Although the weather has been crazy, fishing is getting better and better just in time for the FLW Bass Fishing League Bama Division Tournament Saturday on Alabama’s Lake Eufaula.

“Fishing is getting hot. Day by day it is getting better,” said guide Capt. Sam Williams of Eufaula. And not just for bass, either, he noted.

“Crappie fishing is getting better. We are catching some big crappie, just not a lot of numbers yet. People are starting to catch some big catfish, also. It’s just a little bit too early for panfish, although a week and a half ago a fellow here got on a big bed of shellcrackers.”

Despite the cold, rainy weather, bass fishing has begun to take off, too, he said.

“I had a guy in the store this morning who caught a 6-pounder,” said Williams who noted that it took 14 pounds to win a big tournament out of Lake Point State Park two weeks ago, but it took 22 pounds to win a tournament last weekend.

“The bigger bass are just starting to do a little bit of moving and they will be moving in once the weather warms up. The barometric pressure has been going crazy. After the last full moon they pulled off the beds,” he said.

Williams had some advice for anglers planning to fish in the Bama BFL Tournament Saturday.

“They are talking about people fishing all the way down to the dam. You have to be extra cautious down there because the river gets so wide. The wind gets up, especially out of the north and south. People need to fish north of the railroad trestle to be safe,” he said.

“We’ve got more storms coming through this week and the water is going to be dirty. Rat-L-traps are really hot right now,” he said, “but schooling fish are not busting shad out of the water. You will be working the shoreline and hear a swirl behind you. Throw at the swirl. I had a guy who fished last Wednesday and he caught 20-something bass, but he never saw a shad bust out of the water.”

Up to 400 boaters and co-anglers are expected at Lake Point State Park on Lake Eufaula Saturday for the second of five stops in the Bama Division 2011 schedule. Based on entries, first prize could be as much as $9,500 for the boaters and $3,000 for co-anglers.

Williams, a full-time guide on Lake Eufaula, is also the founder and tournament director for the annual Lee King Benefit Tournament which will be held Saturday, June 11, out of Lake Point State Park. The Lee King Foundation, which holds the tournament and other fund-raising events, is named for Lee King, a local teenager afflicted with Niemann-Pick disease, a rare terminal degenerative disease for which there is no cure. Children with the disease have only their childhood to live a lifetime and King died last month at the age of 20.

“We lost Lee the last Saturday in February,” Williams said. “We are goi9ng to keep the tournament going in his behalf and we hope to get up to 200 boats this June.”

For information on fishing Lake Eufaula or on the Lee King Benefit Tournament, contact Williams at (334) 687-6266; (334) 355-5057 (mobile); or (334) 687-4000 (store). Check out his guide service at : http://www.hawksfishingguideservice.com/.

 

FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) – Bama Division

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Lake Eufaula

Lake Point State Park

www.flwoutdoors.com