Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – February 2009

Eufaula: Level: 0.8 feet above full pool. Temp: degrees. Clarity: Muddy.

Bass: Good. Guide Billy Darby said the spooning bite should be going on right now, and it should produce through the month of February whenever there is a cold snap. Find fish on the humps and ledges in about 12 to 16 feet of water, and drop a chrome spoon to them. Billy likes a 3/4-oz. spoon in water shallower than 15 feet, but he goes with a heavier 1- to 1 1/2-oz. spoon in deeper water. As February progresses, the biggest fish in the lake are going to spawn first,” Billy said. “If there’s lots of cold weather and wind, it’ll probably be the new moon (at the end of the month). The fish will be looking for the warmest water they can find.” Look around vegetation. The sunny, wind-protected corners of dead-water sloughs warm up the quickest. You can catch these big cruising bass on a spinnerbait, and they’ll also take a jerkbait or a swimbait. Billy likes to fish a Big Bite Trick Stick jerkbait, and he suggested a Big Bite Swim Minnow or Super Shad for swimbaits. Good colors are dark pumpkin and pearl. He said a little chartreuse helps in stained water. Toward the end of February, if the water temps get into the 60s, Billy said to expect a frog bite in emerging vegetation. A buzzbait is also a good bet for this bite.

Hybrids: Good. Billy said the hybrids are on the deeper ledges in the main lake. Deep creek channels or river ledges in 16 to 20 feet of water adjacent to very deep water are the ticket. Also, humps that come up to 18 to 25 feet out of very deep water will hold some fish.“You’ve got to use your electronics to find schools of feeding fish,” Billy said. “Catch ’em on jigging spoons.” As temperatures warm, try trolling the same areas with a Mann’s 10, 15 or 20+ in Gray Ghost. The fish will move progressively shallower with the warming water, and by the end of the month they could start showing up on the sandbars and shallow humps.

Crappie: Good. February is a good month to catch slab crappie, Billy said. “The biggest crappie in the lake will be in shallow water,” he said. They can be caught on 1/16-oz. curly tail jigs fished around brushpiles or any other structure in 4 to 6 feet of water. “If you can find a concentration of them, dangle a minnow to them,” Billy said. Slow troll Hal Flies and minnow-tipped jigs in the same depths. During a cold spell, back off to ledges that drop from 6 to 8 feet into 12 or 15 feet of water, and fish live minnows.