Lake Oconee Fishing Reports – July 2021

Oconee: Level: 0.3 feet low. Temp: Low 80s. Clarity: A little stain above I-20, the rest of the lake is clear. Might be a little stain in some pockets and above I-20 by the end of the week with the rain forecast.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “The bass are still in 2 to 8 feet of water. Throw topwater in the morning, especially a 1/4-oz. buzzbait along the seawalls and rocky banks. A 3/8-oz. works, but I’m a little partial to the 1/4-oz. A squarebill (crawfish or shad pattern) is catching some bass, as well, but not as constantly. If you pass a dock, try the walkways and first corner on the dock with a shaky-head worm. Also, make one more flip under the very front of the dock. The first two bites will tell you where the bass are located that morning. Try a shaky head with a junebug and a green-pumpkin magnum shaky-head worm. One of those two colors seems to work. A black/blue jig with a green-pumpkin trailer is my other dock bait to try if the shaky-head worm does not get bit on the first three docks I try. I’m thinking a big worm (10 inches) might work, too, but I have not tried it. After 9 a.m., I’m only fishing docks, brush and blowdowns. Recently, skipping the fronts of the docks seemed to be the most consistent place the bass were biting. If you are fishing after the water has been pulled and no longer moving (later in the evening), the bass seem to locate at the very front of the dock or 2 to 3 feet in front of the dock itself. I’m not sure why, but it’s working. Special footnote: 90% of my dock bites are coming from docks located on rock bottoms. Other places to fish are bluegill beds if you can find them, grass beds and mayfly hatches. On the mayfly hatches, I like a brown frog or a frog with purple strands for legs. Prop baits are another good choice, a Pop-R in bluegill colors and/or an old Rapala minnow twitched on top. My final follow-up bait is a shaky-head worm with a chartreuse tail or an Ol’ Monster worm in redbug. In the grass beds, a frog or buzzbait early, then a worm in the grass and then retrieved out 2 to 3 feet from the grass will get some bites. July should keep the same consistent fishing until the water temps get up into the 90s. Then the dog days of summer will kick in. It will get tougher, but fishing early in the morning and when Georgia Power moves water will increase your chances of success.”

Crappie: Capt. Kevin Alexander reports, “The crappie fishing has been very good lately. We are catching them by dropping minnows on No. 2 gold aberdeen hooks into the many submerged trees and brushpiles throughout the lake. Use your Side Scan and Down Scan to locate deeper trees and brushpiles that are holding fish. Some of the bigger fish my clients are catching are coming from trees 15 to 20 feet down in 40 to 50 feet of water. This pattern will stay through the rest of the summer months, so get out there and get in on the action.”

Capt. Doug Nelms reports, “July is the month we settle into the ordinary awesome crappie bite on Lake Oconee. The crappie will be in the brushpiles, treetops and under the docks. Our favorite is always fishing over brushpiles. It is not unusual for customers to catch 40 to 50 fish in a half day, and sometimes we will sit on a treetop the entire trip. I think the best bite will come on minnows dangled down into the treetops, and be sure to fish on the big moons. It will truly make a difference. On our 12-foot B’n’M rods, I use 12-lb. braided line so we can feel the bite really good. A 1/2-oz. weight and a No. 2 aberdeen hook completes the setup. If it’s big fish you’re looking for, concentrate your efforts on the submerged timber that is found all over the lake. I think the deeper the timber is, the bigger the fish will be. On shallow-water brushpiles in 10 to 18 feet, the fish will get smaller as the month progresses.”