Lake Seminole Fishing Report August 2015

Seminole: Level: 0.9 feet below full pool. Temp. Low 90s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Slow. Tournament pro Matt Baty reports, “The dog days of summer are officially here, and the bass seem to know it. There have been several days of 100-degree heat, and this has really warmed up the water temps all over the place. Grasslines on the Flint, Hooch and main part of the lake are best early in the morning before the sun rises. A buzzing frog such as a Big Bite Baits Buzzing Warmouth in white works really well. To rig this bait correctly, you need a 5/0 Gamakatsu Superline hook, a 1/16-oz. Fish Catchin Fool tungsten with bobber stopper, 50-lb. Sunline FX2 Braid, a Lews Tournament MB LFS reel with and 8:3:1 gear ratio and a Duckett Terex 7-foot, 4-inch rod. This combination really allows you to fish this particular bait correctly. A SPRO Bronzeye Popper in albino works well, too, if the fish are not wanting to chase the buzzing Warmouth. You can use the same rod/reel/line combination for the SPRO Popper. Most of the time, especially early in the mornings, the bass will be positioned just on the outside edge of the hydrilla so throwing way up in the thick stuff is a waste of time. If you fish on a spot for more than 10 minutes without a bite early in the morning, then pick up the trolling motor and run to another nearby grassline. The ones closer to the river channel seem to be best. After the sun comes up, things really get tough then. Usually this time of year you can catch some nice flipping fish in the mats, but lately they seem to be suspended on the outsides of the grasslines. Use your Lowrance electronics to locate the farthest edge of the hydrilla lines and points, and throw a finesse style bait such as a Big Bite Finesse worm or Trick Stick on a light Texas rig. The lighter line you use, the more bites you will most likely get. As the August heat prevails, look for the frog and flipping bite to pick up in the thick stuff.” Guide Aaron Crews reports, “Fishing is a little slow, but if you work at it, good things will come. The bass are beginning to school a little bit. So Spook type lures in shad, bone and baby bass will start to work. On Spring Creek, I tend to use clear Spooks with rattles. As for popping-type lures, I use bass patterns, shad patterns and clear on the creek. For topwater plugs with spinners, I use Baby Torpedoes in bass, or a Devils Horse in silver shiner and Tennessee shad. Try topwater early and late light. At night, I like black Jitterbugs and black plugs with front and rear spinners. As for worms, Texas-rigged Trick Worms in lavender shad or 10 1/2-inch Zoom in red shad or green pumpkin with a rattler. I also fish Mann’s 9- and 12-inch worms with a heavy weight in deep water. As for crankbaits, I prefer lavender shad and sparkle ghost on the rivers. On the creek, I use Shad Raps in blueback herring, silver with a black back, gold black back to fish the tress on the edge of the creek channel. Look for trees that are not straight up and down with limbs on them. The frog bite continues. Mayfly hatches and shad schools are occurring.”

Bream: Aaron Crews reports, “The bream beds—shellcracker, bluegill and redbreast—are hard to find. Most people are catching these in 8 to 10 feet of water on big reds and red wigglers.”

Catfish: Guide Aaron Crews said, “Catfish are being taken on noodle rigs with chicken gizzards, shad and fish parts from cleaned fish.”