• 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 hybrid striped bass caught from Lake Norman in recent weeks are larger than the average spotted bass and fight harder than a striped bass of equal size. While most are fourteen to eighteen inches, a few over twenty inches are being registered. It is surmised that the hybrids measuring in the teens were stocked by NCWRC biologists in the spring of 2013. That’s an amazing growth rate for a freshwater fish and confirms the belief that there are ample forage fish available to support an even larger stocking program.



    Anglers who hook their first hybrid are in awe with the tenacity in which they strike and the power they generate when bending the rod and pulling line off the reel. These tackle busting fighters straighten hooks, part lines and swim through nets. So check your line for abrasions, set your drag at less than fifty percent of the line’s breaking strength and inspect your landing net for holes or weak spots in the webbing.

    Casting top water lures at surface feeding hybrids is not only exciting, but quite effective. Popular lures are Super Pop R’s, Rio Rico’s and Striper Swipers. Each is designed to make a loud popping noise that hybrids can’t resist. The noise gets the hungry attention of the fish and causes it to strike so hard that water flies in all directions. This explosiveness is like a depth charge or hand grenade detonating in the water. Propeller lures (Devil’s Horse), buzz baits, and popping corks with ice flies or fluke trailers are also excellent top water lure choices.

    When a school sounds quickly, pitch a bucktail, jigging spoon, spinner bait, or Alabama Rig toward the area where the fish were last seen. Keep an eye on the fish finder for fish below the boat and the other eye for renewed surface feeding activity.

    As you can tell, there is a lot of excitement in the fishing community about this newest member of the Lake Norman fishery. If you haven’t caught a hybrid striped bass yet, give it a try.

    Tips from Capt. Gus! Beware! Hybrids have razor sharp gill plates. Wear fishing gloves to protect fingers.

    Hot Spots: Hybrid striped bass are schooling on the surface off long shoal points that extend well out into the lake. Best bets are Reed, Mountain and Stumpy Creeks. Spotted bass and large white perch are also being taken with the hybrids. Spotted bass fishing is excellent with the bigger fish being taken on drop offs and underwater humps. Flukes, spinner and crank baits, along with soft plastic lures fished on drop-shot rigs, are baits of choice. White perch fishing is good-to-very-good in water to thirty feet. Live minnows and Sabiki Rigs are the most effective baits.


    October Events: Free Fishing Seminar: “Top Ten Bass Lures for Catching Lake Norman Bass” will be discussed at Gander Mountain, Exit 36, on Wednesday, October 15th at 6:30 p.m. Jake Bussolini and I will cover the basics of lure selection and how and when to use them when casting or trolling. Contact 704-658-0822 for additional information.

    “How to Navigate Lake Norman Day or Night” will be the topic of a free safe boating class to be held at The Peninsula Yacht Club, 18501 Harbor Light Blvd, Cornelius, NC 28031 on October 16th at 6:30 p.m. Becky Johnson and I will cover “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.

    Surface water temperature varies by location, but is mainly in the seventies in open waters not affected by power generation. The water level is about 2.2’ below full pond on Lake Norman and 3.3' 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 website @ www.Fishingwithgus.com or call 704-617-6812.
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