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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: 1.1 feet below 340. Temp: 62-64 degrees. Clarity: Up the creeks and rivers the water is stained to muddy. It’s a little clearer near the dam. Bass: Karl Pingry reports, “Big Ed at Lakeside Chevron reports that the ABA tournament took 20 pounds to win. The winning baits were black frogs and black buzzbaits fished in the backs of the pockets. Other baits used for the bigger bags were swim jigs and merthiolate Trick Worms for bedding bass. The recent Mid Georgia tournament took 20 pounds for first and second place. One primary bait used was a turtleback-bladed spinnerbait with a chartreuse-and-white skirt up the Oconee and Little River arms. Ed commented that all the big bags were caught in extremely muddy water. Other notable baits to have tied on are a squarebill in crawfish pattern, a Bandit 200 series and an Ol’ Monster worm in junebug red.…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
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…
If you think crappie fishing is a matter of dragging dozens of jigs behind a boat on a spider rig or drowning minnows straight under the boat, you will be surprised at the fast action and fun of shooting docks. May is a good month to land a mess of crappie to eat, and Lake…
Mark Massey and Steven Phillips are both one win away from a guaranteed check for $1,000. Both anglers won their first-round matches in The Eliminator Series and look forward to round two, which will take place in the early fall. The Eliminator Series is GON’s head-to-head elimination bass tournament where the winner takes home $2,500…
It is likely the No. 1 cove on all of Lake Sinclair for catching a cooler-full of crappie in February: Beaverdam Creek. The reason the fishing is hot, and fires up early in February, is the hot-water discharge from Georgia Power Co.’s Plant Harlee Branch, a coal-fired electric-generating facility, which is located near the upper…
They fight better than they eat… and they eat good! The hybrid bass has become one of the favorite freshwater game fish in Georgia waters. This fish, which is a cross between white and striped bass, is an excellent fighter, pound for pound, and can also provide some good table fare. The Georgia WRD Fisheries…
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 | 73-lbs., 12.16-ozs. | Brandon Pitts | 01/26/24 |
| 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., 9-ozs. | Duke Campbell Jr. | 04/01/06 |
| Bluegill | 1-lb., 8-ozs. | Duke Campbell Jr. | 03/31/15 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 13-ozs. | Ben Bell | 05/29/22 |
| Blue Catfish | 50-lbs., 6.4-ozs. | Eli Carey | 04/06/24 |
| Bowfin | 7-lbs., 6.016-ozs. | Benjamin Hammock | 07/24/23 |