Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – March 2008

Eufaula: Level: 0.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 50-57 degrees and changing a lot throughout the day depending on weather. Clarity: Stained, with the clearest water on the main lake and in short pockets.

Bass: Tournament angler and national collegiate champ Anthony Goggins said the big female largemouths and small male bass are moving shallow preparing to bed. “The clearer and shallower the water, the warmer and more fish it will be holding,” Anthony said. “You can also catch some fish still moving into the shallow areas off of secondary points going into their bedding areas.” He recommends a chartreuse-white Booyah spinnerbait with Colorado blades or an XCalibur Xr50 Rattle Bait in oxbow or crawfish colors. “These baits are working well for covering water while trying to find the warmest water possible,” Anthony said. “Once the warmest water is found, try a Booyah jig in and around the flooded cover. As we move into March, fish will be on bed and shallow. Try swimming a jig around flooded brush or a frog in the grass. Many of the females will be laying or moving up to lay.” Guide Billy Darby said the biggest females on the lake are in dead-water sloughs cruising where they are not exposed to as much runoff, and the males should move in any day now and start fanning out beds. Billy and clients caught several large bass in the 5- to 8-lb. range recently fishing spinnerbaits near vegetation or tree roots on the banks. Billy prefers a Strike King Edge Buster in white with a little chartreuse. He likes gold, double-willowleaf blades. A little later in the month, you should be able to catch them on a Big Bite Top Toad fished around grass and emerging vegetation. For those bedding fish, Billy likes to throw a Big Bite ribbon-tail worm past the beds. He will drag the Texas-rigged or weightless worm back into the bed and let it sit. For better visibility, he throws a pearl-colored worm. “Please return spawning bass back into the area it was caught,” Billy said. “If you disturb a spawning fish and move it a long way, it will abort the eggs.”

Hybrids: Good. “By the full moon in March, hybrids should be spawning on the ridges and can be caught trolling lipless crankbaits, Mann’s 10+ Stretch baits in shad colors or lead heads with shad-tail or curly tail grubs,” Billy said. The fish will be on the ridges in 10 to 15 feet of water near the creek or river channels.

Crappie: Good. Right now the fish are staging in brushpiles and on the creek ledges and can be caught with minnows fished under a cork. Also look for crappie concentrating around submerged bridges and old bridge abutments in creeks like Pataula, White Oak, Thomasville or other similar areas. “Expect a really good crappie run about a week before the full moon in March,” Billy said. “Troll Hal Flys and jigs on flats from 10 feet up to about 4 feet of water in some areas.”