QuestionQUESTION: My brother in law and I are staying at Wingates Lodge. It is a surprise trip for my brother in law. I would like to know some areas to catch some largemouth, stripers and crappie. I would like it to be as close as possible. I want it to be a safe trip and I don't want to get lost. Any help with fishing spots, lures anything would be a huge help. Thank you.
ANSWER: Scott; I sure hope the weather breaks better than it has been. It has been very warm and high winds much of the last week or so. Maybe it will quiet down.
You can start by going out the canal from Wingates and as soon as you are clear of the land turn right. From inshore to the river channel is a large flat and early and late in the day some really nice bass are taken here on topwater baits. Look for something just a little different from everything else, a little gully, a pot hole sometimes no bigger than your kitchen. A difference of six inches may make a difference. Look for breaks in the weeds and fish the edges or if the water is still up work over them with a buzz bait or something like a Devils Horse, Pop R or a Zara Spook.
If you don't do well there try the bends of the river channel on the far side of the lake from Wingates. The river should be 20-25 feet deep now.
Try using a jig 'n pig or a big worm in the stumps. Cast right up against the biggest stump you can see and let your lure drop on a slack line. If your line jumps or moves crank down and set the hook.
It may be nothing or it could be a ten pound or more bass or perhaps a six inch bass. Ha. I also like to crankbait the stumps especially near a channel.
It isn't easy to get lost on this lake as the boat roads are well marked with pilings having red or green reflective tops. You can get a map of the lake right there at Wingates very reasonably. One Caution I give every newby to this lake is this. NEVER, BUT NEVER RUN YOUR BIG MOTOR AT SPEED OUTSIDE THE MARKED CHANNELS. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF STUMPS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE LAKE. YOU WILL SEE LOCALS RUNNING OUTSIDE THE MARKED CHANNELS BUT DON'T TRY IT. YOU CAN USE YOUR TROLLING MOTOR IN THE STUMPS BUT UNLESS YOU WANT TO BUY A NEW PROP OR IF YOU HAVE A STAINLESS PROP MAYBE YOU WILL BUY NEW LOWER UNIT GEARS. IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH MARKINGS ON INLAND WATERS REMEMBER "RED RIGHT RETURNING" THAT MEANS KEEP RED TOPPED MARKERS ON THE RIGHT AS YOU GO UPSTREAM. THERE ARE FOUR MAIN STREAMS ON THIS LAKE. THE FLINT RIVER, SPRING CREEK, FISH POND DRAIN AND THE CHATAHOOCHEE.
GOING UPSTREAM ON ANY OF THESE IS ALWAYS AWAY FROM THE MAIN LAKE. IT SOUNDS A LITTLE CONFUSING BUT REMEMBER THIS IS TAKEN FROM THE OLD SALT WATER RULES AND RETURNING MEANT RETURNING FROM THE SEA. SO WHEN YOU ARE RETURNING TO YOUR MARINA KEEP RED TO THE RIGHT BUT GOING OUT KEEP GREEN TO THE RIGHT.
You may already know all of this but I figure it is better to repeat it rather than have someone get lost or smash into another boat because you are going the wrong way. Remember boats heading toward each other head on nether has the right of way both are responsible to move to the right and pass port to port.
Back to fishing. Crappie can be caught along the river channel and in the stumps out from Wingates but I think most people fish for them further down the Flint or up the Chatahoochee. Of course if they are spawning they may be very shallow but mostly you need 8-12 FOW for crappie.
There are places up the Flint all the Way to Bainbridge where both bass and crappie are caught. I can't give you advice on that area since I have never fished it. I have lived on this lake for 16 years and there is still much of it that I haven't even seen let alone fished. I live on the Spring Creek arm and do most of my fishing there. From Wingate's follow the pilings out to the river channel. Then look ahead toward the shore (NW) and look for the pilings marking the entrance to the cut through to Spring Creek.
You can also get to Spring Creek by running about seven or eight miles down the flint and then about four up into the main basin. Most people use the cut. Watch yourself in the cut. It is shallow although well marked. There is a no wake zone and I would suggest that you slow to that speed as the law is often looking out in that area. When you come out of the cut you will see a piling on the right marked with a red top. Remember you are "returning" inland from the main lake. Keep that piling on your right as you leave the canal as there is only 6" of water on that side. Go on out past the next two pilings until you come to a single red piling. (This is the only place in the lake that I know of with only a single piling.) Starting at that single piling you are in the channel of Spring Creek. The boat channel keeps going NW but the creek channel bends left making a half circle and coming back to the next set of pilings.
