# Lake Seminole????



## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

Me and a few friends are talking about going down to lake seminole in mid december. Before we make a 4 hour trip I wanted to see if anybody has had good luck there and what types of birds were killed. Any advice on the place would be appreciated.


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## Hooked On Quack (Oct 13, 2013)




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## rnelson5 (Oct 13, 2013)

Just a little advice..... This is not a good way to ask this question on this forum. Guys are not going to tell you what and where they kill birds on public grounds in GA. My best advice for you is to do some google searching or look at old threads. Maybe that will get you the awnsers you are looking for or atleast a good start.


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## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

Just wanted to know if it was worth the trip. Thanks anyway


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## JamHunts (Oct 13, 2013)

Won't know until you go. Nothing against you personally or any other Swampblog scouter, but why would someone share the fruits of their labor with someone who hasn't done the work themselves. That's the democrat way. And aside from waddler on this forum, we ain't democrats. If you want to go, go. Put in the work. 
Now that's out of the way ill tell what I know. Some people have luck. More dont. Type of ducks? Whatever decides to fly that day. Mostly divers. Advice? Scout in the daylight a day before hunting. Bring GPS. Stay out of others way. Or try elsewhere.


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## drdarby45 (Oct 13, 2013)

Wouldnt everyone like to know if their trip was worth it? Go find out on your own!


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## JamHunts (Oct 13, 2013)

Worth is determined by the beholder. If I see one duck it might be worth it to me but not you. Can't say what it will be worth to you. Do your research and roll the dice, go have fun. It's hunting. 
PM vroom, he's a guide there


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## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

wow ok! Didn't mean to stir anybody up! Believe me I put in plenty of work scouting and I know how to hunt so I don't get in the way of others. I been on the other end of that plenty of times and its not fun. I'll be sure not to ask this question again.


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## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

I'll check him out. thanks man


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## chadf (Oct 13, 2013)

Is any place in GA worth it?
Lol, that's up to you and what your lugging out the woods.....

Or driving home 4+ hrs complaining about.


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## Nicodemus (Oct 13, 2013)

Man has took enough heat and ya`ll got your point across. Now let him be.


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## Gaducker (Oct 13, 2013)

Got a MM? Where you putin in at? Have you ever been there before?

Add another hour to your trip and go west and givin this years conditions I think its gona be another smokepolin year like 2 seasons ago.


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## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

Never been there. Not sure where we will put in at


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## Rich M (Oct 13, 2013)

LOL!  It wouldn't be as bad but our "friends" continually take advantage of us until we distrust everyone.

Let me answer your question a different way.

I wanted a canvasback pretty bad, Seminole has been known to hold some.  Drove up from Orlando to hunt with a guy who "knows" the water.  Ended up last in line, in a crowded cove and saw a lone duck at 300 yards for the 12 hours of driving.

The next year I did it again as he said they were on the ducks - ringers and cans - and in another, more private area.  Brought a buddy this time and 2 layout boats.  The guy wanted us to hunt a cove that was holding some ringers and he was all excited about it...Left him with one of my layouts cause 15 ringers doesn't do anything for me.  Then went, found some cans, got the layout stuff and returned to find a guy in a johnboat doing figure 8s where the cans were.  It got real rough, ran out of gas, drifted into a stump field, got towed in.  Got drunk and told the other guy off big time as this was the second & last time.

Two years later I went back with my dad and did things my way, from scratch.  We scouted the lake in a 17 CC for a couple of hours.  Found puddle ducks - teal, gadwalls, maybe some woodies in some areas, then found some divers - ringers, scaup, rudy ducks, and cans in other areas.  Saw some geese too.  There were birds in the areas we covered - not a lot but some.  The scouting was simple compared to some areas I had hunted before.

That afternoon, went and setup the layout boat in mid-lake along a flight path.  Shot some eagerly decoying scaup/bluebill.  

Went and set up on the cans the following morning, had birds in the decoys as soon as it was light enough to see the drakes, fired 3 shots for 2 guys, had 2 drakes, and were done.  Waited on the other hunters we could see to shoot something but only 1 of 5 other parties got a can while we were there.  Were back at the house we had rented before 9.

So - my take on the whole thing was lots of hunters & fishermen - most were very competitive and rude, but also saw some birds and was able to take what I went for without any ugly incidents.

Do your research on the state parks, there are campgrounds and even cabins you can rent.

That's it.  No PMs, please.  This is it.  

If I can find 'em, so can anyone else.  There are 101 coves and public areas to hunt & fish out there and it is such a big lake.


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## Hooked On Quack (Oct 13, 2013)

Rich M said:


> LOL!  It wouldn't be as bad but our "friends" continually take advantage of us until we distrust everyone.
> 
> Let me answer your question a different way.
> 
> ...





PM sent . . .


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## rnelson5 (Oct 13, 2013)

Hooked On Quack said:


> PM sent . . .



 2 PM's sent.


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## hoytslanger87 (Oct 13, 2013)

Best advice I can give you is just go learn the lake the way you want to learn it and Scout a lot (all day). I had friends try and tell me where to go and how to hunt it and it never worked well.

I can also tell you it took us 4 seasons to really learn what to do down there and kill birds or some days kill zero birds. Their are little tricks that we have picked up on over the years that have helped us kill more birds. 

Also talk to the locals I have meet and talked to a lot of people from that area that are super helpful ( talked to one guy over 3 hours at the ramp and he even circled 5 of his favorite spots on my map. Thought he was pulling my leg at first ,but after the next morning he wasn't).


