I caught this bass after a bad cold front

Along its 170 mile course the Oconee River passes through some beautiful country, from its hilly beginnings north of Athens to the flatlands where is joins the Ocmulgee River near Lumber City. But to bass fishermen none of the river is it prettier than the 45 miles contained in Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair.

Oconee and Sinclair offer some of the best bass fishing in Georgia, especially in the winter. Although the lakes are back to back with the Oconee dam separating the two, and have many similarities, they are different in many ways. Those differences and similarities are important to the bass fishing on each.

Lake Oconee is the newer of the two and its 19,050 acres of water was dammed in 1979. It has 374 miles of shoreline covered with golf courses, expensive houses and docks. There are areas of huge boulders in parts of the lake and natural rock is common. Shallow sandy coves and clay points are found throughout the lake as are big areas of standing timber.

Lake Sinclair is smaller and older than Oconee, with 14,750 acres of water. It has more long creeks so it has slightly more shoreline with 417 miles. Although work on the dam was started in 1929 the Great Depression and World War II stopped it and it was not completed until 1953. There are many sandy coves and shallow creeks with extensive grassbeds, but no standing timber. Some natural rock is in the lake but you won’t find the big boulders common at Oconee. Like Oconee, it is lined with docks.

Lake Sinclair has always had a 12 inch size limit on bass but at Oconee there is a slot limit from 11 to 14 inches, meaning you can keep bass over or under that length. That was done to try to keep down the population of small bass since Oconee is not a fertile lake, but fishermen seldom keep the smaller bass so the slot limit may not be very effective. Both lakes have a ten bass daily possession limit.

Water clarity is similar on both lakes and ranges from very muddy to slightly stained. The upper Oconee River at Oconee is most likely to be muddy while Little River on Sinclair stays heavily stained year round. The clearest water on Sinclair will usually be in Island and Rocky Creeks near the dam and Richland Creek on Oconee is usually the clearest. Sinclair also has a steam power plant that warms areas of the lake, keeping winter temperatures well above those at Oconee in some sections.

At the Oconee Dam the power generators were specially designed to work as pumps, too. During the day water runs through them from Lake Oconee into Lake Sinclair, producing electricity. At night some of the generators are reversed, pumping water from Sinclair back into Oconee. This pump-back operation creates unusual current patterns on both lakes and affects the bass fishing.

When power is being generated at the Oconee dam current runs downstream through Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair. But when water is being pumped back the current flows upstream in both lakes. This current positions bass in different ways on structure and cover.

The pump-back operation does keep both lakes at a fairly stable water level. Oconee will drop a foot or two during the day and Sinclair will rise the same amount, then Sinclair will drop a foot or two at night while Oconee rises. But the water does not show the drastic drops found on other Georgia lakes in the winter, with both lakes staying within a couple of feet of full pool most of the time.

According to the Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creel Census Report, in 2007 Sinclair had 81 tournaments and Oconee 73, the second and third highest totals of any Georgia lake. A lot of tournaments are held on the two lakes because fishing is good on them. On Sinclair 2.91 bass per man hour of tournament fishing were weighed in, the highest in the state. At Oconee it was 1.88, not real high but tournaments have an effective 14 inch size limit that lowers the numbers weighed in.

For tournament winning weights Oconee and Sinclair had identical 9.83 pounds, tied for fourth highest in the state. So bass fishermen catch a lot of bass in tournaments on both lakes. The numbers are good and success rates reflect this, meaning you should catch a good number of bass on either lake this winter.

The Georgia DNR says Sinclair has a lot of small bass in it, no surprise to anyone fishing it, and the good 2006 and 2007 year class bass should dominate this winter. Since over 90 percent of bass caught at Sinclair are usually released the numbers should stay high and the size increase with time.

At Oconee the bass population is stable but the DNR is concerned that the numbers of small bass will hurt the lake. Unless bass fishermen start keeping the small bass under the 11 inch slot limit the quality will suffer. That may be reflected in the fact the average big bass in tournaments at Oconee was only 3.68 pounds, compared to 4.20 pounds at Sinclair.

There are a lot of ways to catch bass on both lakes right now. You can follow the same patterns on each or specialize on patterns that work best on one lake or the other.

Fishing docks is a good winter pattern on both lakes. Find a dock near deep water and flip a jig and pig or curly tail worm to the pilings and brush around it and you should get bit. On both lakes pay attention to the current. Strong currents are not as good in the winter but a slight current moving water under docks helps. The bass will hold behind post and brush, facing into the current waiting on food. Position your boat downstream of the current, no matter which way it is flowing, and flip upstream, working your bait back in a natural action.

Crankbaits also work well around docks in both lakes. A #5 or #7 Shadrap run by dock pilings will draw strikes from winter bass. Natural colors like shad or black and silver are good. Just like with the jig and pig, fish with the current. Run your crankbait at a slow, steady retrieve, going slower in colder water.

On Oconee the docks from Long Shoals Ramp up to the Highway 44 Bridge are good. Stay on main lake areas where the docks are deeper and concentrate on outside posts and brush this time of year. Work your jig and pig or worm slowly in the cold water, dropping it to the bottom and jiggling it in one spot by a post.

At Sinclair the docks in Beaverdam Creek are good since the warm discharge from the steam plant keeps the water warmer. There is almost always some current here, too. The discharge from the steam plant moves water even when there is no current from the dams. Also try the docks from Beaverdam Creek to the dam. If the water is muddy go into Rocky and Island Creeks and flip docks in clearer water.

Riprap is excellent on both lakes in the winter. A spinnerbait slow rolled just over the rocks, ticking them as it eases along, it a good choice. Fish it with the current. Crankbaits are also good. Use different sizes to reach different depths. For five-foot deep rocks cast a #5 Shadrap but go to a #8 Shadrap for rocks down to ten feet. Fish all sizes with the current, reel them down to the desired depths then crank them in slowly.

