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Lake Oconee, Madison Georgia
Capt. Doug Nelms
December 17, 2003
Lake Oconee - Freshwater Fishing Report
Fishing Report
Water Temp 55
Hey guys! Sorry about the late fishing report this time. I have been out of the country on one of those nice cruise ships enjoying the holidays. Don’t be hating! As far as the fishing is going, it is wild and wooly here at Lake Oconee. The hybes are in their wintertime holding pattern and the bait is stacked up everywhere.
At the Pipeline anglers are catching a lot on jigging spoons with reports of 50 or more a day coming in. On the humps around the dam has been very productive also, with hybes weighing around 4 to 5 pounds.
The live bait fishing is getting better each and every day. The nasty weather has caused the fish to stack up in places like, pipeline, Lick Creek, Sugar Creek and River Bend. Free-lining live shad is the ticket and sometimes you can get into those old fish around 8 or so pounds. The biggest one we have seen this winter almost tipped the scales at 10 and he must have been older than Methuselah.
You can catch most of your bait around the bridges at Sugar Creek, The Trestle, and Blue Springs Bridge. Sometimes I have to get out the big 10 foot Calusa but most of the time a 7 footer will work. Keep your tank salted with shad keep and the bait should last all day long. I am hooking the shad right through the nose and just recently I have started using the Owner Red colored mosquito hooks. I have always used Mosquito’s but the red ones are a first for me. Honestly, I think they may make a little difference, but the jury is still out on that.
If you have a problem catching shad you can always go by the local bait store and buy the largest bass minnows you can find. Fished on light line with a Hal Fly they seem to work pretty well, and they are not half the trouble to keep alive. Just remember that the Hal Fly hook can’t take the “horsing” that a mosquito or any other stiff shank can. Down-lines and flat-lines should be in your arsenal and just experiment to find which they like the best.
It is a lot colder here than where I have been lately, but I am glad to be back home and glad to be on this lake, cold or not. Call me if you are ready to go!
Tight Lines
Doug Nelms
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