Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – November 2021

Sinclair: Level: 1.5 feet low. Temp: Low to mid 70s. Clarity: Stained water all the way to the dam but clearing quickly on the south end and parts of the mid lake.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “Ed at Chevron has several patterns working right now. Ol’ Monster worms in junebug red in the milfoil has been working for several months now. The crankbait bite is starting, as well. Shad Rap No. 7 and a Berkley Frittside in chartreuse and white that dives to 7 feet are working, as well as a Bandit 200 in black. Ed says those two patterns will hold up all month long. The only thing that will probably change will be the depth of crankbait bite. There is a Rat-L-Trap bite on the rip-rap and a spinnerbait bite in the stained water, either turtleback blades or Colorado blades. A shaky-head worm in junebug red on the docks is working no matter what time of day. November is going to be a great month. Ed says it will be hard to beat a black buzzbait near the grass, seawalls and rip-rap. A good follow-up bait would be a spinnerbait if you are in the back of the boat. Keep a Senko or light-weighted worm on the deck to cast to bass that blow up on the buzzbait but don’t hook up. Hollow frogs and swimming frogs will also be great choices in the grass and milfoil as the lake continues to cool. Later in the month, switch to ChatterBaits, Rat-L-Traps and square bills in the same areas. Spinnerbaits will also be effective all month. Match your skirts and blades to the water color—willowleaf in clear water and thumping blades in the stained water. One thing to watch as the water cools is to keep your baits in the green grass and avoid the dying grass. Dying grass will actually deplete the water of oxygen. The exact opposite is true of healthy grass. This is true for grass both above and below the water.”

Crappie: Allan Brown reports, “November signals cooler weather and crappie moving, as well. Trolling will pick up and be a great way to fill the cooler. All major creeks will be productive, as will coves off the main lake. Fish will follow shad up shallow, so troll small jigs or grubs in these areas. Shooting docks will be good, also. I like ones near deep water with some type of brush under or around them. Black/blue/black, white/pink/white are good choices. Deep brushpiles will also produce slabs. Dropping a gold hook and a minnow is deadly. As always, electronics are key to locating active feeding fish.”