Why Is Lake Eufaula A Fisherman's Paradise

Rickey Stokes

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Posted by: RStokes
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Date: Mar 25 2019 11:44 AM

Formed on the Chattahoochee River and stretching for more than 80 miles along the Alabama and Georgia state lines is the Walter F. George Lake, better known as Lake Eufaula.

No matter what you call it, Ray Scott, founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society (B.A.S.S.) and one of the first members of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame, is one of the lake’s biggest fans.

“The quality of bass caught there remains incredible,” he says. “If there is any one lake that could be known as ‘golden pond,’ then it would be the waters of Lake Eufaula.”

A statue of a big bass installed last year touts Eufaula as the “Big Bass Capital of the World,” and while others might also lay claim to that title, the area embraces its fishing legacy.

“Eufaula’s history in bass fishing is legendary, starting back in the ’60s when Ray Scott started having his first tournaments,” says Eufaula Mayor Jack Tibbs.

And though he acknowledges that “to say we’re the big bass capital of the world probably isn’t true in modern-day times,” with bigger fish being caught in newer Texas and California lakes, Tibbs says Lake Eufaula is still top-of-the-list for many bass fishermen.

Hundreds of them will come to Eufaula to compete in the Ray Scott Championship April 1-7 or the Military Team Bass Tournament in May. And chances are that when Bassmaster tournaments are held at Smith Lake (March 21-23), Lake Guntersville (April 17-19 and June 21-24) and Lewis Smith Lake (April 25-27) this year, the anglers competing at those other Alabama lakes will have stories about when they fished Lake Eufaula.

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