Lake Oconee Fishing Report July 2014

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: Mid 80s. Clarity: Light stain to clear.

Bass: Fair. Tournament angler Aaron Batson reports, “Hot days have pushed the bass into solid summertime patterns. Deep points, ledges and humps are holding the majority of the fish. Look in 16 to 26 feet of water. Brush on an area can help. A 3/4-oz. Net Boy Baits football jig in green pumpkin, Carolina-rigged Wackem Crazy Baits Big Sissy worm and big deep-diving crankbaits are all that you need to catch fish in these areas. Dipping the worm in clear JJ’s Magic will help get a lot more bites. Good colors are redbug, junebug and watermelon. Use a Strike King 6XD or Normans DD22 in shad colors for the big crankbait. I am throwing the big plug on a Kissel Kraft Custom 845 crankbait rod with 10-lb. fluorocarbon.”

Linesides: Guide Mark Smith reports, “The striper fishing is still good using the Capt. Mack’s umbrella rig. The fish are staging on the main-lake points and humps on the south end of the lake. I am pulling a four-arm rig 100 feet behind the boat at 3 mph. This bite will not last long as the water is heating up fast, and the stripers will be moving up the rivers for the remainder of the summer.”

Crappie: Very good. Guide Doug Nelms reports, “This is the time of year when we catch lots of numbers of nice crappie as we dangle minnows over our secret places all over the lake. It is not unusual to boat 50 crappie in a half day of fishing, and the way it has started off, this season may even be better. It seems like the hotter the weather gets, the better the bite is. Over the past week we have caught so many fish in one particular area that venturing out to fish the dozens of other places has really not been an option. In four days of fishing we easily caught more than 400 fish in just one area, and it will only get better.” Guide Al Bassett reports, “Crappie fishing currently is excellent. Fish are holding in deeper water over brushpiles, standing timber and deep drop-offs. Use your Lowrance HDS and LSS-2 to find the fish on the brushpiles or the deep drop-offs before you start fishing. You may have to check many areas before you find the fish, but when you locate them, you have found a school and should be able to limit out within just a few hours. Once you find the fish, there are two ways to catch them. Use live minnows, and fish directly on top of where you find the fish. Or, use a buoy marker to mark the fish and cast a Jiffy Jig curly tail to the area. Tie two 1/16-oz. jig heads on 6-lb. test line about 8 to 10 inches apart. Put a different color on each jig head to see what color they want. Make sure to take care of your live bait during the hot weather. Use a bait saver, and also put a handful of ice in the bait tank every hour to keep water cool.” Guide Jody Stephens reports, “Oconee crappie are stacked up in the timber right now. Use your Lowrance downscan to find the timber near river channels, and I bet the trees will be lit up like Christmas. Trolling Jiffy Jig super grubs in light colors with light-wire hooks is best for long-lining in the timber. Or you can park over the fish and downline live minnows for some fast action.”