I should start Bluegillresource.com

[Koz]

What a lousy weekend bass fishing on Lake Oconee this weekend. Because I don't have a vehicle that can transport my kayak, I'm currently limited to fishing the area near Fish Tale marina where the water is pretty much shallow throughout. I did venture further out on Saturday and pedaled to new areas about 4 miles from my launch point before wetting a line.

 

I was out on the water by 5:15 am on Saturday and what struck me is I saw no one fishing in the areas I fished or pedaled by. Not one other boat fishing. I think that pretty much says the fishing is lousy in this area, at least this time of year. Along the way I had the side scan going and there's absolutely nothing under the water except flats and mud. No vegetation, submerged timber, or rocks. There are zero weeds or grass in my area, even along the banks. There are occasional humps and a few drop offs, but those are out in the channel. Oconee is narrow in my area, and I don't want to sit out in the channel on a kayak with all of the weekend boat traffic.

 

Sunday I headed out to my usual haunts in the late afternoon, and again it was tons of baitfish and carp. I fish docks and laydowns and found nothing. On both days I gave up hunting for bass, put on a beetlespin and at least caught some bluegill. I did catch one small bluegill on a 3/8 oz spinnerbait - but I didn't even hook him. He grabbed onto the skirt and didn't let go until I got him over the kayak. That was actually pretty funny.

 

The hybrid fishing had actually been decent lately, but it shut off this weekend. If anyone has any tips on fishing this section of Oconee I'd lover to hear them. I have a few more places to try, but my cruising speed while pedaling is 3-3.5 mph and it's going to take me 90 minutes just to get out there. I love my kayak, but right now I'm missing bank fishing in the SC Lowcountry.

[flatcreek]

The best area to fish Oconee during the dog days would be down near the dam.The water is deeper,there’s rock piles,grass ,stump fields and islands.i would target grass early in the morning with top water baits,weightless flukes and worms then as the sun gets higher find the rockpiles in the deeper dropoffs.it’s tough during dog days any way you slice it.Good luck

[Koz]

9 hours ago, flatcreek said:

The best area to fish Oconee during the dog days would be down near the dam.The water is deeper,there’s rock piles,grass ,stump fields and islands.i would target grass early in the morning with top water baits,weightless flukes and worms then as the sun gets higher find the rockpiles in the deeper dropoffs.it’s tough during dog days any way you slice it.Good luck

Thanks. I do want to fish that area, but it's an 11.5 mile pedal from my launch point. It would be a 10 hour round trip to get there and back if I didn't have a heart attack first!

 

Once I get a vehicle to haul my kayak I'll give it a try. If I get desperate enough maybe I'll rent a UHaul for the day.

 

Is there a public boat launch in that area?

[flatcreek]

Yes ,Lawrence ShoalsCampground on Wallace Dam road is really close to the dam.

[bigbassin']

I’ve always heard the catfishing on Oconee is great.

 

Might be worth trying for a change of pace.

[Koz]

1 hour ago, bigbassin' said:

I’ve always heard the catfishing on Oconee is great.

 

Might be worth trying for a change of pace.

I honestly don't enjoy fishing for catfish. I have no idea why. I like eating them, but not catching them.

[DitchPanda]

44 minutes ago, Koz said:

I honestly don't enjoy fishing for catfish. I have no idea why. I like eating them, but not catching them.

I'm the same way. I'm way to active a fisherman to throw something on the bottom and sit there. I used to love it but at some point that changed.

[Sphynx]

The utter lack of anything at all smacks of unhealthy water, or human intervention of one sort or another, no surprise really that there were no bass since there was none of the conditions they require to live, might be worth the time to see if either some sort of governmental decision had been made to clear/Chem the area, or if there is something about it has been noted by the local wildlife/fishery agency, I can't think of a single stretch of anywhere I fish that is just plain mud bottom without even a bit of vegetation for very far, usually measured in yards at most this time of year, 

[Koz]

7 hours ago, Sphynx said:

The utter lack of anything at all smacks of unhealthy water, or human intervention of one sort or another, no surprise really that there were no bass since there was none of the conditions they require to live, might be worth the time to see if either some sort of governmental decision had been made to clear/Chem the area, or if there is something about it has been noted by the local wildlife/fishery agency, I can't think of a single stretch of anywhere I fish that is just plain mud bottom without even a bit of vegetation for very far, usually measured in yards at most this time of year, 

There are still TONS AND TONS of baitfish in the area. It's a ridiculous amount of baitfish, in fact. Lots of smaller carp, too.Earlier in the year a decent amount of crappie and LMB could be found in the area. The striper and hybrid population was good as well. I heard catfish were plentiful, but I never fished for them.

 

But the stripers are making their move to the creeks and I haven't found the hybrids and LMB for a while. Again, this area is shallow (3ft - 25 ft deep) compared to the rest of the lake (3 ft - 95 ft deep). I suspect the bass have just moved to deeper parts.

 

It's just weird that on early Saturday mornings I don't see bass boats in my section of the lake. It will be interesting to see if I can locate LMB when I do some late night fishing. It could be that the LMB are just sitting in the deepest pockets of water in my area during the daytime hours. Those pockets are out in the channel where we get a ton of recreational boat traffic and I'm not going to sit out there motionless in my 12 ft kayak. I don't feel like getting run over.

 

 

[Sphynx]

5 hours ago, Koz said:

There are still TONS AND TONS of baitfish in the area. It's a ridiculous amount of baitfish, in fact. Lots of smaller carp, too.Earlier in the year a decent amount of crappie and LMB could be found in the area. The striper and hybrid population was good as well. I heard catfish were plentiful, but I never fished for them.

 

But the stripers are making their move to the creeks and I haven't found the hybrids and LMB for a while. Again, this area is shallow (3ft - 25 ft deep) compared to the rest of the lake (3 ft - 95 ft deep). I suspect the bass have just moved to deeper parts.

 

It's just weird that on early Saturday mornings I don't see bass boats in my section of the lake. It will be interesting to see if I can locate LMB when I do some late night fishing. It could be that the LMB are just sitting in the deepest pockets of water in my area during the daytime hours. Those pockets are out in the channel where we get a ton of recreational boat traffic and I'm not going to sit out there motionless in my 12 ft kayak. I don't feel like getting run over.

 

 

Oh come now, where's your sense of adventure? LOL

[Bird]

On 7/26/2021 at 7:07 PM, Koz said:

Thanks. I do want to fish that area, but it's an 11.5 mile pedal from my launch point. It would be a 10 hour round trip to get there and back if I didn't have a heart attack first!

 

Sir, may I ask the brand of bike your riding so that I can avoid. Lol

 

On a serious note, look into an Ebike as those things are absolutely amazing. 

You could do 11.5 miles standing on your head. 

[Koz]

3 hours ago, Bird said:

Sir, may I ask the brand of bike your riding so that I can avoid. Lol

 

On a serious note, look into an Ebike as those things are absolutely amazing. 

You could do 11.5 miles standing on your head. 

Um, I was talking about my pedal kayak.

 

My bike is a Cannondale. Eleven and a half miles on a bike is a breeze. Not so much pedaling a kayak on a big lake.

[bigbassin']

Might be worth trying Sinclair to the South if you get a vehicle. 
 

I’d also give wading on the creeks/rivers feeding into both lakes a shot during summertime. Might see a snake but you won’t have to worry about gators.