LAKE SEMINOLE IS FULL, MUDDY & 70’S DEGREES BY MATT BATY

Lake Seminole is about as good as good can get right now. It is taking high 20 pound bags to win most tournaments. The bass are mostly post spawn now and feeding heavily on shad. There is an outstanding early morning shad spawn going on as long as you are in the right areas. Look for places with green lily pads or peanut grass present as the shad will use these to lay their eggs on. When you find a good shad spawn, action can be fast and furious. A lot of times you never have to even move the boat you can just Power Pole down and keep casting to the same school of fish. You need baits that imitate shad such as a 5" Big Bite Baits Jerk Minnow in White with a 5/0 Gamakatsu EWG hook. Depending on the thickness of the cover you can use 16lb Sunline FC Sniper Fluorocarbon or 50lb. Sunline FX2 Braid. Another good bait to use in the shad spawn is a new SPRO Bronzeye Shad in Nasty Shad. Braid is a must for this bait and it is probably the single best frog style bait on the market right now because no other bait has the walking action that this bait has. When the shad spawn slows down, head to the main lake and use your Lowrance HDS units to locate grass. The muddy water and fast current has really done a number on the grass this year, so when you find some you can really catch a lot of fish out of one grassed. Depending on the depth of the grass, you can alternate between 2 crank baits. My favorite is the Spro Fat Papa Series by Russ Lane. It comes in 2 sizes a 55 and a 70. The 70 runs about 10 12 feet and in my opinion is the best crank bait for grass because of its tremendous buoyancy. It almost acts like a balsa bait because it rises out of the grass so effortlessly. The 55 runs about 6 8 feet and is a much smaller bait. When you find fish on the crank bait and the bite slows down, switch to a Carolina Rig with an 8" Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm in Blue Fleck. You really need a heavy lead with this technique so opt for at least a 3/4 ounce Fish Catchin Fool Tungsten Weight and a long leader.

Learn how to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology with Southern Fishing on the Water fishing schools. [email protected]