What is the Lake Country?
I ran into an old friend recently and was asked why I use the term “Lake Country” so frequently. It seemed easy to answer at the time, but as I prepared this week’s column, I realized the answer stuck with me as vague and abstract and without wholesomeness, and that is simply not our Lake Country. Or me.
Lake Country is a vibrant and thriving community nestled and surrounded by nearly 800 miles of shoreline and a vast aquatic showcase of 35,000 acres in Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. Our green space and national wildlife management areas are teeming with wildlife, giving us some of the best fishing and hunting in Georgia.
I can only start with three words: hot, hot, and dang hot. The water temperatures on both lakes are consistently trending from the low 80s to near 90 degrees, with most readings coming in from 87 to 89 degrees.
We haven’t had much rain, so the stable conditions have helped keep fish in the 10- to 20-foot range on both lakes. There has been some good action on Oconee, fishing main lake deep banks, seawalls, and docks with deep water nearby, chunking buzzbaits and Shad Raps (#5 or #7).
Largemouth fishing on Sinclair has been good, with some local tournaments seeing strong limits as the grass continues to thrive. Recommendations include targeting shallow ledges, docks, stumps, and deep, heavy brushpiles early in the morning and late in the day.
Catfish remain steady throughout the reservoir on cut baits, chicken liver, and nightcrawlers. I couldn’t confirm this report without a CPR photo, but I was told about soaking a bag full of 3-inch soft plastic inshore bay shrimp in garlic salt and cherry Kool-Aid with a dash of vinegar, I suppose, just for humility. Put it under a popping cork and let it go, he said.
Black crappie are holding close in, but in deeper, cooler channel ledges where they can be found hiding right up against and around those deep ledges where they suspend to escape the heat.
Some nice slabs have been taken trolling or vertical jigging with live minnows or small jigs. After mid-morning, the fish move deeper into main channel water around 20 feet during the hottest part of the day.
My favorite targets are black crappie, and I picked up some good tips from my dad along the way about crappie hunting from the bank or a dock.
Target the dock pilings and fish the edges of the boat ramp. Before casting far out into open water, drop a jig or live minnow vertically down the sides of public docks or pier posts and keep the line tight to the wood.
As a former athlete, I had a bunch of old Southern superstitions like standing my football practice jersey in the corner of my locker for a whole week of practice. Then there is the subject of night fishing when a full moon is high in the sky.
Ask 100 fishers if they will brave fishing full moons and you’ll likely get about 10 honest answers. I’ll fish any time, but I am a card-carrying member of dock fishing at night for crappie and cats with my camping chair, two Coleman battery lanterns, Coke Zeros, three rods (one reserved for a conflicted channel catfish swimming by), my sack lunch, and a big bucket of minnows. No radio; we wait in quiet as a nearby bullfrog lulls us as he sings the night away.
My personal best crappie weighed 1.4 pounds, caught during an Oconee Derby pulling crankbaits in 40 feet of water over timber. The lake record is 3.12 pounds, so I’ve got some work to do. A 34.8-pound fatbelly channel catfish rules Oconee.
How many of you remember the first time you held a rod and reel and hoped you would catch the biggest fish of your life with that first cast? Or dipping a cane pole into a dark pocket and hoping not to get pulled in.
The full moons remaining in 2026 are on Sept. 26, Oct. 26, Nov. 24, and Dec. 23. We’d love to share some of your photos with Lake Country. For the time being, email photos and descriptions to m.leecoleman367@gmail.com.