At Sinclair there is almost always current around the rocks at the Highway 441 Bridges and the one in Beaverdam Creek has the added advantage of warmer water. Also check out the riprap around the steam plant outflow in that creek. The riprap at Crooked Creek can be good and riprap around houses and docks on points on the main lake often holds fish, especially if the sun is warming it.

On Oconee the bridges in Lick Creek area always good as is the Highway 44 Bridge over the river. You can catch fish on the I-20 riprap up the river, too. Many of the houses on the main lake have riprap protecting their shoreline. Riprap in front of a seawall that drops into deep water is best. Current is the key and the bass bite much better when some water is moving across the rocks.

Both Oconee and Sinclair have a lot of long points and humps on the main lake that are good places to jig a spoon in cold water. Bass stack up in deep water and hold there all winter long A shallow point or hump with a good drop on it is an ideal place to find a school of bass. Most are near creek and river channels.

Jigging a spoon works best in clearer water. You can locate schools of baitfish with bass under them with a good depthfinder then get right on top of the school and drop a spoon. Mark them with a buoy to you can stay on them. Drop the spoon down to the bottom, pop it up about two feet and let fall back on a tight line. Vary the height you pop it up and the speed of the pop until you find what the bass want.

In both lakes hard bottoms are best. Sand, clay or rock hold more fish so look for these type bottoms no the humps and points. Sometimes bass want cover like a brush pile, stumps or rocks but usually they will be on slick bottoms this time of year on these points and humps.

On Oconee the humps and points from the dam up to the mouth of Richland Creek are good. You can also find fish on up Richland Creek and up the Oconee River if the water is clear but the best spots in the River will be from Lick Creek downstream and in Richland Creek from Sandy Creek downstream. Look for the bass to be holding in 18 to 22 feet of water most days.

At Sinclair the long points and humps from the mouth of Little River to the dam are good and there are some excellent points in both Rocky and Island Creeks. If the main lake is heavily stained concentrate your efforts in the creeks. Bass tend to hold a little deeper in those areas at Sinclair so look for them 18 to 25 feet deep.

Even on the coldest days some bass will be shallow in both lakes. If the sun is shining it will warm the backs of coves and pockets and bass will feed in them. Find a short cove with a good channel running into it, with shallow flats in the back, and the bass will be there looking for something to eat. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are good bets to catch them.

On Sinclair look for shallow flat pockets on the west side of the lake around Nancy Creek to the dam. Some grass in them helps. Throw a Rat-L-Trap or #5 Shadrap up very shallow and work it back just fast enough to bump the bottom. Also slow roll a spinnerbait along the bottom. Hard sand or clay bottoms are best.

On Oconee there are good pockets from the mouth of Lick Creek to the dam. A pocket that gets sun most of the day is better and grassbeds helps, although there is not a lot of it on Oconee. Although the grass will be dead baitfish still feed on it and they attract bass. A spinnerbait worked along the bottom is an excellent bait for these bass.

Sinclair has a lot more grass than Oconee and the pattern of fishing grass is better there. Most of the coves and creeks from Crooked Creek to the dam on the Oconee River have some grass beds in them. Fish a spinnerbait around them and let the bass tell you if they are holding in the grass or on the edge. Once you establish this pattern you can find similar places in most coves.

Standing timber can be a place to catch winter bass at Oconee but Sinclair does not have it. The timber that runs for a long way on both sides of the point between the Oconee River and Richland Creek as well as the patches of timber in Double Branches are good. You are more likely to have current on the main lake timber on the point than in the patches in the creek.

There are several ways to fish the timber. Bass sometimes suspend in the branches and you can catch them on a crankbait or spinnerbait fished through them. Make fairly short cast with either bait and get them down to about ten feet deep. Bounce them through the limbs and off the trunks of the trees. Vary the depth until you catch a bass then concentrate on that depth.

Also pay attention to which tree the bass hits. Is it on the outside edge of the patch of timber or on the inside edge. Or is it in the middle of the patch. If on the edges concentrate on them but if inside the timber fish every tree.

You may also be able to tell what kind of tree it is and whether it has underwater branches. An old cedar tree will have more branches than most others. If you are hitting a lot of branches when you catch a bass try to find trees that have a lot of them to fish.

If the fish don’t want a bait moving through the trees, try dropping a jig and pig down the trunk. A light jig and pig with a twin curly tail trailer will fall slowly and draw a bite. Fish it on heavy line and set the hook hard if you see a twitch or jump in your line as your bait falls. If it stops falling before getting to the bottom be ready to set the hook, a bass probably has it.

Don’t pass up jigging a spoon along the creek channels and ditches in the timber, too. Bass will often hold right on the bottom on the lip of the ditch by the tree. The best way to get to them is to drop a spoon down and jig it vertically.

Start at the back of the pockets of timber in Double Branches where the channel enters the trees and work deeper, or work the outside of the trees along the channel in Richland Creek. Any change in the bottom, like two ditches coming together, a big rock or a hump, will help hold bass. When you find the best depth concentrate on it.

Spend some time on Lake Oconee or Sinclair this winter. Even if you are cold, the bass will make it worth your time.

Allatoona bass caught on a crank bait

Die hard bass fishermen love the fall. We would much rather be on the water trying to fool a bass than perched in a tree waiting on something with horns to wander by or sitting in front of the TV watching guys play with a ball. Fortunately, many of our less fanatical bass fishing brethren like those other sports so we don’t have to share the honey holes with as many other fishermen. Add in the lack of pleasure boats, jet skis and skiers and fall fishing is almost heaven.

Bass activity also makes fall a fantastic time to fish for them. The cooling waters spur a feeding spree as the bass fatten up for the coming months. They like a high protein diet so shad and crayfish are their favorite prey this time of year.

Several other factors make this a good time of year to chase bass. The water is settled and clearer than during much of the year so you don’t have to worry as much about changing conditions. Lake levels are generally dropping so you can easily spot cover and structure on the exposed shoreline that shows you were to fish. The weather is not miserably hot or cold above the water, so you can fish in comfort. And you can simplify your tackle and areas of the lake you cover.

