Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – November 2023

Sinclair: Level: 1.7 feet below 340. Temp: 70s. Clarity: Clear from Little River Marina to the dam. The rivers are stained, as well as the backs of some creeks from recent rain.

Bass: Karl Pingry spoke with Ed at Lakeside Chevron, who said the bass are still biting. It took 19 pounds to win a club tournament held out of Lakeside. The topwater bait of choice is a black clacker buzzbait. A spinnerbait with chrome and gold blades is also doing well. The skirt needs to be pink. How’s that for a change? Crankbaits such as a Shad Rap, Bandit 200 and a chrome-and-blue lipless rattler need to be on your deck, as well. The consistent pattern is still the docks. Flipping a jig, big worm or shaky-head worm all work. Best colors are green pumpkin, black, black grape, black emerald and junebug red. If you’re fishing docks surrounded by hydrilla, Ed recommends skipping a ChatterBait under the dock. Ed also mentioned the back of Rooty Creek and Sandy Run have stained water with bass moving into the stain. Troy Harris won The King of the Hill College Series with Josh Finnerty on Sunday, Oct. 22. Topwater early was good on a Horny Toad and a buzzbait. There are a lot of small bass being caught early, and then it gets to be a tougher bite. Troy agreed with Ed that the best bite is fishing the docks, and he said the key is to fish very slow and soak your worm or jig. He also added the best bite seems to be the middle of the pockets. Ed and Troy said to expect the bass to eventually make it to the backs of the pockets in November. How far they come back out will be dictated by the weather and how fast the water cools.  The baits mentioned earlier will continue to work. Docks will remain a strong pattern, as well as blowdowns. At some point in November, small stick-ups and stand-alone blowdowns will hold bass and be easier to pick off fish quickly. A strong lipless rattling crankbait bite will occur in 1 to 4 feet of water when the water gets down near 60 or a little lower. The grass bite will be good as long as it’s green. Brown grass will not be producing oxygen like it does when it’s green. Make sure you pay attention to where in the pockets you are getting bit. You should be able to duplicate that location in other pockets and eliminate a lot of dead water. Stop by Lakeside Chevron for updates, cold drinks and a safe place to leave your truck and trailer.”

Lake Sinclair Page: Archived Articles & Fishing Reports