Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – January 2008

Sinclair: Level: 1.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 55 to 60 degrees on the main lake. About 51 degrees up the river. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Kim Carver said the fish are starting to transition on Sinclair. “The lake started to turn over about two weeks ago, and the fish are moving out,” he said. He said people are catching a lot of fish on the south end of the lake with jigging spoons. “They’re off the edge of the river ledge 15 to 30 feet deep off the high spots,” he said. Look for balls of shad on your graph, and the fish will be there. Kim likes a 3/4-oz. Hopkins spoon in white or silver. Let it fall to the bottom, and jig it up and down vertically. “They’re mostly smaller fish, but good numbers,” he said. “And there are going to be some hybrids mixed in with them.” Kim said there are also a few quality fish still being caught off docks. “You just have to fish a thousand docks,” he said. Try a Zoom Ol Monster worm Texas rigged on a 3/16-oz. weight in junebug or green pumpkin. A black/blue 1/2-oz. jig with a black Zoom Super Chunk will also catch these dock fish.

Crappie: Good. “They’re in the killin’ zone right now,” said Allan Brown. What he meant by that is the fish have moved into the creeks and coves, and he’s catching 30 or 40 fish a day trolling jigs. He said to look in 20 feet of water for fish holding 8 to 10 feet deep. Triple-ripple jigs in John Deere or Acid Rain fished on a 1/16-oz. jig head are the ticket right now. Sizes have been in the 1 1/4- to 1 1/2-lb. range. With a little cold weather, the big 2-pounders will start to move up and feed. Some places to try right now are Rooty Creek, Nancy Branch and Crooked Creek.