Bass Fishing on Seminole

Question
Jack,
I am new to Tallahassee and my daughter and I want to fish at lake Seminole this weekend.  I have read some of your advise for early fishing but was wondering what you find works now later in the year.  

Many Thanks
Tom


Answer
Tom; You did not say what kind of fish you were after.  This has been a strange spring here.  It does not seem to know whether it is spring, summer or still winter.  We have had a great deal of rain and the lake is pretty badly stained.  This does not mean that you can not catch fish but different kinds require different approaches.
If it is crappie you are after I would suggest you try either Rayes Lake or Fishpond drain using live crappie minnows.  Or since you will be coming from Tallahassee and Rayes Lake and fishpond drain are well north in the lake try going out of Wingates Lunker Lodge.  They have bait and tackle and a good launch.  Also they have several guides who work out of there.  I would suggest calling them at 229-246-0658 if you want to find a guide.  If you have your own boat there are several places you can launch.  While I haven't been out lately because of my health I have caught nice crappie near and just a mile or so above the junction of the two rivers (Flint and Chatahoochee# which is about a mile above the dam. You can launch at Three Rivers state park or Seminole marina both a couple miles north of Sneeds or you can launch at Sneeds landing to easily reach this area.  I have found the best way of finding crappie in this area is to look for boats gathered in an area and start fishing nearby.

If it is brim you want about any sheltered area along a bank or near docks should provide some of these.  Shellcracker would be in about the same area.  Crickets are the best brim bait and worms for shellcrackers.

If you are interested in catfish look for the channels of the creek or river and use either minnows, worms or cut bait.  

Bass are almost always in the trees #long since broken off near water level so be careful.# or in the hydrilla beds or up in the creek.  I live on Spring Creek and do most of my fishing between Rattlesnake point to about a mile and a half upstream.  I catch all of the above kinds of fish here in my area.  It is a long drive up here from Tallahassee so probably one of the South shore landings would be better.  While I have not fished there much I hear that a lot of fish are caught just off Wingates area. There is a large flats area to the right as you leave Wingates channel and the flint river runs pretty close to the opposite bank.  To the left of the channel coming out of Wingates is a large stump field where a lot of crappie are caught.  I am sorry I can not give more specific information on that area since I haven't fished it more than a couple of times.

I would suggest you buy a map of the lake and study it before venturing out.  Also NEVER RUN AT SPEED ANYWHERE IN THIS LAKE EXCEPT IN THE MARKED BOAT CHANNELS.  THESE ARE MARKED BY PAIRS OF PILINGS WITH RED AND GREEN REFLECTORS #IN THE MAIN RIVER THERE ARE RED AND GREEN BUOYS.  REMEMBER: "RED,RIGHT, RETURNING"  MEANING KEEP RED MARKERS ON YOUR RIGHT IF GOING UPSTREAM OR TOWARD PORT.)  You can move around among the stumps using a trolling motor but still be careful.

If you do not wish to hire a guide and don't mind driving up here I would be glad to go out with you one day and show you around my area.
You can contact me via e-mail or phone (don't try to leave a message as my phone message system is messed up.)Just keep trying to call back.

I hope this will be of some help and I hope you and your daughter can find some fish even tho the conditions are not ideal.  Thanks for calling on me to answer your question.

I am
Jack L. Gaither    (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia
[email protected]
229-861-2366

PS; A Georgia fishing license is required for over 90% of the lake.