Lake Eufaula Fishing Report April 2011

Eufaula: Level: Full pool. Temp: Mid 60s. Clarity: Stained to muddy.

Bass: Good and getting better every day, said Sam Williams, of S&K Outdoors in Eufaula. The influx of muddy water has made things a little difficult in the past few days, but Sam said anglers are still able to catch some fish. The buck bass have already moved up on the banks, and the sows should not be too far behind. The best tactics right now in the muddy water is to fish Chatterbaits in white/chartreuse. The bite with a Revere topwater frog is also starting to turn on, and there have been some fish caught on a 6-inch redbug segmented worm. The stain should be perfect in about a week, and Sam said he looks forward to throwing a spinnerbait around.

Crappie: Good. The crappie are moving up and getting shallower every day, said Sam. Right now, the numbers aren’t quite there, but some big slabs are being caught trolling in 8 to 14 feet. A black/chartreuse jig tipped with a minnow seems to be the ticket. The bank anglers are also starting to catch a few fish with minnows, but the night fishing under lights has been better with a vertical-jigging presentation than with just a minnow alone.

Shellcrackers: Good. Believe it or not, there are already some good shellcrackers starting to show up. Sam’s buddy caught a mess of very nice ’crackers recently while fishing around the willows with a worm and a bobber.

Catfish: Decent and picking up, said Sam. “When the gators start moving pretty good, so do the catfish,” he said. He has caught some pretty good messes of catfish jugging ledges and the drops on the creek channels out in the river. Rod-and-reel anglers have been catching fish dropping lines to the bottom in the same areas. The best baits have been cut bluegills or shad, chicken livers and beef livers. In the next month, the fish should start moving up onto the shallow flats.