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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: 1.7 feet below 340. Temp: High 50s to low 60s. Clarity: Stained up the rivers, especially Little River, Cedar Creek and the Oconee River. Bass: Karl Pingry says there are several go-to baits that will need to remain on your fishing lines for most of December. If you are near rock in the pockets, throw a 1/2-oz. chrome/blue or chrome/chartreuse Rat-L-Trap. A Bandit 200 in black or chartreuse/white is the other crankbait to try. The big bass baits are black/blue jigs or big worms in junebug red or plum apple in the backs of coves in any cover you can find. A shaky-head worm will work, as well. The newest pattern is finding the stained water and throwing a turtleback blade spinnerbait or a Colorado blade spinnerbait with nickel/gold blade. A double willowleaf may work in the clearer water, too. Ed at Lakeside Chevron thinks the jig bite will continue, but you may have to find…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
Eric Kent and Dustin Herndon, both of Gray, won first place and a check for $5,000 in the 100% payback Brandon Key Catfishing Tournament on Lake Sinclair June 11-12. The 7th annual fundraiser netted $50,485 for 30-30 Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit organization youth ministry whose mission is to use hunting and fishing as a platform…
Catch July bass early on seawalls and in grassbeds, and then get them under docks when the sun is bright. That simple plan will put bass in your livewell consistently on Lake Sinclair in the hot summer sun. Two other potential patterns that can sweeten your day are bedding bream and hatching mayflies. Find the right…
Good Friday last month was a really good Friday. On that morning, I experienced the best catfish jugging trip of my life. From the 118 jugs we soaked in the waters of Lake Sinclair overnight on Thursday, April 14, I watched a 210-quart Yeti cooler fill to the point where it wouldn’t close. In the…
December is a great month to fish hydrilla beds for quality largemouth. At Seminole? No, at Lake Sinclair! Hydrilla showed up in the river at Sinclair a few years ago and is now widespread all over the lake. It has greatly influenced the bass population, making the average tournament limit increase in weight quite a…
Team Bubba Key won first-place and a check for $3,000 in the 100% payback Brandon Key Catfishing Tournament on Lake Sinclair June 5-6. The 6th annual fundraiser netted $42,458 for 30-30 Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit organization youth ministry whose mission is to use hunting and fishing as a platform to share the Gospel of Jesus…
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 | 50-lbs., 6.4-ozs. | Eli Carey | 04/06/24 |
| Bowfin | 7-lbs., 6.016-ozs. | Benjamin Hammock | 07/24/23 |