Lake Oconee Fishing Report – August 2007

Level: Full pool. Temp: 84-87 degrees. Clarity: Mostly clear, except for a light stain in the backs of some creeks.

Bass: There is a good topwater bite early in the mornings. Guide Al Bassett said the rip-rap is a good choice to find a few topwater fish. “A good bait to use on the rip-rap is a Pop-R, and also throw a No. 5 Shad-Rap,” Al said. “After the topwater slows, fishing a Carolina-rigged worm in the watermelon-seed or watermelon-candy colors with a 24-inch leader will be a good bait.” Fish the Carolina-rig on long, main-lake points or where you find an area with a sharp drop-off. The quality of these summertime, main-lake, Carolina-rig bass has been very good this summer on Oconee. Before fishing, use your depthfinder to see if there is bait in the area. “If you don’t find baitfish, then move to another location,” Al said. “A big crankbait fished on these points will bring you a few bites.” Al said other good summertime areas are the main-lake humps that top out in 10 to 12 feet of water. The main key is to fish when Georgia Power is moving water. The flippin’ bite under docks has been fair — good quality, but you won’t get bit often.

Crappie: Good. “Fish drop-offs where the water quickly goes from 7 to 8 feet down to 15 to 20 feet deep,” Al said. “I will use my Lowrance 520C to find the fish before I start to fish. Using light line, 4- or 6-lb. test, with a No. 6 hook a small split shot and a live minnow. Fish this bait 6 to 12 inches off the bottom. Make sure that when you catch your first fish you use a marker to mark that area. These fish are in very tight schools.” Also, there’s a good bite in the timber on cedar trees with lots of branches that are in about 30 feet of water. The crappie are suspending about 10 feet down on the trees.

Linesides: Fair for hybrids and small stripers, but good for small white bass. “When Georgia Power is moving water, there are some schools of hybrids being found around the lake,” Al said. “Look for long points and underwater islands where the hybrids are running shad up to the top of the water. Use a popping cork when they are on top, then switch to a Flex-It spoon when they go down.” The trolling and live-bait bite has been sporadic but really good at times. Troll a big crankbait to find the hybrids before wasting your shad – the shad won’t live long this time of year. The best bite has shifted from the dam area to the mid-lake from Sugar Creek down to Long Shoals. The white bass are schooling first thing in the morning from Sugar Creek to the dam. Try Thing Poppers with a small popping bug or a 1/4-oz. white Rooster Tail.