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Lake Oconee
Lake Oconee is an excellent fishing lake located in central Georgia on the Oconee River near Greensboro, the real Buckhead and Eatonton. Oconee is known for very good bass fishing, great crappie fishing for huge slabs, and very good fishing for linesides and catfish. The lake was created in 1979 when Georgia Power completed the construction of the Wallace Dam on the Oconee River. Lake Oconee runs through Georgia's Morgan, Greene, and Putnam counties and is separated from its sister lake, Sinclair, by Wallace Dam. Lake Oconee is home to a number of golf communities, including Reynolds Plantation, Cuscawilla, and Harbor Club.
Lake Oconee Resources
Oconee: Level: Full at 435. Temp: 51-54 degrees. Clarity: Stained to the Highway 44 bridge. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “During the month of January, I like to target rocky points with sun on them. With the cold water, the fish are trying to find warmer water. During this month, I like using bigger profile baits. My go-to is a green-pumpkin, 3/4-oz. jig with a Zoom Super Chunk trailer in the same color. Mid lake is usually the best this time of year. I like fishing the rocky points around Cuscowilla. It is wintertime fishing, so slower presentations are key.” Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “Throughout this past month of December, it has absolutely been the best striper, hybrid and white bass fishing that I have seen in many years. The Oconee white bass are fat chunks and not a mark on…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
After spending a day on the water with three members of the Lake Oconee Striper Club (LOSC), it was obvious this club is all about serving people. In my own summary, these guys and gals get together to celebrate Lake Oconee striper fishing while helping those in the community and teaching one another to become…
A good friend of mine says it like this: “Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.” Capt. Kevin Wahl with Wild Side Fishing Guide Service has an approach for fall stripers on Lake Oconee that falls into this category. Known locally as “The Rod Father” for his impressive trolling spread, Kevin is familiar with catching linesides…
Boater Michael Conley, of Bainbridge, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25-lbs., 10-ozs., to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine Super Tournament on Lake Oconee. The tournament, which concluded Sept. 22, was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Conley earned $4,869 for…
A report about a goose with what looked at first like four “legs” being spotted at Lake Oconee’s Wallace Dam certainly raised some eyebrows. When at least three Georgia Power employees saw the oddball goose, and finally got a decent photo, it was time to ask GON about it. After speaking with WRD, this goose…
Ten years have ticked by since the double murder of an elderly couple, Russell and Shirley Dermond, on Lake Oconee. At that time, local law-enforcement teams reached out to GON to spread the word among sportsmen and anglers in an effort to find any information that could help bring justice to the Putnam County case.…
Lake Oconee Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 12-lbs., 14-ozs. | Bill Brantley | 05/14/12 |
| Hybrid Bass | 14-lbs., 4-ozs. | Jan Allen Ward | 04/03/91 |
| Striped Bass | 29-lbs., 14.9-ozs. | Fred Worthy | 05/10/96 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 12-ozs. | Edward Rhodes | 02/10/97 |
| Channel Catfish | 34-lbs., 8-ozs. | Jonathan Clifton | 05/31/98 |
| Blue Catfish | 70-lbs., 2-ozs. | Koob Moua | 03/22/23 |
| Flathead Catfish | 62-lbs., 10.4-ozs. | Rob Allgood | 03/11/23 |
| White Bass | 3-lbs., 6-ozs. | Tony Couch | 04/02/93 |
| Longnose Gar | 20-lbs., 13-ozs. | Dustin Turk | 10/05/19 |
| Chain Pickerel | 1-lb., 2-ozs. | Terry Brice | 03/05/17 |
| Spotted Bass | 5-lbs., 3.2-ozs. | Austin Skinner | 03/19/22 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 14.56-ozs. | Randy Smith | 04/23/22 |
| Yellow Perch | 11-ozs. | John Moore | 02/16/23 |