Starting in October but at its peak in November three baits really shine for bass fishing. You can have a crankbait, spinnerbait and jig and pig tied on and leave all the other rods and lures in the rod locker. These three baits will allow you to cover the water the fish are in and catch them now.

A crankbait is a good choice to fish fast and look for feeding bass. Choose a one-quarter to three-eights ounce bait in browns to match crayfish in clear water. If the water is a little stained pick the same size baits but some chartreuse helps. An orange belly is best for either one.

A white spinnerbait with two silver willowleaf blades works well in the fall. One quarter to half ounce baits with matching size blades look like shad and can be fished from top to bottom. Add a split tail white trailer for bulk and a little more action and bass will eat it. Change to a gold willowleaf and silver Colorado blades and use a skirt with some chartreuse as well as white if you find any stained water.

In clear water a brown jig and pig is an excellent choice. One with a brown skirt with a few strands of orange imitates a crayfish. A one eight ounce bait is good when working heavy cover like rocks and brush since it won’t get hung as badly. Don’t downsize the skirt and trailer size, just use a lighter head.

Got to a three eights ounce jig for more open cover where you are less likely to get hung. Try a blue and black combination jig and pig for water with some stain in it. With either bait, use a straight tail chunk type pig when you want a faster moving bait but hook on a twin curly tail grub to slow the fall and for more action in the bait when hopping it off the bottom.

Bass tend to move into creeks looking for food as the water cools. Shad will migrate into creeks and bass follow them. Pick a few smaller creeks on your favorite lake, start working at the first main lake point and work back into the creek until you find the fish. Until you locate them work all the cover and structure as you come to it.

Once you locate the area the fish are in you can go to other creeks and start fishing the same area and cover in them. If you find fish on secondary points half way back into one creek you are likely to find them in the same places in other creeks. Try to pattern the fish and you can then fish many areas without spending time in unproductive water.

Crayfish like rocks and hard mud bottoms so look for places that have them. Riprap and natural rock banks hold crayfish. They like to hide in the rocks and bass will be looking for them. Crayfish dig tunnels in hard mud bottoms and hibernate there so work any such places you can find; the crayfish are likely to be concentrated on them right now.

As shad move into the creeks they cross points and creek channel drops and bass will wait to ambush them there. A point or bar running out across deeper water is a good place to find them as is a creek swing where the lip runs across the creek. Always be watching for ambush points, a place where the bottom rises up from deeper water where bass can wait on the shad.

A crankbait is a good choice to start with since you can cover a lot of water quickly. Fish it on ten pound monofilament line and use a rod with some give to it. The mono and somewhat limber rod will help you hook the bass without pulling the lure away from them or tearing it out of their mouth. Check to make sure the hooks are sharp on the crankbait before your first cast, even on brand new baits.

Choose a crankbait that runs six to ten feet deep and make long casts and bump the cover. To keep it in the strike zone keep your boat in close to the bank and make parallel casts, angling the cast slightly to cover the water six to ten feet deep where the bait works best.

For a crankbait to be most effective it needs to be bumping the cover. Crank it down on a hard mud point and make it bounce along, kicking up puffs of mud like a moving crayfish. Pause every few feet then twitch your rod tip, making it dart forward like a startled mudbug. That will often trigger a reaction strike from a reluctant bass. Fish it the same way on rocks.

When fishing blowdowns, brush or stumps make your bait bump into it then pause so it floats up a little, then reel again. A crankbait with a large bill on its nose will bounce off wood cover and not get hung as much as one with a down facing bill further back on the body of the bait.

If you see baitfish dimpling the water pick up your spinnerbait and make a long cast. Reel it back fast so it “wakes” the surface like a fleeing baitfish. You need a well tuned balanced bait that will not roll at high speeds for this to be effective. You can use 12 to 14 pound monofilament line and a stiffer rod since the single hook on a spinnerbait will not tear out as easily.

If the bass don’t slam the fast moving bait, slow it down in steps. Try a retrieve that brings the bait back a few inches under the surface. Keep slowing it down until you are slow-rolling it, moving it with the blades turning but bumping the bottom. On all the retrieves stop the bait every few feet to make the skirt flare and draw a reaction strike.

Fish the spinnerbait over and across all drops where bass might ambush shad. You can also work it through blowdowns and over brushpiles where bass might be holding. In brush and blowdowns let it bump the limb then fall a few inches as it clears the limb. This falling action will draw strikes.

A jig and pig is one of the most versatile baits this time of year. Once you find the areas the bass are holding and the type cover they like, work a jig and pig for some of the bigger bass. Although any size bass will eat a jig and pig they are known for catching quality fish. Match line size to the cover and size of the jig you are fishing and use a rod with some backbone.

A light jig and pig is good worked slowly on rocks and through wood cover, imitating a feeding crayfish. Crawl it along slowly on the bottom, pausing every few inches like a feeding crayfish. When you bump a rock or limb stop it and jiggle it, then move it over the cover, letting it fall as it comes past it.

Hopping a jig and pig is very effective. Work the bait along the bottom but every few inches jump it six to 12 inches off the bottom like a startled crayfish. Let it fall back and sit still a few seconds, then move it forward again to the next hop.

The only thing you can do wrong this time of year is sitting at home. The weather and fish are cooperative; all it takes is you getting on the water to catch them.

I can catch a bass!

Choices, choices. Fishermen in the central part of Georgia might have a hard time deciding where to go fishing this summer. From big lakes to farm ponds and from rivers to middle sized lakes we have many choices. Pick one of the mid-sized lakes in this part of the state and you will find willing bass. You may also find calm waters and relatively peaceful fishing.

In middle Georgia High Falls, Juliette and Tobesofkee offer excellent fishing but two of them have special motor restrictions you must follow. Those restrictions translate into calmer fishing but make it more difficult to cover water if you are used to zooming around in a fast bass boat.

