Summer 2025 Fishing on Lake Oconee – Topsy Turvy!
BY CAPTAIN WAYNE MOORE
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Contact me at wmoore1700@outlook.com or 404-317-9556 to book your trip.
Wow, talk about a very different Summer bite! If you have read my reports here or when I was writing for Angler Magazine, you know that I love it when they generate electricity by opening the gates at the dam, so the water flows through the turbines. Georgia Power also pumps water back up from Lake Sinclair to maintain the level of the lake.
In both cases moving water typically stimulates a good bite by the hybrid bass and striped bass populations. This year it seems to be the opposite, talk about topsy turvy! Also, I usually dread the hot temperatures of summer and the higher water temperatures. Again, this year we have had a strong hybrid bass and striped bass bite, even one morning when the surface temperature of the water was 91 degrees.
How can you have the best experience possible fishing for hybrids? Well, first of all you need to be at the dock pulling out with your guide no later than 6:00 AM. There has been a very strong top water bite early in the morning. It might last 30 minutes or an hour and a half. It’s incredible and we are catching big fish and good numbers of fish during this time. Casting spoons and flukes to these rising fish works!
Once the sun comes up, I usually switch to live bait (thread fin shad) and down line the bait to 15 or 20 feet. Last week I had a customer come out at 8:30 and I thought it was going to be a tough day. We fished the live shad and wore them out. Again, Topsy Turvey. But I still say the early riser has better luck.
Other advantages in going out early are the cooler temperature and the recreational boaters / jet skiers are not out in full force!
So, book a trip, come out early, be comfortable, and be back home long before Noon!
Fly fishing:
Contact me at wmoore1700@outlook.com or 404-317-9556 to book your trip.
thing is having good line. I seldom use floating line, rather intermediate line that sinks just below the surface or sink tip to go a bit deeper. On these reels I use just a piece of 15 lb fluorocarbon (about 6 feet long) as a leader.
For flies, its hard to beat a white and chartreuse clouser on a #2 hook. Of course, Henry Cowen’s “Somethin Else” fly is amazing as well. Small game changers in white are in my arsenal as well.
Most of my fly guys this time of year will give it a shot with the long pole but understand we may have to use spinning tackle if the fly bite is not on.
Either way, it’s a great morning on Oconee!!!
Tight Lines and God Bless.
Capt. Wayne Moore
