| 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
January 2, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 188.91. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is slightly stained to stained. The surface temperature is running in the mid 50's. A lot of fish are relating to creek channels and ditches adjacent to spawning areas right now. On my last trip, the most productive pattern for numbers of fish was targeting wood cover in 8-12 feet of water in these type locations. The most productive technique was fishing a Carolina-rigged 6 inch junebug finesse worm. I like using Big Bite Bait worms made with Biobait attractant, especially under the current conditions. The scent put out by these baits can really make a difference in cold, stained water when the fish are sluggish. The released scent helps these lethargic fish locate the bait much easier, and will result in more bites. The best pattern for bigger fish has been flipping a black/blue jig with a green pumkin-colored Yo Mama trailer around visible cover in less than 5 feet of water. You won't get as many bites this way but ,again, the Biobait attractant will help draw more strikes.A cold front had just passed through before my last trip, and fishing slow was crucial regardless of whether fishing the jig or the Carolina Rig. If we have a few straight days of warm weather in a row, the fish will get more active and can be caught on faster moving baits, especially around hydrilla. Under these conditions, ripping a lipless crankbait through the grass can be deadly. My preference is a Spro Aruku Shad 75 in either the Blue Shiner or Red Crawfish color depending on water clarity.Just remember that with constant cold fronts this time of the year, the fishing can really change on a daily basis, and you have to keep an open mind and adjust accordingly.With tournament season just around the corner, I know that a lot of you have been busy maintaining and fine-tuning equipment such as boats, motors, electronics, rods, reels, etc. While this is a very important part of pre-season preparation, one of the most important things I have noticed that gets neglected by a lot of anglers is hooks. The Gamakatsu hooks I use are ultra sharp out of the pack and extremely durable. I still check them regularly during and between tournaments, and replace them as needed. Before tournament season begins, I double check hooks again, especially treble hooks on crankbaits, top-waters, etc. and replace them if needed. The most obvious reason for doing this is to minimize the number of fish lost during tournaments . Equally important and often overlooked, however, is the fact that hooks can actually alter the performance of many lures. With crankbaits, for example, different-sized treble hooks can be used to alter the action and depth of the bait, or even cause it to suspend. With soft-plastics, the difference in the action of the bait can vary dramatically depending on the style and size of hook used. I actually attribute three of my top BFL finishes to the style and size of hook I was using. So, don't forget to check your hooks and give them the attention they deserve. Also, make sure that you have a good assortment so that you can fine-tune the action of your baits on tournament day. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
January 28, 2010
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 189.46. The surface temperature is running fro the high 40's on the main lake to the low 50's in some creeks. The water is stained to muddy.Cold, muddy water always makes for extremely tough fishing, and this has been the case on the lake for several weeks now. Your best bet under these conditions is to look for the clearest, warmest water you can find. That being said, there have still been a few really nice stringers caught recently. These catches reportedly came fishing spinnerbaits in shallow water. A Spro Superstar spinnerbait in the Lemon Chartreuse color is perfect for these conditions. It has a modified Colorado blade that really puts out a lot of vibration. This helps lethargic fish pinpoint the lure in muddy water. Just remember that these fish can't move very fast or very far to strike a lure, so a slow retrieve and repeated casts are a must. Another tried and true bait in cold weather is a jig. I believe Spro's finesse jigs are the best on the market. In muddy water, I stick with a 1/4 or 3/8 oz. Black/Blue version and add a Black/Blue Big Bite Bait Fighting Frog trailer. This trailer has an incredible action and also creates buoyancy to slow the fall rate of the jig. This will really increase the number of bites you get by allowing sluggish fish to capture the jig as it drops in front of them. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
January 18, 2011
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 188.20. The water on the main lake is clear to slightly stained. The water is clear in some creeks to heavily stained in others. The prolonged cold weather we have experienced has pushed the water surface temperatures into the low 40's. On my last three trips, the fishing was extremely tough. You can expect a few bites flipping matted grass next to deeper water out of the current. You will need to use a 1 1/2 oz. weight to penetrate the thickest mats you can find. I like to use a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama in either back/blue or green pumpkin depending on the water clarity. It is critical to fish excruciatingly slow to entice a few bites in the cold water. Your other option is to fish deep around concentrations of shad. On my last trip most of the shad were in deep creek channels and in the main river channel. My Humminbird side imaging unit is a tremendous tool to pinpoint concentrations of shad, and I am getting more proficient in identifying actual schools of fish with it. This is extremely helpful when the shad and fish are bunched up in a very small area and the fish are too sluggish to move to a bait. Once you find the shad and fish, work the area extremely slowly and throughly. On my last trip, I was able to entice a few bites in these areas with a jigging spoon and Carolina rig using a small centipede type worm. I did have a problem hooking up with the fish, however, presumably due to the cold water and the fish being reluctant to hold on to the bait. One other thing I noticed on my last trip was that a lot of fish had moved off of the bottom and suspended just above the large schools of shad. I have not become proficient at fishing for suspended fish, but with my Humminbird electronics, I can actually follow a bait down and work it at the level of the fish. It's something you may want to try. 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.
