Lake Eufaula Bass On All Phases Of March Spawn

Ethan Green was born to fish, and Lake Eufaula is home. Eufaula is where he guides and does very well in tournaments when he’s not fishing the major circuits like the MLF.

If you head to Eufaula in March, think spawning areas. Even this early in the spring there will be some bass on the beds, and some bass will be postspawn, and some bass will still be staging prespawn. So, it’s clear that focusing on spawning areas will put you on Eufaula’s late February and March bass.

Lake Eufaula is called “The Bass Capitol of the World” for good reason. For decades it has turned out not just great catches of quality bass, but also local lure developers and manufacturers that have set industry standards.

It is hard to find a weekend day, especially in the spring, without a huge bass tournament out of Lakepoint State Park. The lake is big, with 46,000 acres of water on the Chattahoochee River and several big creeks.

The 640 miles of shoreline at Eufaula are lined with reeds and grassbeds that bass love, and channel ledges on the lake are legendary for holding schools of big bass. Bass spawn in depths ranging from those shallow grassbeds to deeper water around brush, and March is a key month for catching them.

Ethan Green grew up fishing tournaments with his dad, winning a tournament when he was 10 years old. That fired him up for tournament fishing. After fishing on the Eufaula High School bass team, he started a guide service and began fishing bigger tournaments.

Ethan is now fishing the MLF Toyota Series (all three divisions), plus BFLs, ABAs and the ABT 100. Last year he was fourth in the MLF Angler of the Year standings, earning a check in each MLF tournament of the season. Ethan compares that to his first year when he did not get a check.

Bass fishing is Ethan’s passion, and he had planned on being a professional tournament fisherman since winning that tournament with his dad. He spends a lot of time on the water and has learned Eufaula well.

“Bass spawn a lot earlier than most folks realize,” Ethan said.

For that reason, he starts concentrating on spawning areas in late January when longer days start pushing the bass toward them. Bass want to be close to the shallow grass flats for bedding as soon as everything gets right.

Some of the shallow backouts will jump 10 degrees on a sunny, calm day. But temperatures drop just as fast. Three days before Ethan took me out, he had caught some nice bass in the 60-plus-degree water in the back of some spawning coves.

It had dropped drastically by the time we fished, and the bass backed out. You have to be flexible. If the  bass pull back, they will still be close, holding on shallow brush on humps and points waiting on the right time to go extremely shallow. Ethan concentrates on shallow, protected spawning areas and any wood cover nearby.

Those shallow flats will reach spawning temperatures of 65 to 66 degrees and stay there in early March. That is when many bass will spawn. Ethan says he thinks temperature plays a much more important role in the spawn than the full moon.

Ethan says he needs only five baits for March fishing, and two of them do most of the work. He will have a bladed jig and a stick bait ready to cast shallow. For bass holding off the shallows, a jerkbait and mid-depth crankbait gets them to bite. And he will always have a frog tied on, just in case.

We fished the following 10 spots in early February right after a short warm spell ended with bluebird skies and cold wind. That set the bass back a little, but things change fast, so be prepared.

No. 1: N 31º 52.809 – W 85º 06.947 — On the Georgia side just downstream of the railroad causeway is one of the best spawning pockets on the lake. The pocket used to be choked with lily pads since the hard bottom is the kind of places pads grow and where bass spawn, but spraying by the corps has killed almost all the pads all over the lake.

An old ditch runs in right beside the point on the downstream side of the cove, and the railroad rip-rap runs in on the upstream side. There is a small ditch coming out of the back of the pocket. Ethan starts just inside the point on the downstream side and fishes around to the ditch. He says that side seems to be better—for some reason he does not catch fish on the rip-rap side.

Keep your boat out from the grass that lines the edges of the cove, and cast a bladed jig ahead of you, working it along the grass edge. Ethan likes a 1/2-oz. shad-colored ChatterBait Elite Evo, and he fishes it steadily, with hard jerks to pull it free of any grass it hits.

Work all the way around the cove, going back as shallow as you can get your boat. Try your stick bait here, too.

This place is better, as are others like it, if the lake is full, not dropping. If you aren’t kicking up sand, you are too deep!

Ethan had caught a nice bass or two here three days before we fished it, but the water had dropped from about 61 down to 50. That makes the bass pull out and makes them tougher to catch. As we left and went toward the small boat cut in the causeway, Ethan spotted some bass cruising out in the flat and holding on brush there but could not get them to hit. Check out that area if the water level or temperature is dropping.

No. 2: N 31º 52.305 – W 85º 06.870 — Go under the railroad causeway, through the little boat cut if you are willing, and go down the rip-rap toward the Georgia side. Start fishing where the first clump of reeds is on the rip-rap in the edge of the water about 100 yards from the corner. Bass use the rip-rap as a pathway when moving in to spawn in the corner—and when moving back out postspawn.

Keep your boat out about 50 feet from the edge of the rocks. Grass comes out under the water here. Make angled casts to the edge of the shoreline to either rocks or weeds, and fish your bladed jig back all the way to the boat, fishing steady with jerks to clear grass from the hook.

If the bass don’t seem to want to chase the bladed jig or if they are buried down in the grass, Ethan rigs a black-and-blue Senko weightless and pitches it to the edge of the grass or into holes in it. Let it sink to the bottom and then tighten your line carefully. If your line goes straight, it’s worth setting the hook! If you play “touchy feelie” with the bass, they will usually feel you first!

