Randy Poynter Lake Fishing

Randy Poynter Lake is a 650-acre reservoir built to meet the water needs of Rockdale County, about six miles north of Conyers on Black Shoals Road. Locals often call it Black Shoals Lake, and it has a reputation for big bass, good crappie and hard-fighting hybrids.

All public access is through Rockdale County’s Black Shoals Park, which has a boat ramp, fishing piers, walking trails, a playground and restrooms. Gasoline motors are not allowed, so the water stays quiet for anglers in jon boats, kayaks and canoes.

• Size650 acres
• Best betsLargemouth bass, crappie, bream, hybrid bass, channel catfish
• MotorsElectric, sail or paddle only
• ClosedWednesdays

Visiting Black Shoals Park

Best Fishing Bets

These prospects come from Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division fisheries biologists, based on sampling, past fishing trends and reports from anglers.

Largemouth Bass

Prospect: Randy Poynter has a reputation for quality-size bass. Granite bedrock in the watershed keeps the water clear and the lake less fertile than other area reservoirs, so expect fewer bites per hour. Spring and fall catches are often very good, with more than 40 percent of bass longer than 14 inches.

Technique: The lake is deep with fast-tapering banks and very clear water, so lighter line helps. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Flukes, Rat-L-Traps, plastic worms and jerkbaits work around blowdowns, standing timber, creek channels and points.

Target: One of the few flats is directly across from the boat ramp, where an old roadbed lies; bass use it as a travel corridor. In spring, start in deeper water off the bank and work toward the shallows as bass move up to spawn. Woody shoreline cover and shallow humps are good bets.

Hybrid Bass

Prospect: Hybrids are stocked every year. Expect good numbers of 14- to 16-inch fish, with fish over 20 inches (6 to 8 pounds) possible. Plenty of shad should help them grow.

Technique: Live bait, cut bait, chicken liver, jigging spoons, Rooster Tails, Rat-L-Traps and small crankbaits.

Target: Deeper water near the creek channels and the dam. Watch the surface for hybrids busting schools of shad. A boat is the best way to reach these open-water fish.

Crappie

Prospect: Randy Poynter is known for good catches of black crappie from a healthy, well-reproducing population. Expect 8- to 10-inch fish weighing about half to three-quarters of a pound, with some over 12 inches and up to 1½ pounds. February through May brings the best numbers and sizes.

Technique: Minnows and jigs in deeper water near creek channels and standing timber.

Target: In March and April, crappie gather in the lake’s 16-plus acres of standing timber, then slide shallower as the water nears 60 degrees. The bite usually peaks in April, and fall can produce good numbers too.

Bream

Prospect: Redear sunfish (shellcracker) average about 8 inches, with some 12 inches and longer. Bluegill run smaller, about 5 to 6 inches.

Technique: Red wigglers, night crawlers or crickets, or small 1/16- to 1/8-ounce spinners such as Rooster Tails and Panther Martins.

Target: Redear spawn in mid to late April; bluegill spawn several times from May into early summer. Fish the backs of shallow coves and pockets near the beds, which look like small round craters.

Channel Catfish

Prospect: DNR stocks channel catfish when the hatcheries have extra fish. They average 2 to 3 pounds, and some grow much larger.

Technique: Night crawlers, cut bait, chicken livers or prepared catfish bait under a bobber or tight-lined on the bottom. Anglers on the Black Shoals Park piers and along the shoreline have landed some big cats.

Target: Deeper water near old creek channels and timber, spring through fall.

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