February 4, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 188.55. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. The surface temperature is around 50 degrees. A lot of fish are starting to move into spawning areas right now, and the fishing has been good to excellent. The best pattern recently has been fishing around ditches with timber adjacent to these areas. A few degrees in water temperature can make a lot of difference in the exact location and mood of the fish this time of the year, so keep this in mind on your next trip. If you are fortunate enough to be fishing after a 3-4 day warming trend some fish can be caught in as little as three feet of water, especially around hydrilla. A good bet under these conditions, especially if there is some wind, is to throw a Spro ArukuShad75 in the blue shiner color. You will need to retrieve the bait just fast enough for it to tick the top of the hydrilla. When it gets hung up, rip it out and be prepared. This is when most fish will bite. You may have to cover a lot of water to find the fish, but when you find them you can catch several nice fish in the same area. A few nice fish can also be caught fishing around visible cover in these areas with a black/blue jig with a black/sapphire blue Yo Mama trailer. If you are fishing after a cold front, your efforts will be better spent fishing in the ditches themselves. On my last trip under these conditions, I caught fish on a Carolina-rigged six inch Big Bite finesse worm in the junebug color. All of the fish were caught in 8-12 feet of water around irregular features in the ditches containing timber or stumps. If the fish are a little bit more active, they can be caught on crankbaits in the same areas, but just remember to fish them extremely slow. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
February 21, 2011
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 188.31. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is slightly stained. The surface temperature is running in the mid 50's. The combination of longer days, warmer weather and a full moon has really put a lot of fish on the move over the last several days. The fish are in a pre-spawn pattern right now and can be caught on a variety of lures in 2-10 feet of water in the vicinity of spawning areas. Until we have a cold front, your best bet is to cover a lot of water with moving baits such as a chrome / blue Spro Aruku Shad 75 or a Spro Little John in the Nasty Shad color. Fish these baits around grass next to deeper water in the spawning areas and concentrate on any irregulaities such as points, indentions, etc. If the fish are in grass that is too thick to fish either of these baits, try a green pumpkin Big Bite Baits Sugar Cane paddle tail worm rigged with a 3/16 or 1/4 oz. bullet weight. Swim the bait through the grass and let it fall in the holes. This is an awesome bait that puts out as much vibration as some spinnerbaits, but can be fished in thick grass where other baits can't. In addition to fishing around the grass, another option is to fish shallow ledges around spawning areas in 6-10 feet of water. Again, look for irregular features along creek channels or ditches as these are the places the fish will hold before moving up to spawn. A Little John MD crankbait in the Nasty Shad color is a good choice in these areas. Or, if the fish are less active, slow down and fish these same areas with a green pumkin Carolina-rigged 6 inch Big Bite Baits Finesse worm. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
February 15, 2012
Sorry about the delay in posting a report. Between the holidays, vacation, and taking care of some long overdue maintanance on my house, the fishing has been non-existent the last couple of months. With all of that taken care of, I'm really excited about getting started back and look forward to fishing the Bama division BFLs this year
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 188.22. The water on the main lake and in the creeks north of Cowikee is heavily stained to muddy. The water in Cowikee Creek is slightly to moderately stained. The water on the main lake in in the creeks below Cowikee is progressively clearer, but still has some stain. The surface temperature is running in the mid to upper 50s. With the higher water and higher than normal surface temperature for this time of year, a lot of fish are in a strong pre-spawn pattern right now. I like to target these fish along shallow creek channel ledges in 6-12 feet of water, Concentrate on areas next to spawning flats and look for irregular features along the creek channel such as the intersection of a ditch which runs up onto the flat, points, stumps, etc. My favorite way to locate schools of these pre-spawn fish is with a Little John MD crankbait. This lure runs the perfect depth for these staging fish and also puts out a lot of vibration which is really important in attracting strikes with the water stained up like it is now. If I had to pick one color preference it would be root beer chartreuse, but always use a color based on water clarity as well as how aggressively the fish are taking the bait. Once a school stops hitting the crankbait, you can often pick up another fish or two with either a football jig using a Big Bite Baits Yo Mama trailer or a Carolina-rigged Big Bite Baits lizzard. Stick with darker colors for these baits in the stained water and try adding rattles to attract more bites. If you really prefer fishing shallow, there are already some fish up on the bank and the big females are often some of the first to move up early in the spawning cycle. If you choose to fish shallow. a chartreuse/white spinnerbait with gold tandem Colorado blades is a good choice to cover a lot of water. Also be sure to pick any thick grass or wood cover apart with a 7/16 black / blue Spro finesse jig and a sapphire blue Big Bite Baits Yo Mama trailer. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to protect it!
