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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: 0.1 feet below 435. Temp: 65 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “During the month of December, I look for the fish to be toward the backs of pockets with bait in them. December is a good month to target fish shallow around rocks. With the cooler water, the fish will be a little slower, so slow down the presentation. I like to slow-roll a 1/2-oz. white spinnerbait this time of year. Check the areas around 44 bridge and south to Old Salem. Look for bait on the shallow secondary points with rock. The largemouth won’t be far away. I also like a green-pumpkin jig with a junebug trailer. It seems to get the bigger bites this time of year. It’s wintertime—slow down and use bigger-profile baits for bigger bites.” Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “It’s the most…
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 |