Lakes Oconee and Sinclair

[Big Country]

Anyone on here fish either of these lakes. I just recently started fishing them, but haven't had very good luck. A few hybrids, not of notable size, and a few barely legal largemouth are all I've landed. Any tips that might help put a few more fish on the end of my rod would be great!   Oh, and the go to bait has been a T-rigged Ribbon Tail Worm, but I've thrown everything in the tackle box at them...

[senko_77]

Oconee is my favorite lake by far!  Oconee and Sinclair fish pretty much the same.  All year long your going to have a strong dock pattern.  Sinclair doesn't really have many deep water spots and Oconee has a few, but first, get a feel for how the dock fish work and get your skipping dialed in.  

When I fish either lake, I like rows of docks with deep water nearby, especially if it's a channel swing that comes up next to the outside posts.  

Sunny days:  Have jigs and shakyheads tied on with different weights.  Throw to all the posts, ladders, boatslips, etc on the outside and then after you have hit the edges, start skipping your bait underneath the dock.  Within an hour or two, you can pretty much narrow it down to which spot on a dock they will be on and you can pull up to a dock, throw to that spot, and move on.

Cloudy/windy/rainy days:  Have spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and buzzbaits tied on.  When the sun is covered up, fish at Oconee and Sinclair like to roam on the edges and in between the docks.  Throw your baits down the edge of the dock then hit all the water between the docks.  If you hit a stump or brushpile, make multiple casts to that area.

If you do this, you should be able to increase your catch.  My favorite soft plastics on Oconee and Sinclair is the *** Finesse worm and the Zoom Ultravibe Speed worm.  For jigs, I like the Spro K-Finesse jig and the Gmans jig.  As for the hardbaits, just about any will do as long as you aren't running any deeper than 6ft or so, but I personally use the Spro Aruku Shad and the Spro Little John.  Also, make sure you have the chartreuse JJ's Magic with you because both of the lakes can get real muddy and it will help the fish find it a bit easier.

Good luck dude

[Big Country]

Oconee is my favorite lake by far! Oconee and Sinclair fish pretty much the same. All year long your going to have a strong dock pattern. Sinclair doesn't really have many deep water spots and Oconee has a few, but first, get a feel for how the dock fish work and get your skipping dialed in.

When I fish either lake, I like rows of docks with deep water nearby, especially if it's a channel swing that comes up next to the outside posts.

Sunny days: Have jigs and shakyheads tied on with different weights. Throw to all the posts, ladders, boatslips, etc on the outside and then after you have hit the edges, start skipping your bait underneath the dock. Within an hour or two, you can pretty much narrow it down to which spot on a dock they will be on and you can pull up to a dock, throw to that spot, and move on.

Cloudy/windy/rainy days: Have spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and buzzbaits tied on. When the sun is covered up, fish at Oconee and Sinclair like to roam on the edges and in between the docks. Throw your baits down the edge of the dock then hit all the water between the docks. If you hit a stump or brushpile, make multiple casts to that area.

If you do this, you should be able to increase your catch. My favorite soft plastics on Oconee and Sinclair is the *** Finesse worm and the Zoom Ultravibe Speed worm. For jigs, I like the Spro K-Finesse jig and the Gmans jig. As for the hardbaits, just about any will do as long as you aren't running any deeper than 6ft or so, but I personally use the Spro Aruku Shad and the Spro Little John. Also, make sure you have the chartreuse JJ's Magic with you because both of the lakes can get real muddy and it will help the fish find it a bit easier.

Good luck dude

Wow!! Thank you so much for these tips, I will surely try them on my next trip up there. I'm a northern boy, use to rock bottom, crystal clear lakes, so Oconee and Sinclair really threw me off b/c they're always stirred up from the water being pushed in and out of the plant. And my approach thus far has been WAY off from what you mentioned. I've been trying to focus most of my attention to the standing timber areas and shallows, not even trying the docks during the day. Now I have fished the docks on Sinclair at night with great success, but will have to try it during the day as well. Once again your tips are greartly appreciated.

[senko_77]

The standing timber at Oconee is great in the dog days of summer, but the docks are where it's at.  It's most important to learn them because it will always be something that you can fall back on and catch fish if your primary pattern doesn't work.  Like I said, there are always fish to be caught at Oconee's and Sinclair's docks 365 days a year.

[Big Country]

Made it back up to Sinclair to fish the full moon Friday night. Fished from sunset until about 2:00am. The only time the fish bit was when they pushed water through the plant, and that was at 10:00pm, after that things just shut down. I'm thinking I'll have to pick up some of the JJ's Magic that has been suggested. I've heard a lot about it, so I think it's time to give it a try. Even though I'm not catching many fish I continue to learn something new about the lake every time I'm there. One of these days I'll be able to fish Oconee and Sinclair and know what I'm doing, lol.

[senko_77]

Big, try going to the Little River Marina and fish the rip-rap around that bridge.  There are TONS of tournaments that go out of Little River and when they release those fish they always chill by that bridge awhile.  You can take a jig and mop up on those fish.

[Big Country]

LoL, I had made that suggestion to my fishing partner, but then second guessed myself and we ended up going underneath that bridge, to the other side and ended up with nothing. I'll keep that spot in my mind for the next time though, guaranteed!!

[senko_77]

Yeah, the riprap that faces the Marina is way more productive than the other side.  I will be down there for a tournament this Sunday and I will let you know how we caught them.  Supposedly the shad spawn is going on big time right now way up the river near the twin bridges area and they have been killing them on spinnerbaits.

[Big Country]

Yeah, my fishing partner and I saw a few different area's, mainly back in a few coves where the shad were spawning. Had a few hits or fish bumping a crankbait, but no takers. I hope to make it back up to either lake during the upcoming memorial weekend. And I'm sure everyone else will be there as well during that time, lol.

[TyTy]

Outstanding info senko...thank you!

My buddy and I got skunked on Sinclair last September but we didnt hit the docks either.

One thing I noticed when we were there but we didnt have time to investigate...balls of minnows right at dusk all around one of the islands on the south side.  There must have been 20-40 in the one stretch.  We didnt see them getting chased but we werent there for long...we had to go meet up with some folks and were running late.