Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – July 2008

Sinclair: Level: Down 0.8 below full pool. Temp: 88-90 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain up the river; clear in Rooty Creek and on the main lake.

Bass: Fair. Mike Cleveland said it’s hit or miss on Sinclair. The bite he’s been looking for, the mayfly hatch, hasn’t been showing up for him when he’s been on the water. He said to look for birds and to watch the bushes along the main river from Little River all the way up to Murder Creek. When you see a mayfly hatch, fish it with a Pop-R, a Rapala Skitter Pop or a Rico. Color doesn’t matter, but you should try to imitate bream feeding on the mayflies. Mike also said a black/blue 3/8-oz. jig will work under a mayfly hatch. There should also be a decent crankbait bite on main-lake humps and points. Look for areas where the water comes out of 20-foot depths to top out and shallower than 10 feet. Try a DD22 in blue/chartreuse or a Poe’s 400. “There’s a dock pattern going on,” Mike added. “You can catch all the 12-inch fish you want flipping a Senko and a worm on those docks.” He said to Texas rig either a Zoom Mag II or a Senko on a 3/16- or 1/4-oz. weight. Green pumpkin is the color of choice for both baits, and it doesn’t hurt to dye the tail chartreuse with J.J.’s Magic.

Crappie: Slow. Allan Brown said the summer doldrums are upon us, and the crappie bite at Sinclair won’t pick up again until September or October. People have been catching some fish at night, though. Allan said to find a point or bank on the main river channel over about 30 feet of water, and put out some lights. Minnows fished on extension poles should do the trick. Adjust your depth until you get into the fish. There is also a morning and evening dock-shooting bite to be had. Find the deeper docks with brush under them, and shoot them with a 1/32-oz. jig in either black/blue/black or red/green/yellow.