Dr. Tim
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!
Dr. Tim
March 9, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The cuurent lake elevation is 188.77. The surface temperature is running in the high 50's to low 60's. The water on the main lake down to White Oak Creek is stained to heavily stained. Below White Oak Creek, the water clears progressively the farther south you go. The water clarity in the creeks is extremely variable with some creeks being fairly clear while others are heavily stained and still others stained toward the mouth but clearer toward the back.Conditions could not be better for a major wave of spawning activity this week with the warming trend and a full moon on the 11th. Fish can be caught in spawning areas with a variety of techniques including spinnerbaits, paddle tail worms, small swimbaits, and Texas-rigged Big Bite Bait lizzards in juebug / red flake. If you like to sight fish, next week should be as good as it gets. A few fish have already spawned and can be caught in brushpiles just out from spawning areas in 8-12 feet of water. Just remember, conditions can change on a daily and sometime hourly basis this time of the year, so be willing to adapt accordingly. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
March 3, 2010
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 188.12. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is stained to muddy. The water surface temperature is running in the high 40's on the main lake to the low 50's in the creeks and coves. A lot of fish have moved into shallow spawning areas with the full moon and should remain in these areas for the next several weeks. Flipping shallow grass in these areas with a Texas-rigged black/blue Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog has been productive. One other pattern which has been productive over the past few years is fishing around hydrilla in these type areas with a Spro ArukuShad 75. Although the high, cold muddy water has killed a lot of the hydrilla this year, make sure to thoroughly fish any that you may find. The best color in the muddy water is gold/black. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
March 29, 2011
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current water level is 188.08. The surface temperature is running in the upper 60's. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. Fish are in all stages of the spawn right now, and can be caught on a variety of lures and using a variety of techniques. You can find as many as 30 fish on bed in some coves, but they are all males and will run in the 2-3 pound range. A white Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog is deadly when sight fishing for numbers. Most of the bigger females, however, are being caught out from spawning areas slightly deeper on points, in ditches, etc. I use my Humminbird 998 side imaging unit to scan these areas looking for brush, foundations, etc. which are real magnets for both pre-spawn and post-spawn fish. My favorite way to fish for these bigger females is to slow roll a 3/4 or 1 oz. spinnerbait. Once you catch fish, cover the area thoroughly as there is often a school of fish present. On high pressure days, or when the fish won't hit the spinnerbait, slow down and fish the same areas with a Carolina-rigged Big Bite Baits green-pumpkin 6 inch finesse worm. The grass bite right now has been hit or miss with the lower water levels, but it is always worth a try. Just keep experimenting and let the fish tell you what they want. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
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
2009
April 6, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 189.58. The surface temperature is running in the mid to upper 60's. The water in the creeks and on the main lake is heavily stained to muddy except for a few isolated areas on the south end of the lake. Despite all of the rain we have had, the corps of engineers has been able to maintain the water at a fairly steady level, and the fishing continues to be extremely good. Most fish are still being caught shallow in spawning areas. With the muddy water, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits fished around grass have been very productive. Big Bite Bait 6 inch junebug lizzards fished Texas rig with a light weight have also been productive. When fishing this bait, you will actually be blind casting for spawning fish, so just remember to really slow down and cast to any hole in the grass or other areas that look like a fish may be bedding. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
20
10April 5, 2010
