Oconee On The Fly

It’s our time of year! Recreational boaters are all but gone, it is cooler, and the bite will just get better through the fall and winter. Come on out for stripers, hybrids, or crappie fishing! All trips $300.00 half day! E-mail the dates you want to wmoore1700@outlook.com or call 404-317-9556.

Crappie – The long line bite has finally taken off. However, right now they are in submerged timber. I use Curtis Hobbs jigs with lite wire hooks so the hook will easily bend off when you get hung up on a tree. This is a great trip for 3 anglers and an easy way to fish. Trolling 8 rods out of the back of the boat, clients can just relax and reel in the crappie! As we move into November and beyond, I’ll be pushing jigs out of the front of the boat. This is a great trip for 2 anglers, and you have the opportunity to catch some very large crappie. I push 8 14-foot rods on millennium rod holders and two very comfortable millennium seats. All the angler has to do is lift the rod and put the crappie on ice!

Hybrids and Stripers / Spin Fishing – As of this writing the temperature is finally beginning to drop and as we move into late fall and winter hybrid / striper fishing will pick up significantly. This is the time of year when we can long line live shiners and crank baits for larger fish. There is also often a topwater bite and throwing white rooster tales or sassy shad jigs to the rising fish is a blast!

Hybrids and Stripers / Fly Fishing – In late October, if we are blessed with water being is pumped up from Lake Sinclair early in the morning, fly fishing will be good. In November when the gulls show up, I will be chasing the birds and throwing a Cowen’s “Somethin Else” fly on sink tip. In December, there are times when the fly rod will out produce other methods of fishing.

Book your trip early and enjoy the great fall and winter fishing on Lake Oconee!

Tight Lines,
Captain Wayne

Fall and winter is the best time of year to come fish Lake Oconee and customers are pre-booking for September through December 2019 now. Hybrid and striper fishing, top water bite will be good and crappie trips, excellent. All trips $300.00 half day! E-mail the dates you want to wmoore1700@outlook.com or call 404-317-9556.

Looking back at Spring / Summer 2019 – We had some great trips this Spring and Summer. Even all the way through mid-June we enjoyed a solid bite with some trips that were off the charts. Just before Father’s Day I had the pleasure of taking a gentleman and his two grandsons out for a morning trip. The 5-year-old landed an 8- pound, 9-ounce striper. This was followed by a triple catch where 3 rods doubled up at once; all with hefty Hybrids:

Fall Forecast / Hybrids and Stripers / Fly Fishing – As soon as the temperatures begin to drop, the bite will pick up. This means that for light spinning tackle anglers, we will be long lining shad and bass minnows. Fewer boats on the water and much more comfortable weather is great for the fish and the fisherman.

In late October, the gulls will arrive and thus our best shot as fisherman begins. We simply follow the birds, approach as quietly as possible, and make long casts to the rising fish. Looking back at my logs for 2018, December was the most productive month for fly fishing.

Fall Crappie Fishing – In the Summer, the crappie are in deeper water and often hundreds congregate around a single tree. As Fall approaches and the water cools down they will begin to scatter. In early fall they will be plentiful in the mouth of Lick Creek. As it gets colder they will move further North and we will begin to push jigs out of the front of the boat for extremely large crappie.

All trips $300.00 half day! I have some dates open in April, May and June are filling up fast. E-mail the dates you want to wmoore1700@outlook.com or call 706-816-4281. Spring offers opportunity for excellent Hybrid and Striper fishing. Crappie fishing is good as well.

Tell me what you want out of your trip – Our best trips start with and e-mail to save your date and message about what you want, you can call as well. We offer fly fishing and conventional tackle trips for Hybrids, Stripers, and Crappie.

Fly Fishing – Fly fishing on Lake Oconee is definitely all about timing. Early or late in the day is always the best bite. There are some specific times in Spring that offer good opportunities. First the shad spawn, this is when the baitfish will move shallow at first light. Last year this started around the second week in April.

The second and most exciting time to fly fish here is what we guides call “the pump back bite”. Last year this started in mid-May and ran through mid-June. It is a first light bite near the dam. When Georgia Power pumps water up from Lake Sinclair the shad get knocked off the wall of the dam and up to the surface and this trigger a massive topwater bite for hybrids and stripers.

