Lake Seminole Fishing Report March 2015

Seminole: Level: 0.3 feet above full pool. Temp. 50 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament pro Matt Baty reports, “Lake Seminole is fishing pretty tough right now due to the extreme cold front. With that said, we are still talking about Lake Seminole, which is close to being one of the top lakes in the country, so catching a giant stringer of fish is possible under any conditions. The most recent tournament was won with a whopping 35.70 pounds, and second place had 31.04 pounds. These were all prespawn females that are waiting for warm weather, so they can go and lay their eggs. The recent cold front has slowed down the migration of these big fish, so you will need to fish deep in Spring Creek or the deeper depressions on the flats. In Spring Creek, the bass like to relate to edges of grass and stumps. The grass really took a hit last year from the muddy fast current and is not growing like it used to grow. With the lack of grass present, the fish in the creek seem to be relating to the edges of the stumps. Moving baits such as crankbaits will catch them in deep water, but slower presentations seem to get more bites. If cranking, use a Spro Little John DD in nasty shad on 12-lb. Sunline fluorocarbon. A long cranking rod such as a Duckett Magic Pro 7-foot, 6-inch and a good cranking reel such as a Lews LFS series in a 5:4 gear ratio is about the best tools you can use for this technique. The combination of the rod, reel and line allow for a good feel to keep your lure from snagging. If you find an area that has some bass, you can slow down with a jig presentation. For a jig, use a 1/2-oz. Buddha Baits In-Seine Swim Jig and a 4-inch Big Bite Baits Yo Momma as a trailer. Fish this on 20-lb. Sunline fluorocarbon, and fish it slow. To make things easier, use Lowrance Structure Scan technology to scan areas to locate fish before fishing for them. If you are fishing the depressions on the flats, use a Spro Fat Papa 55 crankbait. This bait will run about 6 to 8 feet. A Texas-rigged worm with a 3/8-oz. Fish Catchin Fool Tungsten lead is also good to fish in either Spring Creek or the depressions on the flats.” Guide Aaron Crews reports, “On the colder windy days, a Carolina rig will yield the better bass. A drop-shot rig will produce smaller fish but good numbers. I generally use a 6-inch or 8-inch lizard in green pumpkin or junebug. On nice days, I will use a lipless crankbait, swimming jig and a Speed Worm with a light weight. I use 1/4-oz. weight on a 10.5-inch Zoom in smokin purple in 5 feet of water. On bedding fish, I pitch a 5-inch lizard or a tube jig. For the bird watchers, there are still a good number of canvasback ducks in the Yates Spring area of Spring Creek and Fairchilds.”