Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – October 2007

Eufaula: Level: 4.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 82 degrees. Clarity: Very clear.

Bass: Tough. “With the water starting to cool, most of the fish have moved slightly shallower since the last report and are being caught in 12-14 feet of water. This is typically one of the toughest times on the lake,” Dr. Tim Malcolm said in mid September following the BFL tournament. “The most reliable pattern on the tournament was fishing irregular features on ledges with Carolina-rigged plum-apple Trick Worms. Some fish were also caught shallow around hydrilla early in the morning and docks or other shallow cover in shade on up in the day. As the water continues to cool, the fish will continue to move shallower and start their fall migration into the creeks and ditches on the flats. This is one of my favorite times of the year. Get your crankbait rod and some Stanford Cedar Shads ready. It’s just around the corner.” Guide Billy Darby agreed, saying the bass fishing has been very slow. “There’s a few bass in hydrilla patches,” Billy said. “They’re up a little shallower.” Try a Bite Me frog or a pearl or watermelon-green Yum Dinger fished without weight in the hydrilla. If the vegetation is sparse enough to fish it, a Pop-R will also catch a few fish. “You can catch a few fish in brushpiles, but nothing of any size,” Billy said. Look for man-made structure in the mouths of the creeks, and use a Texas-rigged curly-tail worm in green pumpkin. The rocks around Lake Point are also holding some small bass right now. Billy suggested a Pop-R to target the fish. “You’ve got to throw it right up on the rocks,” Billy said. “If you miss it by even 18 inches, you won’t get bit. Work it extremely slow; twitch… pause.”

Linesides: Extremely slow. “They have totally disappeared,” Billy said. “They can’t be found anywhere.”
Crappie: Fairly good. Billy said the crappie can be caught fishing brushpiles in 10 to 12 feet of water. They have moved out of the deeper water and are in man-made brushpiles in or near the old creek beds. Fish live minnows dropped directly into the brush.

Catfish: Good. Billy said to fish on the bottom using pond worms or shrimp.