Oconee/Sugar Creek

3-12-19 Wow! Boats boats and more boats. So many at one time it was hard to troll. Boats going different speeds and directions were not a problem but boats going across in front of everyone was making boats having to change speeds when it shouldn't have been necessary. Anyhow caught a dozen with seven keepers between ten and fourteen inches. None of them weighed over a pound. One fish caught on acid rain and the rest on CBS June bug/chartreuse tail.
Went by Lick Creek and wasn't no one fishing it. Planning to get some minnows and hit it up this afternoon.

Well if you boats, boats boats at Lick Creek make sure you come on here and post a fishing report with all the details. Some of these Oconee posts have over 700 views. The detailed reports are whats causing the crowded conditions. Perhaps fishing reports should just state: Fished lake Oconee caught XX keepers on XX color jig.

Not picking on you in particular but these overly detailed reports are killin the fishing.

I agree Roger C it seems like the boats follow all the posts by no means am I picking on your post RJR. The amount of details in some posts with the locations/ramp locations is a some of the reason the area is overloading with boats. It's amazing the amount of views that the Oconee posts are receiving with very minimum replies.

Thanks for the report,

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Roger C

Well if you boats, boats boats at Lick Creek make sure you come on here and post a fishing report with all the details. Some of these Oconee posts have over 700 views. The detailed reports are whats causing the crowded conditions. Perhaps fishing reports should just state: Fished lake Oconee caught XX keepers on XX color jig.

Not picking on you in particular but these overly detailed reports are killin the fishing.

---

This is why we have a Moderated Ga Fishing report section. No one but members can see it there. Too many trolls on this site.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Danbo

This is why we have a Moderated Ga Fishing report section. No one but members can see it there. Too many trolls on this site.

---

Exactly. Most state forums have a moderated forum. Last post in the one in Ga was April 2017.

I'll start using the moderated one. Didn't realize my mistake. I'll do better

Jeff

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RJR

I'll start using the moderated one. Didn't realize my mistake. I'll do better

Jeff

---

No mistake made. Most of us don't use it as shown by last post of April 2017. I longline troll so if to many boats,I fish elsewhere. There are fish all over lake Oconee, not just Sugar and Lick creeks.

It's warming up + Dogwoods blooming = Everybody fishing

Please use the Moderated Ga Fishing report forum. None of the lurkers can see your reports. Just for your information when you post a report there it has to be approved by a moderator before members can see it. I will try to check it everyday when I get home from work. Good luck fishing.

Gents please, you sound like Oconee is a secret. I hope everyone can go fishing and catch fish. Me and grandson going Thurs, friday, Saturday and we gone be somewhere fishing come on and fish before we are in cemetery.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

You don't have to apologize you didn't let the cat out of the bag. Sugar and Lick Creeks are always full of crappie fishermen when the bite is good. I don't get upset if there are a lot of people trying to do the same thing I'm trying to do. Like gman said there are fish all over Lake Oconee. On the other hand if you post the location of your secret spot don't be surprised if you find someone else fishing there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RJR

I'll start using the moderated one. Didn't realize my mistake. I'll do better

Jeff

---

That is why I go past Sugar and put in at Swords. Only 7 boats when I left. Water was 59.5 degrees at 2:30 when I left. Strange day. I caught large fish and butter beans. Not many mid size fish. Fish were scattered. I caught fish in 25 ft water, 12-15 ft water, and 6-8 ft water. No pattern was consistent or lasted long. Did not limit out but I am not going to starve either. Color did not matter.

I'm just learning Oconee, and my first 2 trips ever to were to Sugar Creek ramp. I did pretty well the second time. I want to try fishing somewhere else on a different ramp, either Swords or Long Shoals. Swords is closer to me, so I'll probably go there next couple trips. Are there any particular hazards there I should watch for? I have Navionics+ mapping at the console, and it shows most flooded timber and hazards. I'll mostly be using the trolling motor, easing around and looking for crappie on the sonar.

Swords is at upper end of lake off the Apalachee.. Lots of timber and underwater hazards if you venture out of the channel. Real good place to launch when the whites and hybrids go upriver to spawn in the next few weeks. Excellent place to put in to target catfish during the May spawn. Blue Springs is another place to put in on that end of lake and your vehicle will be more secure. Several ramps closer than Long shoals to you as in Lick Creek and on the Richland creek side Armor Bridge is convenient.

