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Lake Sinclair
Lake Sinclair is in central Georgia near Milledgeville directly downstream from Lake Oconee on the Oconee River. The 15,330-acre lake is operated by Georgia Power. Bass fishing and crappie fishing are very good and quite popular on Sinclair, and the lake is also home to plenty of catfish. The lake's dynamics changed in 2013 when Georgia Power ceased operation of Plant Branch, which created a warm-water discharge near the Highway 441 bridge area. Even the iconic Plant Branch smoke stacks were brought down. Lake Sinclair stretches through the counties of Baldwin, Hancock and Putnam. Lake Sinclair was created in 1953.
Lake Sinclair Resources
Sinclair: Level: 1.4 feet below 340. Temp: Upper 30s to low 40s. Clarity: Stained up the Oconee River and above Twin Bridges. Clear from Nancy Creek south. Bass: Karl Pingry reports, “There hasn’t been too much activity on the lake lately. The last tournament took only 11 pounds to win.” Ed at Lakeside Chevron said to keep in mind that in cold temps a bass will not be feeding very often nor moving far to chase a bait. Repetitive casts to the structure or cover you are targeting will be necessary for the next few weeks. SLOW and patient will be necessary. Ed did offer a few patterns: No. 7 Shad Rap in chartreuse and white or a No. 6 in ghost shad if you are in clear water. Also, fish a Frittside crankbait with rattles. You can fish a 1/2-oz. Rat-L-Trap over the submerged grass. Ed mentioned the key…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
Shooting-up crappie can be the quickest and easiest way to fill a limit. Following the spawn, when the fish pack-in under docks like canned sardines, they are hungry. Getting a bait into the deepest, darkest recesses beneath a dock is the only thing standing between the angler and a mess of crappie. And if you’re…
There are some tired fishermen after two half-day Lowrance Eliminator Series tournaments at Lake Sinclair cut the field from 32 boaters to just eight survivors. Those eight anglers will launch tomorrow morning (March 5) along with eight non-boaters as the 2010 Lowrance Eliminator Series continues. Windy, cold conditions all day made for rough fishing at…
Cold, muddy water didn’t bode well for the 32 boaters and their non-boater partners during Round 1 of the Lowrance Eliminator Series tournament at Lake Sinclair this morning (March 4). Somebody forgot to tell 2008 Eliminator Series champ Aaron Batson — and several other anglers who had great half-day catches under rough conditions. Batson anchored…
February is my favorite month for big bass. That is a bold statement, but it has proven true over and over during the last three decades. Bass have been growing eggs since fall, cold weather pulled them off into a winter pattern, but their instinct tells them that any day it will be time to…
SinclaMichael Reid loves the shallow bass bite on Sinclair this time of year.August bass fishing usually means dredging the depths for bass trying to escape the hot temperatures. Dragging a Carolina rig or fighting a big crankbait is often the way to catch them. Lake Sinclair offers a shallow alternative, with bass feeding around grassbeds,…
Lake Sinclair Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 13-lbs., 2-ozs. | Jimmy Edge | 02/10/90 |
| Hybrid Bass | 10-lbs., 7-ozs. | David Phillips | 11/27/98 |
| Striped Bass | 42-lbs. | Mike Wicks | - |
| White Bass | 2-lbs., 7-ozs. | James Borders Jr. | 07/12/92 |
| Black Crappie | 2-lbs., 11.5-ozs. | Brent Moye | 01/22/00 |
| Channel Catfish | 21-lbs., 5-ozs. | Kenny Durden | 05/02/07 |
| Longnosed Gar | 15-lb., 3-ozs. | Dustin Turk | 08/18/09 |
| Flathead Catfish | 39-lbs. | Tommy Spell | 07/19/22 |
| Blue Catfish | 79-lbs., 8-ozs. | Guy Covington | 04/27/2024 |
| Yellow Perch | 15.04-ozs. | Eric Phillips | 02/09/22 |
| Spotted Bass | 3-lbs., 9.76-ozs. | Larry Cason | 05/10/21 |
| Warmouth | 12-ozs. | Christopher Leverette | 02/22/23 |
Oconee River Below Sinclair Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 10-lbs., 3.2-ozs. | Tracey Jackson | 03/26/17 |
| Channel Catfish | 32-lbs., 6-ozs. | Rick Leitheiser | 04/07/96 |
| Flathead Catfish | 62-lbs. | Brian Estes | 06/13/99 |
| Striped Bass | 63-lbs.* | Kelly Ward | 05/30/67 |
| Black Crappie | 1-lb., 11.6-ozs. | Kelsey Helms | 12/07/24 |
| Bluegill | 1-lb., 8-ozs. | Duke Campbell Jr. | 03/31/15 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 13-ozs. | Ben Bell | 05/29/22 |
| Blue Catfish | 62-lbs., 15.2-ozs. | Kevin Carey | 01/12/25 |
| Bowfin | 7-lbs., 6.016-ozs. | Benjamin Hammock | 07/24/23 |