Lake Seminole Fishing Report – January 2007

Seminole: Level: 0.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 60 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Seminole hasn’t seen a strong cold front yet, and the bass have not moved into their winter pattern, according to Seminole guide Mike Sloan. “They’re not biting too bad,” he said. “The way the water temperature is with all this nice, beautiful weather we’ve been having, they’re biting pretty good, actually.” Mike is catching fish over grassbeds in seven to nine feet of water. A Rat-L-Trap cranked over the top of the grass is producing the most fish right now, but Mike said he also has had some luck fishing Carolina-rigged floating worms over a light weight. The trick to catching them with a worm is to use a light enough sinker that the weight stays in the grass bed, but the worm dances just above it. The best colors for worm fishing right now are watermelon or watermelon red. On average, Mike said people are catching fish in the 3-lb. range with a few bigger fish mixed in. “The shad’s all in that deep, emerging grass right now, and since the bait is there, that’s where the fish are,” he said. This pattern should continue to produce fish until a cold front causes a drop in water temperature. Once that happens the bass should settle into their typical winter pattern. “Who knows what’s going to happen when the first cold front moves in,” he said. “Normally the best way to get ’em is jigging spoons up in the creeks around standing timber this time of year, but they’re not there yet.”

Crappie: Mike said the crappie are also hitting pretty well right now, especially for the people pulling for them. “It’s off and on for most people, but the folks that know how to troll are bringing home a lot of fish every day,” he said. The crappie are suspended in the deep river-channel drops at about 18 feet in 20 to 25 feet of water. “Minnows or jigs, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “They’re hitting either one equally well.” He suggested a tube or twist-tail jig in black with a chartreuse tail fished on either a 1/16- or 1/32-oz. head. “As long as I’ve fished it, that’s been the best color on this lake,” he said.