Lake Oconee Fishing Report August 2012

Oconee: Level: 0.3 feet below full pool. Temp: 90 degrees. Clarity: Light stain.

Bass: Fair. Tournament angler Mike Harris reports, “Try Pop-Rs and small Zara Spooks at first light around main-lake and main-creek points and docks. Once the sun gets up, move off those same areas and switch to deep crankbaits, like a Strike King 6XD and a Carolina rig on a 3-foot leader with a Senko or Trick Worm. If Georgia Power is pulling water, crank the rip-rap on the bridges in Lick Creek, Sugar Creek and the Oconee River.” Aaron Batson is running main-lake humps, points and deeper docks catching fish. “You can catch some fish right at daylight throwing a topwater hollow-belly Spro frog,” said Aaron. After that Aaron will break out the Carolina rig. He prefers dragging a Wackem Crazy Baits Trick Stick in junebug or redbug. When working deep docks, Aaron likes a Net Boy Baits jig or a shaky head with a Trick Stick.

Linesides: Fair. Guide Doug Nelms said, “Lake Oconee is getting kinda hard to fish now. The water temp is over 90, and the fish have gone dormant. The tiny bait schools are forming all over the lake, which typically means the summertime slump is here. If there are any fish to be had, you can find them on the hayfield at Sugar Creek and at the pipeline in front of Great Waters Golf Course. However, you can manage to catch a few below the dam in the tailrace as they run up from Sinclair to find water that is rich in oxygen content.”

Crappie: Excellent. “Fish are holding in deeper water over brushpiles, standing timber and deep drop-offs,”said guide Al Bassett. “Night fishing under the bridges and in the timber or around the lighted docks is good and will only get better during the month. We are able to limit out on most trips. Use your Lowrance HDS and LSS-2 to find the fish on the brushpiles or the deep drop-offs before you start fishing. Mark the area where you find the fish holding with a marker, and either use live bait or cast to the area using Jiffy Jigs Super Grubs. Make sure you take care of your live bait. Use bait saver, and get the water cool with ice.”