Lake Seminole Fishing Reports – January 2021

Seminole: Level: 0.8 feet below full pool. Temp: 56 degrees. Clarity: Flint is stained and Spring and the Chattahoochee are clear.

Bass: Guide Paul Tyre, of Lake Seminole Fishing Adventures, reports, “Bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been good through the month of December. Heading into the new year the bass fishing will only improve. Winter fishing on Seminole can be very exciting as the bass tend to bunch into tight schools. The crankbait bite can be excellent in January. When planning your trip to Lake Seminole, be sure to bring a variety of crankbaits and jerkbaits in shad colors. I prefer a Strike King KVD Series 5XD because of its great action and the fact that it will dive from 10 to 12 feet, which helps me search the key depth for Lake Seminole winter schooling bass. A suspending jerkbait is another great option for cold weather fishing, and the Spring Creek arm is an excellent choice to begin your search for Seminole fatties. I use a variety of jerkbaits, but my go-to is the Strike King KVD Series 200  suspending  jerkbait. Your line type and rod choice will directly affect your success while using this technique. I use fluorocarbon line and the Temple Fork Outfitter’s 7-foot Tactical Bass Series rod in medium-heavy with a moderate action tip. This rod is ideal for keeping bass hooked when they make that final surge at the boat. I key on grasslines in 8 to 10 feet of water.”

Tournament angler and guide Matt Baty reports, “The cold-water temperatures have really got the bass biting and feeding up on shad for the winter. The grass has also surprisingly died back enough to where you can fish up on top of the flats. Combing the flats is a good technique right now to find large schools of bass. Use A Berkley 1/2-oz. Warpig in blue silver when it’s sunny or the water is clear. The blood-orange-craw color works well in the stained water in the Flint. Also a shad-colored 1/2-oz. ChatterBait works well with a 4 1/2-inch Berkley The Deal trailer in black shad. Just fish fast and cover lots of water because when you find a school, things can heat up in a hurry. I really like the Abu Garcia Revo Ike series reels in 8.0:1 for both of these techniques spooled with 15-lb. Berkley 100% fluorocarbon. The handles on the Ike reels are very comfortable for long fishing days. As the weather continues to get cold, look for the bass to start relating to deep depressions on the flats and the channel in Spring Creek.”

Guide Aaron Crews reports, “Bass are in winter patterns. Fish a white Colorado No. 4 gold blade or search baits like Rat-Traps and ChatterBaits. Fish shad-colored crankbaits with deeper-billed lips on the main lake and rivers. Above Bainbridge, I would use shallow crankbaits or square-billed crankbaits in shad pattern. Bream and other panfish are on grasslines in 10 to 12 feet of water. Catfish are in 1 to 15 feet of water.”

Linesides: Guide Paul Tyre reports, “The striper and hybrid fishing has been on fire, and our customers have been averaging over 30 fish per half-day trip. Moving into January, the bite typically extends, so we anticipate the excitement to continue. When fishing for hybrid and stripers, the correct rod paired with a 6:2:1 reel  is critical. For the reel I prefer the Lews LFS series. It has an awesome drag and can hold up to the demands of these hard fighting fish. For the rod I prefer a Temple Fork Outfitter’s Rod in the Professional Series. TFO’s 7-6 heavy-action rod with its fast tip and moderate action, paired with  an Alabama rig, is my go-to for battling these tough fighting pelagics. On the business end of the A-rig you can’t beat the Bass Assassin 4- or 5-inch Sea Shad rigged on a Bass Assassin jig head, which features a needle sharp Mustad wide gap hook.”