Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – November 2008

Eufaula: Level: 1.3 feet above full pool. Temp: Mid to high 70s. Clarity: Crystal clear.

Bass: Slow. Guide Billy Darby said the fish are in their fall transition period right now. He said they are scattered and hard to pattern. “This time of year, if you try to go fishing after these first major fronts come through, you’re in trouble,” he said. “You just ain’t going to catch none.” Right now, Billy said you can catch a few fish early fishing frogs in the grass, but after that “you should just go home.” Once the lake begins to stabilize, and the fish move up into the creeks on their fall pattern, small crankbaits on the shallow ledges should be the ticket. Billy likes to fish a crankbait that runs about 12 feet deep and has a tight wobble. A Rat-L-Trap or a Cedar Shad should work well. Light line, down to 8-lb. test, is important in the crystal-clear water, Billy said. The frog bite should also pick up as the lake and weather stabilize.

Linesides: Slow. “It’s kind of like the economy,” said angler Tom Shapard. “It’s got to get better.” Tom said he has been picking up a few good-sized stripers and hybrids trolling big 7-inch Yozuris over the edge of the river channel. He said the fish are suspended in 25 feet of water, but they are scattered and hard to catch. As the water temperature drops, he’s hoping the linesides will move up on the flats in 12 to 15 feet or shallower and school up. When they do that, catching them is a matter of trolling Rat-L-Traps or other similar crankbaits through them or catching them feeding on the surface and casting anything resembling a shad to them. Tom said he hasn’t seen any birds or surface-schooling activity at all.

Crappie: Slow. Tom said he’s waiting on the water temperature to drop for the crappie bite to pick up, as well. He said the fishing should get good when the temperature drops to about 68-70 degrees. When that happens, the fish will move up into the creeks, and they can be caught on brushpiles or in the evening around lighted docks in 6-10 feet of water. Tom likes fishing minnows, but the jig-trolling bite should also turn on.