• 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

    Have you ever wondered why some anglers catch big bass month after month, while others seldom hook even one?

    According to professional bass fisherman, Ben Parker, “If you want to catch trophy bass, stay off the beaten path.” Simply stated, fish places where few, if any, anglers ever fish. Many of Ben’s best “big bass spots” are near isolated stick ups, remote stumps and rocks on otherwise barren shorelines. To locate such structures, he always wears polarized glasses that allow him see the bottom in shallow water. When deep-water fishing, he depends on electronics to help locate rock piles, under cut banks, drop offs, humps and isolated debris scattered across the lake bottom, and then marks the spot with a waypoint on his GPS unit.

    Like others on the tournament trail, Ben doesn’t target schooling bass feeding on the surface because they lack the body weight required to produce a winning stringer. These lean and mean fighters spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy chasing down forage. Big bass tend to be loners that don’t spend a lot of time or energy chasing small forage fish. Instead, they feed on bream, crappie and other gamefish. They leave their schooling brethren early on to set up housekeeping in places where boat traffic and fishing pressure is light. Their habitat usually provides the cover needed to allow them to ambush unsuspecting prey without excreting a great amount of energy.

    Best fishing holes are usually hard-to-locate submerged brush, rock piles and stump fields adjacent to deep water. Yes, it’s true that big bass are taken around docks, piers and boat houses, but it takes a bit of practice to skip-cast lures all the way back and under such structures without tangling.

    As a rule, popular places where everybody fishes, like the helicopter pad at creek channel marker R1 or the point at river channel Marker 8, are great places to catch bass up to a pound or two, but seldom will you find trophy size fish. These spots are fished hard, particularly on weekends.

    Not everyone has the time or wherewithal to search out the big bass haunts. So try the docks and surrounding water adjacent to the lake’s most popular tournament weigh-in sites. This is where the bass are released after each event, and most don’t seem to stray very far away. After dark, lighted boat docks are easy to find and often attract big bass. Like possums, the biggest bass prowl after midnight, so don’t stop fishing too early.

    Photo Courtesyof Ben Parker:
    Ben Parker of Mooresville, NC holds four largemouth bass





    Upcoming Events:
    “How to Navigate Lake Norman Day or Night” will be the topic of a free safe boating class at The Peninsula Yacht Club, 18501 Harbor Light Blvd, Cornelius, NC 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.

    Free Fishing Seminar: “Bank and Dock Fishing for Sunfish, White Perch, Catfish and Bass” will be discussed at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, on Wednesday, August 20th at 6:30 p.m. Jake Bussolini and I will cover fishing with cane poles, hooks and bobbers, and how to use live and cut baits. Suggestions will be given for the best places to fish from shore and where the white perch are biting. Bring the entire family! Contact 704-658-0822 for additional information.

    Tips from Capt. Gus! When night fishing, tape a flashlight just above the hoop of your landing net.

    Hot Spots of the Week: White perch are plentiful between main channel markers 23 and 24 above the highway 150 Bridge and on either side of the river channel between markers 14 and 17A. Bass are hitting a variety of artificial lures on channel points. Best bets are Reed, Davidson and Mountain Creek.

    The surface water temperature varies by location, but is mainly in the eighties in open waters not affected by power generation. The water level is about 1.3’ below full pond on Lake Norman and 2.3' below full on Mountain Island Lake.

    Capt. Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures, Inc. is an outdoor columnist and a full time Professional Fishing Guide on Lake Norman, NC. Visit his web site, www.Fishingwithgus.com or call 704-617-6812.
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