Seminole in early May

Question
Jack, I will be headed to FL in May and want to stop and fish Seminole for a few days (3 to 5) and will probably stay at one of the lodges.  I have a full sized triton bass rig and am not afraid to burn a little gas to catch good fish.  I read a lot about Spring Creek and it seems to be the premier destination so I know I want to try it out in there.  My question is, what kind of fishing can I expect the first couple weeks of may?  Post spawn? River ledges? I just don't know where to begin to look for the places they "should be" on this Southern lake in the early parts of may.  Any help or nudge in a general direction would be great.  Thanks.

Answer
Bryan, Of course everything hinges on what kind of weather we have between now and May.
Usually this will be a post spawn but if we have a cold spring the spawn might be delayed.
My guess though is post spawn.  Spring creek is an excellent area for some very nice bass.
And I would also guess that the bass would be in the stump fields which cover a big part
of Spring Creek.  I live on Spring creek and have fished this area for some 18 years. A
goodly number of those years I fished nearly every day.  I haven't fished that much the
last couple of years but I believe I could go out in May and find some good fish.  I like
to fish late in the day as the weather warms in late April and early May.  I have had good
success using a large plastic worm at least ten inches.  I fish it Texas rigged with the
sinker pinned to the nose of the worm with a toothpick.  I try to cast the worm to actually
strike the larger stumps just at the water line then let the worm fall on a completely slack
line.  If you pick up the line or lift the rod the worm will swing away from that stump.
I want the worm to fall straight down the stump.  If you see the line move or twitch crank
up the slack and be ready to set the hook.  I do not like great bit hooks but 30 is about
the size I like.  I want that hook to be sharp as you can get it.  Some of the really good
hooks are already very sharp.  The amount of weight to use is dependent on wind conditions,
line size and how far you cast.  I discovered this method accidently many years ago fishing
a tournament on Lake Wimico.  When we put in at White City the canal was very muddy. Where
the canal enters the lake mud was so thick in the channel you cold almost plow it. Most
of the fishermen went flying across the lake but the guy I was with thought we might find
fish along coldwater bend which consisted of rows of Cyprus trees. We started down the
line of trees casting to the trees.  At first we did not do anything. The water in this
area usually is black water but this day it was stained but nothing like the canal. I was
using a spinning outfit with 8lb line.  We did not get anything then accidently I cast
and hit the Cyprus tree and my line had looped in the reel so I dropped the rod tip and
pulled out the loop.  When I took up the slack there was a keeper fish on. So next cast
was aimed at the tree and let it free fall.  Every time I successfully hit the tree and
let the worm free fall I got a fish.  The other guy just kept fishing as he had been
until I caught my fifth or sixth fish.  He started doing the same and began to catch
fish.  There were no really big ones there but they were fat little 14-16 inch fish.
When we got to the area where the water was a black clear color no more fish.  so we
ran back to the place where we found the first fish and worked down to the black water.
I do not remember how many fish we caught that day something like 50 or so.  We culled
down to ten fish each.  At weigh in we were the only ones who had found fish. I won first
and he second and I won big fish with a two pound fish.  I have used this method here
and it has caught some up to 8lbs.  I am still trying for one over ten pounds. So far a
little over 9 lbs is my limit but I have caught many 5-8 pound fish.  In the evening
if it has been warm and it calms down I love to use a zara spook or some other topwater
in here.  At certain times this is a great topwater lake for some nice fish. If I want
a mess of fish to eat I look for those from 14-16 inches.  I catch and release most
of the bigger ones but once in a while I will keep a big one to bake.  Well Bryan I
hope this has been of some help.  If you would be interested I will be willing to show
you some of the places where I have caught good fish.  I live on Spring Creek Drive
about one mile east of Reynolds landing.  My phone number is 229-861-2366, If you
want to call and let me know when you will be here.  There are cabins there at that
landing.  I do not remember right now what it is named and I do not know how much
they charge.  

I hope you have a good trip to MY lake.  I have fished a lot of places but this is the best
bass fishing I have ever had.

Thank you for calling on me to answer your question.

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