Lake Oconee Fishing Report September 2013

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 84-87 degrees. Clarity: Stained up the rivers and clear on the main lake.

Bass: Good. Tournament fisherman Aaron Batson reports, “With cooler temps, fish have moved shallower in the 8- to 12-foot ranges. Look for areas with baitfish present, and try a 1/4-oz. Ol’ Nelle spinerbait in all white early in the mornings. When you find a few fish, work the area over again with a 1/4-oz. chrome Rat-L-Trap. Once the sun gets up, slow down and work docks and wood cover with a 1/4-oz. Net Boy Baits Screwball jig head with a Wackem Crazy Baits Pointy Tail Worm.”

Crappie: Guide Doug Nelms reports, “As the water cools this month, the crappie and the stripers will become very active. Typically, the crappie show first and then the stripers. This is the time of year for big numbers of crappie, and the bigger fish will begin to show up.” Guide Mark Smith reports, “Crappie fishing is the way to go this month. With the new electronics that are available today, we have the ability to find these fish in the timber. When you find the fish, drop a minnow down to them, and they will eat. The trick is to stay on top of the fish. As the water cools, look for the fish to move from the main lake into the creek mouths.” Guide Al Bassett reports, “Crappie fishing is currently good as the fish are over brush in 10 to 15 feet of water. They are also being found over the sharp drop-offs around the lake. The fish should stay in these types of areas for the rest of the month before they start their move to shallow water. First, locate the fish on the drop-offs or brushpiles using your depthfinder, like a Lowrance HDS unit, before you start fishing. Look for the brushpiles in 10 to 15 feet of water, or look for sharp drop-offs where the river channel is very near a flat. Use a live minnow, and fish right over the brush or drop-off where you have located them. Using a drop-shot rig with a minnow is a good way to also locate fish on the drop-off. In most cases, when you find one fish, you have found a school of fish, so work the area well. This is still a great time to be able to catch a limit of fish in a short amount of time.”

Linesides: Guide Doug Nelms reports, “The stripers will start to transition from the deeper water into the mouths of feeder creeks and streams. When you see the tiny schools of shad on the surface go away, that will tell you that the water is getting right for fishing. The water bumped up to more than 90 degrees for not many days in August, and hopefully it will cool down much sooner this year. You can also start looking for surface activity for stripers and white bass, especially when there is big water movement.” Guide Mark Smith reports, “Striper/hybrid fishing is poor. There’s some topwater action early and then late in the day. A popping cork with a small trailer will draw a strike if the fish come up around your position. They will not stay up long, so you have to be in the right place at the right time. If we have an early fall, you can look for the fish to show up in the river bend area of the lake first. Look for the bait, and the fish will not be far away. Under normal conditions, this will not happen until late October. But this has been a very wet year, and it may start early.”