Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
1. It’s Big!
Lake Eufaula covers 102,000 surface acres and has 600 miles of shoreline—probably more of both since the water’s high. But even at the more conservative numbers, it’s still the second largest man-made reservoir ever visited by the NPFL. Only Lake Marion—the larger of the two reservoirs that comprise Santee Cooper—is bigger … and not by much.
2. It’s Diverse
Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass can be found in Lake Eufaula, but only the largemouths and smallmouths will be “players” in the event. Spots are typically too small to be a viable target for anyone hoping to cash a check. There’s a 14-inch size limit on all the black bass species for the tournament.
3. It’s Muddy!
A lot of rain has fallen in Oklahoma in recent weeks and months, resulting in the lake being high and muddy. As a result, the fishing may be tougher than ordinary for this time of year. Catches and weights could be down, but it’ll be a true test of the best for the League’s anglers. Someone is going to figure them out and earn a big check and cool trophy
4. If it’s tough …
When the fishing gets tough, the tough get fishing, but it’s also true that records and streaks tend to fall by the wayside. One of those streaks is Drew Cook’s string of 25 consecutive limits in NPFL competition (though I’m betting he keeps it going—he’s that good!). So far this year, 25 anglers have limited every competition day of the season. That number is likely to be cut in half—or worse—by the time the event ends. If forced to gamble, I’d bet the number of anglers who have limited each day of the season is cut to 10 or less at the end of Stop 4.
5. Lots of dining and fishing options
The bass at Eufaula have a smorgasbord of dining options, including threadfin and gizzard shad, crayfish, panfish and whatever terrestrial tidbits may have fallen into the rising waters. These options run the water column gamut from shallow to deep and shoreline to offshore. And since the post-spawn is a time when bass often go very deep (before the thermocline takes hold), there’s just no telling how deep the winning bass may be or what lures may be best for taking them. Generally, though, muddy water tournaments tend to be won shallow. Look for spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, bladed jigs, swing-head jigs, shallow-running crankbaits, and anything that can be flipped or pitched to take the lion’s share of bass.
6. Some history
The NPFL was last here in late September of 2023. That event was the closest in league history. At the end of three days, Louis Fernandes and Will Harkins were tied with 39 pounds, 9 ounces. Fernandes won the tiebreaker and thus the tournament because he had the biggest daily weight of either angler. The bass that week were not giants. The average fish in the tournament weighed just 2 1/4 pounds and big bass of the tournament was a 6-03 caught by Travis Jewell. The next biggest bass was 5-05. In other words, any bass weighing better than 4 pounds is a treasure.
7. No state record bass, but …
Lake Eufaula has produced some trophy bass, but no state records. The lake record for largemouth is 10-08 caught by Harold Fry in 2008 and the smallmouth record is 8-03 taken by Steve McLarty in 2006. There is no spotted bass for the lake, and the only state record to come from Eufaula is a 43-08 longnose gar caught in 2012.
8. Plenty of Sooners in the field
Nine Oklahoma residents will be competing on Eufaula for Stop 4. Charlie Apperson, Darrel Robertson, and Mitchell Webb were in the field when the League was here in 2023. Apperson had the best of it that time, finishing 11th. Robertson was 16th, and Webb was 52nd. This time around, that trio is joined by Tommy Biffle, Zack Birge, Jason Christie, Lance Crawford, Harmon Davis, and Alton Wilhoit. Maybe one of them will turn his home state advantage into a $100,000 payday.
9. Other Anglers of Interest
Of course, the NPFL field is full of capable anglers ready to take home the red, white and blue shield, including the current leader in the AOY race, Kyle Welcher. Other notables include Will Harkins, Patrick Walters, Brandon Perkins, Jason Wilson, Stephanie Hemphill-Pellerin, Jesse Wise, John Cox, and Todd Goade. All of them had top 10 finishes on Eufaula in 2023. And Tyler Williams and Jason Meninger were top 10 at the Bassmaster Open here in June of 2023. Seventeen other NPFL pros have fished a major event on Eufaula in the past three years but did not fare so well. Their names have been omitted to avoid embarrassment, but this could be their week … or it could be won by one of the many NPFLers who has yet to lay eyes on the lake.
10. The tournament could be won in North Fork Town
North Fork Town was a settlement in the Creek Nation—Indian Territory—located approximately three miles east of present-day Eufaula in McIntosh County. It was covered by the lake in the 1960s, but during periods of low water you can see roadbeds and old building foundations. High water—like we’ll have for Stop 4—probably make it too deep to get much attention.
