Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – February 2025

Sinclair: Level: 1.4 feet below 340. Temp: Upper 30s to low 40s. Clarity: Stained up the Oconee River and above Twin Bridges. Clear from Nancy Creek south.

Bass: Karl Pingry reports, “There hasn’t been too much activity on the lake lately.  The last tournament took only 11 pounds to win.” Ed at Lakeside Chevron said to keep in mind that in cold temps a bass will not be feeding very often nor moving far to chase a bait. Repetitive casts to the structure or cover you are targeting will be necessary for the next few weeks. SLOW and patient will be necessary. Ed did offer a few patterns: No. 7 Shad Rap in chartreuse and white or a No. 6 in ghost shad if you are in clear water. Also, fish a Frittside crankbait with rattles. You can fish a 1/2-oz. Rat-L-Trap over the submerged grass.  Ed mentioned the key is to yo-yo the Trap. A slow-moving squarebill in citrus shad or crawfish is working sporadically, as well as a No. 7 broke-back Shad Rap in clown. For plastics, Ed says the hot bait is a shaky head with a Speed Worm in junebug red or green pumpkin. A Magnum Trick Worm in the above colors and an Ol’ Monster in plum is another suggestion. Last, a spinnerbait in the stained water above Twin Bridges is working. Expect all your bites to be very light. A spinnerbait bite feels like your bait ran into a leaf. The next couple of weeks will be tough as long as it stays cold. When we get three days of sunny, warm weather, that’s when the bite will get easier (until the next cold front). Target anything that retains heat where the sun has been shinning on—rock, hard bottoms and rip-rap. One of Karl’s favorites things to target is the metal poles on the docks. By mid February, the bass are going to want that warmer water to warm up their eggs and get ready to spawn. Once the water temp is near 50, look for the prespawn patterns to really get going. Ed has a new shipment of Zoom baits in, and parking is still only $5. You’ll also get fishing updates as the weather and fish patterns start to transition

Lake Sinclair Page: Archived Articles & Fishing Reports