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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: 1.3 feet below 340. Temp: 69 degrees in Little River. Clarity: Heavily stained most places but clearing by the dam. Bass: Karl Pingry reports, “Ed at Lakeside Chevron says the first wave of spawning bass has occurred. A Trick Worm in dark colors or merthiolate is your best bet in the backs of the coves for the postspawners. A prop bait in bluegill color is another good choice. Either a shaky-head worm or an Ol’ Monster in dark colors will also work around the docks, both in the coves and on the main lake. Also on the main lake, fish the shallow grass with a frog or chartreuse/white ChatterBait for prespawn bass. A Rat-L-Trap or Bandit 200 will work on shallow rock. The big news is the shad spawn. Ed says the shad are trying to spawn in the backs of the pockets. That means by the printing…
Read MoreLake Sinclair Fishing Articles
Bass-tournament partners Jake Andrew and Jace Garrett, from Bremen High School, recently brought home their first tournament win at the Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation fishing tournament held at Lake Sinclair on May 14. Jake, who is a senior, has been fishing competitively since he was a 15. For his final season, he was paired with…
Lake Sinclair has proven again that the middle Georgia reservoir on the Oconee River is home to some giant catfish. Brian Fitts, of Douglasville, landed a new lake record blue catfish on May 2 while fishing Sinclair with guide Paul Gourley, who has been a friend of Brian’s for 35 years. Brian and three of his friends got…
Catfish grow big, and Georgia’s lakes sure seem to hold good numbers of these giants of the murky depths. Case in point, a recent outing on Lake Sinclair. On March 29, Chad Smith, a guide on lakes Sinclair and Oconee for almost nine years, took Rufus Brown and Brian Brown out fishing on Lake Sinclair to catch…
If you winterize your bass boat and put away your rods this time of year, you are making a big mistake. Winter is one of the best times to catch big bass, and good numbers of quality bass can be caught now, too, especially at Sinclair. Lake Sinclair has been on fire this winter for…
Georgia Power is drawing down Lake Sinclair about 4 1/2 feet this fall and winter. Plans are for the lake to remain lowered until the end of November. If that makes you worry about fishing there in November, stop your worrying. The bass fishing will be better than it has been in a long while—since…
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 |