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## welderguy (Oct 13, 2013)

Im sure you already know this but that lake is full of BIG gators.If youre in a boat you got nothing to worry about but Id think twice about putting my dog in the water.


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## hrstille (Oct 13, 2013)

Yeah I heard about the gators. We'll leave the dogs behind. I'm sure it will take a few trips to learn the area. I don't know how much help the locals will be from the things I've heard today. But I'm sure it will be a great time and a learning experience


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## Hooked On Quack (Oct 14, 2013)

Okay, here's a tip for you.  While scouting if you spot ducks rafted up close to cover, ease in there, run them out, set up quickly as possible and usually they'll trickle right back in.  You can try and "save" that spot for the next day, good luck with that.


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## Nicodemus (Oct 14, 2013)

welderguy said:


> Im sure you already know this but that lake is full of BIG gators.If youre in a boat you got nothing to worry about but Id think twice about putting my dog in the water.




There`s one less to worry about.


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## vrooom (Oct 14, 2013)

I think you should definitely drive four hours down there and give it a shot. Heck, you won't know til you go!  I encourage everyone thinking about it to drive 3-8 hours down there to see the weekend spectacles


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## welderguy (Oct 14, 2013)

Nicodemus said:


> There`s one less to worry about.



Nic! Is that you!! You are a beast!!!!


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## steelshotslayer (Oct 14, 2013)

Nicodemus said:


> There`s one less to worry about.



Im jealous we got drawn for zone 4 and didn't do any good.


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## Nicodemus (Oct 14, 2013)

welderguy said:


> Nic! Is that you!! You are a beast!!!!





That`s me, 2 weeks ago with the big gator Tomboy Boots killed. That one was a hoss.


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## NCHillbilly (Oct 14, 2013)

That big ugly bearded critter looks like it would probably eat your dog before the gator did.....


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## Nicodemus (Oct 14, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> That big ugly bearded critter looks like it would probably eat your dog before the gator did.....





Dog makes a fine meal.


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## vrooom (Oct 14, 2013)

Lol
Nic high jacked a thread


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## ghadarits (Oct 14, 2013)

I haven’t read all of these reply’s but if you are thinking of hunting any public water you will be much better off making a trip to do nothing but scout and if you get to hunt birds on the first trip that’s a huge bonus. Be very careful on the water beofre daylight only the main chanels are marked and some of those not very well.

Seminole is a fairly big lake with a bunch of back water places to scout so take a map and mark areas off that you don’t think you will hunt to keep from covering the same water over and over. If you are coming from a different direction the same area you looked at two days ago can look completely different if you don’t know the lake well.

My suggestion would be to have three and hopefully more places scouted before I was even thinking about dropping a boat in to hunt. If you don’t have any back up areas and someone has beat you to the spot you wanted you are going to be stepping on toes so to speak for the rest of the morning and that is the best way to make the people who got up really early or spent the night on the spot very mad at you.

Seminole looks like a duck paradise which it is but its public and there for requires you do your homework. I've been hunting there off and on since the early 90's and many times I've thought I had found the ultimate secret spot only to find someone setteled into the hole looking like they had been there for hours and its usually around 4:30am when I would get there.


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## Wild Turkey (Oct 14, 2013)

There are ducks at Seminole and I hunted there 25 yrs ago when duck hunters were very few. Now there are many. too many.
Sometimes several ducks and sometimes few. Never alot.
Try it, you might stumble on some and maybe not. Thats why they call it hunting.


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## Hooked On Quack (Oct 15, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> That big ugly bearded critter looks like it would probably eat your dog before the gator did.....





Nicodemus said:


> Dog makes a fine meal.





No No:


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## Mark K (Oct 16, 2013)

Not sure where your coming from, but 4 hrs from Sem in any direction can put you on some good duck hunting!! I can just about make it to LA in 4 hrs from there. 

Good luck to you. She can be productive at times or she'll make you want to quit hunting all together!!


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## DamonRossFoster (Oct 16, 2013)

sooooooooooo much subsurface timber.  Sooooooo dangerous...


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## gsppurist (Oct 16, 2013)

Nicodemus said:


> There`s one less to worry about.  [/QUOTE
> 
> Hey this is a duck hunting forum...No alligator talk.  No No:Where is the moderator to keep people in line when you need them!!!!


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## vrooom (Oct 16, 2013)

It will be worth your 4 hour drive. 
Drive down. Put in at Sealys landing. Set up on any of those islands out there. You will see a ton if ducks and hear a lot of shots. When you leave your island you will go to investigate said shots and see a bunch of people standing on shallow points in the open water. You will then try to get there before them I. The morning so you and your buddies can stand on that sandbar and sky bust while hundreds of ducks fly over your head going to the refuge and other unhuntable areas. You and your buddies will come up with some sort of plan on how you'll be able to get them next trip if you bring/do XYZ. It truly is GAs duck hunting Mecca


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## clent586 (Oct 18, 2013)

vrooom said:


> It will be worth your 4 hour drive.
> Drive down. Put in at Sealys landing. Set up on any of those islands out there. You will see a ton if ducks and hear a lot of shots. When you leave your island you will go to investigate said shots and see a bunch of people standing on shallow points in the open water. You will then try to get there before them I. The morning so you and your buddies can stand on that sandbar and sky bust while hundreds of ducks fly over your head going to the refuge and other unhuntable areas. You and your buddies will come up with some sort of plan on how you'll be able to get them next trip if you bring/do XYZ. It truly is GAs duck hunting Mecca



You convinced me to come down and give it a try. Are you the guide that everyone talks about down there? Aaron Crews?


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