| Dr. Tim's Eufaula Report |
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| Dr. Tim's Eufaula Report |
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Lake Eufaula Bass Fishin'
Beginning May 28, 2007
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 188.5. The surface temperature is running in the upper 50's. The water on the main lake is slightly stained. The creeks are progressively more stained the farther back you go to muddy in the back ends. The rising water has scattered the fish somewhat since the last report. A lot of spotted bass are still being caught in the mouths of the creeks. Your efforts should be concentrated around irregular features along the creek channel in 10-12 feet of water. On my last trip, a cold front had passed through and the resulting high pressure required fishing an area slowly and thoroughly to entice bites. A Carolina-rigged Big Bite Bait finesse worm in the green pupmkin / junebug laminate color worked well for the spots. The better largemouth have moved up with the rising water since the last report. The best technique for these better fish on my last trip was to flip a green pumkin colored Big Bite Bait Yo Mama on a 1/4oz. weight around flooded grass or wood. I am really a firm believer in the Biobait formula used as an attractant in these baits. I have no doubt that it draws more strikes and causes fish to hold onto the bait better. If you haven't tried any of these baits, they can be ordered on-line at www.bigbitebaits.com. I feel sure they will improve your catch if you give them a try.
With the frigid weather we are having this week, expect things to really change. Some fish should move extremely deep (20 feet plus). If you choose to target these fish, look for clearer water in a major, deep creek. Then spend some time locating the shad and fish with your electronics. Once you find a prime area, a jigging spoon or drop-shot rig should work. As long as the water stays high, there will also still be some fish shallow. If you target these fish, you just need to realize that you are probably only fishing for 5-6 bites per day, and you will probably need to fish painstakingly slow. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
January 14, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 190.09. The surface temperature is in the high 50's. The water on the main lake is slightly stained. The water in some creeks is slightly stained while others are heavily stained. Fishing since the last report has been very good, especially for numbers. Most of the fish I have been catching have been from the mouth to about half way back in the creeks. The best technique on my last outing depended on the water clarity in the creek you were fishing. In creeks where the water was heavily stained, largemouths in the 2-3 pound range could be caught in water 3 feet deep or less by flipping a Texas-rigged green pumpkin Big Bite Yo Mama in the Bio Bait version around flooded shoreline cover. In creeks where the water was less stained, the fish were holding on cover in deeper water, and could be caught on three distinct patterns. Large numbers of spotted bass in the 1 1/2 -2 pound range could be caught on the edge of flats along the creek channel in 8-10 feet of water using a Carolina-rig or 1/4 oz. jig head with a plum apple trick worm. Some largemouths in the 2-3 pound range were caught 15 feet deep suspended in trees in the creek channel in 20 feet of water on the same Carolina rig. Finally, some 2-3 pound largemouths were caught on hydrilla lines by ripping a 1/2 oz. chrome / blue back rattletrap out of the hydrilla where it topped out at about 5 feet along the edge of a 10 foot drop-off. In all cases, there were shad in the immediate area. In summary, now is a good time to be on Eufaula for some great early season action without a lot of the boat traffic. Just remember that conditions can change rapidly this time of the year with the wide changes we have been having in the weather and the approaching spawn. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
February 5, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 190.09. The water temperature is ranging from the high 40’s in the morning to the mid 50’s by the end of the day. With warmer weather predicted, these temperatures should rise a little over the next week, at least until the next cold front arrives. Due to the recent rains, the lake for the most part is heavily stained to muddy, except on the extreme southern portion where some clear water can be found around the dam. The fishing has been really tough and unpredictable for the past few weeks. Recent tournaments have proved the same for a lot of fishermen with the exception of a few that can work a jigging spoon on those deep schools of wintertime bass. With spring approaching, the fishing should be getting better and more predictable over the next couple of weeks as the spawn gets closer. Working shallow ledges with medium running crankbaits and Carolina rigs should really pick up as the fish move from there deep water holes to position themselves for the upcoming spawn. There will also be the shallow fish that will relate to the hydrilla, and these fish can be caught on spinnerbaits, Rattle traps, and Texas rigged worms. Whatever fits your style of fishing, expect the action to really heat up for the next couple of weeks, especially if we can get several days of warmer weather between passing cold fronts.
Chris Lynch
Editor's addition: The Eufaula Headhunters B/C sent in a report from their club tournament this past Saturday (2/2/08) out of Lake Point Marina and here are the results:
Place Team # Fish Wt 1st Pair & Noakes 5 19.89 2nd Green & Smith 5 14.19 3rd Kent & Cochran 2 6.10 4th Buchanan & Buchanan 2 3.95 The club reported tough fishing and several other tournaments on Saturday. They say that their best patterns was Shallow water Texas rigged lizards.
March 8, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
Sorry about the delay in posting a current report. Two tournaments and a bad case of the flu / bronchitis have had me off the water for a couple of weeks.
