Lake Oconee Fishing Report – June 2024

Oconee: Level: Full pool at 435. Temp: 82 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “Bass fishing the month of June can bring numbers in. During the month of June, look for the bass to start getting to their summer patterns. I expect the dock bite to get hot this month as the fish will be looking for the shade. Look on long points, as well. There’s lots of them in Richland Creek that will get hot this time of year. A Carolina rig is my go-to on points. Any long points with shell or gravel produce more bites for me this time of year.” 

Lake Oconee Page: Lake Record Fish, Archived Features, Fishing Reports & News

Linesides: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “June is the month when everything peaks on Lake Oconee. The crappie will now be stuck to all the many trees and brushpiles, and the stripers will be living in the bubbles. As the oxygen levels fall on Oconee because of the summer heat and the pumpback at the dam, the oxygen lines will be activated to keep the oxygen levels normal. The stripers and hybrids found them pretty quickly last year, and it was the best summer striper bite that I have ever experienced on this lake. On many days the screen would just light up and the fish would never leave from under your boat. There are a lot of ways to fish the bubbles. Some guys are trolling u-rigs, some are dropping live bait and others, like myself, are throwing artificial lures to them. In the early morning hours, you will be surprised at how many surface strikes will happen between the lines. Throwing a bone-colored Pop-R or any type of surface bait will get you some action. Flukes are another great option. If you find a day that’s close to the full moon, with cloud cover, the bite can last all morning.”

Crappie: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “We have started dipping minnows in the trees and working on our summertime crappie structure. There is so much timber on Oconee, and with the advent of Mega Live, Livescope and side imagining, it’s pretty easy to find were the fish are living. I think Humminbird down and side imaging is your best ticket for finding structure that may not be on your waypoints. My favorite way to fish is to drop live minnows straight down into the trees. I use an 11-foot ACC Crappie Stix and 10-lb. braided line. A 1/2-oz. sinker with 6-lb. fluorocarbon completes the rig. My clients put a lot of fish in the boat with just a single pole jig setup. I think many times you can get to the bigger fish down in the trees if you just feel your line going through the tree. Once you figure it out, it’s not hard to catch a limit every time you go out.”