Seminole

Question
My buddy and I are coming to Seminole about March 13.
Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks, David Field

P.S. We've secured the guide service of Randy Weaver for 1/2 day.

Answer
David, sorry for the delay in answering but my computer has been acting up.

I do not know Randy Weaver but I am sure he will lead you to some good places.  I suspect that you will go with him out of Wingates and he is likely to show you places on the main lake.  If for some reason you want to try some other places after your half day come across the lake from Wingates and into the cut through to Spring Creek.  I do most of my fishing on spring creek.   I am also assuming for the moment anyway that you will be looking for bass.  If not I will deal with crappie and hybrids later.

When you come through the cut into Spring Creek pass the first pilings and then the single piling.  Check your sounder just before coming to that single piling.  You should notice a drop from 8-12 ft to about 20'. You are crossing a part of the Spring Creek channel.  On your left you will see an opening with tree stumps on either side and about 20-22' of water.  This are is a good place to start.  Fish where the stumps stop and the channel begins.  Just ahead there is a pair of pilings.  To the right of the pilings is a small isolated set of tree stmps.  This is the left side of the channel facing to the right (upstream-north).  The rigth side is marked by a thicker stump field whle the left side has only a tree here and there until you get several hundred yards upstream.  All  along this channel I have caught bass mostly on the right side.  If the lake isn't too high you should see a small group of tree tops.  One of them has a branceh pointing across the channel.  At this point there is an opening that leade up a little slough which eventually dead ends in a stump field.
I have caught many bass (and crappie)from this slough which is about 20'deep.  At it's mouth the water is 26-27', the deepest spot I have found in Spring Creek.  Back out in the main channel after you pass that pointer limb about 100or so feet the channel bends sharply.  There is a set of pilings that are just to the right of the channel.  The boat road goes up through the stumps but the creek channel goes toward the far bank.  There is a big boat dock on the point. The channel turns right and goes up through the stumps.  I have caught many bass from that set of pilings to the area where the channel goes into the stumps.  Right there on the bend the channel is devided by an isolated group of tree stumps like an island. Female bass have staged in this area and I had some of the greatest fishing I have ever had about five years ago.  That place must have had bass stacked on top of each other and they were big ones between 5 and 8lbs.  I went there every evening just at sunset for nearly two weeks and caught my limit of big bass, most of which I releaced.  Then the WMA in their great wisdom put a chemical drip system at the bridge up the creek to kill the hydrilla.  It killed the hydrilla allright but it ran the fish out too.  The hydrilla is now back and so should be the bass although I haven't been able to fish because of my health.  I am much better now and hope to get out next week assuming I can get my boat back in the water.

If we go back to the pilings coming from the cut from Wingates and follow them you will come to an intersection of that boat trail and the one running up and down the Spring Creek area.  These boat roads do not follow the creek channel which twists and turns through the stump fields.  When the water is high it is difficult to find but when the water is down a little the channel is visible in most places.

If you look to the shoreline on the oppisite side from where the cut enters The Spring Creek you should see the biggest house along the shore with a big swimming pool and large dock.....My house is the one to the right of that one.
I tell you this because from my dock on downstream or to the left as you face my house, is all good at times. The dock owners have almost all placed trees and brush in front of their docks and the water varies from abotu 12' to 20' along there.  Both the docks and the stumps usually hold fish.  On down there is a point that when you round it you are in a small bay.  The docks here hold fish and the stumps also.  After you pass the stumps there is a large flat that varies from 15' to 2' so watch your prop.

If you can follow the channel fine.  If the water is high just work through the trees toward the west and southwest and you will likely find fish.  You may come upon one of those places where the big females are staging before the spawn if the weather hasn't been too warm makin the spawn come before  March.  It usually doesn't.

If you have never fished this lake before keep in mind that this is mainly a relatively shallow lake averaging about 12' but much of it is covered with what was once standing timber.  That was years ago.  Most of the timber has broken off at or near the water line and many stumps are under water especially if the lake is high.  What this means is NEVER RUN YOUR OUTBOARD AT ANYTHING ABOVE IDLE  except in those areas marked by the pilings.  Of course even then if we have had much rain upstream floating trash could be in the boat roads so be careful.  The lake is well marked and not hard to navigate but care must be used outside the marked channels.  Stumps can be hiding anywhere outside the cmarked boat roads.  I advise buying a lake map which shows all the marked channels and where the various landings are located.  Don't depend on the maps for gasoline though. The map may say fuel but only a couple of places have gas.  

There are other places on the lake that I have fished but as I say Spring Creek from Rattlesnake Point upstream is my home area.

While crappie caome into Spring Creek at times and I have caught some nice strings there but most of the crappie fishing is to be found in the main lake channels.  Both the lower end of the Flint and the Chatahoochee channels are where the most Crappie are caught.  The two rivers join about half mile above the dam.  Each has it's set of markers for the tug boats going up.  To be honest with you I have found crappie by the not too extraorinary means of looking for groups of boats in some area.   The first couple of miles of both  rivers above their junction seems to be the best crappie grounds although every crappie fisherman has his favorite areas all over the lake.

Sometimes when you are out around the mouth of Spring Creek or somewhere on the main lake you may run into schools of feeding hybrids.  I usually keep one rod rigged with a chrome and blue or black back to cast for feeding hybrids.
Sometimes if the bass or crappie are not cooperating I troll my rattletrap looking for hybrids.  One time I was   trolling my rattletrap in the mouth of Spring Creek and I got a hit.  Out of the water came the biggest bass I had ever seen on my line.  I am sure she went over ten pounds but as they say the big ones get away.  I have also caught crappie while trolling that rattletrap.(incidently it is the big one)

I hope this has been of some help.  If there is anything else that I can do either contact me on All Experts or by    e-mail or phone.  If I am not home I will probably be at the  doctor with my wife and will be home in a few hours.  Don't hesitate to give me a call if I can help in any way.

I am

Jack L. Gaither  (JackfromSeminole)
[email protected]
229-861-2366