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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: 73 degrees. Clarity: Slight stain. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp with Elite Guide Service reports, “As the warmer temperatures keep coming, I expect the fish to transition to deeper points with rock. There’s still a shad spawn happening on the lake right now, but that bite will get slower as the water warms. Carolina-rigged Senkos have been a go-to bait during this time of year. The Ned rig and shaky head will get bites around seawalls and docks, as well. I like main-lake points this time of year. There’s two long points just west of the Great Waters golf course that hold lots of fish this time of year.” Crappie: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “There is a lot of fishing activity on Lake Oconee in the month of May. The crappie get back on the trees, and we are very excited about…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
It sure seemed dark, a thick blanket of fog not helping matters. With no warning, a half-dozen black forms swung out of the fog in front and banked hard left, not 30 yards off the water, and landed on down the willow-lined bank just out of shotgun range. I checked the time — five minutes…
The outcome of the GON Eliminator Series finale at Lake Oconee could have fallen either way; both Mark Massey and David Millsaps have strong reputations on the lake. However, it was Mark who found a decent bite in practice while throwing a Rat-L-Trap which allowed him to scratch out a limit on tournament day and take…
Before you go bass fishing at Lake Oconee in December, you have a shallow-water, deep-water decision to make. For wintertime bass, Oconee angler Kenny Holloway depends on two different lures in two completely different areas of the lake: either a jig ’n pig in super-shallow structure or a jigging spoon on deep drops. Both baits,…
Even Oconee’s best crankin’ fishermen were shaking their heads in August. It was just too darn hot for good concentrations of fish to hold in water shallow enough that they could be caught cranking. “When I’m cranking, I like the fish about 15 to 18 feet deep,” said Shawn Malcom. “I feel like the fish…
Berry’s tournament trail came to a close this weekend after a two-day event. Qualifying anglers fished Saturday on Oconee and Sunday at Sinclair. This year’s Classic winners were Jack Brown and Terry Adams. “The fish at Oconee have moved out deep,” said Terry Adams. “We caught them in the main lake, but the fish weren’t…
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 |