Eufaula, OK – The XFL-Extreme Fishing League presented by Skeeter Boats held its 3rd even of the 2014 season on sprawling wind-swept Lake Eufaula. Thus far, 2014 has been a story of extreme weather conditions. It’s ranged from freezing fog, down-right raw-boned cold and never-ending winds. The days leading up to this event saw cold temperatures in the mornings and sunny, pleasant afternoons with light winds. Very nice conditions for pre-fishing. However, Mother Nature continued her cruel ways and greeted 171 teams with blustery 30 mph+ winds on Sunday, May 4th. The winds made for rough boat rides at take-off. Mother Nature then showed a little mercy on our poor souls and abated the winds to where it was somewhat tolerable in the afternoon. Despite the rough conditions the tournament yielded 438 fish, 67 limits and a 2.80 lb. avg. Total entry fees collected were $34,200, $55,015 was paid out for a 161% payout.
Topping the 171 boat field was the team of Rick Matthews and Darren Clinton with a 5 fish stringer weighing 23.74 lbs anchored by the big bass of the day at 5.49lbs. Rick and Darren took home a grand total of $21,000. Coming in 2nd place was the father/son team of Tom and Justin Haynes with 20.44 lbs. The $5,000 Skeeter Customer Appreciation Bonus money went to the team of Blake Ellison and Mark Shadowens with 17.09lbs for being the highest finisher competing out of a qualifying Skeeter Boat. Congratulations to these teams and all the other teams that cashed checks in this event. I spoke with Rick Matthews and he provided some insight on how their day went.
Rich and Darren are no strangers to the winners circle on Lake Eufaula. The readers may recall that Rick and Darren won this event on the same weekend back in 2013. What is ironic is that the team used the exact same tactic to win this event that they did in 2012. The only difference is that this year they were not able to pre-fish a single day. Rick had recently sold his boat and Darren was having livewell issues with his. Therefore, on Saturday they opted to fix the livewell problem and take their chances fishing “blind”. Fishing the same areas with the same lures as they did in the past they amassed a limit by 10:00 a.m. They caught a total of 8 keepers during the day and culled out a key fish with their 5.49lb big bass around 11:00. They caught their fish using a 1/4 oz A&M Baits Hooker Head jig head with an A&M Baits green pumpkin Trick Stick with the tail dyed chartreuse. They targeted water 4-6′ with rock being the primary cover. Rick surmised that the fish had spawned in these areas and backed off the bank to recoup from the rigors of spawning. By 1:00 the team decided to work their way back towards Eufaula Cove because they didn’t want to chance loosing a fish. Even though they were in the 2nd flight they chose to weigh-in with the 1st flight just to be on the safe side. Congratulations go out to Rick and Darren on a well-earned victory.
On behalf of the XFL Staff and all the sponsors I want to thank all that participated in this event and we look forward to seeing everyone at the final regular season event at Grand Lake.
See you on the water,
Capt. Rob