EUFAULA, Okla. — Oklahoma’s Lake Eufaula will host the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Okie Division anglers on April 11. This will be the second event of the season for the division, and the massive lake should be primed for good fishing, with many bass done spawning and gorging on shad.
What to expect
Okie Division stalwart Shonn Goodwin has eight BFL wins in his long history with Major League Fishing, with one of those occurring on Eufaula. He’s seen the lake at many ups and downs and says this one event should be good but also challenging.
“Actually, there’s been some really good weights lately in local events, but they haven’t gone down the field,” he said. “Not everyone’s catching them like you typically do in the spring there. The lake’s been a little bit low this year because we’ve had an extremely dry spring, and we’re about 3 feet lower than normal, but we are expecting some rain.”
Even a slight increase in water level will put more cover in play, which would boost the weights.
“This lake can fill up quickly with some rain, as we’ve seen at the Toyota Series last year,” he said, referring to the 2025 event that turned into a one-day shootout due to flooding. “If it rises even a little, we could see a ‘Katie, bar the door’ tournament where everyone is catching them like crazy on spinnerbaits in the bushes.”
Aside from the lower-than-normal water level, it’s also been a warmer spring, and Goodwin said the bass spawn should be done by the time of this event. That means the shad spawn could be in full effect.
“The bass spawn should be wrapped up by then or at the very tail end, but the shad spawn should be great around the rocks and docks in the morning,” he said.
He also believes that popular community hole zones around Longtown, Brooken Cove, and Duchess Creek will play.
“Those are usually the main areas where it goes down,” he said. “But in the past few years, the area down south has also been really strong.”
Baits to bring
Goodwin believes power fishing will shine, and he says traditional Oklahoma staples like crankbaits, ChatterBaits, and flipping baits will be popular choices and very effective in this event.
What will it take?
Local tournaments are taking 17 to 23 pounds to win recently, and Goodwin believes the winning BFL weight will be somewhere in that range, pegging 18 to 20 pounds as the most realistic winning weight. To cash a check, somewhere around 14 or 15 pounds should be enough.