Deep Grass Lake Seminole Summer Bass

Grass, grass and more grass—not only is that a good guide as to where to fish in June, it is a pretty good description of Lake Seminole from end to end. But there is so much grass cover in the lake, where do you start?

Lake Seminole is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir just downstream of the junction of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. Most of the lake is in Georgia, but some is in Florida and some of the shoreline and creeks on the Chattahoochee River are in Alabama. A Georgia fishing license is good on almost all of the 37,500 acres of water and 376 miles of shoreline.

Except for the river and creek channels, Seminole is very shallow and full of hydrilla, lily pads, nandina and milfoil. All of this aquatic vegetation holds bass, but different kinds of grass and different kinds of places are better during different seasons. Knowing where to start and which baits work best are critical to catching fish at Seminole.

Capt. Paul Tyre grew up on Lake Jackson in Florida and spent many days learning to fish the grass there, which was a good trainer for Lake Seminole. Paul caught a 10-pounder when he was 14, and that really fired him up about bass fishing.

When in his teens, he started fishing tournaments and came to Seminole and met Jack Wingate. Jack became one of Paul’s mentors, teaching him the secrets of bass fishing at Seminole. Paul has a place just a mile or so from Mac’s Point Lodge and Marina at Wingate Landing, the new name for Wingate’s Lunker Lodge.

Paul fishes with the local Hydrilla Gnats bass club, and they compete in the Georgia Bass Nation tournaments. He also fishes many local pot tournaments and any trails that come to Seminole. But he also loves to guide folks.

“I love watching people catch fish,” Paul said.

He is proud of the fact he guided 50 people to their personal best largemouth two years ago, increased that to 87 last year, and he is in line to improve that this year with 53 so far, including a 14-year-old who boated a 10-pounder last month. Many of his guide trip clients are kids, and their personal best might be just 4 pounds, but they are as proud of that fish as any angler ever is. And Paul has many 10-lb. bass to his and his client’s credit.

Guide Paul Tyre with an example of what Lake Seminole is known for—big largemouth bass.

“Seminole is the best lake in the Southeast to catch a bunch of 5-lb. fish,” Paul said.

And June is a good month to do so, since bass are done spawning, the shad have finished spawning, and the bass are setting up on predictable summer patterns.

“Grass is the key here,” Paul said, and he’s learned that in June anglers need to focus on grass on humps, ledges or points that are near deeper water out on channels. Those places give bass a shallow dinner table, but also a good bedroom deeper to move to when they are not feeding.

For him and his clients this month, Paul ties on a big Spook, popping frog, spinnerbait and a plastic stick bait. He says other baits like a Carolina rig and crankbait will work, too, but he likes to get topwater bites and moves fairly fast when fishing, slowing down when he finds a school of active fish.

We fished on Mother’s Day and a bad cold front had come through. The bass had not set up on these places that early—they were still feeding on the end of the shad spawn and the grass was just starting to grow on deeper spots—but these June locations are prime right now.

No. 1: N 30º 47.351 – W 84º 42.722 — Going up the Flint River from Mac’s Point (what used to be Wingate’s), the river channel makes a big swing from south to north and then back south. Where it narrows on the upstream side of the swing, just upstream of a black channel marker, three shallow grass points run out near the channel. All three are good.

Paul’s first choice in baits all month is a topwater bait. He will start with a middle-sized Spro Popping Frog in leopard-frog color. He casts it to the grass, concentrating on edges, holes and other changes in the grass.

Keep your bait a long cast from the edge of the grass on these points. Your boat will be in 8 to 10 feet of water, and you will be casting to visible grass. The later it is this month, the thicker the grass will be, but even by late May you will see clumps of hydrilla growing to the top before if forms a mat.

If you get several bites on top in an area, slow down and cast a plastic bait to probe for bigger bass that don’t want to expend the energy to chase a topwater bait. Give them an easy meal.

No. 2: N 30º 46.319 – W 84º 45.576 — Running down the river, stop just downstream of the second set of poles from the river channel marking the cut into Mac’s Point. The water is 14 feet all around a hump that rises to 7 feet deep, and bass hold and feed here.

The grass may not top out on a hump this deep by early June, but it will be growing and you can see it on your electronics if you idle over the hump. It is shallow enough that bass will come to the top to hit a bait.

When he is able to fish a Zara Spook, Paul will cast one in the baby-bass color. If the grass has not topped out, you may be able to fish a bait that is not weedless like the Spook. Paul says the largemouth gorge on needlefish, and the big Spook resembles one. He keeps one tied on all the time just in case he sees schooling action.

No. 3: N 30º 46.340 – W 84º 46.107 — An island sits close to the right bank as you’re going downstream, not far from the Mac’s Point channel. A point runs off it upstream, and the channel runs along the outside of it. There will be grass on the point, and it will grow out deeper and deeper as the month progresses.

Start out where the water is 7 or 8 feet deep even if there is no visible grass, and work toward the island along the outside edge of the point. There will be grass under the water out 8 feet deep or more, and it will be visible on the surface as the point gets shallower toward the island.

Work your Spook or frog over the point, depending on how thick the grass is on top. Paul says current moving down the side of the point will move baitfish and improve the fishing, as will a little wind. If there is some wind, Paul will run a spinnerbait over and through the grass, too.

