• Lake Norman Fishing Report - NC

    Fishin' With Gus
    (704) 617-6812 http://www.fishingwithgus.com/index.php Gus@LakeNorman.com
  • With Capt. Gus you will learn fishing techniques that will improve your fishing and allow you to catch more fish on you own boat. Light tackle is used to maximize the excitement of lake fishing. Guide boats can accommodate from one to six anglers. Fishing guides are available year round. They fish daily, including weekends and holidays.

  • Lake Norman Fishing Report - NC

    The summer fishing season on Lake Norman is about half over and it’s been a good one. Spotted bass and white perch have been plentiful, as have channel and blue catfish. White perch seem to be easier than ever to catch, and once you find them, it doesn’t take long to fill an ice chest.

    Large schools of white perch spend most of their time chasing bait from cove to cove, but they aren’t the only species that feed on the hapless shad and herring. Largemouth, spotted bass, catfish, stripers and hybrid striped bass are also in the hunt, which explains why they can also be caught while fishing for perch. Anglers have found that tipping one of the treble hooks on the spoon (that doubles as a weight for a Sabiki fly) with a small strip of perch, will entice bigger game fish to strike. Another technique is to suspend a small live white perch on a line just off the bottom, and a second line with a perch head or piece of chicken laced with garlic powder. Both offerings will eventually lure a blue, flathead or big bass to the hook.

    Not surprisingly, with so many bass and perch caught during a summer fishing outing, hooks become dull quickly, which means more strikes are missed. Sabiki flies should be replaced frequently, and treble hooks on the spoon should either be sharpened with a honing file or replaced with the help of split-ring pliers. While you’re at it, after a few fish have been caught, sharpen or replace the J or circle hooks on the down lines.

    If your lure is not casting as far or as effortlessly as it once did, check to see if the line on the spool is low. If so, remove the old and refill with new line to within 1/8th inch from the lip of the spool. A word of caution -overfilling will cause the line to unravel, knot and tangle. An easy way to replace fishing line without the help of another person or gadget, is to drop the new spool of line into a bucket of water, attach the other end to the reel on the fishing rod. As the line is retrieved, the spool will spin in the bucket and create enough friction to pack tightly on the reel without twisting.

    Finally, a word about landing nets. Landing nets come in a variety of lengths, hoop sizes and netting materials. As a rule, the longer the handle and the bigger the hoop, the easier it is to net a big fish. Equally important is the material used for the webbing. The most popular webbing is nylon because it’s inexpensive and quite durable. The better choice, particularly if you are a catch and release fisherman, is rubber webbing. It’s easy on fish scales and doesn’t remove the natural slime from the skin.

    Upcoming Events:
    “How to Navigate Lake Norman Day or Night” will be a free safe boating class held at The Peninsula Yacht Club, 18501 Harbor Light Blvd, Cornelius, NC 28031 on August 13th at 6:30 p.m. Becky Johnson and I will cover topics that include “Understanding LKN’s Channel Marker and Buoy System”, “How to Avoid Shallow Water”,” The Ten Most Dangerous Spots”, and “Interpreting Lake Maps”. For more information, call Ashley at 704 892 7575.

    Hot Spots of the Week:
    Spotted bass that are cruising the drop-offs on channel points are being taken on top water lures, swim-baits, jigging spoons and drop-shot rigs. Most days, bass can be seen chasing baitfish on the surface.

    White perch fishing has been fantastic since the 4th of July holiday. When conditions are condusive to feeding, it’s not unusual for individuals to catch one hundred or more in an hour or two. Best places to fish are in water twenty to forty feet deep along the edge of creek and river channels or in the middle of pockets and coves.

    The surface water temperature varies by location, but is mainly in the mid-eighties in open waters not affected by power generation. The water level is about 1.8’ below full pond on Lake Norman and 2.6' below full on Mountain Island Lake.
  • Search Fishin.com

  • Recent Articles