Head to middle Georgia this month and fish one of these lakes. Each has differing cover, structure and age classes of bass so you can pick what you like best. Or fish all three for a variety of fishing experiences.

High Falls

High Falls is about two miles east of I-75 north of Forsyth. It is an old Georgia Power lake of 650 acres and all of it is a state park. The lake is closed from sundown to sunrise to boats and has very restricted bank access. Motors are limited to 10 horsepower or less but boats with bigger motors may be used if the motor is not cranked. State size and creel limits apply to the largemouth bass in the lake.

Located on the Towaliga River, High Falls is a very fertile lake and the largemouths grow big. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division the numbers of bass in the lake has been increasing over the past several years and half of the keeper bass are over 15 inches long. High Falls ranks near the top of Georgia lakes for numbers of 15 to 25 inch bass

Ted Will, Regional Supervisor for the DNR WRD West Central Georgia Fisheries Management Division says the healthy population of largemouth coupled with the relatively low fishing pressure means you should catch good numbers of nice bass. There are many big bass in the lake so your chance of catching a quality fish is good at High Falls, too.

High Falls is shallow and most channels have filled in with silt over the years, making the bottom bowl shaped. It is full of stumps and other wood cover and that type cover is the key. Docks and brushpiles add to the amount of wood and there is a good bit of grass in the water by summertime.

Glen Jones and Tracy Parks live in the Griffin area near the lake and were childhood friends. They got back together a few years ago and fish the lake a lot with each other and with friends and family. Both have caught seven pound plus bass from High Falls. They have also fished some of the Jon boat tournament trails tournaments on the lake.

Worms are Glen’s and Tracy’s favorite baits and they fish both Texas and Carolina rigs. When fishing together they vary what each is using until the bass show them what they want. Glen likes big worms and will usually start with a Zoom Old Monster or a Chompers 10 inch worm. Tracy will rig a smaller worm like a Zoom U-Tail on his Texas rig. For Carolina rigs Glen will start with a Zoom Mag 2 and Tracy will usually start with a Zoom Trick worm.

Fish worms through and around any wood cover you can find. Most docks are on posts and have brush piles around them. Stump beds are common in many areas of the lake and you will see blowdowns on banks all around the lake. All hold bass.

Topwater baits are also good and Tracy likes a white buzz bait with Glen following up with a Chug Bug or Pop-R. Spinnerbaits and Rattle Traps will catch fish, too. All these baits are fished along grass edges and over shallow grass to draw strikes.

You can put in using the ramp at the park at the dam and work up from it. The left bank going up is lined with docks while the right bank is open. The state park campground is on the right side. Above it there are some areas with stumps and grass beds to fish. With a small motor it will take a good while to get to the area where Buck Creek, Watkins Bottom and Brushy Creek split into arms off the river.

If you put in on Buck Creek at the ramp there you will be closer to more shallow fishing. Buck Creek is full of stumps and docks not far above the ramp and bridge. Just downstream of the bridge Brushy Creek enters on the left and has good fishing around wood and grass. Out and across the Towaliga River is Watkins bottom that is similar.

One good summertime pattern is to go up the Towaliga River as far as you can. Where the lake narrows down to just river channel you will find some good flats with grass to fish and up in the channel you can flip to blowdowns and overhanging brush to catch some big largemouth. Many tournaments are won on that pattern. Just make sure you leave plenty of time to be back at the ramp and off the lake by sundown.

Juliette

Lake Juliette is a 3600 acre Georgia Power lake about 15 miles east of I-75 and Forsyth. It provides water for coal fired Plant Scherer and has little inflow from Rum Creek so the water stays very clear. Juliette is filled each spring by pumping water from the nearby Ocmulgee River. Since the water is so clear grass grows all over the lake and down to surprising depths.

Standing timber was left when the lake was built. On the lower lake it was topped out well below the surface in most areas but the upper lake is filled with stumps right at the high water line. You must follow the channel in that area.

Motors are limited to 25 horsepower on Juliette but you can put in boats with bigger motors if you don’t crank them. The lake is too big to effectively fish with just a trolling motor, though. Much of the best summer fishing is out in open water and you can fish at night but you must be very careful due to the standing timber.

Ted Will and the WRD say the lake is infertile and populations of largemouth are lower than most middle Georgia lakes. Due to the slow growth rate there is no size limit on bass on the lake so you can keep ten bass any size. The lake is on a Wildlife Management Area but you need only a Georgia fishing license, no WMA stamp is required to fish here.

Baitfish in the lake include big gizzard shad and blueback herring. The bluebacks complete with bass fry for food and even eat them and the size of the herring and gizzard shad means it is tough for a small bass to grow to a size big enough to eat them. This may create long term problems for the lake but right now there are more than enough bass fry and small bass in the lake.

Although populations of bass are low there are good numbers of quality bass in the lake. About one-fourth of the bass are 15 inch long or longer and average bass caught weigh about a pound and a half. Monster bass weighing 12 to 16 pounds have been caught from the lake and it is not unusual for a tournament limit of five bass to weigh 20 pounds at the monthly tournaments on the lake.

The timber and the grass combine to offer lots of cover for bass and they are key to catching them. Grass lines form in deep water and standing timber with the grass just improves the fishing. The blueback herring in the lake mean bass are oriented to the surface during the summer.

Chad Hitt grew up in Forsyth and he and his father fish together in the monthly tournament at Juliette. They have been consistent in their catches and last year through nine months they had a 3.2 pound average for the fish they weighed in. Their best five-fish limit in a tournament weighed 17.66 pounds and their biggest bass was a 6.11 pounder. Chad’s best bass from Juliette is a 7.75 pound fish.

Bass at Juliette hold fairly deep, from 10 to 18 feet in the summer and fall, according to Chad. They hold in the grass and wood cover and will come up and eat a bait worked over them or through the cover. Topwater and worms both work well now.

