June 19, 2024
EUFAULA, Okla. — The water’s “in the bushes,” but the level to which it retreats or advances will be the key determinant for the Bassmaster Open at Lake Eufaula. Competition days are Thursday through Saturday, with daily takeoffs from Nichols Point at 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day in the same location at 2 p.m.
Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Soukup lives about an hour and a half from the 102,000-acre Canadian River reservoir — a lake he’s fished since his childhood. Water level is his key metric, and about two weeks out from the tournament’s commencement, Eufaula had risen well past normal pool.
“It’s a massive body of water and it kinda spreads out really far,” Soukoup said. “Probably the biggest thing that can be a factor right now is we’ve had a lot of rain in Oklahoma and the lake’s (4 1/2 feet) high.
“It’s Oklahoma fishing; if the water’s high, it will be a bush-flipping, old-school, shallow-water derby. When the water’s up 2 feet, there’s a lot of shallow (habitat) like willows and buckbrush, but when it’s up 4 to 5 feet, there’s a lot more water the fish can be in.”
As Soukup said, Oklahoma fish like to live shallow this time of year, but should the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decide to start pulling water out of Eufaula, the result will make the lake fish smaller. Falling water panics fish, as their diminishing habitat prompts mass movement to safer depths. Moreover, a sudden increase in moving water creates productive feeding areas.
“It’s not a current lake like a TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) lake, but if they suck the water out of the bottom end, there’ll be some funnel current spots for guys to hit,” Soukup said. “But it’s not a ton of places, so guys could potentially be stacked on each other.”
Lake Eufaula is fed by the Deep Fork, North Canadian and South Canadian rivers, along with several creeks. This complements the lake’s rocky parts with a lot of sandy, silted-in flat areas. The lake also holds a broad spectrum of water clarity, from good visibility to Oklahoma red mud.
“There’s a lot of dead water, and the key thing for guys to figure out is where that is,” Soukup said. “The crazy thing about the dead areas is that you might catch a couple 5-pounders in practice and you’ll think you have something found, but it’s not something that’s going to produce in a tournament.”
Soukup, who finished sixth at the 2023 Open at Lake Eufaula, said that event was more of an offshore game in brushpiles and rockpiles. He’s betting on the shallow stuff this time around, with the tried-and-true Oklahoma stalwarts — flipping and spinnerbaits — doing much of the heavy lifting.
“If the water comes down, there’ll be some brush in play,” Soukup said. “I don’t think it will be extremely deep brush; more the shallow- to mid-depth brush, along with rock. Dropshots, jigs and shaky-heads will work (in this scenario).
“The spawn will be 99 percent done, but we could have a little bit of shad spawn. I think the major factor will be figuring out what the water will be doing. It’ll be a postspawn-summer time frame, but that high water could interrupt the pattern of the fish going out deep.”
