OK, Let’s talk about Sinclair. Why have you guys down there been holding out on us? Admittedly, I have lived in the lake area now for 15 years. Yet, I haven’t fished Sinclair since High School 30 years ago. I just don’t ever drag the boat down there. That my friends is changing.

A little over a month ago I started hearing about big stripers and hybrids being caught down there. So one afternoon my buddy Kevin Wahl and I packed up my 2000V Pathfinder and headed down. We spent a lot of time looking. We tried different spots. We went all the way from Little River boat ramp and RV Park to Crooked Creek Marina and a little above it searching. We ended up on the first trip finding good solid fish just above Highway 441 under the power lines on the west side of the highway. 

Since then, I have continued adding spots and have success on the lake. Mark Smith of Reeltime Guide Services, Kevin Harris of Go Fish Lake Oconee, a striper club member, and I all went down right before Christmas and had a phenomenal morning catching tons of good solid two- to four-pound fish on Capt. Mack Super Spoons. That was so much fun it should have been illegal! On my next trip, we spent most of the day trolling mini-Mack rigs, and again we caught a good many solid fish. 

Well fast forward to last Saturday. Georgia weather is funny. A week ago it was trying to kill us and was below freezing, yet Saturday I could have worn shorts and flip flops! Kevin and I were headed down once again. We started fishing around 11 and had the first fish on by 11:15 — a really nice five- to six-pound striper — and we stayed on them the rest of the day! I mean this was an epic bite guys! In total we caught more than 40 fish that averaged three pounds and the biggest was 8.5 pounds. All trolling this time. 

That same day, Berry’s had a bass tournament on the lake. Matt Henry and his partner weighed in 24.20lbs with a bass weighing 8.45lbs and another in the 6s. The report I got was they had next to nothing at 11 a.m. and then the bite switched on. Guys, that is an incredible bag on the lake these days! I mean come on!!! According to Lake Country fishing and Jim Lumpkin, the entire field saw an increased bite and boated the majority of fish from 11 on. 

Now what happened at 11? As best as we can tell Georgia Power started letting a TON of water out of Lake Oconee right about then and both lakes lit up! Jason Duncan of Duncan’s Guide Service was fishing Oconee and he had a phenomenal afternoon catching more than 30 fish over there in the Richland Creek area. This is a controversial statement in some areas, but I am sorry folks. Both lakes bite better when they are generating power or letting water out. Sometimes that is just a few extra fish and sometimes you can watch whole schools move up in the water column and start crushing baits. That’s what happened Saturday. 

Now here’s some tips as to where and how:

Where – Right now find clear water deeper than 30 feet. Try the areas around the mouth of Rooty and Nancy Branch to start with.

How –  Spoons first and foremost. Capt. Mack super spoons, Cast Fishing 20g slow pitch jigs, and War Eagle spoons are my favorites. Jim Lumpkin was on my boat fishing with me last Friday and landed a good six-pound hybrid on a Cast Fishing jig. Trolling I would use Capt. Mack mini-Mack rigs of any colors, umbrella rigs, and believe it or not we even caught fish with down riggers pulling Berkley Flicker Shads. 

Folks, in my own opinion Lake Sinclair is the hidden gem of Georgia. The hyrbids, whites and stripers are healthy, plentiful, and willing to bite! Get out there and catch them.