Lake Oconee Fishing Report – March 2010

Oconee: Level: 0.2 feet above full pool. Temp: Low 40s. Clarity: Muddy.

Bass: Slow. Todd Lowe reports, “With this sunshine, it should start to warm up the northwestern coves. The fish should be shallow with all the sun. The best baits right now are a Blademaster spinnerbait with Colorado blades and small crankbaits like the Suddeth Little Earl and the Shad Rap. These baits should be fished slowly on rock seawalls and rip-rap banks in the direct sun. The flipping bite is still not on yet, but as soon as the water warms into the low 50s, I look for it to pick up. The old standard black/blue jig should get a few bites. Colors for the cranks and spinnerbaits should have a good bit of chartreuse. The shad are still dying off, and the few fish we are catching have been feeding on them. If someone wants to fish a C-rig, I would try some main-lake points leading into spawning coves and fish a junebug or dark-colored bait in 10 to 15 feet of water.”

Crappie: Good. Doug Nelms reports, “It appears that everything is going to run a little late this year due to all the cold, snowy weather we have had. The water is still cold and a little muddy, but yesterday (Feb. 20) we caught 10 of the biggest crappie you have ever seen. The upcoming big moons should cause these fish to just go crazy. I am anticipating that the big crappie bite is going to run all the way into the first of April this year. Normally I am done by the middle to the end of March, but this year should be awesome. We are fishing over river channels which is where they normally stage up for some time before going in to spawn. Yesterday was the first time we caught them off of a popular point this year. These fish are big too — nine out of the 10 we caught were bumping 2 pounds.”