Tony Couch’s Lake Sinclair Summer Bass Pattern

Bass fishing can be tough everywhere in August, but anglers can head to Lake Sinclair and hit the right docks and points for some action. Tie on a couple of different baits, fish early and late to beat the heat, and enjoy a good catch of August bass.

Lake Sinclair is an old Georgia Power reservoir on the Oconee River near Milledgeville. Its 15,300 acres of water and 417 miles of shoreline are lined with docks that provide great bass cover. Almost constant water movement from generation at both the Sinclair and Oconee dams, as well as pumpback at Oconee, keeps the water moving.

Moving water turns on the bass bite, and abundant shoreline cover keeps many bass shallow all summer. The deeper bite is there at times in specific places, but it is not as good as it is on other lakes, and the Sinclair deep summertime bite seems to be worse and less consistent recently.

Tony Couch is well known in the middle Georgia area and runs the Mid Ga Tournament Trail on Sinclair and Oconee. He lives about a mile from Sugar Creek Marina and guides on both Oconee and Sinclair, and Tony fishes many pot and local tournaments.

After a very successful pro fishing career, Tony now stays close to home and concentrates on local lakes. Back in the day, Tony fished the major leagues. On the FLW circuit alone, he had one win, 31 Top-10s and won more than $475,000.

Tony Couch has the knowledge and experience to catch bass under all conditions.

“There are always some bass on docks at Sinclair, but you have to find the right ones,” Tony said.

Most of us will fish a line of docks, but Tony uses his experience to target docks that have produced in the past.

Tony has probably made a cast to every dock on Sinclair, and when practicing or fun fishing, he will fish different docks, looking for new ones to key on during tournaments. Some keys he looks for in a good one are isolated docks, those on points, those where the current hits, and those with some form of cover, like brush. If a dock meets all four keys, it is probably gold.

“There used to be a really good deep bite on Sinclair, but it disappeared,” Tony said.

For many years, you could pull up on many points and catch a bunch of bass on crankbaits and Carolina rigs. But now if you catch one bass off a point, it is often done, and you may have to fish several points to catch even one.

For dock fishing, Tony has a big worm on a Texas rig and a smaller worm on a shaky head. For fishing points, a Carolina rig is hard to beat. And he will keep a frog or topwater ready if he wants to hit a grassbed or seawall. But Tony hates to have more than two or three rods on deck, and he prefers to have just one when the bass tell him which is producing best.

Tony took me to Sinclair in mid-July on a hot, sunny day. There was little current and almost no wind. Even under tough conditions, Tony landed seven or eight keepers off the following holes before noon. His best five weighed about 12 pounds, anchored by a pretty 3.5-pounder. That would be a good catch for most anglers on any summertime day.

No. 1: N 33º 11.896 – W 83º 17.670 — When you launch at Big Ed’s, you don’t need to go far. Put your trolling motor down and start fishing the docks downstream of the ramp. This area is constantly restocked with tournament-released bass.

Tony keeps his boat near the dock and pitches his worm or shaky head under it. He says if it skips, that is good—the main idea is simply to get it as far back under the dock as possible. He does try to get his bait near each post.

Let your bait fall to the bottom, watching your line carefully for any tick or if it stops before getting to the bottom. When it hits bottom, Tony will pause for a few seconds, especially if fishing is tough like it is in August. He then moves it slowly, probing for any brush or other cover under or in front of the dock.

Tony has forward-facing sonar but says he really is not very good with it and seldom turns it on. Tony knows what is under each dock well enough not to need it. And since he likes to be close, that may be a good thing since there is some evidence that sonar pings are alerting and spooking bass.

Fish from the ramp to the last dock before the point. These docks are very shallow, but Tony says bass will hold in a foot of water this time of year if they have shady cover and there is food nearby, like it is under these docks.

No. 2. N 33º 11.995 – W 83º 17.940 — Go up Beaverdam Creek past the bridge and campers on the right and head into the small creek to the right. There are only a couple of docks here, and being isolated, they are the only cover for bass.

The water is very shallow here, too, and early morning is probably best, but bass will use these docks all day. They really do not have anywhere else to go. Stop at the first dock near the point and try to hit every post.

Tony likes a big worm, like a Zoom Ol’ Monster, and always uses a bobber-stopper to peg a 3/16- to 1/4-oz. sinker to it. He says it is important to peg it to keep it from separating and getting hung when coming over brush and cross members of the docks. He prefers junebug for the Ol’ Monster.

Make multiple pitches to each dock, hitting all posts and probing for any other cover. A small limb under a dock is often enough to hold a bass.

No. 3: N 33º 11.090 – W 83º 16.291 — Run out of Beaverdam Creek and start down the river past the mouth of Little River. Sinclair Marina is back in a big pocket on your right. Just downstream of this big cove is a small pocket with rip-rap and docks.

The river channel swings in right to this pocket. Tony says deep water under a dock sometimes helps hold bass better in August. And the rip-rap and seawalls behind the docks are a good feeding place, too.

Start on the seawall at the brown dock on the narrow point between the river and the cove with Sinclair Marina. Work all the posts and any cover you can find around them with your Texas rig and shaky head.

Fish downstream, hitting all the docks. Also pay attention to the seawalls and rip-rap as you fish. If you see any activity, like shad dimpling the water or bream swirling, try a prop topwater bait. Sometimes a good bass will cruise these seawalls and rip-rap looking for a meal.

No. 4: N 33º 11.811 – W 83º 16.368 — For something a little different that may pay off, run up the Oconee River to the powerlines. Stop where the lines cross, and fish the water willow grassbed going into the cove on the downstream side of the powerlines.

Bass will feed around this grass all day since it offers shade and cover, but first thing in the morning is usually best. Work a popping frog or hollow-body frog through the grass, concentrating on holes, cuts and points in the grassbed.

