Fishing on Lake Norman By: Logan Yates

Hi, my name is Logan Yates, I am 14 years old and today I'm going to teach you a little something about fishing on Lake Norman, North Carolina. Lake Norman, North Carolina has many different species of fish. Some of the fish it has to offer are pumpkinseed, shad, bluegill, striped bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, white catfish, crappie, carp, and much much more! I like to catch different fish in many different ways, and today I'll share with you some of my techniques on how to do it. If you are looking for homes for sale on Lake Norman Charlotte NC than you have chosen the right place to buy a home.

Bass:

There are many different ways to fish for bass. In the mornings of sunny, calm, and clear days on the lake, I like to fish topwater baits. Topwater baits would include buzzbaits, poppers, spooks, whopper ploppers (my favorite) and last but not least the original jitterbug. I like to use baits like these on calm and clear mornings because they cause a disturbance on the top of the water much like a lizard, large insect, or a dying brim. These baits work even better when the water is calm, clear, and it is overcast (a rain has just passed). It is best to fish after a rain because during the rain, all of the bass' food (insects and reptiles) go away and wait for the rain to pass. Once overcast comes around, the bass wait under shady spots near the land for their prey to come into the water once again. One day, after a rain had just passed, I tied on a popper, and within three casts, I had caught two, 2 pound bass. That was the fastest I had ever caught two bass in my life.

During midday, if the water clarity is good, I'll fish with different types of worms. Some of my favorite worm setups would include a wacky rigged senko, a Texas rigged senko, a Texas rigged 10.5" curly tail zoom worm, a drop shot worm, or a Texas rigged crawfish. I choose these different setups because bass love to attack things with movement. Most of the rigs listed, I fish with a twitch twitch pause method. What the bass see when I fish this method is an injured or fleeing worm/ crawfish. The bass take advantage of this "poor little" worm and swallow it whole. All I have to do then is set the hook, start reeling, and I'm good to go!

At night and in the evening I fish the same things as I do in the morning. I fish tons of topwater baits. At night, Lake Norman is as peaceful as it gets. Calm and clear water, crickets chirping, and no boats to be seen (other than the occasional fishing boat). As previously stated, topwater baits cause a disturbance in the water at night. This disturbance could either cause a reaction strike or a hunger based strike depending on the bass' mood. Unlike people, bass are incredibly active at night, and are constantly biting.

Baitfish:

Fishing for large catfish or any other fish is super easy. During midday, I like to head down to the marina and catch 20-50 baitfish. Most of the fish at my marina are bluegill and pumpkinseed, but any kind of baitfish will do. If you don't want to use live bait, you can always go to Dick's Sporting Goods and buy some catfish bait. My favorite is the "Blood Bait". It comes in a quart size bucket (plenty for multiple nights of fishing), and sticks to anything it touches. Be it the bait fish, or the "Blood Bait", all you need to do is to put it on the hook at the end of a Carolina rig, cast out, loosen your drag, and you are done. One thing you must be careful of is to always watch your rod! If you don't watch your rod, you will be sure to lose it because the catfish in Lake Norman are humongous!

Catfish:

Catfish can weight up to 50 to 60 pounds on Lake Norman and it's common to catch large catfish most anywhere on Lake Norman. Catfish are caught at most any depth of water, but if you are looking for the massive size catfish you will want to find your favorite spot on the lake and drop line with fresh bait to about 30 to 40 feet deep.  I catch anywhere from 2 to 8 pound catfish between 10 to 15 feet of water.  One thing is for sure is that a larger Catfish will put up a fight and can easily snap your fishing rod in half. 

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