about seminole

Question
I am going to be fishing a tournament on seminole on january 30.  I was wondering if you could offer some advice on areas and techniques that would be good this time of year.

Thanks, Andrew

Answer
Andrew, I am sorry to be so long in answering.  I had an answer all typed out and suddenly my computer lost it's mind and all the information was gone.  I tried to get it back but to no avail.  I then tried going back and starting over but the computer still had it's mind blown and refused to let me in.  I tried again earlier today but once more I was shut out.  Finally I tried coming in a back door and it worked so hopefully I can now try to help you prepare for your Tournament.

The end of January can be an excellent time to fish Seminole or it can be a terrible time.  It all depends on the weather.  So far we have had very little cold weather and the water temp is in the high 50s.  If we do not get much cold weather in January the big female bass may be staging while the generally smaller males are preparing the nests.  I have found a couple of places where this happens and that results in some really great fishing for really big fish.  On the other hand, of course, we could have a couple of really cold fronts and put all this off until late February or early March.

Even if it gets cold bass can still be caught along the drops in the creek or river channels.

I wish I knew if you have fished this lake before and where your tourney will take off from.  The latter will most likely be the boat basin in Bainbridge or Wingates' Lunker Lodge.  I am sorry but I know very little about the lake between Wingates and Bainbridge.  I do most of my fishing either in the Spring Creek arm or the lower parts of both the Flint and Chatahoochee above where they meet.

Let me assume you will take off from Wingates'.  Just to the right as you come out of the pass from Wingates is a large area of flats on the Wingate side of the River channel.  If conditions are good this is a good place to start early using a buzz bait or if the hydrilla isn't too high a rattletrap or a shallow running lure may work.  Buzz the 'trap over the weeds just fast enough to tick the tops of the weeds now and then but not get down in them.
If this doesn't produce try running across following the boat road out of Wingates to the entrance to the canal that runs between the islands over to Spring Creek.  Since this is where I have caught most of my bass in the past  15 years this is where I  will become more specific as to spots.  As you come through the canal don't pass up the clump of trees where the canal widens.  This area is often good for a few casts and might produce a bass or two.  As you come on out make sure you pass between the pilings marked with red and green reflective tops. In case you haven't fished this lake before this is as good a time as any to give a caution.
                       CAUTION
THIS LAKE IS LARGELY A RELATIVELY SHALLOW LAKE THAT WAS  FILLED WITHOUT REMOVING ANY OF THE TREES EXCEPT THAT BOAT CHANNELS WERE MADE BY USING A HEAVY LOADED BARGE PUSHED BY A TUG PUSHING DOWN TREES IN AREAS THAT WERE THEN MARKED BY PILINGS. THESE CHANNELS OR BOAT ROADS ARE GENERALLY SAFE TO RUN AT SPEED.  OCCASIONALLY AFTER A HEAVY RAIN FLOATING DEBRIS MAY HAVE WASHED INTO THESE BOAT ROADS. WE HAVE NOT HAD ANY SUCH HEAVY RAIN FOR THE PAST  TWO YEARS   SO THE BOAT ROADS SHOULD BE SAFE.  STILL KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.  THE PILINGS ARE MARKED WITH REFLECTIVE TOPS.  WHEN RUNNING THE BOAT ROADS REMEMBER THE RULE, "RED RIGHT RETURNING". THIS MEANS KEEP THE RED TOPPED MARKERS ON YOUR RIGHT (STARBOARD) AND THE GREEN ONES ON YOUR LEFT (PORT) WHEN RUNNING UPSTREAM OR AWAY FROM A MAJOR RIVER OR CREEK. ALSO DO NOT TRY TO RUN THROUGH ANY AREAS WITHOUT MARKERS UNLESS YOU OR SOMEONE IN YOUR BOAT KNOWS THE LAKE.  I HAVE FISHED THIS LAKE FOR OVER FIFTEEN YEARS AND I STILL FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROADS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF PLACES CLOSE TO HOME WHERE I KNOW THE AREA WELL ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF THE ROADS BUT NOT MANY.  ALSO WHEN FOLLOWING THE BOAT ROADS KEEP TO THE CENTER OF THE CHANNEL AS IN SOME  CURVES A STRAIGHT LINE FROM RED OR GREEN PILING TO ANOTHER OF THE SAME COLOR MAY LEAD YOU INTO UNDERWATER STUMPS.  WATCH CAREFULLY FOR BOAT TRAFFIC IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.

I guess that is sufficient warning.  You can use your trolling motor in the stump fields but be careful as there are many more stumps under the water than are visible.

