Sinclair Bass On Postspawn Points

Terry Frazier has been fishing Sinclair pretty much all his life. He says that June is a great time to catch good numbers of bass on Sinclair as they congregate on postspawn points.

Many bass fishermen think June means slower bass fishing as the fast action of spring becomes just a memory. But bass are moving onto predictable patterns and holes this month, and the action can even be better than it was looking for scattered bass in the spring. Lake Sinclair is one of our best lakes to find bass stacked up and feeding right in June.

Located near the center of the state, Lake Sinclair is accessible to all Georgia fishermen. It is very popular with clubs and pot tournaments in the cold months because of the warmer water from the power-plant discharge (Edited Update: The power-plant is no longer active), but it is an excellent bass lake year-round. The population of keepers is good, and several strong spawns a few years ago means there are good numbers of quality bass, too. Sinclair’s 15,330 acres cover many coves, creeks and pockets. Some of them are excellent spawning areas, and ditches and channels lead from these spawning pockets to the main river and creek runs. Bass follow these channels from spawning areas out toward their deep summer holes. The bass set up on points and drops and feed heavily in June.

Current makes bass feed better, and Sinclair is blessed with current that runs both ways on most days. When Georgia Power is generating at Lake Oconee, there is a good current flowing downstream at Sinclair. When they reverse the turbines and pump water back into Oconee, the current at Sinclair runs upstream.

Terry Frazier grew up on Lake Sinclair. His grandparents ran Sinclair Marina for years during his youth, and his uncle runs it now. Terry spent many days fishing the lake with family, then he started club and tournament fishing. About seven years ago he joined the Baldwin Backlashers Bass Club and started fishing pot tournaments, too. For the past few years Terry has fished the Berry’s and R&R trails on Sinclair. He spends as much time as possible on Sinclair and does well in many tournaments there.

This year Terry made the 2006 State Team at the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Top Six tournament at Clarks Hill. He finished 12th out of more than 500 club fishermen from all over the state.

“June is a great month on Sinclair,” Terry said.

He likes this month because the bass are predictable, and he can catch large numbers of bass on one spot when he finds them feeding. And they are shallow enough to catch with a variety of baits.

“The bass have moved out of spawning areas and are holding fairly shallow on main-lake and creek points,” Terry said.

Terry likes a crankbait like the Deep Little N and the DT 10. Both will get down to the 10- to 12-foot range where he expects to find bass this month. He will follow the crankbaits up with a Carolina-rigged finesse worm for numbers of fish, but he switches to a Centipede on the C-rig for bigger bass. For some reason, Terry catches bigger bass on the Centipede than on the finesse worm, so he puts a Centipede on when he gets a limit.

The following 10 holes are places Terry catches bass this month. These are some of the spots he will be fishing in club and pot tournaments, so you might see him on them. Check them out, and use the patterns to find other similar spots.

No. 1: N 33° 10.830 – W 83° 16.634 — At Sinclair Marina an old pond dam goes across the cove, and it has been cut to allow access to the area behind it. The gap holds bass year-round but is especially good in June. This is the spot where Terry caught his first 5-lb. bass. He was standing on the bank throwing a spinnerbait when he was about 11 years old. He says it is a good hole for numbers, and you will pick up a 4-pounder here occasionally.

Terry tries to hit the concrete anchor of the outside no-wake buoy with a big crankbait. He likes shad colors and will make a long cast past the buoy, right down the middle of the gap, and crank it down to get to the bottom at the buoy. There is also a brushpile right in the middle of the gap that he tries to hit. The bottom is 10- to 12-feet deep — the depth he likes to find this time of year.

After fishing all around this area with a crankbait, Terry will fish a Carolina rig around the concrete anchor and the brush. He says current moving either way makes the bass bite better here.

No. 2: N 33° 11.794-W 83° 16.352 — Start up the Oconee River, and you will see some big powerlines crossing the lake between Beaverdam and Rooty creeks. Going upstream, stop on the point on the right side just downstream of the powerlines, and fish into the cove here.

Keep your boat way off the bank in 18 feet of water, and make long casts toward the bank. There is a line of brush here in about eight feet of water and a good many stumps there, too. Work down the bank from the point to the blowdown lying on the bank that has a root ball right on the edge of the water.

No. 3: N 33° 11.871-W 83° 17.495 — Go up Beaverdam Creek to the last cove on the right. Stop on the upstream point of that cove (it has a rip-rap causeway in the back.) Terry says that a lot of folks fish Beaverdam Creek in the winter but don’t realize there are a lot of bass here in the summer, too.

“There is a nice row of stumps on this point,” Terry said.

There is always current here, too. There is a grassbed on the point but no docks or cabins right on the point. The bank is fairly straight going to the gas dock at Lakeside Bait and Tackle.

Stay out from the bank — just more than a good cast away — and work from very shallow out to about 10-feet deep. You will hit the line of stumps out about even with the bank running into the cove. Cast the crankbait first, then follow with a Carolina rig. When you hit a stump, pause and let the worm settle to the bottom before moving it again.

No. 4: N 33° 11.819 – W 83° 17.330 — Across the creek, cabins line the bank from the bridge downstream to a small pocket. Past the pocket there are no cabins, and the bank turns out from the pocket to form a point, then it dips in a little to the next point, which is the biggest point on the right going out. The channel swings in near the bank here, and there is a flat running out then dropping off. There are some stumps on this flat.

