Lake Seminole Fishing Report – May 2007

Seminole: Level: .5 foot below full pool. Temp: 65-72 degrees Clarity: Stained in the creeks; muddy in the rivers.

Bass: Poor. Butch Tucker said muddy water and unpredictable weather are making Eufaula tough to fish. The spawn is over for the most part other than a few scattered fish that might still be on the bed, and the big females have moved into a postspawn pattern. Butch said they’re suspending in the creeks around treetops and feeding on bream that have moved in to feed on hydrilla gnats. He said they can be caught fishing crankbaits or a 7- to 10-inch worm fluttered through the timber on a 1/16- or 1/8-oz. weight. “It’s typical, classic postspawn, and a difficult postspawn because the weather has been so unpredictable,” Butch said. As May moves on, the fish will go into an early summer pattern if the weather stabilizes. The topwater bite will turn on early in the morning around the grass points. Butch said a Pop-R, Zara Spook or buzzbait fished in the grass should produce well. And, if the water level comes down enough to expose the tops of the hydrilla mats, the frog fishing on top of the hydrilla will also turn on. With fish feeding on the early morning shad spawns, a spinnerbait is a good choice around the grass points, as well.

Linesides: Good. Even though the Flint River is about as muddy as it gets, the white bass and hybrids are biting well up the Flint River, said Jack Wingate. He said folks are catching them on Shysters and bucktail jigs wherever the water is swiftest.They will be moving back down to the main lake soon, however, and they will be schooling up and feeding on shad. Jack said to look for fish feeding actively on the surface, and a Rat-L-Trap or topwater baits like a Pop-Rs or Zara Spooks will catch them.

Crappie: Good. Jack said he saw one boat come in with 100 crappie recently, and reported that people are catching them along the grass walls about 7 feet deep. They are biting jigs or minnows pitched along the grass walls.

Bream: Good. Jack said the bream are not on the beds yet, but that people are catching them on crickets. He also predicts a good small, green mayfly hatch soon, which would make the fly-rod bite excellent.