Day 1 of the 2023 Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole is underway. The 104 Elite Series Pros are heading out as we speak to the great unknown that is Lake Seminole at the moment. The lake isn’t unknown to these anglers, many having either fished the last Elite Series event here in 2014 or the Open held here the following year. But what they’ll find today is unknown.
The conditions have set up perfectly for a massive wave of spawners to push shallow. A cold snap in the 30s last week gave way to highs in the 80s this week. Nightly lows in the 60s, water temps in the low to mid-60s, and a new moon four days ago mean this place is primed and ready to explode. But, many anglers have reported that fishing has been tough through practice, leaving them scratching their heads as to what’s the holdup.
Will the lake bust wide open today? Or will the shallows still be sparsely speckled with a spawner here and there? That’s the great unknown. Ultimately though, it’s not if but when and where will Seminole come alive shallow this week. As local Drew Cook put it when asked if we’d see a big wave of spawners during this event, “Oh son, they’re swimming as hard as they can to the bank.”
