Oconee Fishing Is About to Get Crazy
With winter coming to an end in the Lake Oconee area, the waters are finally starting to warm up. And if you fish for largemouth bass that can mean only one thing – the pre-spawn feeding frenzy. When the water is cold in the winter, the metabolism of the bass slows down. They still eat and you can still catch bass all winter, but they don’t feed as often as they do during the warmer months.
But when the water warms the metabolism of the bass begins to speed up and the bass begin their feeding frenzy in preparation for spawning. Once we get 5 or so days in a row with the overnight temperatures warmer than the current water temperature we should see the fishing pick up. The bass will start moving from deeper winter staging areas to the shallows in search of food and warmer waters.
Start by fishing the points around the basin and work your way into the shallower inlets. Structure above water such as rocks and dock pilings will absorb heat and radiate it in the surrounding waters making them prime locations to target largemouth bass. The water in Lake Oconee is still heavily stained from winter rains, so your best bet for baits along the shoreline are going to be chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. But don’t be afraid to pitch jigs and soft creature baits under docks during the warmer parts of the day.
Over the past few days I’ve fished out on the docks of The Lodge and while the trophy bass haven’t shown up yet, the winter dinks around our docks have been replaced by some decent 2-3 pound bass.
And don’t forget – at The Lodge we do have kayaks and canoes available for rent so you aren’t limited to just fishing our docks. You can get out towards open water and work your way back into the coves and inlets.
