Lucas Lake Shortens Hours Beginning May 4

Anglers wishing to fish Macon’s Lucas Lake need to be aware that an earlier closing time will begin on Friday, May 4. Anglers will need to be off the water by 3 p.m. The previous closing time was 7 p.m.

Lucas Lake is a 589-acre drinking-water supply reservoir owned by the Macon Water Authority (MWA) that is open for boat anglers with electric motors only. Depending on the time of year, the lake is open to fishing on certain days with limited hours. When open, the lake offers good fishing for bass, bream, hybrids, stripers and catfish.

The shorter fishing is to cut back on man hours that are needed to keep the facility open. Waiting until May was done because fishing traffic in the afternoons usually falls off beginning at that time of year.

The upcoming full moons on May 29 and June 28 is when the Lucas bream will go on the bed. I caught the pictured Lake Lucas bream bedding around a stump in about 5 feet of water. I’ve found my best luck in the four or five coves on the south end of the lake. I’ll target 4 to 6 feet of water and cover water with a worm or cricket until I find the fish. See this feature article on fishing Lucas Lake, or this article from 2007 that focuses on bass fishing at Lucas Lake.

The 2018 remaining public fishing season schedule at Lucas Lake is as follows:

• May 4-June 24: Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• June 25-Aug. 31: Closed
• Sept. 1-Oct. 28: Open Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Oct. 29, 2018 – Feb. 28, 2019: Closed

The 14th annual MWA Kids Fishing Derby will be held at Lucas Lake on Saturday, June 2.

For full details, go to www.maconwater.org/public-fishing-at-javors-lucas-lake.