You can also swim your big worm with a light weight through the grass and let it fall on the edges of the grass. Fish the grass from the point to the dock back in the cove, and fish the dock, too.

No. 5: N 33º 12.183 – W 83º 16.138 — Just upstream of the powerlines, three danger markers sit off a point on your right. They mark a hump and shallow saddle running out to the hump. This is the kind of place where Tony looks for summertime bass feeding in deeper water.

Stop on the downstream side even with the marker closest to the bank. Your boat should be in 20 feet of water. Cast toward the marker and you will hit water about 5 feet deep on the saddle.

Work around the point and hump, staying outside the markers with your boat in 20 feet of water. There are rocks, stumps and brush here. Tony rigs a green pumpkin or junebug centipede or Trick Worm about 36 inches above a 3/4-oz. sinker. He makes long casts with it and drags it along, feeling for cover and bites.

Current moving either up or downstream helps the bite here. Tony says it does not seem to matter which way it is moving, and he does not worry about trying to move his bait with the current. He wants to cover the entire area from all directions.

No. 6: N 33º 13.061 – W 83º 19.993 — Run up the river almost to the big island on the left—it has a road causeway going to it. Just downstream of the island, look for a narrow cove with a brown boathouse on the water just past a light green shed on the bank. Fish the docks and grassbed going into the cove on the downstream side.

Tony does not fish all docks on a bank like this, he knows which ones are more likely to hold fish, so he targets them in tournaments. But the only way to learn which are best is to take time fishing them. Find the ones with cover under them.

You can be more efficient by stopping on docks on points and those on banks where current can hit them. Also look for more isolated docks. Fish the outside half of a cove this time of year—Tony seldom gets way back in pockets or coves in August. The docks on the left going in here fit those requirements.

No. 7: 33º 12.876 – W 83º 15.974 — Going downstream, there is a bigger cove with a dock that is on the upstream side. It has a U.S. flag on it, and the dock just upstream has a U.S. flag, as well as a Trump flag. And there is a flagpole on the point itself, right on the water, with a U.S. flag. These two docks and the ones upstream of them are like the ones in Hole 6—they meet Tony’s requirements.

Fish them with both a big Texas-rigged worm and a shaky head. Tony pours and sells his own shaky heads and uses a good 5/0 hook since he fishes them on 16- to 20-lb. test line. He does not want a light-wire hook that might straighten when he needs to pull a good bass away from dock posts and trash.

For your shaky head, put a green pumpkin or junebug Trick Worm on your 3/16- to 1/4-oz. head and skip it as far under docks into the shadiest area you can hit. Concentrate on keeping the worm in contact with a post or any brush you can find. Tony sometimes will dip the tails of his worms in chartreuse dye like JJ’s Magic.

This time of year, when your shaky head hits bottom, let it sit a few seconds, and then tighten your line carefully. A bass will sometimes pick up the worm and sit with it in the shade rather than swim off with it. Be ready to set the hook if it feels mushy.

No. 8: N 33º 11.579 – W 83º 16.604 — Run down to the upstream point of Beaverdam Creek and stop on the river side at the big brown dock that has a windsock and a U.S flag. It is the last dock on the point, and it is a good one since current hits it and it is on a point. The ones upstream of it may hold a fish, too.

Fish these docks with both your plastic baits. Tony says some days the fish seem to want the big worm, some days they want the smaller one. And he will sometimes put a magnum Trick Worm or finesse worm on his shaky head to see if it makes a difference.

Tony told me several stories where little changes paid off big for him. Be flexible. If you are not getting bit, you don’t necessarily have to make a big change in baits, a small change may make a big difference.

No. 9: N 33º 11.377 – W 83º 16.376 — The last dock on your left before the river makes a hard left turn going downstream—across from the mouth of Little River—is another good dock. There is a High Tide Dock sign on it, and it has multiple posts you can fish.

This dock is on deeper water and is a little ways from nearby docks, and current hits it anytime it is running, but especially when current is moving downstream. Tony caught our biggest bass of the day here, a pretty 3.5-pounder, that hit his Ol’ Monster worm.

We started at 6:30 a.m., and it was about 9 a.m. by the time we got to this dock. I asked Tony if time made a difference, and he said often brighter sun pushes the bass under docks better. They feed under docks in all different light conditions, but bright sun probably concentrates them more in the shade.

Tony says he will often go back to a dock that he knows is good. Bass will move under them and become active at different times. And they may just not be in the mood to eat when you fish it the first time, so keep trying.

Dropping water may affect the shallow bass. On very shallow docks, the bass may move out. On deep docks, it may pull them out to the outside posts. Pay attention to what is happening while you fish.

No. 10: N 33º 10.836 – W 83º 18.987 — Run up Little River past Dennis Station and stop on the point on the left where the river makes a hard left turn. This point runs out and has a good drop on it. Although Tony says the Sinclair offshore bite has become very inconsistent, he proved it is worth trying when he boated a nice bass here that was pushing 3 pounds.

The big difference between this point and others we looked at was some current moving here, and baitfish showed up 15 to 20 feet deep right on the bottom. Current helps the bite, and baitfish usually means bass are nearby. Make long casts with your Carolina rig from all sides and off the end of this point, keeping your boat in about 25 feet of water and working your bait from 10 feet out to 20. Try all different angles on this point and others.

Check out these places where Tony catches fish and try his baits to see how to catch August bass on Lake Sinclair.

To see first-hand how Tony catches bass, book a trip with him by texting him at 706.818.4727. You can also order some of his shaky heads or get the Mid Ga Tournament Trail schedule.

I have to add—as many good fishermen as I get to go out with—I learned some new things about fishing docks from Tony by being in the boat with him. I think a trip with him would be well worth it.