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 187.90. The surface temperature is running from the low 60's to the low 70's. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is slightly stained to stained. Bass are in all stages of the spawn right now and can be caught using a variety of lures and techniques. In spawning areas, I like to start the day with a spinnerbait, especially if it is overcast or windy. You will be fishing for aggressive pre-spawn fish, so move at a quick pace and fish every piece of cover you come by. Once the sun gets up, I tend to slow down a little and look for beds as I fish. Once you find a suitable-sized fish that you believe will bite, it is critical to pay close attention to boat control. Fish in extremely shallow water are very skittish in general. If they are on the bed, they can be even more so, especially if they have already been fished for by other anglers. With this in mind, move around slowly and quietly. Use a push pole if necessary. Once you determine the best angle to see the fish, try to position your boat as far away as possible. This may even mean not being able to actually see the fish, but blind casting to the spot where you have marked the bed. I like to anchor my boat once I determine a good position for the boat, especially if there is any wind. On bedding bass, I like to use a 3/8 oz. PB&J Spro finesse jig with a green pumpkin Big Bite Baits baby bush pig trailer to mimic a crawfish invading the nest.When fishing between bedded fish, a weightless green pumpkin Big BIte Trick Stick has been productive over the last several days. This is a finesse bait that needs will catch fish in any stage of the spawn in these areas, including fry-guarders. If the fish are fairly aggressive, swimming the same jig combination mentioned earlier will also work well, especially around scattered grass. As more fish come off of the bed, the top-water bite will get better over the next several weeks. Finally, if you prefer fishing off-shore structure, you can catch pre-spawn and post- spawn fish out from the spawning areas along channels and ditches in 4-10 feet of water. Bigger fish are being caught on crankbaits such as a Spro Little John MD in citrus shad. For numbers of fish in these type areas, fish with a Carolina-rigged green pumpkin Big Bite Baits finesse worm. No matter how you like to fish, now is a great time to be on the lake, especially before the pleasure boat traffic picks up. 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
May10, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 190.06. The surface temperature is running in the mid to upper 70's. The water on the main lake is clear to slightly stained. The water in the creeks around the Lakepoint area is muddy due to recent heavy local rains with the remaining creeks being clear to slightly stained.The fishing continues to be excellent on the lake, and several techniques will work right now. With the water level higher than it has been this time of the year in a long time, a lot of fish are continuing to hold in the Eufaula grass. These fish are actively feeding as they have recovered from the spawn and can be caught on a wide variety of lures. I would start out the day with moving baits such as a spinnerbait or buzzbait. The fish have been very active early in the morning, and you will increase your odds of catching some really nice fish by covering a lot of water. Once the bite slows, you can still catch fish in the grass, but you will need to slow down and fish a Texas-rigged Big Bite Bait junebug lizzard or a white Big Bite Bait jerk shad.If you prefer fishing offshore structure, some fish are being caught on shallow ledges in the 8-12 foot range. Crankbaits in the sexy shad color have been productive, especially when there is some current present. If the fish don't seem to be in a feeding mood, slow down and fish a Carolina-rigged Big Bite Bait six inch junebug finesse worm. Pay close attention as you are fishing as the fish will be relating to some type of change on the bottom such as stumps, points, indentions, high spots, different bottom composition, etc. Also, when you catch one fish, fish the area thoroughly. These type areas will often hold large schools of fish, and once you get the first one to bite, they will go on a feeding frenzy.As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
May 5, 2010
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 slightly stained to stained. The surface temperature is running in the low 70's. The fish are extremely scattered right now and can be caught from less than two feet deep to twenty feet deep. On my last few trips, fish have been caught in grass, blowdowns, brush piles and ditches, as well as on creek channel ledges, humps and rip-rap. Catching numbers of fish has been easy, but quality fish have been more hard to come by. There is a sporadic shad spawn early in the morning. If you notice any shad activity or birds lined up on the bank, fish the area thoroughly with a spinnerbait, top-water, shallow crankbait, or watermelon Big Bite Baits Trick Stick depending on the mood of the fish. Once this activity ceases, start covering as much water as possible. Crankbaits will allow you to cover water rapidly and will put the odds of catching bigger fish in your favor if the fish are active. If they are less active, you will need to key on high percentage areas such as points, etc. with a slower moving bait. Watermelon 10 inch Big Bite Baits Kreit Tail worms or a PB&J jig with a green pumpkin Big Bite Baits creature bait trailer are good choices. Over the next few weeks, the fish will start schooling up more. In the meantime, just keep covering a lot of water and trying as many types of cover as you can. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. Tim
