Lake Oconee Fishing Report – March 2020

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: Main-lake temps are 54 to 56 degrees with the pockets 56 to 58. Clarity: Pretty much muddy over the entire lake. Tournament angler Tony Couch said the lake would still be muddy in a month, even if it stopped raining today.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “I went fishing Sunday afternoon and got the chance to talk to a few fisherman. The key is the current. The fish are biting when the water is moving, and it is tough without it. Saturday afternoon the bite was on spinnerbaits in the short pockets off the main lake. My bite Sunday was on jigs and shaky heads in the back third of the long creeks and the pockets in that area. Wood was the key. I caught both males and females. There were no red tails on any of the bass I caught. Expect the lure choices to change daily. If the water temps stay in the mid-50s, I think there will be wave of bass that will try to spawn. If you know the areas where the bass spawn first every year, I would focus my efforts there to find the current pattern. If you do not know where those areas are, focus on the pockets that are protected from the north wind and receive a lot of midday and afternoon sun. Those will be the pockets that warm the quickest.”

Crappie: Guide Al Bassett reports, “The big crappie are still biting, but this should slow down over the month as more fish will move into the spawning area. You should start catching more fish, but the size will go down. Trolling in the backs of the creeks around the lake is the place to be. Trolling with Jiffy Jigs tipped with a live minnow is your best bet. These fish have moved into water less than 5 feet deep. Some good areas for these fish are Sugar Creek, Rocky Creek, Lick Creek and up the Apalachee River. Around the full moon of March should be a great time to be on the water.”