Lake Oconee Fishing Report January 2014

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: Low 50s. Clarity: Moderate stain on the upper and mid section of the lake.

Bass: Tournament angler Aaron Batson reports, “Bass fishing is fair. Look for fish down the lake in 20 to 25 feet of water, and work them with slow-moving baits like a Carolina-rigged junebug worm, 3/4-oz. Net Boy Baits football jigs or jerkbaits. You can also fish vertically over the fish with a spoon and a drop shot while watching your graph. Shallow fish are being caught on shaky heads in 8 to 10 feet of water on red-clay-nothing-looking banks. Redbug and junebug colors are a good bet.”

Linesides: Guide Mark Smith reports, “The striper fishing is like the weather—hot one day and cold the next. The best baits are jigging spoons and umbrella rigs. I am using the umbrella rigs to cover a lot of water. When I find schools of bait and stripers, I will drop the jigging spoon into the school. Most of the fish are coming on the south end of the lake. As we move deeper into the month of January and the water cools into the low 50s and upper 40s, some of the shad will die, and then the birds will help you locate the schools of stripers and hybrids. January can be tough, but you can also catch some big fish this time of year.”

Crappie: Guide Al Bassett reports, “The water temperature should drop into the mid to upper 40s by the end of the month. Crappie fishing is currently slow as the fish are on the move but will get better as the month come to a end. Trolling with Jiffy Jigs tipped with a live minnow is your best bet. Areas that are good and will only get better are in Lick Creek, the mouth of Sugar Creek and Dyar Pasture. There are more fish in the Dyar Pasture area, but they are smaller fish. This will last for the month as the fish get ready to spawn. If we have a few warm days in a row, look for these fish to move into shallow water. This is the time of year to catch your big fish as these fish will move shallow first. You also can use your Lowrance HDS unit to find your fish before you start fishing. Currently this is the way I am fishing and catching some really good-sized fish.” Guide Jody Stephens reports, “Crappie have been good on downlines in 20 to 30 feet of water over brush and timber. Jiffy Jigs tipped with larger minnows have been great producers for bigger fish. This pattern should be pretty consistent into January depending on weather. Jiffy Jigs in purple/black, green flake/black, pink/white and sexy redbug have all been very good colors.”