Since Oconee is a power generation lake, what is going on at the dam has a lot to do with what is going on with the fish. The fishing always seems to be better when the current is moving, and that angling truism applies on Oconee as well.

Access is good with several Georgia Power or U.S. Forest Service access points from which to choose. There are also several campgrounds available in case you have an extended trip in mind. For more information, contact the WRD Social Circle Fisheries Office at (770) 918-6418.

Lake Hartwell is a 55,950-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Savannah River in northeast Georgia. The lake transitions from Piedmont-type terrain on its lower end to rugged foothill country on the upper end.

During construction, the trees near the shoreline were cleared in the Tugalo and Seneca arms of the lake. In the main body of the reservoir, though, the trees were simply flooded. The result is a virtual forest hidden below the surface anywhere from 10 to 100 feet down.

They say there is a silver lining to every cloud, and the cliché holds true for Hartwell crappie. The recent drought years weren't kind to the fish. With lake levels down, reproduction suffered. On the bright side though, fewer mouths to feed meant more food for those fish that did make it. Anglers can expect to catch a greater percentage of solid keeper crappie.

As the water starts to warm, crappie congregate in the staging areas in 10 to 15 feet of water. When the water temperature hits 65 degrees, expect the fish to move into just a few feet of water in backwater coves.

The best areas on the Georgia side of the lake for crappie fishing are Eastanollee, Gum Log, Shoal and Lightwood Log creeks.

The lake is near the town of Hartwell and is crossed by I-85. Like all Corps of Engineers projects, recreational access to the lake is excellent with numerous boat ramps, campgrounds and shoreline access areas. For more information, contact WRD Burton Fisheries office at (706) 947-3112.

Northwest Georgia's Allatoona Lake, a 12,010-acre Corps of Engineers impoundment on the Etowah River offers fine crappie fishing. Allatoona was completed in 1950, and at the time, it was common practice to completely clear a lake basin during construction.

To anglers' chagrin, the result was a lake with very few stumps or other offshore cover. Anglers have worked to rectify this shortcoming by placing their own offshore brushpiles, and the Corps of Engineers working in conjunction with the WRD has constructed offshore fish attractors at numerous locations around the lake. They also have felled dead or diseased trees in to the water along the shoreline to increase the amount of shallow wood cover.

For more information on the program, including a downloadable map and GPS coordinates of the attractors, visit www.gofishgeorgia.com.

Allatoona's best crappie fishing is in the creek arms. Because they are shallower and the water is usually stained, these areas warm the quickest. Also, creek arms usually have the best variety of woody cover in the form of blowdowns and boat docks.