Now back to fishing.  Coming out of the canal from Wingates side run to the single  piling with red top and slow down. This piling is at the "u" end of a bend in the creek channel.  The depth should drop from something like 6-10 feet to around 18 feet as you approach that piling. I do not know why there is just this single piling here as they are in pairs most everywhere else.  Perhaps the green one was broken off. Let's see if we can somewhat orient the directions.  The boat road coming out of the canal is headed almost due East West.  It continues on out a few hundred yards toward the west bank.  If you know where to look you can see my house from that single red topped piling. With your boat pointing toward that west shore look a little to your left and look for the biggest pair of houses side by side in this area.  My house is the next one to the right of the big ones.  The east-west boat road from the canal you just came out on intersects with a boat road coming up from the left and going about northeast across a large nearly treeless(stumpless) flats.  This is the main boat road running up Spring Creek but it does not follow the creek channel.  At that lonesome red top piling is the creek channel.  Just about 200 yards or so west of the lone piling is another set of pilings.  If you move from lonesome piling toward this second set of pilings you will find 18 or so feet for a ways then it will suddenly shallow up to between 8 and 12 ft.  Then as you approach the set of pilings you will cross the creek again. With your boat still pointing west look to the left and you will see a few still standing trees (if they haven't blown down by Jan. 30.) Between you and those trees is a deep hole in the creek channel. Facing the standing trees there will be a stump field on the left and a small group of stumps on the right.  Between these two groups of stumps is 25 ft. of water.   Fish the edges of this hole all around and by all the still standing trees.  I caught my biggest bass in the area of the small group of stumps.  I cast my muskie jitterbug up in there one night(I do a lot of my fishing between an hour before sunset and midnight in summer) I hooked a fish slightly over nine pounds (my biggest bass so far.) I cast in that same area again and caught one almost a twin to the first, just under nine lbs.
I am not telling you this to be bragging as I still haven't caught that ten pounder or better.  I am  saying that this has been a good area for nice fish.   I have caught several up to 8 lbs in here. I often work  the semicircle back to the lonesome piling going all the way around the group of stumps in the center of the area I am working and  then from lonesome dove to the next pair of pilings.  Also facing nearly south from the pair of pilings, a little to the left of the leftmost standing tree and back into the stumps there I have caught good fish.  

Back to the pair of pilings if you face the west bank and look to the right about 50 feet from the pilings is a small isolated clump of stumps.  These are on the west side of the creek channel.  Looking across the creek channel to the east of this clump of stumps you will see the beginning of a large field of stumps.  The creek channel is running almost north from this area.  The East side has many stumps and a few still standing trees while the left bank has only a stump or tree standing along creek bank.  Beyond these to the west is the flats mentioned before.  Fish up the creek (northward) mostly on the right but occasionally casting to a single tree on the left. The creek channel is only about 75-100 feet wide most of the way up. Again the creek is about 18-20 feet deep with a sharp drop off on the right side and a more sloping bank on the left.  I have caught fish all along here both on the drop and casting back into the stumps.
On up the creek on the left you should see a small treetop sticking up.  One of the branches is almost horizontal and points to the right. Look carefully where this limb points and you will see the opening to what must have been a slough or ditch.  The mouth of this slough is 26-27 ft. deep, the deepest water I have found in this area.  The mouth is narrow, perhaps 20 feet or so with stumps on both sides. This channel bends immediately to the left and runs between stumps on both sides for a couple of hundred yards.  This slough has produced many 13-16 inch fish and a few over 5 lbs. The channel is about 18-20 feet deep. About 2/3 of the way back into this thing is one stump that has a single knife like piece that stayed on the stump when the tree went down.  I used to fish by the tree and one night a storm took it away all but that stickup about 10 feet long.  It is at the edge of the bank of the slough in 20 feet of water.   Last week a fellow from Memphis TN. called me and wanted the same information you are asking for.  He was preparing for a TX. and was coming down to spend a couple of days.   I told him if he would take me with him I would show him  where to catch some fish.  We got to this specific tree and both of us started catching Tournament keeper size bass.  He was using a drop shot and worm and I was using a Texas rig junebug.  We caught 6 or 7 before they stopped.   Unfortunately all the other places that I took him to did not pan out but that isn't unusual.  This was the third guy that took me out and I put them on some fish.  We never got any really big ones but I know there are big ones here.  You can work your way on out the other end of the slough but I usually turn around and come back out where I went in and continue to fish the creek channel.
A hundred yards or so north of the opening to the slough the creek channel bends sharply to the left and there is a pair of pilings marking the crossing of the boat road.  Around those pilings has produced some good fish.  From here the creek bends to the west with a stump field on the right and a few stick ups on the left.  It runs up almost to a large new dock and suddenly bends sharply right (north) into the stumps. Just at the bend the creek channel is split by a small clump of stumps.  The channel on both sides is about 20 feet  deep and to the left between the dock and the stump field to the north is a hole where at least the last three years before the state started messing with things and put stuff in the water to kill out the hydrilla and drove all the fish out of this whole area, the fish staged and I had the most terrific fishing I have ever had in my life. Big fish 6-7-8lbs.
Back in the stumps to the north has been good too.  Along the shoreline there is a mile or so of docks that have produced good fish at times.  Following the creek channel from the place  where the clump of trees splits the channel on  up it's  winding course is also good. Once you get past the last dock along there has been only so so  and I do not spend much time fishing that area.

