Lake Oconee Fishing Report – September 2010

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 88-94 degrees. Clarity: Light stain to clear.

Bass: Tough. “There is a small window early in the mornings for a brief topwater bite,” said Aaron Batson. “Your chances improve if you can find a mayfly hatch on a tree or bush near deep water. Work these areas with an Ol Nelle buzzbait or Pop-R. During daylight, you can either fish deep or shallow. Shallow fish can be scattered, but expect to find a few fish under docks. They can be caught on Net Boy Baits 1/4-oz. jigs in green pumpkin or brown. Senkos under docks are also picking up a few bites. Deeper bass can be hard to find but will be stacked up on points, ledges and humps in 15 to 20 feet of water. Some schools with be full of smaller fish with one or two good keepers thrown in. They tend to feed much better with any current being moved in either direction. Big plugs like a Manns 20+ or DD22 will get a few bites, but a Carolina-rigged Zoom Trick Worm will catch numbers. Later in the month expect most fish to pull shallower. Look for them to move back onto secondary points and eventually toward the backs of the pockets following shad. An all-white 1/4-oz. Ol Nelle spinnerbait will be great for these fish feeding on shad.”

Linesides: Poor. Doug Nelms reports, “We have officially entered into the dog days of summertime, and the fishing is as poor as it will get all year. The pumpback causes warm water to go back into the lake, which in turn keeps the lake from developing a thermocline. What does that mean to fishing? Simple, no oxygen. So the fishing is not so good right now, but all will change in a few weeks.”

Catfish: Good. Guide Chad Smith reports, “The catfish bite on Oconee is starting to really pick back up. As August comes to an end and with the start of September, look for the catfish to start pulling up into shallower water just off the main-lake channels. During the day, start off anchoring and fishing the shallower flats close to the channels in the 8- to 10-foot depths early. As it gets later in the day the catfish will move closer to the channels in the 15- to 25-foot range. It is good to use at least a 1-oz. weight to keep your bait right on the bottom. The catfish are really eating big chunks of bream and big cut gizzard shad for bait right on the bottom. If you are targeting the smaller 1- to 2-lb. catfish, you can load the boat using smaller threadfin shad, shrimp and chicken livers fishing the same depths and technique as you would use for the bigger ones. Just downsize the hook to a No. 1 or No. 2 circle hook and a 1/2-oz. weight. The flatheads and blue catfish are getting bigger and are fighting much harder this year than ever. Right now the night fishing is best for the big catfish in the 15- to 30-lb. range. We are having 20- to 30-fish nights in the 8- to 25-lb. range. Fish the exact ways and locations at night as you would in the day. It is going to get better as the water cools in the next few months.”