The Peach State’s most dependable lake!
Summer 2025
By Jimmy Jacobs
My fishing partner Polly Dean cast her Norman Deep Little N crankbait in gray and white shad pattern colors just beyond a corner post on the nearby boat dock. A couple of turns of the reel handle and the lure halted, securely connected to the jaw of a largemouth bass.
Roger McKee and Polly Dean with one of her largemouths. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
We were fishing near the mouth of Lick Creek in what locals call the mid-lake on Lake Oconee, figuratively in the shadows of the upscale lake house owned by former Pittsburg Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The hookup mirrored the advice just offered by guide Rober McKee of Lake Oconee/Sinclair Professional Guide Service. He had noted that the fish this day seemed to be holding right against the dock pilings. That confirmed one of his best patterns for fishing Lake Oconee where the bass often use the abundant docks as ambush points.
The author and the guide target a shoreline dock. Photo by Polly Dean.
McKee is well worth listening to when he’s dispensing advice on fishing Lake Oconee. He has been fishing the impoundment for more than three decades and guiding other anglers for a quarter century there. He also has won more than 60 regional bass tournaments. Bottom line, he knows Lake Oconee and its bass well.
Lake Oconee is a 19,050-acre reservoir owned by Georgia Power Company and open to public angling and boating. Located on the Oconee River near Madison and Greensboro, the impoundment sits mainly in Greene County. As far as bass fishing is concerned, this lake has a lot going for it due to varied circumstances.
Oconee has mostly not been exposed to the bane of spotted bass, which makes it basically a largemouth bass destination. Large impoundments across the state where spots have shown up have seen declines in largemouth populations. As the smaller spots move in, the average size of fish in the lakes goes down.
The lake also is fairly close to the metro Atlanta area, making for easy access to a large population of anglers. As a result, both recreational and club tournament fishermen put the impoundment’s water to good use in chasing bass.
Finally, the natural lay of the land around the lake and the way the reservoir is managed combine to produce a fishery that can be fairly predictable, something that continues deep into the summer months.
As to the operation of the lake, Oconee is a pump-storage hydropower facility. Water is released through the powerhouse at Wallace Dam to make electricity. That water enters Lake Sinclair and is then pumped upstream back into Oconee.
With regard to topography, Oconee has a fairly narrow shape. It stretches for 25 miles along the old river channel and has a maximum depth of 100 feet. This configuration means that water traveling through lake is confined in a way that provides more current than is found in most Peach state reservoirs.
The combination of the pump-back and shape of the lake results in a pretty strong current being pushed both up and down the lake at different periods. In fact, the water level can rise or fall by as much as 18 inches in a single 24-hour period. This man-made “tide” is one of the key factors in why Oconee is such a great bass lake. These currents tend to be more accommodating to feeding bass than slow-flowing impoundments, particularly in the summer.
Lake Oconee has a good population of largemouth bass. According to the Georgia Wildlife Resource Division biologists, this year the lake holds a good number of 2- to 3-pounders, with 4-or 5-pound bass also showing up. Currently, regulations stipulate that largemouths must be 14 inches to be harvested.
As summer approaches and the water temperature soars above the 70-degree level, McKee turns for Rapala Shad Raps or deep-diving crankbaits like the North Little N. With any of these type bait, he recommends using natural shad-finish colors. Additionally, the WRD biologists recommend targeting main-lake points, river channel drops and deeper water under bridges with those deep-divers during the hotter months.
This bass bit a Norman Deep Little N crankbait. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
Access to Lake Oconee is excellent with plenty of boat ramps. Best of these are the paved Georgia Power launch sites at Lawrence Shoals, Long Shoals, Sugar Creek, Parks Ferry, Armor Bridge and Old Salem. Campgrounds, beaches and picnic areas also are provided at Lawrence Shoals, Parks Ferry and Old Salem.
Jimmy Jacobs is the editor of Georgia Outdoor Adventures, as well as being editor/publisher of On The Fly South. He also is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association. He makes his home in Marietta with his English setters, Luke and Lulu. He can be contacted at jimmyjacobs@mindspring.com.