Chad will start out with a topwater plug like a Pop-R or Rico and fish the grass line around the bank. There is often a visible grass line where the hydrilla grows up to the surface then drops off. There will be grass deeper than the line but the bass often hold near it. Fish at an angle working your popper close to this drop.

If the bass don’t want the topwater bait or after the sun gets high Chad will switch to a Texas rigged Zoom Mag 2 worm with a fairly light lead to fish through the grass. He works it slowly moving it through the grass where the bass are holding. If the bottom is clean with little grass Chad will switch to a jig head Trick worm and fish it on the bottom.

You can put in near the dam to fish the open lower end of the lake. There are many good pockets and small creeks with grass and timber in them, and the humps and shallows on the main lake are covered with grass beds. The open water in this area can get rough in a hurry when the wind gets up so be careful in small boats.

The upper end of the lake has a ramp and it is right in the standing timber. Follow the channel in this area because most of the trees have rotted off right at the high water mark. If the lake is down a little you can see many of them but if it is full it is very dangerous.

In this area fish the points and creek channels in the timber. You will see an old road bed crossing the lake between the ramp and the power plant and both ends of it can be good, too. There will usually be grass on these spots mixed in with the wood and you will need to fish it slowly and carefully to cover the places a bass will hold. Use heavy tackle so you can get them out of the wood when you hook a fish.

Tobesofkee

Lake Tobesofkee is a 1750 acre lake owned by Bibb County and located a couple of miles west of I-75 in Macon. It is ringed with houses and there are several parks open to the public on the lake. The lake gets very crowded in the summer with pleasure boaters and skiers since there are no motor restrictions.

The lake has a good bit of rock and grass cover in it and there are many brushpiles built by fishermen. The docks around the lake also add to the type of cover the bass like. State size and creel limits apply and you must have a Georgia fishing license. Access to the lake is expensive at the county operated parks.

Will says there are lots of keeper size bass in the lake and fishing has been improving for the past several years. Good spawns two and three years ago mean large numbers of those year class bass are reaching keeper size and better now. You should be able to catch a lot of 12 to 14 inch bass at Tobesofkee this summer.

Local pot tournaments move to night fishing this time of year because of the crowds during the day and the fishing is better in the dark. Weekdays are not too bad but you can hardly fish the lower lake on a pretty weekend summer day. The upper lake offers some protected shallows with grassbeds and brush that holds fish but that area is better late or early in the day as well as at night, too.

Ricky Randall has lived in the Macon area all his life and has fished Tobesofkee often. He fished with two local bass clubs and now he and his dad fish mostly pot tournaments. They often get a check at the weekly tournaments on Tobesofkee.

A few years ago Ricky and his dad had their best catch ever on the lake, seven keepers that weighed 30 pounds on a day they just went to the lake to check it out since the water was low. They have weighed in a six bass limit at just over 21 pounds in a tournament there.

Weedbeds and riprap are good places to catch bass on Tobesofkee and Ricky fishes them with a variety of baits. He will parallel the rocks with a small crankbait like a #5 or #7 Shadrap then go back along it with Trick worms and a jig and pig. The grass beds are water willow and they are fished with Trick worms, topwater and a jig and pig.

A lot of bass at Tobesofkee will hold around 14 to 15 feet deep on structure and cover out on the lake. Ricky will look for schools of shad and expects bass to be on the closest brushpile or channel drop. A big plug like a Mann’s 20 Plus, Norman DD22N or Fat Free Shad will catch them when cranked down to the depth they are holding.

You can put in near the dam at the big county park and fish all over this small lake if you have a bass boat. The creeks that go back under Mosley Dickson Road on your right as you go up the lake all have good riprap to fish as does the bridge up the river on Lower Thomaston Road. Those creeks and the structure near the mouths of them hold fish this time of year, too.

The lake will narrow down then open back up above the bridge on Lower Thomaston Road. This big area has several small feeder creeks with grass lining them and are good places to fish. They are more protected than the lower lake but skidoos and skiers still make it difficult to fish even here in the summer.

Try these mid-size lakes in the middle of Georgia for different kinds of bass fishing this summer. Explore them to find honey holes that will pay off in numbers of bass as well as some big fish, especially on High Falls. All of them will provide good fishing and you can find peace and quiet on two of them if that is what you are looking for while bass fishing.

Nice spot and largemouth from Wedowee

Catching May Bass at Wedowee

     May is an amazing month for bass fishermen.  Many big bass are hungry after the spawn and feed heavily. Some are still on the beds early in the month so you can sight fish if you like that. And males are guarding fry, making them aggressive and easy to catch.  This is a good month for catching lots of bass as well as landing one big enough to brag about.  You would be hard pressed to find a better May lake than Wedowee.

May bass fishing on Lake Wedowee is a pleasant surprise to many who have not tried it.  Limited access keeps big tournaments off the lake so it is not real crowded.  The lake is full of good sized spots that are very aggressive.  And you can catch some big largemouth if you target them.

Dammed in 1983, Wedowee is the newest Alabama Power Lake and is officially known as R.L.Harris Reservoir.  It is on the Tallapoosa River and covers just less than 11,000 acres on it and the Little Tallapoosa River and has 270 miles of shoreline.

The steep, rocky banks and clear water favor spotted bass and they are the predominate species on the lake.  Wedowee is not a real fertile lake so the Alabama DNR set a slot limit, requiring the release of all bass between 13 and 16 inches long to give that group of bass a chance to grow.  Spots became so common that they are no longer included in the slot and fishermen are encouraged to keep spots to eat. You are also encouraged to keep largemouth under the 13 inch limit to give more food for the bigger bass.

In the 2008 Bass Angler Information Team (BAIT) survey, Wedowee ranked first in angler success in club tournaments.  That means club anglers caught more bass per fisherman on Wedowee than any other lake in Alabama.  It ranked third in bass per angler day and a surprising fourth in the amount of time it took to catch a bass weighing over five pound.  So, you will catch a lot of bass and have an excellent chance at landing a five pound plus fish.

