Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – September 2007

Sinclair: Level: 1.4 feet below full. Temp: 89 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good, said tournament fisherman Jim Windham. He took second in a recent Berry’s tournament on Sinclair fishing ledges in 15-23 feet of water. He also took the big fish, which weighed a little better than 7 pounds. Jim said most of his bites came on a 3/4-oz. Hot Lips crankbait that bumps the bottom in 18-19 feet of water. He said the topwater bite was nonexistent. Pitching docks with Texas-rigged Ol Monsters in green pumpkin will also produce. “Depth doesn’t have a whole lot to do with it. It’s about the shade,” Jim said. “It shouldn’t be long before the bait starts moving into the creeks and the backs of coves,” he said. Jim suggested throwing a crankbait to the schools of baitfish. He likes a Bandit Flat Maxx in shad color that runs 6-7 feet deep. He’ll also try a 1/2-oz. Rat-L-Trap in blue/chrome or a Carolina-rigged or lead-head finesse worm when the bass feed on schooling baitfish.

Crappie: Slow. Allan Brown said it has been tough. “They’re catching some at night pitching jigs to dock lights,” he said. Finding the color they want is key, and he said he’d go with yellow/yellow/white or red/green/yellow for the night bite if he had to choose one color combination. Allan also said the docks that keep their lights on all night are the best producers. He’s heard that the main river and up toward Rooty Creek are good places to try, and the docks in deeper water, 10 feet or deeper, are definitely producing more fish than the shallower docks. The good news is, relief shouldn’t be too far away. Allan said that the cooler weather gets the trolling and dock-shooting bites going again.