Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – May 2008

Sinclair: Level: Full pool. Temp: 64 degrees early, warming up fast to 74 degrees. Clarity: Stained in Little River, clear or clearing over the rest of the lake.

Bass: Good. Tournament angler Mike Cleveland said there are still a few bedded fish, but the postspawn stuff is the ticket right now. The shad spawn was going strong at Sinclair the last week of April, and Mike said he was catching some good fish on buzzbaits around spawning shad in the grass early in the morning. If you prefer fishing a spinnerbait, Mike said to try an Ol-Nelle with gold blades. He likes either a double Colorado or a combo willowleaf and Colorado. Once the sun comes up, there is a good flipping bite for postspawn fish around docks, stumps and blowdowns. Try a Texas-rigged Zoom lizard in black/blue on a 3/16- or 1/4-oz. weight, depending on whether or not the water is moving. Mike also likes a 3/8-oz. homemade jig for this pattern. He fishes black/blue with a Zoom Super Chunk.

Crappie: Fair. Allan Brown said the spawn is over, and the crappie have moved deeper. “They’re kind of in stay-at-the-house mode right now,” he said. “They get so stressed out that they get real finicky for about two or three weeks, but they should start back to biting soon.” Try shooting some of the deeper docks in 10 to 12 feet or deeper with 1/24- or 1/32-oz. jigs in black/blue/black or pink/white/pink. Also, the night bite around dock lights has begun.