Good numbers of harvestable-size crappie should be available again this year. For large numbers and large fish, anglers should be on the water from February through April, with the biggest slabs usually caught on warm afternoons in February. Fishing around standing timber in Sugar Creek and the upper end of the lake is a good bet for crappie in the spring, as are the upper ends of other major creek arms such as Richland, Sandy and Lick creeks. Stay out toward the mouths of the creeks, near the main lake, in early February and gradually move back towards shallow water as the temperature increases in the spring. Bedding crappie can be caught around shallow cover when water temperatures reach the low 60s.

White bass and hybrids will make spawning runs up the Oconee and Apalachee rivers in March and April, and the fishing can be great on the right day. Little Georges, rooster tails, small crankbaits and curly tail grubs are the best lures for white bass on the spawning runs. Hybrids can also be caught in April and May in the middle and upper end of the reservoir around bridges and other rip rap feeding on spawning threadfin shad. Hybrid fishing was excellent in 2007 for numbers of fish, and quite a few hybrids in the 5 10 lbs. range were caught. Hybrids will often school in the middle third of the reservoir throughout the summer, and then move to the lower end of the lake throughout the winter. The Oconee River arm from Lick Creek down to the dam is especially good for hybrids in the winter.

Anglers may begin to see more striped bass this year. The young stripers will likely be mixed in with hybrids and white bass. In addition to hybrids, WRD has been stocking striped bass over the last few years and some of these fish should enter anglers creels this year. If striped bass perform well in Lake Oconee, the long-range goal is to phase hybrids out of the Altamaha River basin reservoirs, which includes Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair, Lake Jackson and several other smaller impoundments. WRD will stock a mix of stripers and hybrids again this spring.

Catfish angling is excellent on Oconee, but the population is changing with the expansion of the recently introduced blue and flathead catfish populations. While there are still plenty of smaller channel and white catfish that can consistently be caught throughout the lake, the number of small, 6 - 10 inch fish has declined slightly and the overall size and quality of catfish has improved. Blues and flatheads continue to expand their population, and numerous flatheads over twenty pounds have been caught in the recent past. Live shad or bluegill and cut bait are the best baits for flatheads, and hot summer nights are the best time to catch them. Morning and night fishing is particularly good for all species of catfish during the warm summer months, and the consistent bite makes them a great fish to target when introducing kids to fishing. Worms or cut bait fished on the bottom are best options for this species.