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Lake Oconee, Madison Georgia
Capt. Doug Nelms
May 21, 2003
Lake Oconee - Freshwater Fishing Report
Hybrids
Water Temp 75
The water is warming up and the fishing seems to be cooling off. We have had a banner spring year here on Oconee and now we are getting into the beginning of the summer pattern. Now before you get discouraged and stop reading this report, be advised; we are still catching really nice hybrid bass and crappie on regular basis. But before now anyone could drown bucket of minnows and come home with a cooler full of fish. Now it has all changed, and only the anglers who know there stuff can survive. Of course you know your stuff because you surf the web and find out information, like this, that will benefit you.
So all of you techno, web surfing anglers listen up. We have to begin to pay attention to areas like humps, shelves, points and ledges. The fish are finding cooler water and getting into their summertime pattern. They still get hungry everyday and they still feed every day. You just have to be at the place where they are doing this.
I have been reported most of the spring that free lining has been the ticket, with these fish coming up top and blasting the bait out of the water. But now we must begin the think deep and fish places like “the pipeline”, Flagpole point”, Tornado point” and just about anywhere there is a drastic transition from deep water to shallow water.
Many anglers know this as I ran into a pack of them fishing off Flagpole last Saturday afternoon. It reminded me of the legendary tarpon anglers of the Boca Grande Pass. There they were, all sitting motor to bow, smiling, waving, talking to each other and waiting for the hybrids to come up and gorge themselves on the poor defenseless shad. With popping corks, poppin thangs, and long casting rods, they could easily catch enough white bass and hybrids to feed a football team. WOW! It is great to be a fisherman!
For my parties we are still fishing with shad and it has been working well. But it seems like the acceptable size the fish like varies from day to day. So when you throw you net keep the 5-inch gizzards right down to the 3-inch threads. You just never know what they are feeding on at any given day.
If it is crappie you are interested in think the same way regarding structure during the daylight hours. From my experience the hybrids feed when the water is moving and the crappie get lockjaw. Soon as the water goes still, the hybrids stop and the crappie pick up. ASK ANYONE WHO HAS EVER FISHED THIS LAKE AND THEY WILL GIVE YOU 500 REASONS WHY IT MAY BE THE OPPOSITE OF THAT. However we will agree that Lake Oconee fish are the moodiest species in the known world.
We are catching crappie at night by throwing to the lighted boat docks. If the water is slack you will catch them. Just a note to remember, visit my website at www.dougnelms.com for the fishing party special I am offering in the month of May. It is affordable, loads of fun, and we might even catch a fish or two.
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