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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
The bass spawn, shad spawn, seawalls and grassbeds—March Madness didn’t happen this year, but pay attention to these “Final Four” at Sinclair this month, and you can have a personal best catch of bass. Sinclair had been on fire this year for quality fish, with five-bass limits in the low 20s just placing, not even…
$13,791 was raised during the 4th annual Brandon Key Catfishing Tournament June 1-2 on Lake Sinclair. The money raised through sponsorships go directly to 30-30 Ministries, an organization that uses hunting and fishing as a platform to share Christ. They’ve hosted weekend Camps in Georgia, Alabama, Texas and South Africa. The ministry caters to kids…
I bass fish—and write about bass fishing—for a living. I’m normally the ding dong you’ll see on the lake in the rain, sleet and snow. I’ve had some strange looks over the years. But I’ll be flat-out honest with you: You’d be hard pressed to find me bass fishing in the heat of the summer.…
Lake Sinclair bass are on their winter pattern. Many fish spend idle time in deep water, but they move up shallow to feed around rocks and wood. They will hit while holding deep, too, so you have many options of where and how to fish this month. Lake Sinclair has been on fire for big…
On the afternoon of May 9, Jeffery Goodman, of Decatur, caught the new blue catfish record for Lake Sinclair, according to GON’s official records. The huge catfish weighed 51-lbs., 14-ozs. on certified scales. WRD Fisheries Biologist Keith Weaver confirmed it was a blue catfish and weighed it around 5:15 p.m. at the Walton Fish Hatchery.…
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 |