Lake Oconee Fishing Reports – December 2020

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 62-66 degrees. Clarity: The lake is clear, even up the Apalachee River. Only the Oconee River above I-20 is stained.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “The bass fishing is really good for numbers. It’s the size that varies. Michael Lynch recently fished the ABA on Oconee and has been on the lake several times a week during November. His go-to bait has been a white-and-chartreuse spinnerbait with a willowleaf and Colorado blade. He is fishing it high in the water column or fishing it just out of eyesight as he reels it in. Let the fish tell you which one they want on a given day. Michael says the bass have been right on the seawalls in the morning. If you cast 2 feet from the wall, you are not going to get bit. You have to put it right on the bank or wall. The ChatterBait bite was hot earlier this month (all white and a silver blade), but Michael thinks this bite is fading. His other two go-to baits are a shaky head paired with a green pumpkin/red glitter Trick Worm and a jig under the docks and walkways after 1 p.m. He says the docks that have bluegill under the docks are the best. He is seeing the bluegill with his polarized sunglasses. Fish the posts and the darkest part of the docks and watch your line. The bass have been eating the bait on the fall this week. Michael expects the bite to continue to be good for most of December. Recently that bite has been in the front third of the pockets. Expect the bite to remain near the front of the pockets and eventually the main lake unless there is an extended warm spell. Watch for bait activity on the surface and your graph indicating the depth of the bait to dictate how far in the pockets you fish. If there’s bait, there is bass is a good rule of thumb this time of year. Also expect the crankbait bite to really pick up as the water temps continue to drop. Bandit, Spro, Rapala and squarebill crankbaits covering water from 2 feet to 10 feet will be his choices for most of December.”

Crappie: Guide Al Bassett reports, “Currently the crappie fishing is good as the fish are still holding over brush, points and drop-offs. Using live bait is the best way to catch a fast limit of fish. There are a few areas around the lake that trolling has also worked using a Jiffy Jig in the red/green/yellow or the black/green/black. As the water cool down, the fishing will slow a little.  Trolling slow in the mouths of the creeks should bring you some good fish.”

Linesides: Capt. Doug Nelms reports, “Some of the most memorable catches I have ever had for stripers has been in the month of December. A couple years ago on Dec. 27, we rounded the corner at Tornado Point and saw 500 screaming gulls and fish exploding that you could see from 100 yards away. It was spitting sleet, cold to the bone, and for two and a half hours, we boated 43 of the largest stripers and hybrids I have ever caught on Oconee. The only thing we threw at the fish were jigging spoons. We would throw them as far as possible and yo-yo them back to the boat. Other than jigging spoons, a 3-inch Sassy Shad matches perfectly with the size of baitfish at this time. A three-arm A-rig is another one of my favorites to throw in schooling fish. The fish are going to range from just above the Highway 44 bridge to the dam. Richland Creek will hold fish, too. You can also pull Shad Raps. I pull four at a time, and they range in color and size. No. 7s and 8s are the standard, but some guys pull the really big one. If we get a lot of rain and the Oconee muddies up, the stripers will stay ahead of the mud. Last year we had an awesome Shad Rap bite mainly because there was so much mud on the lake. The one place where it was clear was in the confluence of Richland Creek and the Oconee. They were stacked so thick in there that we had many 30- to 50-fish days. Of course don’t forget about the live bait either. This time of year we only use big bass minnows that you can buy at most marinas. I typically don’t throw my net and use shad because the minnows work just as good.”