I have caught many good bass in this section of the creek channel. Actually not so much in the channel as in the area just off the channel on both sides. There are still a few standing trees in this area and some broken off ones. Both sides have produced bass and on the left further up some nice crappie in deep water. The creek channel averages about 20' while the area of the stumps ranges from 8-12 feet. When the channel gets back to the boat road and the set of pilings thre is a small clump of stumps about 100 feet SW of the red piling. I have caught several nice bass in that clump. On the right of the stump clump is the creek channel. It runs almost North from here. The left side has a few standing trees but not many while on the right is a thick stump field mostly broken off at the water line. I have caught good fish on the right side of the channel, again not in the channel but up to a couple hundred yards off the channel. As you proceed north along the channel you will come to a small group of stumps sticking up on the left. One of the limbs points toward the right side of the channel. This pointer points to an opening in the stumps that is apparently some sort of slough that ran into the creek before the lake was put in. It runs about 150-200 yards back and to the left. It is deep at the mouth being the deepest place I have found in this part of the lake. (26').
I have caught lots of crappie in this slough mostly just at sunset.
Sometimes I use minnows and other times I use jigs. At times they want one another times the other. If you are a crappie fisherman you know what I mean. About 2/3 of the way up the slough there is a stump that used to be a standing tree when I first started fishing here 18 years ago. It has blown down but still has a sort of blade looking thing still sticking up. Try dropping a worm right down that stump. You must let the worm fall on a slack line as I mentioned before. If there is any tension on your line the lure will swing away from the tree. The fish are always right up against the tree. I have made believers out of two people who came to fish with me about this tree. I think 5 pounds is the biggest but there seems always to be some fish against that tree. I usually work my way out of the slough back to the entrance and then turn right in the creek channel. A short distance from the slough mouth the channel makes a sharp left turn and crosses the boat road that leads up Spring Creek. Where the boat road crosses the creek channel is another good hole. I had a really big one on in this area but as usual the big one got away. The next day I came back and hooked to a small stump about 4' down was my lure. At least I got it back.
I continue fishing the creek channel. The boat channel goes on up toward the upper creek. The right side of the creek channel is good and the channel continues that way almost to the point with the big dock on it but suddenly bends sharp right. At this bend there is a sunken island with half dozen trees on it sticking up in what looks like the middle of the stream. Water is deep on both sides of the island. This area has been a spring pre spawn staging area in previous years and I have caught dozens of nice fish (I consider anything over 5# as nice) several 8 pounders came out of there and went back in as I released them. By the way that island of trees is also a good crappie hole about 20' deep.
There are lots of other good fishing holes on Seminole but If you try all the ones I just mentioned and do not catch fish something is wrong either with the weather or with the fisherman. Oh yes I get zeroed now and then but not too often.
If you head left at that single red piling I mentioned you can either fish the flats to the left (South) or the stumps ahead (West) and find fish. If you continue from that single red piling past the next two sets of pilings you will come to the boat road coming up from Rattlesnake point. If you go left there are several places in the area for both bass and crappie. I would tell you about them but I am getting sleepy so if you want to know more there are two things you may do. You may do a follow up and ask for them or you can give me a call while you are staying at Wingate's and I will see if I can get with you and show you in person where they are. I live next door to the right of the great big house with concrete swimming pool and big new dock. My phone number is 229-861-2366
e-mail=
[email protected]
Thanks for asking, I enjoy helping people find fish, and I hope you do, on my favorite lake in this part of the country. I will be glad to attempt to help with any further questions.
I am
Jack L. Gaither (JackfromSeminole)
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: I forgot to mention we will be there from June 19th - June 22nd. Is there any particular color or pattern that is best? The folks at wyngate said top water and soft plastics for this time of year. Any lures you recommend or ones that we should stay away from? I'm sorry for all of the question, I am just trying to ensure my brother in law's surprise trip will be a memorable one. Thanks again for all of your help.
AnswerScott; no need to apologize for the questions. If it were not for questions I would not have any work to do.
I agree with the people at Wingate's topwaters, especially early and late. I like the Devil's horse in yellow perch or black or the Chug bug in frog. I love to use a Dalton Special but they aren't made anymore and my supply is getting low. You can get them on E-Bay but they want $20 up for them. If you know where I can get some let me know. The Pop R is a good lure here and one of my favorites is the Zara Spook just before dark. After dark on a moonless night I love to throw the Magnum Jittergug all black. I have caught some real nice fish on them. A plastic frog imitation is also good in the goo at times where you can't throw anything else. Most any kind of Buzz bait is good where you can work over the submerged weeds.
I can't think of any particular lure to not try unless it would be something alive that could get loose and mess up the lake. Most artificial lures are fine even some you might think too big for bass.
Remember a ten pound bass has a mouth ten inches in diameter. Even a magnum jitterbug is only 7" long. I have caught 10" bass on it so how big a lure could a ten pounder hit.
NO CHARTREUSE HAND GRENADES!!! Or any other color for that matter.
Let me know how you and your brother do when you are here. Either on All Experts or at
[email protected]
good luck
Jack
