All other fish species take a back seat to crappie on Oklahoma's Lake Eufaula, where fertile waters produce slab-sized specs.
Anglers line banks and boats fill coves any time the crappie bite heats up at Lake Eufaula, a sprawling Oklahoma reservoir where crappie is king. The biggest "run" occurs during spring, when the crappie move extra shallow to spawn, but autumn also brings great fishing and attracts crowds of anglers as the crappie feed up to prepare for tougher days ahead.
Lake Eufaula, which spreads over 102,000 acres in eastern Oklahoma, is crappie factory, according to tournament angler and crappie fishing guide
Todd Huckabee . Despite intense fishing pressure the lake produces tremendous numbers of fish, year after year, with plenty of large fish in the mix. "Crappie grow big in this lake," Huckabee said.
Huckabee typically goes after Lake Eufaula’s slab crappie with larger offerings than many crappie fishermen would tie on. His favorite crappie lure, without question, is a
pink and black 2-inch YUM Wooly Beavertail on a 1/8-ounce leadhead. He also likes 3-inch YUM Dingers and assorted crankbaits, including Bomber Fat Free Shads .
Because threadfin shad, which are the larger crappie's main forage on Lake Eufaula, aren't quite as large overall in the fall as they will be during the spring run, anglers also should experiment with 1 1/2-inch
Wooly Beavertails , along with the same size of Wooly Curltails and Vibra King Tubes .
Many Eufaula anglers look for fish primarily around brushpiles and other fish attractors. However, finding schools of shad is far more important to Huckabee than finding cover. During the fall, finding the biggest concentrations of shad often means moving well up creeks, often into very shallow water.
Eufaula offers a blend of deep- and shallow-water habitat, with bluffs and broad flats bounding opposite sides of creek and river arms. Water color in the lake ranges from a light stain to heavy mud. Huckabee generally fishes shallow, and he seeks the muddiest water he can find.
The muddy waters where Huckabee prefers to fish his
Wooly Beavertails demand highly visible baits, which is a major part of what makes pink and black such a great color combination. He also likes hot pink and white and assorted color combinations that include chartreuse. He’ll often begin a day fishing three or four color combinations and let the crappie dictate their preferences. Because he fishes with two jigs on each line and two rods at a time, he often can figure out the fish’s preferred colors in a hurry.
Anglers who have not spent much time on Lake Eufaula must be extremely careful navigating the lake. A multitude of hazards lie just beneath the lake's surface in waters that are often quite murky. Hiring a guide for a day is a good investment even if only for the purpose of learning more about safe navigation.
To learn more about fishing trips with Todd Huckabee, log onto
www.toddhuckabee.com .