Fishing Forecast: Lakes Norman, Thurmond yielding excellent bass catches
Lake Norman and South Carolina’s Lake Thurmond appear to offer the area’s best prospects for freshwater fishing during the next few days.
Norman is yielding good to excellent catches of largemouth and spotted bass on topwater lures and swim baits cast to shaded parts of the shoreline. Hybrids and spotted bass are gathered in mixed schools on the points, where they occasionally are feeding on the surface, and taking live baits and Redfin-type plugs.
Stripers, hybrids, and largemouth also are hitting on the points at Thurmond. The largemouth are striking flukes, Zara Spook lures, mop jigs and live herring. The stripers and hybrids are hitting these lures and more, and are taking free-lined live baits.
Tropical Storm Ana generally disrupted fishing along the Carolinas coast the past few days.
Lake Norman: Fair to good for crappie, generally concentrated around brush 20 feet deep and biting minnows best. While larger catfish spawn, the bite among juveniles is very good on cut baits worked down to 20 feet. White perch are gathering in schools, also at 20 feet deep.
Lake Wylie: Very good for bream along the shoreline on the two most traditional baits, crickets and earthworms. The bream also are striking small Beetlespin lures. Good for largemouth along the banks on floating artificial worms and lizards, Senko lures and swim baits. Good for catfish around shallow flats on cut shad.
Mountain Island Lake: Good to excellent for bream along the shoreline.
Union County lakes: Fair to good for bream, catfish and largemouth at all four impoundments – Cane Creek Park, Lee, Monroe and Twitty.
Yadkin/Pee Dee River lakes: Very good to excellent at Badin Lake for crappie, taking minnows around cover 20-25 feet down. Good for catfish, crappie and largemouth at the other impoundments in the chain – High Rock, Tuckertown, Tillery and Blewett Falls. American shad, moving up the Pee Dee from the sea to spawn, in the tailrace at Blewett Falls on Sabiki rigs and shad darts.
Lakes James, Rhodhiss, Hickory: Crappie fishing appears at its spring peak on James, where the fish are taking minnows best. James’ walleye bite is fair on crawlers. Good for bream and catfish at Hickory and Rhodhiss, fair for crappie.
Rankin Lake: Good for bream, bass and catfish at the Gastonia municipal reservoir.
Hampton Lake, Yadkin County: Excellent for crappie and bream, good for largemouth.
Fontana Lake: Very good for a mix of smallmouth and spotted bass on shiners and Gulp! minnow lures fished around points and rocky shoreline. They are hitting best from about 6 p.m. until dark.
Lake Wateree: Very good for catfish uplake on cut shad fished on shallow flats just off the river channel.
Lake Murray: Fair to good for striped bass around points on free-lined live baits. Also, stripers on cut baits worked 3-20 feet deep on points. Spawning largemouth on topwater lures cast to beds.
Santee Cooper Lakes: Good for stripers on the flats between Elliott’s and Pack’s landings on cut herring. They also are hitting fairly well in the upper Santee River and along the timberline of the Dead Forest. Catfish 2-5 feet deep in wind-blown areas.
Lake Hartwell: Very good for stripers and hybrids in the Keowee and Tugaloo River arms on free-lined live baits. Blue catfish 5-25 feet deep in the backs of creeks on cut baits.
Lake Keowee: Good for largemouth and spotted bass on artificial worms and drop-shot rigs.
Lake Jocassee: Good for trout on spoons, crawlers and minnows worked around the intake towers near the dam. Trolling spoons in the river arms is productive, too.
Outer Banks: Nags Head area: Blues, small croaker, spots and whiting in the surf and at piers; Oregon Inlet: Dolphin and yellowfin tuna offshore, along with a few bigeye tuna and mako sharks, when weather conditions are favorable. Some blues from the catwalk at Bonner Bridge spanning the inlet; Hatteras Island: Generally rough sea conditions from the surf to offshore but expected to improve quickly as Ana draws further away; Ocracoke Island: Rough conditions churned by the storm; Morehead City area: As Ana abates, cobia are starting to show along the beaches and in Pamlico Sound. Blues and Spanish mackerel in increasing numbers. Red drum in the marshes. Very good offshore for dolphin, wahoo and yellowfin tuna before the storm.
Southeastern N.C. Coast: Little activity as slow-moving Ana whipped up the sea and pounded the shoreline. However, prime conditions are anticipated this weekend. Blues, croaker, small flounder, Spanish mackerel, whiting and scattered large king mackerel at piers. Fair for reds and trout in the backwaters.
S.C. Coast: Little River area: Fair to good blues, flounder, spottails and whiting; Grand Strand area: Good for flounder and spottails in the creeks. Blues, flounder, Spanish mackerel and whiting at piers. Good offshore when sea conditions are favorable for blackfin tuna, dolphin and wahoo; Charleston area: Excellent for sheepshead around bridge pilings and rock jetties on fiddler crabs and oysters. Reds in the creeks, on flats and around grasslines on cut baits and soft plastic lures. Trout in the creeks on live shrimp, DOA shrimp lures and and mud minnows; Beaufort/Hilton Head area: Cobia arriving in Port Royal Sound and the Broad River.
This story was originally published May 13, 2015 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Fishing Forecast: Lakes Norman, Thurmond yielding excellent bass catches."