Eufaula, OK. – 119 teams competed in the final event of the 2012 season on sprawling, windswept Lake Eufaula. Cloudy, windy, cold and sometimes rainy conditions greeted the anglers on Day 1 making things feel more like March than early October. However, the weather did not hamper the fishing as many teams brought in 5 fish limits with Jake Wedel and Jason Little taking the Day 1 lead with over 18 lbs. and it taking over 16 lbs just to be in the top 10. Big Bass of Day 1 tipped the scales at 5.55 lbs. and as brought in by the team of Larry Shackleford and Steve Fulps.
Day 2 brought better weather conditions with quite a bit of sun and lighter winds. However, as is often the case with post frontal conditions fishing wasn’t nearly as good with many teams failing to duplicate their Day 1 efforts. The team of Eric Poindexter of Eufaula, OK. and Justin Phillips of Checotah, OK. were in 13th place after Day 1 and made up nearly a 3 lb. deficit with the biggest stringer of Day 2 at 17.74 lbs to take home the $30,000 payday with a total weight of 33.44 lbs narrowly edging out the 2nd place team and Day 1 leaders Jake Wedel and Jason Little. Jake and Jason’s total weight of 33.19 lbs. earned them $15,000. Day 2 Big Bass of 5.16 lbs was brought in by the team of Ben Jackson and Bobby Myers. Big Bass each day paid $1,000. 76 teams weighed limits with the avg. fish weighing 2.48 lbs. The Skeeter Dealer Customer Appreciation Bonus of $2,500 went to the 5th place team of Rob Wadley and Vance Montgomery. This makes the third bonus check this team has earned in the past two years. Total money collected for this event was $35,700. The entry fee money combined with sponsor money paid out $84,525 for a total cash payout percentage of 237% making the Skeeter XFL circuit the highest cash payout circuit in the state. I had a chance to visit with Eric Poindexter and Justin Phillips and they shared a little insight on their winning ways.
Eric and Justin pre-fished for this event several times during the week leading up to this event and found a small area near the dam that was holding quality fish. The area contained rock and was in 20′ of water. Rock was the key feature the team concentrated on. The team fished the same area both days and the sunshine on Day 2 helped the deep bite. Their lures of choice were a black/blue TrendSetter Tackle Jig and green pumpkin A&M Baits Trick Stick. Congratulations to Eric and Justin for their hard earned and well deserved win.
Thoughts on the 2012 Season: The 2012 season has come and gone and the biggest story is the much anticipated domination of the Alabama Rig never materialized. The Alabama Rig accounted for the win in the first event of the season in March. But, the Alabama Rig was never a factor after that. Jigs accounted for the win in April. The May event was won exclusively on A&M Baits Trick Sticks. The June event was won by “junk fishing” with a variety of lures and the Championship was won with Jigs and A&M Baits Trick Sticks. So, the final tally was Jigs – 2, A&M Baits Trick Sticks – 2, “Junk” – 1 and the Alabama Rig – 1. The other big story is the unprecedented cash payout of the Skeeter XFL circuit. No other circuit pays out the cash that this circuit does. For those teams that do not wish to mess with trying to sell a boat and deal with all the issues involved with it (not that winning a boat is a bad thing), then the Skeeter XFL circuit is the one to fish in Oklahoma. A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all the sponsors and the fishermen for making the Skeeter XFL circuit possible. Without all of your support this circuit wouldn’t be possible. On behalf of the Skeeter XFL staff and we wish everyone the best for the remainder of the year and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
Capt. Rob