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Lake Norman providing Carolinas’ best fishing action
Lake Norman presently is producing the best freshwater fishing action – by far – among reservoirs in the Carolinas.
Anglers are boating limits of largemouth and spotted bass averaging about 3 pounds each. It took five fish weighing 18.35 pounds to win a tournament at Norman last weekend.
The bass mainly are striking Alabama rigs and shallow-running crankbaits such as Wiggle Warts and Speed Traps cast to the shoreline.
LAKE NORMAN: Good for crappie on minnows and Kalin jigs worked 10-15 feet deep around brush. Catfish back in the creek channels on cut baits.
LAKE WYLIE: Continuing very good for channel catfish 15-25 feet deep in the creeks, mostly on cut white perch. Crappie 10-20 feet down around brush and docks on minnows.
MOUNTAIN ISLAND LAKE: Improved for crappie on minnows.
RANKIN LAKE, GASTONIA: Catfish on crawlers and earthworms.
CANE CREEK PARK LAKE: Fair to good for crappie on minnows and jigs.
YADKIN/PEE DEE RIVER LAKES: Crappie at all reservoirs – High Rock, Tuckertown, Badin, Tillery and Blewett Falls – on minnows. Catfish on cut baits and shad on Sabiki rigs in the Pee Dee River below Blewett Falls Dam.
LAKES JAMES, RHODHISS, HICKORY: Improved for smallmouth bass at James on shiners worked off the points. Fair for crappie at Rhodhiss. Little activity at Hickory.
FONTANA LAKE: Good for smallmouth and spotted bass on shiners fished 40 feet down off the points.
LAKE WATEREE: Very good for largemouth in the creeks and shoreline pockets on a variety of crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Fair for striped bass off rocky points shoreline on crankbaits, rattling lures. Crappie 18-20 feet deep on minnows fished just off the bottom around points low the lower part of the lake, and along the river ledge in the upper portion.
LAKE MURRAY: Crappie 10-15 feet deep around bridges and brush, mainly on minnows.
LAKE THURMOND: Stripers, hybrids from Parksville to the Highway 378 Bridge. The fish are suspended 20-50 feet deep over 70-80 feet of water and are taking live herring.
SANTEE COOPER LAKES: Little activity.
LAKE HARTWELL: Largemouth 20-30 feet deep on Blade Runner lures and drop-shot rigs. Also, some bass around docks, brush. Stripers, hybrids in scattered surface schools from the mid-lake area to the dam. Also, stripers and hybrids are taking live herring worked 50-70 feet deep over 130 feet of water in the river channel.
LAKE KEOWEE: Good for largemouth and spotted bass in surface-feeding schools near creek mouths. They also are hitting drop-shot rigs.
LAKE JOCASSEE: Little activity.
OUTER BANKS: Nags Head area: Red drum in the surf. Speckled trout in the surf when the water is clear; Oregon Inlet area: Little activity; Hatteras Island: Puppy drum in the surf from Buxton to Hatteras Village. Plentiful blackfin and yellowfin tuna offshore; Ocracoke Island: Little activity; Morehead City area: Good to excellent for speckled trout in the surf, around jetties and in the backwaters on MirrOlures and soft plastic lures. Whiting in the Turning Basin and along the beach in the surf. Good blackfin tuna and wahoo offshore when sea conditions are favorable.
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. COAST: Speckled trout and red drum in the lower Cape Fear River, at Mason’s Inlet and around the Masonboro jetties. Speckled trout and reds along the beach at Surf City.
S.C. COAST: Little River/Cherry Grove area: Small blues, whiting; Grand Strand area: Very good for spottails in the creeks on finger mullet. Big reds around the jetties. Speckled trout in Murrells Inlet, at Pawleys Island and from the piers; Charleston area: Reds in the backwater grass; Beaufort area: Excellent for big reds in the 30-pound range around the rock piles off Bay Point on cut bait and around sandbars just off the beach. Speckled trout in the marshes on shrimp worked under a popping cork around the grass edges.