No. 4: N 30º 45.532 – W 84º 47.629 — At the island, the river channel runs across to the south side of the lake and then runs down this side. Follow the channel markers downstream to the big bay on the left that has houses and docks in it. Two red channel markers are across the mouth of the bay. Stop at the first marker closest to the bank.

The old river ledge has grass growing on top of it all along this area, but the key is a small dip in the ledge just downstream of the first channel marker. Watch for the grass as you’re moving back from the channel, and keep an eye on your electronics to find this dip and concentrate on fishing it.

Fish topwater over the grass. If the wind gets strong enough to cause waves, it can mess up the topwater bite here. If the wind is up, run a 3/8- to 1/2-oz. War Eagle spinnerbait with a shad-colored skirt over the grass, keeping it just ticking the top of it. Paul likes two silver willowleaf blades in very clear water, but if the water is stained, he will go with one silver and one gold blade.

No. 5: N 30º 45.048 – W 84º 50.849 — Down the river when you see the River Junction Access Ramp on your left, start watching for a small island sitting on your right out in the middle of the open water. About halfway between the bank and the island, downstream of the ramp, a hump comes up to 5 or 6 feet deep on top, and grass grows on it.

If you have good mapping on your electronics, these places show up. You can also find them by easing around watching for grass on or near the surface. When you find this hump, stop out in 15 feet of water and fish all the way around the hump. Start with topwater and then follow up with plastics. A 5-inch green-pumpkin Yum Dinger rigged with a small bullet weight, usually 1/8-oz., and fish it slowly through the grass. The light sinker lets if fall slowly and keeps it from hanging in the grass.

This bait will catch fish anytime in the grass, but since you have to fish it slowly, Paul keeps it for use when he catches some fish on faster-moving baits. He gets his clients to use the faster-moving baits even if they are new to fishing.

No. 6: N 30º 44.506 – W 84º 52.677 — Go across to the area between the Flint River and the Chattahoochee River. There are some scattered islands forming a point between them. Out off the end of the last one, you will see five poles set in a big circle. They mark an old Indian mound that tops out about 2 to 3 feet deep.

Paul says this is a good community hole since it is so easy to find, and many bass are caught here. Stop outside the circle of poles in 15 feet of water and cast toward the center. Often the grass forms a donut around the top of the mound, and bass will hold in it and feed on both sides. Work all the way around the mound with a topwater, spinnerbait and plastics. Try different speeds with your topwater, working it fast like a baitfish being chased or slow it down like injured food on top offering an easy meal.

Early in the month when the grass is still down a few feet from the surface, Paul will run a 5XD crankbait over it. He wants the bait to just tick the top of the grass, and if it gets stopped by a strand of grass, he jerks it free. That darting motion will often draw a bite.

No. 7: N 30º 44.912 – W 84º 54.633 — Running up the Chattahoochee River, there is a long narrow island that sits not far off the right bank. The old river channel makes a swing out from the bank and then back, but a new channel is marked that runs straight up the bank.

Go out toward the left side at the end of the island. Where the old channel makes a turn, grass will grow along both sides on the river ledges. This place gets a lot of current making it a very good place for bass to feed. Keep your boat in the channel and work both ledges. Sometimes bass may prefer one side or the other, depending on current, and sometimes they seem to be feeding equally on both sides.

Fish a topwater and spinnerbait over the grass. Fish your plastics through the grass, especially working the upstream ledge so your bait moves with any current. Let it move naturally with the current.

No. 8: N 30º 45.416 – W 84º 53.963 — On the Georgia bank, the entrance to Saunders Slough is marked by poles back in a cove. Out from the mouth of the cove, just past some old channel markers that have washed over here and are marking nothing in this spot, there is a hump that rises to 5 feet on top and has water 10 to 11 feet deep around it. It will be covered in grass in June. Stop out from the grass and work around the hump, fishing a topwater, spinnerbait and plastics. Paul says to watch for shad flickering near the surface here and other places, and if you see them, throw a spinnerbait. Paul does not spend a lot of time on each place. He makes a few casts and moves on, looking for an active school of fish.

No. 9: N 30º 44.067 – W 84º 51.735 — Go down past the mouth of the Flint River to the bank on the left going toward the dam. A line of poles runs in a line along this bank, marking the edge of a shallow stump field that also fills with grass.

Paul keeps his boat outside the stumps and casts to the lily pads closer to the bank. This is a good frog hole with the pads. Bream hold in them after they spawn, and bass feed on the bream. Keep working your frog after it comes out of the pads, too, since there will be hydrilla in the deeper water in front of them.

No. 10: N 30º 45.909 – W 84º 49.784 — Going back up the Flint River at the mouth of Spring Creek stay on the left but in the Flint, watching for the standing timber down the middle of the river. You can run this bank as long as you stay closer to the bank. You will pass three small islands on your left and then two more a little upstream. Just upstream of the second set of islands, a bay opens on the left and there is a hump in the mouth of it about even with the island. Idle along to find it unless you can see it on your GPS map. The small hump tops out about 8 feet deep with 15 feet of water around it. Stop in the 15-foot depths and fish all around the hump with all your baits.

These 10 spots will show you the kinds of grass near deeper water Paul fishes and the kind of places you need to find in June to catch Seminole bass.

You can contact Paul at 850.264.7534 to get him to show you firsthand how he catches June Seminole bass, and he will try to put you on your personal best largemouth bass. You can also check out his Lake Seminole Fishing Adventures Facebook page.