2023 Lake Seminole B.A.S.S. Elite

Impounded in the early 1950s, Lake Seminole has always been one of the best bass fisheries in the southeast. It’s formed by a confluence of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers and Spring Creek and is bordered by Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Among its many physical features are boat docks, standing timber, shallow stumps flats, and a healthy infestation of aquatic plant life — including hydrilla, peppergrass, dollar pads, hyacinths, and reeds.

Although there can be a deep bite — particularly in Spring Creek — the more common approach is to fish shallow, especially this time of year. And that is where I focused my approach.

Practice Begins

On the first morning of practice, I decided to launch near Fairchild’s Landing on the lower Chattahoochee. My first stops were to several shallow flats sprinkled with dead pad stems and scattered hydrilla clumps.

It was cold, and the wind was blowing strong from the north. As a result, the fish were extremely tight-lipped. I managed only a few bites there, so I decided to venture farther upriver. I tried several backwater ponds, but those yielded almost nothing, so I ran back south to the Florida side of the lake. That’s when things improved.

By pitching a Texas-rigged, black-blue tail Senko to the edge of dollar pads, I got a number of bites. Although I shook everyone off, the fish felt decent. So I marked the better stretches with my Garmin GPS, then fished away from the area.

On day 2, I launched at Spring Creek to see if I could find any spawning fish. I started on a large offshore sandbar, then gradually worked my way to the bank. While searching, I threw a Speed Senko ahead of the boat, and that yielded some random bites.

By the afternoon,  more fish started moving to the shallows. It appeared to be a strong push and I felt by competition time, we would see a major spawn.

On day 3, I moved into the Flint River to check the canals by Wingate’s. Although there was considerable traffic from other boats, the numbers of fish I saw convinced me to start there during the competition.

Having what I thought was a solid game plan, I ramped out and headed to the nearest gas station to top off the tank, then home to re-rig all of my rods.

Derby Time

Drawing an early number in the second flight, I felt my chances were good at securing one of the better spawning spots near Wingate’s. And when my number was called, I headed straight there,

When I arrived at the best area, I saw only one other boat.

That didn’t last long, however. By the time I set up on the first set of beds, four other boats entered the area … and that shut things down.

It took nearly an hour to fool the first fish, which was a solid 3-pounder. Twenty minutes later, I caught another weighing two pounds. By then, most of the other boats had left. Having the space and no added pressure, I relaxed and started picking off staging males with a wacky-rig, 4-inch Senko.

By day’s end, my best five weighed 14 pounds, 10 ounces.

The next morning, I returned to the same location to see what was left. And to my surprise, there were fewer competitor boats. Without them there to disturb things, the fish were much more responsive. I caught a 10-pound limit in no time.

Knowing I needed more weight, I decided to pull up stakes and head to Spring Creek, to the areas that showed the most promise in practice.

At my first stop, I scored a quick 2½-pounder. Then I made a cast to a solid 4-pounder locked on a bed. The fish bit immediately and bound itself in some lily pads. Before I could get there, it managed to pull free. Disgusted, I retied and sat there, hoping the fish might return to its bed. It never did. But on my way out of the pocket, another close to three pounds struck the Speed Senko.

At that point, I knew I was close to making the cut. I just needed one more of that size and I would be fishing on Saturday.

Having only an hour to fish, I stopped at a shallow flat on the main body of Spring Creek. Covering as much water as time would allow, I fan-casted the Speed Senko in knee-deep water, praying for the right bite.

Fishing toward me was Alabama pro, Matt Herren. He asked how I was doing and right as I was telling him I needed one good bite, a 3½-pounder destroyed the Speed Senko. The strike was epic, and it took what seemed like an eternity to get her in the boat. But once I did, I told my marshal to pack his gear, and that we were headed to weigh-in.

Back at the scales, I registered a weight of 14 pounds, 1 ounce, and made the cut.

Fishing on the Weekend

With the pressure off and wanting to roll the dice, I decided to commit to new water on day 3. I started in a backwater pocket at the mouth of the Flint, and quickly scored a couple of keepers.

After that, I moved to a series of small ponds at the mouth of Spring Creek. There I scored a quick 4-pounder. Moving further into the pond, I caught another small keeper, but that was it. The rest of the day was spent missing or losing fish on a large, soft-body swimbait.

By the time weigh-in had concluded, I fell a couple of spots on the leaderboard. Although I hated giving up the points if given the chance, I’m not sure I would have done things differently. I gambled on a big bait in some new areas. And though it didn’t pay off this time, next time it might.

During Sunday’s final round, I was asked to serve as a guest host on B.A.S.S. Live Mix. It was a nice consolation to missing the final cut, and I always like sharing stories with Bassmaster’s viewers.

Next is Lake Murray in South Carolina. Stay tuned…

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