Seminole Fishing Report: May 16, 2025

Taylor Stewart with a pair of Seminole bass.

Level: Full at 77.5 Temp.: 78-83 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

After getting pounded by rain last weekend, surprisingly, Lake Seminole is still primed for some good fishing for this weekend. The key to have success on the Big Pond is going to be finding clean water. Find that and you’ll find the fish.

“We got 4 to 7 inches in our area, and plenty more rain fell up above us. The Flint and Hooch are rising fast, and it’s pushing muddy water into the lake. The good news is the hydrilla will filter some of it out. If you bounce around the lake, you can find areas that have cleaner water than others, and that’s where you want to focus your efforts,” said Ryan Higgins of the Lake Seminole Fishing Guides Service.

Here’s a quick species-by-species breakdown of what to expect over the next few days.

Bluegill: Bluegill are the big story this week, as they are currently bedding all over the lake. According to Ryan, anglers can expect heavy concentrations of fish in both the Sealy Flats area and around the Firebreak.

“Three to 5 feet of water is where you’ll find the highest concentration of bedding activity. Check around sandbars and lily pads, and don’t forget to use your nose to help you find the fish. If you come from downwind, you can smell the sweet watermelon-like scent of bedding fish from a pretty good distance,” Ryan added.

To target bluegill, Ryan recommends swinging by Westside Bait and Tackle and loading up the cricket cage before heading to the lake.

“Once you’ve located the beds, catching the fish is the easy part. Rig up a cricket under a cork and fish it a foot or so off the bottom,” said Ryan.

Bass: Expect the bass to be cashing in on the bedding bluegill bite this week. You’ll find large concentrations of fish in areas where bluegill are actively spawning.

Ryan recommends throwing topwater lures in bedding areas that are shallow. He says that a Devil’s Horse, a Pop-R and Gambler popping frogs are all good choices. Just be sure the color you have tied on mimics that of a small bluegill.

“For guys with Side Scan, you can get on some really good bass if you find bluegill beds that are in 8 to 10 feet of water. Use your electronics to examine areas on the bottom in deeper water along grasslines. Those honeycomb-looking impressions you’ll see are actually bluegill that have chosen to bed in deeper water,” said Ryan.

Ryan says that Zoom Magnum Trick Worms and Zoom Brush Hogs are both great options for dredging the deeper water. Texas rig your bait of choice and peg a 1/16-oz. sinker to help it get down quicker while remaining weedless. Green pumpkin, tilapia magic and junebug are Ryan’s go-to colors for this particular presentation.

Hybrids/Stripers: The muddy water shouldn’t kill the bite this week, and you can expect the hybrids and stripers to be chewing. Both the mouth of the Flint and Fish Pond Drain should harbor large quantities of both species. Anglers can use their electronics to find balls of bait with hungry schools of fish positioned underneath, or simply look above the surface for birds that are swarming and feeding on shad. Once fish are located, Ryan says that topwater offerings, shad-imitating crankbaits and Alabama rigs will all produce well.

To book a trip with Ryan on Lake Seminole, you can find him at www.lakeseminolefishingguides.com