If you book a fly fishing only trip I will call before your trip to advise you of current conditions. Combo trips using both fly rods and light spinning tackle give us a good plan B if fly fishing is slow.

Hybrids and Stripers – It is on now for spinning tackle! Finally, the Monsoons have gone away, and the water has cleared up. Long lining bass minnows has worked great! As we move toward the shad spawn, I’ll be breaking out the cast net and loading the tank with fresh shad. The jigging spoon bite will get active soon too. It’s a great way to hook up with a fat hybrid or striper.

Crappie – The crappie bite is still going strong as we move into April. The bigger fish are moving in shallow in the afternoon. Long line trolling has been very productive in water 4 feet deep or less. It’s a great trip for kids and you go home with some fine table fare.

We are booking up quickly so e-mail me at wmoore1700@outlook.com or call 706-816- 4281 and request your dates. Remember, we offer fly fishing and conventional tackle trips for the best of both worlds. There is no deposit required to book a trip, just call and let’s go fishing!

Captain Wayne Moore

All trips $300.00 half day! I have dates open in February, March, and April. These are the best months of the year for crappie fishing. Fly fishing for Hybrids and Stripers will be good as well. Call 706-816-4281 or e-mail the dates you want to wmoore1700@outlook.com.

Hybrids and stripers – With all the rain we had in late December and early January, the lake has been muddy in the upper stretches and stained all the way to the dam. Before this water reached the dam, fly fishing for hybrids and stripers was good. Once the stained water moved in, we switched tactics and did mostly live bait and jigs on light spinning tackle. This bite has been very good, and we are seeing some large fish. The Barnes family was out the first weekend in January, a 7 & ¾ pound striper was caught and many very nice Hybrids!

Crappie – Now is the time for crappie. The fish don’t seem to mind the stained water and large numbers are being taken long lining jigs behind the boat. Many anglers wait until the spawn to go crappie fishing. That would be a mistake here on Lake Oconee because the larger fish will move up the lake into flats before the spawn. This is when the biggest crappie of the year are taken. Book a trip and bring home some nice slabs for table fare, it doesn’t get any better!

We are booking up quickly so call 706-816- 4281 or e-mail me at wmoore1700@outlook.com and request your dates. Remember, we offer fly fishing and conventional tackle trips for the best of both worlds. There is no deposit required to book a trip, just call and let’s go fishing!

All trips $300.00 half day! I have weekend dates open in December, January, and February. Call 706-816-4281 or e-mail the dates you want to wmoore1700@outlook.com.

Hybrids – The topwater bite is on!! I had the pleasure of taking out Bob Rice and Dick Gillespie from Angler on December 7th to show them what fly fishing on Oconee is all about. We had a great day. Bob got a Striper 20 minutes after we put in. We landed 3 more fat Hybrids on the fly rod that afternoon. There are times when the fly rod will do better than light spinning tackle. But rest assured, we have spinning rods and live bait on board for those of you that want a combo trip. It’s a blast following the gulls as they dive bomb the surface for shad (baitfish) a true tell that Hybrids and Stripers are in the area and feeding!

Crappie – If you want something to bring home and fry up, crappie trips are the way to go. The fishing for crappie has been excellent and it will continue to be so through March. Many people don’t know that February is one of the best months for catching BIG Crappie here on Oconee. For the remainder of December and into January, long lining jigs out of the back of the boat is the best way to go. In February, we will start “pushing” rods out of the front of the boat. It’s a slower moving technique for Crappie in colder water and will land some huge slabs!

Gift Certificates – Want to give someone a gift they will always remember. Just call or e-mail and we will make it happen. Ask anyone that enjoys the outdoors would they rather go fishing or get some other gift and they will take the fishing every time!

We are booking up quickly so call 706-816- 4281 or e-mail me at wmoore1700@outlook.com and request your dates. Remember, we offer fly fishing and conventional tackle trips for the best of both worlds. There is no deposit required to book a trip, just call and let’s go fishing!