Tournament Series Feature Story
2018 Alabama Bass Trail Lake Eufaula Preview
with Thad Hull and Bo Talley
by Dan O’Sullivan
April 5, 2018 – Decatur, Ala. – The third event of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail happens this Saturday at Lake Eufaula, and the anticipation for the event is high. With the past history of the ABT Southern Division stops at Eufaula producing giant winning stringers and spring at the threshold, it appears a collision may be on the verge.
But, bass fishing has a way of stifling expectations, and 2017 winners of the Lake Eufaula event Thad Hull and Bo Talley said that things have been as expected, but they are changing. “The weather we’ve had, and what’s expected this weekend are having an effect on the fishing,” they said. “The forecast is for changing highs and lows, strong winds and rain; it could be tough.”
The pair admitted that while they believe the bite will largely be a difficult one, the winning weights will be fairly high. “The winning weight will probably be over 22 pounds, and it wouldn’t surprise us if it was 28,” they said. “But, the winds are going to make it really difficult and uncomfortable to fish offshore.”
The pair said that the typical winning pattern during this stage of the year is an offshore one, but with the conditions, they said it may be different. “There is a lot of grass on the lake, and there are fish in it,” they said. “The bass at Eufaula are in all stages of their spring patterns, and they will be caught in a variety of ways.”
They reported that anglers would be able to catch fish on anything from the surface to the bottom because of the wide variety of bass stages. “There was a wave that spawned two weeks ago, so fish will be all over the place,” thy said. “Swim jigs, crankbaits, topwater, spinnerbaits and just about everything else will get bites.
“We’re just hoping that we can put it together because anything that we’ve found thus far in practice will change as the conditions do,” they said. “It’s definitely going to be an interesting tournament.”
The third event of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail Southern Division season at Lake Eufaula happens April 6 out of Eufaula, Ala. The mandatory pre-tournament registration and angler information meeting happens on Friday April 5 at the Eufaula Community Center located at 14 Community Drive in Eufaula, AL 36027 with registration happening from 5:00 P.M. – 6:30 P.M. and the pre-tournament meeting beginning at 6:30 P.M. Takeoff and weigh-in occur at Lakepoint State Park 104 Lakepoint Drive, Eufaula, AL 36027.
The sponsors of the 2018 Alabama Bass Trail include; Phoenix Bass Boats, Bill Penney Toyota, Garmin, Academy Sports & Outdoors, America’s First Federal Credit Union, Wind Creek Hospitality – Wetumpka, Wind Creek Hospitality – Montgomery, Alabama Tourism Department, T-H Marine Supplies, Wedowee Marine, Buffalo Rock, Jack’s, Fish Neely Henry Lake.com, Alabama Power Company, Trapper Tackle, Lew’s Fishing, AFTCO, YETI, and E3 Apparel.
For information about Alabama Bass Trail and for complete tournament standings visit www.alabamabasstrail.org.
