Top lures at Lake Seminole 2023

Finding the right combination of clear water, prespawn staging habitat and forage were keys to victory at the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Lake Seminole.

Elite Series rookie Joey Cifuentes III found all three on a main channel swing that created a staging area, and a food source of spawning crappie for bass migrating toward a spawning flat.

Cifuentes won his first blue trophy with a winning weight of 85 pounds, 7 ounces, anchored by daily limits of 19-13, 26-1, 20-13 and 18-7, all from the same area.

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Mike Iaconelli (10th; 65-1)

Mike Iaconelli used reaction baits to trigger strikes in his key areas of Lake Seminole.

A top choice was a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait with a 3.5-inch Berkley PowerBait PowerStinger for a trailer.

Alternatively, Iaconelli used a Missile Baits 1/4-ounce Ike’s Mini Swim Jig with a Berkley PowerBait Grass Pig Jr. for a trailer.

Shane LeHew (9th; 66-8)

Shane LeHew rotated through a swim jig and weightless wacky rig for his patterns.

He made the wacky rig with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent The General, rigged on a Berkley Fusion19 1/0 Worm Hook.

LeHew also used a 3/8-ounce Berkley Swim Jig with a Berkley Shape 108 for a trailer.

Cory Johnston (8th; 69-1)

Cory Johnston kept it simple, choosing a 6.3 6th Sense Clout Worm, rigged on a Gamakatsu 4/0 EWG Hook.

Greg Hackney (7th; 70-9)

Greg Hackney rotated through a buzzbait, swim jig and creature rig.

A top choice was a Strike King 3/8-ounce Hack Attack Select Head Banger Buzz Bait, with a Strike King Gurgle Toad.

Hackney also used a Strike King 3/8-ounce Hack Attack Heavy Cover Swim Jig with a Strike King Rage Tail Craw Trailer.

A Strike King Rage Bug, rigged on a Gamakatsu 5/0 G-Force Hook, with a Strike King 1/8-ounce Tour Grade Tungsten Weight, was another top bait.

Bill Lowen (6th; 70-11)

Bill Lowen’s strategy focused on a topwater and flipping, pitching and punching pattern.

A top choice was the LurePartsOnline Bill Lowen Series 1/4-ounce LOW50 Signature Swim, with a Strike King Swim’n Caffeine Shad for a trailer.

Lowen also used a Strike King Rage Cut-R-Worm, with a 5/0 Hayabusa FPP HD Straight Shank Hook, with a 3/16-ounce Reins Tungsten Weight.

For reaction strikes, he used a Strike King Sexy Frog.

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Derek Hudnall (5th; 72-9)

Derek Hudnall switched between a bladed jig, jerkbait and wake bait.

A top choice was a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait with a Missile Baits Spunk Shad for a trailer.

For reaction bites he used a SPRO McStick 115.

To imitate needlefish forage he used a SPRO Zero Minnow, a minnow/wake-style topwater.

Pat Schlapper (4th; 73-4)

Pat Schlapper relied on a finesse and reaction bite approach for his strategy.

He made a drop-shot rig with a Big Bite Baits Scentsation Cliff Hanger Worm, rigged on a 2/0 Owner Rig’N Hook, with a 1/4-ounce drop-shot weight.

For covering the water column, he used a Big Bite Baits Tour Swim Worm, rigged on a Gamakatsu 4/0 G-Finesse Hybrid Worm Hook, with a 1/4-ounce tungsten weight.

For reaction bites, Schlapper used a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer, with a Big Bite Baits Kamikaze Swimon for a trailer.

Tyler Rivet (3rd; 74-2)

Tyler Rivet used a weightless wacky rig, topwater frog and punch rig.

Rivet made a weightless wacky rig with an Xcite Baits 5-inch Xtreme Stix, rigged on a No. 1 Owner Wacky Hook.

Carrying over a winning punch rig from the previous week, Rivet used an Xcite Baits Sucka Punch, rigged on an Owner No. 1 Jungle Flipping Hook, with either 3/4- or 1-ounce weights.

Rivet also used an Xcite Baits prototype frog that he is designing with unique undisclosed features.

Kyoya Fujita (2nd; 76-6)

Elite Series rookie Kyoya Fujita qualified for his first Championship Sunday in his second event.

Fujita used this 4.8-inch Deps Bull Flat Creature Bait, which on the fall has a unique spiraling action to imitate a dying bluegill, or it can be retrieved to emulate the swimming action of a bluegill, pulsating fins included. The proprietary soft plastic contains a crawfish scent for built-in added strike appeal. He rigged it on a 6/0 hook with a 3/32-ounce weight.