Lake Oconee Fishing Reports – January 2021

Oconee: Level: Full pool. Temp: 48-50 degrees. Clarity: The lake is stained down to the I-20 bridge, and then lightly stained to clear as you head south and in Richland.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “In January, flat crankbaits like Rapala No. 5 and No. 7 crankbaits, ChatterBaits and a spinnerbait will be the lures of choice, along with jig ’n pig and shaky-head plastics. In the clearer water down on the south end, a small jerkbait is another good choice. Make sure you use your electronics to find the depth the bait is holding. That’s the depth to start your search. Once you’ve gotten a bite and cast a few more times at the same spot (bass group up a lot this time of year), run right up to the spot you hooked your bass to check the depth. Continue to fish, making sure your bait is covering that depth you just found success. If you get bit at that depth again, you’ve just found the pattern in the area for that day. Also look to fish areas with afternoon sun and rock or red clay bottoms. These areas will warm quicker and the bass will pull up tight to that slightly warmer cover. Don’t forget to target the metal posts and bars receiving afternoon sun on the docks, as well. That’s one of the best suggestions I’ve used for 20 something years. Thank you Barry Bishop! Be safe on the water and wear a lifevest. With the cold water temps, you need the extra buoyancy if you fall in with all the extra clothes you have on. And with the cold water temps, you’ll lose your coordination quicker that you think.”

Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms reports, “The stripers have been really good in front of the Great Waters boathouse, but the last two times I visited there, they were gone. This is where most of us make hay in January. You want to fish on days that would be good for duck hunting. Cold, sleeting, nasty and not fit for a human. That’s when you will see the stripers get crazy. This type of weather will bring the fish to the top to feed most all day, and we should see a lot of schooling activity over the next month. The fish will be primarily on the south end of the lake, but every so often we see them in the weirdest places. I stood on the bank at Swords last year and watched a huge school of fish right on the outside of the island. The birds were squealing and diving, stripers were blowing up on top, and the fish were there for three days. I have never seen fish there in 20 years of guiding. I also talked to a crappie fisherman who told me he caught a 30-lb. striper under the Swords bridge while crappie fishing. I know, I know… but if it was big enough to call it a 30-pounder, you know it wasn’t a schoolie. My point being is you never know where these things will show up. However, I do focus on several areas on the lake: Richland Creek, especially across from the Ritz Carlton, the confluence of Richland and the Oconee, Jumping Rock Cove, Double Creek, Little Stone Mountain, East Bank Hump. If they’re not at one place, they will be at the other. When you find birds diving, I think it’s really important not to run up on these fish, so you need something you can throw a country mile. My favorite setup during this time of year is St. Croix 8-foot spinning rod on a Penn Slammer Reel with 20-lb. braided line. It will cast a mile. If you see birds going crazy, try casting a jigging spoon in the middle of the school and yo-yo it back to the boat with big sweeping lifts. They will more than likely hit it on the fall. Personally I think you need lots of tackle on your boat during this month. A-rigs (Mini Macks), swim baits, jigging spoons, Shad Raps, popping corks with flies, flatlines and downlines with a few-dozen store bought bass shiners. There’s really no need to throw your net and have shad this time of year, as they are very happy to take an active 4-inch shiner. You just never know what they will hit, so be prepared with everything. I also think one of the main things anglers overlook is keeping a fish in the water when they are working on a school, especially if the school is full of hybrids. As long as one is fighting and spitting up shad, the others will stay close by. I always try to leave one down there until clients can get their bait back down.”

Crappie: Capt. Doug Nelms reports, “I have already taken the long trolling poles off my wall and have actually pushed a few times in December. One day I was rewarded with two crappie that were flat as a flounder, both which weighed 1-lb. and 15-ozs., easy 2-plus pounders in a couple months. You will see me pushing a lot in my small Ranger Phantom poling skiff as I am looking in odd places for big fish. On my 2360 Ranger, my setup is similar but only bigger. I can fish three people up front, using 12 rods, each rod is 16 feet long, has 8-lb. test fluorocarbon with a 1/2-oz. sinker. On the business end is my favorite color of Jiffy Jig.  Right now they are loving black/blue, glitter/black and the red sexy Bug. I like 1/16-oz. jigs because I think these big crappie like the bigger presentation. I always tip them with crappie minnows, but here is a secret for you. When I am out by myself Derby Fishing and I’m looking for that one monster, I will tip them with big bass minnows.  You won’t catch as many, but you will find that one big fish that can’t resist a fat minnow. Call Jimmy Brantley and get your Jiffy Jig order in as soon as you can. There is always a mad rush, and they get pretty busy by February, so go ahead and get you tackle set up. The colors I keep in my boat is red sexy bug, Doug bug, black/blue/black, black/purple/black, bubblegum and black/green/black. I love for Jiffy Jigs to add glitter to the black series of jigs I fish. I will start working the river channels up the Oconee and Richland Creek. The Duck Blind, Sandy Creek, Rocky Creek, Beaverdam Creek, the S-turns are all great places to catch big crappie. Up the Oconee and Apalachee, I will be in looking in Satellite Cove, Graysons Cove, Gazebo Point, Waynes Point, The Smokehouse, Blue Springs, Back Hole, the Windmill, the Indian Mounds and just about anywhere in between. These places are better than a crappie Disney World when these fish get in them. The bite can be so good that you will have visions of becoming a master crappie fishing guide after a couple of trips, but my advice is to fight those feelings and keep on enjoying catching them yourself. You will thank me later.”