MIDDAY UPDATE: Day 1 Diversity at Lake Eufaula

EUFAULA, Ala. – Despite some cold and windy conditions this morning, blue skies and some warmth have given way to some decent fishing so far in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Grundens Stop 4 at Lake Eufaula.

So far, we have reports of about 30 bags over 10 pounds, with Ryan Davidson unofficially heading up the leaderboard with 17 pounds – maybe a touch more. Behind him, John Cox has about 15 1/2 pounds, and knowing Cox, he’s doing his work shallow. That seems to be the approach for about half the field – which is to be expected on a lake that offers a little something for everyone.

Up shallow, pros are keying on typical Eufaula cover and structure (including ample grass) with even more typical baits including spinnerbaits, soft plastics and swim jigs. As the day has progressed, more pros are working their way to offshore spots running brush with big Texas-rigged worms or ChatterBaits, which has produced a ton of fish but unfortunately a ton of the short variety.

Tactics on Eufaula tend to vary quite a bit from section to section, and up by takeoff and the river, we’re seeing a ton of buzzbaits and swim jigs. In the river itself, pros are flipping gator grass, while Troy Morrow is using his forward-facing sonar to find stumps to crank. While not unorthodox in general, it’s unlikely many of Morrow’s competitors have gotten on that pattern.

We may not see many bags approaching the 20-pound range at weigh-in this afternoon, but there should be a good many of the 15-plus-pound variety. Brad Knight already has one of those and Bobby Lane (14 pounds), Trevor Fitzgerald (14 pounds) and John Canada (14 1/2) aren’t far behind.

As we’ve seen with the last couple Pro Circuit events, doing well this week is going to come down to small adjustments. Eufaula houses some really solid kicker fish, but more often than not, pros are going to have to find a way to adapt to the conditions to get around fish and cull little by little. Even Davidson in the unofficial lead doesn’t have a true kicker – all his keepers are between 3 1/4 and 3 3/4 pounds.

With consistent updates from more than half the field to this point, it’s safe to say weights are going to be pretty well stacked come weigh-in. Three pounds currently separates 33rd from 7th on our unofficial leaderboard.

One additional factor to watch the rest of the day and into the weekend is the water level on Eufaula, which one angler commented on this morning. It seems the water level has fallen a bit, which probably isn’t ideal for the pros hunting up on the bank. Still, anyone keying on offshore targets probably isn’t going to complain if the water keeps falling.

Stick with the live leaderboard for additional updates until weigh-in at 3 p.m. CT, a live stream of which you can find at MajorLeagueFishing.com.