Lake Oconee Striper Club

08/17/2023

Don't forget the meeting tonight folks! 7pm at the church.

Mark Smith with Reeltime Guide service is going to be discussing the impact of the oxygen system in Oconee.

07/03/2023

Captain Mack's Fishing Report 6/30/23

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a Happy and safe Holiday, and you get a little extra fishing time! Can you believe the year is already 1/2 way over? Sorry for no report last week, I took a trip to the Gulf to harass the Red Snappers. I returned to find good fishing, both for Stripers and Spotted Bass. The lake temps remain cooler than average, 81 degrees as of Friday afternoon. That will likely change as we’ll have very warm conditions through the coming week. I think the Striper fishing reflects that cooler water temp, the Bass seem to be more in tune to the calendar than the water temperatures The lake level continues to trend up, with a level of 1069.47 as of Friday afternoon. That is up .66 feet from two weeks ago.

Striper Fishing

Striper Fishing is very good, and for the most part the patterns are as they should be. I do think the cooler than average temps have allowed more fish to stay up lake a little longer than normal, and that has also kept the topwater bite energized. Down lines are producing well, and if you are not supplementing that with the split shot free line in the spread, you’ll cost your self a few bites. Trolling is very solid, with the full size rigs trolled over open water, or using the contour trolling method both being effective. Lead core trolling is also viable, and should become stronger as water temps continue to rise. The fish can be found a on wide variety of structures, so here are some areas to target. The humps and flats over a 30 to 45 foot bottom are consistently holding fish, maybe best in mid lake areas. Pockets and drains adjacent to the creek are holding fish, some as far back as a 25 to 30 foot bottom. I don’t know how long the fish will continue to push this shallow, but as of weeks end that is a viable consideration. Open water fish over the channels, especially on the lower end, are showing up pretty consistently. Keep an eye on the major creek and river channels, trolling is an excellent way to search these areas for fish.

Power reeling is a very strong technique, and basically if you can locate any decent size group of fish you need to try reeling a spoon or a big jig trough them! A quick retrieve has been a plus, and remember to work the spoon high into the water column. The Stripers seem to be wanting to chase it down and on Friday I had two fish follow and eat the spoon right at the surface! In response to several questions about line size for the power reeling? I prefer 25 or 30 lb, test, that gives you the strength to pull the bigger fish up and way from the timber. The fish are very strong right now, and with some really nice fish being caught, beefing up is a good idea. I also think this is such a reactionary bite , and typically the fish are deep, so the heavier line is not a detriment.

Bass Fishing

Got Brush? If so, you got fish. I think any brush in 20 to 35 feet will have fish. Will they bite, that maybe a different story, lol. Actually they will, however, getting multiple bites off of one pile may be tricky? Top waters and flukes have been the preferred baits on the brush, and many top waters have been effective. Walking baits, Cast OG’s, Cane Walkers and Showerblows are just a few effective choices. The flukes are also very effective, rig ‘em with a little weight so you can speed up the retrieve if needed. Spoons, Flutter spoons, Fat and JR Hawg Spoons, are also very good options to cast over the brush, and may be a little under the radar.

Night fishing has been good, and after dark there are some shallow patterns to compliment the deep bite. Rocks and points will hold some fish in 5 to 15 feet, some of them really nice fish. The numbers may not be as good as you will catch on the offshore areas, but there are enough fish roaming these ares to make it a viable pattern. Jigs, Big bladed spinnerbaits, and larger profile worms are all good choices for this application. The humps will also hold fish after sun down, and this pattern can be very good if the water release continues into the evening. Deep diving crank baits, jigs and worms are likely baits on this pattern. Larger profile worms have been a plus, and rigging them on the Carolina Rig (I know, going old school again) may get some extra bites.

Schooling fish are showing up all over the lake, and are fairly catchable, if you make a good cast. The fish are up and down quickly, so speed and accuracy will often be the deciding factor as to whether or not you catch the fish. A variety of baits will be effective, walking baits, poppers, and stickballs have been all been some of the favorites in recent days. The heavier stickballs may offer an advantage as they will allow you a little extra distance to reach the fish that seem to be on edge of your casting range!

Good Fishing!
Capt. Mack

06/16/2023

Thanks for those who came out last night! Remember July 20 is our next meeting and it will be a dinner along with the meeting so reach out to us to rsvp!

06/15/2023

Don't forget the meeting tonight! We have our last tournament of the season on Saturday and have a lot of info hitting tonight! Come join us!!!

05/18/2023

Don’t forget guys and gals! Tonight at 7pm at Lake point church.

Special guest tonight is Terry “Jerseycat” O’Shaunessy!