Start out with your boat in 20 feet of water about even with the point. Make long casts with your crankbait near the bank, and work it out so it hits bottom in 10 to 12 feet of water. There are some blowdowns on the bank here, but Terry does not fish them this time of year, instead he concentrates on the drop near the creek channel.

Current moves across this point almost all the time. After fishing it with a crankbait, work it with a Carolina rig, too. Fish all around the smaller point near the cove at the last dock. Terry does not go much past the downstream side of this smaller point this time of year.

No. 5: N 33° 11.381 – W 83° 17.833 — Run up Little River past the bridge to the intake cut for the steam plant. On the upstream side of this cut, where the bank turns, you will see an old snag tree on the bank. Out from this dead tree is a ledge that runs off the point, and brush sometimes washes  in on it. Current moving across it from the intake at the power plant, or when current is running up Little River, makes it better here than when there is slack current.

Keep your boat a long cast from the bank, and cast a crankbait up into shallow water, bumping bottom back to the boat. Fish the inside of the cut from the dead snag out to the point, then turn and fish back with a Carolina rig.

Terry does not fish the upstream side of this point and ledge unless current is moving up Little River. If current is moving upstream, keep your boat out from the bank and fish all the way around the point, bringing your lures to the boat with the current.

No 6: N 33° 10.422 – W 83° 18.875 — Run on up Little River past the sharp turn to the left. Ahead where the river turns a little to the right, a small creek on the left side goes straight in. On the point a cream-colored cabin has pine trees around it, and one pine tree has a sign with the number “78” on it. Terry calls this “R” point because of the big letter “R” that used to be on a sign here, but it was gone when we fished there in early May. This point is shallow on the  upstream side with some big rocks on it and drops off on the inside.

Out from the wooden sea wall that runs around this point there is some bush that Terry likes to hit with his crankbait and Carolina rig. There is a big brushpile in 16 feet of water about half way between the dock on the inside of the point and the big pine tree out on the point.

Stay out and cast to the bank, working crankbaits and Carolina rigs back to hit the brush. Take some time to find the big brushpile, and work it carefully. Terry spends his time on the inside of the point where the water is deeper and finds most of the fish hold- ing there in June.

No. 7: N 33° 10.311 – W 83° 19.832 — Around a couple of bends heading upstream, the railroad cause- way runs across the river. Before you get to the causeway, there is a small cove on your right, and a big flat runs along the bank from this cove to the railroad causeway. There is some scattered brush on it and more will wash in at times. Fish hold all over this flat.

Start about even with the down- stream point of the small cove with your boat in 12 to 14 feet of water. You will see the root ball of a tree on the bank, and you want to start about even with it. Make your first casts toward the cabin in the back of the cove, and then work upstream parallel to the bank in front of the railroad tracks. Make a lot of casts with both a crankbait and a Carolina rig here to cover the flat and hit any brush. There is a small drop on this flat out in about 10 to 12 feet of water, so make sure you are out deeper than the drop so your baits will hit it.

No. 8: N 33° 10.244 – W 83° 20.721 — Above the bridge, the river turns to the right and runs by a big island that sits on the left side of the river. This is called Optimists Island, and the Cedar and Potato creek chan- nels enter on the left side of it. Go to the left side of the island, and stop when you are about even with the downstream point of the island.

There is a dock on the left bank that has two lights on it, and there is a hammock between two trees on the bank. You will also see a boathouse with a U.S. flag on it. Out in front of those docks is a big flat that runs out to the creek channel, and there is brush on it.

Keep your bait in 19 to 20 feet of water, and cast toward the docks. You will hit some scattered brush that washes in here, and there are a few rocks here, too. Terry says this is a good schooling area in June. Boat traf- fic gets heavy, but it only seems to make the fish bite better.

Later in the month Terry concentrates on the drop from the ledge to the channel in 16 to 22 feet of water. Although this is a good hole for numbers of bass in June, Terry has caught some big fish here, too. He likes this spot late in the day and often fishes it during night tournaments.

No. 9: N 33° 11.720 – W 83° 22.033 — Little River runs fairly straight upstream from Optimists Island and then makes a bend to the left just before Double Bridges. On the right before this last bend, a creek enters the lake, and the point between it and the river channel has a white danger marker pole on it. This point runs downstream way out into the lake, and it is very shallow on top.

Terry starts fishing this spot by keeping his boat out in deep water and casting up on top of the point with both crankbait and Carolina rig. After working around it from this direction, he will get his boat in shallow water and cast out deep, bringing his baits up the drop. Fish it from all angles, from deep to shallow and shallow to deep, as well as casting from the Little River side across it, and from the small creek side, too.

No. 10: N 33° 12.164 – W 83° 22.867 — Above the bridge on Little River at Double Bridges, the bank to the left going upstream has trees and bushes hanging over the water. Terry often starts here early in the morning looking for a mayfly hatch. On this spot he will switch to a black buzzbait or a topwater plug like a Pop-R, looking for active bass feeding on the mayflies and on the bream that are there eating the bugs.

Fish from just upstream of the bridge, around the next point and into the small cove. There are some excel- lent blowdowns from the point into the cove, and Terry will fish them slowly and carefully. For a quality bass, he will often throw a big worm like the Zoom Ol Monster in the wood cover.

Right now is a good time to find bass holding fairly shallow on main- lake and creek structure. These bass are accessible to many different baits. Try Terry’s methods and his spots, and then look for similar areas all over the lake. You should be able to catch a bunch of keeper bass during a June trip to Sinclair.