Activist Angler Finds Better Luck at Lake Eufaula

Troy Gibson with Lake Eufaula largemouth. Photo by Robert Montgomery

My friend Troy Gibson was disappointed that we didn’t catch more fish when he showed me Alabama’s Lake Eufaula Tuesday.

But considering the slow fishing that I had experienced for several days in Arkansas, I was delighted. Our largest five weighed 15 pounds or better. Plus, we caught several chunky spotted bass in the 1- to 2-pound range.

Additionally, Troy caught a white bass/striped bass hybrid and a channel catfish, which I solemnly promised to reveal to no one. As a tournament angler and one of the nation’s foremost designers of soft plastic baits for bass, he didn’t want that information to get out.

We caught most of our fish on Strike King XD Sexy Shad crankbaits, as we positioned in channels and ditches and threw up onto submerged points and flats in 6 to 17 feet. This was the first time that I had used the Strike King crankbaits, and I was impressed by their action in deeper water and retrieve consistency.

Before we fished Eufaula, Troy took me to Southern Plastics (SP), where he is marketing and sales manager. SP has been making plastic baits for about 40 years, and, since my friend joined Terry Spence’s team, its role as a major player in the fishing industry has grown even more. Terry said fiscal 2012 was their best year ever for the company that produces about 50 million pieces annually, with Bass Pro Shops among its clients.

Here’s an interesting observation from Terry, who knows as much about soft plastic baits as anyone:

“We sell more green pumpkin than anything. Previously, it was pumpkinseed and before that it was electric grape.”

I’ll post more about Southern Plastics later.