Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – May 2008

Eufaula: Level: Full pool. Temp: 73-77 degrees. Clarity: Lightly stained.

Bass: Hit or miss. Guide Billy Darby said the postspawn fish should be moving back out to deeper water very soon. Look for them on the shallower ledges, structure and brushpiles in 10 to 15 feet of water. Throw crankbaits that run in the 10- to 15-foot range, and fish them slowly until the water temperatures reach about 80 degrees. Then you can speed up with your retrieve. A Mann’s 15+ in gray ghost is a proven producer. Carolina-rigged worms should be effective around stumps and ledges, and a Texas rig is a good bet around the brushpiles. Billy said green pumpkin and pearl shad are good colors to try. The males are still shallow guarding fry, and Billy said there is a good topwater bite for them. Try a Big Bite Top Toad or a Pop-R. Also, a Strike Zone Edge Buster spinnerbait is effective around deeper grass beds and cypress roots.

Crappie: Poor. Billy said this spring has been the worst ever for crappie. He said the daytime bite is pretty much non-existent, but that you can catch a few at night.
Linesides: Poor. This time of year, the hybrids should be in the mouths of the creeks hitting 3-inch curly tail jigs and lipless crankbaits. Lemon chiffon and key lime pie are good colors. Look for the birds.

Bream: Very good. Shellcrackers should be bedding on the new moon the first week of May, and the rest of the bream should bed the week before the full moon in May. “We caught 70 bream last Friday,” said Billy on April 21. “It was the biggest 70 bream I’ve ever caught on this lake.” Many of the bream are in the 3/4-lb. range, and he caught one shellcracker that weighed a pound. Find dead-water sloughs with grass and work the grasslines for shellcrackers with wigglers in less than 4 feet of water. Moccasin Slough and the back ends of Thomasville and Sandy creeks are good spots to look. Bream can be found bedding against still seawalls and around cypress roots