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.