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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: 68 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Karl Pingry reports that Ed at Lakeside says it’s taking 17 to 19 pounds to win the bass tournaments right now. Crankbaits are a hot ticket. A Bandit 200 in black or chartreuse and a No. 7 pearl Shad Rap is working. Ed says to throw this along the dock pilings. A 1/2-oz. size Rat-L-Trap is the one Ed recommends. A Rapala X-rap in CH-Ghost, a Pop-R and a black buzzbait are also hot lures right now. If you want to fish docks and blowdowns, try a jig in dark purple or plum. Shaky-head worms in plum apple, black emerald or junebug red or an Ol’ Monster in the same colors near the backs of the coves are also good choices. The new pattern this month is flipping a ChatterBait along the grasslines. I suggest a grass jig…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
Chad Carver, a longtime GON reader from Baxley and a Lake Sinclair regular, is a master of catching reservoir fish shallow year-round. I’ve been trying to nail down a story on Lake Sinclair with Chad for a couple of years now, but between his schedule and mine, it took us a while to finally get…
Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series will be hosting the first-ever Bass Anglers Sportsman Society Kayak State Championship ever held in the state of Georgia on Lake Sinclair on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. For this year and this year only, the tournament is an open tournament with no qualification necessary other than being a Georgia B.A.S.S.…
When you think of a yellow perch setting a lake record in Georgia, a mountain lake probably comes to mind, or maybe one of the Savannah River reservoirs where these fish are more common. But Lake Sinclair? Lake Sinclair is middle Georgia epitomized—and not prime yellow perch waters. But Sinclair does have some yellow perch,…
When she has the chance, Rachel Brown, 25, of Dallas, Ga., accompanies her dad at their family’s Lake Sinclair vacation home. On Thursday, April 9, they had the chance to go fishing together like they have many times before. “We fished some that afternoon and caught some bass and bream, which is our normal,” said…
If you enjoy competing in fishing tournaments on lakes Oconee or Sinclair, it may be time to shift gears and do a little yard work. In a statement released on March 30 by Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, he is asking fishing tournament directors to reschedule any tournaments taking place between now and at least…
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., 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 |