REPORT
Greetings to everyone in Lake Country and beautiful Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. This is our inaugural report of all things fishing and hunting here, and we look forward to telling your stories as we celebrate fishing, hunting, and the great outdoors together.
September can be a bittersweet month but has proven to be fairly consistent on both lakes. Oconee has been at full pool, while Sinclair has been at or near full pool, currently 1.3 feet down. Water temperatures have remained constant, ranging from the mid- to upper-80s.
The bite is there, but both guides and anglers have been vocal about the early morning. The key is being on the water at safe light and fishing hard until mid-morning before the recreational boating starts its day. The consensus amongst anglers is the disappearance of the bite around 10:30 a.m. on the main lakes.
By and large, largemouth bass fishing has been tough to fair on both lakes, with reports from Oconee suggesting the early morning bite is fair, throwing frogs and buzzbait while working crankbaits off the ledges, especially deep ledges off the main river channels. The frogs are money in grassy areas on the south end of the lake, while main lake banks and sea walls respond to buzzbaits early and late.
Nick Knapp, a bass guide with BigFishHeads Guide Service, reported the largemouth bite collectively as a bit tough, saying some bass are hanging around with line sides, stripers, and hybrids schooling over deep water. The key, he suggested, is to look for humps and points in deep water.
Knapp has utilized a Carolina-rigged Zoom red shad worm fished off these offshore humps and points.
“Richland Creek has many offshore humps and points, and they’re holding a lot of fish,” he said. “It is an early bite that slows down around 9 a.m., after a solid topwater bite.”
According to Ken Sturdivant of Southern Fishing Schools, both lakes are fishing well with summer water, saying the stable water levels create solid conditions for trophy bass, crappie, and catfish.
“Fish the long points with close deep water and main lake docks during the day,” Sturdivant suggested. “Fish a Carolina rig with a Zoom finesse worm and watermelon seed. Use a 24-inch leader. It works better when the water is moving.”
Our report on black crappie and catfish activity in both lakes is very encouraging, especially for someone like yours truly who is an avid crappie and cat hunter.
First up, folks, the news coming from Lick Creek on Oconee is good. The creek is producing some two-plus-pound black crappies stacked on top of brush piles with a lot of fish in the nine- to 10-inch range. The Oconee record of 3.12 pounds belongs to Edward Rhodes. Deep brush piles and docks with depths of 10 to 20 feet on the main lake channels can produce 30-fish limits on minnows and Rosy Reds.
More good black crappie news comes from Little River on Sinclair, as the mid-depth brush piles and docks stay in play with the arm above the train trestle producing some nice bags. As with Oconee, the early bite or the evening is the best time to beat the recreational boating.
Catfish have been consistent on both lakes, holding on the bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water and feeding on cut bait, worms (earth or night crawlers), and chicken livers.
Lastly, and a bit curious to me, we have a report of channel catfish moving around quite a bit more on Oconee, but without validation through reported or confirmed catches. That information can take a minute to obtain. However, one seasoned catfish guide on both lakes questioned the collective channel catfish population and the catchability of channel catfish in totality on both our lakes.
Finally, don’t look now, fishers, but the hunting season in Georgia’s Lake Country is also upon us, as squirrel, raccoon, and ‘possum seasons are already in full swing.
From Sept. 5th through Oct. 11th, the first phase of dove hunting will open one half hour before sunrise until sunset, welcoming in the first Saturday of every September. There is a daily bag limit of 15 doves per hunter, and shotguns may carry no more than three shells.
Check the Georgia Department of Natural Resources dove field forecast to look up crop and field conditions on public wildlife management areas before you go. If you harvest a banded dove, report the tag number online at the US FWS band reporting site. Happy hunting, everyone.