Fishing on bright summer days with high temperatures and lots of boat traffic can be a challenge, but catching them is not impossible. If you haven't fished Lake Norman lately, you might want to try some "how, when, and where" techniques, courtesy of Capt. Gus Gustafson.
How:
Bass: Early mornings, cast buzz baits around docks and rip-rap. During the mid-day hours, slowly fish soft plastic bottom bumping baits, spoons and shaky head jigs. To maximize the action, use small diameter line. Scan the surface on evenings for feeding activity.
Stripers: Although it is difficult to keep live baits active in hot weather, most early mornings bring excellent results when drifting them at depths of forty to fifty feet. Some anglers prefer to troll deep-diving lures on lead core line. Others fish roadrunners and bucktails on down riggers. At night, boat docks, equipped with lights that shine directly into the water, attract stripers and bass. Approach docks slowly and quietly to avoid scaring the fish or causing a sudden shadow over the feeding area. Cast a variety of baits to cover the entire water column.
Catfish - Perch: Drifting and slow trolling with cut baits, on or near the bottom, is the preferred method used to attract feeding catfish and perch. Once the fish are located, it is best to either circle the area, or anchor and chum with pieces of cut bait. Minnows, worms, chicken livers and shrimp also produce nice catches when fishing from a dock.
Crappie: Since Lake Norman was flooded in the early sixties, small minnows and tiny jigs, fished fifteen feet or more below the surface, have tempted this tasty pan fish. The summer heat drives crappie deep, but they can be coaxed closer to the surface at night with a gas lantern or florescent light. Hang the light over the side of the boat or float it in the water.
Bream/Sunfish: These fish prefer shallow banks with abundant sunshine. They can easily be caught on a small hook with a piece of worm or a lively cricket suspended from a small float.
When:
Generally, the best time to fish is when the sun is below the horizon and pleasure boat traffic is the lightest. Summer fishing explodes during the twelve hour period from 9:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m., however, fish will continue to bite throughout the day. The less the amount of direct sunlight and boat activity, the more active fish will be.
Where:
Best haunts for summer fishing are shady banks, deep water boat docks, bridge pilings and sharp bends in old creeks and river channels. Stripers spend the summer in deep water. Up lake, they locate in the old river run between Markers 19 and 23. Down lake, they hold up in the deep areas around Marker 3, south to Cowans Ford Dam. Bass can be in many different places, but congregate in deep cover near boat docks, fallen trees, and submerged stump fields. Contrary to the norm for summer, some are caught in the hot water discharges at both power plants. The warm moving water attracts hordes of forage fish.
where bass and other predators come to enjoy the buffet.
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