Lake Oconee Crappie Fishing Report

Bass fishing is slow. The major lake is still stained. This Richland Creek arm of the lake isn’t as stained as the major lake. Spinner baits fished around wood and docks have been producing well over the past week.  don’t be scared to fish shallow. The New Lowrance 3D Technology can shoot all the way to the bank and we can see these shallow fish. Spinner baits with chartreuse in them have been out producing all other.  Jigs with a big black trailer will also work on the bridge rip rap or on rocks in the Richland creek arm of the lake.  . (southernfishing.com)

Bass fishing is good. The Lake is full, light stain up the rivers, clear on major lake. Water temperature is 61 to 66 degrees. Start at the mouths of the big creeks and big pockets. Target docks and wood structure with a crank bait. Work behind the creek or pocket as the bait and fish move deeper into the creeks. A shaky head fished under the same docks will also draw strikes. Georgia Power was pulling water most afternoons and the fish are stacking up on the bridge rip rap and taking the same crank baits. (fishhound.com)

Just The the fish holding tight to cover, then the passing warm fronts shift has the fish more active. The back and forth has adversely impacted the bite. Some fish may be found in comparatively shallow water in some coves around docks but most fish may be found offshore in deeper water around ledges and humps. In the coves the fish are located around docks and woody structure and the best lures are small crankbaits Shad Rap, jigs and plastic worms/ lizards. The fish located in deep water may be caught using Carolina rigs, drop shot rigs and jigging spoons. (lakeoconeebreeze.net)

Bass fishing is slow. The bass will be tight in any shallow brush out to the ends of the points mid to lower lake. Carolina rigs with green pumpkin Zoom lizard will work. Use one rod with a 4-inch lizard and one rod with a 6-inch lizard and learn what the bass like. Use the Lowrance CHIRP Sonar and the Lowrance Down beams to see the fish close to the bottom. Run HIGH or MEDIUM CHIRP with regular 200 kHz or 83 kHz beams to find the schools of baitfish. Find the bait fish, find the bass. Look for the clouds of baitfish in the the creeks and at the opening of the coves. Baitfish should also be found around the humps in the center of the lake. (georgiawildlife.wordpress.com)

Lake Oconee is primarily in Greene County, near Madison and Greensboro. The 19, 050-acre reservoir is operated by the Georgia Power Company with Lake Sinclair as a pump-storage pump back hydropower generation building. This distinctive operation in mix with the lake’s long, narrow form produces obvious water current during the lake throughout power generation and pump back. Fish tend to be more active and feed more aggressively when water is moving through the dam. (georgiawildlife.org)

Crappie fishing is good. The fish are in the mouths of the creek and big coves. Long lines with double jigs trolled at 1mph was the best producer over the past week. The spider rigging bite has picked up over the past week. When spider rigging it’s best to tip the jig with a minnow. Any jig as long as it has chartreuse in it’ll work. Some of the fish are on the ledges in 15 to 20 feet of water and minnows fished on down lines will produce good catches. (fishing-about.com)

: Slow trolling with an electric motor or drifting across 3 to 4 feet deep flats near the major channels are the most productive techniques. Troll or drift over the flats with a rig composed of a 3-inch chartreuse, curly-tailed grub on a lead-head jig tied to the bottom, a green and yellow Hal Fly about a foot above that and an oblong float on the surface. The rig should not be more than 1 to 2 feet deep. (finefishing.com)

Georgia Power finished the dam to form Lake Oconee in 1979. The lake is 19, 000 acres with over 300 miles of shoreline. The lake is filled by the Oconee and Appalachee Rivers also as some big creeks. Lake Oconee is distinctive in that the water never fluctuates more than 18 inches and is pumped down and filled back by Georgia Power daily. This motion of water makes the fish feed on the current motion just like that in the ocean. Oconee has a thriving largemouth bass population also as hybrids and crappie. The abundant shad in the lake keeps the fish healthy. The lake has little vegetation and some standing timber, most of which is in deep water. (anglerweb.com)

LARGEMOUTH BASS – SLOW The muddy to heavily stained water continues to have a negative affect on fishing success. The Berry s Tournament on February sixth resulted in tough fishing for many of the anglers. No single pattern works but most fish being caught are coming on jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits around any woody structure. The spoon bite is still negatively impacted by the muddy/stained water. (lakeoconeenews.us)

Catfish fishing is excellent on Oconee, however the population is changing with the expansion of the recently presented blue and flathead catfish populations. While there are lots of smaller channel and white catfish that can steadily be caught during the lake, the number of small, 6 – 10 inch fish has refused somewhat and the in general size and quality of catfish has improved. Blues and flatheads continue to develop their population, and many flatheads over twenty pounds have been caught in the recent past. Live shad or bluegill and cut bait are the best baits for flatheads, and hot summer nights are the best time to catch them. (completefish.com)