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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: High 70s. Clarity: The lake is heavily stained north of the Highway 441 bridge and clear south of Nancy Creek. Bass: Karl Pingry reports, “Ed at Lakeside Chevron says most of the bass are in the backs of the pockets in the stained water. Docks are the main cover working at the moment. Bandit 200 cranks in chartreuse/white and black retrieved down the sides and fronts of the docks is a hot pattern. Old standbys, such as an Ol’ Monster worm in black emerald or plum apple, as well as skipping a blue/black jig, are catching some big bass. For topwater, a black buzzbait over the hydrilla in Island Creek and up the Oconee is the bait to throw. On the south end, a No. 6 X-Rap in pearl or glass ghost is working, as well as a chrome Rat-L-Trap. Last, a merthiolate…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
I like deep-diving crankbaits and hard-thumping Colorado blades on spinnerbaits. So… when I got wind that my latest GON fishing assignment would include a lesson on how to catch Sinclair largemouths on a drop-shot rig, I found myself looking more forward to the company than the means we’d be using to sling fish in the…
October is a fantastic time to fish for crappie on a Georgia reservoir for several reasons. With the ranks of fishermen thinned by the call of deer stands, and with the last of the skiers and summer pleasure boaters gone for the season, a die-hard crappie angler will find plenty of uncontested water waiting for…
Temperatures soared well into the 90s during the last HD Marine tournament of the 2006 season, but it didn’t hurt the bite for first-place finishers Brad Warfield and Jeff Morgan. The team found fish shallow for the two-day event, which was held June 10-11. On day one the team fished for some topwater fish they’d…
Many bass fishermen think June means slower bass fishing as the fast action of spring becomes just a memory. But bass are moving onto predictable patterns and holes this month, and the action can even be better than it was looking for scattered bass in the spring. Lake Sinclair is one of our best lakes…
Charlie Baldwin and Benny Lanning took first place in the May 20 R&R tournament at Sinclair. “We were keying on shallow grass, and both of us were throwing a spinnerbait,” said Charlie. “There were still a few shad in the grass, but that bite is about gone.” Charlie was throwing a white 3/8-oz. Ol’ Nellie…
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 |