Fishing Lake Oliver

AKA: Oliver Reservoir

Popular Fish Species
Lake Oliver Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
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Lake Oliver, GA

Popular Fish Species Lake Oliver, GA

Lake Oliver Popular Fish - Black Crappie

Black Crappie Fishing

Lake Oliver holds a plentiful population of black crappie. These "slabs" are fat and healthy this year. Crappie fishing is easy and requires simple, basic gear. Any fishing pole, reasonably small line and crappie jigs or small hooks baited with live bait, creates the ideal setup. Add a bobber and you can set the depth you prefer the bait to maintain. The best time to catch crappie tends to be at dawn and dusk. Live bait and small jigs are the most common method for crappie here. Because crappie always like cover and structure, so locate brush and vegetation. Using a fish finder can help locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover. In spring and fall focus on the 8 to 12 foot range. As the crappie move deep in summer and winter, follow points out deep, as well as find ledges near channels in deeper water.

Spotted Bass Fishing

Spotted bass are often found in small schools on steep banks, around rocky or sandy shorelines, points and ledges. They often prefer hanging out in slightly deeper water than largemouths. Here at Lake Oliver, they are a favorite of many local anglers, as they are plentiful and put up a good tussle when hooked. Fishing for spotted bass can be good anytime you can locate them. Their diet consists mainly of crayfish and insects, but they also eat small baitfish, small sunfish and small bluegill. Most of the time, spots prefer to stage on steep rocky or gravel banks, and may move up and down the water column throughout the day. When shallow, use topwater or shallow crankbaits around rip rap. When they are deep, use drop-shot worms and jigs. Throughout winter, spend your time on deeper structure with small worms, jigs and spoons. Smallmouth bass and largemouth bass also reside here in decent numbers.

Striped Bass Fishing

Lake Oliver has a decent population of striped bass. Being successful at fishing for stripers is a matter of locating schools of bait, and the wolf packs of stripers which are likely to be nearby. Fish finders, and forward facing sonar, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Live bait is very effective here, and stripers can be caught year round. Due to their large size, striped bass are a favorite of many locals and fishing guides at Lake Oliver. They are plentiful, run in schools and can grow to bragging size. In Spring and Fall work the upper end of the lake where water is flowing into the lake. Look for deeper water in the river channel, as a holding place for stripers. In Summer and Winter, stripers hang out in deeper water during the day Morning often draws the stripers to much shallower water, look for them from the surface down to around the 20-foot range as they feed on shallow-running schools of bait. The lake is filled with plenty of baitfish and sunfish to to keep the fishery thriving. Being successful at fishing for stripers is a matter of locating schools of bait, and the wolf packs of stripers which are likely to be nearby. Fish finders, and forward facing sonar, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Live bait is very effective here, and stripers can be caught year round.

Lake Oliver Fishing Video

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, shoal bass, channel catfish, black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, rock bass, spotted sunfish, warmouth and striped bass at Lake Oliver in Georgia.

The North Highlands Dam, on the famous Chattahoochee River creates Lake Oliver, a 2,150-acre reservoir on the AL/GA border immediately northwest of Columbus. More than half of the 40 miles of shoreline is on the Georgia side.

Areas upriver from area housing developments, the city marina, North Highlands Recreation Area and Goat Rock Recreation Area all offer places for fishing from the bank. Largemouth bass, crappie, bream and catfish are favorites here, plus there are plenty of sunfish and hybrid stripers to pursue. Several boat ramps allow for launching of boats, with no horsepower limits.

Primary fish species residing in Lake Oliver

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Lake Oliver Amenities

Marina: YES
Boat Rental: NO
Boat Launch Ramp: YES
Campgrounds: NEARBY
RV Hookups: NEARBY
Lodging: NEARBY
Convenience Store: YES
Bait & Tackle: NEARBY
Restaurant: YES

Today's Weather & Forecast

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Lake Oliver Marina Boat Launch Ramp
Located in the southeast section of the lake, off River Road, this is a four-lane, concrete ramp with docks and paved parking.

Marinas

Lake Oliver Marina
5501 River Rd
Columbus, GA 31904
706 653-4634