Uncategorized Archives - The Lodge on Lake Oconee

07FebFebruary 7, 2024

2024 Fishing With The GM Schedule

2024 Fishing With The GM Schedule Announced

The Lodge on Lake Oconee is happy to announce our 2024 Fishing with the GM schedule. Both kids and adults can join General Manager Shawn Kosloff down at the docks of the hotel for a morning of fishing.

There is no cost for these events.

All participants will receive a certificate of achievement, promo codes for tackle discounts from various bait and tackle companies, and other giveaways (giveaways are based upon availability and may change from week to week).

It's hard to believe, but this will be our 4th season of our Fishing with the GM program. And believe it or not, during that time every single participant has caught at least one fish! No, we don't cheat. The secret is that we target bluegill with fresh red worms or nightcrawlers. But many participants also catch bass and catfish.

If you don't have your own rod and reel, that's no problem! We have rod and reel combos for everyone to use and we supply the bait.

If you're a more advanced angler, feel free to ask the GM and questions or provide a demonstration and instruction of bass fishing techniques. Techniques include skipping, pitching, flipping, and various retrieval methods. Mr. Kosloff is not only an avid angler, but he also fishes in the Bassmaster Kayak Series, the Bass Nation Kayak Series, the Major League Fishing Phoenix Series, and the Major League Fishing Toyota Series.

We usually fish from 8am until 10 am on Saturday mornings, but start and end times are subject to change. Please see the hotel events calendar for details.

May 25, 2024
June 1, 2024
June 8, 2024
June 15, 2024 No Event. GM is fishing pro tournament.
June 22, 2024 No Event. GM is fishing pro tournament.
June 29, 2024
July 6, 2024
July 13, 2024
July 20, 2024
July 27, 2024

BONUS EVENTS: Kayak Fishing with the GM

If you have your own kayak or rent one of our kayaks you can arrange to go Kayak Fishing with the GM. It is strongly suggested that only experienced kayakers participate in these trips as we will be covering 2-5 miles on the water. Please note that the GM utilizes an Old Town Sportsman kayak with a trolling motor. The hotel kayaks are paddle only.

If you wish to participate, please call the hotel and contact the GM at least one week prior to your arrival to see if the GM has an open time slot to fish with you on your desired date. There is no cost for this other than renting a kayak from the hotel if you don't have your own.

For this event, you must bring your own rod and reel and baits. The hotel does not supply those items and the GM does not loan equipment or baits.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

20JunJune 20, 2023

Fishing with the GM – June 17, 2023

It was a great day of fishing at The Lodge on Lake Oconee this past weekend as kids and adults joined us for our Fishing with the GM program.

The action was fast and furious all morning as every participant caught more than one fish! The bluegills and bream were out in force feeding, and one participant even landed a juvenile largemouth bass.

There wasn't even enough time for the GM to take more than a few casts as we were baiting hooks and removing fish all morning.

At the end of the day the participants each received a certificate of achievement and their families and friends were provides a promo code for 30% off their purchase on the Missile Baits website.

And speaking of Missile Baits, every now and then I take a few minutes during the day to go fish off of our docks and last week I pulled a nice 3 pound largemouth bass out from under our docks with their Shockwave 4.5 swimbait. So if you're fishing at our hotel and the sun is heating things up just run a swimbait alongside the docks or skip one under the docks and you will usually find a bass hiding under there.

Check our hotel calendar for the next Fishing with the GM event.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

04AprApril 4, 2023

Lake Oconee Fishing Report – April 2023

Bass fishing on Lake Oconee has been hit and miss for the past month. Things started off well in March, then we were hit with a deep freeze for the better part of a week. Temperatures began to climb again but we were hit with two plus days of rain and storms at the end of March. Most of the lake is now stained like chocolate milk and the backs of creek channels are filled with debris. There's also plenty of flotsam and jetsam floating throughout the lake. In mid-March I fished in the Sugar Creek area and in just over 3 hours pulled in a bag that weighed in just over 15 pounds. While not great, it's OK for Lake Oconee. I caught some bass off points on a Carolina rig with an 8" cotton candy colored lizard. Later in the day the bass were hitting on a gold bladed Jackhammer chatterbait with a Rage Craw trailer. Fishing off the docks of the hotel has been hit and miss. In early March the were hitting on white and blueback herring colored paddletails on an underspin. While the biggest one I caught off our docks was only 2 pounds, the bite was consistent. But since the heavy rains and stained water in the past week the bass bite has been non-existent. That being said, there are tons of baitfish in the hotel's creek channel so it should be only a matter of time - and the water clearing up a bit - before the bass start biting again. I spent an afternoon out on my kayak last week in search of both largemouth and stripers, but the heavily stained water cut down the bite. I spent a lot of time pedaling around using my electronics and looking for bigger fish and was surprised at how barren it was at this end of the lake. I did catch a few small largemouth bass holding tight to the banks. On my electronics, I also saw some holding at drop offs but couldn't get anything to bite. Frustrated at finding bass, I started fishing for crappie and found schools of them around overpasses and sitting off at the bottom of big humps adjacent to the overpasses. Baitfish are everywhere. I don't think that I made a cast all day that didn't scatter a bunch of baitfish. I haven't fished for catfish this year, but a number of our guests have and the catfish have been plentiful fishing with cutbait. As a reminder, we're bringing back our Fishing with the GM program throughout the summer months. Visit our events calendar page for the dates and times. On another note, I have two upcoming Major League Fishing tournaments in April. On April 15th we'll be fishing right here on Lake Oconee and on April 29th I'll be fishing the MLF tournament on Lake Hartwell.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

29DecDecember 29, 2022

Lake Oconee Fishing Report – December 2022

This month's special columnist is Captain Doug Nelms of Big Fish Heads Guide Service.