Due to all those factors, Wedowee was ranked as the best lake in Alabama for bass fishermen in 2008, and it seems to be getting better and better.  Plan a trip in May to take advantage of some excellent bass fishing.

Eric Morris loves bass fishing. Right now Eric is service manager of All Pro Auto Group in LaGrange. A few years ago he, his father and brother bought and now operate Wedowee Marina on Highway 431 right at the bridge on the Little Tallapoosa River.  They are taking on Legend Bass Boats this year and Eric is on the Legend Pro Staff. He is also sponsored by Falcon Rods.  He visits a wide variety of lakes and fishes more than 40 tournaments a year but Wedowee is his favorite lake.

Although he never fished a tournament until he was 25 years old, the first one his father took him to got him hooked to the point of addiction.  He loved it and now fishes tournaments every chance he gets. He has fished with a couple of bass clubs and now competes with the Harrelson Hawg Hunters bass club in Georgia, where he won the point standings two years. He also fishes every pot and charity tournament he can enter on Wedowee.

Eric has won four straight January club tournaments on the lake, but May is his favorite time to fish Wedowee.  He loves topwater fishing and it is excellent this month, and he catches some big fish on Spooks and Zell Pops all month long. And he can catch numbers of bass on a variety of baits.

We fished Wedowee on a rainy day the second week of April and some bass were already on the beds.  There should be a big wave of bass moving onto beds in late April around the full moon on the 28^th, and some will bed even after that. So, for the next few weeks, you can catch bedding bass, a few pre spawn fish, and a lot of hungry post spawn bass.

An 8.5 pound largemouth is Eric’s best from Wedowee, and he has landed a 4.45 pound spot there. His best tournament catch on Wedowee was five bass weighing 21.36 pounds and, surprisingly, included three largemouth and two spots.  And that weigh gave him third place in the tournament. It often takes well over 20 pounds to win on Wedowee.

Largemouth are Eric’s target in tournaments since they get bigger and weigh more, but he may fish all day for five or six bites to win.  For fun catching lots of bass, Eric will go after spots, especially when taking kids and inexperienced fishermen out.  He separates the methods and areas of the lake to catch each although you can catch some bass of each species on either pattern.

For largemouth, Eric says fish the upper stretches of either the Tallapoosa or Little Tallapoosa Rivers.  There is a higher percentage of largemouth to spots up the rivers so you are more likely to catch them.  And Eric uses baits that bigger largemouth eat, like a full size Spook.

In late April and early May Eric will fish back in the pockets, looking for fish around the bedding areas. Any small pocket is likely to hold bedding bass on Wedowee since there are not many creeks for them to go to.  Work every inch of the bank with your Foxy Shad or chrome and blue Spook or a ghost pattern Zell Pop with a feather trailer since there is a lot of underwater wood you can’t see that will hold fish. Make repeated casts to wood you can see.

As the water warms and it gets later in May, Eric will work more toward the outer banks of the pockets and the main points at their mouths. Post spawn bass will migrate out of the backs of the pockets and feed as they work their way out to the main channel.

Early mornings are best for topwater baits but Eric will fish them any time there is low light.  If the day is overcast he will throw a Spook or popper all day long. On sunny days, anytime there is a patch of shade on the water he will work it with the topwater baits, too.

A spinnerbait is another good bait for big largemouth, especially during the shad spawn. Watch for shad on the rocky banks early in the morning and throw a double willow leaf bladed white spinnerbait right on the bank. If there is no activity, slow roll it from the bank back to the boat. Eric says he will reel four or five turns of his reel handle then stop the bait and start it moving again with a twitch of the bait to give it more action.

If the bite is slow and the largemouth sluggish, Eric will pull out a green pumpkin Senko and work it weightless around all wood cover in the pockets.  A big Senko works best and he lets if fall slowly by any cover he spots.

Watch your line carefully for any twitches as a bass inhales the bait, and tighten up your line very slowly before moving it. If you feel weight, set the hook. Bass will often take the Senko and not move, and the first thing you feel when you move it is them spitting it out!

The main lake below the Highway 48 Bridge is the area to fish for spotted bass.  The water is clear, most banks are rocky and it is ideal spot habitat.  A wide variety of baits will catch fish down the lake.

First thing in the morning a small topwater bait like the Zell Pop will draw strikes when cast close to rocky bluff banks.  The strike will usually come within two feet of the rocks, so get in close and make parallel casts to the rocks, keeping your bait it the strike zone longer.

A jig head worm is Eric’s “go-to” bait and he uses it to catch, in his words, a “whole lotta numbers” of spots on the lower lake. He fishes a one-eight ounce jig head on eight pound fluorocarbon line and puts a green pumpkin or Bama Bug color Trick worm on it.  He says the lower lake is full of rocky points that hold large numbers of spots.

The best points are flat points at the end of a bluff wall, where the vertical rocks change to a flatter, gravel and rock area.  Eric will sit out in the channel with his boat in 20 feet of water, but near the end of the bluff, and cast up onto the flat point, working his bait from the shallows out and down the drop.

Cast your jig head right against the bank and make sure it goes to the bottom. Eric says too many fishermen keep their line tight and that makes the bait swing away from the edge of the rocks, and many start moving the worm before it hits bottom. Eric says he makes sure the jig is on the bottom then starts moving it “a half-inch” at a time, shaking his rod tip to make the tail of the worm dance.

Bass will often hit as the bait falls, so be ready as soon as your jig hits the water.  And move the bait slowly. Some of these points drop off steeply and if you pull your bait too far it will drop right past the fish holding on the bottom.

Jig head worms are great baits to let a kid use to learn to catch bass. They will get a lot of bites on this bait fished on this pattern so they don’t lose interest, and they will catch some hard pulling fish.