Now let's look the other way from the lonesome piling. The creek channel runs from the lonesome piling toward a tall standing tree, I hope it's still there.  Just beyond that the creek bends right and then right again then left.  I have found a few fish there but not many and no big ones.  The creek channel goes south for a few hundred yards then just as the trees stop and the big flats begins the creek bends back on itself and winds up just beside a set of pilings. It crosses the boat road and on the west side does an "S" before bending south again.  A tall spindly lone tree marks another sharp bend to the west.  Another bend to the left  where there is a stump with a piece of rebar stuck in it.  Most any of these bends can be a place where fish stage as the spawning flats begin about there toward the west shoreline. Following the creek channel is fairly easy when the lake is low but not so easy when the lake is full.  Using a depthfinder is the best way  of finding the channel.  The area west of the north-south part of the channel has large area of hydrilla.  If it isn't too thick a rattletrap or jerk bait should work.
I sat here in the channel just past a 4foot diameter sawed off stump and caught three six pound bass  one afternoon on a chrome/blue or chrome black (don't remember which I use both a lot.)
If you keep working west and south through the stumps you will eventually come to the boat  road coming out from    the Reynolds' landing canal. Here the channel of the creek  runs along with the boat road for about 100 yards.  This section has produced some good fish.  Occasionally one might hook into a big hybrid here.  Too bad they don't let us weigh these.  Oh  well.  Before you get to the pilings  where the boat road leaves the stumps look  to the right and find the creek channel heading  off into the stumps.  All along  this creek channel is good bass water also some places off the creek channel or in the area between a "U" bend.  The area of stump field to the southwest of the boat road coming out of Reynolds' landing is good especially dropping a large worm down alongside the bigger stumps.
If you continue out past the pilings at the edge of the stumps and head right  toward the pilings that go back into the stumps and follow that boat road you will soon come to Rattlesnake point on the right.   All around Rattlesnake point there are places where the water is 24 ft. deep and places where sunken islands are only a foot or less.  To the right of Rattlesnake point is a cove with a single house and  two docks.  This area in the stumps has  produced some good fish.

Following the boat road past Rattlesnake point on down a couple of miles is Sealies landing.  There is a crossroad  of boat roads.  To the left leads out into the main lake on the Flint river arm.  To the right leads to sealies landing.
Continuing ahead past this crossroad is the mouth of Fish Pond Drain.  I haven't fished this area much but I hear of others doing well in there.  This boat road continues until it comes to the boat road coming down from the fish pond drain.  To the right leads up toward Ray's lake and Seminole State Park. Again I haven't fished this area much but I hear it is good at times. To the left leads out to the main lake just a ways up the Flint where it joins the Chatahoochee about a mile above the dam. The channel edges of both rivers produce some good bass although they are mostly noted for producing big crappie this time of year.
If you travel out the boat road to the left you will come to a day marker placed there for the tug boats to use as markers.  Turn right there takes you to the Chatahoochee and left takes you up the Flint.  About a mile to the left brings you to the mouth of Spring Creek.  There is  a huge Cyprus tree along with some stumps.  This area is largely a place for hybrids in season but there are also some good bass in the area.  Either in the  channel edge or off the channel into what was once a pond probably an old river channel that had changed before the lake was put in.   There are several of these ponds and often have some good fishing. I am not at all familiar with the south bank here but I have found bass off the many islands on the north bank.

I might be able to mention a few more places but if you fish all these and conditions are right you should find some fish and perhaps some big ones.  I know they are here.

Worms, lizzards, senkos and other plastics are good in many of the places I have mentioned.  I don't fish with plastics as much as I used to but occasionally I try them and with  success.  I like crankbaits to work the drops and over the hydrilla if it is not to high.  I think I said before that a lot of my fishing is in the evening in summer and topwaters are my first choice even if I might catch more fish using plastics I just enjoy fishing topwaters and since I seldom keep any fish it doesn't make much difference anymore how many I catch.

I hope this has been of some help.  If I can be of further help give me a follow up or give me a call at 229-861-2366


I am
Jack L. Gaither  (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia