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Lake Oconee, Madison Georgia

Doug Nelms
April 28, 2003
Lake Oconee - Freshwater Fishing Report

Hybrid Bass/Crappie

Everyone and their brother seem to be finding out about the great fishing here at Lake Oconee. Just the other night while fishing a party, I was racing to my favorite-lighted docks, only to find them occupied by another boat. One of my clients said, “that’s what you get for posting your reports.” If I my reports are having that kind of impact, I think a finders fee should be somewhere in my future. Yea Right!

Anyhow, the crappies have finished their spawn and they are hungry and attacking just about any bait you throw at them. I have noticed A LOT of boats night fishing here and the reports are coming back really good. Just last night we caught around 100 crappie in just over 3 hours. It is a lot of fun and I am happy to say we released every one of them. Maybe they will hang around for my next party!

Minnows, jigs, roostertails, and an assortment of light plastics are the tickets to catching these fish. I use very light line, VERY LIGHT, as in the 1 to 2 pound range. It seems to give the bait more action and you can catch a lot more fish. If you happen to hook into a big hybrid you better have that drag set.

The bridges at Swords, Sugar Creek, Hwy 44, The trestles, and I-20 and some great areas to find crappie. The set up is not really complicated, just minnow, lights and some cold drinks and you are set. However I prefer the “run and gun” method for these fish and on most nights we normally do better than the stationary guys.

The hybrids are showing up at the hayfields at Sugar Creek and anglers are catching them with live bait, popping corks, rooster tails and Little George’s. In the afternoon they are coming up as soon as generation begins. It is possible to catch 30 or 40 in just a short time if you are there and cast really quickly.

I am booking night trips right now for crappie and hybrids. We usually stay out for 3 to 4 hours and catch a lot of fish. See my website at www.dougnelms.com for a real super deal for the month of May.

Tight Lines

Doug Nelms

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Doug has been guiding on Lake Oconee for over 10 years. His specialty is trophy Striped and Hybrid Bass, and huge Crappie during certain months. His boat is a Ranger 2300 Bay Series powered by a 225 Yamaha 4-stroke motor. It is spacious and can fish up to 6 people! Lake Oconee is the second largest reservoir in the state of Georgia with over 18,000 surface acres of water. The lake is heavily stocked each year with Striped and Hybrid Bass. Doug tries to catch all of them!

Contact Info:

Fishing Oconee
1230 Apalachee Woods Tr.
Buckhead, GA 30625
Phone: 770-354-0300
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