FISHERY
SPOTLIGHT
lake eufaula , oklahoma
An unfamiliar fishery with a familiar name awaits MLF competitors
I f Rodney Dangerfield had a favorite lake , it ’ d probably have been Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma . After all , the comedic legend knew a thing or two about getting no respect .
Not only does Eufaula get greatly overshadowed in state by the much more well-known Grand Lake , but it even gets overshadowed in name , nationally , with the Lake Eufaula in Alabama getting far more notoriety .
By Sean Ostruszka
That all could change , though , when Major League Fishing calls the lake home this April for the third stop of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals ’ 2023 season .
big … real big
Pull up Lake Eufaula on a map and one thing immediately becomes clear : It ’ s massive . It ’ s the largest lake in the state and cracks the top 15 largest in
ILLUSTRATIONS BY BRANDON ROWAN the country by covering roughly 105,500 acres ( which makes it just slightly smaller than Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas , for reference ).
Formed by a variety of rivers ( the Canadian River being the largest ) including the North Fork Canadian and Deep Fork Rivers , there are three fairly distinct sections of the lake to dissect : a large northern stretch from the North Canadian to mid-lake , a mid-lake section that runs from southwest to northeast along the Canadian River ( to the Eufaula Dam ) and a southern section that extends past Arrowhead State Park toward McAlester . The three sections of the lake form somewhat of a cross shape .
The sheer size of Eufaula is one of the reasons anglers should be both excited and on edge according to Tackle Warehouse Invitational pro James Elam , who ’ s one of few pros on the national bass fishing stage who has experience on Eufaula .
“ Guys are going to love how big the lake is and how much they ’ ll be able to spread out ,” Elam says . “ But the biggest challenge of the lake is its vastness . There ’ s so much water to cover to try and find the right areas .”
With so little major tournament history on the fishery , there ’ s also far less knowledge for anglers to work from , too . Anglers who have fished Grand and Lake Texoma will certainly feel at home , though , as the lake sets up very similar to its in-state brethren .
Still , bigger isn ’ t always better , especially when it comes to weather and what it can do to water clarity .
Oklahoma may not be the windiest place on the planet , but it sure can seem like it at times . And considering Lake Eufaula is a lowland reservoir with nothing but flat prairies all around it , even a moderate wind can make for a bone-jarring boat ride , and a switch in wind direction can ruin a whole fishing area quickly , especially since the majority of the bottom composition is sand . Anglers need to not only have backup plans for ruined areas but also ones for managing time if the water gets rough .
going to bed ?
Any spring tournament outside the northern states typically centers on the spawn , and this one in particular could prove that . Consider what happened last year .
76 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023