04/21/2023

Captain Mack's Fishing Report 4/21/23

The first three weeks of April have been very good on Lanier for all species! Many of the Bass are in shallow water and very catchable, and while the Stripers remain scattered that bite is also good. Expect the topwater bite bite to really ramp up for both species moving towards the end of the month! The lake level fell a little this week, down .42 feet from last weeks level, but we are still .56 feet over full pool. We will close out the week with a lake level of 1071.56, and the surface temp at 64 degrees.

Striper Fishing

The Striper bite is good, with fish being taken all over the lake. I think because the fish are so scattered, which can be typical for April, it is hard to get the big numbers. I still think the greatest numbers are in the middle and upper parts of the lake, but there are certainly still fish on the lower end as well. Live baits are the biggest producers, Herring and Shad primarily, with Shiners also producing some fish. Pulling the live baits on the planers and free lines, pitching, with some fish being taken on down lines as well. Casting top waters, Magic Swimmers and Mini Macks will also account for a few fish. Keep one of these tied on to cast to the banks and points while you are pulling the spread. Saddles, long tapering points, humps, and anywhere you locate spawning baitfish are the target areas.

Pitching the live baits remains a very strong pattern, but it mostly Bass with a few Stripers mixed in. Many of the Spots that you will catch pitching are big, so it is a good problem to have. Shallow points and humps, bridge pillars, seawalls are all likely places to use the pitching technique, and if you fishing early or late you can include the dock lights as a favorite area.

If you want to target the Stripers using the top waters, that is a viable pattern and should improve in the next few days. This pattern necessitates you move quickly, make enough cast to saturate the area and move on. Normally, the first few cast will get the bite if the fish are there. Catch what you can and move on to the next place. Humps, points and saddles over a 5 to 25 foot bottom are likely structures. The Cast OG will be hard to beat on this pattern, but old reliable’s such as the Zara Spooks, Sammies, and the big Chug Bugs are also great choices. I’ll try and post a technique video net week on that OG if you are new to that bait/technique.

Bass Fishing

The Bass bite continues to be very good! It is really hard to pick a best bait/pattern because there are so many applicable techniques going on right now. Topwater fishing is very good, and last week I mentioned that I think there are very distinct differences in the topwater patterns. The shallow bite, with smaller baits is very good. Again, many baits will get the job done, but the small Chug Big has been lights out. You can cast it to almost any type of cover: secondary points, pockets(pay attention to those deeper areas of grass), blown down trees, stumps, and flat points are all holding fish. Don’t get in a big hurry, those longer pauses in the retrieve seem to be getting a good response. The other option is to target deeper structures. and offshore structures with large baits. Zara Spooks, Lanier Baits Magic Swimmer, Shower Blows, and many other top water/swim baits are coming into play. Keep the Cast OG bait in mind, they are becoming very productive, especially for the bigger fish.

“Beating the Banks” is still a great technique, and almost any bait will have application. Find a bank with cover and you’ll get the bite. Jerk baits, Flukes, spinnerbaits, and the previously mentioned small top waters will be great choices, and allow for high saturation. Here is a footnote on the spinnerbait pattern: Cast the spinnerbait right up to the bank to target the really shallow fish. Once you get the bait off the bank, slow down and let the bait fish a little deeper as opposed to keeping it shallow all the way back to the boat. Often, the fish that are in 5 to 10 feet will respond to the spinnerbait if you make easy for them. Think in terms of allowing the bait to follow the slope of the bottom, making it easy for those deeper fish to take the bait. If the fish are not responding to any of these moving baits, grab the Weedless Wonder and your favorite plastic and you’ll stay plenty busy. Gotta throw the wacky rig in the mix too, it has also been very productive. The fish may be very anywhere from 2 to 15 feet, depending on the day, and the structure, so don’t give up on the retrieve until the bait is back to the boat. Watch for the spawning bait fish, rip rap, bridge pilings, and seawalls are the usual areas where this occurs. Mostly an early event, find the Herring or Shad Spawning and you will likely find the fish! The bait fish spawn is really just beginning but expect this annual occurrence to be full on within the next few days.

Good Fishing!
Capt. Mack

04/19/2023

Don't forget tomorrow night's meeting. Jimmy Caruso from StripeX rods will be joining us and he will have some special pricing just for us! Come on out and support the cause folks!

Look forward to seeing you!

04/17/2023

FYI

Details for this Saturday’s tournament presented by Jim Ellis Buick GMC - Mall of Georgia are as follows 👇

Lines in: 6:30
Weigh in: 3:30 at Oakwood Bait & Tackle
Limit: 4 fish. Make sure your pictures are clear and contain the entire fish and the tournament number.
Registration: Make sure you get registered by Wednesday on the website.

