Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – November 2010

Eufaula: Level: Full pool. Temp: Mid to high 70s. Clarity: Clear to slight stain.

Bass: Good. Capt. Sam Williams said the schooling you’d expect to see this time of year has been sporadic because of the fronts moving through, but the fish are still biting — just not on top. “They’ve gone back to hitting the hard baits,” he said. Sam said the bait is up shallow on the flats off main creek channels, and the bass are in there with them. The best areas have some hydrilla coming up off the bottom. Sam likes to throw an Emerald Strike lipless crankbait in black/pearl or chartreuse sexy shad, and he’s catching some pretty good fish doing it. Also, if you want to slow it down a little, fish the same areas with an Emerald Strike Ringworm in redbug rigged on a Nuckle Ball weedless jig head. Swim it, bounce it off the bottom and rip it through the grass to get bit. If the weather settles down, Sam expects to see the bass schooling on top. Look for the birds, and you’ll find big schools of bass and hybrids pushing bait up onto the flats off the main channels. Sam likes to rig a Pop-R or similar bait to catch numbers of fish busting on top, and he’ll also throw a shallow-running crankbait or lipless crankbait to catch the bigger fish feeding underneath the schoolers.

Catfish: Good. Sam said there’s a good catfish bite going on early and late where the creeks drop off the flats. Cut bait fished on jugs or a rod and reel will work, and cut shad or skipjack should work well.

Crappie: Great. Sam said the crappie are still deep, but they’re biting very well on the drops in 18 to 22 feet of water. He said to throw your jig out, let it sink all the way to the bottom and just work it back in. He likes a 1/16-oz. Nuckle Ball jig head paired with a grub in chartreuse/black, pearl/pepper or pearl/minnow. Tripletails, and paddletails have both been working, and you can tip your jig with a minnow for a little added attraction.