PRIME TIME
Diehard bass fishermen familiar with the lake can find and catch bass at Eufaula at any time of the year. But their favorite time is now, which also happens to be the best period for newcomers to get their lines stretched.

It's a great time to be on the water. Not only are the turkeys gobbling on both the Alabama and Georgia sides of the river, but the alligators also are becoming more active, and the carp are noisily wallowing out weedbeds. Best of all, the bass fishing can be incredible from dam to dam.

Younger anglers may not remember the "Little George" or the original fruity-smelling "jelly worms." Too bad, since both lures -- made on the banks of, tested and proven in the fertile waters of Lake Eufaula -- revolutionized bass fishing. Their maker was the now legendary Tom Mann, who long before the likes of Denny Brauer or Rick Clunn was considered the only angler who could walk on water. Okay, maybe Mann and Bill Dance.

While Dance's favorite haunts might be the Tennessee River lakes, Eufaula was Mann's own personal backyard playground. He admits that catching back-to-back 7-pounders might no longer be the norm, but he still rates his favorite lake among the best in the world -- especially in late March and April.

"The lake is never too muddy to fish," Mann noted. "If we have huge rains, start on the lower end and work the rocks and the dam. More 12-pound bass are caught on the dam than any other place on the lake, and mostly in March, April and May. Ideal lures are plastic worms, crankbaits and spinnerbaits."

The bass might be anywhere between the bank and the boat, depending on the water's clarity. They could be right on top of the riprap in stained water, or 10 to 15 feet deep if it's clear. To hedge all bets, keep whatever lure you're fishing in the water as long as possible.

If there are no clouds and no wind, big bass can be caught with shallow-running crankbaits or jerkbaits.

If you do not find the fish near the lower dam, visit the spawning areas like Sandy, Pataula, Drag Nasty and Thomas Mill creeks. Spawned-out females are hungry and very near the beds that they have given over to the males. Mann said these huge sows can be found in almost every cove on the lake in April.

"White Oak Creek is also excellent," Mann added. "Every small pocket will have fish. But as the lake starts clearing, normally the lower end gets too clear and the better fishing is from White Oak northward."

Mann might be a designer of plastic worms and crankbaits, but he knows better than to dismiss topwater plugs and buzzbaits. From mid-April until mid-May, Eufaula can be a topwater man's paradise.

"Before 9:00, it's nothing to go out there and catch 50 bass," agreed Thompson, who has fished tourneys with Mann and credits him with supplying his first customers. "April is spawning time. You can catch a lot of big spring fish, but they won't weigh as much after the spawn. Eight- and 9-pound fish are common, but 10 pounds and above are rare after May. If you're looking for a really big fish, fish the last week of February up until the full month of April -- before they spawn.

"Not too long ago, I caught an 11 1/2, and (a client) caught a 10 on the same day during first week in April. Those fish were just loaded with roe. They had big old bellies on them," Thompson recounted, adding that he and his customer were flipping in 3 feet of water.

"Riverside Baits makes a floating craw. It's got pinchers impregnated with air. When it sits on the bottom, those pinchers stick right up," he said. "They call it Neon Black. It has a little bit of red flake in it and blue craws."

There's very little boat traffic on Lake Eufaula during the week. On weekends, personal watercraft can be more of a problem than bass boats. The farther you motor north in the lake, the less traffic you encounter. Nevertheless, the fish will be biting all along the Chattahoochee in the spring.