Lake Eufaula Fishing Report – October 2008

Eufaula: Level: 0.5 feet below full pool. Temp: 84 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Billy Darby pre-fished with Scott Montgomery for a Sept. 13-14 BFL event, and Scott ended up finishing second with a two-day total of about 27 pounds. The best fish came on a ledge bite. Billy said the 10-12 foot ledges of every major creek channel produced when they were pulling water at the dam. Scott caught his fish on a shad-pattern Bomber crankbait. When they were not pulling water, the bigger fish came off deeper ledges in the 20-foot range. A Carolina-rigged Big Bite curly tail worm in either red shad or tilapia was the ticket for this bite. Good numbers of small fish can be caught pulling big 10-inch worms weightless across the tops of matted or emerging hydrilla, Billy said. It is a pattern very similar to rat fishing, and the best color is red shad. Also for smaller fish, try brushpiles in 10 to 12 feet fished with a 6-inch Big Bite Bio Bait in tilapia color. Use light line and a light lead for this pattern. Capt. Sam Williams said the early morning topwater bite is picking up. His bait of choice is a Big Bite Top Toad because of the lifelike action it has when you pull it over thick hydrilla or pads. When the topwater bite slows, he will go to a 7-inch Mina Lure Spear worm on a Fin-tech stand-up shaky head. He said the bass are still in the heavy cover or on the first drop. You can also find fish around any deep-water structure that is holding bait fish.

Hybrids: Tough, said Tom Shapard. Tom has been trolling river ledges, drop-offs and the humps around the dam using gray crankbaits that get down to about 12 feet with little success. “We can see them on the depthfinder; they’re just not biting,” he said. “My advice would be to stay home.” Billy did say there has been some schooling activity for small hybrids in the 3-lb. range. He said to look for birds and to throw Rooster Tails, small casting spoons or small, shallow-running crankbaits when you find them.

Bream: “Excellent or beyond excellent,” said Billy. He said people are catching bream in abundance off shallow, 8- to 10-foot brushpiles with crickets. Sam said Beetle Spins are working in the same areas.