I am going to sinclair later this week. I was wondering if any of you guys knew how and where to catch smallmouth down there. I have never caught one and and they r my favorite species of bass.

There are no smallmouth in Sinclair. Need to go to colder lakes like Blue Ridge.

I've fished Sinclair and actually have family that live on the lake. It's a tough lake to catch anything on but I do know that a lot of anglers prefer around the power plant. I would go a little farther north and fish Oconee for crappie right now.

I have family that i am visiting on the lake, and there are smallmouth in sinclair just not alot, kinda like hows there wallye in lanier.

I used to fish Sinclair a lot for Largemouth .....It's tough this time of year....I'd fish Rooty Creek with plastic worms, and work the Rip rap along the points at the bridges.....Also the deeper docks with fish lights might hold a bass under them.....They usually have a brushpile out front for crappie....Good luck.....Cj

There are more Walleye stocked in Lanier than Stripers. The lake is slap full of them.

How can a smallmouth be your favorite specie of bass if you've never caught one? That confuses me.

If they are in Sinclair, wait till the dogwoods bloom......all sunfish love to eat that time of year. To confirm, check out how the last bass tournament went on Sinclair.

I like smallmouth cause the way they look. They look cool.

I didn't think there was any smallmouth in Sinclair. Are you sure you don't mean shoal bass.

I dont know but i read something on the internet that listed the species in sinclair and it said smallmouth and shoal bass so i guess there r some but not alot.

P.S. are there really a bunch of walleye in lanier cause i think they would be fun to fish for.

I would have said that there were no SM in Sinclair, looks like i would have been wrong. I have never heard of them that far south, i wonder if these references are not to shoal or redeye bass??? It still sounds like penguins at the north pole to me.

http://sinclair.uslakes.info/FishingChart.asp

http://www.fishingnotes.com/lakeinfo.php?id=6746



Vance, your going to need a 10' Mooching rod, a bucket of leeches, some yankee spinners, fuzzy hat with ear flaps, a thermos of warm tea, and some cheese curds.

Last year they stocked approx 489,000 stripers in Lanier and about 140,000 walleye.

That has not neccesarily been the case every year Jim. But being as you are the fun fact guy, how many smallmouth bass were stocked in Sinclair last year?

AND.....how many stripers were caught and kept verses how many walleye were caught and kept last year. One more for ya, were are the walleyes at this time of year? Where will they be next month?

It's going to take some digging to come up with that one. I think the stripers are eating all the walleye. I've only caught one in the last 2.5 years. I'm not positive but I seem to remember Nick Jamison telling me they were released up north on the Chestatee side.

Someone needs to contact MTV and have a new "celebrity deathmatch" requested.. Striper VS. Walleye...

I'm recently very interested in them for some reason. I would like to figure out their patterns and have them as a back up to striper fishing.

IF A GUIDE ON THIS LAKE would figure out walleye fishing and somewhat specialize in it, I tend to believe it might take off.

There is a guy on the GON forum who eats them all, well at least that's my story. I'm no good with Walleye.

No, no, no......don't misunderstand an old proverb (in my signature), it has nothing to do with eating fish in a literal sense. I don't want to eat them. I just want to catch and release the fool out of them!!!!!

The first walleye i catch is going to be hitting the grease that night.

I think walleye might be good straight from the lake... munchins and crunchins.

If someone figures out how to catch walleye on lanier PLEASE let me know. That would be so COOL!!!

Daggum Charles! is that a shot of your early years? LOL

I'm taking a week long fishing trip in June to Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska. My good buddy who invited me is probably one of the best walleye fisherman I've ever known. I'll have to learn me somethin' and bring it back to Lanier.

They should be heading up both rivers to spawn on the next moon assuming the water temp creeps on up a little. If I remember correctly peak spawn is around 55 degrees. Somebody correct me if I am wrong. Also some of them spawn down the lake from what I hear. People occassionally catch them at night in the Spring down around the dam (rip rap).

Yeah, From what I remember the rock jetties around the dam was a pretty hot spot last year. It seems like some guys were catching them on planers up against the rocks on herring.

Can you imagine the fun that would be made of me if I were to go walleye fishing when the water temp hits 55? That would be shameful. I'd have bait bigger than what I would be fishing for by then.

Godamighty, come on 55!!!

I'm from Tennesse originally and we have a great smallmouth fishery in the Holston river, but to tell you the truth, I've gotten where I love these lake lanier spots. I think they are the best of both worlds, small and largemouth. At one point, they were even thought to be a hybrid.

I haven't caught one yet, but the shoalies sound like fun too. You can catch them in the Hooch headwaters, below Morgen falls, and in the Flint.

I think you are dead on Clay, from what I remember rip rap is one of the most common places for Walleye to spawn. If you are fishing from a boat, you really can't go wrong with nightcrawlers or leeches. Another great lure for walleye are jerkbaits, and these can be worked from the shore or the boat. Pre-spawn is a great time to pick up a lunker!

The part that kind of sucks about the timing, is that the striper and crappie fishing will be on fire!

In smaller lakes in the midwest, my cousins would take me out and we bounced nightcrawlers off the bottom at night to get Walleye.

Corey, you don't know what your missing. I'm with Brett, any Walleye caught should be battered.

We have a place down on Sinclair and fish there a lot from April thru November - never caught any smallmouth and never heard of one being caught in that lake. Largemouth, crappies, hardheads, stripers and hybrids!

I'll second the grease comment on the Walleye-best eatin fish outside of snook I've had!

When we fished the last Oakwood club tournament Backlash and I saw a brute of a walleye caught. It was 7 or 8 pounds I would guess. I caught 1 in flat creek last year about 12 inches. I fished Sinclair a lot when I used to go to school at the power plant there. In winter you can catch bass, hybrids, and catfish in the warm water discharge of the power plant. You can fish the bank from across the creek and do ok. I used to see a lot of guys wading there to get a few more feet out.

They've been stocking shoal bass in the hooch for a few years now, although i hear the flint is better for them--- could be the stripes take a toll on them in the hooch. I've caught many many smallies in my life and consider the shoals their equal in fight-- heck, i can't really tell the diff looking at them most times. I caught a shoal in the hooch two yrs ago that had to have been 4-5 lbs-- dragged my canoe around a bit like a nantucket sleigh ride, actually up current for a bit. Few fish are as fun as a smallie or shoal on an ultralight or fly rod...in fact i originally took up fly fishing specifically for smallmouths (the trout guys seemed like such friggin snobs: dude, it's FISHING)

I still can't fathom (pun intended) how to catch walleyes on lanier, other than by accident; the rivers may be the best bet. Look at any walleye rig and you see the trouble with lanier-- the rigs are mostly weighted for drifting worms or lures with blades deep and/or along the bottom. Good for natural lakes up north-- NOT good for fishing flooded forests. My guess is grassy shallows at night is your best shot; they're almost purely low light predators

Walleye are the best fresh water fish for frying, bar none; my opinion of course, but I'm always right (no--wait--that's my wife!).