Lake Oconee Fishing Report – February 2009

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 42-45 degrees on the lower end; 47 degrees up the lake. Clarity: Mostly clear, but some stained water up the rivers and some of the creeks.

Bass: Slow. Guide Al Bassett reports: “The bass have moved into a little deeper water. Look for schools of baitfish, and use a Flex-It spoon. Fish just below the schools of baitfish. Work the bait up and down about 6 to 12 inches. Another bait to use is a drop-shot rig fished under the schools of baitfish. Use a Zoom watermelon Finesse worm dipped in JJ’s Magic. When the water temperature reaches the mid 50s, look for the bass to start staging on long points and brushpiles leading into the areas where they will spawn. Another area to look for these fish is on deep-water docks also leading into these same areas. Bait of choice would be an Ol Nelle spinnerbait in white and chartreuse with one silver and one gold blade. I will start off with a smaller one and then go up in size as the water warms. The second bait to use would be a small crankbait like a No. 5 Shad Rap or a 1/2-oz. Rat-L- Trap.”

Crappie: Good. Guide Doug Nelms reports: “I have already caught two crappie over the 3-lb. mark. The winter bite is just starting, and you should look up on the north end of Sugar Creek, Lick Creek and around Redlands. We are fishing with black-and-blue Jiffy Jigs tipped with minnows.” Al reports: “Currently crappie are holding in the channels leading to there spawn areas. These fish may be as deep as 15 feet, but when we have a couple warm days in a row they may move up in the water column to 5 feet or less. By the end of the month, trolling will be in full swing. Look for the flats that are in 5 feet of water or less. The back of Rocky, Sandy or Sugar creeks will be good places to check out. Try trolling using Jiffy Jigs tipped with live minnows. Some of the top colors are red/green/yellow and black/green/black.”

Linesides: Doug reports: “The stripers are on the south end of the lake around Double Creek and the mouth of Richland Creek. You can catch them on live bait, and the smaller the bait you use, the more fish you will catch.”