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: 0.1 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
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…
I was young when I figured out a certain fishing technique. No one taught me this one, and I would not be surprised if there are numerous other methods that trump mine. However, I figured out how to put white bass in my boat. The white bass is a fish I feel is often overlooked.…
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 |