If the wind is strong, making it difficult to fish a light jig head worm, Eric will throw a Carolina rig in the same areas.  Fish the same worm or a green pumpkin lizard on a three-foot leader behind a heavy enough sinker to keep your bait near the bottom.   He fishes Carolina rigs on 12 pound Segar Fluorocarbon line, his choice of brand of line for all his fishing.

Also ride the points on the lower lake and watch your depthfinder for brush piles. Eric says every point on the lake seems to have a man made brush pile. Look for them where you would make one and there is probably one there.  Back off them and fish them with the jig head worm or a Carolina rigged worm.  Brush from 15 to 20 feet deep will hold bass best, in Eric’s opinion.

By the middle of May night tournaments start on Wedowee and night time is a great time to catch fish there. Eric fishes as many of the night tournaments as he can, and enjoys the change from daytime fishing.  He says by early June the lake will be on fire at night, with lots of bass feeding in the dark.

Dock lights attract bait and bass in the dark and Eric will fish any lights he can find with a small light colored crankbait. He tries to match the shad swimming around the lights and works the edges of the light first, then under them in the brighter light.

Spinnerbaits work well at night when fished on the down-lake points, too. Eric surprised me when he said he uses a white spinnerbait with silver blades in the dark. He does use a black or sapphire blue trailer on his white spinnerbait.  Make long casts across the points and reel the bait back steadily to give the bass an easier target in the dark.

You can catch bass at night on the points and brush piles, too. Fish them like you do during the day, but fish even slower.  When you hit brush or a rock, jiggle your bait in one place longer to let the bass find it in the dark.

Wedowee is a great lake for catching bass right now and will just bet better and better over the next several weeks.  Give Eric’s patterns a try and see how he catches them. These tactics will work for you.

Rainy day bass

North Georgia’s Top Bass Waters – How and Where To Catch North Georgia Bass

Ask a bass fisherman which month of the year is best and the response is likely to be “April.”  April is a dream month for bass fishing in the north half of our state.  The weather is comfortable and fairly stable for you and the bass are shallow, feeding and looking for bedding areas.

You have a wide variety of big lakes to fish north of Macon and you can catch largemouth and spotted bass in many of them.  No matter which lake you choose, from the South Carolina line to our border with Alabama, you can catch bass several different ways.  And you have a good shot at catching a wall hanger as well as filling up your livewell with keepers.

Pick any of the following lakes, give the suggested tactics a try and you will love April fishing even more.

Thurmond Lake

Called Clarks Hill by Georgia fishermen, Thurmond on the Savannah River is our biggest lake at 72,000 acres.  Georgia fishermen love it. The Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Creel Census Report shows it as the most popular lake for Georgia bass club tournaments year after year.

Jon Hair grew up fishing Clarks Hill and landed a dream job as the office manager for Buckeye Lures.  He gets to fish Clarks Hill a lot and does well in tournaments there. Last April he and his partner won the Easter Seals tournament in April with a five bass limit weighing 20.10 pounds.

“You can catch bass pre-spawn, on the bed and post spawn during the month of April,” Jon said.  He concentrates his fishing on the Savanna River side of the lake due to current there when the Corps of Engineers is generating power and the water is usually clearer.

Early in the month Jon will throw a Carolina rigged green pumpkin Zoom lizard with a chartreuse tail on secondary points and gravel banks going into coves.  Bass are on them looking for bedding spots and will eat the lizard or a three-eights to one-half ounce brown Buckeye Mop Jig with a green pumpkin trailer. Both are dragged on the gravel bottoms and the jig can be hopped for added action.

When bass are on the bed Jon will sight fish for them and throw a Spot Remover jig head with a Zoom Trick worm into the beds. The Spot Remover head will make the worm stand up in the bed and drive the bass crazy.

Later in the month the blueback herring spawn on gravel beds on the main lake, mostly in “blow-throughs,” shallow areas between the bank and off shore islands and humps.   Early in the morning Jon will throw a JWill Swimbait Head with a Zoom Super Fluke, a topwater bait like a Sammy or a Gunfish and a weightless Fluke around those area.  As the sun gets high he will fish a little deeper with a Mop Jig, working the same areas.

Lake Lanier 

Lake Lanier is well known for its huge spotted bass.  Our second biggest lake at 40,000 acres located just outside Atlanta, it is a very heavily used lake by pleasure boaters and fishermen.  But the spots are there and you can catch them this month.  If you want a wall hanger spot Lanier is a good place to land it and April is a good month to get it.

Eric Aldrich lives near Lanier and fishes tournaments on it almost every week, as well as doing some guiding there.  He writes fishing reports for three local newspapers and is on the pro staff for Hummingbird, SPRO, Gamakatsu, and Tru Tungsten. He and his partner finished 4^th in the Boating Atlanta trail on Lanier last year.

A seven pound one ounce spotted bass is Eric’s personal record from Lanier and he has also landed a 10 pound largemouth on the lake.  His best five fish catch was five spots weighing just over 30 pounds.

“Big spots are in a pre-spawn pattern much of April, with a good many going on the bed during the month,” Eric said.  You can catch them on secondary points and in pockets with flats where they bed all during the month and the main lake and creeks below Brown’s Bridge are the best areas.

A couple of baits will cover what you need. Eric will keep a Spro McRip or McStick jerk bait rigged on one rod and a Spot Remover jig head with a Big Bait Finesse Worm on it on a second rod. His targeted depth is five to 20 feet, but he says you will catch a lot of big spots at the upper end of that range.

“Look for cover like rocks on points and docks back in pockets with flats,” Eric said.  Throw a jerk bait on the points and around the docks first for active fish. Try a variety of retrieves, from a steady jerking motion to a jerk, pause, jerk. Let the fish tell you what they want.

Then throw the jig head worm around the same areas for fish that don’t want to come up to hit the jerk bait.  Work it slowly on the bottom, giving the Spot Remover jig head time to sit and hold the worm up, its signature action.  Then hop it, let it fall back and sit again.  Big spots can’t stand that action.

