Lake Oconee Fishing Report – December 2022

Oconee: Level: 0.3 feet below 435. Temp: 61 degrees. Clarity: Clear for Oconee.

Bass: Capt. Doug Nelms with BigFishHeads Guide Service reports, “Over the past couple of weeks, the bass have really showed up nicely. Anyone reading this probably knows that on most trips my clients really aren’t targeting them, but they have really bit hard on the presentations we have been offering. Jigging spoons have been the ticket for us. On just about every trip, we have found them hanging out with the linesides, and they have been in some strange water depths. Last week, we landed one that tipped the scales over 5 pounds, and we caught it on the bottom, with a spoon, in 51 feet of water. That may be hard to believe, but on that particular trip we landed six largemouth, by accident (since we were targeting stripers). Every fish we have caught has been on the south part of the lake, below Long Shoals Ramp. The color spoons that have worked the best are white and white/red, 7/8-oz. War Eagle.” 

Lake Oconee Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports

Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms with BigFishHeads Guide Service reports, “This is the season to catch a big striper! At the moment that I write this report, the gulls have started to show up on the lake, and they are showing us exactly where the stripers are. I am amazed at how well they can spot the fish and bait. On one particular morning last week, I spotted four gulls down on the south end of the lake just leisurely flying around in a circle. When I moved the boat under them, I was shocked at how much bait and fish were there. For the next three trips, we caught more than 30 stripers each morning. That’s why we love the birds this time of year. On my boat, I will have several rods set up to throw: a spinning rod with topwater baits or flukes, another spinning rod with popping corks and flys, and baitcasters with 7/8-oz. jigging spoons. It really depends on what the fish are doing as to which rod we will use. If the birds are crazy and squawking, that is usually a sign that there is a topwater bite going on, but if they’re just cruising around, we drop the spoons. I do think that color is important. On my topwater stuff, I like white or chartreuse offerings, and for my spoons, it sometimes changes every day. Therefore, every color spoon that Sugar Creek Marina sells is on my boat, but I guess if I had a go-to color, it would be white. Most of the time you will find the bigger fish toward the dam, but don’t just focus your attention there. A couple years ago a huge school of stripers moved into the area just north of the Highway 44 bridge, and we caught lots and big ones for over a month there. Again, watch for the birds because they will give you so much information about what you should be doing.”