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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
Another Georgia lake record has been broken. Henry Younker, of Oxford, landed a record blue catfish Friday, June 12 on Lake Sinclair. Henry and his two sons put their boat in the water at Little River around 7 a.m. After having much success throughout the day, the boys decided to stay as long as they…
Troy Thiel is attempting to tell me how simple it is to catch crappie trolling on Lake Sinclair. “People make it harder… there’s a fish… than it really has to be. All you need to do… there’s another one…” Being interrupted by slab crappie is not a bad thing, even at the beginning of the…
July is not a favorite month for most bass fishermen. Water and air temperatures are hot, and that makes most bass move deep. Fishing can be a sweaty frustration during the day, and many anlgers just don’t like to cast at night. But you can catch bass in July, especially at Lake Sinclair. Sinclair is…
The month of January can be pretty darn lackluster for an outdoorsman, to be honest. Deer season has come and gone, all of that delicious, heart-clogging holiday food is a distant memory, and the end of another highly anticipated duck season is looming in the back of your mind. If I was really cruel, I…
The 2013 Junior Collis Memorial Bass Classic presented by the Baldwin Backlashers on Lake Sinclair was a monumental success for both the anglers and Georgia Cancer Support. In a month when many outdoorsmen prefer to be in the woods chasing whitetail, 87 boats and more than 170 anglers flocked to Little River Park to show…
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 |