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BIG FISH DAY ON OCONEE 2/11/19
YouTube
Jim and I braved the cold and fog to fish Lake Oconee yesterday. The water was 47-49 degrees and the air temperature was 39 degrees when we started. We were cold all day but the fish were HOT! Jim pushed 8 rods from the front of the boat while also tending 4 long lines out the side. I pulled 4 rods out of the back of the boat. I pulled double 1/16 oz jig heads and Jim pushed 1/16 oz jig heads about 18-20 inches below a 3/4 oz sinker. We stayed in the river channel all day fishing down about 10 feet in 25-35 feet of water. The water had a good stain at the creek mouth but not as much the further upstream we went. The bite was not fast but the fish were active enough to keep us interested and the quality was as good as we have ever experienced. We kept 17 fish. We caught one 15 inch fish and have caught at least 3 of those this year. There were 6 fish 14 inches or better, 4 fish were 13 inches or better, 3 were in the 12 inch range and 3 were 11 inches or better. The last two fish were caught while we were trying to roll up our rods. While stowing our rods a 14 inch fish hooked up and began to zig-zag behind the boat fouling 4 rods. We landed that fish and I had to start cutting lines as it was a mess. While I was trying to sort things out another fish took one of the remaining lines in the water and it took me a few seconds to figure out which rod it was on. At one point I was hand lining the fish to the boat until I could tell which rod to use. I'm not the brightest star in the universe but I finally figured things out and landed that devil also. As you can tell in the video the Charlie Brewer white/chart slider grub was catching a lot of fish. We had a good day on the water despite the cold. For those of you who may be going to Oconee but don't know where to go you may want to consider fishing the main river channel. That is what we did on our last two trips. The numbers of fish may not be staggering but you will catch some very nice slabs. My new neighbor Charlie followed us and fished until around lunch time. He quit with 12 fish and at the time we only had 10. That is what I'm talking about. The channel. Just saying. Good luck.