X2 on using swords, it it the closest ramp for me also.
When russell and oconee were built it took a lot of pressure off the hill. What is going on oconee and russell right now was once that way on the hill.

How much does Blue Springs charge for launch/park? Guess I can call them in AM. I am dying to get on water with pole in hand. Wasn't in the cards the last couple days, but as soon as this front goes by, I'm there.

I was born and raised ten miles from the Oconee River and spent most of my formative years fishing it and Lake Sinclair. Even fished the new lake as it was filling. I still live right here where I was born. I have seen a tremendous amount of change here in my county as far as population and access goes. Everything is virial today and information is instantaneous and people can call their buddy's and tell them the bite is on right now and for their buddy's to head that way. Bottom line is we are reaching the capacity on our lakes that they can sustain naturally. The amount of people using Oconee is close to Lanier without all the acreage that Lanier has. I have no answer to the pressure all our lakes are experiencing other than to say the economy is going good for a lot of people.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jawjatek

How much does Blue Springs charge for launch/park? Guess I can call them in AM. I am dying to get on water with pole in hand. Wasn't in the cards the last couple days, but as soon as this front goes by, I'm there.

---

I believe it is five dollars. I have a GP daily pass for the year so other than going to a private launch site I'm good to go. If you get a chance to go during the week, you can go with me as I'm usually alone.

I have been fishing Oconee since 1985 and its no where the lake it use to be,and that's not just my opinion either. The sport of crappie fishing is growing tremendously. Every state from SC to Texas has decreased the creel and most have also put a size limit on crappie. When you see people putting fish in the live well that takes 3 of those fish to make a sandwich something is wrong. Oconee gets a tremendous amount of pressure year round.I don't see how it has a crappie left in it.

i was at sugar creek a few days ago, 20 plus boats trolling, most where catching smaller fish, i moved on and tried my luckat other spots

Swords is $5. Blue Springs should not be any more than $5.

I remember fishing Oconee in 1979. I was young and the fishing was great. I was usually on my way home before lunch with a 100 fish in the cooler and they were all huge crappie. I didn't have a LCR or any of that stuff and I caught more fish back then. It sure was fun and we caught the fish one by one. We pitched to the trees and wore them out. Times change but Oconee is still a great lake.

I fished it alot back then as I was on evening shift at Ga Power plant on Lake Sinclair. Fishing was incredabile. Full pool wasn't reached until the spring rains in 80. My brother caught what may have been a record crappie out of the river around 1970. We didn't know no better as teenagers but the fish was 23 " long. Wasn't weighed as we were camping out and ate it.That was a wild wild rural area back then.

Only takes 4 crappie to successfully spawn to put a million fish back in the lake. That includes some being eaten by other fish. You can't fish out a lake but you can stunt the size of fish being caught. I hear this every year. There's info on how many crappie need to spawn to replenish a lakes fish that has been removed. Crappie spawn a lot of fish. Maybe not a million, but it's a lot! Went to bed way to early. Should be getting ready to leave the house to go fishing somewhere but here I am. Can't sleep and got crappie on my mind!

Crappie populations are cyclic (5 year cycle) on any given lake. Its impossible to "fish out" a lake, since crappie are known prolific breeders. That being said, crappie populations can be hammered to the point that its hard to put a decent fish in the live well. Happens to every lake, big crappie and huge catches are reported and a mass of fishermen, show up and hammer the lake for a couple of years, fish size and catch numbers decline, said fishermen lose interest and move on the next hot lake at the moment. Crappie populations rebound with the decrease fishing pressure.

I wish Georgia would enact a size limit on crappie, but probably never will. I have a personal size limit in my boat and rarely keep a full limit anymore, but to each his own.,

A couple of good books to read on the crappie life cycle is Crappie Fundamentals and Crappie Basics by In-Fisherman.

You are sure right about the pressure Dutch. Oconee has become so popular it has taken the pressure off Sinclair. I haven't been able to fish this year but for about the the last six or seven years we have caught some really pretty crappie at Sinclair.

Dutch, I feel the same way about the size limit, 10 inch minimum. I dont fish Oconee very much but Jackson is where I go most and the avg size is less than 10 inches so I have not brought many home. I shoot docs this time of year and its hard to get excited when the crappie are small. But the problem with Jackson is the lack of a good shad population from what the biologist told me.