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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: 0.5 feet below 435. Temp: 69-75 degrees. Clarity: Mostly clear. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “During the month of November, look for the largemouth to be moving from the points and humps toward the backs of pockets and coves. Water temperature has drastically decreased with the cooler nights we have been having. Some spots I would try in November are the small pockets in Lick Creek. My go-to bait this time of year is a squarebill crankbait early, followed by a 1/2-oz. black/blue or green-pumpkin flipping jig. The water clarity for the most part is clear right now, so natural colors have been working for the crankbaits.” Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports, “November is the month the gulls and terns return on Lake Oconee. They will spend the winter feeding off the tons of tiny shad that live here. We…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
February is a feast-or-famine month for bass fishermen in middle Georgia. The fishing runs hot and cold just like the weather. During a warm spell you can catch bass anywhere, but to be consistent all month you need to head to Lake Oconee. Since it is located in the middle of the state, Oconee is…
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…
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 |