Also, watch for beds and throw the jig head worm into them.  Remember that spots often bed in five to ten feet of water, so look deep.  Spots are usually aggressive on the beds and you can sight fish and land some big spots in April.

Lake Oconee

Lake Oconee is one of our newer lakes located on the Oconee River right in the middle of the north half of the state.  It is a popular lake with lots of big house and golf courses, but the fishing for largemouth is outstanding.  Georgia Power has a several good ramps on the lake and two campgrounds give fishermen a chance to stay on the lake and fish for several days.

Roger McKee has fished Oconee since 1985 and lived on the lake since 1995. He is on the lake almost every day checking out the bass and guiding other fishermen.  He fishes most tournaments on the lake and does well in them.

In April there is no better lake for largemouth fishing than Oconee in north Georgia. Bass are shallow for their spawn as well as taking advantage of the shad spawn.  Numerous sea walls and lots of riprap give the shad many places to lay their eggs. And numerous pockets and small creeks offer bass excellent bedding areas.

Roger likes to fish fast in April, looking for post spawn fish that were on the beds in late March, as well as pre spawn fish still looking for a bedding spot.  The stained water at Oconee makes sight fishing difficult so sight fishing for bass on the bed is hard to do, but it can produce some big fish.

“Tie on a bait that will cover water and get a reaction strike,” Roger said.  He will have a spinnerbait and a crankbait tied on two rods and those are his key baits.  Roger said he would depend on the crankbait when covering water and would throw it on points and banks going into spawning areas, fishing it fast so the bass don’t get a good look at it.

Bass fishing doesn’t get any better than when the shad spawn on Oconee. You can see the schools of shad running the seawalls and riprap banks early in the morning in April, especially the last half the month.

Tie on a double willow leaf three eights ounce spinnerbait with silver blades and a white skirt and throw it right against the seawalls and on the riprap rocks on the main lake.  You can’t cast too shallow so get your bait against the wall or right on the rocks out of the water. Expect a strike as soon as the bait hits the water, but fish it back to five feet deep or so before reeling in to make another cast.

You can contact Roger for a guide trip through his website at http://lakeoconeesinclairguideservices.com/.

Carters Lake

If you want a record spot, a trip to Carters Lake might produce it.  Carters Lake is a Corps of Engineers lake in northwest Georgia east of Dalton and I-75. At 3220 acres, Carter’s is a fairly small lake.  There is no shoreline development other than a few boat ramps and a marina, so fishing Carter’s gives you a natural setting.

Louie Bartenfield grew up around Carter’s Lake and he and his father fished it often, with good success. His father has landed three largemouth weighing over 10 pounds at Carter’s, and Louie learned from him. They fished tournaments together for a year or so then Louie teamed up with family friend Tony Hill.

Now Louie concentrated mainly on the big spots in Carters that have come on strong over the past few years. He is a well known guide and tournament fisherman on Carters and he catches some huge spots there every year.

Since spots on Carters spawn late in April or in May, Louie will be looking for fish on a main lake pattern. There is also a good creek pattern that develops as the fish move into the creeks and both patterns work most of April.

“An easy pattern on Carters in April is to fish the alewife spawn,” Louie said.  Many people don’t realize there is big population of alewife in the lake. Unlike blueback herring, which are also in the lake, alewife spawn during the night. As the sun comes up they pull out off the main lake spawning area and suspend 10 to 12 feet down.  Louie says you can see huge schools of them on your depthfinder.

To catch the big spots feeding on them Louie will tie on a big War Eagle three-quarters ounce white spinnerbait with two silver willowleaf blades.  He will get way off main lake points and humps and make as long a cast as he can toward the bank. Slow roll the spinnerbait back to the boat in a steady retrieve, making it run down 12 to 14 feet deep where the big spots are holding under the alewife.

This pattern is best in the mornings and some wind helps.  Wind breaks up the water surface and makes it harder for the bass to see the bait, and they are more likely to hit it in the very clear water.  Louie will fish this pattern all morning, or until the bite fades.

“Everyone loves catching bass on top, and in the middle of the day there is a fun pattern that anybody can enjoy,” Louie said. He will go into the creeks on the lake and throw a small topwater bait like a Pop-R under overhanging brush and trees, working any shade he can find. The sun concentrates bass in the shade and they will hit the topwater bait all day long.

To contact Louie check out his website at http://carterslakeguideservice.com/. There are pictures there of some of the huge spots he catches as well as videos of some April fishing trips.

West Point Lake

West Point Lake on the Georgia Alabama line is a great lake for both spotted bass and largemouth.       A Corp of Engineers Lake with 25,900 acres of water and 525 miles of shoreline, fishing opportunities are varied and you can find any kind of cover and structure you desire.   A huge range of methods work during April, from sight fishing for bedding bass to working the shad spawn.

Last April in a club tournament I started on a gravel point near the dam back in a big creek and hooked seven bass on the first casts seven casts I made. I landed five of those bass and had a limit in the livewell in 12 minutes.  All hit a Sammy worked across a couple of feet of water.  Although I culled four of those first five bass, that fast action was fun.

Early in the morning bass are looking for shad spawning during April, especially later in the month. Find any hard bottom like gravel points and riprap and  you will find bass.  Throw a spinnerbait or topwater bait near the hard bottom and you will catch bass.

As the sun gets high later in the month, or early in the month before the shad spawn, throw a jig head worm on points leading into small spawning pockets or on secondary points back in the bigger pockets.  Work any cover you can find from wood to rocks in two to ten feet of water, bumping the worm through the cover.  That is how I culled four fish in the tournament last April.

I like the lower lake, from Wehadkee Creek to the dam, including the big creeks like Wehadkee, since the water is usually more stable and clearer.

Try these lakes this month. You can’t go wrong anywhere you go in April, but these tips should help you get on the fish quickly and catch a lot of bass.