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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: 52 degrees, which is above the 38- to 46-degree water temperature reported just 10 days ago. Clarity: Stained. Stripers: Capt. Doug Nelms, with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reports on the afternoon of Feb. 5 that there is a “huge” striper bite right now from Safe Harbor Marina to River Bend. “Trolling regular Mini Macs (without any extra weight) and even umbrella rigs will bring a lot of fish into your boat,” said Doug. “Over the past week, there have been terrific numbers of fish coming in, and with the full moon coming, it should just keep getting better. With your gas motor, the trolling speed has been from 2.5 to 3 mph. If you find birds, troll right though where they are working.” Doug says if numbers of fish isn’t your thing, now is a good time to chase a trophy striper, “There is nothing more exciting than watching a…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
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…
“There’s one on there… it’s a good ’un, too,” Kenny Scott said. Kenny, who lives in Madison, was looking up at his flathead fish- ing buddy, Jason Knight of Good Hope, with a giant grin on his face. I was standing in the back of the boat with my camera in hand, just dying to…
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 |