The current lake elevation is 190.16. The water is slightly stained on the main lake as well as in the creeks and coves. The surface temperature is running in the low 60's. The fishing on the lake is excellent right now and should only get better with the predicted warming trend. The fish are really staging for the spawn and a lot of fish are already in shallow spawning areas. Some fish can be caught on crankbaits and Carolina rigs in 8-15 feet of water. A super deep Stanford Cedar Shad crankbait in the Citrus Shad color is a good choice. On the Carolina rig, a Big Bite Bait six inch finesse worm in thier Okeechobee Craw color gets the nod. I especially like to use the biobait formulation with a built-in attractant to coax a few extra bites and to get the fish to hold onto the bait better. Concentrate your efforts in the creek channels adjacent to spawning areas and look for irregular features such as points, bends, cuts, etc. in the channel. The presence of brush is a real plus and helps to really concentrate the fish.
On my last trip, the best pattern was fishing secondary points in spawning areas in three feet of water. A new crankbait from Stanford Lures called a rough / tough shad in their sour apple color produced a lot of fish with some in the 3-4 pound range. These crankbaits can be ordered directly by calling Ann or Dieter Stanford at (229) 732-6609 or (706) 566-1411. A lot of fish were also caught on a 3/8 oz. white spinnerbait in the same areas. If you really want to fish Eufaula at it's best, now is the time to be on the lake. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
April 2, 2008
report from Lake Eufaula
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.The current lake elevation is 189.62. The water in the main lake and creeks is clear to slightly stained. The surface temperature is running in the mid 60's. Since the last report, there has been a major wave of spawning activity, and more fish are moving into the spawning areas daily. Fishing around grass with a spinnerbait for pre-spawn fish has been productive, especially when there is cloud cover or a breeze. If the sun is out with little or no breeze, sight fishing with a Big Bite Bait junebug lizard is a better choice. Alternatively, if the water is too stained for sight fishing, and the fish will not hit a spinnerbait, try blind casting around spawning areas with a junebug or watermelon candy Big Bite Bait Trick Stick. You will be fishing for bedding bass that you can't see, and the bait will need to be fished extremely slow to draw strikes.Shad are starting to show up in their spawning areas, and should start spawning over the next couple of weeks. When this happens, the action will be fast and furious for a short time early in the morning, especially around rip-rap. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, top-water baits, or shallow running crankbaits such as a Stanford Razor Shad in the grey ghost color can all be productive. Once the shad spawning activity is over in the morning, your best bet will be to go back to areas where bass have been spawning, but focus more on post-spawn fish with top water lures or a weightless 6 inch Big Bite Bait finesse worm or Jerk Shad.The main thing to remember is that things change on a daily basis this time of the year, and you need to start every day with an open mind. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
April 14, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 189.48 The surface temperature is running in the low 70's. The water on the main lake and in the creeks north of the causeway is slightly to moderately stained with isolated areas that are clear. The water on the south end of the lake is clear to slightly stained.Fish are in all stages of the spawn right now, and there has also been a limited amount of shad spawning activity early in the morning. This combined with the fluctuating water level over the past several days has made it more difficult to find concentrations of fish, but if you keep moving and trying different areas and techniques, you can put together a decent stringer. On my last trip there were two primary patterns that prevailed. The first was to fish around concentrations of shad on rip-rap with a spinnerbait. Look for spawning activity early in the morning or birds lined up on wind-blown banks later in the day to help locate the shad. Also pay close attention as you work you spinnerbait. A lot of times you can actually feel shad hitting the spinnerbait blades or see them following the bait as it approaches the boat when you are in an area where there is a large concentration of them.After the sun gets up, your best bet will be to concentrate on spawning areas. There are still some fish bedding if you are in an area where the water is clear enough to see them. If the water is more stained, fish around grass in the same areas with a watermelon-candy colored Big Bite Baits Trick Stick or a spinnerbait until the surface temperature is consistently above 70 degrees. Then, be ready for that long-awaited top-water bonanza on the lake. The weather forecast calls for some unseasonably cold weather tonight, and things could change for several days, but this should get you pointed in the right direction. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
Conditions on the north end of Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The main lake and creeks are clear. The lake elevation is 186.73. The surface temperature is running in the mid to upper 70's. Things haven't changed a lot since the last report. Your best bet to put together a decent stringer right now is to fish a top water bait early around grass next to deeper water. Once the action slows, you will need to move out to shallow ledges in the 8-12 foot range. A lot of small fish are being caught in these areas, especially if there is some current present. Bigger fish are still hard to come by, but you can put the odds in your favor with the right baits. A Stanford Cedar Shad crankbait in the citrus shad color has been a particularly good choice lately, especially if there is some current being generated. If the fish are less active, you will need to slow down and fish with lures such as jigs or Texas rigs. A Zoom O'l Monster is a good choice in this case in either a green-pumkin or watermellon seed color. In both cases look for irregular features on the ledges such as points, shallow spots, brush piles or deeper grass and fish them thoroughly.
