Teply Wins Lake Eufaula In Oklahoma and Takes $5,000

EUFAULA, Okla. – By mere ounces, Mark D. Teply won the Boater Division in the American Bass Anglers Open Series, Presented by Caymas Boats, Oklahoma Division 14 tournament, held April 30, 2022, at Lake Eufaula, Okla.

Launching at Peters Point in the town of Eufaula, Okla., the Midwest City angler brought in a 5-bass tournament limit for 18.67 pounds. He anchored that sack with a 4.28-pounder to give him a 3.73-pound average. That put $5,000 in his pocket.

“I had a good day,” Teply stated. “We beat up the banks slow-rolling a white and chartreuse spinnerbait. The fish turned on early this morning and we had a good buzzbait bite. By afternoon, it got a little slow and I finally culled a small fish right at the end. I fished a crawfish-colored square-billed crankbait against the rocks. I caught about seven fish and lost some. I had a lot of short strikes on the spinnerbait.”

In second among the boaters, Kevin Rich of Cushing also landed his 5-bass limit. Less than three ounces out of first place, Rich’s bag weighed 18.50 pounds. 

“I caught my biggest bass on a ChatterBait,” Rich revealed. “All of my other fish came on a Senko. I culled once. I had all my fish by 8:30 a.m. I caught about 10 keepers. They were all in two to six feet of water. One of my fish was spawning, but the rest had already spawned.”

Less than half a pound behind the leader, Phillip D. Lunceford from Stigler finished third. He brought in five keepers for 18.21 pounds. Lunceford anchored the sack with a 4.10-pounder to earn $700.

“I started working a shad spawn with a spinnerbait early in the morning,” Lunceford detailed. “With a shad spawn, we have about an hour to take advantage of it. I had a limit by 8 a.m. and the spinnerbait bite died off. After that, I ran around looking for a big bite. The water dropped about a foot, so the fish that had been up in the bushes backed off. I caught my biggest fish flipping a black and blue Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver around shallow wood. Later, we tried some other spots in the north end of the lake. I flipped the floats on the walkways. The black floats are usually a degree or two warmer. I culled once doing that. I caught another six keepers, but nothing that helped.” 

Steve Perkins from Velma finished fourth among the boaters with a 5-bass limit going 17.05 pounds. He capped his catch with a 5.02-pounder to take home $500. Eli H. Brumnett of Wagoner finished fifth with five bass at 16.56 pounds, good enough for $400.

Cameron Tull from Norman placed sixth among the boaters with a 5-bass limit weighing 16.39 pounds. He anchored that catch with a 6.05-pounder that topped the tournament big bass category. Tull pocketed $380 for sixth place and a $590 bonus for the big bass, giving him a total of $970.

In the Co-Angler Division, Shane W. Cashman of Henryetta landed a 3-bass division limit for 9.11 pounds, giving him a 3.07-pound average. He helped that average by landing a 4.03-pound kicker. Cashman went home with an extra $950.

“I caught all of my fish by flipping green pumpkin soft plastics up shallow for spawning bass,” Cashman said. “I had all my fish by 8:30 a.m. After that, it was a grind. I caught about six keepers throughout the day. I give a lot of credit to my boater, Archie Baldridge. I spotted a spawning fish. I could actually see her tail sticking out of the water. I told Archie and he took me over there to fish for that 4.03-pound bass and I caught it. It made all the difference. I culled a 1.5-pounder for the big one and that gave me the win.”

In second for the co-anglers, Terry W. Snow from Sherman, Texas, brought in three keepers for 8.94 pounds. He earned $425 for the effort.

“I fished all day with a spinnerbait or a crankbait,” Snow commented. “I threw a spinnerbait way up on the bank as far as I could and slow-rolled it off. The bass hit it before it hit the bottom. I had a limit in 45 minutes. I caught about seven keepers and culled some small ones.”

Steve Hunter of Coweta placed third in the division with three bass going 8.70 pounds. He went home with a check for $300 in his pocket.

“We started shallow,” Hunter said. “I threw a War Eagle spinnerbait in purple shad color. I also threw a small Gambler Little Otter in green and orange. I had a limit within an hour. I caught seven keepers total, but just couldn’t cull up. I thank my boater, Cameron Foster, for putting us on fish. We were around fish all day. I just needed a few bigger ones.”

In fourth place, Blake B. Wilson from Benton, Ark., brought in three keepers for 8.60 pounds to take $250 back to the Natural State. Justin Fuller of Broken Arrow wrapped up the top five co-anglers with a 3-bass limit for 7.70 pounds, a sack worth $200.

Dustin E. Herrick of Inola only landed one keeper, but he made it count. His 5.10-pounder took the division lunker honors and let Herrick finish in 14th place. For the big fish, Herrick earned $170.

The division next heads to Fort Gibson Lake on May 21, 2022, for the third event of the season. The anglers will run out of Wahoo Bay in Wagoner, Okla. To register for this event, CLICK HERE.

American Bass Anglers is sponsored by Caymas Boats, Mercury Marine, T-H Marine, Garmin Electronics, Power Pole, Lucas Oil, RT Outdoors, Sportsman Card, Optima Batteries, Hotel Planner.com, and LurePartsOnline.com.

About American Bass Anglers: American Bass Anglers is committed to providing low-cost, close-to-home tournaments for the weekend angler and, at the same time, offering each competitor an upward path for individual angler progression. 

For more information about American Bass Anglers, the Open Series, the American Fishing Tour, the American Couples Series, the annual Military Team Bass Tournament, and the Top 150 Solo Tour, all presented by Caymas Boats, visit www.americanbassanglers.com or call (256) 232-0406

This story was written by ABA staff writer John N. Felsher. To submit articles of interest email info@americanbassanglers.com.