EUFAULA, Ala. – Big bass finally responded to the warming conditions at Lake Eufaula today. The deep-water anglers cooled off and the shallow-water bank beaters scored big time. Leading the charge in the EverStart Series Eastern Division event is Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., with 22 pounds, 6 ounces.
With the sudden warm-up, which has blanketed the Southeast the last five days, EverStart anglers knew it was only a matter of time before the big bass left the deeper staging areas and moved into the shallows to spawn. And when they did, Kreiger was waiting to greet them with a Rat-L-Trap and a spinnerbait.
Kreiger caught 12 keepers today in water less than 2 feet deep.
“Jacob (Powroznik) and I are fishing the same area and we are around a bunch of fish; they are coming in there pretty good,” Kreiger said. “I’m catching most of them early on a spinnerbait, and a few on a Rat-L-Trap, and then when the sun comes out, I sight-fish a little bit. But I really didn’t see anything that would help me sight-fishing. I’m better off casting moving baits for them.”
Kreiger thinks the fish he’s catching are actually on bed, they are just biting his baits out of reaction.
“A couple of times I threw in a place and missed one, then I’d come back about 10 minutes later, make the same cast and catch the fish,” he added.
Peek in second
Tim Peek of Sharpsburg, Ga., has found a real honey hole on Eufaula. He caught 19 pounds, 2 ounces of bass off it today to move into second place and says that, between he and his co-anglers, the spot has produced approximately 75 pounds of bass this week.
“It’s about a 150-yard long stretch of shallow ledge where the fish have been staging,” Peek described. “There are two bedding areas right near the ledge and it’s just been replenishing everyday – it’s blowing my mind how many fish it keeps producing.”
Peek is catching his bass on a Rapala No. 5 Shad Rap fished on 8-pound-test line on a spinning rod. He has also caught some on a 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft lipless crankbait.
Powroznik moves into third
Also scoring in the shallow-water department is Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va. He caught 18 pounds, 5 ounces of bass today, also in water less than 2 feet deep.
“They’re moving up by the droves,” said Powroznik. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I sat at the mouth of one pond today and saw, literally, 50 fish swim in there. I think it’s only going to get better.”
Powroznik is fishing the same area as Kreiger, and, like Kreiger, he is catching a majority of the fish on spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps.
“When the sun gets up later in the day, I’m sight-fishing. But I’m catching most of the better fish early on a spinnerbait.”
Ormand in fourth
Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C., is in fourth place with 18 pounds even. He is also catching fish shallow on a spinnerbait.
“I’m fishing docks and rocks in real shallow water – less than 2 feet – with a Hawg Caller 3/4-ounce spinnerbait,” Ormand said. “And I think they’re moving even shallower. I caught my first fish from shallow grass today, and I haven’t been able to do that all week. I think this little front coming in will make things even better tomorrow.”
Pugh in fifth
Pedigree pro Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., also fished shallow today for a limit weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces to put him in fifth.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are James Kennedy of Boaz, Ala., in sixth place with 14 pounds, 15 ounces; Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn., in seventh with 14 pounds, 12 ounces; Patrick Hailstone of Cincinnati, Ohio, in eighth with 14 pounds, 6 ounces; Gary Alverson of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., in ninth with 13 pounds, 6 ounces; and George Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla., in 10th with 13 pounds, 4 ounces.
Co-angler Carman brings in over 22 pounds, again
Co-angler Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky., brought in a whopping 22 pounds, 7 ounces to take a commanding lead in the Co-angler Division.
For Carman, it must have been a case of deja vu all over again. Just yesterday he reeled in 22 pounds, 13 ounces from the back deck.
“In all my years of fishing, I’ve never had two single days of fishing like these last two days,” he said. “I’ve never caught so many big fish in my life.”
Carman towed his boat to Eufaula and practiced on his own, and the effort has paid off in a big way.
“I found a couple of creek channel bends that have submerged timber on them, and I caught some big ones there in practice,” Carman said. “I talked my pro partner into going there today, and it was just one big one after another.”
For the last three days, Carman has been throwing a 3/8-ounce Rattle Back jig behind his pro partners.
“Yesterday, I fished with Gerald Beck and he was fishing the same kinds of places,” he said. “I think the fish are suspended timber. Whenever I pull my jig up over a limb, I just shake it and that’s when I get a bite.”
Carman now has over an 8-pound cushion in the Co-angler Division.
Rest of the best
Also making the top-10 cut in the Co-angler Division are Wayne Colonna of Tallahassee, Fla., in second with 13 pounds, 15 ounces; Bennie Patton of Dunnville, Ky., in third with 11 pounds, 5 ounces; Mike Freeman of Oxford, Ala., in fourth with 10 pounds, 11 ounces; Joseph Webster of Fulton, Miss., in fifth with 10 pounds, 7 ounces; Ronald Mueller of Prosperity, S.C., in sixth with 9 pounds, 13 ounces; Robert Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., in seventh with 9 pounds, 3 ounces; Thomas Griggs of Madison, N.C., in eighth with 9 pounds; Bruce Dale of Jamestown, Ohio, in ninth with 8 pounds, 15 ounces; and John Crosby Jr. of Macon, Ga., in 10th with 6 pounds, 14 ounces.
The big-bass action from the Lake Eufaula EverStart continues tomorrow at 6 a.m. CST at the Lakepoint Resort Marina.