Lake Seminole Fishing Report – April 2010

Seminole: Level: 0.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 64 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Good. Matt Baty reports, “The bass are either on the bed spawning or very near to these areas. The places where I have been catching the prespawn bass are not producing anymore, because the fish have moved up near sand. Anywhere you find sand in a creek or in Fish Pond Drain is a good place to fish. Use a Texas-rigged Big Bite Baits 6-inch Pro lizard in green pumpkin or a Carolina-rigged 6-inch Big Bite Baits finesse worm in green pumpkin. If you find it hard to catch the fish directly on the sand, back off and fish the edges of the bars with the Texas or Carolina rig. Sometimes the fish want an even slower presentation. If there is no wind, use a weightless 5-inch Big Bite Baits Cane Stick in green pumpkin. If you really enjoy sight fishing like I do, then another option is to fish a little faster. Tie on a Spro Little John in chrome olive, and crank with your trolling motor on 50 percent looking for beds. This allows you to at least do some fishing while you are looking for beds, and every now and again you get lucky and catch a good one on the Little John. Make sure to use a good limber rod with the Little John, like a 7-foot Falcon Bucoo in medium action. As the fish come off of the beds, they get a little lethargic and don’t move very much. The males and the females both will hang around some type of cover, deep or shallow, and just suspend. The males will be guarding fry, and the best way to catch these fish is with a jerkbait. A Spro McStick in Blue Bandit is a good way to catch these fish that are either guarding fry or just hanging around recovering from the spawn.”

Crappie: Good. “Nice specks are being caught in backwater ponds on the Hooch and Spring Creek. Saunders Slough, the bowl in Big Jim’s and Grassy Flats have been producing some nice fish,” Matt said. “Fish these areas with a 1/16-oz. Big Bite Baits Bad Boy tube in blue/white and firecracker tail. Fish the tube with a steady, slow retrieve next to grass or stumps in these areas. The fish are holding real tight to cover in extremely shallow water. Lily-pad stems and cattails are what seem to be producing best.”