LAKE EUFAULA

By Capt Sam Williams hawk184@earthlink.net 334-687-6266

The weather promises to stabilize as we begin the month April. The river is holding steady at 187 msl. This will allow the fish to settle into their normal spring patterns. The bedding bass will be in the shallows making the shallow bite exciting. It will take some patience to finesse a bite when the lady gets a stubborn streak. The frog bite and blade bait worked over the shallow cover will get very active. Remember to feel the tug on the frog before you set the hook, or you will take it away from them. Texas rigged soft baits are a great choice for the shallow bite. Black with chartreuse tail, watermelon candy and green pumpkin are all good colors. The deeper bass will be hitting crank baits in Tennessee shad and gray ghost colors. If your crank bait does not have a black dot behind the eye, use a magic marker and add one. This will make it resemble a thread fin shad. Carolina rigs worked through the deeper cover with the same colors mentioned above will get some attention, as well.

Crappie are still scattered, they should begin to school on the natural and man-made cover as the conditions stabilize. Jigs tipped with a minnow will get a few for the supper table.

Blue gills will be on the banks eating crickets and worms. Watch for the wading birds eating along the shoreline, as they will provide you a good tip on when and where to go.

Catfish are always eating cut bait on jugs. For the bottom fishermen, night crawlers are good but cut bait is a good bet as well. If you can find mullet, they are not native here and the different smell draws some better attention to stubborn catfish.

Remember to go to (http://www. alclassic.com) and sign up for our newsletter. Keep up to date with our new goals. We have gone back to using Lee King’s name. We will now be known as the Lee King Memorial Alabama Classic Bass Tournament. We have always supported the research to find a cure for this tragic, terminal disease Niemann-Pick. Thanks to you loyal fishermen, we have raised over $272,000.00, over the past 23 years. Plan to fish our September 16th tournament.

Enjoy these beautiful spring days on Lake Eufaula with you kids and grandkids. Make those precious memories in Gods great outdoors. Your youngsters will talk about these memories for generations. Pray, for one another and all our folks in uniform.

God Bless & Good Fishing

Water Level: 187.55 msl

Water Temp: 59 degrees Water Clarity: Stained

Forecast By:Will Harkins- Getfishingguide.com | Williamharkins11@gmail.com

Warm mornings, topwater frenzy’s, big bass. This is what May on Nottely feels like. May can be such a fun time of year for bass. A lot of things are happening. Fish that were spawning in April are feeding back up after a few weeks of hatching and guarding their babies. The herring spawn is also kicking into action. These two things make a perfect storm for lots of awesome fish catches. Herring like to spawn on anything vertical they can attach their eggs to. This includes riprap, marina stalls, dock floats, and even some laydowns. One way to tell if they are spawning is by throwing a spinnerbait. Watch as your bait gets closer to the boat. Many times, there will be herring following and mingling with it. To catch the herring eaters, there’s a variety of baits you can throw. All the topwaters will absolutely catch fish. Buzzbait, Spook, Pop-R are all fantastic choices. If the fish are not committing to the top, try a spinnerbait or a 3-inch swimbait. Anything that will mimic herring. The trick this time of year is to get out there early and stay on the move. The best bite windows typically occur in the morning hours. For those chasing largemouth, these can still be found in the backs of creeks or pockets. They will not move very far after the spawn, so usually places you caught them in April will hold them through May. Similar topwater baits will catch these fish, but I will also throw in a senko or floating worm for the extra bites. Look especially for shade lines as the day goes by. These bass will use shade to be out of the sun and for an ambush spot for the unsuspecting bait. As always take a moment to look at the mountain’s beauty and all the greenery that shines. Get out there, have fun, and Get Fishing!

#Godsgotthis

Lake Level _3 ft_ below full pool.

Temp: 67-70 degrees Clarity: Clear, slight stain in river with rain

By Gary Turner

Spring has sprung big time with fish biting everywhere pre-spawn. I have some friends that had never been to Santee, South Carolina fishing before, Bailey Winkle and Hunter Jackson, so I called my friend and fishing guide Capt. Dewayne Profitt to see if he had any openings. He just so happened to have one, so we ran over to Santee and fished and had a big-time catching catfish on the north lake, Lake Marion.

Capt. Dewayne and some friends had scheduled a striper hybrid trip on Lake Hartwell a couple of months back, so when it rolled around, I went up there and fished with Dewayne, Mike, Dave, and Capt. Travis Long. We got into the spots and hybrids the first afternoon of fishing. The next morning, we got on the hybrids good, and caught a couple of spotted bass and a couple of flatheads that were feeding with the hybrids.

My friend Stacy Fleming and I went with Capt. Eric Crowley night walleye fishing, and I have never seen so many walleye in my life. They were spawning in the river, and they were thick. Unfortunately, they were not interested in feeding that night, they were too busy spawning. We didn’t catch many, but had a great time trying, and it was such a neat trip to go in the middle of the night up the river. April is the month to do this when the walleye are up in the river spawning. I am marking my calendar to do this again next year.

Right now, I’m on my way to Delray Beach to meet up with several friends from South Carolina to do some peacock bass and Everglades fishing. Benji and Amy brought down their boat and Dewayne, Blake and Tina brought theirs, so we are going to hit Lake Ida for a couple of days to fish for peacocks and clown knife fish. Then we’re going to fish for a day or two in the Everglades for oscars, peacock bass, jaguar, and cichlids.

When I get back from Florida, I’ll work a couple of days, and then I’ll be heading out with some friends to Panacea, Florida for trout and redfish. Looks like April will end up being a great month for fishing! You can get more information on fishing with Capt. Dewayne Profitt by calling him at 740-404-3900 or