rigged worms on main-lake ditches and points for postspawn bass.

Hybrids: Fair. The hybrids are thick in the shad right now, and it’s hard to pull them out when they have so much to eat, guide Billy Darby said. However, April is a good time to run humps and ridges with 3- to 4-inch curly tails on 1/4- to 3/8-oz. jig heads. With the stain, chartreuse colors will work best.

Shellcracker: Coming soon. Billy said to look for the shellcracker to go on the beds about April 20. He said to sight fish for the beds, then back off of them as far as possible to avoid spooking the fish. Use 4-lb. test with a No. 4 hook weighted with split shot. Drag a wiggler along the bottom and into the beds.