Spawning for all the lake’s game fish is spread out between a water temperature beginning at around 58 degrees and ending at around 80 degrees. Even though both Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee have flathead, blue and channel catfish, there are spawning variations even within the catfish family but basically catfish spawn at temperatures a little higher than other game fish.

The water temperature range for flathead catfish is 66 to 75 degrees and 70-84 degrees for blue and channel catfish. In reservoirs, the exact timing of the spawn will depend on the water temperature and it will vary within a reservoir since parts of the reservoir will warm up before other parts of the reservoir.

The spawn will always begin at the reservoir’s headwaters which tend to be shallower and receive warm inflow spring rains. Consequently those waters will warm up faster than other parts of the reservoir or lake.

Catfish tend to spawn in a nest or bed located in some type of cavity which could be natural areas between rocks, undercut banks and hollow logs. Anything that creates a secluded nesting site for catfish including an old car tire, a barrel or a stump could create nesting opportunity for catfish. Nesting sites vary somewhat with each catfish species but in general they select a secluded site that offers protection for the nest and protection from any strong water current.

The male catfish plays the prominent role with all catfish species when spawning occurs. The male selects the nesting site, clears the nesting site of any debris and then attracts the female to the bed or nesting site. Once the female lays her eggs which may number 3-4 thousand, she plays no further role.

The male catfish fertilizes the eggs, fans the bed to keep it clean and aerated, chases off any predators and awaits the eggs to hatch in 6-10 days. Once the eggs hatch, the male catfish guards and protects the small catfish fry until they leave the nesting area after a few days.

The newly hatched fry get their nourishment in their first few days of life from a large yolk sac which is attached to their tiny body. Within a few days, they fully develop into a catfish fry and swim to the surface to get a gulp of air to fill their swim bladder and to look for their first food.

During the spring, anglers can find angling success for catfish to be boom or bust. The male catfish will not eat while building and guarding the nest and fry so this may be a slack time for anglers. However due to the varying water temperatures in the lake, anglers should be able to find cooperative catfish during the spawning period.

The spawn also creates better opportunities for anglers to catch catfish in the lake’s coves in relatively shallow water. Many of the catfish will come into protected coves to spawn and anglers can catch the large females at this time. This also creates opportunities to catch the catfish from many of the lakes’ docks.

Each spring my grandchildren catch catfish weighing up to twenty pounds off my dock on Lake Sinclair during April and May after the crappie and largemouth bass have spawned. Don’t overlook this angling opportunity especially if you have young children or grandchildren. You might feel more comfortable letting them fish from a dock rather than from a boat.

One way to catch the big catfish during the spring is with cut bait (shad or bream) or live bait (shad or bream). Catching live shad requires a little effort but catching live bream around docks is fairly simple. You can use either the whole live bluegill for flatheads and blues or just the heads for all the catfish species.

Once the spring spawn is over, a majority of the catfish head back to the main lake and deeper water where they will spend the summer. However, there are exceptions to that rule. One exception occurs anytime there is a shad spawn occurring and the second exception is in low light conditions early in the morning, late in the day and at night when the catfish will move shallow to feed.

The Georgia Wildlife Resources Division reports indicate excellent populations of catfish in both Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee. In Lake Oconee, the catfish population is shifting toward blue catfish as they have surpassed channel catfish in numbers.

The numbers of blue catfish continues to increase and 10 to 20 pound blue catfish are common and several over 40 pounds have been caught. The blue catfish record in Lake Oconee is 47 pounds and 5.1 ounces. Flathead catfish continue to also expand in Lake Oconee with 10 to 15 pounders being common and several over 40 pounds have been caught. The Lake Oconee flathead record stands at 45 pounds and 12 ounces and the channel catfish record stands at 34 pounds and 8 ounces.

Lake Sinclair is also seeing a shift in catfish populations with the blue catfish populations now outnumbering channel catfish. The blue catfish record for Lake Sinclair is 38 pounds and 7 ounces. Flatheads are also now being caught in the lake and a new Lake Sinclair record was set in 2011 when a whopping flathead weighing 36 pounds and 11 ounces was caught. The Lake Sinclair record channel catfish weighed 21 pounds and 5 ounces.

Both lakes are becoming known as trophy catfish lakes. Next week, we will look at several techniques to catch catfish after they leave the shallows and return to the large creeks and to the main lake. Good fishing and see you next week.