Eufaula, OK – The XFL-Extreme Fishing League presented by Skeeter Boats kicked off the 2016 tournament season on sprawling, wind-swept Lake Eufaula on Sunday March 20, 2016. Prior to this event the Oklahoma weather had been unseasonably warm with highs in the upper 70s and lows in the 50s. This weather pattern had been going on for weeks causing water temperatures to rise, the dogwoods and redbuds to bloom, the geese to start nesting and the bass to move to the shallows to begin their spawning ritual.
Spring had sprung early in Oklahoma. Early reports from Eufaula indicated a strong, shallow-water bite with lots of 20lb+ stringers being weighed. Things were setting up for a real slug fest and then SHE decided to show us who is boss. That SHE is Mother Nature. On Friday evening She teamed up with her buddy Old Man Winter and they combined their powers in the form of a massive cold front with high winds. Temperatures plummeted 30 degrees and the winds blew 25-35 mph out of the north. Just days before, folks were fishing in shorts and T-shirts. By the time take-off on Sunday morning (which ironically was the first day of Spring) rolled around, long johns, sweatshirts, heavy rain gear, gloves and sock hats were the order of the day. I have no idea what we did to piss off these two; but whatever it was, they were plenty angry and vented their wrath upon us. Conditions at take-off were strong north winds and temps in the 30s making for rough water and tough driving conditions. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining. Many teams opted to take their time, get to their first destination and stay there throughout the day. As is always the case, even when there are less than desirable fishing conditions one team will figure out the winning pattern. This team was first-time XFL participants Red Rutherford of Durant, OK. and Kelly McCollum of Coalgate, OK. Even though this was this team’s first XFL tournament they have many years of tournament experience on Eufaula. Red and Kelly weighed 20.62 lbs anchored by the Big Bass of the tournament at 6.26 lbs. They took home a total of $21,000. 2nd place and $10,000 went to the team of Scott Dennis and Scott Stephens with a 5 fish limit of 18.31 lbs. The Skeeter Bonus money of $5000 went to Brandon Mosley and Brad Lankford for the being the highest finisher in a qualifying Skeeter Boat. I spoke with Red and he provided some good details on how they went about catching the winning stringer.
Red and Kelly’s pre-fishing strategy centered around finding the best water they could find that they could effectively fish in the forecasted high winds. The duo decided to start in the Longtown arm and stay there all day. Red won a tournament on the day before this event with a 25 lb bag which most certainly verified their game plan for XFL. Red indicated they concentrated on secondary, rocky points within small pockets off the main lake. Their lure of choice was a slow rolled chart/white spinnerbait with double Colorado blades. Red said the slower the retrieve, the better. They fished many areas with only 1 spot giving up more than 1 fish. That particular spot only yielded 2 fish. The one exception to the rock pattern was the big bass which came off a lone stump. They caught 9 keepers for the day with all fish coming out of 2-5′ of water. The keys to catching the winning stringer were hitting as many of these areas as possible but fishing really slow. The other key, which is certainly true for anyone, is that they landed everything they hooked. When I asked Red if he would like to mention any sponsors he said “my best sponsor is my wife. She lets me do the things I love to do”. Congratulations to Red and Kelly on their hard-earned victory.
Congratulations are in order for all the teams that cashed a check at this tournament. It certainly wasn’t an easy one as evidenced by only 36 limits weighed and 96 teams not weighing a fish out of the 185 boat field. Once again XFL showed it is the premier fishing circuit in Oklahoma by paying out $55,591 in cash prize money on $37,000 in entry fees for a 150% payout. On behalf of the XFL staff, thank you to the fishermen and all our sponsors for making XFL such a great circuit. We hope to see all of you at our next event. XFL will be going for the first time to Lake Texoma on April 17th. Until then, see you on the water.
Capt. Rob.