We are looking forward to an incredible April Lanier bite. Fishing should be stellar! Let me know if you got any questions. 🤙

Captain Mack's

04/10/2023

Next Thursday night April 20, 2023 the owner of StripeX Rods will be here with us to discuss striper fishing and his products. He will also have rods available and these will be at a discounted price just for our members!

04/07/2023

Captain Mack's Fishing Report 4/7/23

I am not even going to make a joke about the weekend weather this week, instead I’ll open with Happy Easter Everyone! The lake has fished very well this week, particularly on the Bass side! Next week’s weather looks pretty good, rebounding with a nice warmup after the Easter cool down. The lake temp stayed constant to end up the week at 63. The lake level fell .21 feet this week to end up at 1071.17, .17 feet above full pool.

Striper Fishing

The Striper bite is overall good, and the average size of the fish being caught is very good. The downside are the variables that you’ll have to contend with. There has been a lot of movement, I think that is partly due to all the weather swings and fluctuations with the water conditions. The fish remain scattered, although I think the mid lake areas and up either river offer the most consistent fishing. We also saw a lot of fish move into the rivers this week, we’ll see how the rain and pending cool down affect that? The baits also remain varied, a mix of live baits, Herring, Gizzard Shad, Threadfin Shad, and Shiners are all producing, I would probably pick the Herring as best overall. I would still keep at least a couple Gizzards in the spread at all times. Free lines and planers have been the best producers, and the weighted freelines may be a plus with Herring and the smaller Threadfin and Shiners.

The structures are typical for this time of year, flats, points, saddles are all great places to look, with some fish also showing up over open water. On the shallower points and saddles, there are many singles and small groups of fish, so locating them can be tough. Unless the birds give them away, or the fish will surface, you may have to find the fish by ‘fishing” as opposed to looking for them with the sonar. FYI, this is one of the few times I would say that. Usually this process is fairly easy, if the fish are on these areas they are generally quick to bite. Deploy the spread and pull the baits until you feel you have throughly saturated the area. If you don’t get the bite move on. Most of these areas are relatively small in size so you can assess an area quickly and stay or move as needed. While you are pulling the baits, cast something to the banks, crest of the hump, or points on the saddles. This will often get some bites out of areas where bait placement may be difficult due to topography or shallow on shore structures. There are several good choices for casting: wake baits, the OG stick baits, and Mini Macks. I have caught a few bonus Stripers on the Minis in recent days, and I think the wake bait thing is really close to blowing up.

A couple of other patterns that are also very prominent are running the green lights and pitching Herring. On the pitch bite you’ll have to wade through the Bass most days to get to the Stripers, but I think that is a really good dilemma to have to deal with. The green lights also have plenty of fish, and are certainly worth a look if you are out early or late. The fish on the lights will respond to small buck tails, swim baits, and of course a Herring.

Bass Fishing

Bass Fishing is excellent! I came really close to issuing that “stop work order” again this week but held off due to weather. The Bass are in shallow water spawning areas all over the lake, and this is one of the few times you can catch really big numbers in shallow water and on the banks. After launching my boat Friday, I idled to the nearest rocky bank and starting fishing. I probably fished a mile of shoreline without pulling the up the trolling motor and constantly got bites the entire time. Most days it’s just a matter of determining the best bait on a given day, and determining the subtle nuances of the patterns. Friday I mostly cast a Weedless Wonder/Robo combination, which is a very reliable bait for this pattern. If you just want to catch a bunch of fish this technique will be hard to beat. This is also a great opportunity to teach someone how to fish a plastic worm. The bites are frequent so you’ll get plenty of reps, and it is generally easier to feel a bite in shallow water as opposed to deeper water.

In addition to the above strategy, there are so many applicable baits right now it is almost a you pick ‘em situation! Here are a few suggestions that produced well this past week. Top waters are starting to account for good catches, and should become stronger with another warm up. Chug Bugs, Rapala Floating Minnows have been good cast over grass in the pockets and over shallow structures. Slow and subtle is good, with long pauses throughout the retrieve. On more main lake areas, the wake baits and OG stick baits are accounting for some nice fish. Shallow is good, especially early, regardless if you are in the creeks or on the main lake. Jerk baits, spinnerbaits, and chatter baits are all effective and are a plus as they allow you to cover lots of ground.

There are some baitfish spawning in select areas, this is only beginning but still worth a mention. If you see bait spawning on rocks anywhere, the Bass will be close by. I have only seen this a couple of times so far, right at day break as usual. If you are out early checking out some typical areas may be worthwhile. Speaking of early, as mentioned above in the Striper section, a green light will certainly be worth a few cast if you are out in the dark!

Good Fishing!
Capt. Mack