May 3, 2011
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 187.19. The surface temperature is running in the upper 70's. The water on the main lake and in the creeks from the causeway south is clear to slightly stained. There is a lot of stained water moving down the river and in the creeks north of Cowikee Creek from recent heavy rains farther north. A lot of the lake is in a post-spawn funk right now and the fishing is extremely sporadic. This is evidenced by the overall weights on tournaments held on the lake this past weekend as well as the fact that the winner of the FLW Everstart Series tournament actually locked through and fished on Lake Seminole for two of the three tournament days. With that being said, your best bet right now is to be in the right place at the right time first thing in the morning to target actively feeding fish around spawning shad. You may have to experiment a little bit to find the best bait, but be prepared to try small top-water lures, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, ar shallow-running crankbaits like the Spro Little John in the Nasty Shad color. Once the sun gets up, you will need to head to the south end of the lake where the fish are a little further along in the post-spawn cycle and are starting to show up on shallow ledges. Fish in this area of the lake are reportedly being caught by slow rolling spinnerbaits or fishing medium-diving crankbaits for more active fish. Otherwise, slow way down and fish the same areas with a Texas-rigged watermellon seed Big Bite Baits Trick Stick. If you aren't getting bites, keep working your way south. I fished the middle part of the lake on the Weekend Series tournament and was only able to catch two small keepers. As always, enjoy God's creation, and do your part to help protect it!Dr. TimMay 21, 2012
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows:
The current lake elevation is 187.58. The surface temperature is running in the high 70's to low 80's. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. The fishing on the lake is really tough right now, especially for bigger fish. There is a hit or miss top water bite first thing in the morning around grass next to deeper water. This is as good a way as any right now to catch a kicker, but it doesn't last long once the sun gets up. After that, you will have to just grind it out fishing deeper brushpiles and ledges in the 12-15 foot range. I like to start out using a crankbait and fish for more aggressive fish, especially if there is some current present. With the current water clarity, I like to use a Little John MD or DD in the rootbeer color. Choose which one to use based on how deep the fish are or how deep you are seeing shad on your depth finder. Unfortunately, on my last trip, there was no current, and you really had to slow down to catch the fish. Jigs, Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, shaky heads and drop shots will all work. The key is to get your bait in the cover and really fish it slowly. Green pumpkin was the best color for plastics on my last trip. Big Bite Baits makes a wide variety of soft plastics suitable for use with any of these rigs, and sometimes you will have to experiment with different styles of baits as well as weights until you find the exact combination that will draw a strike when the fish are in a neutral or negative mood. If all else fails, stick with the Big Bite Baits four inch finesse worm on a shaky head or drop shot using 8 pound fluorocarbon line. This isn't my favorite way to fish, but it can save the day when the fishing gets really tough. As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
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
June 8, 2009
Conditions on Lake Eufaula are as follows.
The current lake elevation is 190.76. The water on the main lake and in the creeks is clear to slightly stained. The surface temperature is running around 80 degrees. The main thing that has changed since the last report is that there has been a big mayfly hatch on the north end of the lake. Look for areas where there is surface activity from feeding bream. A small top water lure is a good bet to catch some good fish in these areas. Once the action stops on top, more fish can be caught in these areas by fishing slowly with a green pumpkin Big Bite Bait Trick Stick.With all of the rain we have been having lately, the Corps of Engineers has been pulling water more than normal resulting in a good bite on ledges in 8-12 feet of water. Stanford Cedar Shad crankbaits in the sexy shad color have been productive along with a Carolina-rigged Big Bite six inch green pumpkin finesse worm. Look for areas with a hard bottom where there is an irregularity such as a point, indention, high spot, etc. The presence of stumps or brush will make an area even better. Just keep hitting high percentage areas until you find a school of fish that is actively feeding.As always, enjoy God's creation and do your part to help protect it!
Dr. Tim
June 3, 2010
