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Lake Oconee, Madison Georgia
Capt. Doug Nelms
April 15, 2003
Lake Oconee - Freshwater Fishing Report
Hybrids
Water Temp 61.5
Just when you think it can’t get any better someone pulls up to your boat and says, “We caught 400 pounds of fish yesterday, right where your boat is sitting.” Such are the stories that are circulating around anglers here at Lake Oconee when talking about hybrid bass.
The funny thing is they may not all be fish stories! We have seen and experienced some remarkable catches over the last few weeks here at the lake. We've boated some fish that would go over 10 pounds. I pulled along an angler last week that told me he had a hybrid in his boat that would go over 12 pounds. WOW! My point is simply this. If you want to catch a huge freshwater fish that will give you the fight of your life you need to call me, or get to the dam as fast as you can! Even if you don’t like hybrid fishing, it is a great way to get a cardiovascular workout while doing something as worth wild as fishing!
If you don’t believe me you should have seen my friend, George the other day. He was fishing by himself and the rods were going down everywhere. He was stumbling all over the boat, lifting up on 6 to 8 pound hybrids while chasing rods on the other side of the boat that were being pulled into the water! I bet he lost 5 pounds on that particular trip.
Anyhow, this is a fishing report so I need to tell you how to do it! Get in your boat, catch shad, go to the dam and do what all the other boats are doing. We are catching them on free-lines and down-lines and using both while we fish. The hardest part of all of this is catching the shad. It seems the hybrids like the ones that are about 4 to 5 inches long. Finding them can be a challenge.
We have had success catching bait at the bridge in front of JR’s Quickstop in the early morning hours. If you wait for the sun to come up you are going to have to throw a big heavy net to get them. I throw a 10-foot Calusa (20-foot diameter) for bait and it seems that even in bright sunlight the shad can’t escape it. Oh by the way I lost one 2 weeks ago in front of the bridge at Lick Creek. I would really be careful about running a deep -diving crankbait anywhere close to the buoy, that is if you don’t want to make a contribution to the Lake Oconee lost fishing tackle fund as I did.
The water is still a little stained at the dam and that has effected the fishing some, but hopefully it will be clearing out soon.
Up Dyars Pasture they are wearing out the white bass! Mepps spinners are the choice baits. The hybrids that are not at the dam are up that part of the lake too and anglers are coming out with huge catches everyday. I want to say congrats to my friends Jerry and Rita Whitlock who fished with me at Lanier 2 weeks ago. It seems that Jerry may have landed the new record Lanier hybrid bass. Hopefully he can get credit for it!
If you are interested in booking a trip with me, I have some spots available for the next few days. The fishing is going to be awesome and maybe we will have a story or two we can tell somebody!
Tight Lines
Doug Nelms
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