We're in winter water conditions with the lake surface temperature at 51 degrees with stained water all around due to recent rainfall.

The White Bass Bite is on Fire!

I recently had two trips on the same day and all told we put 129 white bass, stripers, and hybrids on the boat. Most of that haul was white bass. The stained water and mud hasn't deterred the white bass bite, but the stripers and hybrids have moved to clearer water towards the south end of the lake. The mud has made its way to Cuscowilla, and by the time you read this it could be muddy all the way to flagpole point. That will bunch all the line sides up on the south end. That’s where we will spending most of our time this new year.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for the seagulls - they are spotting the baitfish for you, and that bait fish means the big fish are coming to feed!

The bite on artificial baits has been great for the last month, and there has been no need to rig with live bait. We've had success with jigging spoons, sassy shads, and striper flies under a popping cork. On most half-day trips we're putting thirty fish in the boat.

There's a full moon coming up on January 6th, and in the past that usually meant fishing slowed down on Lake Oconee, but now it's completely opposite. Instead of the big bite happening on the new moon phase, the full moon period has turned the bite on. I really have no wisdom as to why, but we really look forward to it these days.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

31MayMay 31, 2021

Summer Kick Off – Fishing with the GM

On Saturday this Memorial Day Weekend the hotel continued it's summer kickoff with Fishing with the GM Night. About one dozen kids of all ages took part in this event. The hotel provided Zebco fishing poles and baits for the participants.

After a slow start, things really started to take off and everyone that participated caught fish including bluegill, largemouth bass, and small catfish. While no one caught The Big One, everyone managed to land a fish. Miss Madison Lee caught the most fish during the event.

Each of the kids that participated also received a Certified Angler Award certificate from the hotel. We'll be doing this throughout the summer, so be sure to check our events calendar for the dates and times.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

31MayMay 31, 2021

Guest Hauls In Big Gar at The Lodge

Fishing off the docks at The Lodge on Lake Oconee is one of the favorite pastimes of our guests. The usual catch includes largemouth bass, black crappie, blue gills, and catfish. But guest Scott Bailey hauled in a more rare catch - an alligator gar!

Scott was fishing with a Texas rigged plastic worm (acid green with gold fleck) when he hauled in this three foot beauty. Scott and his co-worker, Clint Wilde, spent their days and evenings fishing at the hotel and around Lake Oconee and while this was the only gar they caught, both caught dozens of fish over the weekend.

So the next time you visit The Lodge, bring your fishing gear even if you only get to spend an hour fishing off the docks. You never know what you might catch.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

04MarMarch 4, 2021

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.

By KozUncategorized0 Comments

04MarMarch 4, 2021

New Associate Recognition Program

The Lodge on Lake Oconee not only values its guests, but it also values its associates that work hard to make the guest experience the best it can be. As part of our culture, it's important that we recognize the contributions of our associates - but we would like our guest to help us with that recognition.

When you're at our hotel you may notice that associates have star pins affixed to their uniforms. Each time an associate is recognized for their outstanding service or contributions to the property they receive a pin. At the end of each quarter, the associate with the most pins receives an Amazon gift card. Associates receive recognition from both their peers and management, but we would like our guests to get involved as well.

If you're a guest at our property and receive outstanding customer service during your stay, please stop by the guest services desk during your stay or at check out and let us know the name of the associate that you wish to recognize so that we may honor them. We appreciate your participation in this program.

By KozHotel News, Uncategorized0 Comments

04MarMarch 4, 2021

The Lodge Welcomes New GM

The Lodge ion Lake Oconee is proud that Shawn Kosloff has accepted the position of General Manager at the hotel. Mr. Kosloff has over 19 years of experience in the hotel industry serving in the positions of Food and Beverage Controller, Assistant Controller, Controller, and General Manager. His experience includes working with Marriott, Hilton, and Holiday Inn properties.

Born in Connecticut, Mr. Kosloff attended Gannon University in Erie, PA and has run hotels throughout the U.S. including in Maine, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Mr. Kosloff is the proud father of a 15 year old son, Matt, who can occasionally be seen around the hotel helping guests and assisting staff members. In his spare time, Mr. Kosloff enjoys coaching baseball, woodworking, and bass fishing. In fact, you will often find him fishing out back of The Lodge after hours and leading the Kids Fish with the GM program at the hotel. If you ask, he'll tell you about his adventures with alligators while fishing in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

By KozHotel News, Uncategorized0 Comments