Lake Oconee Fishing Report – May 2024

Oconee: Level: Full at 435. Temp: 73 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain.

Bass: Guide Nick Knapp with Elite Guide Service reports, “As the warmer temperatures keep coming, I expect the fish to transition to deeper points with rock. There’s still a shad spawn happening on the lake right now, but that bite will get slower as the water warms. Carolina-rigged Senkos have been a go-to bait during this time of year. The Ned rig and shaky head will get bites around seawalls and docks, as well. I like main-lake points this time of year. There’s two long points just west of the Great Waters golf course that hold lots of fish this time of year.”

Crappie: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “There is a lot of fishing activity on Lake Oconee in the month of May. The crappie get back on the trees, and we are very excited about that! In the original dam clearing plan, Georgia Power left around 1,800 acres of submerged timber on the lake, and the crappie will migrate to those trees this month. If you find them there, it can be like catching fish in a barrel. Of course there are hundreds of other sites where anglers have sunk brushpiles, fish-attracting devices, bamboo, PVC, etc. that these crappie will be around. On my Humminbird, when I see a school of fish in the shape of a tornado in the top of a tree, I know this is where I want to fish. I use an 11-foot ACC Crappie Stix jigging rod, with 10-lb. braid, a 1/2-oz. weight and 6-lb. fluorocarbon leader, with a minnow or jig. You just want to drop it right into the tree and wait for the thump. There are some days while guiding that we never leave that one tree for the entire trip. That’s how good fishing can be!”

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Linesides: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “If you lean more toward striper fishing, May is the perfect time to load the boat up, too.  The stripers have spawned out and have started roaming around, looking for schools of shad. They are trying to put some weight on after the rigors of spawning, so wherever you see the bait, the fish aren’t going to be far away. Trolling helps us cover a lot of water to find the fish. You can pull, A-rigs, umbrella rigs, crankbaits and even swim jigs this time of year. Last year by the end of May, we stumbled into our first-ever oxygen-line striper bite that was absolutely awesome at the dam. It’s possible that Georgia Power will turn on the bubbles if the weather gets hot soon, so be on the lookout for that. We will be concentrating our efforts around mid lake to the lower end each day, looking on the Oconee side, as well as in Richland Creek. Of course I will always have rods loaded up with jigging spoons when I see a group of fish on a deep-water hump. May is a wonderful month because the fish are hungry and the janky weather has finally gone away.”