Eufaula- I-40 - 3-16-2009

[Gamblinman]

Fished the I-40 rip-rap today and brought home 26 nice fish. No giants, but all solid fish. Most were caught before 10:00am.
Spider-rigging minnows in 15-20 ft. of water, 8-10 ft. deep.

Water temp this afternon was 54º on the North side and 57º on the South side.

Eggs in females were grainy, but still solid. It won't be long though. With the nice weather predicted, the pre-spawn on the northern end of the lake should begin in ernest.

[rigrunner(236)]

Thanks for the report.

[STL Crappie Nightmare]

Fished the I-40 rip-rap today and brought home 26 nice fish. No giants, but all solid fish. Most were caught before 10:00am.
Spider-rigging minnows in 15-20 ft. of water, 8-10 ft. deep.

Water temp this afternon was 54º on the North side and 57º on the South side.

Eggs in females were grainy, but still solid. It won't be long though. With the nice weather predicted, the pre-spawn on the northern end of the lake should begin in ernest.

Thanks for the report Gamblinman, I have a question for you in regards to spider rigging I-40 I came down this past weekend but I fished Gentry Creek but i fished I-40 about 3 weeks ago when I came down and everyone fishing I 40 was anchored and tied off to the rocks. The wind was low so I was wondering is this the normal way to fish the bridge or do you like to troll the bridge while spider rigging? Which do you have better luck with? I like to spider rig also but I like to be on the move, I'll be back down there this weekend to pick up my daughter from spring break and was planning on giving I-40 a go if the wind lays down. Also I was told that the south side of I-40 was much better than the north side but with the wind coming out of the south this coming weekend doy you think the north side is worth fishing? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Winger]

I fish I-40 quite a bit. Most people just anchor up, as you have seen, and drown minnows with corks or tightlines. So, yes, it is the "normal" way. I prefer to slow troll, either spider rigged or holding the rods in hand. Trolling is the minority at I-40 though. The anchored people can make this difficult if there are a lot of boats there (and there are a LOT at times), and especially if the wind is blowing.

As for north side, south side. I have caught more on the north side than the south side, but that is just me. Either side can be very good. Also, most people don't fish west of the bridge and that can be very good too.

[Gamblinman]

I only spider-rig I-40 during the week, due to the number of boats anchored off on weekends. Since I started a new job today, I suspect my spider-rigging days at that location are over, since I'll just be fishing weekends that I'm not turkey hunting. After the weather this week, I'll probably start fishing in, or at the mouths of creeks, catching pre-spawn, spawning, and post spawn fish.

[STL Crappie Nightmare]

Thanks for the info fellas I appreciate it, looks like there's a possibility of isolated storms in the forecast I hope I have a chance 2 fish this weekend. I hate to drive all that way and look at all that water and not fish it