Lake Oconee Fishing Report – March 2025

Oconee: Level: Full at 435. Temp: 52-53 degrees. Clarity: Water is muddy from north end to Great Waters. The dam area is still clear.

Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “During the month of March, look for fish to be moving off the points and deep water toward the bank. March can be the best fishing for largemouth on the lake. With warmer temps on the horizon, look for the fish to start their bedding behavior before the water warms up completely. I like throwing a jerkbait just off the banks. When the water reaches 55 to 57, transition to the clay banks and hard bottoms. Lots of big fish come out of Richland Creek this time of year. Focus on the undeveloped banks where there is wood and rock around, as that water will warm faster. Then move to just clay banks. Toward the end of the month, I like to start flipping creature baits around bedding areas. The mudline is on its way down the lake currently. Look for cleaner water for the jerkbait bite in natural colors. When mudline gets farther south, the mud will position the fish on structure. I like black-and-blue creature baits and green-pumpkin Texas-rigged with a 1/2- to 3/4-oz. weight.”

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Stripers & Crappie: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “March is big fish month on Lake Oconee for stripers and crappie. On the next big moon, the crappie should be finding their beds and the stripers will be either headed to the dam or up the river. We love March as it is kind of the beginning of a new fishing season for us. Hopefully the cold weather will subside and the warm weather will get the fish active. For our crappie, we believe that when the Bradford pears, not the dogwoods, are in full bloom, the fish are in the shallow water. If you wait for the dogwood trees to bloom, you’ve already missed it. Also it signifies that the stripers are headed to the dam and ready to spawn. This is the time that we see our biggest stripers of the year and you’ll know they’re at the dam by the huge armada of boats that will be on the barrel line. For the most of us, we will be pulling the biggest bass minnows we can find on flatlines and downlines and small hooks, like a No. 4 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. When you see them, you’ll immediately think there is no way that hook will hold a big striper. Trust me, it will, and you’ll get a lot more bites with those tiny hooks because it gives the small minnows plenty of room to dance around. Historically the minnow bite will stop without warning and all the stripers will want to eat are shad, so keep a good eye out for that and your cast nets ready to go. The big female crappie will be getting in shallow water, and those that know how to work the bank will be rewarded. Also, March is a huge month for nighttime crappie fishermen. You can look across the lake on some full moon nights and it looks like you’re passing by an airport. Lots of great fishing is found tied up on one of the many bridges on Oconee. For us who love to sleep at night, the shallow river channels and flats will give us some big slabs by scoping, pushing or pulling. The area to find these fish is expansive. Starting from the pipeline up the Apalachee to Swords, Satellite Point, Hole 19, the power lines at Highway 44 all the way down to Little Stone Mountain.”