I spent three days on Lake Seminole practicing for the first Elite Series tournament of the year. It was nice to go back there. We used to fish Seminole a lot but lately we haven’t been there much. I’m glad we’re fixing that this year. It’s a nice lake with a good population of bass and not as much pressure as some of the other lakes.
The fish were all in their prespawn mode and the ones I caught were big and looked healthy. The lake might be better than it was years ago. I honestly don’t remember catching so many big ones back in the day.
I was going to come home but I saw several of the Elite guys there and they were all headed to the St. Johns River after Seminole went off-limits. That got my competitive juices flowing so I headed on over there (here) for a few days. I’m glad I did.
This is truly one of the great outdoor places in all of North America. The wildlife is almost beyond belief. It’s worth a trip, even if you don’t fish.
The bass are moving on and off the beds right now. I can see white spots from nests made during the last full moon. I’m guessing that by the end of this week, when the next full moon is in, there’ll be even a bigger movement towards the beds. That’s good news if you’re a bed fisherman or if you like giant largemouth. The number of 8 and 10-pound bass around here is frightening.
Once I’m finished here I’ll need to return home to do some sport show work and visit my fishing club, the Hartley Hawgs. After that, it’ll be nothing but serious professional bass fishing for a while.
I can’t say that I like the cold weather, snow and ice in Columbus but I have to admit that it’s good to be home and see old friends. Some of the guys I see at the shows have been coming to them for years. They’re a part of the scene. It’s a kind of unofficial club.
There’s a common understanding between anglers, regardless of anyone’s individual skill level. I’m not sure what it is that brings us together but it’s something. Maybe it’s because we all understand the difficulty of trying to trick something with a brain the size of a pea.
As I write that I have to laugh. We humans can design and build a fancy boat with all sorts of electronics that tell us darn near everything about what’s under the water and we can design and make lures that look and act more real than the real thing. But we struggle when it comes to catching a fish. The truth is they still win more often than not. How’s that for irony?
That’s enough philosophizing for now. I need to get out there and do as much scouting as I can in the time I have. And, hopefully, you need to stop reading this and get your tackle organized for the year. This nasty weather won’t last forever.