Elite

Aerial view of Seminole’s B.A.S.S. history and habitat

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Photography by
Craig Lamb
Captions by
Craig Lamb
This narrow passage through a makeshift drainage pipe connects legendary ground with an equally as legendary lake.
In the foreground and out of view is At Ease Campground and Marina. In the background is Lake Seminole.
At Ease is located on the former site of Wingate’s Lunker Lodge, where B.A.S.S. founder Ray Scott held his third tournament.
This is the view outside the cut, with a view of the Flint River where it broadens into the main lake. The area is appropriately called Wingate Flats, in honor of Jack Wingate, proprietor and owner of what was previously Wingate’s Lunker Lodge.
In the opposite direction is where the lake becomes more river.
Another view toward the main lake, taken Feb. 21, 2023, on the second day of practice for the Gamakatsu Elite at Lake Seminole.
The entrance to Jack’s Cut, named after Wingate, is a passage from the Flint River to Spring Creek.
Spring Creek is another historically significant location in B.A.S.S. history.
History was made in this very spot on March 20, 1970.
Called Rattlesnake Point, it’s where Roland Martin won his first of 19 unprecedented B.A.S.S. tournaments.
Nearby are the Middle Grounds.
Back at Rattlesnake Point, Martin’s win came just one month after he competed in his very first B.A.S.S. event, in January at Toledo Bend.
Nearby is an area known as Grassy Flats.
Back-tracking through Jack’s Cut provides a snapshot of the area’s diversity off the main lake.
I couldn’t resist giving it a try to see how close I could fly to this alligator lazying in the sunshine.
I approached from behind, thinking the gator would be keenly focused on us ahead in the nearby camera boat.
It didn’t budge, so I decended lower and moved slower.
This was taken about 3 feet off the surface. The gator never moved.
More of the diversity of the area coming up.

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