Fish as shallow as you can get in the corner, going in behind the grass. Work all edges and holes with the Senko and run your bladed jig along any edges and through cuts in the grass. Ethan says bass will be very shallow this time of year.

No. 3: N 31º 52.305 – W 85º 06.844 — Go back under the causeway and head down past the mouth of Tobannnee Creek and the cut downstream of it. Just past the narrow cut is a round bay that does not go back far. It is an old pond that is full of grass, and it is a location where plenty of bass spawn.

The downstream point runs way out with small trees on it. Start just inside the upstream point and work to the back of the cove where a ditch comes in. Stay way off the bank—you will be in only a couple feet of water a long cast from the edge. Fish quickly but carefully.

Also watch for grass completely under the water. Ethan likes a slight stain in the water, it warms faster and the fish are not as spooky as in very clear water. But backouts like the back of hole 1 and way back in the corner here both get very clear as the grass filters the mud out. If stained, cast to any dark spots you see.

No. 4: N 31º 52.210 – W 85º 06.786 — Ease around the long, shallow, downstream point of hole 3 and start fishing just inside it. Ahead of you the bank curves around to a higher bank, and there is a house with a long walkway coming down to a dock. Fish from the point to the dock.

Keep your boat a long cast off the bank since grass underwater well off the bank holds fish this time of year. Run your bladed jig trying to hit any grass in the area. Watch for any clumps of grass off the bank. They are key holding spots. Never go by a clump of Eufaula grass in March without hitting it with your bladed jig and Senko.

No. 5: N 31º 51.195 – W 85º 17.120 — Going downstream the Georgia bank flattens out, and then a higher bluff-type bank starts. A small creek enters the lake right at the start of the higher bank and there is grass in the creek mouth. The creek looks fairly big on maps, but it is very silted in—you can fish only the grass in its mouth.

Start at the last of the grass at the higher bank and work upstream, fishing all the grass for about 100 yards. Work as far back as you can and cast all the way back. You may be able to see bass move, but they will hold tight against clumps of reeds and under the primrose beds that line the bank in many areas.

Ethan usually keeps moving fairly fast, looking for active prespawn and postspawn feeding bass while casting his bladed jig. But he always looks for bass on the bed and can catch them on the Senko even if he has to come back to one after spooking it.

Ethan says if the sun is bright and has been out a while, he will fish in the grass with his Senko and even try a frog if the water is warmer than 60 degrees. But in water below 60 degrees, he concentrates on the grass edges.                                                                      

No. 6: N 31º 50.707 – W 85º 09.341 — Going into Barbour Creek, watch for a danger marker on your left almost halfway to the bridge. It sits way off the bank at the mouth of a small ditch entering from that side. It marks a hump on the end of a big flat point that runs out to the creek.

Find brush in 20 feet of water coming up to about 12 feet deep. Bass will hold here both prespawn and postspawn. Make long casts with a crankbait that runs 10 to 12 feet deep— like a shad-colored DT 10 or 14—and try to tick the tops of the brush. Also work a jerkbait over it if the water has decent visibility.

Forward-facing sonar will tell you if the bass are on brush like this and how they react to your bait. It can be a big help, but it can also make you spend way too much time trying to make fish bite that you see but that aren’t feeding.

No. 7: N 31º 50.951 – W 85º 09.538 — Go in toward the ditch on the bank and stop on the upstream point of the ditch. There is a green house here, and rip-rap lines the edge of the water. There are grass clumps and beds in the water where bass spawn along this bank.

Fish from the point to the first dock upstream, staying way off the bank. A shallow ditch runs along this bank, giving a little deeper trail for bass to follow in to spawn. Work your bladed jig and stick bait through all the grass from the edge out to your boat a long cast from the bank.

No. 8: N 31º 51.545 – W 85º 09.301 — Going up Barbour Creek,  there’s an island just off the right bank before you get to the bridge and ramp. Go in behind the island to the shoreline bank and start fishing into the pocket behind the island.

This protected pocket is a great spawning area and holds lots of bass. Fish your ChatterBait and Senko around and through all the grass. Watch your temperature. If it is above 60 degrees, it is worth casting a frog into the grass. Ethan likes a natural red Spro Popping Frog.

No. 9: N 31º 51.618 – W 85º 09.439 — If the lake is full, you can go through the saddle between the main island and the long point coming off the bank with your trolling motor. The island and point almost join. There is grass in the water here. Ethan says the area from the saddle to the island is a place “you are gonna get bit.”

Fish your baits around all grass out to the creek end of the island. Water is a little deeper here, and bass will stage here to move behind the island to spawn, but some bass spawn here, too. Fish it carefully.

No. 10: N 31º 51.479 – W 85º 09.587 — Go across to the other side of the creek to the bluff bank with houses on it that is downstream of the bridge. Out about even with a small white dock, there is a point that runs out to the old channel, and it is loaded with brush to fish.

The top of the brush is 12 to 14 feet deep, and it holds both prespawn and postspawn bass. Stay well off the brush and work your crankbait and jerkbait over it. Ethan likes a bone-colored Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait. Try different cadences until the bass tell you what they want.

The first five holes can be hard to get to and fish on a windy day, which isn’t uncommon in March. River Bluff Park was closed when we fished, so we could not use it, but it and Cool Branch Park would give you good access if there is an east wind. Putting in at Barbour Creek Ramp gives you good access to the last five holes, even if it is windy.

Check out Ethan’s locations and ways to fish, and you will learn to catch bass in March at Lake Eufaula during all phases of the spawn.