Sugar Creek Oconee 2/1

Jim and I fished Lake Oconee yesterday. Our original intent was to launch at Armour Bridge due to reports of water conditions in other parts of the lake. On the way to the lake we decided that we needed to check Sugar Creek. We hoped the water condition had improved (we are both hard-headed). We left the ramp around 7:30 in a thick fog. The water was red and full of trash and the water temperature was between 47-49 degrees. The map on the Lowrance guided us to the mouth of the creek where the conditions were no better. Since we were marking very few fish we kept looking for better water. Around 10:00 a.m. we began pushing jigs in a cove south of the 44 bridge. We marked a few fish but nothing to brag about. The first fish we caught was 14 inches. We caught one more good fish in that spot. After lunch we moved to a cove north of the 44 bridge. The bite was good and we marked a lot of fish but caught mostly small ones. The further back in the cove we went the warmer the water got. The water temperature rose fast and got up to 57 degrees in places. The bigger fish finally turned on around 3:30 and then the clouds moved in. As soon as the clouds covered the sun the bite STOPPED. With ugly clouds looming and 9 good fish in the cooler we rolled up at 4:00. We probably caught 20-25 fish and the bite was good at times. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our trip. The air temperature reached 78 degrees but the rain caught us on the way back to the ramp. Thankfully, we did not find any submerged logs on the way. Scary! This morning the weather man is forecasting flash flood warnings. I hope the lake conditions are better by March!

Technique:

Pushing jigs deep at .5-.8 mph. Some jigs tipped with minnows. 20-30 FOW

Equipment:

Rods: 3 piece 16 foot B&N trolling rods, 2 piece 14 foot Crappie Commander Rods (purchased from Monk's) 3 piece Southern Crappie Rod, 2 piece, 12 foot B&N, Crappie Max, Pinnacle Rods.

Line: 6 lb. Crappie Max

Sinker Weight: 3/4 oz.

Reels: Shimano IX 1000 and Shimano IX 2000, Shakespeare Alpha, and Bass Pro bargain reels

Rod Holders: EZ T Pole Perch (12 in Front, 8 in back)

Trolling Motor: Motorguide Xi5 Pinpoint.

Depth Finder: Front Lowrance 520, Console Lowrance HDS 7 Gen 2 Touch with Navionics Platinum Plus Map

good report Hotwater . like the Technique and equipment part .
hope to meet you at the get to gather . papasage

Wow!! Nice report like the way you break it up into sections and the details.

I can't figure out how to edit this post so I will do it this way.

In all the excitement I miscounted. We kept 8 fish.

Outstanding report...the report bar has been raised!

The breakdown was a nice touch.Nice fish, conditions are tough all over, and the rain today and cold temperatures to follow are not going to improve anything.

That's okay about the stretch in numbers. We all understand that all fishermen are liars.

I wish everyone would stop calling fishermen liars it makes it hard to tell people about my six pound twenty two inch crappie that I caught with a piece of fishing line tied to my big toe while taking a nap.

And Hot Water I agree this is a great report

Great report done very professionally. I guess all reports that don't meet the standards you have created will be deleted at once per Slab. We have to step up our game to keep up with the outstanding report you presented. Slab said if we don't follow your lead our reports are gone even if they include pictures of limits of crappie. Now we have go catch the fish and write a great report, the pressure is growing. The lurkers will have the report laid out for them now, I think they will be very appreciative, yeah right, I think knowing lurkers they wouldn't appreciate nothing. LOL, just kidding. It is an outstanding report, I love the layout.