Advertisement
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: 0.3 feet below 435. Temp: 58-62 degrees. Clarity: The north and south end of the lake is clear, but it’s muddy mid lake on the Oconee side. Clear in Richland. Bass: Guide Nick Knapp, with Elite Guide Service, reports, “April is a month when a lot of things happen on this lake. You have the spawn coming to an end and the shad spawn beginning. Look for any rocky backs with shad on them. I like throwing a 1/2-oz. Booyah spinnerbait and a pearl-white fluke on a 1/2-oz. jig head. Any of the bridges will have shad spawning on them. It’s a great time of year to catch some big ones on Lake Oconee. I really like the bridges in Lick Creek first thing in the morning for targeting fish this time of year. April is one of the best months, so get out there and catch some.”…
Read MoreLake Oconee Articles
Head to Lake Oconee this month if you are tired of dredging the depths for summertime bass. There is always a good shallow bite at Oconee, especially for quality bass. Target grassbeds, seawalls and rocks to catch them. However, if you like probing the depths, you can catch Oconee bass that way, too. Lake Oconee…
Ellaville native Justin Barnes emerged as the winner at the Lake Eufaula ABA-AFT Top 150 tournament after a remarkable turnaround on the second day, June 3. Competing against 117 other anglers, Barnes secured first place with a total weight of 38.16 pounds, earning a prize of $16,400. On the first day of the tournament, Barnes…
Koob Moua, from Monroe, didn’t set out to establish a new Lake Oconee record for blue catfish. In fact, Koob seldom even fishes for catfish, but he might from now on. On March 22, Koob joined his brother Jacob Moua and their friend Justin Pledger in a 16-foot aluminum Bass Tracker boat. Using light tackle,…
Rob Allgood and his dad Robbie decided to fish for catfish at Oconee on Saturday, March 11. Robbie has been fishing for Oconee catfish since the lake was impounded, and he and Rob fish the Middle Georgia Catfish Anglers tournament trail. That Saturday, he said they were “just messing around.” The day was slow, they…
To say they were excited is a massive understatement. I had built up the trip for weeks to my two boys, discussing the process of jug fishing. When we arrived at Lake Oconee, the first thing we did was tie on small hooks, snap on corks and bait up some red wigglers on their fishing…
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 |