As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
May 1, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 189.52. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. The surface temperature is running in the mid 70's. Since the last report, a lot of fish spawned around the full moon. As is normally expected just after a major wave of spawning activity, the fishing has been a little tough over the last couple of weeks. The best patterns going have been to target "fry guarders" with trick worms around hydrilla just out from spawning areas. Some fish are also being caught in the same areas with top-water baits. Finally, a few fish are showing up on shallow ledges in the 8-10 foot range, and are being caught on Stanford Cedar Shad crankbaits in the sexy shad color. The fishing shouldn't change a lot until the water temperature approaches 80 degrees. Then you can expect more fish to start moving out to the ledges, especially if the water level drops to below 188.0. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
May 27, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The lake is holding at 189.5 and the corps projects this level for the coming weeks. Water has light stain and the temp is in the mid 70's. The top water bite is starting to pick up and this seems the best way to catch larger fish but the topwater bite does not last long. Once the sun hits the water it is over. Pop r's, buzzbaits and frogs are the best baits right now.
Some fish are on the ledges but you have to cover allot of water to find them. Once you locate the fish they seem to be biting throughout the day. Off course when they are generating water at the dam the ledge bite is allot better. C-rigs and medium crankbaits are working best out on the ledges. The ledge bite will get stronger in the next month.
Tim is on his way to Hot Springs Arkansas to fish the BFL All-American, we want to wish him the best of Luck!
Tight Lines
Ken
Conditions on Lake Eufaula north of the causeway are as follows: The current lake elevation is around 186.6. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. The surface temperature is running in the mid 80's.
Fishing has really been hit or miss lately. There is still an early top-water bite around grass next to deep water, but it doesn't last long and is unpredictable. Also, the corps has been spraying some areas of hydrilla which causes the fish to abandon an area quickly. More fish are showing up on off-shore locations, but the bigger fish still haven't schooled up in any numbers. This past weekend, the key to catching keeper fish was to find some type of wood cover (stumps or brushpiles) on points or shallow ledges in 8-12 feet of water. You then had to get a bait such as a jig, Texas-rig, or Carolina-rigged worm down in the cover, and fish it very slow. Also, areas which produce fish one day may yield nothing the next. You just have to fish as many high percentage areas as possible while still fishing them thoroughly. I look for the bigger fish to really start bunching up in their usual summertime locations over the next couple of weeks with the hot weather we have had. You can really put the odds in your favor by fishing during the week when the corps. is generating power. This will also help avoid some of the boat traffic from pleasure boaters.
As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
June 28, 2007
Conditions on Lake Eufaula north of the causeway are as follows:
The main lake and creeks are clear to very slightly stained. The surface temperature is in the mid to upper 80's. The current lake elevation is 186.54.
The fish have finally really ganged up in their typical summertime locations, and the fishing is as hot as the afternoon temperatures right now. On my last outing, there was a recent mayfly hatch. Although I only caught small fish around the flies early in the morning, there is always the possisbilty of catching some nice fish when you notice this going on. I like to fish with a small top water bait or a Senko in this situation. By far, your best bet right now is fishing off-shore areas, especially main-lake points and ledges. When no current is present, the productive depth has been 14-18 feet. The key recently has been to fish stumps along a ledge in the proper depth. Once you catch a fish, fish the area thorougly as I caught at least 2-3 fish in every location on my last outing. Once the corps starts generating current, the fish are moving up slightly and are really bunching up in 10-12 feet of water. On my last trip they were annihilating a Citrus Shad-colored Stanford Cedar Shad in the 8-12 foot model. At one point I caught five nice keepers on consecutive casts on this bait. If you plan on fishing Lake Eufaula, these are some crankbaits you will want to try. They can be ordered on-line at www.stanfordlures.com If they don't have the exact color you want, they will also custom paint the baits to suit you preference. Check out their web site and give them a try.
As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
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June 2, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The lake temp has jumped to mid 80's, you know what that means, ledge fishing but not so quick! With the lake still at almost full pool there are still allot of fish up shallow, plus a mayfly hatch is helping to keep plenty of fish shallow.
The topwater bite continues to be good but does not last to long. The ledge bite is there but you really have to cover allot of water to find the schools. Once again if you can go when water is being released at the dam, it increases your odds.
The Lee King benefit tournment will be June 14th at Lakepoint make your plans to fish!!
Tight Lines
Ken
June 18, 2008
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 189.60. The surface temperature is running around 90 degrees. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to very slightly stained. The fish are in their typical summer pattern right now. A few fish can be caught around grass next to deeper water early on top water baits and spinnerbaits. This bite dies quickly once the sun gets up and quality fish are scarce. The quality fish are being caught on river ledges and deeper creek channel ledges. As is typical this time of the year, you can really increase your odds of catching a decent stringer by fishing when current is being generated at the dam. The fish feed much more aggressively when current is being generated and they are bunching up in slightly shallower water (14-15 feet) On my last trip, a deep-diving crankbait in the sexy-shad color produced some nice fish under these conditions.If current is not present, the fish feed less aggressively and are much more scattered. Under these conditions, it has been necessary to really slow down and fish a Carolina rig, Texas, rig or jig in the thickest brush you can find in water anywhere from 8 to 22 feet deep. A June Bug / Red Bio Bait 6 inch finesse worm has been particularly good the last couple of weeks. The fish will be in the same general areas that they group up when water is moving. Again, however, they will be more scattered and more difficult to catch. These patterns should hold up for several weeks unless we have an unforeseen drastic change in water levels. As always. enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
